Palash Speaks

Strong overseas interest in India's fast-growing economy
Comradors Struggle most to Enhance Swiss Bank Accounts
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
Strong overseas interest in India's fast-growing economy will help to treble the value of investments into the country's private equity market to $7bn a year by 2010, according to a new study. Sensex India consisting of Brahminical hegemony based on Islamophobia and Untouchability is alligned with global apartheid to implement Galaxy Post Modern manusmriti order. World Bank Slave and ruling comradors of this divided geopolitics struggle most to boost their Swiss bank accounts while indigenous society, polity, economy, culture,language and Nationalities are annihilated! Common Masses bleed and suffer in large scale persecution, genocides, lynching, discrimination, displacement, starvation and calamities man made!
India's rapidly growing economy is ready for take-off, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here. "We are in the departure lounge with boarding pass in hand," Kamal Nath said.
While Latin American Resistance against US Hindu Zionis Imperialism led by Castro continues! Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro made a rare appearance on national television, in a move aimed to dispel speculation that he was dying. The 81-year-old looked healthier than he did in his last television appearance three months ago, and responded defiantly to questions about his health by saying, “Well, here I am." Castro has not appeared in public since last July, when he was hospitalised for an emergency surgery, handing over the reins of the country to younger brother Raul Castro's provisional Government.

Setting itself in election mode, the BJP today said the country today suffered from an "era of political instability" and snap polls appeared imminent but said it will not not "directly take up" the Ram Setu protection campaign.As of now cold war is going on between Congress Party and Left parties. Joint Meeting between Congress and Left scheduled to take place subsequent to CPM's internal meeting will be used to bring two warring groups to ceasefire.However, CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu today supported chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on nuclear power as well as US investment in Bengal while echoing the party’s opposition to American “imperialism” in general and the nuclear deal in ...Indian officials have held informal talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the issue of negotiating a nuclear safeguards agreement, indicating that the government is determined to make the India-US nuclear deal a reality despite a deadlock with the Left parties.THE CPI(M) in Assam organised massive demonstrations throughout the state on August 28 in front of the central government offices to register their protest against the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, weakening of the public distribution system, government’s failure to overcome agrarian crisis, unrestricted entry of big corporates in retail trades etc.DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday said he was not afraid of the 'fatwa' issued against him by former BJP MP Vedanti, who had reportedly stated that any person who beheaded him would be awarded gold ...
Not only US MNCs , not only Israel, But Japan also play vital role in Shining Indian economy.Enter India on the world stage in 2005. The country had been achieving spectacular economic growth in the previous 10 years. It was open, democratic and no threat to Japan. Japanese businessmen argued that in order to put Japan's economy back on a high growth trajectory they would have to invest somewhere other than China to cut manufacturing costs. India was an obvious choice. The warming relationship between Japan and India today is a direct result of that. Today, Japan is India's fifth largest trading partner, with US$5 billion in two-way trade. These trade figures are very discouraging -- the potential is for US$50 billion trade in five years.
Initially the Japanese were not sure about India, with its chaotic democracy, heavy-handed bureaucracy and lack of infrastructure. But the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal of 2005-07 spurred the Japanese into action. If the United States had confidence in India, Japan would too. Thus began the slow but orderly process of transforming Japan-India relations.
India recognized Japan in 1952, immediately after the Allies handed over local governance to the Japanese. In 1958, Japan participated in the World Bank-sponsored creditor countries meeting for India. Later, Japan began to contribute aid to India in a big way. Every year since 1986, Japan has been the first or second largest aid provider to India. In 2004 Japanese assistance amounted to US$400 million in grants, US$180 million in technical aid and over US$4 billion in loans to finance trade and development.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that he was hopeful of resolving the stand-off over the contentious Indo-US nuclear deal at the crucial meeting scheduled to be held between the United Progressive Alliance and Left on October 5. Mukherjee told reporters in Kolkata that two meetings had already been held between the UPA and Left, adding that exchange of notes had also taken place.
"I am hopeful that the issue would get resolved then," he said of the UPA-Left meet on the nuclear deal on October 5.Mukherjee, who is the convenor of the committee said, "We have received three notes from the Left on the nuclear deal. We have already replied to two of them, a third note has come, which will be discussed at the meeting on October 5."
