India (Superthread)
- Thread starter tomahawk6
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Anyone with a reasonable understanding of regional politics and history knows this would go over real well - I would compare it to bringing a division of Israeli troops to help quell an insurgency in Anbar Province.
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Infanteer said:
But the very public discussion of the possibility, however remote, does focus minds in Pakistan.
If, and it's a very Big IF, India were to become involved then I would guess that China would demand an equal role. The participation of both might be useful, despite the problems India would cause.
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Could this latest update also be an indication of where else (other than Kashmir) they are going?
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Mumbai gunman tells court that he is from Pakistan
Updated Mon. Mar. 23 2009 7:57 AM ET
The Associated Press
MUMBAI, India -- The only gunman charged in last year's terror attacks in Mumbai told an Indian court Monday, the first day of court proceedings, that he would agree to a government-provided lawyer and also repeated that he was a Pakistani national.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab -- captured during the attacks and jailed ever since -- addressed the court via video link from prison because of concerns about his security. This was his second such appearance.
Special judge M.L. Tahiliyani asked Kasab to identify himself and asked him where he was from. Kasab replied that he was from Faridkot, in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Tahiliyani asked Kasab if he could see him clearly through the video link and then introduced himself as the judge heading his trial. Kasab, who looked relaxed and was dressed in a gray tunic and loose pants, said, "Namaste," a popular Hindu greeting.
Kasab told the court that he had no legal counsel so far and when Tahiliyani asked if he would like the court to provide him with a lawyer, he said, "do whatever you think is right."
Kasab, 21, was charged last month with 12 criminal counts, including murder and waging war against India and could face the death penalty if convicted. Nine other attackers were killed during the three-day siege in November, which left 164 people dead and targeted luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other sites across the city.
India has blamed the attack on Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist militant group widely believed created by Pakistani intelligence agencies in the 1980s to fight Indian rule in the divided Kashmir region.
Last month, Pakistani officials acknowledged that the attacks were partly plotted on their soil and announced criminal proceedings against eight suspects. They also acknowledged that Kasab is a Pakistani national.
The trial was supposed to be conducted by a special court in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, where Kasab is housed. On Monday, however, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam also asked the court to delay the trial until April 13 because the security infrastructure in the prison was not ready.
The court will reconvene March 30 to decide whether the delay should be allowed, Nikam told reporters.
Nikam had said last month that he expected the trial to conclude within six months -- unusually swift for India, where the legal process can drag on for decades. The trial in India's deadliest terror attack, the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 people, took 14 years to complete
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090323/Mumbai_pakistan_090323/20090323?hub=World
Updated Mon. Mar. 23 2009 7:57 AM ET
The Associated Press
MUMBAI, India -- The only gunman charged in last year's terror attacks in Mumbai told an Indian court Monday, the first day of court proceedings, that he would agree to a government-provided lawyer and also repeated that he was a Pakistani national.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab -- captured during the attacks and jailed ever since -- addressed the court via video link from prison because of concerns about his security. This was his second such appearance.
Special judge M.L. Tahiliyani asked Kasab to identify himself and asked him where he was from. Kasab replied that he was from Faridkot, in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Tahiliyani asked Kasab if he could see him clearly through the video link and then introduced himself as the judge heading his trial. Kasab, who looked relaxed and was dressed in a gray tunic and loose pants, said, "Namaste," a popular Hindu greeting.
Kasab told the court that he had no legal counsel so far and when Tahiliyani asked if he would like the court to provide him with a lawyer, he said, "do whatever you think is right."
Kasab, 21, was charged last month with 12 criminal counts, including murder and waging war against India and could face the death penalty if convicted. Nine other attackers were killed during the three-day siege in November, which left 164 people dead and targeted luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other sites across the city.
India has blamed the attack on Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist militant group widely believed created by Pakistani intelligence agencies in the 1980s to fight Indian rule in the divided Kashmir region.
Last month, Pakistani officials acknowledged that the attacks were partly plotted on their soil and announced criminal proceedings against eight suspects. They also acknowledged that Kasab is a Pakistani national.
The trial was supposed to be conducted by a special court in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail, where Kasab is housed. On Monday, however, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam also asked the court to delay the trial until April 13 because the security infrastructure in the prison was not ready.
The court will reconvene March 30 to decide whether the delay should be allowed, Nikam told reporters.
Nikam had said last month that he expected the trial to conclude within six months -- unusually swift for India, where the legal process can drag on for decades. The trial in India's deadliest terror attack, the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 people, took 14 years to complete
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090323/Mumbai_pakistan_090323/20090323?hub=World
- Reaction score
- 0
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Given that 4 months have elapsed since the incident & the Indian courts have only just now offered the Terrorist legal aid, I do not expect a trial to begin anytime soon.... let alone have it conclude within six months.
Someone is wearing "rosie" sunglasses
Someone is wearing "rosie" sunglasses
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geo said:
You are soooo right geo....but, I do think that might be a bit of an understatement ;D
Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
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Country profile: India, BBC News, March 2009
Timeline: India (from 1858 to February 2009), BBC News, March 2009
India page, NY Times
All About... India, CNN
CIA World factbook : India(Categories : geography, people, government,
economy, communications, transportation, military, transnational Issue), CIA
Terrorism in India
Indian travel guide
Current local time and weather in New Delhi
Indian elections battleground map, April 2009
Voting in the Indian election takes place in five phases from 16 April - 13 May.
The result is announced on Saturday 16 May.
Indian elections: Key players
A guide to India's coalitions
Indian election in numbers
Quick guide: Indian election
India: Democracy's dance
Six myths about Indian elections
Decline of India's political leviathans
High growth, low votes
India's defiant opposition leader, 6 April 2009
Poll woe looms for West Bengal left, 8 April 2009
Bollywood star electrifies India poll, 10 April 2009
Dancer steps into Indian politics, 11 April 2009
In pictures: India election campaign, 6 April 2009
Some threads here about India :
India accuses Pakistan of attack in Kashmir region, January 2005
India seeks permanent UN Security Council seat, January 2005
Guilty Plea In Air India Case , February 2003
Air India suspects found not guilty, March 2005
Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 12
- Points
- 430
Religious rift tears at Orissa communities, 13 April 2009
Many Christians in Kandhamal say prayer is all they have left
Hundreds of people have gathered in the darkness in the town of Raikia. Candlelight flickers across
their faces as they sit quietly on the floor. They chant and pray as a priest leads them in worship.
For Christians, Easter is a time of hope. But in Kandhamal, deep in the interior in the eastern Indian
state of Orissa, hope is in short supply. This is a community still traumatised by a sudden burst of
violence last year, described as the worst anti-Christian rioting in India since independence. Dozens
of people were killed, and hundreds of churches and houses were damaged or destroyed.
Tiny shacks
Utsva and Minati Digal have come to celebrate midnight Mass in Raikia, where the parish church still
stands. Last year they were burnt out of their home. Their local church was left in ruins. Prayer, they
say, is all they have left. An hour's walk down the road, they now live with 11 other families in a field.
