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Posts archive for: 30 August, 2007
  • The Need of the Hour is a Resisting Alignment Worldwide. Nothing Less!

    The Need of the Hour is a Resisting Alignment Worldwide. Nothing Less!
    The partitioned India is the best example how the forces of national Dalit movement led by a personality like Dr ambedkar was diluted, scattered and killed with transfer of power!
    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
    Worldwide resistance against zionist Hindu Post Modern manusmriti Order is not a easy task, mind you. As you see, the strategic regroupin in Indian ocean is based on Islamophobia and intense dalit hatred.Attacks on outcastes, underclasses and minorities continues. Half of the Global population is displaced to accomodate so called capitalist Development. Space Dominance is complete. Nuclear weapons are going to be deployed in space. Man and nature is endangered as global warming hightened. the ruling class wants to make this good earth a colony shifting themeselves to Moon or mars.Their vision is quite clear. they have planned well to maintain the Hegemony.Dalit movement in Indian subcontinent is a spordiac affair dilute in reservation, quota and share in the political system. thus they kill us isolating any part of this geopolitics. they have syastematically killed us for thousands of years with population restructuring. The partitioned India is the best example how the forces of national Dalit movement led by a personality like Dr ambedkar was diluted, scattered and killed with transfer of power!
    Since Mehargatrgh days this is the Brahminical strategy. Mohanjodoro has not any legacy anywhere as they wiped out. Charvak philosophy was diluted in hindutva.south and North Indian dalits and Tribals are divided for thousand years. Hence the great DMK movement has no impact in the north. Only Dr Ambedkar had the influence and inteelect to resist the Brahminical scientific rigging. Thus it is hightime to work accordingly. the need of the hour is a resisting alignment worldwide.Nothing Less! We have to align all forces fighting caste system, untouchability and aparteid as the United States of America, Japan, Israel and sensex India aligned themselves to annihilate us.
    A gohana, a nandigram, a singur, a kalingnagar are not enough. Dalits are fighting all over this divioded geopolitics. they happen to be the partition victims in fact. they have to be evicted for any so called development project as the tribals in India have experienced. now the dalits and Muslims are also feeling the heat. In India, in Nepal, in Pakistan, in Bangladesh the dalits are fighting for human and civil rights. but we have no coordination, not even a national network. It is ahame!
    Let us first understand and feel the black Power and then the interactive sessions have to start.
    Neo Black Movement of Africa
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    Neo Black Movement of Africa logoThe Neo Black Movement of Africa is a socio-cultural organisation that seek to revive, retain and modify where necessary those aspects of African culture that would provide vehicles of progress for Africa and her peoples. The Neo Black Movement holds that a people can only progress rapidly by using and modifying where necessary such knowledge and instruments that has since distant past been familiar to them.
    The immutable words of Frantz Fanon while postulating the above view said "let us not pay tribute to Europe by creating institutions and societies which derived their inspirations from her. if we turn Africa into a new Europe then let us leave the destiny of our countries to Europeans, they will know how to do it better than the best gifted of us."
    Apart from fighting to stop African culture from liquidation, the Neo Black Movement attempts to spread the message of the need for peace, respect and tolerance among various races of the world. For this reason the movement unequivocally condemns in every form racism and apartheid wherever it exists in the world
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_Black_Movement_of_Africa
    Black Consciousness Movement
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    AZAPO emblemApartheid in South Africa

    Events and Projects
    Sharpeville Massacre · Soweto uprising
    Treason Trial
    Rivonia Trial · Church Street bombing
    CODESA · St James Church massacre

    Organizations
    ANC · IFP · AWB · Black Sash · CCB
    PP · RP ·PRP· PFP · HNP · MK · PAC · SACP · UDF
    Broederbond · National Party · COSATU

    People
    PW Botha · Oupa Gqozo · DF Malan
    Nelson Mandela · Mahatma Gandhi · Walter Sisulu
    Helen Suzman · Harry Schwarz · Andries Treurnicht
    HF Verwoerd · Oliver Tambo · BJ Vorster
    Kaiser Matanzima · Jimmy Kruger · Steve Biko

    Places
    Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island
    Sophiatown · South-West Africa
    Soweto · Vlakplaas

    Other aspects
    Apartheid laws · Freedom Charter
    Sullivan Principles · Kairos Document
    Disinvestment campaign
    South African Police

