Palash Speaks

Partition: The Long Shadow

Palash Biswas

Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Will Taslima escape fatwas and revolting hardliners?
A case was registered against MIM MLA for issuing death threats to Taslima.
http://ibnlive.com/videos/46705/will-taslima-escape-fatwas-and-revolting-hardliners.html
PRIME MINISTER Manmohan Singh will make a statement on the Indo-US nuclear agreement in Parliament on Monday in the shadow of CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat's thinly veiled threat on Sunday that it was for the Congress to decide 'whether it wants to continue in power or go ahead with the nuclear deal'.
Differences over N-deal will be sorted out : Mukherjee
Bhadreswar, West Bengal, Aug 12: Asserting that the UPA-Left rift over Indo-US nuclear deal would not pose any threat to the Congress led coalition government, External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the two sides would sort out differences through dialogue and remain united against the BJP.
'' We do not think that the Left outcry over the nuke deal is any threat to the UPA government. It will continue to run as unitedly as it did in the past to check the communal forces like the BJP,'' he said while speaking at a programme of a local municipality at Telenipara in Hoogly district, Kolkata.
Assuring that he would mediate between the UPA and Left to narrow down differences over the certain provisions of the 123 pact, Mr Mukherjee said it still remains a political necessity to ensure that the present government survived.
''It is out of poltical compulsion to check the communal parties like the BJP that several parties united to prop up the UPA government on the basis of a Common Minimum Programme(CMP). When no such need will be felt this government will not exist. But we think it is still necessity for us,'' he said.
He said several of the nine-point objections that the CPI(M) had raised in its mouthpiece in August last year, had been addressed in the present form of the pact. ''But dialogue can continue if they still had differneces,'' he added.
Mr Mukherjee said the differences within the UPA had cropped up also in the past but they were removed every time. '' On such occasions I acted as a coordinator to sort out the problem. I hope this time also we will be able to do that,'' he said.
Mr Mukherjee's statement came two days after Prime Minister Monmohan Singh talked tough on the persistent Left opposition to the nuclear deal and dared them to withdraw support from the UPA government.
The programme was organised by Bhadreswar municipality to rename a road after S K Akbar Ali, who had served the civic body for 55 years in different capacities.
Bengal CPM uses nuclear shield to duck chemical hub debate
By IE
Friday August 10, 02:50 AM
The West Bengal unit of the CPI(M) on Thursday clutched at the Indo-US nuclear deal to steer the discussion at a Left Front meeting away from controversial and deadlocked issues like land acquisition post-Nandigram and the wisdom or otherwise of setting up a chemical hub.
For over one and a half hours, the Left Front meeting discussed the nitty-gritties and route of a proposed march against the 123 nuclear deal, planned for September 4. The jatha or march is to begin at Kolkata and end at Visakhapatnam.
Just last Friday, following the CPI(M) state secretariat's weekly meeting, former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu had said the Front partners would discuss alternatives to Nandigram for the proposed chemical hub or Petroleum, Chemicals & Petrochemicals Investment Region, which was to have been centred on some existing units at the port town of Haldia before the police firing at adjacent Nandigram put the government on the backfoot.
At the formal briefing, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that today's meeting had discussed only the Indo-US nuclear deal.
"The other controversial issues we shall resolve through bilateral talks," Bose said, in a reference to the location of the chemical hub and the situation at Nandigram, where villagers opposed to land acquisition ousted CPI(M) supporters in January and have kept them out since.
Left Front sources said Bhattacharjee's explanatory note has calmed down the opposition within to a great extent.
"We had suggested the formation of an expert committee to consider the environmental angle of a chemical hub, but the Chief Minister has explained that this provision exists in the Union government's guidelines for a PCPIR," said Manjukumar Majumdar, the CPI's state secretary.
"But right now we feel that the nuclear deal is a much more important issue than the chemical hub," Majumdar said.

NDTV.com
Bark without bite
Business Standard
Why is it that Manmohan Singh does not speak out bluntly and more often as Prime Minister, instead of letting all and sundry, putative allies and the honest opposition, dictate to him and his government?
Srinagar says yes to freedom, no to Pak
Yogendra Yadav & Sanjay Kumar / CNN-IBN
Published on Sunday , August 12, 2007
As India and Pakistan approach the 60th year of independence, the one issue that has divided the two countries is Kashmir. The resolution of the Kashmir issue hinges on a factor that is usually discussed in euphemisms, such as ‘ground reality’, ‘mass psychology’ and ‘emotional state’.

What does ‘the valley’ really want? Are the opinions of the people in Kashmir shared by their counterparts in Jammu and Ladakh? Will any resolution enjoy acceptance in the rest of the country? Will the hardliners in the rest of India and Pakistan veto any attempt to solve the Kashmir problem?

The first-ever Indo-Pak poll sponsored by Indian Express, Dawn News and CNN-IBN and designed by CSDS, Delhi offers us significant clues about this question and shows that public opinion offers greater room for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute than is usually believed. The poll was carried out in the last week of July and the first week of August in the top ten cities of Pakistan (by A C Nielsen) and the top twenty cities in India (by CSDS).

Besides 1010 interviews in urban Pakistan and 2030 interviews in urban India, the CSDS conducted a special straw poll by interviewing 226 persons in Srinagar and 255 persons in Jammu city. (Methodological details about the survey will be carried in the final instalment of the reports on the Indo-Pak poll)

Let us begin by acknowledging something everyone knows but does not wish to talk about. The people in Kashmir valley want ‘Azadi’ in the sense of becoming an independent country.
http://ibnlive.com/news/srinagar-says-yes-to-freedom-no-to-pak/46698-3.html
Band tries to heal Kashmir wounds with rock music
By Sheikh Mushtaq
SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - The sound of a new rock band is soothing Kashmir which has been blighted by years of violence and a ban on entertainment by separatist Muslim guerrillas.
In a region where the boom of guns and bombs has drowned out all sounds for almost 20 years, a cacophony of melodies from guitar, drums and electric keyboards is now sweeping Kashmir's war-weary youngsters with a message of love and peace.
"Immersion", a five-member rock band that also includes a woman, says the purpose of its music is to try to erase the scars and trauma of young Kashmiris.
"They have suffered a lot and they are hungry for
entertainment," Amit Wanchoo, the band's 28-year-old lyricist, told Reuters. "We are trying to heal their wounds."
Every word of pain and suffering Wanchoo pens is dipped in the blood of his own family -- his grandfather, a prominent social worker, was shot dead by separatist militants in 1992.
The revolt has killed tens of thousands of people since 1989 and rape and torture have become a way of life.
Any distraction from the violence was blocked by a separatist ban on cinema, music and concerts in a region with great natural beauty that once provided romantic settings for Bollywood films.
Bengal CPM uses nuclear shield to duck chemical hub debate
By IE
Friday August 10, 02:50 AM
The West Bengal unit of the CPI(M) on Thursday clutched at the Indo-US nuclear deal to steer the discussion at a Left Front meeting away from controversial and deadlocked issues like land acquisition post-Nandigram and the wisdom or otherwise of setting up a chemical hub.
For over one and a half hours, the Left Front meeting discussed the nitty-gritties and route of a proposed march against the 123 nuclear deal, planned for September 4. The jatha or march is to begin at Kolkata and end at Visakhapatnam.
Just last Friday, following the CPI(M) state secretariat's weekly meeting, former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu had said the Front partners would discuss alternatives to Nandigram for the proposed chemical hub or Petroleum, Chemicals & Petrochemicals Investment Region, which was to have been centred on some existing units at the port town of Haldia before the police firing at adjacent Nandigram put the government on the backfoot.
At the formal briefing, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that today's meeting had discussed only the Indo-US nuclear deal.
"The other controversial issues we shall resolve through bilateral talks," Bose said, in a reference to the location of the chemical hub and the situation at Nandigram, where villagers opposed to land acquisition ousted CPI(M) supporters in January and have kept them out since.
Left Front sources said Bhattacharjee's explanatory note has calmed down the opposition within to a great extent.
"We had suggested the formation of an expert committee to consider the environmental angle of a chemical hub, but the Chief Minister has explained that this provision exists in the Union government's guidelines for a PCPIR," said Manjukumar Majumdar, the CPI's state secretary.
"But right now we feel that the nuclear deal is a much more important issue than the chemical hub," Majumdar said.

Musharraf admits Taliban at work in Pakistan
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has acknowledged that Afghan militants are active on Pakistani soil. He was speaking at a joint Pakistan Afghanistan peace jirga or tribal gathering in Kabul. Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai vowed joint efforts to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda. The neighbours are more used to trading insults than working together on the Taliban/al Qaeda threat. Washington believes the poor relationship has aided militants hiding out in the rugged border region. The jirga is seen as a first step towards a unified approach to combating militants who threaten security in both countries.
This week Pakistan came dangerously close to emergency but a phone call from close ally the US changed all that. However, it has to be seen whether President Musharraf has changed his mind only for the time being.
Given the precarious political situation and trouble on the Pakistan-Afghan border, emergency now seems to be one of the few choices confronting a man who seems to be desperate to hang on to power.
Much has been said about how a 17-minute phone call between Condoleezza Rice and President Musharraf led to a categorical denial of these reports by Musharraf's cabinet. But what has emerged after the overnight drama are divisions within.
''Ok if that call was helpful in the process, I think the US should be appreciated in that because it was a sensible decision,'' said Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Secretary, General PML (Q).
''But let me tell you, before that there were voices raised within our own PML (Q) myself included, which vociferously opposed any such move. It would destabilize the country which has just recovered from the 133 day old judicial crises so it will galvanize the opposition and it would destabilize the political process,'' he added.
Pervez Musharraf is constitutionally bound to end his innings as president and Chief of Army Staff in the next three months. But from all accounts the General is in no mood to surrender.