The whole group lives in a single tent, next to a collection of tiny shacks made of wood and plastic
sheeting. Utsva and Minati say no-one will employ Christians as day labourers any more, and the
children cannot go to school.
"We are having a very hard time living here," Utsva says. "We have no protection and there is a sense
of fear that at any time someone can attack us. So we try to sleep in the day and take turns to guard
our place at night."
Minati also complains that they have not had enough help from the government, and they do not have
enough rice to feed everyone properly. "There are too many of us," she says, as her daughter tugs at
the hem of her sari. "Now we just want to go to any place where we can get our life back. Here we
are constantly threatened and targeted."
Thousands of Kandhamal's Christians are still living a makeshift life, and their former neighbours are
refusing to let them go back to their homes. Only if they renounce their faith, convert to Hinduism,
and drop charges against anyone allegedly involved in last year's pogrom will they be allowed to return.
In one village Hindus have been told that anyone even talking to the Christians would be fined more
than 1,000 rupees ($20; £14). We went looking for Hindu villagers, and found a small election rally
for the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP.
Orissa goes to the polls in the first round of India's general elections on Thursday.
'Dignity'
We followed the BJP candidate, Ashok Sahu, to another tiny hamlet, past the ruins of another broken,
abandoned church. But it is the Hindus, Mr Sahu insists, who face discrimination. Hundreds have been
arrested, he says, since last year's riots. "I don't justify violence, but there are two types of violence,"
he explains. "One is planned violence and the other is spontaneous violence." "A maximum number of
Christians were killed, yes it is a fact, but why? The Hindu sense of dignity has come to the surface in
a spontaneous manner and they want to protect that sense of dignity."
Ashok Sahu is now facing charges for inciting hatred against Christians in one of his campaign
speeches. He insists that he is the victim of a political conspiracy. "If I'm arrested," he warns,
"a volcano will erupt."
Divisions
All of which is not much comfort to another 43 Christian families who are camped out in a market
on the edge of the town of G Udayagiri. On market days, they are simply pushed with their belongings
into a corner.
More than eight months after violent rioting shook this district, there is little prospect that political
change will make things any better. "There are peace committees," says Praful Mallick, one of the
men living in the market. "But the peace committees are full of the people who led the riots. What
difference is that going to make?"
A local priest, Father Ajay Singh, says: "In this place where we are sitting presently, you can see
they have been neglected by the administration and the public, nobody bothers about it. "People are
divided along caste lines and religious lines, and this election will only make the situation worse."
The plight of Kandhamal's Christians has received international attention. And yet they are still living
in a state of great uncertainty. The roots of the violence here are complex - last year's pogrom broke
out after the murder of a local Hindu leader. But many Christians have simply fled from this region
altogether, and there are signs that Hindu activists would like to force the rest to leave as well.
In this election season, Kandhamal remains a test of India's commitment to secular politics, and
religious freedom.
Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 12
- Points
- 430
India poll candidate found dead
Massive protests have been held in India's Uttar Pradesh state after the body of a parliamentary
candidate was found hanging from a banyan tree. Bahadur Sonkar, 35, was a candidate of the
Indian Justice Party in Jaunpur, 50km west of the city of Varanasi. Police used sticks to beat back
the crowd and prevented protesters from going near the body for several hours.
Mr Sonkar had been campaigning in the area. His family has blamed a rival candidate for killing him.
The body has now been taken down and is undergoing a post-mortem examination.
'Murder of democracy'
Local journalists say that Mr Sonkar had informed the authorities that he feared for his life and sought
protection. Mr Sonkar had alleged that he was under pressure to withdraw his candidature and support
the state's governing Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi in Jaunpur says the rival candidate accused by the family has a number of
criminal cases pending against him.
Local MP and Samajwadi Party candidate, Paras Nath Yadav, described Mr Sonkar's killing as the
"murder of democracy".
Jaunpur district police chief Vinod Kumar Dohrey said a case had been registered and an investigation
was under way.
Massive protests have been held in India's Uttar Pradesh state after the body of a parliamentary
candidate was found hanging from a banyan tree. Bahadur Sonkar, 35, was a candidate of the
Indian Justice Party in Jaunpur, 50km west of the city of Varanasi. Police used sticks to beat back
the crowd and prevented protesters from going near the body for several hours.
Mr Sonkar had been campaigning in the area. His family has blamed a rival candidate for killing him.
The body has now been taken down and is undergoing a post-mortem examination.
'Murder of democracy'
Local journalists say that Mr Sonkar had informed the authorities that he feared for his life and sought
protection. Mr Sonkar had alleged that he was under pressure to withdraw his candidature and support
the state's governing Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi in Jaunpur says the rival candidate accused by the family has a number of
criminal cases pending against him.
Local MP and Samajwadi Party candidate, Paras Nath Yadav, described Mr Sonkar's killing as the
"murder of democracy".
Jaunpur district police chief Vinod Kumar Dohrey said a case had been registered and an investigation
was under way.
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 360
India demonstrates its capabilities once again.
India launches spy satellite
AFP
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, carrying a spy satellite as payload, leaves a trail of smoke as it blasts off into space from Sriharikota. India put the Israeli-built spy satellite into orbit Monday, aimed at boosting its defence surveillance capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai militant attacks.
(AFP/Str)
BANGALORE (AFP) – India put an Israeli-built spy satellite into orbit Monday, aimed at boosting its defence surveillance capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai militant attacks.
The satellite, which can see through clouds and carry out day-and-night all-weather imaging, has been a long-standing demand of the Indian military.
Its acquisition was fast-tracked after the November 26-29 Mumbai siege in which 10 gunmen went on a shooting spree, killing 165 people.
The 300 kilogram (650 pound) RISAT 2 was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket from the Sriharikota launch site, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the southern city of Chennai.
"It has been successfully placed in the orbit 20 minutes after lift off this morning," G. Padmanabhan, a scientist from India's Space Research Organisation told AFP by phone.
India says the Mumbai attackers came by boat from the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
India's existing satellites get blinded at night and in the monsoon season.
The new acquisition will also provide New Delhi with the capability to track incoming hostile ballistic missiles.
India treated Israel like a pariah for decades, but has forged close military links with Tel Aviv in recent years with the Jewish state replacing France in 2007 as its second-largest arms supplier after Russia.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090420/wl_st...xTdny164dEBxg8F
Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 12
- Points
- 430
Millions of Indians go to polls, 16 april
Police helped refugees from Orissa to reach their polling stations
TEXT COMMENTARY (all times Indian standard time, GMT+5.5)
By Joe Boyle
Millions of Indians have braved searing heat to cast their ballots on a day marred by deadly attacks
from Maoist insurgents. We followed day one of the world's largest election with news, blogs, your
comments, and insights from BBC correspondents.
0650 Welcome to our live coverage of the first phase of India's general election. We will be
updating this page throughout the day, bringing you insights from BBC correspondents, some of
your emails and Twitter comment, and the best of the blogs, TV and press.
0700 The first polling stations open.
0708 Voting is due to start in dozens of constituencies affected by Maoist insurgencies - in
parts of Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and Maharashtra. The bulk of polling stations will open at 0800.
