Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SIX HUNDRED EIGHTEEN
Palash Biswas
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Protest Snowballs; Govt Firm on Jaitapur N-plant
A petition was today filed in the Delhi High Court seeking removal of Anna Hazare from the drafting committee of Lokpal Bill alleging he was found guilty of corruption relating to the administration of a trust run by him. The PIL filed by an NGO, National Anti-corruption Public Power, alleged a judicial inquiry led by former Supreme Court Judge Justice P B Sawant held Hazare responsible for misappropriation of Rs two lakh from the Hind Swaraj trust run by him. I have been exposing the US Sponsered Pro Democratic Zionist Brahaminical Civil Society Movement. Anupam Kher did target DR Ambedkar and the Constitution drafted by him. Hazare and gang supported Kher. I had been in gandhidham Gujarat where I had to address a Public Meeting on Ambedkar jayanti. I was in the hotel as a Guhjarati Channel showed Clippings of the MOB breaking the head of Dr Ambedkar in RAJKOT. The greatest Hinderance to FREE Market and Economic Reforms in the EXCLUSIVE Economy happens to be Constitutional safeguards ensured by Dr Ambedkar and Ambedkarite Ideology itself. Hazare and his followers, mostly the Zionist Gandhians are trying to KILL Constitution and Dr Ambedkar. Joseph Leliweld has exposed the intimate relationship between Gandhi and Zionist Herman Kalenbakh! The root and base of Brahaminical Zionsit Global Order has to be traced back there!
RAJKOT: Normalcy has returned to Gandhi Vasahat area of the city which, on Ambedkar Jayanti, had witnessed communal clashes over desecration of a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar. However, police continued to maintain a strict vigil though no incident was reported on Sunday.
Sporadic incidents of violence continued to haunt the area after April 14. A house was set on fire on Friday night and some properties too were damaged. Police commissioner Geetha Johri and local politicians took out a peace march a few days ago even as combing in the sensitive area was intensified.
Responding to Anna Hazare's complaint against her "colleagues", Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday assured him that she does not support "politics of smear campaign" and she was strongly committed to the institution of Lokpal.
Writing to Hazare, the chairperson of National Advisory Council (NAC) said she believes there is "urgent necessity" to combat graft and corruption and he should not "doubt my commitment in the fight for probity in public life".
She pointed out that the Lokpal Bill is very much part of the agenda of the NAC and a working group has been formed to evolve broad principles for discussion and approval in the next meeting of the Council on April 28.
"As for the statements appearing in the media, let me assure you that I do not support nor encourage the politics of smear campaigns," Gandhi said in her letter to Hazare.
She was replying to Hazare's letter sent on Monday in which the social activist said a "smear" campaign had been launched against civil society members of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill and asked her to advise her "colleagues" not to try to derail the process of drafting of law.
He particularly complained against an unnamed minister, who is part of the 10-member joint drafting committee and a party general secretary, believed to be Digvijay Singh who has been attacking his campaign.
(Read: Congress steps up attack against civil society representatives)
"Let me reiterate what I wrote to you earlier, that I believe there is an urgent necessity to combat graft and corruption," Gandhi told Hazare.
"You should have no doubt of my commitment in the fight for probity in public life. I strongly support the institution of a Lokpal that is consistent with the practices and conventions of our parliamentary democracy," she wrote.
India's illicit financial flow is $462 billion: Book
New Delhi: Tax evasion, crime and corruption have combined to remove a staggering $462 billion from India, says a new book based partly on scholarly studies.
"From 1948 through 2008, India lost a total of $213 billion in illicit financial flows (illegal capital flight)," says the book, "The Darker Side of Black Money" (Konark Publishers), by B.V. Kumar.
A former highly regarded member of the Indian Revenue Service, Kumar in his book deals with organized crime, drug trafficking, economic crime, terrorism and money laundering, among other things.
"These illicit financial flows were generally the product of tax evasion, corruption, bribery and kickbacks, and criminal activities," the author said.
"The present value of India's total illicit financial flows is at least $462 billion."
India's aggregate illicit flows were even more than twice the current external debt of $230 billion, said the book, which will be released next week Monday. From 2004 to 2008, India lost assets at a rate of $19 billion a year.
"The total capital flight out of India represents approximately 16.6 percent of India's GDP as of year-end 2008.
"In present value terms, India lost an equivalent of about 36 percent of its 2008 GDP which represents a staggering loss of capital.
"Some 68 percent of India's aggregate illicit capital loss occurred after India's economic reforms in 1991, indicating that deregulation and trade liberalization actually contributed to/accelerated the transfer of illicit money abroad."
Kumar says that as economic reforms gathered momentum, some vested interests used it to amass wealth in the shortest possible time by resorting to "sharp practices".
"Controls and socialism were replaced by crony capitalism. In other words, the battle was between hard and diligent work resulting in sustained growth as against quick results obtained through corruption, manipulation and fraud.
"In fact, quite a few companies with an impeccable track record were compelled to cut corners and indulge in fraud to keep themselves in the black, in the flight of stuff competition faced from a legion of influential middlemen who would not hesitate to bend the rules with the sway of corruption."
The author says that corruption can have an adverse impact on the country's economic development "that can lead to dissatisfaction and disconnect amongst its population".
The author has sought legislation to punish corruption in the private sector.
"This is particularly necessary because of the corrupt practices indulged by the multi-national companies.
"A corrupt government and a clean private sector cannot coexist. Vice versa a clean government and a corrupt private sector cannot co-exist.
"In government, we expect accountability, which is not just a regime of punishments but a system of governance. Similarly, the private sector should have a code of corporate governance and a corporation philosophy for social commitment.
"When a public servant accepts an illegal gratification, he is charged for corruption and conduct unbecoming of a government servant.
"When a businessman or a corporation indulges in corruption, it is termed as business acumen resulting in profit... Time has now come to evolve a proper definition of 'corruption' so that these distinctions are removed."
Source: IANS
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Sensex spurts 349 pts on monsoon forecast, firm mkts
Mumbai: Across-the-board buying pushed up the BSE Sensex by 349 points on Wednesday to 19,470.98 on heavy capital inflows amid forecast of normal monsoon for this year and firm global markets.
Buying was so robust that all the 13 sectoral indices closed in the green as auto, IT, metal and banking segments made big gains.
Experts said investors chose to ignore a string of negatives like arrests of senior officials of telecom firms in 2G spectrum allocation scam, inflation and high oil prices.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed with upside gap at 19,274.21 and remained in the positive terrain throughout the session to settle at 19,470.98, a net rise of 349.15 points or 1.83 per cent over Tuesday's close.
Similarly, the NSE 50-issue Nifty spurted 110.90 points or 1.93 per cent to 5,851.65.
FIIs, the main market drivers, bought shares worth Rs 1693.19 crore as per the provisional figures, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) injected Rs 208.33 crore yesterday.