A landmark civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States will face dissent in the U.S. Congress but will ultimately be approved, an influential senator said on Sunday.
The pact, finalised last month, will be closely scrutinised for allowing India to reprocess used nuclear fuel, for the impact of any future nuclear test by India on the deal and for New Delhi's relations with Iran, Senator Joe Lieberman said.
"There will be debate, there will be some dissent," Lieberman told reporters. "In the end, it will be accepted and endorsed by strong majority in both houses of Congress because it is so clearly in the interests of the United States.
"It's a good agreement, it's a honourable agreement," said the independent lawmaker from Connecticut, the 2000 Democratic vice-presidential nominee known to be close to the White House.
The nuclear deal aims to give India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and equipment for the first time in 30 years to help meet its soaring energy needs, even though it has stayed out of non-proliferation pacts and tested nuclear weapons.
First agreed in principle two years ago, it is seen as a symbol of the new strategic relationship between the once-estranged democracies.
The framework deal was approved by the U.S. Congress last December, but the detailed pact that governs nuclear trade between the two has to get Congress backing, and only after India secures other international nuclear approvals.
Lieberman, who is a senior member of several Congressional committees, said he expected the pact to come up for legislative approval before the end of 2007.
British legacy alive and kicking in India, 60 yrs on
By Y.P. Rajesh
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In a nondescript corner of Delhi, white marble statues and busts of British royalty and viceroys, including King George V, languish in a park filled with filth, faeces and wild undergrowth.
In the next month or two, 13 cities and towns in southern India, including the IT hub of Bangalore, will give up their anglicised names and revert to their vernacular versions -- the latest in a list of places burying their colonial nomenclature.
Dumping symbols of two centuries of British rule remains a popular, if sometimes jingoistic, policy in India even 60 years after it became independent.
But it has not been as easy for the country to chart a completely independent new path, as some of the more enduring legacies of the Raj have become a big part of its identity and symbolise much of what is right with it, as well as what is not.
The English language clearly tops the list, with India home to between 300 and 400 million English speakers, thought to be the largest in the world.
"It used to be said that the sun never sets on the British Empire," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a speech at his alma mater, Oxford University, after he was awarded a honorary doctorate in 2005.
"I am afraid we were partly responsible for sending that adage out of fashion," he said.
"But if there is one phenomenon on which the sun cannot set, it is the world of English-speaking people, in which the people of Indian origin are the single largest component."
‘De-industrialisation’ of West Bengal
Once on a transatlantic flight, I spent a few hours beside an eminent American economist occupying the next seat. During conversation, he said that the world at large and also the economists thought a lot about themselves, but in reality they were nobody for their reputation depends on politicians.
I thought that was no wonder. Since the days of Adam, or should I say Adam Smith, great economic theories made only rich nations richer until very recent times when some humanitarian paints became necessary. No wonder Alfred Nobel did not choose economics as one of his prize subjects.
I remembered that episode as I read the brilliant interview given by Professor Amartya Sen and the debates thereafter. Prof Sen was two years my senior at Presidency College and his two illustrious batch mates, the late Parthasarathi Gupta who became Ishan Scholar, and the late Sukhomoy Chakraborty, were my seniors at school. On that count, I hope Prof Sen will forgive me if I mention him as “Amartyada” to remind him of our college days though he never knew me.
In those early fifties we had no holy cows and would take on anybody on any agenda. From the heights of Baker Laboratory we looked down at the Art building though we respected brilliance. But we were the new Moghuls to build the new India.
The days have changed much since. We are far away from chitto jetha bhoyshunyo, uchcha jetha shir (Where the mind is without fear, where the head is held high) and the Bengali today is like branded cattle. Anybody making any sound is inspected for political branding and the needful is done. Therefore, only the media and the politicians make sound, we the ordinary people suffer in silence.
The interview is brilliant because Amartyada replied squarely to all sensitive questions except the probably desired political issue of agricultural land and then hit us with this very technical word of “de-industrialisation” without defining it.
The word has different meaning in different countries at different times. Modern Britain is de-industrialising as industry’s share of GDP and employment is going down without overall reduction, as the pattern of economic activity is changing. Germany and Japan were sought to be de-industrialised during and after World War II but the plan was reversed as threats of Cold War grew. De-industrialisation in small sectors has been studied as in the sawmill industry of Canada through health status of workers. De-industrialisation does not necessarily mean a slump in overall economic and social development. So where does West Bengal since the sixties of the last century stand and what are the parameters? Nor has it been spelt out how re-industrialisation occurs and similar precedence, if any.
Importance of social psychology in industrialisation has been recognised since the early days of the industrial revolution and in Bengal of early 20th century stalwarts started national industries to make the society industry-friendly when the colonial government ruled out state initiative. They started a movement called Bengal Initiative. Since then there was rapid progress in Bengal and elsewhere and after independence state investment started.
In the meantime the War, the famine of 1943 and influx of refugees from East Bengal destabilised West Bengal. Everything went wrong thereafter. Resettlement of refugees outside the state was undermined and state administration was sought to be paralysed by repeated political movements by the communists as many people, the refugees and others not unjustifiably, thought the Congress party had sold out Bengal. This was followed by militant trade unionism that increased as the Left parties gradually came to power and intensified and extended the movement into more violent ones. It was the main reason for de-industrialisation but by no means the only one. Some day an impartial objective analysis will be done but that day has not come yet. Inefficient management, corruption, Centre-state politics and flight of capital played their roles, but the capitalists themselves remained securely ensconced in Kolkata as Amartyada has said they always will. British colonialists could go to wild, godforsaken places to start their business and industries but not the Indians even in these IT-savvy days with much faster communication.
What has been the social fallout of all this? Many hundreds of small and medium scale industries closed down, those that were
labour-intensive and employed large sections of workers, in addition to large industries, including public sector units. Kolkata has seen many beggars on the road who lost their jobs in industries. The incidence of suicides by consuming acids, pesticides, kerosene and hanging probably reached levels comparable to the Stalinist Russia if correct statistics could be found. Some evidence can be found from medical literature. Decent middle-class families living in rented houses became slum-dwellers overnight, let down both by their employers and the unions.
In the meantime, land reform movements had several effects. Many landless labourers and bargadars got their own land. Through some bloodshed, but not much, peace was established but not for long as jobless workers began to shift to land. The communist vote both in rural and urban areas were secure and the middle-class petty bourgeoisie silenced and all was well. Agricultural production increased but not entirely through land reforms.
Dr Norman Borlaug, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for producing genetically altered seeds of high yield in the sixties and trained and worked with scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, can take more credit. He characterised his success as “temporary success in man’s war against hunger and deprivation”, a breathing space in which to deal with “Population Menace”, words prophetic for West Bengal where uncontrolled multiple cropping and cost of agriculture is bringing down production.
Two generations of Bengalis have grown up with the experience that one could somehow survive on land through farming and small businesses but industry is a curse where one has to work harder with no security and remain servile to the union. The infrastructure of skilled and semiskilled workers has been depleted. Encouraging entrepreneurship locally with small and medium scale industries was suggested and the present government initially agreed. But it did not succeed. The social atmosphere is such that an entrepreneur has to include an extortion fund to his risk capital and has to have correct political branding and face market forces that have moved away from Bengal.
The central administration has very little control on such peripheral demands, be it government agencies or local forces. So the government has taken the aerial route of mega projects and people have rejected it. There is no politics in this. Politics is in the drama and the deals, not in the mind of people. They just do not believe political promises any more.
I would ask Amartyada how should industrialisation proceed on this social base. In this scenario, I expected him to mention Japanese re-industrialisation instead of Manchester and Lancashire of ancient times. Mistakes are committed by every government in the world and are often recognised on hindsight and have to be corrected, usually by another. That is the advantage of democracy, not of a government in perpetuity. Politics of West Bengal has benefited India in many ways and has now produced a Central Plan for acquiring land for SEZ and mega industries but investments are moving away from the state. Can we re-install a convincing people-friendly industrial base and how?
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=4&theme=&usrsess=1&id=166043
Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on fighting militants
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan's president acknowledged on Sunday Afghan militants were operating from Pakistani soil, as he and his Afghan counterpart vowed joint efforts to fight Taliban and al Qaeda.
The two neighbours have more often traded barbed accusations than worked together to fight the threat from the Islamist guerrillas -- and Washington fears their dispute has helped militants hiding in the rugged border region.
A four-day council, or jirga, of Afghan and Pakistani politicians and tribal elders, drawing to a close in Kabul on Sunday, was agreed in Washington last year as a way to forge cooperation between the two sides.
"The joint peace jirga strongly recognises the fact that terrorism is a common threat to both countries and the war on terror should continue to be an integral part of the national policies and security strategies of both countries," said a declaration agreed by some 700 jirga delegates.
"There is no other option for both countries other than peace and unity, trust and cooperation," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told the closing session of the jirga. "There is no justification for resorting to terrorism."
Afghan officials have frequently accused Pakistan of harbouring Taliban and al Qaeda fighters to weaken its neighbour.
Pakistan denies the charge, but Musharraf acknowledged militants were operating from Pakistani tribal areas along the Afghan border which are largely outside government control.
"There is no doubt Afghan militants are supported from Pakistan soil. The problem that you have in your region is because support is provided from our side," he said.
Police file case against Taslima Nasreen after attack
HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - Police said on Saturday they had registered a complaint against exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen for creating religious tensions, after she was attacked by Muslim protesters.
But they said they were also seeking permission to arrest the radical Muslim lawmaker who brought the complaint - for saying Nasreen could be killed after the incident.
The assault on the author erupted during the launch of a translation of one of her novels on Thursday in Hyderabad.
Nasreen backed into a corner as middle-aged lawmakers and members of the radical All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party threw a case, flowers and other objects at her head and threatened her with a chair. Some shouted for her death.
The writer suffered a bruised forehead and described the attack as barbaric before being taken to safety by police.
"Taslima is a controversial personality and her writings have always provoked the religious-minded in Hyderabad and elsewhere and hence we have registered a case for provocative literature," said N. Madhusudan Reddy, a senior police officer in Hyderabad.
City police chief Balwinder Singh said police were yet to decide whether to seek a non-bailable warrant against Nasreen, who is hated by some radical Muslims for saying Islam and other religions oppress women.
Police said they had also approached a court for permission to arrest the state lawmaker who brought the complaint against Nasreen, Akbaruddin Owaisi, for saying Nasreen could be killed if she returned to Hyderabad.
"To arrest him ... we need the court's permission," an official said, referring to the legal privileges of a lawmaker.
Acid attack on fashion designer in posh Delhi market
CNN-IBN