0715 CNN-Ibn reports a trickle of voters turning up in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
Congratulations to the Keralites - the earliest confirmed voters.
0720 The BBC's Geeta Pandey says: Kerala has traditionally registered a very high turnout,
so that's what is expected this time too.
0740 Indian TV station Times Now reports that Maoist rebels hurl a bomb at border guards
in Latehar, Jharkhand.
tweet hallucinations from Cochin, Kerala tweets: India Election '09 begins 2day. Even though I
can't find a suitable candidate, I'll be taking part with no hope that it'll bring any change! Read
hallucinations' tweets (on twitter).
0745 The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Varanasi says: The first few voters have started streaming
into polling stations here, many of them set up in schools and colleges. Nearly 150 million people are
eligible to vote in this round - and the poll is too close to call. The main opposition BJP is hoping to
unseat the governing Congress party but both are facing a strong challenge from regional parties. It's
the same story across India and the smaller parties could well hold the key to the next government.
0755 Shashi Tharoor, the writer and former UN official, tells Indian TV he has just voted "for
the first time in India" and says it is a great privilege. He's standing for the Congress party in
Thiruvananthapuram.
0800 And the election begins in earnest. All the remaining polling stations are due to open,
with 124 constituencies up for grabs.
0802 The trouble in Latehar looks to have taken a tragic turn, with six people reported killed
by Maoist insurgents.
0810 More Maoist attacks - this time rebels fire at election officials in Mangnar and Maroki
in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh.
0820 The BBC's Omer Farooq in the southern city of Hyderabad, says: I am standing outside a
private school in Secunderabad constituency and there are at least 200 voters in the queue already to
cast their ballots. This is a middle-class constituency and the fight is between the Congress and the
BJP. But there is a lot of confusion among the voters over which polling booth they have been allotted
to cast their ballots. Usually political parties hand out slips to voters in the queue indicating their
polling booth, but voters here say none of the parties have given them anything.
... (read the inbetween statements in the link that is up.)
1700 The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi says: According to the Times of India website, Deepak
Bhardwaj of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is the richest candidate contesting the parliamentary
elections. Mr Bhardwaj filed his nomination papers from the West Delhi constituency on Thursday.
He has declared his assets to be a whopping $120m. Mr Bhardwaj went to file his nomination paper
on a tractor that he uses on his farmland. The 58-year-old tycoon owns businesses in real estate,
hotels and education.
1703 Polls due to close in most constituencies.
1708 The BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi says: As polling draws to an end, it appears that Indians,
as usual, have exercised their right to vote as rousingly as ever. Correspondents across the country
have been reporting healthy turnouts as voters braved long treks to polling stations amid boiling heat
and Maoist intimidation. In fact, parts of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the south appear to have
recorded a turnout in excess of 65%, higher than the national turnout average in past elections.
Even Jammu in the disputed Kashmir region seems to have recorded between 50% and 60% turnout.
Experts will debate endlessly what this high turnout means and which party gains from it. But it
definitely proves one thing: democracy in India is alive and kicking, perhaps more than anywhere
else in the world.
1708 The BBC's Omer Farooq in Hyderabad says: Officially the polling time is over but long
queues of voters are waiting for their turn, and the election authorities have decided to allow every
voter who joined the queue before 4pm to vote. So many voters are gathered at the Malkajgiri Lok
Sabha constituency that polling may have to continue till 7pm.
1722 OK, so plenty happened today to keep us all occupied. But for those of you who've caught
India election fever, don't worry, there are four more days like this one. And then, of course, the
small matter of totting up as many as 700 million votes - when we'll be running another live
commentary just like this one.
Police helped refugees from Orissa to reach their polling stations
TEXT COMMENTARY (all times Indian standard time, GMT+5.5)
By Joe Boyle
Millions of Indians have braved searing heat to cast their ballots on a day marred by deadly attacks
from Maoist insurgents. We followed day one of the world's largest election with news, blogs, your
comments, and insights from BBC correspondents.
0650 Welcome to our live coverage of the first phase of India's general election. We will be
updating this page throughout the day, bringing you insights from BBC correspondents, some of
your emails and Twitter comment, and the best of the blogs, TV and press.
0700 The first polling stations open.
0708 Voting is due to start in dozens of constituencies affected by Maoist insurgencies - in
parts of Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and Maharashtra. The bulk of polling stations will open at 0800.
0715 CNN-Ibn reports a trickle of voters turning up in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
Congratulations to the Keralites - the earliest confirmed voters.
0720 The BBC's Geeta Pandey says: Kerala has traditionally registered a very high turnout,
so that's what is expected this time too.
0740 Indian TV station Times Now reports that Maoist rebels hurl a bomb at border guards
in Latehar, Jharkhand.
tweet hallucinations from Cochin, Kerala tweets: India Election '09 begins 2day. Even though I
can't find a suitable candidate, I'll be taking part with no hope that it'll bring any change! Read
hallucinations' tweets (on twitter).
0745 The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Varanasi says: The first few voters have started streaming
into polling stations here, many of them set up in schools and colleges. Nearly 150 million people are
eligible to vote in this round - and the poll is too close to call. The main opposition BJP is hoping to
unseat the governing Congress party but both are facing a strong challenge from regional parties. It's
the same story across India and the smaller parties could well hold the key to the next government.
0755 Shashi Tharoor, the writer and former UN official, tells Indian TV he has just voted "for
the first time in India" and says it is a great privilege. He's standing for the Congress party in
Thiruvananthapuram.
0800 And the election begins in earnest. All the remaining polling stations are due to open,
with 124 constituencies up for grabs.
0802 The trouble in Latehar looks to have taken a tragic turn, with six people reported killed
by Maoist insurgents.
0810 More Maoist attacks - this time rebels fire at election officials in Mangnar and Maroki
in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh.
0820 The BBC's Omer Farooq in the southern city of Hyderabad, says: I am standing outside a
private school in Secunderabad constituency and there are at least 200 voters in the queue already to
cast their ballots. This is a middle-class constituency and the fight is between the Congress and the
BJP. But there is a lot of confusion among the voters over which polling booth they have been allotted
to cast their ballots. Usually political parties hand out slips to voters in the queue indicating their
polling booth, but voters here say none of the parties have given them anything.
... (read the inbetween statements in the link that is up.)
1700 The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi says: According to the Times of India website, Deepak
Bhardwaj of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is the richest candidate contesting the parliamentary
elections. Mr Bhardwaj filed his nomination papers from the West Delhi constituency on Thursday.
He has declared his assets to be a whopping $120m. Mr Bhardwaj went to file his nomination paper
on a tractor that he uses on his farmland. The 58-year-old tycoon owns businesses in real estate,
hotels and education.
1703 Polls due to close in most constituencies.
1708 The BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi says: As polling draws to an end, it appears that Indians,
as usual, have exercised their right to vote as rousingly as ever. Correspondents across the country
have been reporting healthy turnouts as voters braved long treks to polling stations amid boiling heat
and Maoist intimidation. In fact, parts of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the south appear to have
recorded a turnout in excess of 65%, higher than the national turnout average in past elections.