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    The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) is a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960’s out of the political vacuum created by the decimation of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership, by jailing and banning, after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.[1]. The BCM represents a social movement for political consciousness.
    “Black Consciousness had a great impact on South African society and the churches were no exception. Its origins were deeply rooted in Christianity. In 1966, the Anglican Church under the incumbent, Archbishop Robert Selby Taylor, convened a meeting which later on led to the foundation of the University Christian Movement (UCM). This was to become the vehicle for Black Consciousness.” [2]
    From its onset, the BCM aggressively launched an attack on traditional White values, especially the ‘condescending’ values of Whites of liberal opinion. They refused to engage White Liberal opinion on the pros and cons of Black Consciousness, and emphasized the rejection of White monopoly on truth as a central tenet of their movement. While this philosophy at first generated some heat amongst Black anti-Apartheid activists within South Africa, it was in short order adopted by most as a positive development. As a result, there emerged a greater cohesiveness and solidarity amongst black groups in general, which in turned propelled Black Consciousness to the forefront of the anti-Apartheid struggle within South Africa.[3] – Pages 47-48.
    The BCM’s policy of perpetually challenging the dialectic of Apartheid South Africa as a means of conscientizing Black brought it into direct conflict with the full force of the Security Apparatus of the Apartheid regime. “Black man, you are on your own” became the rallying cry as mushrooming activity committees implemented what was to become a relentless campaign of challenge to what was then referred to by the BCM as ‘the System’. It eventually sparked a confrontation on June 16th, 1976 in Soweto, when at least 200 people were killed by the South African Security Forces, as students marched to protest the use of the Afrikaans language in African Schools. Unrest spread like wildfire throughout the country. The Black revolution in South Africa had begun.
    However, although it successfully implemented a system of comprehensive local committees to facilitate organized resistance, the BCM itself was decimated by security action taken against its leaders and social programs. By June 19th, 1976, 123 key members had been banned and confined to remote rural districts. In 1977 all BCM related organizations were banned, many of its leaders arrested, and their social programs dismantled under provisions of the newly Implemented Internal Security Amendment Act . In September 1977, its banned National Leader, Steve Biko, was murdered while in the custody of the South African Security Police.[4][5]
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Consciousness_Movement
    In the beginning of 1968, after selling Mao's Red Book to university students in order to buy shotguns, the Party makes the book required reading. Meanwhile, the FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, begins a program called COINTELPRO (counterintelligence program) to break up the spreading unity of revolutionary groups that had begun solidifying through the work and examaple of the Panthers — the Peace and Freedom Party, Brown Berets, Students for a Democratic Society, the SNCC, SCLC, Poor People's March, Cesar Chavez and others in the farm labor movement, the American Indian Movement, Young Puerto Rican Brothers, the Young Lords and many others. To destroy the party, the FBI begins with a program of surgical assassinations — killing leading members of the party who they know cannot be otherwise subverted. Following these mass killings would be a series of arrests, followed by a program of psychological warfare, designed to split the party both politically and morally through the use of espionage, provocatures, and chemical warfare.
    > > Watered down examples of FBI investigations, provided by the FBI: [off-site links]
    > > The Winston Salem (N.C.) Black Panthers (2,895 pages)
    > > Communist infiltration of the SNCC in 1964 (2,887 pages)
    > > Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers Communist Affiliations in 1965 (2,021 pages)
    U.S. Police Terror and Repression
    On April 6, 1968, in West Oakland, Bobby Hutton, 17 years old, is shot dead by Oakland police. In a 90 minute gun battle, an unarmed Bobby Hutton is shot ten times dead, after his house is set ablaze and he is forced to run out into a fire of bullets. Just two days earlier, Martin Luther King is assasinated, after he had begun rethinking his own doctrines of non-violence, and started to build ties with radical unions. Two months later on the day of Bobby's death, Robert Kennedy, widely recognised in the minority commmunity as one of the only politicians in the US "sympathetic" to the civil rights movement, is also assasinated.
    In January, 1969, The first Panther's Free Breakfast for School Children Program is initiated at St. Augustine's Church in Oakland. By the end of the year, the Panthers set up kitchens in cities across the nation, feeding over 10,000 children every day before they went to school.
    > > The Black Panther: To Feed Our Children
    A few months later, J. Edgar Hoover publicly states that the Panthers are the "greatest threat to the internal security of the country".
    In Chicago, the outstanding leader of the Panthers local, Fred Hampton, leads five different breakfast programs on the West Side, helps create a free medical center, and initiates a door to door program of health services which test for sickle cell anemia, and encourage blood drives for the Cook County Hospital. The Chicago party also begins reaching out to local gangs to clean up their acts, get them away from crime and bring them into the class war. The Parties efforts meet wide success, and Hampton's audiences and organised contingent grow by the day. On December 4th, at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, thanks to information from an FBI informant , Chicago police raid the Panthers' Chicago apartment, murdering Fred Hampton while he sleeps in bed. He is shot twice in the head, once in the arm and shoulder; while three other people sleeping in the same bed escape unharmed. Mark Clark, sleeping in the living room chair, is also murdered while asleep. Hampton's wife, carrying child for 8 months, is also shot, but survives. Four panthers sleeping in the apartment are wounded, while one other escapes injury . Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was executed, Mark was 17 years old. According to the findings of the federal grand jury, Ninety bullets were fired inside the apartment. 1 came from a Panther — Mark — who slept with a shotgun in his hand. All surviving Panther members were arrested for "attempted murder of the police and aggravated assault". Not a single cop spent a moment in jail for the executions.
    > > Fred Hampton: I am ... a Revolutionary
    In the summer of 1969, the alliance between the Panthers and SNCC begins ripping apart. One of the main points of dispute is the inclusion of whites in the struggle for minority liberation, a dispute which is pushed into an open gun fight at the University of California in Los Angeles against the group US, led by Maulana Karenga, which leaves two Panthers dead. In September, in the government's court house, Huey Newton is convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison; by 1970 the conviction is appealed and overturned on procedural errors. On November 24, 1968, Kathleen and Eldridge Cleaver flee the US, visit Cuba and Paris, and eventually settle in Algeria. Earlier in the year Cleaver published his famous book Soul on Ice. By the end of the year, the party has swelled from 400 members to over 5,000 members in 45 chapters and branches, with a newspaper circulation of 100,000 copies.
    In 1969 Seale is indicted in Chicago for protesting during the Democratic national convention of last year. The court refuses to allow Seale to choose a lawyer. As Seale repeatedly stands up during the show trial insisting that he is being denied his constitutional right to counsel, the judge orders him bound and gagged. He is convicted on 16 counts of contempt and sentenced to four years in prison. While in jail he would be charged again for killing a cop in years past, a trial that would end in 1971 with a hung jury.
    In March, 1970, Bobby Seale publishes Seize The Time while still being held in prison, the story of the Panthers and Huey Newton. On April 2, 1970, in New York, 21 Panthers are charged with plotting to assassinate police officers and blow up buildings. On May 22nd, Eight members, including Ericka Huggins, are arrested on a variety of conspiracy and murder charges in New Haven, Connecticut. Meanwhile, Chief of staff David Hilliard is on trial for threatening President Richard Nixon. The party does little to separate its legal and illegal aspects, and is thus always and everywhere under attack by the government. In 1971, the Panther's newspaper circulation reaches 250,000.
    http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/

    Cholera and diarrhoea, having assumed epidemic form in three tribal-dominated Orissa districts, claimed 159 lives as officials confirmed 78 more deaths today. Officials today confirmed 78 more deaths inspite of the state government's claim that its efforts had controlled the spread of the epidemic. While the situation remained unchanged in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, the authorities today confirmed more deaths in neighbouring Koraput and Kalahandi districts.
    "As many as 53 persons have died due to cholera and diarrhoea in Dasmantpur block of Koraput alone", District Collector Balakrushna Sahu, who has been camping at the block headquarter to monitor the situation, told reporters. With ten more deaths confirmed in Thuamal Rampur block in Kalahandi district today, the overall death toll in the block rose to 27, official sources said. According to the epidemic cell set up at the Chief District Medical Officer's office at Koraput, eight deaths were today reported in Laxmipur, two each in Nandapur, Marthapur, Kurda and one in Pottangi blocks in the district. The disease, which first broke out 25 days back, so far claimed 68 lives in Koraput district followed by 64 in Rayagada and 27 in Kalahandi, officials said. In Rayagada district, 50 deaths occurred in Kashipur block while 14 casualties were reported from Kolnara block, but no fresh deaths were reported today.
    Nepal government on Thursday inked a deal with a major Madhesi group of the Terai region that promises fulfillment of their key demands including greater political and economic rights to the community. As per the deal with Madhesi People's Right Forum (MRPF), government has agreed to fulfill their 22-point demands including regional autonomy to the plains bordering India.
    "We have withdrawn the agitation and have launched the Constituent Assembly polls campaign from today itself," MPRF chairman Upendra Yadav told reporters after the successful conclusion of the talks here.
    The MPRF called off their planned agitation scheduled to start from September following the agreement. The other demands of the group included representation of all marginalised groups including Madhesis and Dalits in all the state organs on proportionate basis and declaring all those killed during the Madhesi movement from January to March 2007 as martyrs, sources close to MPRF said. As per the deal, government is expected to initiate steps to return the land and property captured by Maoists in the Terai region, they said. The MRPF also demanded withdrawal of the cases filed against its activists during the agitation.
    Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ramchandra Poudyal led the government talks team while MPRF president Upendra Yadav led the Madhesi group during the talks.