While monsoon forecast lifted investor sentiment, it was bolstered by Asian markets which recorded gains following a rebound on the Wall Street yesterday after strong results from tech bellwether Intel and other US firms.
Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan closed up between 0.29 per cent and 2.23 per cent. European markets too displayed a firm trend, tracking gains. The CAC was up by 2.02 per cent, the DAX by 2.26 per cent and the FTSE by 1.85 per cent.
"Good set of numbers declared by HCL tech and Yes Bank also aided the uptrend," said Shanu Goel, senior research analyst (equity) at Bonanza Portfolio.
He said the afternoon session witnessed a volatile movement, as market reacted adversely to 2G scam related news but that was quickly discounted and momentum gained strength as the session progressed.
Market sentiment is likely to be affected by TCS and Reliance results on Thursday, Goel added.
"It was an impressive trading session for the Indian stock market on Wednesday amid strong gains across global equity markets, especially in Europe," said Amar Ambani, Head of Research ( India Private Clients) - IIFL.
In addition, forecast of normal monsoon and strong export growth added to the cheer, Ambani added.
He said that as a result, the news of CBI court rejecting the bail pleas of top telecom honchos didn't make any major dent, barring a brief hiccup in the afternoon session.
Source: PTI
SBI withdraws teaser home loan scheme
Mumbai: Amid concerns expressed by the Reserve Bank, country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today announced withdrawal of special home loan schemes, or teaser rates, with effect from May 1.
SBI Easy Home Loan and SBI Advantage Home Loan (teaser rate products) will be replaced by floating interest rate schemes on par with other commercial banks.
Under the teaser home loan scheme, SBI was offering lower rate of interest of 8-8.5% for the first three years. It invited severe criticism from RBI, which had said the scheme could impact the asset quality of SBI's home loan portfolio.
The withdrawl of teaser rates comes within a month of the new chairman Pratip Chaudhuri taking charge at SBI.
The home loan from SBI will now attract an interest rate of 9.5% to 10.25% depending upon the loan amount, SBI said.
SBI has also launched the SBI Advantage Car loan Scheme, under which credit would be provided at 10.75% for a maximum period of 7 years.
Source: PTI
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Fresh allegations against Bhushans over Noida land allotment
CD row: Amar Singh hits out at Bhushans
In the continuing war of words with the Bhushans, Amar Singh on Wednesday dismissed the claim of eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan that the two have never met and that he had used his chartered aircraft to go to Lucknow for appearing in a case.
Addressing a press conference here, he said that he had participated in a lawyer-client conference in the Samajwadi Party case when some BSP MLAs had joined it in 2006, in which he had a role.
The party also paid the lawyer Rs 50 lakh to fight the anti-defection case.
Singh, who has been accused by Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant of being involved in fabricating a CD against them, the senior Bhushan, co-chair of the joint drafting committee to draft theLokpal Bill, had used his charted aircraft to reach Lucknow to contest the case in the bench of the Allahabad high court on February 28, 2006.
"I was part of the conference where we discussed the case...he appeared twice for the party against BSP," Singh said adding that the former law minister had demanded Rs 50 lakh for the case.
He said initially he was paid Rs 30 lakh in cash and the second instalment of Rs 20 lakh after Bhushan claimed that he needed Rs 25 lakh per appearance.
Singh claimed Bhushan was part of the 80 advocates hired by the SP to defend its case in the high court.
He said Bhushan would have filed income tax returns on the amount received by him and his claims can also be cross-checked from the Directorate General Civil Aviation.
Reacting to media reports that the Mayawati government had early this year allotted two plots of 10,000 sq metres each for farmhouse to Shanti Bhushan and his another son Jayant, Singh said the allotments were a result of Jayant appearing against Mayawati in the Noida statue park case.
When the son "poked" the state government, Noida Authority officials came rushing with the allotment letters. For the huge farmhouse worth crores of rupees they had to pay a mere Rs 35 lakh," Singh said.
He said he was ready to buy Shanti Bhushan's farmhouse for Rs 10 crore in "white money".
The former SP leader also criticised Bhushan for his reported remarks that though the allotment process of farmhouses lacked transparency, they would not go to the court as they were not an affected party.
"If your farmhouse allotment is okay, then why did you question allocation of a property to the son of (former Chief Justice of India) Y K Sabarwal. The allotment was done following proper procedures (by the then Mulayam Singh government)," he said.
He alleged that Bhushan had appeared in a case in the Allahabad high court in May, 2006 without the petitioner seeking his services. He claimed the petitioner had told the court that he had not hired Bhushan as he could not afford his charges.
"Then too, he had flown in a charted aircraft from New Delhi," Singh said refusing to elaborate.
On the issue of the controversial CD containing the purported conversation between Yadav, Bhushan and himself, he said he would file a contempt case against Bhushan and his son Prashant for playing the CD in public despite a Supreme Court stay.
He said he has sent copies for the CD to two laboratories in India and Sweden, the US and France for forensic tests.
The expelled SP leader also questioned the authenticity of the forensic test claimed to have been on the CD by a US-based expert at the instance of Prashant Bhushan.
"The US labs are closed on weekends. He held a press conference on Sunday last which means that he would have sent the CD there on Wednesday. Else, the report is forged which can be done by paying anything like USD 5,000," he alleged.
Congress steps up attack against civil society representatives
'Ambedkar was the architect of modern India'
HYDERABAD: The architect of modern India - this is an epithet usually given to Jawaharlal Nehru but it rightfully belongs to Dr BR Ambedkar, said Prof BL Mungekar, Member of Parliament (Rajyasabha).
Speaking on 'Dr Babasaheb Ambedker's contribution to the making of modern India' at the inaugural function of the Centre for Ambedkar Studies (CAS) in the University of Hyderabad (UoH), the MP said that Ambedkar had led millions of oppressed people to a life of self-respect, dignity and responsibility.He had always stressed on the importance of education for people's upliftment and it was he who was primarily responsible for the Constitution being adopted after India's independence, he said.
Ambedkar through his writings has moulded opinion and brought about a revolution in the Indian society by expressing his views on caste inequality, women's empowerment, social and political issues and labour class movements and thus has contributed a lot to the making of modern India.
Speaking about the new centre, Dr YK Ratnam, coordinator of CAS said, "Writings are a modest attempt to mirror the prevailing issues of the Indian society. Ambedkar's intellectual analysis and insights provide a valuable resource to students and researchers as well as those engaged in policy making." Prof Nancharaiah, dean of the school of social sciences said more funds would be brought forth to develop CAS in the 12th five year plan.
Acting university vice-chancellor, Prof V Kannan said that CAS will be a good resource centre for scholars who want to do their research on Ambedkar.
Prof I Ramabrahmam, head of the department of political scinece, academicians from Osmania University, Ambedkar Open University etc, research scholars and Dalit activists were also present.
3 Adag stocks, Unitech, DB Realty tumble
Apr 20 2011 , Mumbai
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While Sensex rallied 349 points to 19,470.98, shares of DB Realty, Unitech, Reliance Communications, Reliance MediaWorks and Reliance Broadcast Network lost 1 to 5 per cent.