The committee has met for the second time on September 19.
The Left parties had rejected the government's note given to them earlier, saying, "We are not convinced about even a single contention of the government," and had given a 12-page rejoinder on their concerns over the deal.
Mukherjee's comment came amid continuing confrontation between government and Left parties on the nuclear deal.
The Indian officials met IAEA officials on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog held in Vienna and discussed the possibility of starting talks on the safeguards by the middle of next month, a reliable source, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.
'I am not saying anything. My views on the subject are well known. We are committed to the deal,' Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told IANS Saturday when asked about the status of India's negotiations with the IAEA.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei met India's Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar earlier this week and discussed a range of nuclear issues. But given the political sensitivity of the issue in view of the Left parties' ultimatum on freezing negotiations with the IAEA, Kakodkar has remained discreet on the subject. He told ElBaradei that India would get back to the UN nuclear watchdog soon for safeguards negotiations.
Richard Stratford, the chief technical negotiator for the US, has stressed the need for both sides to finish the next steps to pave the way to operationalise the deal before the end of the year.

The Independent Peoples Tribunal on the World Bank Group in India got underway at New Delhi today at a packed auditorium at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The 4 day event is being organised by a coalition of over 60 groups in collaboration with the JNU Students Union and Teachers Association.In one of India’s largest media blitzes, Vodafone has kicked off the re-branding of its new Indian mobile phone business by buying all the commercials on Star India’s cable channels and plastering 80 newspapers nationwide with advertisements.
Fifty years after the launch of the first man-made satellite, the global space industry gathers in India next week to find ways to benefit humanity -- and make money in the process.
A NASA spacecraft found seven possible cave entrances on Mars, triggering interest in hunting for other caverns that might be hiding life on the Red Planet, the US space agency said Friday.While the possible caves discovered are too high in altitude to host life, scientists say caverns elsewhere on the Red Planet could be underground habitats or even one day become shelters for astronauts.
Most of the universe -- 96 percent, to be exact -- is made of dark matter and energy whose composition we simply do not fathom, a Nobel laureate told physicists gathered this week to explore the intersection of the infinitely small and the infinitely large.
"We think we understand the universe, but we only understand four percent of everything," said James Watson Cronin, who won the 1980 Nobel for physics by proving that certain subatomic reactions escape the laws of fundamental symmetry.
According the most recent models, he said, 73 percent of cosmic energy seems to consist of "dark energy" and 23 percent of dark matter, the pervasive but unidentified stuff that holds the universe together and accelerates its expansion.
The remaining four percent consists of so-called "normal matter" such as atoms and molecules.
Dark matter cannot be detected directly, because it does not emit or reflect light or radiation -- or not enough to be picked up by available tools.But its presence can be inferred because its gravitational force deflects light from distant galaxies.
Images from the Mars Odyssey orbiter showed seven dark, nearly circular spots between 100 meters (328 feet) and 250 meters (820 feet) wide on the slopes of the Arsia Mons volcano, located near the planet's highest peak.
Researchers concluded that the seven circles could be windows to underground spaces after checking their daytime and night time temperatures by using Odyssey's infrared camera, which checks daytime.
"They are cooler than the surrounding surface in the day and warmer at night," said Glen Cushing of the US Geological Survey's Astrogeology Team and of Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.
"Their thermal behavior is not as steady as large caves on Earth that often maintain a fairly constant temperature, but it is consistent with these being deep holes in the ground," Cushing said in a news release from NASA.
Cushing and his team of scientists reported the discovery online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The potential caves are so high that "they are poor candidates either for use as human habitation or for having microbial life," Cushing said. "Even if life has ever existed on Mars, it may not have migrated to this height."
But the discovery of the holes, dubbed "Seven Sisters," has triggered interest in hunting for caverns elsewhere on the planet, NASA said.
"Whether these are just deep vertical shafts or openings into spacious caverns, they are entries to the subsurface of Mars," said co-author Tim Titus of the US Geological Survey in Flagstaff.
"Somewhere on Mars, caves might provide a protected niche for past or current life, or shelter for humans in the future," he said.
Richard Stratford, the chief technical negotiator for the US, has stressed the need for both sides to finish the next steps to pave the way to operationalise the deal before the end of the year.