    Fresh violence flared up in Kathmandu valley Wednesday as groups of Buddhists and Dalits, a community once regarded as untouchables, clashed with the police as they tried to enforce a shutdown. By early morning, nearly 20 people had been arrested from three areas in the capital for trying to vandalise a taxi that dared to defy the closure and for obstructing roads.

    The Samyukta Ganatantrik Dalit Mukti Morcha spearheaded the shutdown, demanding proportional representation for Dalits in the upcoming election.

    The protest is also being supported by a second Dalit organisation and a group of Tamangs, a Buddhist community who are the worst victims of the flourishing Indo-Nepal flesh trade.

    Schools and colleges in the valley, badly disrupted by the student unions last week, remained closed and public transport disappeared from the streets.

    From early morning, groups of protesters began patrolling key areas to ensure that shops remained closed.

    With 91 days left for the crucial constituent assembly election, Nepal remained turbulent Wednesday as other protests erupted outside Kathmandu valley.

    The Tamang Rastriya Mukti Morcha, another group of Tamangs affiliated to the Maoist guerrillas, called a shutdown in nine districts in central Nepal to press their demand for an autonomous state for the community.

    A third protest began in southern Nepal as an armed group, calling itself the Madhesi Tigers, Wednesday began a five-day closure in Saptari district.

    The district in the Terai plains has been tense since Tuesday night when the Tigers exploded bombs to intimidate people into obeying their closure call.

    Though the government, pressured by the international community to hold elections Nov 22 as per schedule, began hurried talks with three groups of ethnic protesters, including one from the plains, the parleys have been slow to reach an understanding with the groups frequently returning to protests.
    The Karnataka Rajya Khotti Jati Patra Veerodhi Horata Vedike urged SC/ST units of all political parties to fight the proposed move of the Union Government to extend reservation benefits to converted dalits.The Vedike stated in a press release issued here on Wednesday that the Indian Constitution has adopted the reservation policy to eradicate untouchability among socially backward castes of the Hindu religion.But the government move to accord reservation benefits to SC/STs who are converted to Christianity and Islam from Hinduism is unconstitutional, except for those converting to Sikhism and Buddhism.
    Leaders Y A Doddamani and Krishna Jakkappanavar criticised the BJP SC/ST national unit president Sathyanar-ayana Jathiya’s press statement in Davanagere that BJP would launch an agitation against the Union government’s proposed reservation policy. They appealed to the SC/ST wings of political parties not to be pawns in the hands of their respective parties.