However Reliance Power, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Capital — also part of Adag — ended marginally higher after going down over 2 per cent in intra-day trade. DB Realty and Unitech under-performed the BSE realty index, which gained nearly 1 per cent to 2363.36.
"Fundamentals of these companies have not changed much in recent times. The stocks mainly reacted to news flow. Some of these stocks may continue to under-perform the market till there is more clarity on the spectrum issue," said Gaurav Dua, research head at Sharekhan.
Earlier in the day, the CBI court rejected bail pleas of Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and three Adag officials Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
"It's a knee-jerk reaction and the fall was triggered by news flow with regard to the bail plea. The 2G spectrum issue has already been discounted in the prices. These shares may see some further downward movement in the near term," said Rajesh Agrawal, research head at Eastern Financiers.
Reliance Communications has underperformed its peers, falling nearly 29 per cent since January 3, while Bharti Airtel has risen nearly 6 per cent. Idea Cellular is down 3.5 per cent during the same period.
Shares of Unitech and DB Realty have tumbled 39 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively, during this period, while the BSE realty index has lost 18 per cent.
Parikshit Kandpal of Ambit Capital said "key decision makers in these companies not getting bail could hamper their future prospects. It may also lead to depressed financials for the companies if it leads to execution delays in ongoing projects and bankers avoid lending to them due to corporate governance issues."
Archana Shivane of KR Choksey Shares & Securities said, "The 2G scam and issues such as high debt will continue to affect share price of Reliance Communications. The stock may remain range-bound in the near term in absence of any positive trigger."
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Mayawati showers gifts on lawyers onAmbedkar's birth anniversary
Times of India - 5 days agoAddressing people after paying tributes to dalit icon Ambedkar, Mayawati said that her government has sanctioned Rs 610 crore for benefit of the lawyers in ...Citing Ambedkar, her love for law, Maya opens coffers - Indian Express
Mayawati did noting except erecting her statues: Congress - Hindustan Times
Noida park not ready, Mayawati celebratesAmbedkar Jayanti in Lucknow - Tehelka
iNewsOne - Expressindia.com
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Tension in city over desecration of Ambedkarstatue, one arrested
Times of India - Kulsum Yusuf - 5 days ago
RAJKOT: News about the desecration of Ambedkar's statue led to clashes between two groups at Rohidaspara on Thursday afternoon. However, the police brought ...Ambedkar statue pulled down, rioting in Rajkot - Daily News & Analysis
Protests after statue of Ambedkar found damaged -IBNLive.com
Ambedkar statue damaged, Rajkot tense - Indian Express
iNewsOne - The Day After
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Ambedkar Day in June for schools?
Times of India - 6 days agoMANGALORE: The government is all set to make the birth anniversary celebrations of BRAmbedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, compulsory in all ...Mangalore: Dr. Ambedkar's Birth Anniversary observed - Mangalorean.com
Ambedkar relics at Salar Jung museum -Express Buzz
Mangalore: City Celebrates Dr AmbedkarJayanti With Reverence - Daijiworld.com
isikkim - GroundReport
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Parliamentarians pay tributes toAmbedkar
The Hindu - 6 days agoPTI The Hindu President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and others pay floral tributes to Dr. Ambedkar on his 120th birth anniversary at the ...Tributes paid to Ambedkar in Central Hall of Parliament - Daily News & Analysis
President, VP lead nation in paying homage toAmbedkar - NetIndian
Nation pays homage to the Father of Indian Constitution, Dr ... - Press Information Bureau (press release)
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People remember Ambedkar's contributions to society
Times of India - 5 days agoVARANASI: Rich tributes were paid to Dr BR Ambedkar on the occasion of his 120th birth anniversary on Thursday. To commemorate the contributions of Ambedkar ...Ambedkar birth anniversary observed in K''taka - IBNLive.com
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'Pained that PM didn't vote'
Hindustan Times - 6 days ago
Using the occasion of BR Ambedkar's birth anniversary, Gujarat Chief Minister ... "Today, when we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, ...Narendra Modi takes on PM for not voting in Assam polls - NDTV.com
Narendra Modi 'pained' at PM not voting -indiablooms
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Remembering DR Ambedkar
Times of India - 5 days agoNAGPUR: "Thanks to the Constitution drafted by BabasahebAmbedkar, India has been able to safeguard its democracy while most nations in the neighbourhood ...51 Individuals, 10 Institutions Bag 'Dalit Mitra' Award - Outlook
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Durand Cup to kicks off from October 1
Times of India - 2 days agoPTI | Apr 18, 2011, 05.27pm IST NEW DELHI: The 124th edition of the prestigious Durand Cup is schedule to be held at theAmbedkar stadium from October 1 to ... -
Students rename themselves to mark AmbedkarJayanthi
Times of India - Neha Pushkarna - 5 days ago
I have now dropped my surname and took on Gandhi instead as Mahatma Gandhi was a symbol of truth and peace," said Naushad as he was happy to choose Ambedkar ...On Ambedkar Jayanti, many drop surnames, castes - Hindustan Times
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Chouhan wants Rajghat-type memorial forAmbedkar
Indian Express - 5 days agoMadhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday demanded a Rajghat-type memorial for BabasahebAmbedkar in Delhi and offered to bear the ...MP CM blames Centre for ''neglect'' of Ambedkar memorial -IBNLive.com
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Ambedkar's ideals remembered
Times of India - 5 days agoHe was speaking at a seminar on 'Contribution of Ambedkar in building Modern India' organised on the 120th birth anniversary of Ambedkar here on Thursday. ... -
Rallies, contests mark Ambedkar Jayanti
Times of India - 5 days agoHUBLI: The 120th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and the champion of dalits, was celebrated in a grand manner ...Cong Will Give Dalit PM to the Country One Day: Shastri -Outlook
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Book is about Gandhi's social values, vision: Lelyveld
Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/135957/20110419/book-on-gandhi-gandhi-biography-joseph-lelyveld-new-york-times-pulitzer-prize-winner-south-africa-ap.htm#ixzz1K5eq6r78
By Sujeet Rajan | April 19, 2011 9:41 AM EDT
NEW YORK: Brushing off a controversy surrounding his new biography of Mahatma Gandhi, author Joseph Lelyveld has said, more than anything else, the book is about the Indian independence leader's "social values" and "social vision."
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Sample"[Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India] is not a book about Gandhi's secret sex life," the former editor of the New York Times told Global India Newswire in a recent phone interview.
In some ways, the book is on the failure of the Gandhian values and vision in modern India, as reflected in the country's inability to combat poverty and inequality despite making huge economic strides in recent decades, he said speaking from his home in New York City.
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"[Although] poverty is being talked about in India a lot, the country's eye seems to be more on its emergence as an economic super power and less concerned with the paradox of an emerging economic super power tying along in a kind of caboose, perhaps, a third of the poorest people in the world," he added.