The nuclear deal, despite a bitterly partisan domestic debate, is firmly on track, said the source. After a protracted standoff with the Left parties, the government has decided to risk going ahead with the path-breaking deal rather than keep prevaricating on it, which could eventually kill the deal.
Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma also stressed on the government's commitment to the deal that will end India's global nuclear isolation.
'An India-specific safeguard agreement with the IAEA for the nuclear reactors identified under this nuclear cooperation plan is being discussed,' Sharma said in London Friday.
CPI(M)’s Open Letter To Members Of Parliament
The central committee of the Communist Party Of India (Marxist) has sent the following letter to all the members of parliament regarding the Indo-US Nuclear Deal on September 8, 2007
THE Indo-US bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation has raised a number of issues which are of vital importance to the nation. Through this open letter we wish to place before you the considered views of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Ever since the Joint Statement issued in July 2005 during the prime minister’s visit to Washington in which the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement was announced, there has been a debate in the country about the merits of such an agreement. Political parties, nuclear scientists, the media and concerned citizens have been expressing their views. Parliament has also discussed the agreement at various stages. However, the current debate is crucial as the bilateral text has been finalised and the government is planning to take the next steps to operationalise the agreement.
It is our contention that the nuclear cooperation agreement should not be seen in isolation from the overall context of India-US strategic relations, its impact on our foreign policy and our strategic autonomy. Further, the nuclear cooperation agreement must be seen in the context of our energy security, access to technology and the development of the three stage nuclear programme.
The bilateral "123" agreement has also to be seen also in the light of the assurances given by the prime minister in his statement to parliament on 17 August 2007.
The Left parties have asked the government not to proceed with the next steps to be taken to operationalise the agreement.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYDE ACT
Members of parliament will recall that in August 2006, there was a debate on the draft law being discussed by the US Senate and the House of Representatives to amend the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to give exemption for the proposed nuclear cooperation agreement with India. The two draft legislations before the House of Representatives and the Senate contain many provisions which were detrimental to India’s interests.
The prime minister had given certain categorical assurances on the points raised regarding this draft legislation. The nine points which the Left parties had raised were covered by the prime minister’s statement. However, subsequent to that, the Hyde Act (Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act” was adopted by the US Congress in December 2006.
Many of the provisions of the Hyde Act go contrary to the assurances given by the prime minister in August 2006. What are these?
Under the terms set out by the Hyde Act, it is clear that the Indo-US nuclear cooperation would not cover the entire nuclear fuel cycle. It denies cooperation or access in any form whatsoever to fuel enrichment, reprocessing and heavy water production technologies.
The denial extends to transfer of dual use technology and covers items which could be used in fuel enrichment, reprocessing or heavy water production facilities. Thus, dual use restrictions remain on technology transfers to India. Hyde Act section 102 (13) states, “The US should not seek to facilitate or encourage the continuation of nuclear exports to India by any other party if such exports are terminated under US law”.
Section 103 (a)(6) of the Hyde Act says US policy shall be “Seek to prevent the transfer to a country (India, in this case) nuclear equipment, materials or technology from other participating governments in the NSG or from any other source if nuclear transfers to that country (India, in this case) are suspended or terminated pursuant to this title (Hyde Act), the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 or any other US law”.
The Act concerns itself with areas outside nuclear cooperation and contains objectionable clauses to get India to accept the strategic goals of the United States. These issues are:
Annual certification and reporting to the US Congress by the President on a variety of foreign policy issues such as India’s foreign policy being “congruent to that of the United States” and specifically India joining US efforts to isolate and put sanctions against Iran [Section 104g(2) E(i)]
Indian participation and formal declaration of support for the US’ highly controversial Proliferation Security Initiative including the illegal policy of interdiction of vessels in international waters [Section 104g(2) K]
India conforming to various bilateral/multilateral agreements to which India is not currently a signatory such as the US’ Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group etc [Section 104c E,F,G]
It is on the basis of the Hyde Act that the United States has negotiated the bilateral “123” agreement with India. Some of the harmful provisions of the Hyde Act are reflected in the bilateral agreement.