    The protests over murder of a dalit youth in Gohana in Haryana Thursday spread into various parts of Punjab. The members of Balmiki community held protest marches and forced traders to close markets.The reports of protest by Balmiki Samaj members have been received from Jalandhar, Amritsar, Phagwara, Nawanshehar and Patiala.Police faced tough time in controlling the mob which went berserk at many places in Punjab and Haryana.
    Indian Justice Party president Udit Raj has condemned the murder of a Dalit at Gohana in Haryana saying “it is highly shameful that there is no let-up in atrocities against Dalits in Haryana.”In a statement, Dr. Raj said: “The victim Rakesh, despite being acquitted by the court for the alleged murder of an upper caste man, was made the target of casteist elements. The upper castes were dissatisfied with the judgment and vented their anger by taking his life.”
    Private sector not doing enough; you can’t succeed in a society that fails’
    If you add zero to zero, you still get zero. If you add one to one, you get two. Remember, the Congress had to start from zero, tells union minister Meira Kumar
    Ashish Sharma
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    Social justice and empowerment minister Meira Kumar is a passionate advocate of the government’s policy of reservation in educational institutions and a proposal to follow a similar policy in companies. She is at the forefront of a group within the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that has been pushing the private sector to reserve jobs for the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST). In an interview with Mint, Kumar, an Indian Foreign Service official-turned-politician, and daughter of the country’s former deputy prime minister, and dalit leader, the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, said the private sector needs to do something more concrete towards the cause, and fast. Edited excerpts:
    You recently demanded that the government increase the quota for reservation because of the increase in the percentage of people belonging to the scheduled castes in the country. Can you elaborate on this?
    For a cause: Meira Kumar says reservation has a social dimension that doesn’t change with one generation getting its benefits.I would never make a demand that reservation should be increased because of an increase in population. That would amount to rewarding population growth.
    My point is that over time, a number of castes, and even a religion, neo-Buddhists, have been added to list of SCs. From 607 in 1950, there are now 1,210 castes in the SC list. Of course, their population must have also grown. As a result, the percentage of SCs has grown from 15% to 16.23% (of the population). That is why I said the quota should be increased.
    Where do you stand on the debate over excluding the creamy layer, or the second-generation beneficiaries of reservation, and linking reservation to economic status rather than caste?
    It is very easy to give sermons sitting here in Delhi. What do such people (asking for the exclusion of the creamy layer) know about the reality in India? You can’t expect people who have suffered for so long to come up in one generation. As for the economically underprivileged, the government has several poverty alleviation programmes. There should be more such programmes.
    But reservation for the SCs and STs has a social dimension that doesn’t change with one generation getting benefits of reservation. The economically disadvantaged from the other castes don’t have to suffer the stigma of untouchability. How do you explain this (the creamy layer argument) to someone in a remote village school who won’t accept a mid-day meal because the meal has been cooked by someone belonging to a particular caste? How do you explain this to an innocent five-year-old who is oppressed by a schoolteacher because of the accident of his birth?
    This would mean that the current reservation policy hasn’t changed mindsets. And that successive social reformers, too, have failed. Would you agree with that?
    Yes.
    Let me tell you why. Besides basic needs like food, shelter and affection, you need respect. If you belong to a certain caste, you are guaranteed that respect by birth. People from certain other castes come and touch your feet, right from your birth. So, why would you like to change such a system?
    Does that still happen?
    What are you talking about? Where do you live? Go beyond Delhi. This is the reality in India, in the villages, in the majority of the country. Untouchability is a fact of life even now. And it is very difficult to change mindsets about that.
    In that case, how can reservation help? Don’t you think it creates further resentment among those left out by this policy?
    If we had a better solution, we would adopt that. I (a Dalit) am sitting here. I have come up. So there is hope. The government does its (part)... That helps to an extent. But the real change will happen...because of the change in mindsets.
    Other political parties are now arguing for an economic basis for reservation. The Bahujan Samaj Party, for instance, is already reaping the political benefits of doing this.
    You should do certain things without reaping the political benefits. You are talking about other parties, but let me tell you they are only building on the foundation laid by the Congress. Nobody sees the foundation, only the building is visible. If you add zero to zero, you still get zero. If you add one to one, you get two. Remember, the Congress had to start from zero.
    You have also been insisting on reservation in private sector jobs, apart from educational institutions. Do you really believe the private sector is moving towards reservation of sorts?
    There has been some progress. I have been meeting them (companies) amicably, and regularly, and there has been some change in their attitude. In the beginning, they were really opposed to me. But I have been telling them it is a golden opportunity for them to do something for the society. The private sector does it in the US as well.
    Is the government committed to this objective?
    There is total commitment, on part of the prime minister, the government and the UPA chairperson.
    Do you think the government did the right thing by giving up the option of legislation for reservation in the private sector?
    Who has given up the option?
    The Prime Minister himself has said so.
    The idea is to take at least some people along. We want them to do it voluntarily.
    If you still fail in achieving your goal of jobs for SCs and STs in the private sector, whom would you blame more: the government or the private sector?
    I don’t doubt the intention of the private sector, but I must say it is not doing enough. It must do something concrete, and fast. You can’t succeed in a society that fails.
    Is there an apprehension that society is failing? That this government isn’t doing enough for the common man?
    There is no such apprehension. I meant that for the private sector. It must reflect on this. We have achieved a good (economic) growth rate. It should percolate to the small towns, the villages.
    http://www.livemint.com/2007/08/28013111/8216Private-sector-not-doin.html
    In Haryana, a state-wide bandh called by Dalit organisations brought normal life to virtual halt at Gohana, Sonepat, Bhiwani, Ambala and Sirsa. By the end of the day, the clashes, especially in Rohtak and Bhiwani, saw more than 20 persons injured, including a DSP and six other cops. The Bandh was called by All India Balmiki Mahasabha to protest the murder of Dalit youth and alleged excesses on their community.Members of the Dalit community staged demonstrations throughout the day in various parts of the city to protest against the murder of a Dalit youth, Rakesh alias Lara, in Gohana on Monday. Though the protesters came out on the streets in large numbers, heavy deployment of police at trouble-prone areas, particularly around Mauli Jagran colony and Ram Darbar Phase-II, stopped the events from taking a serious turn.Haryana remains tense for a third day, following the violence that broke out on a Dalits killing on Wednesday.
    The daylong protests began from the Valmiki temple in Ram Darbar where about 50 protesters held a meeting around 9 am and raised anti-Haryana government slogans. Later, a delegation submitted their memorandum of demands to the Deputy Commissioner.
    While the city police were busy keeping a watch on the group, about 400-500 protesters assembled at Mauli Jagran and started marching towards Panchkula. When Chandigarh and Haryana Police personnel deployed around the colony intercepted the mob, a minor clash broke out between them. The protesters pelted the policemen and media personnel with stones and tried to damage their vehicles. The police had to resort to mild cane-charge to disperse the mob.
    The protesters also damaged an MC truck, which had gone to Mauli Jagran to pick up garbage, by throwing a burnt tyre in it. Manimajra station house officer Inspector Hari Kumar entered the burning vehicle and took the tyre out. The truck driver sustained minor injuries when a stone hurled at the vehicle hit him.
    Around 6.30 pm, the protesters, about 150 to 200 in number, started a march from Sector 25 colony and blocked the traffic at Sector 24-25-37-38 roundabout. They burnt Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's effigy and raised anti-government slogans, demanding immediate action against the accused responsible for the youth's death at Gohana. The heavy police presence could be seen around Mauli Jagran and Ram Darbar till the filing of this report. Police officials said they would remain posted throughout the night to avoid any untoward incident.
    On the other hand, the nationwide outrage over the police atrocity against a petty thief in Bhagalpur has forced the Bihar Government to act tough with the cops.Following an official-level enquiry into the incident, the Nitish Kumar Government late on Thursday dismissed the two policemen from service with immediate effect.The two policemen had been put under suspension on Wednesday on the charge of assaulting and dragging a chain-snatcher tied to their motorcycle two days ago.LB Singh, an assistant sub-inspector, and constable Ramchandra Rai have been dismissed by DIG (Bhagalpur range) G Sharma and Bhagalpur superintendent of police JS Gangwar, official sources in Patna said.The two policemen were accused of joining a crowd in thrashing Mohd Aurangzeb, who had snatched the chain of a woman devotee, at Manaskamnadhish temple at Nathnagar near Bhagalpur on August 27.
    Describing it as "extremely serious", the Lok Sabha today condemned the Bhagalpur incident in which a thief was beaten up by a mob and then tied to a police motorcycle and dragged. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee observed that it was his hope that such an incident would not recur anywhere in the country.
    "It is against human rights and on behalf of the entire House ... I wish to condemn the incident. ... It is not a question of apportioning blame here," he said as the House reassembled in the afternoon after 20-minute adjournment following uproar by RJD members on the issue.
    Expressing confidence that all appropriate action would be taken by the authorities concerned in the "very unhappy" incident, Chatterjee said "we should deal with this matter rising above party considerations".
    "We hope and believe that India, with such an old civilisation of which we are proud, such a similar incident will not happen anywhere in the country", he said thanking all the leaders for their response in the matter.
    Earlier, RJD members, including Vijay Krishna and Ram Kripal Yadav, threatened to storm the well protesting the incident which, they claimed, reflected that there was no government in the state and the minorities were unsafe.
    This was countered by members from JD(U) and BJP.