Two Indian states, Gujarat - Gandhi's home state - and Maharashtra have banned the book, alleging that it defamed the father of the nation. The book is scheduled to be released in India soon, though the date is yet to be finalized.
Most of the controversy surrounding the book focused on Lelyveld's depiction of Gandhi's relationship with Hermann Kallenbach, a German-born architect who was one of the Indian leader's closest friends during his time in South Africa.
Asked whether he thought Gandhi was bisexual, as many analyzed the book to be suggesting, Lelyveld said he did not think so. Gandhi, he pointed out, was "striving for a kind of sexlessness" and he wanted to go "beyond sex."
At the same time, the author said Gandhi had "a great love for Kallenbach," and he could see "why some people have played with the idea that" their relationship might have had "an erotic element." The writer said, "I conclude that it did not have an erotic element, that they were, in actual fact, one of the things that drew them together was their mutual effort to be celibate. If you read their letters, they are often about diet and the importance of diet in taming physical passion."
Some in India have argued that Lelyveld's biography paints Gandhi as a racist. But the author "Gandhi started with the idea that Indians deserve political equality because they were British Indians, citizens of the empire - therefore, beneficiaries of a proclamation by Queen Victoria after the mutinies," he said. "So he was seeking equality with whites on that basis, as part of the empire. That's where his politics begin in South Africa."
Lelyveld, who worked as a New York Times correspondent in both South Africa and India, said Gandhi had been in his mind since his time in South Africa. "He, in my mind, connected South Africa to India," he said. "[When] I stepped down as an editor of [The New York Times], I started thinking of things I might write about. And one of the thoughts I had was that I might write about Gandhi as a way of re-engaging myself with those two countries, which were my favorite assignments."
Lelyveld said it took him four years to research and write Great Soul. The New York-based writer termed "moral seriousness" and "fearlessness" as Gandhi's biggest strengths. "He really was striving to lead a virtuous life in politics and to change society," Lelyveld said. "He was a man of great courage and he communicated that courage to the movement and inspired it."
As a politician, Gandhi was not a great compromiser," according to Lelyveld, "because he had this thing of listening to his inner voice to decide what's really true, which made his conscience the sole arbiter of major political issues." For the same reason, Gandhi was a "difficult leader because he trusted followers but he wasn't heavily influenced by them," the biographer said.
Lelyveld said Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father - both born in Gujarat and lawyers trained in London - "should have understood each other better than they did." He said, "Jinnah was aloof, secular; Gandhi was religious and, in Jinnah's eyes, strange. Jinnah was a Congress party nationalist before Gandhi was. But when Gandhi took over the movement, Jinnah basically removed himself because he didn't like the use of religious symbolism in politics. Eventually, he used religious symbolism-although he was not a religious man-to assert himself as the leader of the Muslim League."
The fact that, at the time of his emergence as a the Congress leader, Gandhi had a Muslim ally in Maulana Mohammad Ali, who was a more influential figure than Jinnah during the period, meant "in a strange and possibly fatal way, Gandhi never had to seek an alliance with Jinnah until it was too late," Lelyveld said.
(Lelyveld was the executive editor of The New York Times from 1994 to 2001. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White, a book on apartheid. He has also written another critically acclaimed book, Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop.) (Global India Newswire).
Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/135957/20110419/book-on-gandhi-gandhi-biography-joseph-lelyveld-new-york-times-pulitzer-prize-winner-south-africa-ap.htm#ixzz1K5f5FiWE
'Gandhi-Kallenbach relationship homoerotic not homosexual'
Ashish Vashi, TNN | Apr 20, 2011, 01.46am IST
AHMEDABAD: Long before the controversy over Joseph Lelyveld's book on Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu's relations with Hermann Kallenbach were explored by a Gandhian scholar James D Hunt.
In 1995, Hunt's unpublished working paper 'The Kallenbach papers and Tolstoy farm' said the relationship was 'clearly homoerotic' and certainly not homosexual. This could well be a befitting answer to the row triggered by Lelyveld's book 'Great soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle with India', in which Lelyveld has hinted that Gandhi was a bisexual and had a German-Jewish bodybuilder lover in Kallenbach.
Lelyveld calls the association as 'the most intimate, also ambiguous, relationship of his lifetime'. Hunt's paper was presented before the Association for Asian Studies meeting in Washington. The same description was used by Australian scholar Thomas Weber in his book 'Gandhi as disciple and mentor'. He also wrote about this relationship giving the footnote of James D Hunt. Weber wrote, "From 1909, Gandhi and Kallenbach addressed each other as upper house and lower house respectively. Gandhi terms Kallenbach's letters as 'charming love notes', and Kallenbach refers to Kasturba as 'mother'. After 1910, Gandhi signs his letters to Kallenbach 'with love' and at times refers to them as being 'one soul two bodies'. Hunt asserts that the relationship was 'clearly homoerotic' while certainly not homosexual. The love relationship also contained a lot of humour while, in keeping with the addresses used by Gandhi and Kallenbach for each other, demonstrating who was the senior and junior partner."
In an interview, Lelyveld also referred to Hunt's unpublished paper saying, "One respected Gandhi scholar characterized the relationship as 'clearly homoerotic' rather than homosexual, intending through that choice of words to describe a strong mutual attraction, nothing more."
The recent book is in the same vein as the previous researches by Hunt and Weber. "They found the male bonding of Indian society quite homoerotic. They failed to understand or grasp the culture of this subcontinent," said a city-based Gandhian. In same book, Thomas Weber also noted Kallenbach's letter to brother Simon. There, after meeting Gandhi, Kallenbach wrote, "I have given up my sex life. I believe that I have gained in character strength, mental vitality and physical development."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gandhi-Kallenbach-relationship-homoerotic-not-homosexual/articleshow/8032349.cms
Chetan Bhagat praises Hazare, Modi
Rajkot: Best-selling novelist Chetan Bhagat on Wednesday praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his developmental work and Anna Hazare for launching a campaign for Lokpal Bill describing the social activist as a "youth icon".
Talking to reporters, Bhagat termed Hazare as a "youth icon" and said age was immaterial in such cases.
Bhagat said Hazare was very honest and had a strong will-power. His campaign for Lokpal Bill certainly inspired the youth, he added.
But he also said the Lokpal Bill may not be able to eradicate corruption completely.
Bhagat also said Gujarat should be a role-model for other states.
He said that when agricultural growth rate in the country was hardly around 4 per cent, it was 10 per cent in Gujarat because of Modi's "firmness" about development.
Bhagat said youth of the country wanted action and had no interest in political debates and these two leaders "believe in action".
A few days ago, Bhagat had appealed to Modi to switch to the national political stage.
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Chetan Bhagat praises Hazare, Modi
Bhagat termed Hazare as a 'youth icon' and said age was immaterial in such cases.23:16 PM, Apr 20, 2011
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/chetan-bhagat-praises-hazare-modi/149775-3.html
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New Book Raises Question: Was Gandhi Gay? -India Real Time - WSJ
It's not often a book on Gandhi has suggested that he might have been gay, ... Joseph Lelyveld "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India," ...