New Delhi: A 36-year-old woman was severely injured in the Capital after an acid attack by two unidentified men in the busy Greater Kailash market area of the Delhi.

The two men threw acid at Tarveen Suri, poured kerosene on her and then attempted to immolate her.

Suri, a small-time fashion designer, sustained 80 per cent burn injuries and was first taken to Holy Family hospital.

From there, she was rushed to Safdarjung hospital owing to the serious nature of the burns, police said.
Armies urged to integrate human rights in war laws
By Reuters
Monday August 13, 12:34 AM
By Mark Trevelyan, Security Correspondent
LONDON (Reuters) - Armies waging counter-terrorism offensives should be forced to weigh the likely scale of civilian deaths and damage by conducting a "human rights impact assessment" in advance, an international think-tank proposes.
The idea from the EastWest Institute (EWI) amounts to a radical call to transform the way in which countries apply the laws of war.
It argues in a research paper that this approach, if applied to U.S. operations in Iraq, Russian actions in Chechnya or last year's war between Israel and Lebanese-based Hezbollah, could have helped avert heavy civilian casualties that also handed propaganda victories to insurgents.
While acknowledging the proposal would seem "radical if not ridiculous to many", the EWI said conducting a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) would ultimately help the armies involved to avoid disastrous own goals.
"It's definitely in the military's own interests," Greg Austin, co-author of the report, said in a telephone interview.
According to the report, to be published shortly on the Web site www.ewi.info and made available to Reuters in advance, "the predominant goal of an HRIA is to assess whether the ends justify the means".

THREAT TO THE WEST
In Iraq, the paper said, global perceptions that U.S. and allied forces had shown insufficient regard for civilian casualties had causes a significant decline in the West's global 'soft power' influence, especially in the Muslim world.
"This deterioration represents a security threat to the West and undermines the common goal of preventing and defeating terrorism. If excessive force is used against a civilian population, the most moderate of people within those populations will tend to sympathise with terrorist causes."
Conducting an HRIA would oblige commanders to apply an additional test beyond that of military necessity, and mark a move away from considering only "what we can get away with", said the paper, entitled "Protect! Civilians and Civil Rights in Counter-Terrorist Operations".
Austin acknowledged there would be practical difficulties over who should conduct the assessment and its impact on the timeliness of operations.
While the paper says the assessor should be someone apolitical and with no strong personal ties to the military, Austin said it would need to be someone integrated with the armed units on the spot.
He said the time taken to compile a report on a planned tactical operation could be reduced if strategists had already incorporated human rights considerations in their overall plan.
The report urged the European Union, many of whose member states have forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, to take the lead in implementing the HRIA concept in law.
The EWI, based in Brussels, Moscow and New York, is dedicated to increasing security by addressing threats to regional and global security.
Heinrich B?Foundation, India Habitat Centre , Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi & Zubaan

presents

Partition: The Long Shadow
A series of Dialogues and Conversations

Inaugural Day Events
PARTITION: THE LONG SHADOW
A series of Dialogues and Conversations
opens on August 14, 2007
at 6.00 pm, Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre
Vardhaman Marg, New Delhi 110003
Readings by Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhter
The two well-known actors will read from stories/ plays of several authors who wrote on the Partition. The readings from the works of Anis Kidwai, Kishen Chander and others will be in Urdu, Hindi and English.
Story telling by Dastan Goi
Dastan Goi is a traditional form of storytelling which involves narrators creating stories as they perform them. Mostly dealing with the life of Amir Hamza, these narratives were put into printed form at the end of the 19th century. Totalling a staggering 46 volumes, these stories make up the longest existing narrative in the world. In the last two years Mahmood Farooqui has been working at reviving the Dastan Goi tradition, giving performances in various parts of the country. The team has also performed in Pakistan - as yet only once although, judging by the response, this is likely to happen much more often. The performance on the 14th of August will move a little away from the traditional narrative to bring together a Dastan presentation around the Partition of India. The performance by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain draws upon existing writings on Partition as well as new creations to narrate the trauma of Partition.
Toba Tek Singh, performed by the Ajoka Theatre group, Pakistan
This famous short play by Manto is about a mentally challenged person who, when asked to choose between India and Pakistan, dies on the border of the two countries.
Ajoka has been part of the struggle for a secular, democratic just, humane and egalitarian Pakistan for the last 21 years. Few cultural institutions have been able to thrive, even survive, in the climate of hostility and apathy towards performing arts that has existed in Pakistan. Ajoka is an exception. Set up by a small group of cultural activists in 1983, during General Zia-ul-Haq's politically and culturally repressive regime, Ajoka has struggled with determination against very heavy odds. All governments have been disinterested, if not antagonistic towards socially meaningful art. Conservative elements have been opposed to the very idea of theatre and the corporate sector has not played its role in promoting art and culture. But the commitment of the volunteer members of Ajoka and its audience has enabled the group to overcome all hurdles. It has not only survived despite the absence of financial support from th

East India Company Survives Thanks to Mir Jafars of Today

Palash Biswas

Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashbiswaskl@gmail.com">palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
Mir Jafar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Syed Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan, or Mir Jafar (born 1691 – died February 5, 1765) was a monarchical ruler (Nawab) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. He succeeded Siraj-Ud-Daulah. His rule is widely (though somewhat inaccurately) considered the start of British rule in India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Jafar

"In the middle of the seventeenth century, Asia still had a far more important place in the world than Europe." So wrote J. Pirenne in his 'History of the Universe', published in Paris in 1950. He added, "The riches of Asia were incomparably greater than those of the European states. Her industrial techniques showed a subtlety and a tradition that the European handicrafts did not possess. And there was nothing in the more modern methods used by the traders of the Western countries that Asian trade had to envy. In matters of credit, transfer of funds, insurance, and cartels, neither India, Persia, nor China had anything to learn from Europe."
(Quoted in Auguste Toussaint's 'History of the Indian Ocean')

Bhopal gas tragedy victims observed the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Plassey by conferring on Mir Jafar awards on a dozen of politicians and well-known personalities from different walks of life here on Saturday.
The gathering remembered Mir Jafar, the famed betrayer, who had sided with the British Indian Company and let down his own compatriots leading to their defeat. But the mode to remember Mir Jafar was the institution of a series of awards named after him.
Under the banner of Dalal Foundation, the survivors of the Union Carbide's catastrophe of 1984 from Bhopal, conferred 'awards' on selective public figures for their acts of treachery to the nation.
Palashi, The battle of was fought between Nawab sirajuddaula and the east india company on 23 June 1757. It lasted for about eight hours and the nawab was defeated by the company because of the treachery of his leading general mir jafar. Palashi's political consequences were far-reaching and devastating and hence, though a mere skirmish, it has been magnified into a battle. It laid the foundation of the British rule in Bengal. For the English East India Company, Bengal was the springboard from which the British expanded their territorial domain and subsequently built up the empire which gradually engulfed most parts of India and ultimately many parts of Asia as well.
East India Company
Encyclopædia Britannica Article