Even Jammu in the disputed Kashmir region seems to have recorded between 50% and 60% turnout.
Experts will debate endlessly what this high turnout means and which party gains from it. But it
definitely proves one thing: democracy in India is alive and kicking, perhaps more than anywhere
else in the world.
1708 The BBC's Omer Farooq in Hyderabad says: Officially the polling time is over but long
queues of voters are waiting for their turn, and the election authorities have decided to allow every
voter who joined the queue before 4pm to vote. So many voters are gathered at the Malkajgiri Lok
Sabha constituency that polling may have to continue till 7pm.
1722 OK, so plenty happened today to keep us all occupied. But for those of you who've caught
India election fever, don't worry, there are four more days like this one. And then, of course, the
small matter of totting up as many as 700 million votes - when we'll be running another live
commentary just like this one.
Yrys
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 12
- Points
- 430
Election grips US-based Indians, 22 april
After a day's work at Penn State University, where he is a professor of engineering and department
head, Dinesh Agrawal returns home and turns on his computer to indulge his passion for politics.
But it's not the daily duels between Democrats and Republicans in America that transfix him.
Dr Agrawal's attention is focused laser-like on the election season drama playing out halfway across
the globe.
A former president of the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), he is part of
a dedicated band of Indian-Americans that is drumming up support for political parties in India.
From the recently concluded US elections to the upcoming vote in India, the past few months have
been exciting for Indian-Americans. But for some, the excitement of a historic US presidential
election pales in comparison with what's happening in India.
Detached
"We were very enthusiastic about Barack Obama because we have a vote here. But in India, even
though we cannot vote, we have a much stronger emotional involvement," says Dr Agrawal. This
bond has drawn Indian-Americans from as far away as Chicago and New Jersey to work on campaigns
in places such as Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. But it is not something that appeals to everyone. A large
majority of second-generation Indian-Americans are significantly more detached from Indian politics.
The US arms of major Indian political parties - the OFBJP and Indian National Overseas Congress
(INOC) - have been working hard to create an awareness among Indian voters about the importance
of supporting their respective parties and candidates.
The OFBJP has undoubtedly been better organised in this effort. Founded in 1991 in New York,
the OFBJP has a mission to "educate the ethnic Indian community, dispel the misgivings and false
perceptions of the American public and lawmakers, correct the media distortions, propagate the
BJP's philosophy and at the same time foster friendly relations between the two counties".
Some Indian Americans have been working a "half-day job" raising awareness about their party's
platform.
'Biggest thing'
"Every day I spend a few hours in the evening reading news from India and informing people here
in the US and in India about what can be done to help the BJP," says Dr Agrawal, who was in Uttar
Pradesh this year and confesses to have been worried about the low morale of his party. Since then,
he believes, the party has been galvanised by the row over the detention of BJP candidate Varun
Gandhi - a member of the Nehru Gandhi political dynasty.
OFBJP members across the US have been calling in for teleconferences to discuss strategy. Some
Indian Americans are travelling to India to help candidates with their campaigns. Nimesh Dikshit,
a New Jersey-based IT consultant, will be volunteering on BJP campaigns in Gujarat. He is upset
that "in the last five years the biggest thing that came out of India was the Mumbai attacks" and
believes it is crucial that the BJP sweeps this election.
It is illegal for US citizens to donate money to Indian politicians or their campaigns and most
Indian-Americans are quick to point out that they do not make such contributions. However some
do admit to giving money to their "relatives" in India.
Surinder Malhotra, the New York-based president of INOC, says members of his group do not
believe in getting financially involved with Indian politicians. "Our job is to see that money is not
used for social disharmony," he says.
The OFBJP also denies raising funds for the BJP.
"It's very hard to track the flow of money," says Vijay Prashad, a professor of international studies
at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. "Everyone says they are going to volunteer their time,
not give money."
Influence voters
The OFBJP has spent money on placing advertisements in newspapers in the US and India - telling
readers to "call your family members and friends in India and urge them to vote and campaign for
the BJP". The organisation has about 800 members and reaches out to Indian expatriates in Britain
and Canada.
OFBJP leaders are in constant touch with BJP leaders in India, where as relatively affluent middle
class professionals, they have the power to influence voters in urban areas of India. IT experts have
even helped to launch NRIs4BJP.org, a crucial tool in OFBJP's outreach efforts. National security tops
the list of concerns for the OFBJP, followed by the economy and H-1B visas
for Indian professionals working in the US.
Supporters of the Congress party in the US have also not been inactive. They point out that "even
the BJP acknowledges that we have never had such an honest prime minister as Manmohan Singh".
"Congress has been strong on combating terrorism," Dr Malhotra says. "There have been historic
achievements on [the Congress party] watch - we have a civilian nuclear deal with the United States
and India is no longer a nuclear pariah. "Look at how a financial crisis grips the rest of the world,
but India has not been affected much by it."
Both parties are confident that their efforts from thousands of miles away will eventually pay off.
"We people from America... our message carries much weight in India," Dr Agrawal contends.
After a day's work at Penn State University, where he is a professor of engineering and department
head, Dinesh Agrawal returns home and turns on his computer to indulge his passion for politics.
But it's not the daily duels between Democrats and Republicans in America that transfix him.
Dr Agrawal's attention is focused laser-like on the election season drama playing out halfway across
the globe.
A former president of the Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), he is part of
a dedicated band of Indian-Americans that is drumming up support for political parties in India.
From the recently concluded US elections to the upcoming vote in India, the past few months have
been exciting for Indian-Americans. But for some, the excitement of a historic US presidential
election pales in comparison with what's happening in India.
Detached
"We were very enthusiastic about Barack Obama because we have a vote here. But in India, even
though we cannot vote, we have a much stronger emotional involvement," says Dr Agrawal. This
bond has drawn Indian-Americans from as far away as Chicago and New Jersey to work on campaigns
in places such as Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. But it is not something that appeals to everyone. A large
majority of second-generation Indian-Americans are significantly more detached from Indian politics.
The US arms of major Indian political parties - the OFBJP and Indian National Overseas Congress
(INOC) - have been working hard to create an awareness among Indian voters about the importance
of supporting their respective parties and candidates.
The OFBJP has undoubtedly been better organised in this effort. Founded in 1991 in New York,
the OFBJP has a mission to "educate the ethnic Indian community, dispel the misgivings and false
perceptions of the American public and lawmakers, correct the media distortions, propagate the
BJP's philosophy and at the same time foster friendly relations between the two counties".
Some Indian Americans have been working a "half-day job" raising awareness about their party's
platform.
'Biggest thing'
"Every day I spend a few hours in the evening reading news from India and informing people here
in the US and in India about what can be done to help the BJP," says Dr Agrawal, who was in Uttar
Pradesh this year and confesses to have been worried about the low morale of his party. Since then,
he believes, the party has been galvanised by the row over the detention of BJP candidate Varun
Gandhi - a member of the Nehru Gandhi political dynasty.