The bilateral agreement, while superficially using the original wording of the joint statement of 2005, “full civilian nuclear cooperation” actually denies cooperation or access in any form whatsoever to fuel enrichment, reprocessing and heavy water production technologies. The statement of intent in the agreement that a suitable amendment to enable this access may be considered in the future has little or no operative value.
Further, this denial (made explicit in Art 5.2 of the agreement) also extends to transfers of dual-use items that could be used in enrichment, reprocessing or heavy water production facilities, again a stipulation of the Hyde Act. Under these terms, a wide range of sanctions on a host of technologies would continue, falling well short of “full civilian nuclear co-operation”.
It is also important to recognise that the fast breeder reactors under this agreement would be treated as a part of the fuel cycle and any technology required for this would also come under the dual use technology sanctions. This would be true even if future fast breeder reactors were put in the civilian sector and under safeguards. Thus, India’s attempt to build a three-phase, self-reliant nuclear power program powered ultimately by thorium would have to be developed under conditions of isolation and existing technology sanctions.
Another key assurance that had been given by the prime minister was that India would accept safeguards in perpetuity only in exchange for the guarantee of uninterrupted fuel supply. While the acceptance on India’s part of safeguards in perpetuity has been spelt out, the linkage of such safeguards with fuel supply in perpetuity remains unclear.
The assurance that the United States would enable India to build a strategic fuel reserve to guard against disruption of supplies for a duration covering the lifetime of the nuclear reactors in operation appears to have been accepted in the agreement. However, whether the fuel supply will continue even after cessation or termination of the agreement depends solely on the US Congress. The Hyde Act explicitly states that the US will work with other Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) countries to stop all fuel and other supplies to India if the agreement is terminated under US laws. Since this agreement explicitly incorporates domestic laws, it appears that fuel supply from the US will not only cease in case the US decides to terminate the Agreement but they are also required under the Hyde Act to work with NSG to bar all future supplies. The clause 5.6 on disruption of supplies therefore seems to be limited to “market failures” and not to cover a disruption that takes place under the clauses of the Hyde Act. In such an eventuality, the US will have to pay compensation to India but all future fuel supplies would stop. Therefore, the 123 agreement represents the acceptance of IAEA safeguards in perpetuity for uncertain fuel supplies and continuing nuclear isolation with respect to a substantial amount of technological know-how.
THE HYDE ACT AND SUPREMACY OF NATIONAL LAW
The government has asserted that the Hyde Act is not binding on India. The relevant issue is that it is binding on the United States and this has been repeatedly stressed by US spokespersons.
Article 2(1) of the 123 Agreement states, “The parties shall cooperate in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with the provisions of this agreement. Each party shall implement this agreement in accordance with its respective applicable treaties, national laws, regulations, and license requirements concerning the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes”.
If the argument is that the reference to national laws is simply the case of binding towards the law, that will have a bearing on the conduct of different transactions under the 123 agreement, then what do we make of the reference to national laws in other places in the 123 agreement?
Thus, for instance, Article 5(6) (a) in part states that “As part of its implementation of the July 18, 2005, joint statement the United States is committed to seeking agreement from the US Congress to amend its domestic laws…to create the necessary conditions for India to obtain full access to the international fuel market…..”. Article 5(6) (b) (i) states that “The United States is willing to incorporate assurances regarding fuel supply in the bilateral US-India agreement on peaceful uses of nuclear energy under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act, which would be submitted to the US Congress”. These clauses show that the need for conformity with “national laws” is not superfluous. If there is no direct reference to the Hyde Act in the 123 agreement, it is simply because and this is worth reiterating that the Hyde Act is the `Act to exempt from certain requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 a proposed nuclear agreement for cooperation with India.
NUCLEAR POWER AND ENERGY SECURITY
It is said that the Indo-US nuclear deal is central to our future electricity and energy requirements. At present, nuclear power generation capacity in India stands at 4,120 MW which is a little less than 3 per cent of our installed capacity of all power plants. One reason has been the nuclear isolation imposed on us resulted in the slow development of our civilian nuclear energy programme. However our scientists overcoming many hurdles did very well in indigenising the Pressurised Water Reactors, and then developing it further to 540 MW. The next stage is the fast breeder reactors, in which the Indian scientists are leading the world. The planned three stage nuclear programme would depend largely on technologies based on fast breeder reactors, and in the future, thorium as fuel. This programme requires far less uranium and lower dependence. Instead, the imported reactor route would focus much more on Light Water Reactors, which require much more uranium and are more expensive. Thus even the technology being offered will not necessarily be the best choice for India. Significantly, the mainstay of our nuclear power program – the fast breeder reactors – will still be under technology sanctions, as they would be considered a part of the fuel cycle.