    Authorities today lifted curfew from the Sadar Police Station area while day curfew was lifted from the Tajganj area in Agra, as an eerie calm prevailed in the city, a day after it witnessed wide spread violence.A BJP team, headed by general secretary Vinay Katiyar, left for Agra to make an assessment of the violence. Party president Rajnath Singh set up the team that has Kishan Singh Sangwan and Subash Maharia as members. It will submit a report to Mr. Singh.
    Suspected Maoists ambushed a police party and killed 12 men in the forests of Jegurugonda near Dornapal in Chhattisgarh, about 50 km from Chintoor in Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday.
    A police inspector leading the party was missing after the incident; he too is believed to have been killed by the CPI (Maoi

  • Bush Threats Nuclear Holocaust and Political Leaders in India Exposed

    No Anti Imperialism Movement at last!
    Bush Threats Nuclear Holocaust and Political Leaders in India Exposed
    Exposed is the firebrand Lady from Bengal, Opportunism personafied, named Ms Mamata Bannerjee as Left saves face with GOI declaring operationalisation of Nuke deal is on hold

    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
    Islamophobia prevails once again with fresh War cry from the Omnipower President of USA agnaist Iran and threatening "nuclear holocaust"! It is quite understandable why the RSS Political face BJP does a turnaround. Though the Left has secured to crete a mechanism to clarify Hyde Act and 123 agreement and the GOI says that operationalisation of Indo US deal is on hold, the strategic regrouping with US lead including Japan and Israel continues without any halt. Indian communists have saved face and is now capable to manipulate the Muslim Vote bank with an anti US pose. But anti imperialism movement in India seems to be a distant possiblity as the Left run state goverments do support the World Bank slave Dr Manmohan Singh. Essentially the base of Indian struggle aginst Imperilism happens to be the peasantry, a dalit muslim tribal combine. Destroying the Rural India and implementing the Zionist Hindu Galaxy Post Modern Manusmriti order, it is quite impossible to wage a war against US Imperialism. The ruling class represented by Left as well as right political parties are selling out India and duping the mobile votebanks respectively.
    Exposed is the firebrand lady from Bengal, Opportunism personafied, named Ms Mamata bannerjee who claims the leadership of Dalit Muslim Insurrection in singur and Nandigram and tries to lit the Nation with the fire, supports shamelessly this anti national deal. SEZ or no SEZ, PCPIR or no PCPIR, US interests are vested in India INC and MNCS. This Indo Nuke Deal is based on Islamophobia and Dalit Hatred which is economically expressed in deindustrialisation and eviction of Rural Dalit India. Mamta Bannerjee opposes SEZ, but supports INDO US strategic regrouping! She has no sympathy with Dalits, refugees, Muslims and tribals and has been always silent on atrocities on the outcastes as it is the character of West Bengal Brahmins for long. Buddhist Dalit Pal dynesty ruled Bengal for four hundred years and later in British period the Brahmins have been always out of power. They plotted to hold on the state power and divided Bengal. Established brahminical hegemony. Mamata Bannerjee is not planning to destroy this hegemony but she wants to replace Buddhadeb as a leader of Brahmins. Thus, she fails to take any stance on Dalit refugee issues. This crisis focuses her with the Congress seeking a viable opportunist electral allaince betraying NDA. That1s all.
    Pl see:
    Mamata Banerjee
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamata_Banerjee
    http://www.calcuttayellowpages.com/mamtadi.html
    Mamata Banerjee And Her Lies
    http://pd.cpim.org/2004/0418/04182004_%20bengal-%20mamata.htm
    In order to resolve the ongoing impasse over the Indo US nuke deal, the government on Thursday buckling under the Left pressure decided not to operationalise the deal. Earlier a meeting took place between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, at the Prime Minister`s residence. On the other hand, President George W Bush on Wednesday raised the specter of a "nuclear holocaust" in the Middle East if Israel's arch-foe Iran gets atomic weapons, and vowed he would not let that happen.
    "Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere, and the United States is rallying friends and allies to isolate Iran's regime, to impose economic sanctions," he told the American Legion veterans group.
    "We will confront this danger before it is too late," vowed Bush, who has pressed for tougher international sanctions and said he hopes for a diplomatic solution but has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of force.
    Shortly before Bush spoke, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad scoffed at the notion of a US attack on his country dismissed a warning from his new French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, as a symptom of inexperience."There is no ... possibility of such an attack by the United States," Ahmadinejad told a news conference marked by his characteristic defiance.
    "Even if they take such a decision, they cannot implement it," he said.
    Sarkozy used a keynote foreign policy address on Monday that the threat of sanctions coupled with an offer of dialogue was the only way of avoiding a "catastrophic alternative: an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran.""He only recently came to power and wants to find a place for himself in the world," Ahmadinejad said of the French president."He is still inexperienced, meaning that maybe he does not really understand the meaning of his own words."
    In a speech billed as a defense of the Iraq war, Bush branded Iran "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," citing its backing of Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Shiite fighters killing US troops in Iraq.
    "And Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust," he said.
    The United States accuses Iran -- OPEC's number two oil producer and owner of the second largest proven gas reserves in the world -- of seeking to make nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy drive.

    After the crucial meeting the UPA informed the Left parties that it will not go ahead with the Indo- US Nuclear deal until the concerns raised by the Left and Opposition parties are over. The Indo- US Nuclear deal will also be nulled by the government for the time being. The expert committee, which will study on Hyde Act, will have representatives from Congress, Left, RJD, NCP and DMK members.
    Opposition BJP and Third Front members in the Rajya Sabha today sought to raise the Indo-US nuclear deal and wanted to know when the discussion would take place. Soon after the Question Hour, former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha (BJP) asked when the House would discuss the issue and whether it would be discussed at all.
    Sinha, who was joined by other BJP members, pointed towards the Left party members wondering why they were silent. Supporting him, Sahid Siddiqui (SP) wanted to know why there was no discussion and rushed to the podium to register his protest.