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Outrage over reviews of new Gandhi book - Times Of India
29 Mar 2011 ... When reviews of Pulitzer prize winner JosephLelyveld's "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India" hit the newspapers in ...
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Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India. Joseph Lelyveld ... The book tries to recenter one's understanding of Gandhi away from the themes of ...
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Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India is a 2011 biography of ... Lelyveld's book, he writes, will be revelatory to American readers who may ...
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Book Review - Great Soul - Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With ...
24 Mar 2011 ... Joseph Lelyveld's vivid, nuanced and cleareyed study of Mahatma Gandhi focuses on his role as a social reformer, in both South Africa and in ...
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Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India « Asian Window
In this context, Joseph Lelyveld's judicious and thoughtful newbook, "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India," seems almost eccentric, ...
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Gandhi Book Banned
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B. R. Ambedkar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- 2 visits - 16/04/10Bharat Ratna Bodhisatva Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, Buddhist activist, philosopher, thinker, ...
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Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Open University -Education At Your Doorstep
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'Ambedkar was the architect of modern India'
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Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Biography - B. R. AmbedkarLife & Profile
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International Business Times'Gandhi-Kallenbach relationship homoerotic not homosexual'
22 hours agoHe also wrote about this relationship giving the footnote of James D Hunt. Weber wrote, "From 1909,Gandhi and Kallenbach addressed each other as upper ...Times of India - 12 related articles -
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1 post - Last post: 10 hours agoHe also wrote about this relationship giving the footnote of James D Hunt. Weber wrote, "From 1909, Gandhi andKallenbach addressed each ...
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Gandhi-Kallenbach relationship homoerotic not homosexual - The ...
20 Apr 2011 ... He also wrote about this relationship giving the footnote of James D Hunt. Weber wrote, "From 1909, Gandhiand Kallenbach addressed each ...
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9 Apr 2011 ... Great Soul, Joseph Lelyveld's recent biography about Mohandas K. Gandhi, explores his intimate relationshipwith Hermann Kallenbach, ...
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20 Apr 2011 ... 'Gandhi-Kallenbach not erotic gay homosexualrelationship' Ahmedabad: Long before the controversy over the book by Joseph Lelyveld on ...
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'Gandhi-Kallenbach relationship homoerotic not homosexual' - The ...
Is loving relationship between two men always homosexual or homoerotic? When Kallenbach describes Kasturba as 'mother' and Gandhi signs his letters to ...
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Great Soul, Joseph... | Facebook
Mr Lelyveld, a journalist, quotes another Gandhi scholar characterising the Gandhi-Kallenbach relationship as "'clearly homoerotic' rather than homosexual'" ...
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'Gandhi-Kallenbach relationship homoerotic not homosexual ...
19 Apr 2011 ... AHMEDABAD: Long before the controversy over Joseph Lelyveld's book on Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu's relations with Hermann Kallenbach were explored ...
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The petition said Justice Sawant had, in his report, concluded that "there had indeed been misappropriation of Rs 2 lakh from the Hind Swaraj trust amounting to corruption - to celebrate Anna's birthday in his village Ralegaon-Siddhi".
"After detailed inquiry, the Commission had in its report submitted in 2005 specifically given its finding that Hazare was guilty of corrupt practices (involving misadministration of one of his trusts)," the NGO alleged.
According to the petition, the "Commission's report says that some of the workers of Hazare's Bhrastachar Virodhi Janandolan Trust were abusing the platform for anti social activities such as extortion of money and blackmailing (by threatening to expose corruption through use of RTI)"
The Commission was set-up in 2003 to inquire into allegations levelled by Anna Hazare against certain ministers, which, after allegations by one Sureshdada Jain had to inquire against Hazare's trust's and NGO's as well.
"Apart from the Commission's report, the petitioner claims to have obtained "certified information from relevant department that one of the trusts (Hind Swaraj Trust) of Anna Hazare is un-registered but he has shown it to be as registered long back and has been receiving money illegally," claims the NGO president Hemant Baburao Patil.
The petition also claims Hazare was once prosecuted and sent to jail by a minister in a defamation case though he was released within one day.
However, no details of the case has been given in the petition.
Meanwhile, India Inc has favoured the country setting up a sovereign wealth fund to service the needs of fast growing economy, especially the infrastructure sector, says a survey.
A majority of the respondents surveyed pegged the size of sovereign wealth fund (SWF) at USD 50 billion, the survey by industry body Assocham said, adding that the fund structure should be based on a public-private-partnership model.
Over 80 per cent said that it may be used to acquire assets globally for India's long-term energy and resource needs.
About 95 per cent respondents said the sectors to be benefited from acquisitions made by SWF will pertain to oil and gas, coal and infrastructure.
"With the current growth, India will need to secure its energy needs of the future," it added.
It said that India is the only BRIC nation that does not have a SWF.
"China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Kuwait and Russia are among top countries that have large wealth funds to make investments abroad," it added.
It said that SWFs are becoming increasingly important in the international monetary and financial system.
"The sectors to be benefited from acquisitions made by SWF will pertain to oil and gas, coal and infrastructure," it added.
Those contacted while conducting the study include leading organisations and groups like HDFC , HSBC , PNB, Religare , Mahindra & Mahindra and IIFCL , besides corporates like Larsen & Toubro, Tata Services , Essar Group and Adani Group .
Government website has incomplete map of India
New Delhi: A government website, in one of its pages mapping the country's police wireless communication network, shows a distorted map of India, cutting off parts of Jammu and Kashmir that New Delhi claims are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan and China.
The map on website of the Directorate of Coordination PoliceWireless -- https www.dcpw.nic.in -- could be the copy of the CIA India Map that had earlier stirred a controversy over Indian territory.
The northern Areas of Kashmir, also called Gilgit Baltistan, and Aksai Chin are not included in the map. Gilgit-Baltistan was militarily occupied by Pakistan in 1948 and China gained control of Aksai Chin, towards east of Ladakh, in the 1962 war.
The department, under the ministry of home affairs, is responsible for establishing the police telecommunication network in the country and also maintaining coordination.
It has been entrusted with the responsibility of setting up an integrated police wireless network in the country, called POLNET, to create a direct link between all police stations for online crime and criminal information systems.
It also advises the ministry on all telecommunication matters. The department has created a network of 27 inter-state police wireless stations.
Source: IANS
Mamata's fantasies for Bengal
TMC promises golden age; will make Kolkata like London, ports like Singapore, Darjeeling like Switzerland, Digha like Goa!
If Karl Marx wrote the 'Communist Manifesto', Mamata Banerjee has just written the 'Anti-Communist Manifesto'.
The grand vision statement for West Bengal released recently, her party Trinamool Congress' manifesto, is a bevy of promises of a 'counter revolution' against the "oppressive, exploitative and authoritarian party-Cadre misrule" of the Left, mainly the CPI(M).