also called English East India Company , formally (1600–1708) Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies , or (1708–1873) United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies English company formed for the exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated by royal charter on Dec. 31, 1600. Starting as a monopolistic trading body, the company became involved in politics and acted as an agent of British imperialism in India from the early 18th century to the mid-19th century. In addition, the activities of the company in China…
On June 23rd, 1757 at Plassey, a small village and mango grove between Calcutta and Murshidabad, the forces of the East India Company under Robert Clive met the army of Siraj-ud-Doula, the Nawab of Bengal.
Clive had 800 Europeans and 2200 Indians whereas Siraj-ud-doula in his entrenched camp at Plassey was said to have about 50,000 men with a train of heavy artillery. During the battle a monsoon storm, lasting nearly an hour, drenched both sides and the ground, The Indian guns slackened their fire because their powder was insufficiently protected, but when the Indian cavalry charged in the hope that the British guns had suffered similarly they were sharply repulsed by heavy fire. The battle lasted no more than a few hours, and indeed the outcome of the battle had been decided long before the soldiers came to the battlefield. The aspirant to the Nawab's throne, Mir Jafar, was induced to throw in his lot with Clive, and by far the greater number of the Nawab's soldiers were bribed to throw away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn their arms against their own army.
Siraj fled, leaving a still nervous Mir Jafar to occupy the palace and treasury, and to await Clive's coming before ascending the masnad or throne. The act ended with the capture of Siraj-ud-doula when nearing Bihar and was brutally murdered by Mir Jafar's son Miran. Plassey was decisive for the British in India, and for Clive. Jawaharlal Nehru, in The Discovery of India (1946), justly describes Clive as having won the battle "by promoting treason and forgery", and pointedly notes that British rule in India had "an unsavory beginning and something of that bitter taste has clung to it ever since."
As India celebrates its 60th year of Independence, NDTV conducted a poll to identify the icons, events and landmarks that have preoccupied Indians.
As the voting ended, it was clear that from the people on the street to the software geeks, the one person who rules the hearts and minds of Indians today, according to the NDTV poll, is Mahatma Gandhi.This is not surprising considering that his ideals of non-violence have found expression in 21st century India's popular idiom - Gandhigiri.
The Ruling Classes betrayed the Man who was believed to serve the Hindu as well as brahminical interests best. He was kept in dark as he could stall Partition of India. Jinnah and Nehru, supported by the Hindu Muslim ruling classes settled everything with Mountbattens. These are the people who ousted subhash Chandra Bose out of Indian geopolitics. during and After Partition thay also ousted the forces of Indian Dalit Movement, the people settled in East Bengal out of Indian people. Ahgain, these are the people who managed the assasination of Gandhi and never ceased to encash gandhi till this date. Just follow the outline the history and you will see how they held State Power while betraying the Freedom movement all along the East India and British raj days.Nowhere in Indian polity, the heirs of those who contributed most in anti imperialist movement had been accomodated. The name of gopal Krishna gandhi was proposed for Vice President Post and the Marxists of Bengal rejected. These are the people who called Netaji a betrayer!
Thus, the Mahatma beat Indian stalwarts like industrialist JRD Tata, Infosys chief mentor NR Narayana Murthy and actor Amitabh Bachchan by a huge margin.On the other hand, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Finance Minister P Chidambaram have been given the Mir Zaffar Award as a symbol of their betrayal of the Bhopal gas tragedy victims. NGOs fighting for the victims have instituted the awards in the name of Mir Zafffar, who had sold out for to the East India Company at the time of the battle of Plassey.The awards were presented by an organisation that calls itself the Dalal (broker) Foundation.Organised by the International Council for Justice, the event was an attempt to lampoon politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists who have allegedly sold out to Dow Chemicals.
''The documents we got from the Prime Minister's office through the Right to Information clearly show that these people are trying to help Dow escape its legal liabilities in Bhopal,'' said Satinath Sarangi, Activist and Organiser.
''This is being done because Dow has offered to invest $1 billion in India''.
But internal civil war situation tells a different story. non Violence seems not be the Ideal any more as the spiralling violence against Hindi-speaking settlers in Assam continues.Since January, nearly 178 people have been killed, over 90 of them Hindi-speaking people who are mostly Biharis settled in Assam for generations.In just five days, 34 people have been killed and as many injured. While IEDs and grenades were used in other attacks, this time the Hindi-speaking victims were shot or brutally hacked one by one.The idea is to drive a wedge between locals and the Bihari settlers.

India is yet to have an anti-terrorist law and a proper strategy to combat terror.
All reactions to violence is knee jerk and temporary. For example Karbianglong. The state will now ask for more force deployment - forces who are not familiar to the terrain or the problems.They know they will be withdrawn in another few months to some other part of the country. So their effectiveness is diluted.Option two is political, which Tarun Gogoi had applied with great effect during this year's National Games in which the ULFA had issued an open threat. The ULFA actually withdrew the threat later.Having said this the problem will continue raising its head from time to time as long as the government doesn't itself addresses the issues headon. For example, weed out militant camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar. There should be stronger internal laws as more than half of ULFA cadres arrested get bail and rejoin the outfit.The government should fill up vacancies in police force. Or as Gogoi's last line goes, 'people of Assam must learn to live with floods and with ULFA',it is advocated in New delhi.
Rally in Plassey, West Bengal
Braving pouring rain, thousands of people assembled at Plassey in Nadia District of West Bengal on June 23, 2007, to participate in a rally organized on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Battle of Plassey and the 150th anniversary of the Great Ghadar. Colourful banners and hoardings depicting the heroes of the anti colonial liberation struggle and their words, and calling on people to attend the rally, were on display in the different towns of West Bengal. The rally was organized by the Bangladesh-Bharat-Pakistan Peoples Forum (BBPPF).
There is a stone Obelisk that has been placed at Plassey by the British colonialists to mark the defeat of the forces of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah by the army of Robert Clive of the East India Company. On the Obelisk is inscribed – Battle of Plassey — June 23, 1757. Near this spot, in preparation for the rally, the activists of the BBPPF had put up hoardings of anti-imperialist slogans. A bust of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah had been erected at the spot for this program. The program began with the leaders of the BBPPF garlanding this bust. They then marched towards the maidan where the rally was being held, militantly shouting slogans against imperialism and hailing the unity of the people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The rally was inaugurated by Shri Haripada Biswas, MLA from the All India Forward Bloc. Those who addressed the rally included Mahbub Alam, Chairman of the Bangladesh Krishak Shramik Awami League and leader of the Bangladesh delegation, Dhananjay Modak, MLA from Kaliganj Assembly Constituency of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, Dr Muktoral Hussain, Minister in Charge of Disaster Management and Agricultural Marketing, Prakash Rao, spokesperson of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, Dr Janardhan Deshle Patil, social activist from Maharashtra, Behram Sultan Bahar, President of Jago Bangladesh Garment Shramik Federation, and Debabrata Biswas, MP, General Secretary of the All India Forward Bloc and Chairman of the Bangladesh-Bharat-Pakistan Peoples Forum.
http://www.cgpi.org/pages/latest/070629-1857_plassey.aspx

Bhagat Singh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bhagat Singh (Punjabi,Gurmukhi: ??? ????) (Urdu-Shahmukhi: ???? ?????) (September 27,[1] 1907–March 23, 1931) was an Indian freedom fighter, considered to be one of the most famous revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. For this reason, he is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh (the word shaheed means "martyr"). He is also believed by many to be one of the earliest Marxists in India.[2] He was one of the leaders and founders of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
Born to a family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj in India, Bhagat Singh, as a teenager, had studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchism and communism.[3] He became involved in numerous revolutionary organizations. He quickly rose in the ranks of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and became one of its leaders, converting it to the HSRA. Singh gained support when he underwent a 63 day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for Indian and British political prisoners. He was hanged for shooting a police officer in response to the killing of veteran social activist Lala Lajpat Rai. His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and also increased the rise of socialism in India.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagat_Singh

In 1950, after Independence, the land where Bhagat Singh and his companions were cremated was procured from Pakistan and a memorial built. In March 1961, a Shahidi Mela was held there. Every year, on 23 March, the martyr's memory is similarly honoured. The old memorial, destroyed in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, has been rebuilt Bhagat Singh is remembered by the endearing title of Shahid-i-Azam, the greatest of martyrs.
Paying his tribute to him at a meeting of the Central Sikh League atAmritsar on 8 April 1931, Subhas Chandra Bose said, Bhagat Singh who set an example of character and patriotism by sacrificing himself for the sake of the country's freedom, was from the Sikh community. Today, he is known to be a brave Sikh hero throughout the world The Sikh community has to produce thousands of Bhagat Singhs for the cause of the country."
Having passed the fifth class from his village school, Bhagat Singh joined Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School in Lahore. In response to the call of Mahatma Gandhl and other nationalist leaders, to boycott government aided institutions, he left his school and enrolled in the National College at Lahore. He was successful in passing a special examination preparatory to entering college. He was reading for his B.A. examination when his parents planned to have him married. He vehemently rejected the suggestion and said that, if his marriage was to take place in Slave-India, my bride shall be only death." Rather than allow his father to proceed any further with the proposal, Bhagat Singh left home and went to Kanpur where he took up a job in the Pratap Press. In his spare time, he studied revolutionary literature. He joined the Hindustan Republican Association, a radical group, later known as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. When Bhagat Singh was assured that he would not be compelled to marry and violate his vows sworn to his motherland, he returned to his home in Lahore. This was in 1925 when a morcha had been going on at Jaito to protest against the deposition by the British of Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha because of his sympathy with the Akali agitation. A warrant for the arrest of Bhagat Singh was issued because he had accorded a welcome to one of the jathas, but he managed to elude the police and spent five months under the assumed name of Balvant Singh in Delhi, where he worked in a daily paper Vir Arjun.
As Akali activity subsided, Bhagat Singh returned to Lahore. He established contact with the Kirti Kisan Party and started contributing regularly to its magazine, the Kirti. He also remained in touch with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. In March 1926 was formed the Naujawan Bharat Sabha. Bhagat Singh, one of the principal organizers became its secretary. As the Simon Commission arrived at Lahore on 30 October 1928, an all-parties procession, headed by Lala Lajpat Rai, marched towards the railway station to make a protest. Intercepting the procession, police made a laths charge and Lala Lajpat Rai received injuries. He died a fornight later. Although the British saw no connection between the lathi charge and Lala Lajpat Rai's death, Bhagat Singh and his associates did. They plotted the assassination of Mr Scott, the Superintendent of Police, believed to have been responsible for the laths blows given Lala Lajpat Rai, but instead J.P. Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, became the actual victim owing to mistake in identification. Bhagat Singh and Rajguru had done the actual shooting. They and those who had served as lookouts escaped through the D.A.V. College grounds. The next day a leaflet was circulated by the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association announcing that the death of Lala Lajpat Rai had been avenged.