OFBJP members across the US have been calling in for teleconferences to discuss strategy. Some
Indian Americans are travelling to India to help candidates with their campaigns. Nimesh Dikshit,
a New Jersey-based IT consultant, will be volunteering on BJP campaigns in Gujarat. He is upset
that "in the last five years the biggest thing that came out of India was the Mumbai attacks" and
believes it is crucial that the BJP sweeps this election.
It is illegal for US citizens to donate money to Indian politicians or their campaigns and most
Indian-Americans are quick to point out that they do not make such contributions. However some
do admit to giving money to their "relatives" in India.
Surinder Malhotra, the New York-based president of INOC, says members of his group do not
believe in getting financially involved with Indian politicians. "Our job is to see that money is not
used for social disharmony," he says.
The OFBJP also denies raising funds for the BJP.
"It's very hard to track the flow of money," says Vijay Prashad, a professor of international studies
at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. "Everyone says they are going to volunteer their time,
not give money."
Influence voters
The OFBJP has spent money on placing advertisements in newspapers in the US and India - telling
readers to "call your family members and friends in India and urge them to vote and campaign for
the BJP". The organisation has about 800 members and reaches out to Indian expatriates in Britain
and Canada.
OFBJP leaders are in constant touch with BJP leaders in India, where as relatively affluent middle
class professionals, they have the power to influence voters in urban areas of India. IT experts have
even helped to launch NRIs4BJP.org, a crucial tool in OFBJP's outreach efforts. National security tops
the list of concerns for the OFBJP, followed by the economy and H-1B visas
for Indian professionals working in the US.
Supporters of the Congress party in the US have also not been inactive. They point out that "even
the BJP acknowledges that we have never had such an honest prime minister as Manmohan Singh".
"Congress has been strong on combating terrorism," Dr Malhotra says. "There have been historic
achievements on [the Congress party] watch - we have a civilian nuclear deal with the United States
and India is no longer a nuclear pariah. "Look at how a financial crisis grips the rest of the world,
but India has not been affected much by it."
Both parties are confident that their efforts from thousands of miles away will eventually pay off.
"We people from America... our message carries much weight in India," Dr Agrawal contends.
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 360
Another update:
Dated 22/5/2009
Heralding a new chapter, the first Indian Air Force AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) platform that altogether sets to alter the dimension of the see-through capability of the IAF beyond conventional visions of ground-based and tethered electromagnetic sensors, will arrive in India on May 25.
In 2004 India signed a $1.1 billion contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for three new Phalcon AWACS.
On its maiden flight from Israel to India, the veritable flying-giant with an all-pervasive electromagnetic vision will land first at Jamnagar in western Gujarat and arrive at Palam airport the following day. Although slated to operate from Agra, home to the mammoth Ilyushin family in India, an induction ceremony awaits the first AWACS in the National Capital.
The ceremony will be attended by among others the Chief of the Air Staff, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs of the Western and Central Air Command and other senior dignitaries from the Ministry of Defence, Air HQs besides air warriors from the squadron itself.
The AWACS is an airborne mission support system fitted on an IL-76 aircraft with improved engines. With radar that can help detect even a cruise missile or an aircraft at ranges far more than the ranges detected through the present ground-based radars, the AWACS radar, most sophisticated to date, can collate surface information about troop movements and missile launches even while listening to highly confidential communications between enemy frontline units.
Air combats the world over are now envisaged in an ever-increasing electronic surveillance environment where pilots have little liberties for individual manouevring without endangering their own lives or safety of their aircraft. The IAF AWACS will help pilots find hitherto unconceivable space and room for tactical manouevres in the air under controlled directions that will give them an edge over their adversaries at all times.
AWACS, a potent force-multiplier, will significantly enhance the effectiveness of both - offensive and defensive operations. The intensity and pace of modern air battle need AWACS for a successful air defence umbrella to be maintained. The swift mobility that the AWACS platform provides will help neutralize any threat as it can be moved anywhere at a very short notice.
http://www.india-defence.com/reports-4398
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 184
- Points
- 710
Seems to be off the radar for most here, but not only has the unrest in Afghanistan and Pakistan spewed over into India with the Mumbai bombings, but various factions within India are causing unrest. Hindu militants have harassed Christians in some Regions. India is not at peace.
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Unrest continues in Rajasthan, following yesterday’s deaths
05/30/2007 12:24
INDIA
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – The situation Karauli close to Dausa, in Rajasthan 80 kilometres from Jaipur remains tense following yesterday’s police crackdown on protesters from Gujjar tribes, who had organised a sit in on the national Jaipur-Agra road. The area is now under army control while members of the government debate the incident; some are calling for an immediate investigation, others are down-playing it.
Unrest continues, despite the presence of thousands of men patrolling the important Jaipur-Agra road. In Dausa protesters continue to block streets and have set two police stations on fire. Streets have also been blocked and shops damaged in protests in other areas.
The Gujjar community is asking for ST or “Superior Tribe” status, which would give them access to public employment and a quota of places in State schools and collages. It is a tribe of nomads, spread throughout the Nation, which until now has been considered an inferior tribe. Yesterday in Karauli, police rushed a crowd of 30 thousand protesters after they refused to obey a dispersal order. Armed with batons and tear gas they eventually opened fire on the resistant crowd. Protesters reacted by attacking the police vehicles. Many raided the nearby police station in Sikandara, setting it on fire and killing two officers. Similar events occurred in Bundi, 250 kilometres from Jaipur, as well as clashes in Jaipur, Tonk, and Sawai Madhopur.
Only hour’s later State home minister Gulab Chand Kataria admitted that, “Six civilians and two policemen died in Dausa.” “Six villagers and one policeman died in Bundi. There is no information about the four policemen who were abducted by the crowd”.
The Gujjar claim that their rights are being ignored after the death of their leader Rajesh Pilot and that the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has reneged on what is often described as her 2003 Assembly poll promise to grant ST status to them. Already September 3rd last the Gujjar rose in protest, de-railing railway tracks in Hindaun, Karauli district. At the time a compromise was reached, by the government is accused of failing to follow through in their pledges.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata (Bjp) led state government appears divided. Its premier Raje speaks of unrest caused by an organised group and says “violations of the law will not be tolerated”. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bjp spokesman has described it as an “unfortunate incident” but has not condemned the police firing nor demanded a probe into it.
Instead BJP vice-president Sahib Singh Verma, “condemns the police for having opened fire” and has demanded “There should be a high-level inquiry” into events.
HK Dahmor, Chief administrator of Dausa, says that “the police tried to negotiate”. Police sources say they opened fire for self defence purposes and arrested over 300 people.
But tribal leader Avinash Badana told the television that the police opened fire on “defenceless demonstrators”. (NC)
================================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
India: Unrest Continues in Kashmir; Road Accident Deaths Soar
August 27th, 2008
Unrest continued into a third week in Kashmir in protests over a land use dispute that have grown into the largest demonstrations in the region in 20 years. Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew and killed five protesters who violated it Aug. 25. So far 28 people have been killed and more than 600 injured. In other news, deaths on India’s roads have soared in recent years as more vehicles squeeze onto the crowded streets, driving skills are seldom taught and traffic rules are rarely enforced. The World Bank estimates the mortality rate in India is 14 per 10,000 vehicles compared to less than two in developed countries. The situation is likely to get worse in the future as growing prosperity makes automobile ownership possible for millions more Indians. Tourists should leave the driving to local professionals.