    Noting that the Indo-US nuclear deal was in the interest of the country, former scientists of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) have said the agreement should not be hijacked by political parties.
    "With the country's ever increasing energy needs and with a view to end the 33-year-long nuclear isolation, the importance of the deal has to be understood by the people of India and should not be hijacked by the Opposition and the political parties supporting the UPA Government," the scientists said in a statement.
    They condemned the Oppositon and the Left parties for questioning the integrity of the PM over the civil nuclear agreement.
    "Indo-US Cooperation on the Civilian Nuclear Programme and the Agreement is now being called a `deal' and our Prime Minister is being targeted as if he has made some underhand `deal' with the US," the statement said.
    "Some political parties, including ones supporting the Government, are doubting the integrity of the Prime Minister and this is a matter of national shame," said the statement signed by A K Anand, former Director, Reactor Projects Group and Director Technical Coordination and International Relations Group and others.
    "The Opposition is talking of the Hyde Act and saying that if India carries out a nuclear test in future, all nuclear cooperation will end. But we do not even know if at all and when, in the distant future, a test will be required by the nation," it said.
    The statement, which has been widely circulated among the nuclear scientists and industries, pointed out that the whole agreement is about the civilian nuclear cooperation and in no way it will hamper the atomic weapons programme.
    "Our weapons programme will continue as it always has been, with our own reactors, reprocessing plants, enrichment plants and heavy water plants. We are not going to be giving the design and technology to any one; why, then are we pointing out that the US will not give these technologies as part of the civilian agreement," the statement said.
    Dwelling on the past tests and India's strengths, they said, "We had been isolated because of sanctions since 1974. The DAE scientists, engineers and technologists took up the challenge and after more than thirty years' efforts have brought the nation to this stage of strength and pride which has made the Western countries shake hands with us."
    The politicians should not think about scuttling the whole process of integration, they added.
    Expressing their anguish, they said, "due to sanctions, we lived in isolation. However, we put in efforts and spent resources to develop equipment, material and systems which are available at a relatively nominal cost. We are all happy and proud that we were given the chance by the country to prove ourselves; if required we can do it again."
    A pause in nuke talks will not eject deal
    Pallava Bagla
    Science Editor
    Thursday, August,30 2007 (New Delhi)
    As insisted by the Left parties, can the Indo-US nuclear deal be halted in its tracks without technically jeopardizing it? The simple answer is yes!
    In the next steps there are no time sensitive hurdles to be crossed; there are really no rushed deadlines to be met. Succumbing to artificial timelines where political consensus is an illusion will only sink the nuclear deal, to depths from which it may never surface.
    A pit stop to refuel the political will may help energize the nuclear negotiations as the next steps are more demanding, even though not time sensitive.
    Hence halting the deal in its tracks at the current moment should not scuttle the entire effort. The time could be used to build majority support around an effort that promises a tectonic shift in global relations and radically redefines India's position in the world order, whether this is for the good or worse only time will tell.
    If in this time-out the political will to keep the deal alive dwindles that would be another matter all together. Since even a signed and ratified international treaty can really become worthless a piece of paper if leaders want to renege on it.
    While it is true that leaders in both countries might want to take advantage of the huge momentum and acceleration built around the deal and seek to consummate the nuclear deal at the earliest, but if lawmakers of both countries seek a longer time to review it should not kill the deal all together.
    Going slow and by taking a breather to build majority support around the deal should not endanger the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear Co-operation initiative as none of the next steps are time sensitive. If one steps back and views the deal on a wider canvas, the passage of time has only made it more agreeable in both countries, with the political resolve only getting stronger.
    Take a look at the ironical facts, the deal was initiated as early as 1999 when the NDA led by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee was in power in New Delhi and the Democrats led by President Bill Clinton were ruling the White House.
    http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/showcolumns.aspx?id=COLEN20070024399
    The ongoing tussle between the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the Left parties over the Indo-US nuclear deal seems to be coming to an end.Indo-US nuclear deal, government is believed to have assured the Left parties it will not operationalise the agreement till a political mechanism completes its work. Leading drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market dementia drug galantamine hydrobromide. This drug is needed to be experimented with Indian Intelligentsia most as it is suffering from acute Dementia and lost the sense of history and vision as well!Relief is there amongst the upserging middleclass investors as the markets ended firm on Thursday with the benchmark index closing at 15121 levels, up 0.9 per cent or 128 points. The Sensex touched a high of 15200 levels in intra-day deals.Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Beijing next Wednesday on a four-day visit to attend the 'summer Davos' summit at Dalian in China organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
    Following is the text of the statement read out by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee after a meeting of the leaders of the Congress and Left Parties at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence:
    In view of certain objections raised by the Left Parties on the Indo-US bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation, it has been decided to constitute a committee to go into these issues.
    1. The composition of the committee will be announced shortly. 2. The committee will look into certain aspects of the bilateral agreement; the implications of the Hyde Act on the 123 Agreement and self-reliance in the nuclear sector; the implications of the nuclear agreement on foreign policy and security cooperation. 3. The committee will examine these issues. The operationalisation of the deal will take into account the committee's findings.
    Pakistan today rejected as "baseless" assertions by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee that its missions in several countries have been indulging in anti-India propaganda and facilitating terrorists.
    "These are baseless assertions and allegations," Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement reacting to Mukherjee's remarks.
    In a written reply in Lok Sabha yesterday, the External Affairs Minister said the "Government is aware of Pakistan High Commissions spreading anti-India propaganda. Instances of these missions facilitating terrorists have also come to notice."
    The Pakistan Foreign Office in its statement said that Pakistani missions abroad conduct themselves "strictly in accordance with the established diplomatic norms. They respect the laws and norms that require diplomatic missions not to carry out propaganda against a third country."
    "As regards the allegations of facilitating terrorists, Pakistan is itself a victim of terrorism," the statement said. "We are fighting terrorism and are cooperating with the international community in the efforts to eradicate this menace."
    "We have, on the other hand, evidence that the Indian missions are engaged in maligning Pakistan and some Indian missions in our neighbourhood have contacts with elements hostile to Pakistan's interests," it alleged.
    This is shining India!
    Hundreds of agitated parents damaged public vehicles and hurled stones at a state-run school here Thursday after a sting by a private news channel showed one of its teachers allegedly forcing girl students into prostitution and to act in pornographic films. Nine people, including a municipal councillor, were injured in the violence.Uma Khurana, a teacher in the Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya at Aruna Asaf Ali Marg in New Delhi, has been arrested by Delhi Police after she was allegedly found to be running a sex racket.A sting operation by a Hindi news channel had shown Khurana running the sex racket. The channel allegedly exposed how the teacher forced students into prostitution and pornography. Following the report, an angry mob gathered on Asaf Ali Marg, outside the school.
    The school suspended the teacher after parents and locals gathered outside the school and also torched a police vehicle. Nine persons including two policemen and the local councillor were injured in the clash outside the school as the parents demanded action against the teacher.
    Police had to resort to tear gas shelling to control the mob and Rapid Action Force was also deployed to bring the situation under control.
    The Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly said that it was natural that the parents would react violently to the report. He has appealed for calm.