Bhagat Singh escaped to Calcutta disguised as a wealthy personage. He remained quiet for several months, but became active again when Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill were being debated in Delhi. As his group resolved to explode a bomb to express disapproval of the bill, Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt volunteered to carry out the plan. They were seated in the gallery of the Central Assembly Hall awaiting the reading of the proclamation that would enact the bills. When the announcement was made, Bhagat Singh jumped up and threw a relatively harmless bomb behind one of the members' benches. There was an explosion, followed by still another from a second bomb. No one was seriously injured. Bhagat Singh and Dutt began shouting revolutionary slogans and threw leaflets explaining their in tent of making "the deaf hear" with the loud noise of explosion. Both were promptly taken into custody. As the trial proceeded, a statement, written in its entirety by Bhagat Singh, was read in defence of the two accused. Bhagat Singh said that "force used for a legitimate cause has its moral justification." He and B.K. Dutt were found guilty and sentenced to transportation for life. After the sentence had been pronounced in the Assembly Bomb case, Bhagat Singh was bound over for trial in the Saunders Murder case, approvers having identified his role in the killing. While awaiting trial in the Lahore Jail, Bhagat Singh started a hunger strike in behalf of political prisoners. The fast was continued even after the hearing of the case began on 10 July 1929, and was subsequently joined by many others. It was not until after the death of one of these, J.N. Das, on 13 September 1929, that facilities were promised to the prisoners and the hunger-strike abandoned.
At the time of trial, Bhagat Singh offered no defence, but utilized the occasion to propagate his ideal of freedom. He and his fellow accused kept delaying the proceedings by refusing to appear before the court, by ignoring what was going on, or by disrupting the work by shouting revolutionary slogans. He heard with defiant courage the death-sentence pronounced on 7 October 1930. In the same spirit, he kissed the hangman's noose on 23 March 1931, shouting for the last time his favourite cry, "Down with British imperialism." His body was secretly cremated at Husainivala by police and the remains thrown into the River Sutlej. The next day, however, his comrades collected the bodily remains from the cremation site and a procession was taken out in Lahore. Mourning for him was spontaneous and widespread and homage was paid to him for his sterling character and sacrifice.
http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/bhagat.html
Dubious distinction
The ''winners'' also included Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Dow's legal representative in India, and Ratan Tata, who has recommended the Dow case to the PM's office and the Planning Commission.
''The Ministry of Fertilizers and Chemicals has filed an appeal that Rs 100 crore be deposited by Dow for the clean up of toxic waste at the Union Carbide site,'' Sarangi said.
''Dow, through the US and its friends like Kamal Nath and Tata, is pressurising the government to withdraw the application so that Dow's legal liability is not established''.
Through the tongue-in-cheek ceremony, survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Dalal Foundation are trying to show that justice has still not been done.
They feel that politicians and industrialists are busy promoting the interests of Dow Chemicals instead of that of their own people.

East India Company
Such was the situation when the East India Company began its trading activities in the early 17th century. Initially, the British traders had come to India with hopes of selling Britain's most popular export item to Continental Europe - British Broadcloth, but were disappointed to find little demand for it. Instead, like their Portuguese counterparts, they found several Indian-made items they could sell quite profitably in their homeland. Competing with other European traders, and competing with several other trade routes to Europe (the Red Sea route through Egypt, the Persian Gulf Route through Iraq, and the Northern Caravan Route through Afghanistan, Persia and Turkey), the early British Traders were in no position to dictate terms. They had to seek concessions with a measure of humility and offer trade terms that offered at least some benefits to the local rulers and merchants. While Aurangzeb (who had, perhaps, seen the connection between growing European Trade concessions and falling revenues from the overland trade) attempted to limit and control the activities of the East India Company, not all Indian rulers had as many compunctions about making trade concessions. Besides, the East India Company was willing to persevere; fighting and cajoling for concessions, it built trading bases wherever it could along either side of the lengthy Indian coastline.
In this period, relations between Indian and Britisher were not lacking in cordiality and the East India Company included employees from both worlds. Friendships between the two nationalities developed not only within the context of business relations, but even beyond, to the point of inter-marriage. Unaffected by the pompous stuffiness of the British gentry, the British employees of the East India Company made the most of life in India - dressing in cool and comfortable Indian garments, enjoying Indian pastimes and absorbing local words in their dialect. With as yet unprejudiced eyes, these British traders delighted in the delicate craftsmanship and attractiveness of Indian manufactures and took good advantage of their growing popularity in Britain and France. So lucrative was the trade that even though India would accept nothing but silver (or gold) in return, the East India Company prospered.
Considering the long route (around the African Cape) that the British had to take in reaching England, it was surprising that they made as much money as they did. But other factors outweighed this disadvantage. First, owing to their legally sanctioned monopoly status in England, they had substantial control on the British market. Second, by buying directly at the source, they were able to eliminate the considerable mark-up that Indian goods enjoyed en-route to Europe. Thirdly, the East India Company probably enjoyed better economies of scale since their ships were amongst the largest in the Indian Ocean. In addition, they were able to develop new markets for Indian goods in Africa, and in the Americas.
And finally, (and perhaps, most significantly), as Veronica Murphy reports in 'Europeans and the Textile Trade' (Arts of India 1550-1900), "although the East India Company was not itself engaged in the transatlantic slave trade, the link was very close and highly profitable." In fact, in the 18th century, the British dominated the Atlantic slave trade transporting more slaves than all the other European powers combined. In 1853, Henry Carey - author of 'The Slave Trade, Domestic and Foreign' wrote: "It (the British System) is the most gigantic system of slavery the world has yet seen, and therefore it is that freedom gradually disappears from every country over which England is enabled to gain control." The Atlantic slave trade was hence, a vital contributor to the financial strength of the East Indian Trading Companies.
So much so that by the middle of the 17th century, the East India Company was re-exporting Indian goods to Europe and North Africa and even Turkey! Unsurprisingly, this was to have a severely deleterious effect on the Ottomans, the Persians, the Afghans, since much of the revenues of these states came from the India trade. It also seriously impacted the revenues of the Mughals, and while the activities of the Arab and Gujarati traders were not entirely eliminated, their trade was much curtailed, and largely reduced to the inter-Asian trade which continued unabated. In any case, the Mughal state was unable to resist centrifugal forces and rapidly disintegrated. This left the East India Company with considerably more leverage and emboldened it to expand its activities, and demand even greater concessions from Indian rulers.
But even as the Indian rulers were granting more concessions, there was a rising chorus of voices bemoaning the loss of "European" silver to Asia. At the end of the 17th century, the silk and wool merchants of France and England were unwilling to put up with the competition from Indian textiles which had become the rage in the new bourgeoisie societies of Europe. Not only did they seek bans on such trading activities of the East India Company, they also sought and won restrictions on the purchase of these items in their respective nations. These prohibitions, while not entirely eliminating the smuggling of such items, nevertheless squeezed out most of the trade, impacting the revenues of the regional Indian states that had only recently broken off from the centralized Mughal state and Bengal was the first to face the consequences.
Having lost the opportunity to profit from the Indian textile trade, the East India Company was not hesitant in changing character. In 1616, Sir Thomas Roe, an envoy of the East India Company had declared to the Mughals that war and trade were incompatible. But already in 1669 (even before the bans on the textile trade), Gerald Ungier, chief of the factory at Bombay had written to his directors: " The time now requires you to manage your general commerce with the sword in your hands" In 1687 came the reply from the directors, advocating a Goa like British dominion in India. The French Dupleix was more or less of similiar view. Still earlier, in 1614, the Dutch Jan Pieterzoon Coen, had written to his directors: "Trade in India must be conducted and maintained under the protection and favour of your weapons, and the weapons must be supplied from the profits enjoyed by the trade, so that trade cannot be maintained without war or war without trade." (from Auguste Toussaint's: History of the Indian Ocean)
The Opium Trade of the 18th century (which eventually led to the Opium Wars) , when the Royal British Navy worked more or less hand in hand with the commercial interests of the East India Company, exemplified precisely such a link between war and trade. From the intertwining of war and trade, colonization was only a small step away. Plassey was a portentious indicator of a new dynamic in Indo-British relations.
Contrary to the views of several apologists for colonial rule, who still argue that the defeat of India had solely to do with "congenital flaws" or the centuries old "ennui" or " weak character of the Asian", or the "inability of the Indians (and other Asians) to govern themselves", R. Mukerji (in Rise and Fall of the East India Company) advanced a different thesis . He argued that there were compelling economic imperatives that drew the European India Companies into the path of imperialism. He pointed out that although monopoly rights assured the India Companies of the exclusive privileges of buying and selling, it did not guarantee that they could buy cheap. For that, political control was essential.
A second problem for the East India Company was that their profits were in direct conflict with those of their British-based competitors. Under these circumstances, as long as the profit motive was paramount (which it was), the Battle at Plassey, and the Opium Wars could be seen as logical outcomes of circumstances where continued profits by legal and honorable means were simply not possible. But, had the East Company comprised of "Gentlemen Traders" as some historians have claimed, they could not have switched so easily from trading in Indian Textiles, to trading in Opium for Tea which, in modern language - would surely be described as a form of "drug-running"! Had the traders of the East India Company been "men of honour", denied the right to profitable trade, they would have simply gone bankrupt, as so many do in the world of business!
Yet, what is even more significant is that even after The East India Company had regained sizeable profits from the Opium trade, it served as no deterrence to future acts of aggression. It had become like the proverbial man-eating tiger, that having tasted blood once, would be driven to tasting it again and again. After Plassey, the East India Company had been able to force the cultivation of opium in sufficient quantities in India, and hence, procure sufficient volumes of tea for the British market, reaping significant profits. Yet, now military attacks were also to be directed against Indian (and other Asian) ships engaged in the inter-Asian trade. These attacks were to lay the ground-work for the battles against the Coromandel rulers and the Marathas whose revenues from this trade dwindled. While Plassey may have been a matter of "survival" for the East India Company, the subsequent battles were not in that category. Some historians tried to argue that competition with the French precipitated the battles in South India, but such a view is contradicted by a Frenchman, no less!
Abbe de Pradt, author of "Les Trois Ages des colonies, Paris, 1902" wrote that with the victory at Plassey and the establishment of sovereign rights, England had demonstrated to all of Europe that it was no longer necessary for it to send precious metals obtained from the "New World" to India. She could trade on the basis of revenue acquired from taxing subjects and commodities, whereas other European countries had to trade at a "loss", with "metal currency". The extension of English sovereignty in India, would exempt Europe from sending capital into India. Specifically, Abbe de Pradt wrote: " the people who have enough control over India to reduce substantially the exportation of European metallic currency into Asia rule there as much for Europe's benefit as for their own; their empire is more common than particular, more European than British; as it expands, Europe benefits, and each of their conquests is also a real conquest for the latter." Chastizing European opponents of the British conquest, he wrote: "all the sound and fury now echoing across Europe about England's hegemony in India are the shrieks of a blind delirium, as an anti-European uproar; it might be thought that England was taking away from every European state what it was conquering from those of Asia, whereas, on the contrary, every part of Asia that she takes for herself, she, by that very fact, takes for Europe."
In fact, this view tallies quite closely with the observations of several later analysts who found it paradoxical that inter-European rivalries and conflicts reduced in the 18th century when compared to the 17th century, and decreased still further after Plassey. In essence, the race for the colonization of India had been won by the British, and what Abbe de Pradt was saying was that it was in French interest to enjoy the "general" benefits of this victory and not bemoan the loss of "specific" benefits from the British victory.
N.K Sinha, author of an "Economic History of Bengal" summarizes the situation in these words: "For more than two centuries the Europeans had found that the trade with Bengal whether carried on by companies or by the individual free traders or by illicit means had always been so much in favor of Bengal that the balance had to be supplied in cash. Now after Plassey supplies were at last found in Bengal " by means independence of commerce" - referring to the forced taxes that were extracted by the East India Company from the people of Bengal.
He continues: "The trade of the country merchant began to stagnate. Armenian, Mughal, Gujarati and Bengali merchants found their free trade daily fettered and loaded." The export, import, and manufacture of goods moved from the hands of independant Indian merchants to intermediaries hired by the British East India Company. Often this required force. Sepoys