==========================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Christian-Hindu Unrest leads to Violence in India
Posted by ReligiousLiberty.TV
September 19, 2008
A reader in India has alerted us to contemporary conflict between Hinduism and Christianity in India. Here are several news stories about this:
7 prayer halls in DK, Udupi & Chikmagalur face wrath
Thousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion…
Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged.
The district administration has clamped ban orders in these areas for three days, starting Sunday.
The places of worship which were attacked in Dakshina Kannada include Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery in Mangalore city, Christ Church at Kodikal near Mangalore, Believers Church of India at Puttur, Mahima Prathanalaya and Indian Pentecostal (both at Madanthyar in Belthangady taluk) and Bethesda Aradanalaya at Sullia.
The modus operandi of all the attacks was similar: a group of 20-25 persons barged into the prayer halls between 10 am and 10.30 am, damaged the furniture and desecrated the statues of Jesus Christ.
As news spread, Christians in Mangalore came onto the streets in large numbers and blocked roads till night. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes visited the protesters near Milagres in the evening.
Read more from the Deccan Herald - DH News Service Mangalore
==========================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Hindu-Christian clashes intensify in India
Updated Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:36am AEST
Three churches near India's southern city of Bangalore have been ransacked by suspected Hindu extremists, despite a government crackdown on anti-Christian attacks. Police believe a right-wing Hindu group vandalised the churches, and have arrested their leader. More than two dozen churches have now been attacked in the southern state of Karnataka over the past week. It follows similar clashes in the eastern state of Orissa in which up to 20 people died. Karnataka's 2.5 million Christians say they're being targetted for opposing the violence in Orissa.
Presenter: Murali Krishnan
Speakers: Junior home minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal; Vinod Bansal a spokesperson for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad; Father Babu Joseph of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India
KRISHNAN: The wave of violence and destruction follows weeks of anti-Christian militancy in the eastern state of Orissa in which 20 people have been killed and thousands forced to flee from their homes and take refuge in the surrounding jungles. Tension still runs high in many parts of the state. But the sudden spurt of anti-Christian violence in Karnataka, which has until now spared the large-scale clash between Christians and Hindus, is causing major concern to the government in New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has despatched a fact-finding team, comprising members of the National Minorities Commission (NCM) and National Commission for Women (NCW). Junior home minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal also led a delegation to Bhubaneshwar, Orissa's state capital to get a first hand account of the situation.
JAISWAL: We have come to Bhuwaneshwar to conduct an on the spot assessment especially to find why the situation has so rapidly deteriorated. The delegation will go to the various places hit by violence.
KRISHNAN: The seeds for the current conflict were planted on August 23, when a Hindu leader, Laxmananda Saraswati, and four others were killed in the district of Kandhamal in Orissa after 20 to 30 gunmen barged into a Hindu school and began shooting. At the heart of the violence is anger among rightwing Hindu groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal over the issue of conversions to Christianity, especially among members of the Dalit and other "untouchable" classes. Vinod Bansal a spokesperson for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad says his organisation was not responsible for the violence but warned that it will escalate unless conversions stopped.
BANSAL: (We) had nothing to do with this violence. This violence is only a reaction of the community, there and then, to do with this large scale conversion, and the atrocities being imposed by these Christian missionaries. The violence can end only by apprehending the persons responsible in India. Unless you stop conversions in India, then this violence will recur in future also. Because this totally destabilise the country's national security, and the emotions of the countrymen.
KRISHNAN: In Orissa, fearful Christians have been forced to reconvert back to Hinduism to save themselves from being killed by the mobs, who have destroyed hundreds of churches and homes. Police said the violence in Karnataka was led by the right-wing Hindu Bajrang Dal organisation, and that attackers on motorcycles had gone to each church during prayers, sending worshippers fleeing for their lives. Father Babu Joseph of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India says the magnitude of violence this time was huge. He refused to name the outfits involved but said the Hindu groups were creating social unrest.
JOSEPH: This time the magnitude is much more than ever before. Particularly in Orissa, for about three weeks it has been going on and on, and nearly 50,000 people have lost their homes, and institutions have been destroyed, and unfortunately it has now also spread to Karnataka, particularly this area, where a lot of Christian population is there. The most unfortunate part is that some organisations representing, or allegedly representing Hindu community, are taking the law in their hands and trying to create social disturbances by targeting Christian community and Christian institutions.
KRISHNAN: Orissa has historically been a tinderbox of Hindu-Christian tensions that has often seen clashes between the two communities. In January 1999, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were killed when a mob set fire to the vehicle in which they were sleeping outside a church in Manoharpur, a tribal village in the Keonjhar district. Hindus account for 83 percent of India's more than 1 billion population, while Christians make up 2.4 percent. The fresh round of violence has led many in the Christian community to fear for their calm.
Murali Krishnan in New Delhi for Connect Asia.
==========================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
The Hindu
Unrest will only impede development: Buddhadeb
Marcus Dam
Friday, Jan 23, 2009
KOLKATA: “Lawlessness and unrest which some political parties are trying to incite in the State will only impede development and generation of employment opportunities. It is time to create jobs now; we have got to move ahead, there is no way back,” West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in Burdwan on Thursday.
Reiterating the need for greater industrialisation that will create additional jobs as well as for consolidating the gains achieved in the agricultural sector, he regretted that the Opposition in the State is trying to reverse the logic of all social development “from village to town, from agriculture to industry.”
“What sort of an Opposition are they, who neither understand the needs of the people nor the requirements of the country?” he asked.
Mr. Bhattacharjee was addressing the open session of the four-day 34th State conference of the Paschim Banga Pradeshik Krishak Sabha (the West Bengal unit of the peasants’ wing of the Communist Party of India [Marxist]).
The Chief Minister cautioned against the divisive forces that were at work in different parts of the State as well as those of communalism like the “Bharatiya Janata Party that is trying to rear its head like a cobra, thus imperilling the country.” Neither did he spare the Manmohan Singh government for its policies “which have resulted in spiralling costs of essential commodities” and its failure in the agricultural front “resulting in thousands of farmers, unable to cope with the distress, committing suicide.”
The global economic crisis was a reminder that “capitalism is not the solution to all problems.” But will “Barack Obama, who has now entered the White House and is the new U.S. President ever be able to admit so?” Mr. Bhattacharjee asked.
On industrialisation in the State, he said it is not a question of “the Trinamool Congress and we being at odds [on the issue]” but that of “the future of thousands of our youths. How can jobs be generated without more industries? That is why we are repeatedly telling the Opposition not to take the path of confrontation,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.
Despite the State’s success in the agricultural sector, “there is need to raise productivity to higher levels. But what is also imperative to ensure 100 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the entire rural population, more self-help women groups and school education for all children “for which the panchayats and the government will have to work together.”