The 'Vision Statement" is a please-all document with a plethora of seemingly grandiose schemes for the usual suspects - farmers, minorities, workers - with one 'minor' omission. It is absolutely silent how this "revolution" is to be achieved.
Plus, what must be worrying the voters going to the polls is her exalted track record of being high on promises and dismal in delivery.
Sample these potential 'revolutions' from Mamata:
"The next revolution in manufacturing in the country should be led by West Bengal".
"(We will) set up an industrial hub in each district".
"(Our) basic industrial strategy is to create massive employment through development of the manufacturing sector".
"(We) will endeavour to convert Darjeeling and adjoining Alipore Dooars area into Switzerland of the East and Digha into Goa of the East Coast".
"All India Trinamool Congress' job is to benchmark Kolkata with the best cities in the world. Why should Kolkata not be comparable to London?"
"(We will) prepare a vision document to make Kolkata a national and international financial hub".
"(We will) restart (the) Kolkata Stock Exchange".
"(We will) develop an action plan to enhance infrastructure available at the Kolkata, Haldia and Sagar ports and to make these world class facilities matching Singapore and Hong Kong".
Without a doubt, laudable objectives. But what was the Tata Nano factory in Singur trying to do?
Exactly what Ms Bannerjee promises to do - create massive employment through the setting-up of a manufacturing facility which promised turn that area into a mini auto-city, with a total investment of almost Rs 2,000 cr.
Yet, who created the conditions for violence at Singur, even encouraged it, to drive the Tatas out of West Bengal?
Why would the voters of West Bengal think that she would deliver on any of these grandiose and pious ambitions, given her dubious track-record.
Take her stint as the Union Railway Minister, for instance. Under her, Indian Railways is on the verge of bankruptcy reeling under a net deficit of about Rs 2,500 cr. Freight, the real revenue earner for the railways dropped by a whopping Rs 700 cr in the last financial year.
In her first budget as the railway minister, she announced the laying of 1,000 km of new railway lines every year, she has not even delivered 100 km. She has mostly been an absentee minister with reports of files piling up for her attention at Rail Bhawan. She has used the Railways as her fiefdom to seemingly distribute largesses to the state of West Bengal without a concern for the viability for institution or the integrity of her office.
Exactly what she denounces the Left for doing - doling out patronage and goodies to the party cadre and sympathisers; without regard to the integrity of finances of the state, or the interest of the exchequer.
Will a stint as the Chief Minister of West Bengal be any different? An overwhelming majority of MSN readers do not think so.
Asked in an online poll, if they think "Mamata Banerjee will prove to be better for Bengal than the Left?", 65 per cent or 10, 781 MSN readers, "No, she is only hype, as her poor record at railway ministry shows".
Only 29 per cent or 4,853 voters out of a total said, "Yes, she is people-oriented and will bring development" to the state. Six per cent or 931 voters said that they did not have an opinion either way.
This, of course, does not hold a brief for the efficacy of more than three decades of Left Front rule in Bengal. In most parameters, West Bengal, which was once one of the foremost states in India, has become a basket case.
A sampling of the data on the state's development index would bring home the case.
In 1975-76, share of manufacturing in West Bengal's economy was 19 percent. In 2008-09, it has fallen to an abysmal 7.4 percent. In roughly the same period, Gujarat's had moved up to 29.6 per cent.
Agriculture plummeted from a growth of 17.3 percent during 1966-76 to a worrying 7.8 percent during 2001-07.
Kolkata airport is least developed among the metros. In 2008-09, total aircraft movements at Mumbai airport was 2,27,694, at Delhi 2,17,391, and 115,911 at Chennai. Kolkata airport brought up the rear with only 81831 aircraft movements in 2008-09.
Shockingly, West Bengal is ranked 32nd (out of the 35 states and UTs in India) in education in the country, with an Educational Development Index (EDI) value of 0.494 in 2008-09.
However, the point is if Mamata Banerjee's stint as the CM be any different; make a change; and be faithful to the unquestionable genius of the people of Bengal.
The record says no. Will CM Bannerjee prove us wrong?
Source: India Syndicate
Bhushans on the defensive; Amar Singh lashes out
Land not allotted through discretionary quota, say Bhushans; Shanti Bhushan demands apology from Digvijay; Amar Singh hits out at the Bhushans for declaring they have no contact with him
New Delhi: Calling it a "malicious campaign" by corrupt people, Lokpal bill joint committee co-chair Shanti Bhushan Wednesday denied that he and his lawyer son Jayant Bhushan had taken two plots in Noida from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's discretionary quota.
Bhushan said the report in a national daily that the family got plots in Noida at below cost prices was "false". The Bhushans have also said they would file a defamation case against the newspaper that reported that Shanti and Jayant Bhushan got two 10,000 sq metre plots "for a song".
"The report in the Indian Express this morning mischievously suggests that Jayant Bhushan and I have taken two farm plots from Mayawati from her discretionary quota.
"These are not allotment from any discretionary quota. To suggest that the allotment has been obtained from any discretionary quota is totally false and misleading," Bhushan said in statement here.
Giving procedural details of the allotment, Bhushan said: "So far, possession has not been delivered, nor the lease deal executed. It is only after the plot has been made approachable by construction of roads that possession would be delivered and lease executed.
"We also expected that if the number of applicants was more than the number of plots planned, there would be a draw of lots and we were surprised when an intimation in January 2010 was received that without any draw of lots a plot was being offered to us.
"We assumed that probably fewer persons might have applied for the plots than the number of plots planned by the NOIDA authority and therefore all applicants might have been offered plots."
Bhushan said if there had been any arbitrariness, the allotments should be cancelled.
Refuting the allegation of favours from Mayawati, Bhushan said: "It is also to be noted that both myself and my son Jayant Bhushan have been fighting cases against Mayawati in courts and the question of obtaining favours from her or her government does not arise at all.
"Jayant was fighting the case against the Mayawati government on the Mayawati statues along the Noida bird sanctuary. I and Prashant Bhushan have been regularly appearing in PILs against Mayawati in the Taj corridor case even as recently as last week. These cases are still continuing," he added.
His son Jayant added that the allegations were "just continuation of attempts to tarnish the reputation of my father and my brother who are members of the joint-committee to draft the Lokpal bill".
Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant, who is also a member of the panel to form a law to fight corruption, have come under attack since the formation of the 10-member committee to draft the Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill.
Vikas Singh, the lawyer who has challenged the allotment of the Noida land in the Allahabad High Court, said he had not taken the name of the Bhushans.
"My petition doesn't mention their name. I got an allotment, and I felt the allotment was only to people who were raising corruption issues in UP. So I filed a petition against it," Vikas Singh told television channels.
Defending the Bhushans, activist and former Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi said the Bhushan family had got land through fair means.