Tryst with Destiny: US De-Hyphenation of Partitioned Geopolitics and Shifted Terror Zone in South Asia
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Friends!
I have warned you that this strategic regrouping in Indian Ocean and Indo US Nuke Deal make the most dangerous equation of this divided geopolitics since collapse of British Empire. Celebration of Sixtieth Anniversary of Power Transfer to Brahminical polities all over in South Asia heralds new waves of terror and Uncertainity. While the WWF show continues amongst the so called democratic and political parties of India on Nuclear Deal, Pakistan faces fiercest civil war and Bangladesh ramains hostage to military and foreign hands. In India, with Ulfa lead the extremists have called for boycutt of Independence day in entire North East. India bleeds. Bleed Pakistan and Bangladesh. The divided geopolitics sale out its Natural and Human resources in service of Hindu Zionist Manusmriti Galaxy Order Ruled by US Imperialists. We bargain Purchase of Nuclear and Conventional weapons for self Desrtuction. Invite chemical and Biological warfare. Destroy indigenous economy, languages and culture. Promot Social and national disorganisation, disintegration and civil war to feed US Economy and Supremacy. Most of the Revenue in Asia goes for Armament. Nationality question is not addressed at all. Man made calamities created by MNCs, governments, promoters and builders haunt the Asian people most. Untouchability and inherent inequality continue infinitely. Terror strike anywhere anytime.
United sates of America has successfully shifted the War zone in Middle east long before. Now Indian comradors have shifted the free US plus Al Quada led War zone in South Asia itself.
Indulged in virtual reality of misinformation explosion, Sensex Brand india dreams and Soft hard Porn Entertainment, the masses in general are quite unare of the Dangers ahead. This is a challanging time to creat Resistance Global with moulding all activism into Environmental anti imperialism activism without which no Equality, no democracy, no freedom, no sovereignity, no human right, no civic life and livelihood is possible. I believe taht only a combined Black Dalit worldwide movement is the best answer to the New Zionist Hindu Galaxy order!
Here You are!
Asserting there was no going back on the Left`s opposition to the Indo-US nuclear deal despite its support to the UPA government, the CPI-M today said the onus of running the coalition is on the Congress. While Migrant labours in Assam living under shadow of fear.Separatists killed four more Hindi-speaking migrant workers in Assam Sunday, including three Marwaris, taking the toll in week-long coordinated attacks ahead of Independence Day celebrations to 34.A police spokesperson said a group of about six armed militants attacked sleeping villagers at Rongmong Ghat in Karbi Anglong district, about 270 km east of Guwahati.
The spiralling violence against Hindi-speaking settlers in Assam continues.
For the Hindi-speaking labours of Karbi Anglong, fear, helplessness and despair are everyday emotions now.
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Karbi Longri Liberation Front (KNLF) have joined forces against them, and there is no help in sight.
With incidents of the killing of civilians, particularly Hindi-speaking people, on the rise in Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi says he doubts the sincerity of the outlawed ULFA to join the peace process as it is "under the influence" of the ISI and jehadi groups.
Gogoi is ready to release five jailed ULFA leaders provided that brings the group`s top leadership -- chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and secretary general Paresh Barua, believed to be living in Bangladesh -- to the negotiating table but says there should be direct talks without any conditions.
He also feels the People`s Consultative Group (PCG), which includes eminent writer Indira Goswami, has been unable to make any breakthrough in persuading the ULFA`s leadership to participate in the peace process.
"They (PCG) are only talking to our leaders (in the Central government). They don`t seem to have direct contact with ULFA leaders. Why doesn`t Indira Goswami meet the other side? I am prepared to provide any help and facilities to them," he said in interview to a news agency at his residence over the weekend as the banned group kept targeting Hindi-speaking people in upper Assam, killing 16 people.
The wide-ranging interview covered issues like the infiltration of foreigners, an issue that gained a new dimension last year with the scrapping of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act of 1985 by the Supreme Court and the need to update the National Register of Citizens, as the 71-year-old Gogoi rebutted charges that his Congress Party was interested only in creating a "vote bank" of illegal migrants.
Asked whether ULFA leaders were sincere in wanting to hold talks with the government or whether they were only posturing, Gogoi said: "That is my doubt also. Their sincerity is in question.
"See frankly speaking, they are under the influence of many others like the ISI and jehadi groups. Their links with the ISI and jehadi groups should be broken, which is an international problem."
Gogoi said he had doubts whether any one in Assam has direct contacts with the ULFA. "But still I am appealing to anybody having direct contact with the ULFA to mediate. Otherwise there is no point. Unless you go and talk to people directly, persuade them, know their mind," he said of the ULFA leaders who have so far refused to come forward for direct talks.
"If these five people (jailed ULFA leaders) can bring their leadership to talks, I don`t mind (releasing them). But I make it clear that talks must be direct and not through these five people or the PCG," Gogoi said, referring to ULFA`s demand for the release of imprisoned leaders including ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain. "Arabindo Rajkhowa and Paresh Barua must come forward. Otherwise there is no point of talking," he said, pointing to the direct talks between the NSCN-IM and the Centre since a ceasefire was put in place in neighbouring Nagaland in 1997.
Asked whether Bangladesh was playing a positive role, he said, "Somebody appears to be doing that. But let us see. Only results will show."
http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/46691/migrant-labours-in-assam-living-under-shadow-of-fear.html
Nehru's memorable dawn of independence speech
The following is the historic 'tryst with destiny' speech Jawaharlal Nehru gave in the midnight hours of Aug 14, 1947, announcing the dawn of India's freedom to the world:
Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of the nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.
A joint Indo-US Network Centric Operations centre, the first of its kind in the country, was inaugurated today at Gurgaon, near here, under which real-time military applications can be evolved through use of simulators. The simulation system, which can be used for homeland security, aviation applications and also in natural disasters like Tsunami, is a joint venture between American Defence major Lockheed-Martin and India's leading software company WIPRO.
The facility will enable India to participate in high-fidelity demonstrations that employs state-of-the-art network centric concepts and technologies with industry and Defence leaders from around the world.
The centre, named 'Ambar Jyoti' and located at Gurgaon, was inaugurated by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh.