The other reason is the techno-economics of nuclear power and its relatively high cost. Nuclear power plants are about 50% per cent more expensive, even when using domestic technology and equipment. If imported reactors for nuclear power are considered, the situation becomes worse: it will cost about three times as much to set up nuclear plants with imported reactors than coal based ones. It will also cost twice as much per unit – Rs 5.10-5.50 as against Rs 2.50 from coal fired plants.
According to the Planning Commission’s study, the most optimistic scenario of nuclear power is 15,000 MW by 2015 and 29,000 MW by 2021. These targets includes 8,000 MW of imported reactors. Even then, nuclear energy will only add up to about 7 per cent of our total installed capacity.
Going ahead with such an ambitious power programme dependant on imports will come at a high cost and will dry up investments in other sectors. Interestingly enough, nuclear power is not the energy of choice for most advanced countries. The US itself has commissioned its last reactor in 1996! Members of Parliament may recall the fiasco of Enron and its Dabhol power plants.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FOREIGN POLICY AND STRATEGIC AUTONOMY
The United States does not see the nuclear cooperation agreement as a stand-alone. It is part of American design to try in India a wide ranging strategic alliance which will adversely affect the pursuit of an independent foreign policy and our strategic autonomy. The facts speak for themselves.
Two weeks prior to the joint statement which announced the Indo-US nuclear cooperation agreement, India signed a ten-year Defence Framework Agreement with the United States in June 2005. This is being cited by the Bush administration as India’s commitment to cooperate with the United States furthering its strategic interests in Asia.
Two months after the nuclear cooperation agreement was announced in September 2005, India voted against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency, contrary to its stance earlier that Iran, as an NPT signatory, has every right to develop its nuclear technology for civilian purposes.
This was followed by a second vote against Iran in February on the eve of President Bush’s visit to India.
Nicholas Burns, US Under Secretary of State, in his “On record briefing” after the finalisation of the 123 agreement said on July 27: “And I think now that we have consummated the civil nuclear trade between us, if we look down the road in the future, we’re going to see far greater defence cooperation between the United State and India: training; exercises; we hope, defence sales of American military technology to the Indian armed forces.” The United States is exercising tremendous pressure on India to buy a whole range of weaponry including the 126 fighter planes, radar, helicopters, artillery etc. worth multi-billion dollars.
Is the nuclear cooperation agreement going to bind India with the United States in a relationship which goes contrary to our cherished goals of national sovereignty and independent foreign policy and an economic development based on the priorities of our people?
The objections and the apprehensions raised by the Left parties and other parties, organisations and concerned scientists and citizens need to be examined before proceeding further. All we are asking the government to do is not to rush through with the next steps which are necessary to operationalise the deal.
We hope that you, as a member of parliament, which is the sovereign representative institution of the Indian people, will seriously consider these issues on this vital matter affecting our country’s future.
http://pd.cpim.org/2007/0923/09232007_open%20letter.htm

Iran warns West against attack
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran told Western powers on Saturday they would regret any attack over Tehran's nuclear activities and it rolled out a display of missiles and other military hardware to back the warning.
BEIJING (AFP) - More than 100 Chinese cities including Beijing staged a "Car Free Day" Saturday to fight congestion and pollution, but the streets of the capital remained defiantly clogged with traffic jams.
China observes 'Car Free Day' with the usual gridlock
Beijing's middle class climbed into their cars to go shopping and touring as usual, apparently disregarding an injunction to leave the vehicles at home -- a pattern that seemed to be repeated in the other 107 participating cities.
"It's the same as always," said taxi driver Dong Yongjun, as he navigated up the capital's congested Third Ring Road. "I don't see any difference."
The situation was similar in other major cities, such as Shanghai and Wuhan, a vast industrial city in the centre of the country.