"The government issued a scheme, they applied for it, anybody can apply, they applied. If the matter is before the court and the court scraps it, they say let it be scrapped, so what is the issue then?" Bedi, who was part of the movement led by Anna Hazare that prompted the joint panel to draft a more stringent law against corruption, said.
Activist Swami Agnivesh said there would be no change in the committee.
"The more they try to divide us, more we will stay put. We will galvanise the people's movement against corruption and will stay together, come what may," Agnivesh said.
Shanti Bhushan has been in the news for the circulation of a CD, which has a man purportedly meant to be the veteran lawyer telling Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former party general secretary Amar Singh that a judge could be "fixed" for Rs.4 crore.
Shanti Bhushan demands apology from Digvijay
Former law minister Shanti Bhushan Wednesday served a legal notice on Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh demanding a public apology for alleging that he had undervalued a property in Allahabad and not paid adequate stamp duty on it.
Bhushan, a senior Supreme Court counsel and a co-chair of the joint committee for drafting anti-graft Lokpal Bill, sought the apology through a defamation notice served on Singh, a copy of which has been sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The notice for defamation, served through advocate Kamini Jaiswal, said that Singh had given an interview to journalist Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate programme and had cast aspersions on the integrity of Bhushan.
"In this show you cast an aspersion on the integrity of my client and also suggested that my client had undervalued the property which he had purchased in Allahabad and also not paid adequate stamp duty on it. You also said this raised serious question marks about his not being a suitable person to be on the committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill to fight corruption," the notice says.
It said that Singh during an interview to NDTV April 15 stated that Bhushan pressurised the owner of the property in Allahbad to sell it to him at an undervalued price and also cheated the revenue department by not paying the correct stamp duty.
"You have further said that the government has sent a notice to my client demanding stamp duty of more than Rs.1 crore. All your above statements are false and highly damaging to my client's reputation," the notice said.
The notice said that Bhushan's conduct in the case of purchase of property had been exemplary and in accordance with law.It also says that Singh's statements amount to defamation, both civil and criminal, under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code punishable under Section 500 with imprisonment of up to two years.
"You are, therefore, called upon to immediately publicly apologise for the incorrect allegations made by you against my client, failing which we will be constrained to take proceedings against you both civil and criminal in appropriate courts of law at your risk and cost," the notice said.
Amar Singh hits out at Bhushans
Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh Wednesday hit out at Lokpal bill drafting committee co-chairman Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan for declaring that they had no contacts with him.
Addressing a press conference here Wednesday, Amar Singh said: "Shanti Bhushan (who is 85 years old) does not remember many things because of his age." Amar Singh said the Samajwadi Party had chartered an aircraft for Bhushan to plead a case for the party in Lucknow.
"We gave him initially Rs.30 lakh. But he asked for more and took Rs.50 lakh in total," he said. Amar Singh said he hoped "Bhushan had mentioned the fees of Rs.50 lakh in his tax returns".
Singh was commenting on Bhushan's recent remarks that he had not been in touch with Amar Singh. The Bhushans and Amar Singh have been engaged in an allegations war for the past few days with a controversial CD being circulated.
The CD has alleged conversations among Shanti Bhushan, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh. Bhushan is alleged to have promised Mulayam Singh Yadav "to fix a judge for a price".
The CD, part of a case against Amar Singh pending in the Supreme Court, was submitted to a Delhi Police station by Amar Singh. The estranged SP leader said that Wednesday's news reports of the father-son duo being allotted farmhouse plots in Noida at below market prices should also be probed.
Taking a dig at the civil society movement against corruption led by Anna Hazare, Amar Singh said it could be a "front" of BJP, citing Hazare's praise for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Pointing out that Hazare had appreciated the work of Modi and Bihar's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Singh said: "I hope that in the name of civil society, this movement is not a front for BJP."
The BJP had criticised the Congress for launching a witch-hunt against the father-son lawyer duo
Source: IANS
2G scam: Five corporate executives move HC for bail
New Delhi: Hours after they were arrested in 2G case and taken to Tihar Jail, five corporate executives, named as accused by the CBI in the 2G scam, on Wednesday moved the Delhi high court, challenging the trial court's refusal to grant them bail.
The bail applications of Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd managing director Sanjay Chandra, and three top officials of Reliance ADA Group -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair -- were mentioned before a bench of justices Vikramajit Sen and Siddharth Mridul.
The bench decided to take up their appeal against the grant of bail on Thursday. Senior advocates K T S Tulsi and N K Kaul mentioned the bail applications on behalf of the five accused.
Earlier, special judge O P Saini rejected the bail pleas of the five corporate honchos and directed that they be sent to judicial custody.
The court had on April 15 reserved its order on the bail applications of Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd managing director Sanjay Chandra, and three top officials of Reliance ADA Group -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.
The court concurred with the CBI which apprehended that the accused may tamper with the evidence "by trying to win over witnesses and they may also flee from justice in view of the magnitude of the offence."
"These apprehensions cannot be dismissed as too far-fetched at this stage in light of the serious nature of the case..., In my considered opinion, it is not a fit case for bail," Saini said.
The five top corporate leaders, who had appeared after being named in the first charge sheet in the case, were not arrested by the CBI during the probe.
On the plea of defence counsel that the accused be granted bail as they were not arrested during the probe, the court, in its 42-page order, said that the bail can be denied if the crime is of "high magnitude".
"I am satisfied that in a case of this magnitude, non-arrest of the accused by the police is of no consequence and bail is to be considered as per the facts and circumstances of the case," the special judge, who has been appointed exclusively to deal with the 2G case, said.
2G scam: Bail denied, 5 corporate honchos face jail
Court rejects bail pleas; Reliance, Unitech and DB Group executives are being sent to judicial custody
New Delhi: A special city court Wednesday denied bail to five corporate executives named as co-accused in the case involving the award of second generation (2G) telecom spectrum during the tenure of former communications minister A. Raja. All the five have been sent to judicial custody.
Judge O.P. Saini dismissed the bail pleas of Swan Telecom Director Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd Managing Director Sanjay Chandra and three officials of Reliance Anil Dhirubhani Ambani Group -- Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had named them co-accused along with Raja, his personal assistant R.K. Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa.
These four are already in judicial custody. The five were not arrested during the probe into the case.
The court did not allow the bail plea of ailing Surendra Pipara even though Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit had not opposed his application.
The court asked the corporate honchos to remain present during the proceedings today.
The judge had reserved his order Friday after hearing the arguments of all sides, including that of Supreme Court appointed prosecutor U.U. Lalit who appeared for the premier investigative agency and opposed the bail pleas.
The CBI has opposed the bail of all the five accused who are not in custody, including Reliance executives.
The defence lawyers of the accused argued that since the CBI didn't feel the need to arrest them during the investigations, they shouldn't be taken into custody even now.
However, the CBI counsel argued that they could tamper with evidence.
Source: Agencies
PSLV rocket blasts off with three satellites
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh): India Wednesday successfully launched the advanced earth observation satellite Resourcesat-2, a move aimed at beefing up its remote sensing capability, and two smaller satellites on the PSLV rocket from its spaceport here.