    This is Sensex India!
    The government Thursday approved 27 special economic zones (SEZ), including those by IT majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Cognizant Technologies.The go-ahead was given at a meeting of the commerce ministry's Board of Approvals (BOA) on SEZs, presided over by Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai, which gave formal approval to 20 proposals and in-principle approval to seven among the 31 applications taken up.TCS and Cognizant both will set up their SEZs in Andhra Pradesh, in 30.35 hectares and 16.19 hectares respectively.Besides these two, a multi-services SEZ by Gujarat Finance City Development Company Ltd, an agro and food processing SEZ by Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation Ltd and two IT SEZs by Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd received formal approvals.
    Some of the prominent applications given in-principle approval are that of Gujarat Hydrocarbon and Energy SEZ Ltd for a 220-hectare SEZ in Gujarat and two of Gitanjali Gems Ltd in Maharashtra.
    The government has so far granted approvals for setting up 366 SEZs, of which 142 have been notified, attracting Rs.467.05 billion in investments and providing jobs to over 55,000 people, Pillai said.The BoA had earlier approved two SEZs by Infosys Technologies of 119.87 hectares and 60.93 hectares in Andhra Pradesh's Rangareddy district.
    And this is the Dream of a to be Super power
    Growth momentum to continue this fiscal: RBI
    Mumbai: The country's economic growth momentum is expected to continue at a strong pace this fiscal but inflation could emerge as the main downside risk, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said today.
    Steady increase in gross domestic saving and investment rates, consumption demand, addition of new capacity as well as more intensive and efficient utilisation and capitalisation of existing capacity are expected to support growth in 2007-08, the apex bank said in its annual report for 2006-07.
    The central bank had earlier in its monetary policy pegged the GDP growth at 8.5 per cent this fiscal. India is the world's second-fastest growing major economy after China and recorded an average of 8.6 per cent growth in the last four financial years ending 2006-07. The country posted a record 9.4 per cent growth in 2007-08.
    The annual report, released today, said a higher growth in demand is placing greater pressure for accelerated expansion of supply of infrastructure, despite some efforts to remove supply constraints in the sector. Capacity utilisation was especially stretched in sectors such as electricity generation, roads, ports and major airports, the RBI said.
    The report said supply constraints from shortfalls in agricultural performance and physical and social infrastructure could constrain future growth while also exerting inflationary pressures.
    Though RBI pointed to inflation as likely to emerge as the key downside risk to the evolving macroeconomic outlook, it said "the recent gains in bringing down inflation and in stabilising inflation expectations should support the current expansionary phase of the growth cycle".
    The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed a pubic suit urging that the government be asked to approach the president for referring the India-US civilian nuclear deal to the Supreme Court for its opinion.
    'As of today there is no legislation with regard to the deal, so it is purely a policy decision of the government of India and the court could not interfere in the matter,' a division bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sharma said, while dismissing the suit.
    'We are of the considered opinion that a mandamus cannot be issued directing the union government to approach the president to refer the issue to the Supreme Court for its legal advice,' the court observed.
    Referring to a previous Supreme Court ruling, the Bench said: 'It is a matter essentially for the president to decide whether to refer the issue or not to Supreme Court for its opinion.'
    Left, Reliance keep mum on retail row in West Bengal

    KOLKATA: Reliance Retail officials as well as the Forward Bloc (FB), one of the ruling Left Front partners in West Bengal that is opposed to Reliance Fresh outlets, chose to keep mum on Wednesday, a day after the state government assured security to the firm's retail stores.
    "I don't want to add anything to the controversy now. We are holding a meeting with state government officials," Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) regional head Kalyan Sarangi told agencies after apprehensions that the firm might walk out of the state or put its plans on hold.
    FB leader and West Bengal State Marketing Board (WBSMB) chairman Naren Chattopadhyay, earlier vocal critic of the company, also refused to comment about his party's latest stand on the Reliance retailing controversy.
    Asked about his party's stand and what the WBSMB is going to decide on Reliance retail chain, Chattopadhyay said, "I am not ready to share any information about this with the media."
    The RRL proposal to enter the retail scenario in West Bengal created a rift between the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) spearheaded by reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the party's ally FB.
    West Bengal Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb Tuesday said the state government would look into the police complaints filed by Reliance officials after two of their retail stores were vandalised by some FB party supporters at Girish Park in Kolkata and Seoraphuli in Hooghly district.
    Deb said the West Bengal government would do whatever is required under the law to stop vandalism on Reliance properties.
    Reacting to the assurance of adequate action against FB activists, FB state secretary Ashok Ghosh Tuesday said, "So what if the government books our activists? We will fight it out in the court. Our party sticks to its opposition to the entry of big business in the retail trade."
    He hinted that the government action would not deter his party from preventing Reliance's entry into the state.
    Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has received clearance from West Bengal's Food Processing and Horticulture Department for its agro-retail business in the state.
    The company plans to set up six national distribution-cum-processing centres (NDCs) in Kolkata, Siliguri, Malda, Haldia, Kharagpur and Asansol.
    FB as well as WBSMB, which acts as an autonomous body under the ministry of state agricultural marketing and is headed by an FB leader, had objected to the RRL entry apprehending the possible monopoly of a private company in the state agricultural produce market.
    The launch of Reliance Fresh stores, part of RIL's Rs.20 billion agro-retail project in West Bengal, was announced by Ambani during his visit to Kolkata in June last year.
    According to a proposal given by RRL, Reliance Town Centres (RTCs) to be set up in West Bengal districts would be a mix of hyper/super-markets, convenience stores, entertainment parks, multiplexes and other public utilities.
    These centres would procure fruits and vegetables and distribute them to Reliance Fresh outlets. Most of these outlets, covering 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft of area, would be set up on rented premises in and around Kolkata.
    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Left_Reliance_keep_mum_on_retail_row_in_West_Bengal/articleshow/2320703.cms
    Full coverage: Indo-US nuclear deal
    http://sify.com/news/fullcover.php?event_id=14461920
    India is unhappy with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) drafts on agriculture and industrial tariffs, and the next WTO ministerial meeting scheduled in October may take place only if its members reach a consensus on these issues, an official said here Thursday.Last month, WTO mediators circulated the draft texts on liberalising trade in agriculture and industrial goods, including the possible ranges of tariff and subsidy cuts, to help member countries reach a consensus in the negotiations.
    'We are completely unhappy with the agricultural and NAMA (non-agricultural market access) drafts. It is not at all acceptable,' Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters.
    'We can expect some progress if Pascal Lamy (chief of WTO) comes out with changes to the text of the drafts,' Pillai added.
    The 151 members of the WTO will meet in Geneva on Sep 3 to discuss the drafts in a bid to revive the stalled Doha talks.
    'If there is some progress then we can expect a ministerial in October,' Pillai said.
    The global trade talks, which started in Doha, Qatar in 2001, had resulted in a stalemate in July last year after the members failed to reach a consensus, largely on domestic support and market access in agriculture.