With the country's top leadership expected to be in full attendance at the Red Fort on Independence Day, security forces have turned the historic monument into a citadel.The threats by Al Qaeda to strike in India as well as the failed terror attacks in Britain have raised the alarm levels in the Indian security establishment. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to meet the Left leaders before he makes a statement on the Indo-US nuclear deal in Parliament tomorrow. The meeting is being considered significant as it comes in the backdrop of Singh daring the Left parties to withdraw support to the government over the nuke deal even though the two sides appeared keen to avoid a confrontation.
Sixty years after partition, the US has finally separated India and Pakistan in its worldview, with one seen as an emerging strategic partner and other as an indispensable ally in the war on terror.The culmination of what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls 'de-hyphenation' of the two South Asian neighbours came last month with the finalisation of an accord to implement the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal.
Markets are likely to see uncertainty for a few more weeks, says analyst Sangeeta Purushotam, Head, Institutional Business at Religare Securities.There will be re-assessment of risk, but near-term volatility will continue according to Purushotam. Like most analysts, Purushotam's advice to investors is to start bottom-fishing with a one year perspective. It is premature to conclude long term damage to equity markets, she added.

“I told them to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it. I am not angry but anguished. They are our colleagues and we have to work with them. But they also have to learn to work with us. They haven't thought it through,” said Manmohan Singh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as senior Left leaders dispelled speculation on Saturday about a threat to the government after the PM said he should be “allowed to leave” if the Left stand-off on the nuke deal continued.
They laughed and made light of the situation after the swearing-in ceremony of Vice- President Hamid Ansari. “There is no threat to the government and no reason for a mid- term poll,” assured Singh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday asked the Left parties to react to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's comments daring them to withdraw support to the government following their differences over the India-US nuclear deal.
"Will they (the Left parties) now bite? If they really believe that the 123 agreement is not in India's national interest they should vote against it (in parliament) in the larger national interest," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

President George W Bush said on Thursday he is confident in the ability of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to crack down on militants at the Afghan border and cooperate with the US.He said he expected Musharraf to take ''swift action if there is actionable intelligence inside his country.''
Bush refused to address whether the US troops would go into Pakistan without permission from leaders there.

Meanwhile, Dr Manmohan Singh spoke to CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury over telephone to greet him over his birthday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may be sensitive about strategic relations with the US but CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat says that's not part of the Common Minimum Program.
Addressing a press conference in Thiruvanathapuram, Karat also said the onus of running the government is on the Congress and the Left will do all it can to oppose the nuclear deal.
''You should ask the Congress party whether you want to run the government,'' Karat told reporters when asked about the possible fallout of the Left-UPA stand-off on the issue.
''We are all aware that the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) is very sensitive on the government's relations with the US,'' he said about Singh's challenge to the Left to withdraw support to his government
''But this is not a matter of sensitivity alone. This is an issue of serious import,'' he added.
Full coverage: Indo-US nuclear deal
http://sify.com/news/fullcover.php?event_id=14461920
''We spend a lot of time with the leadership in Pakistan talking about what we will do with actionable intelligence. Am I confident they (terrorists) will be brought to justice? My answer is, 'Yes I am.''' Bush said.
Musharraf, a key ally in Washington's fight against terrorism, is under growing US pressure. But the Pakistani leader is under considerable pressure at home too.He has seen dwindling popular support amid a failed bid to oust the country's chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
Musharraf also has been beset by rising violence in the country, particularly following an army raid to end the takeover of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, an operation that left more than 100 people dead.

Two militant outfits have claimed responsibility for the massive ongoing blaze at an Indian army ordnance depot in south Kashmir that injured 35 people including soldiers, though the army says the fire was caused by an accident. Authorities have evacuated 30,000 villagers living around the depot. As ammunition stored in the Khundroo Field Ordnance Depot (FOD) - 67 km from here - continued to explode and shrapnel rained over surrounding villages even hours after the fire started, a senior officer in south Kashmir's Anantnag district said, "We have safely evacuated more than 30,000 villagers from 18 villages around the ordnance depot."
Mayawati orders 30 percent reservation in private sector
Lucknow: In an unprecedented move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Friday evening announced a reservation policy for new industries in the private sector that also includes jobs for poor upper caste people.According to a decision taken by her cabinet, all private entrepreneurs seeking special concessions for setting up new industrial or business units in the state would have to reserve 30 percent posts in their companies for three different categories of employees.
Chhattisgarh govt to ban NGOs

NDTV
The Chhattisgarh state government is planning to ban NGOs working in Maoist-hit areas.The Director General of police says he is considering the move following intelligence reports that point to large scale funding of Maoists by NGOs in Bastar, the worst hit area.DGP Vishwaranjan said NGOs receive funds from different departments for development projects but use this money to help rebels buy sophisticated arms and ammunition.
In response NGOs who work in the area say this was the governments way of putting pressure on NGOs to stop them from raising their voices against the government. n the last couple of years, the government has been sharply criticised for promoting Salwa Judum a local anti-naxal force that has led to bloody clashes and massive migration among tribals.
Meanwhile,The author of a key draft policy on criminal justice has advocated the setting up of a separate body to deal with crimes threatening the country's security that will be accountable only to the judiciary.Madhava Menon, who headed the committee on a national policy on criminal justice, believes an agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is not "independent" enough for the job.

Amitabh hits back after land row

NDTV
Sunday, August 12, 2007 (Mumbai)
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan has spoken out on the controversy surrounding the farmland owned by him.Speaking to NDTV's Sreenivasan Jain, Bachchan said he has been singled out and there are millions who owned farmland, without being farmers.
''It's becoming a controversy because the media wishes to put it that way. The definition of a farmer was put across in such a way as though it was mocking me, it was full of sarcasm.
''The definition of a farmer, the dictionary says is someone who tills the land therefore if I'm a professional actor, industrialist, CA, anybody, I have no reason to become one,'' he said.
The actor has been hounded by a spate of controversies in the recent past.
''Surely there has to be a definition, there are millions of people who own agricultural land, and who do not go down on their hands and knees and till the earth.
''If you are mocking me if I own farmland, target others who own farm land and do not till the land. Why are they coming after me?
''If they are ready to arrest me, I'll go to jail,'' said an obviously perturbed Amitabh.
Much to gain from the 123 of nuke power
10 Aug, 2007, 0330 hrs IST,Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, TNN
NEW DELHI: Private sector nuclear energy is going to be introduced in four phases in India in the wake of the 123 agreement with the US. To begin with, private sector companies like Tata Power and Reliance Energy will have to form joint ventures with the government-owned Nuclear Power Corporation.

In the next phase, Indian private sector companies will be allowed to set up plants on their own. The third phase will permit foreign investors to come in as JV partners with Indian players. And finally, at least a decade later, foreign investors may be allowed to set up nuclear plants on their own.
Today, nuclear energy is by law a government monopoly. So, the government needs to enact legislation permitting the entry of private players. This has been agreed to in principle. But it remains to be seen whether the Left Front agrees to vote for such legislation.
The legislation will have to provide for a cap on the liability of companies in the event of a nuclear accident, and for the government to fund compensation above this cap. This is standard legal procedure in the US and other countries: no private player will enter this hazardous field without a liability cap, and no insurance company will provide insurance without a cap.

India is bound to follow the precedents set by China and insists that transfer of technology must be part and parcel of any nuclear supply deal.
However, the Left Front will probably oppose capping the liability of private sector operators. If the BJP also opposes legislation for the sake of opposition, the path ahead will not be smooth.
Assuming the legislation goes through, a huge new area will open up to India Inc, of which setting up nuclear plants will be only one part. India is bound to follow the precedents set by China, Korea and Taiwan, and insists that transfer of technology must be part and parcel of any nuclear supply deal. So, Indian companies will not just buy foreign equipment, but prepare the ground for manufacturing equipment in India.
China, for instance, recently awarded a contract for a series of nuclear plants to Westinghouse (a former American company now owned by Toshiba of Japan). Westinghouse will transfer the technology to China, which expects to soon manufacture the 1,000-MW sets itself, and even become an exporter. India Inc will take the same route.
In India, the three companies that have already declared an interest in setting up nuclear power plants are Tata Power, Reliance Energy and National Thermal Power Corporation. But others are lurking in the background and may consider entering the fray too.
These include Lanco (which lost out on the Sasan ultra-mega power plant and is itching to find a new route to the top), GVK and GMR from Andhra Pradesh, Torrent from Gujarat, and CESC from West Bengal. It is not clear whether any of these companies will also want to get into equipment manufacture.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2269775.cms

Taking a serious view of the killing of Hindi-speaking people, particularly Biharis, in Assam over the past one week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday sought immediate intervention of the Centre to ensure their safety.

"It is not for the first time that Hindi-speaking people, several of them from Bihar, have fallen to mindless sectarian violence in Assam. It is the duty of the Congress government of Assam and the Centre to prevent such violence. I want the Centre's UPA regime to intervene to prevent recurrence of such violence," Kumar said in a statement.