=============================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Punjab unrest: Kashmir’s Amarnath pilgrimage deferred
May 26th, 2009 - 8:07 pm ICT by IANS
Srinagar, May 26 (IANS) The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine in Kashmir that was to begin June 7 has been postponed by a week due to the violent unrest in neighbouring Punjab and also because of heavy snowfall on the mountainous track to the temple, an official said Tuesday.
The two month long pilgrimage will now start June 15 and end Aug 5 this year, said the spokesperson of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the Hindu pilgrimage.
The decision to reschedule the pilgrimage came as situation in Punjab worsened following violence Monday over the killing of a religious leader in Vienna. Many trains were cancelled or deferred and curfew imposed at many places in the only Sikh majority state of India after violent protests there.
Hundreds of thousands of Hindus from all over India visit the cave shrine situated at an altitude of 4,175 meters.
The temple board official noted that the law and order situation in Punjab, particularly in regard to the mobilisation of free kitchens, has been an “unforeseen factor” for the deferment of the pilgrimage “particularly as dozens of trains have been cancelled or deferred”.
The track to the high altitude Amarnath shrine, which houses the ice stalagmite, an icon of Hindu lord Shiva, remains covered under snow, the official said.
Governor N.N. Vohra, who heads the temple trust, undertook an aerial survey Sunday to assess the situation on the two routes to the cave shrine and at the base camps.
Before the postponement decision was taken, board officials got inputs from concerned agencies about the status of track clearance on both the axis of Pahalgam and Baltal, said the spokesperson.
“Intermittent rains and fresh snowfall on the ridges, especially in the areas adjoining the holy cave, Panchtarni, Sheshnag and Mahagunas, has retarded the pace of snow melting this year,” the spokesperson said.
“Keeping in view an on-the-ground assessment of all the above aspects, the board has been left with no choice except to reschedule the yatra from June 7 to June 15.”
The SASB was at the centre of the Amarnath land row, which saw Hindu-majority Jammu ranged against the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley last year, over the allotment of forest land to the temple trust.
============================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Unrest continues in Rajasthan, following yesterday’s deaths
05/30/2007 12:24
INDIA
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – The situation Karauli close to Dausa, in Rajasthan 80 kilometres from Jaipur remains tense following yesterday’s police crackdown on protesters from Gujjar tribes, who had organised a sit in on the national Jaipur-Agra road. The area is now under army control while members of the government debate the incident; some are calling for an immediate investigation, others are down-playing it.
Unrest continues, despite the presence of thousands of men patrolling the important Jaipur-Agra road. In Dausa protesters continue to block streets and have set two police stations on fire. Streets have also been blocked and shops damaged in protests in other areas.
The Gujjar community is asking for ST or “Superior Tribe” status, which would give them access to public employment and a quota of places in State schools and collages. It is a tribe of nomads, spread throughout the Nation, which until now has been considered an inferior tribe. Yesterday in Karauli, police rushed a crowd of 30 thousand protesters after they refused to obey a dispersal order. Armed with batons and tear gas they eventually opened fire on the resistant crowd. Protesters reacted by attacking the police vehicles. Many raided the nearby police station in Sikandara, setting it on fire and killing two officers. Similar events occurred in Bundi, 250 kilometres from Jaipur, as well as clashes in Jaipur, Tonk, and Sawai Madhopur.
Only hour’s later State home minister Gulab Chand Kataria admitted that, “Six civilians and two policemen died in Dausa.” “Six villagers and one policeman died in Bundi. There is no information about the four policemen who were abducted by the crowd”.
The Gujjar claim that their rights are being ignored after the death of their leader Rajesh Pilot and that the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has reneged on what is often described as her 2003 Assembly poll promise to grant ST status to them. Already September 3rd last the Gujjar rose in protest, de-railing railway tracks in Hindaun, Karauli district. At the time a compromise was reached, by the government is accused of failing to follow through in their pledges.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata (Bjp) led state government appears divided. Its premier Raje speaks of unrest caused by an organised group and says “violations of the law will not be tolerated”. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bjp spokesman has described it as an “unfortunate incident” but has not condemned the police firing nor demanded a probe into it.
Instead BJP vice-president Sahib Singh Verma, “condemns the police for having opened fire” and has demanded “There should be a high-level inquiry” into events.
HK Dahmor, Chief administrator of Dausa, says that “the police tried to negotiate”. Police sources say they opened fire for self defence purposes and arrested over 300 people.
But tribal leader Avinash Badana told the television that the police opened fire on “defenceless demonstrators”. (NC)
================================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
India: Unrest Continues in Kashmir; Road Accident Deaths Soar
August 27th, 2008
Unrest continued into a third week in Kashmir in protests over a land use dispute that have grown into the largest demonstrations in the region in 20 years. Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew and killed five protesters who violated it Aug. 25. So far 28 people have been killed and more than 600 injured. In other news, deaths on India’s roads have soared in recent years as more vehicles squeeze onto the crowded streets, driving skills are seldom taught and traffic rules are rarely enforced. The World Bank estimates the mortality rate in India is 14 per 10,000 vehicles compared to less than two in developed countries. The situation is likely to get worse in the future as growing prosperity makes automobile ownership possible for millions more Indians. Tourists should leave the driving to local professionals.
==========================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Christian-Hindu Unrest leads to Violence in India
Posted by ReligiousLiberty.TV
September 19, 2008
A reader in India has alerted us to contemporary conflict between Hinduism and Christianity in India. Here are several news stories about this:
7 prayer halls in DK, Udupi & Chikmagalur face wrath
Thousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion…
Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged.
The district administration has clamped ban orders in these areas for three days, starting Sunday.
The places of worship which were attacked in Dakshina Kannada include Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery in Mangalore city, Christ Church at Kodikal near Mangalore, Believers Church of India at Puttur, Mahima Prathanalaya and Indian Pentecostal (both at Madanthyar in Belthangady taluk) and Bethesda Aradanalaya at Sullia.
The modus operandi of all the attacks was similar: a group of 20-25 persons barged into the prayer halls between 10 am and 10.30 am, damaged the furniture and desecrated the statues of Jesus Christ.
As news spread, Christians in Mangalore came onto the streets in large numbers and blocked roads till night. Union Minister Oscar Fernandes visited the protesters near Milagres in the evening.
Read more from the Deccan Herald - DH News Service Mangalore
==========================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
Hindu-Christian clashes intensify in India
Updated Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:36am AEST
Three churches near India's southern city of Bangalore have been ransacked by suspected Hindu extremists, despite a government crackdown on anti-Christian attacks. Police believe a right-wing Hindu group vandalised the churches, and have arrested their leader. More than two dozen churches have now been attacked in the southern state of Karnataka over the past week. It follows similar clashes in the eastern state of Orissa in which up to 20 people died. Karnataka's 2.5 million Christians say they're being targetted for opposing the violence in Orissa.