On a bright morning around 10.15 a.m., the Indian Space Research Organisation's Rs.90 crore rocket - the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) - soared towards the heavens to place in orbit Resourcesat-2.
Built to last for five years, the Rs.140 crore crore Resourcesat-2 will augment ISRO's remote sensing data services. It will replace Resourcesat-1 sent up in 2003.
Resourcesat-2 was originally scheduled for a January launch but got postponed to February and then to April.
Apart from carrying three sophisticated cameras, the satellite also carries additional equipment called AIS (Automatic Information System) from COMDEV, Canada, for the surveillance of ships in the VHF band to derive their position and speed, among others.
"With the launch of Resourcesat-2, ISRO will have 10 remote sensing satellites in orbit- Resourcesat 1, TES, Cartosat 1, 2, 2A and 2B, IMS-1, RISAT-2, Oceansat-2," S. Satish, ISRO's director (Publications and Public Relations), told IANS.
With the largest civilian remote sensing satellite constellation in the world, India is a global leader earning a sizeable amount vending imageries in a variety of spatial resolutions, spectral bands and swaths.
Source: IANS
Pak's new nuke missile aimed at India's 'Cold Start'
Islamabad: Pakistan's new short-range nuclear-capable Hatf-9 missile is primarily aimed at deterring India's Cold Start military doctrine that envisages quick thrusts by small integrated battle groups in the event of hostilities, experts and analysts here have claimed.
The Hatf-9 or Nasr, described as a missile with a range of 60 km and designed to carry "nuclear warheads of appropriate yield with high accuracy", was tested for the first time at an undisclosed location yesterday.
The missile will be deployed with a mobile multi-barrel launch system that has "shoot and scoot attributes", or the ability to fire at a target and immediately relocate to another position to avoid enemy counter-fire.
The new system is primarily aimed at deterring India's Cold Start doctrine, for which the Indian army has created integrated battle groups comprising infantry and mechanised elements that could be quickly mobilised and used for launching rapid thrusts into Pakistani territory in the event of hostilities, claimed an analyst who did not want to be named.
The Hatf-9 missile system is a tactical nuclear weapons and "low-yield battlefield deterrent" capable of inflicting damage on mechanised forces such as armed brigades and divisions, military sources told The Express Tribune newspaper.
With the development of the Hatf-9's shoot and scoot capability, "Indian planners will now be deterred from considering options of limited war", the military sources said.
The Pakistani military had formulated its "new war fighting concept" in response to India's Cold Start doctrine, the Dawn newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying.
The development of the Hatf-9 is also being seen as a major achievement in terms of miniaturisation of nuclear warheads, the daily reported.
Another analyst, who did not want to be named, told PTI that weapons like the Hatf-9 missile will limit the space for "limited war under a nuclear umbrella".
However, the analyst noted that the military may have to use such a system within Pakistani territory in the event of an Indian thrust and this could have adverse consequences, such as nuclear fallout or the radiation hazard from an atomic blast.
Pakistan tests N-capable Nasr missile
Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test-fired a newly developed short-range, surface-to-surface nuclear capable missile, the army said. Nasr, a ballistic missile of Hatf series, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead can hit targets up to 60 km, reported Geo News.
"This quick response system addresses the need to deter evolving threats," Xinhua quoted the Pakistani army as saying. Pakistan in February successfully tested a nuclear-capable cruise missile, Hatf-VII, with a range of up to 600 km.
It has been developing an arsenal of missiles and in December tested the medium-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile Hatf V, which has a range of 1,300 km.
Pakistan and India, which have fought three wars since their partition in 1947, regularly test-fire missiles to display each other's capability.
India's missile family comprises of the strategic Agni ballistic missile, the tactical Prithvi ballistic missile, the Akash and Trishul surface-to-air missiles, and the Nag anti-tank guided missile and their variants. Besides, it also has the BrahMos cruise missile jointly developed with Russia.
Pakistan's missile repertory includes Hatf ballistic missiles and its variants, Ghaznavi short-range ballistic missile, Ghauri and Shaheen medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles, Babur cruise missiles and Baktar-Shikan anti-tank guided missile, most of which have been developed with China's help.
Source: PTI & IANS
Sharad Pawar's nephew in trouble over land allotment
Mumbai: Trouble appears to be brewing for Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar following allegations that he misused his official position to allot land to a company in which he holds shares.
According to a TV news channel report based on investigations carried by it, the company, AG Mercantile, one of whose directors is Vinod Goenka, an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, was given three acres of land at Karjat in adjoining Raigad district, for tourism development.
The channel claimed Ajit Pawar holds 8,800 shares in the company.
It was agreed that AG Mercantile would help strengthen the Bhilavli dam in the area and was given the land for the services rendered, it said. AG Mercantile was given a contract to repair the dam in 2007 when Ajit Pawar, a nephew of the NCP chief Sharad Pawar, was irrigation minister, the channel said.
The revelations come days after Sharad Pawar denied any links with 2G spectrum scam accused Shahid Balwa, Goenka's business partner. The NCP boss, however, had said Vinod Goenka's father was known to him.
While Ajit Pawar declined to comment on the claimed expose, an NCP spokesperson said only the deputy chief minister would be alone to respond to the accusations.
Source: PTI
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Govt plans Rs 1.09 lakh cr investment in 13 major ports
The government is looking at an investment of over Rs one lakh crore in 13 major ports, majority of which will come from the private sector , to expand their capacity by 767.15 million tonnes (MT) in the next 10 years.
"We have identified 352 projects for major ports to increase their capacity by 767 MT. This will entail Rs 1.09 lakh crore investment of which Rs 72,878 crore have been estimated to come from the private sector," a Shipping Ministry official told PTI.
The major ports capacity was recorded at 616.73 MT on March 31, 2010.
Balance Rs 36,571 crore be would be funded through internal resources and the budgetary support, he said.
The proposed investment is in addition to 72 ongoing projects with a total cost of Rs 18,493 crore to generate a capacity of 143 MT.
India at present has 13 major ports - Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Kolkata (with Haldia), Chennai, Visakhapatanam, Cochin, Paradip, New Mangalore, Marmagao, Ennore, Tuticorin, Kandla and Port Blair under the control of Centre.
The development projects have been identified for deepening of channels, construction and re-construction of berths, procurement and modernisation of equipments, hinterland connectivity etc to be undertaken in three phases.
The first phase will end by 2012, the terminal year of the current 11th Five Year Plan while the second phase will be implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan ( 2012-17) and the final phase will end by 2020.
The government today unveiled a new policy for the Shipping sector that entails an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore by 2020 to take the ports capacity to 3,200 MT and bring in major reforms in the space.
Earlier, this year, the government unveiled a new Maritime Agenda to take ports capacity to 3,200 million tonnes (MT) from 617 MT on March 31, 2010.
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