Meanwhile, two Bihari organisations have called a 12-hour `Assam bandh' on August 14 to protest the killings of Hindi-speaking people in the state's Karbi Anglong district since Wednesday.
Blast at Kolkata McDonald's kills one
Kolkata: One man was killed when a powerful blast rocked the recently opened McDonald's fast food restaurant in the upmarket Park Street area here Sunday, and police blamed it on the air-conditioning system. Three people were also seriously injured in the explosion around 9.30 a.m. The injured were admitted to the SSKM Hospital, Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee said.
Orissa imposes prohibitory order to prevent rallies on Posco plant
Jagatsinghpur: The local administration Thursday imposed prohibitory orders in a village in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district where both the supporters and protestors of the proposed steel project by South Korea's Posco were to hold rallies. Posco Pratirodah Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organization, which is opposing the project observed Thursday as 'Kranti Divas' and had decided to organise a public meeting at Balitutha bazaar, one of the places that would be affected by the project.

Left softens, says won't destabilise UPA Govt

The Left is unlikely to take up the Prime Minister's challenge to withdraw support over the Indo-US nuclear deal. Sources have told CNN-IBN that CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the phone and he is believed to have clarified that while their opposition to the deal itself continues, the Left will not destabilise the government. Following the Left's sustained attack on the civilian nuclear deal the Prime Minister had earlier said the Left was free to withdraw support if they chose to do so.The Prime Minister has accused the Left of not keeping its word of backing the deal, despite him keeping the promises he made to Parliament. He's called the Left's bluff and dared it to withdraw support.
If you think you are already paying a lot for petrol, things may soon get worse. Global oil prices are near all time highs again, with the Crude on New York's Nymex touching a high of 72 dollars per barrel. Indian oil companies have already started pushing for a hike in petrol and diesel prices. The government is going into a huddle this week to decide on the price hike.The petroleum minister will consult the finance minister on whether the consumer can be cushioned from a price hike through duty cuts.
Then the government will consult the left parties and its other allies, before the Prime Minister gives his final verdict on the hike.
Oil marketing companies are already reporting a loss of about Rs 5. 75 per litre on petrol and Rs 4.75 per litre on diesel.And due to selling petrol, diesel and LPG at lower prices, they are facing a loss of approximately Rs 90 crore per day.

For the government this is going to be a very difficult tight-rope walk, trying to balance the demands of the oil marketing companies, the left parties and its allies, and most importantly, the consumers.
What is happening to the US economy? Has the wide-scale outsourcing of businesses, losses suffered by the US economy in Iraq War, the arrival of the ‘third world countries’ on the global business scenario — hit the US economy so hard that it’s heading towards crisis akin to a Great Depression of 1929?

“May be”, say the analysts who can trace an alarming trend that show, US economy undergoing similar predicament as witnessed during 1929-30 — the period when the country was in the run up to the World II.

At present, the US stock markets are facing liquidity crisis. The European markets took a nosedive on Thursday, much to the horror of investors groups who are still recuperating the losses suffered due to the freeze put on three major hedge funds by France’s largest bank BNP Paribas.Even as a number of central banks were raising interest rates, to mop up some of this excess liquidity, the cheap cash kept flowing. But now the US economy is seeing a reversal.

Over the past few months there has been a tightening of credit. Individuals and companies in US are finding it hard to borrow money, raising concerns of a credit crunch. So what's the worse case scenario?
India might fly its own indigenously built 70-seater civilian aircraft in another seven to eight years, the programme director of the country's first self-built aircraft SARAS has said.On the other hand,The aviation industry is heating up to more competition. British business mogul Richard Branson’s Virgin Aviation has recently announced its entry into the Asian aviation space with a 20 per cent stake in Air Asia. From low cost travel to Virgin mobiles, Branson, the billionaire behind the multi-platform Virgin brand, said that he looks at India as a potential market.
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf has reiterated his opposition to the return of two exiled former prime ministers before parliamentary elections due later this year, a government minister said.
Meanwhile, in remarks broadcast Sunday, ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto highlighted her party's opposition to Pakistan having military leadership.
Musharraf, facing his worst political crisis since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has said that his government would hold parliamentary elections later this year but that he wants exiled former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Bhutto to stay away from Pakistan in the run-up to the polls.
The country's independent Geo news channel reported Saturday that Musharraf reiterated his stand at a meeting of Pakistani newspaper editors.
Pakistan's Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani confirmed the meeting and Musharraf's remarks, but did not elaborate.
Contrarily, Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto has said that she hopes to return home by mid-October. She also said that she might ally with President Pervez Musharraf. Bhutto, who's been exile for the last eight years, said she has had a "confidential understanding" with Musharraf on her return. She confirmed that she's been negotiating this with the military government in Pakistan for a long time.
President Pervez Musharraf was on the verge of imposing a state of emergency in Pakistan last week before being stopped by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and civilian advisers.On Wednesday night Pakistan's media, working overtime to gather information on the political goings-on, was quick to report that the government had almost arrived at a decision to impose the emergency. Government insiders had informed the media that at the Wednesday morning meeting at the presidency the decision had almost been taken.
By night time all television channels reported on the near decision to impose emergency. They ably presented the political compulsions that were prompting imposition of emergency as well as the political fallout of the imposition. There was no doubt left that there would be no gains from such a move.

Bhutto said she's also discussed election reforms with Musharraf.

"I would like to tell you about that meeting but both sides say there is no meeting. So this makes it a little bit difficult but I can tell you that we have been having negotiations for a long period of time. We have discussed the uniform issue and both sides have reached a confidential understanding on it. We have discussed my return issue and we've also reached a confidential understanding on that, Bhutto said.
Talking about the power sharing between Prime Minister and President Bhutto said, “We've talked about the balance of power between the president and the prime minister and that is still to be fine tuned. We've talked about the implementation of opposition demands for fair elections, we're still awaiting those to be implemented and we've also talked about the need to have an upfront confidence building measure, which could be through indemnity or lifting of the ban on a twice elected prime minister before we say or trigger an agreement."

"I would like to go back to Pakistan sooner rather than later but General Musharraf still is opposed to my return to Pakistan.”

"I am thinking between September to December. And I'm expecting the general elections to be called some time in October or November but if I had my little Aladdin's lamp then I would ask the genie to get me there by Eid, which falls in October, “ she added.
I have never come face to face with death like this: Taslima

"For half an hour death stared at me from close as I locked myself in a room and those men tried to break in and kill me," a traumatised Taslima Nasreen said Friday, a day after the controversial Bengali author was attacked in Hyderabad during a book release.
Nasreen is not new to either controversy or attacks by fundamentalists for her writings against Islam. But Thursday's vicious attack by members of the Hyderabad-based Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) was different.
Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen's visa, scheduled to expire this month, has been extended by six months till February next year.
She is living in exile in Kolkata following a fatwa issued against her by some Islamic groups in Bangladesh for her book "Lajja".

Case registered against MIM MLA for attacking Taslima. If Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen escaped unhurt in Thursday's attack by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislators and cadre at the press club here, it was thanks to the journalists present.The journalists acted as a shield to save Taslima, who was targeted by MIM activists at a book release function.
Police in Hyderabad have registered a case of criminal intimidation against Mujlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi for attacking and threatening to kill Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen. On the other hand,Muslim ulama and activists have criticized the attack on controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen by Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen activists in Hyderabad Thursday. Several Muslim ulama and activists have come forward to criticize the attack on Taslima saying that despite the fact that Taslima’s writings are sacrilegious but the attack on her by some Muslims cannot be justified.
Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, vice president of Milli Council said that the attack on her cannot be justified. He said that attack was against the spirit of Islam and does not send the right signal.
Maulana Aqilul Gharawi, a Shia scholar also criticized the attack on Tasleema. He said that the attack on her was against the Islamic ethos.
Maulana Mahmood Madani general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind said that the way some Muslim activists attacked yesterday was not the right way of demonstration. He said that Islam does not allow such forms of demonstration. But Maulana in a press release added that Jamiat has been of the view that people like Taslima Nasreen and Salman Rushdie should not be allowed to come to the country as they have always tried to defame Islam and Muslims.
Muslim Intellectual Forum, a Mumbai based think tank has severely condemned the attack on controversial Bengali author Taslima Nasrin in Mumbai Thursday by Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen supporters. In a press release the Forum said, “we the Muslim Intellectual Forum categorically condemn the dastardly attack on Taslima Nasreen by three MLA's of the Muslim Ittehadul Muslimeen at a Press Conference in Hyderabad. It is an attack on the basic democratic and secular foundations of the Indian nation. Interestingly this attack was not led by any conservative Muslim organization, but was the handiwork of legislative members sworn to uphold the Indian constitution. Therefore this attack reeks of political motivations, both on part of the MIM and its ally the ruling Congress-I. “

The Hyderabad police have registered a case against the writer herself for allegedly promoting enmity between groups, following a complaint from Owaisi.

Owaisi had lodged the police complaint, saying that Taslima was hurting the sentiments of Muslims by making statements against the Holy Quran.

The Panjagutta police said a case had been lodged against Taslima under Section 153(A), dealing with hurting religious sentiments.

As of now the MIM stick to their stand and are ready to do anything for the prophet.
The Hyderabad government will now have to take this case and whether all this was done to gain political mileage or actually implement the fatwa.

Legislators and activ