    No decision on private participation in nuclear power
    Review of law under consideration, says Minister
    The government on Wednesday said the private sector could not participate in nuclear power generation under the existing legislation, but a review was required in view of the changing situation. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 allowed nuclear power generation only by a Central government company. However, for manufacture of equipment and components, no policy change was required, and private sector companies were already involved in it. It was only in nuclear power generation that no decision was taken on private sector participation, the Minister said.
    According to the existing law, private players can hold up to 49 per cent equity in any nuclear power generation company but the majority shares have to remain with the Centre.
    No final decision was taken on whether the private sector should be allowed to generate nuclear power as the Nuclear Power Corporation was cash rich. Mr. Chavan said a review of the Act had been under consideration for the past 10 years and an expert committee, set up in 1997 under the chairmanship of scientist Raja Ramanna, gave its report in 1998.

    This report was reviewed by an expert committee of the Department of Atomic Energy, which made some recommendations. Asked about its recommendations, the Minister of State said these related to national security and strengthening of the regulatory mechanism in the atomic energy sector.

    Govt offers Reliance shield
    OUR BUREAU
    Calcutta, Aug. 28: The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government today assured Reliance Retail that it would provide protection to the company’s properties.
    “We shall give protection to Reliance’s properties to prevent them from being vandalised,” chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said at Writers’ Buildings.
    The chief secretary’s assurance came in response to the company’s decision to put on hold its retail foray in the state in the wake of vandalism by some parties, including Left Front partner Forward Bloc.
    Deb said the government would “pursue” the first information reports lodged against those involved in the attacks on two upcoming Reliance outlets. “The government will do whatever is required under the law to stop vandalism on Reliance properties,” he added.
    Kalyan Sarangi, Reliance Retail’s regional head, had approached officials in the chief minister’s secretariat yesterday and informed them that the retail Bengal rollout was being deferred.
    The company was planning to open six Reliance Fresh outlets in and around the city by mid-August and increase the number to 50 in the near future.
    http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070829/asp/frontpage/story_8250158.asp
    ISRO institute land deal shady: Kerala minister

    Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 30 (IANS) It is now uncertain whether a space institute of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will actually come up on a plot in the Ponmudi hill station of Kerala, with a minister Thursday calling the land deal shady.
    'It is now clear that the individual who sold the land to ISRO was shady, but the Kerala government is clear that it will go ahead with the proposed institute, clearing all the issues that have cropped up,' Forest Minister Binoy Viswam told reporters.He said this in the presence of ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair here.
    The two had closed-door discussions after news reports said that a portion of the land at Ponmudi in Thiruvananthapuram district that was sold to ISRO this year belonged to the forest department and was categorised as ecologically fragile.
    Viswam had written a strongly worded letter to the ISRO authorities last week seeking all records of the 82 acres of land, which it had purchased from one Savy Mano Mathew.
    Mathew had purchased 707 acres of land in Ponmudi from the Birla Group in 2005 at a throwaway price. He entered into a deal with ISRO early this year for the transfer of around 120 acres of land, and in the first phase 82 acres of land was given.
    Ponmudi is located around 80 km from here.
    'ISRO had made inquiries. We do not think that we were cheated in the deal, but with regard to the real ownership of the land, we are still vetting the documents,' Nair told reporters.
    Nair also said the proposed institute, which would be of world-class standards, should not be lost on account of a controversy.
    'From Sep 14, classes will begin from the campus of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (ISRO's main centre in Thiruvananthapuram). In two years time we will move out to our own campus,' he said.
    After the controversy, both Viswam and Nair are not sure if the campus will come up on the proposed land.
    'We are also on the lookout for other suitable land. At the moment we cannot commit if it will come up in Ponmudi,' said Viswam.

    CPI-M's chemical hub is actually killing hub: Mamata
    Wednesday, August 29, 2007
    Reiterating her opposition to the setting up of a chemical hub in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday said the communist rulers were not planning a chemical hub but a "killing hub".
    Addressing a public rally at Sonachura in trouble-torn Nandigram in East Midnapore district, where fresh violence two days back claimed another life, Banerjee said: "We will not allow any chemical hub or land grab in the name of that. They are for killing hub, not chemical hub."
    "The CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) still eyes Nandigram," she said as she vowed to fight the Left Front government's move to set up a chemical hub in neighbouring Haldia.
    "The blood stains of Nandigram are yet to dry and he (Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya) is talking about a chemical hub," she said.
    The firebrand leader also announced to take her battle to Khejuri, the neighbouring area of Nandigram that is a stronghold of the CPI-M and out of bounds of the anti-land acquisition Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee.
    Banerjee said she would hold rallies in Khejuri, which is used as a base by the CPI-M to launch attack on the villagers of Nandigram.
    Earlier, Banerjee had ruled out the possibility of Trinamool Congress taking part in an all-party meeting on Sep 3 over the proposed chemical hub in Haldia.
    Bhattacharya has called the all-party meeting to find a consensus over the hub in an alternative location after the flare-up in Nandigram, where it was originally planned.
    In fact, faced with severe opposition over land acquisition, the state government has decided to scale down the area of the chemical hub to 4,000 acres from the planned 10,000 acres.
    The proposed chemical hub as part of a special economic zone (SEZ) in collaboration with the Salim group of Indonesia had triggered a bloodbath in Nandigram, about 150 km from Kolkata, since January, claiming at least 25 lives so far, including 14 deaths on March 14 in police firing on the villagers resisting entry of cops in the area.
    Wal-Mart assaults India
    http://uk.groups. yahoo.com/ group/AWorldToWi nNewsService/
    27 August 2007. A World to Win News Service. The US-headquartered
    retailing giant Wal-Mart signed an unprecedented agreement with an
    Indian partner to begin operations in that country 6 August. The move
    heralds big changes in agricultural and industrial production as well
    as distribution. It will accelerate the economic and social changes
    sweeping India as imperialist monopoly capital and domestic monopoly
    capital enter into new alliances and configurations. The UK
    supermarket chain Tesco, France's Carrefour and Auchan, and Germany's
    Metro are all eyeing India. The Wall-Mart Bharti chain, the first of
    its kind in India, is expected to open next year
    The following slightly

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