Presenter: Murali Krishnan
Speakers: Junior home minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal; Vinod Bansal a spokesperson for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad; Father Babu Joseph of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India
KRISHNAN: The wave of violence and destruction follows weeks of anti-Christian militancy in the eastern state of Orissa in which 20 people have been killed and thousands forced to flee from their homes and take refuge in the surrounding jungles. Tension still runs high in many parts of the state. But the sudden spurt of anti-Christian violence in Karnataka, which has until now spared the large-scale clash between Christians and Hindus, is causing major concern to the government in New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has despatched a fact-finding team, comprising members of the National Minorities Commission (NCM) and National Commission for Women (NCW). Junior home minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal also led a delegation to Bhubaneshwar, Orissa's state capital to get a first hand account of the situation.
JAISWAL: We have come to Bhuwaneshwar to conduct an on the spot assessment especially to find why the situation has so rapidly deteriorated. The delegation will go to the various places hit by violence.
KRISHNAN: The seeds for the current conflict were planted on August 23, when a Hindu leader, Laxmananda Saraswati, and four others were killed in the district of Kandhamal in Orissa after 20 to 30 gunmen barged into a Hindu school and began shooting. At the heart of the violence is anger among rightwing Hindu groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal over the issue of conversions to Christianity, especially among members of the Dalit and other "untouchable" classes. Vinod Bansal a spokesperson for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad says his organisation was not responsible for the violence but warned that it will escalate unless conversions stopped.
BANSAL: (We) had nothing to do with this violence. This violence is only a reaction of the community, there and then, to do with this large scale conversion, and the atrocities being imposed by these Christian missionaries. The violence can end only by apprehending the persons responsible in India. Unless you stop conversions in India, then this violence will recur in future also. Because this totally destabilise the country's national security, and the emotions of the countrymen.
KRISHNAN: In Orissa, fearful Christians have been forced to reconvert back to Hinduism to save themselves from being killed by the mobs, who have destroyed hundreds of churches and homes. Police said the violence in Karnataka was led by the right-wing Hindu Bajrang Dal organisation, and that attackers on motorcycles had gone to each church during prayers, sending worshippers fleeing for their lives. Father Babu Joseph of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India says the magnitude of violence this time was huge. He refused to name the outfits involved but said the Hindu groups were creating social unrest.
JOSEPH: This time the magnitude is much more than ever before. Particularly in Orissa, for about three weeks it has been going on and on, and nearly 50,000 people have lost their homes, and institutions have been destroyed, and unfortunately it has now also spread to Karnataka, particularly this area, where a lot of Christian population is there. The most unfortunate part is that some organisations representing, or allegedly representing Hindu community, are taking the law in their hands and trying to create social disturbances by targeting Christian community and Christian institutions.
KRISHNAN: Orissa has historically been a tinderbox of Hindu-Christian tensions that has often seen clashes between the two communities. In January 1999, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were killed when a mob set fire to the vehicle in which they were sleeping outside a church in Manoharpur, a tribal village in the Keonjhar district. Hindus account for 83 percent of India's more than 1 billion population, while Christians make up 2.4 percent. The fresh round of violence has led many in the Christian community to fear for their calm.
Murali Krishnan in New Delhi for Connect Asia.
==========================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act. (Title is link to article and video.)
The Hindu
Unrest will only impede development: Buddhadeb
Marcus Dam
Friday, Jan 23, 2009
KOLKATA: “Lawlessness and unrest which some political parties are trying to incite in the State will only impede development and generation of employment opportunities. It is time to create jobs now; we have got to move ahead, there is no way back,” West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said in Burdwan on Thursday.
Reiterating the need for greater industrialisation that will create additional jobs as well as for consolidating the gains achieved in the agricultural sector, he regretted that the Opposition in the State is trying to reverse the logic of all social development “from village to town, from agriculture to industry.”
“What sort of an Opposition are they, who neither understand the needs of the people nor the requirements of the country?” he asked.
Mr. Bhattacharjee was addressing the open session of the four-day 34th State conference of the Paschim Banga Pradeshik Krishak Sabha (the West Bengal unit of the peasants’ wing of the Communist Party of India [Marxist]).
The Chief Minister cautioned against the divisive forces that were at work in different parts of the State as well as those of communalism like the “Bharatiya Janata Party that is trying to rear its head like a cobra, thus imperilling the country.” Neither did he spare the Manmohan Singh government for its policies “which have resulted in spiralling costs of essential commodities” and its failure in the agricultural front “resulting in thousands of farmers, unable to cope with the distress, committing suicide.”
The global economic crisis was a reminder that “capitalism is not the solution to all problems.” But will “Barack Obama, who has now entered the White House and is the new U.S. President ever be able to admit so?” Mr. Bhattacharjee asked.
On industrialisation in the State, he said it is not a question of “the Trinamool Congress and we being at odds [on the issue]” but that of “the future of thousands of our youths. How can jobs be generated without more industries? That is why we are repeatedly telling the Opposition not to take the path of confrontation,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.
Despite the State’s success in the agricultural sector, “there is need to raise productivity to higher levels. But what is also imperative to ensure 100 days of work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for the entire rural population, more self-help women groups and school education for all children “for which the panchayats and the government will have to work together.”
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Punjab unrest: Kashmir’s Amarnath pilgrimage deferred
May 26th, 2009 - 8:07 pm ICT by IANS
Srinagar, May 26 (IANS) The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine in Kashmir that was to begin June 7 has been postponed by a week due to the violent unrest in neighbouring Punjab and also because of heavy snowfall on the mountainous track to the temple, an official said Tuesday.
The two month long pilgrimage will now start June 15 and end Aug 5 this year, said the spokesperson of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the Hindu pilgrimage.
The decision to reschedule the pilgrimage came as situation in Punjab worsened following violence Monday over the killing of a religious leader in Vienna. Many trains were cancelled or deferred and curfew imposed at many places in the only Sikh majority state of India after violent protests there.
Hundreds of thousands of Hindus from all over India visit the cave shrine situated at an altitude of 4,175 meters.
The temple board official noted that the law and order situation in Punjab, particularly in regard to the mobilisation of free kitchens, has been an “unforeseen factor” for the deferment of the pilgrimage “particularly as dozens of trains have been cancelled or deferred”.
The track to the high altitude Amarnath shrine, which houses the ice stalagmite, an icon of Hindu lord Shiva, remains covered under snow, the official said.
Governor N.N. Vohra, who heads the temple trust, undertook an aerial survey Sunday to assess the situation on the two routes to the cave shrine and at the base camps.
Before the postponement decision was taken, board officials got inputs from concerned agencies about the status of track clearance on both the axis of Pahalgam and Baltal, said the spokesperson.
“Intermittent rains and fresh snowfall on the ridges, especially in the areas adjoining the holy cave, Panchtarni, Sheshnag and Mahagunas, has retarded the pace of snow melting this year,” the spokesperson said.
“Keeping in view an on-the-ground assessment of all the above aspects, the board has been left with no choice except to reschedule the yatra from June 7 to June 15.”
The SASB was at the centre of the Amarnath land row, which saw Hindu-majority Jammu ranged against the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley last year, over the allotment of forest land to the temple trust.
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ETA: Thanks to the mods for adding this to the India superthread.
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Another update:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gD3sVE85XLy6KRT03UV33q0E_09Q
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gD3sVE85XLy6KRT03UV33q0E_09Q