In Beijing and the other cities across China, some areas were open only to pedestrians, cyclists, taxis and buses from 7:00 am (2300 GMT Friday) to 7:00 pm Saturday.
While most major Chinese cities were part of the "Car Free Day" and "Public Transport Week," there was one glaring exception -- South China's Guangzhou, home to more than ten million people and one million cars.
London, Sept. 22 (PTI): India has taken "a bold initiative" to forge a partnership with the US after decades of lack of trust but its relationship with one country is not at the expense of any other nation, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said today.
"India has fashioned its external policies based on the sole objective of optimising the benefits of much engagements," Sharma said addressing the sixth annual Eurasia Conference in the prestigious Judge Business School at Cambridge.
Speaking on the subject 'India in the 21st century and its engagement in the Caspian and wider Central Eurasian Region," the minister noted that India has been engaging various major powers and groups in the world.
"We have redefined our relationship with United States after decades of lack of trust. There is better understanding on both sides of the needs and aspirations of the people," Sharma said.
"While India has taken a bold initiative to forge a partnership with USA, as demonstrated by the recently concluded Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement, it has also been steadily strengthening its ties with China both in terms of scope and extent.
"In fact, India's trading linkages with China have expanded rapidly over the last few years making China the second largest trading partner of India next only to USA," he said.
Sharma said in keeping with the spirit of "our times, India looks upon its relationship with USA and China and indeed with Russia and Japan as well as other leading power centres in the world as being independent of one another."
Its (India's) relationship with one country is not directed against any other country nor is it at the expense of any other country," Sharma said.
In present day liberal dispensation in the global affairs -- when non-traditional security threats which have ascended to the fore make it imperative to develop a cooperative framework to fight diseases and pandemics -- to find solution for global warming and to effectively deal with the forces of violence and terrorism, is more in keeping with India's traditions and value system, he said.
Sharma said India is also trying to develop partnerships with its neighbours. "We want to see a resurgent Asia and do not seek any exclusive sphere of influence but approach our relations with them in an inclusive spirit.
"Our objective is to galvanise the entire South Asia region on the road to progress and development since it is our firmly held belief that economic cooperation and better connectivity alone offer credible guarantees for peace and security in the region."
At the outset, the minister noted "India today has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. A trillion dollar economy which has been growing at over 8 per cent successively for the last three years is now aspiring to double digit economic growth."
He said India has contributed to human resources development and capacity building in Eurasian countries under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme.
As part of that "we have set up centres in the fields of IT, food processing, entrepreneurship development, technical training and hydropower development in Central Asian nations," he said.
Sibal-Gurudas face off
9/18/2007 12:34:51 PM

Kapil Sibal (left) launched a pointed attack on Left leader Gurudas Dasgupta for his double standards
He was chosen to spread the 'Right' kind of information on the Indo-US nuke deal, but Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal might just have triggered the countdown to the UPA government’s fall.
After all, he launched the Congress's most withering attack on the Left for the latter's opposition to the nuke deal, accusing them of not following the coalition dharma.
“It is not us, but the Left parties that are violating the coalition dharma,” said Sibal.
That was not all. He even feigned ignorance of the Left's objections to the nuke deal, urging the Left to at least tell the government of its objections. So much for the meetings between Prakash Karat and the Prime Minister himself.
“I want to know from the Left why they are opposing the deal. Is there some other reason that you are not telling us? You're so open on your opposition to us, please be equally open on why you are opposing this deal,” Sibal said.
Even CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat could not escape Sibal's ire. “We wa

Dalits Must Die!
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
Pl see:http://www.geocities.com/pak_history/India.html
Marxist Minister from tripura Anil Sarkar writes a poem titled, Dalitera Keno Janmaya means why the dalits are born. Anil sarkar corelates rabindra Nath Tagore, Karl marx and Ambedkar. He runs Ambedkar missions and writes poems on Mayawati. He is an architect of Dalit agenda passed by CPIM Hyderabad congress. Since he despises Brahminical Bengali nationalism and Brahminical Hegemony, he is sidelined in the party. In late nineties his house was attacked and he remained a minister without portfolio.The persecution of a Marxist minster depicts well the psyche of Indian brahminical Communists in India who single handedly stall Dalit Movement putting forward a false hypothesis of revolution and class struggle in place of annihilation of Caste and Untouchability!
Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s inspiring story Chandalika, describing how one could be freed from the shackles of untouchability through a simple act of non-violent compassion.
Feeling the heat and dust of castebased dehumanistion Chadalika asks her mother:
Keno Janmo Dili More?
Why did you allow me born?
Chandalika is a tale of a young girl, Prakriti who is born to an "untouchable" caste, or the Chandalis and is thus shunned by those around her - even the local vendors will not sell her flowers or bangles. Chandalika is bewildered and hurt at first and then becomes filled with fury and rages at the injustice. As she cries in isolation and humiliation, a wandering and thirsty Buddhist monk (Ananda) approaches her and asks for water. Chandalika refuses, explaining that she is "untouchable" and even the water from her well is impure and society forbids her to serve water to any higher individual such as the monk. The monk explains that all humans are created equal and asks her not to judge by the artificial standards of the unjust society. She offers him water and Ananda proceeds on his journey This encounter transforms Chandalika, she is filled with love and admiration for Ananda. She desperately yearns for his return. What follows is her request to the mother, Maya to get Ananda back to her......
Dalits Must Die. Because they are destined to die as born in a society ruled by Brahminical Hegemony and despite sensex globalisation blitz the polity is ruled by Post Modern Galaxy Manusmriti order under zionist hindu grand allaince.
The genocide of dalits has been going on for centuries.In India, the so called "pollution line" still divides Dalits from other castes .
What happens in India today is genocide, the barbaric hindu's massacre dalits every single day, what is the state and federal governments duty?
India has systematically failed to uphold its international legal obligations to ensure the fundamental human rights of Dalits, or so-called untouchables.
Seeking to reach out to women ahead of possible mid-term elections, BJP on Saturday endorsed 33 per cent reservation for women at all levels within the organization with its National Executive giving green signal to the "historic" measure.
Historians often ignore or underestimate the part played by maritime power in the creation, expansion, and defence of British India.American diplomats resumed travel Friday in Iraq in convoys escorted by Blackwater USA, the private American security contractor, less than a week after the Iraqi government banned the company for a shooting in which at least eight Iraqis were killed.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rubbished the notion that his visit to New York's World Trade Center site will be an insult to Americans as it is one of the most sensitive places in the country after the 9/11 ...
At a time when millions of African American citizens were struggling to demand equality with the majority White citizenry after more than two centuries of enslavement only to be forced into a status of untouchability after their supposed emancipation that the American Civil War was fought for, the nation was being plunged into a deadly madness of violent revolt and repression, one man found a way out of the madness and forced the segregationists to their knees, finally winning equal rights for all races and freedom from institutionalized racial discrimination. That man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Americans and Europeans tend to think of untouchability as a uniquely Indian phenomenon, but in reality the same situation exists under different terminology. In fact, the word “caste” is not an Indian word at all, but comes from the Portuguese word “casta” which translates as “class” in English. The Portuguese word “casta” eventually evolved into “caste” after the Portuguese colonized parts of coastal India and was used to describe the ancient fourfold varna system of India, which divided society into four divisions of the priestly, warrior/ruler, merchant and laborer classes. Anyone born outside one of these four classes was considered chandal, often translated as “pariah”, “outcast”, or “untouchable.” This shows that the concept of the outcast in a society is not unique to India, and makes the story all the more relevant to the work of GFUSA since the elimination of the concept of the outcast is an issue of social justice and equality, and therefore one of the tasks of GFUSA and applies to their work in America, as well as in India or anywhere else in the world.
Tagore’s story is about an untouchable girl named Prakriti (Sasikala Penumarthi) who is vilified, humiliated and harassed by street vendors at the urging of a group of high caste women who take delight in demeaning the girl. After suffering the emotional torture of such mistreatment, Prakriti encounters a Buddhist monk named Ananda (Neelima Tummala), who treats her as an equal, something Prakriti has never experienced. Prakriti comes to the realization that the feelings she had experienced were not romantic love as she had thought, but a deep and loving appreciation for being treated with compassion and equality. Ananda, now unable to move because of the compelling spell, begs Prakriti to give him some water to quench his agonizing thirst. But she is at first unwilling to put the water to his lips because she has been conditioned by society to believe that, as an untouchable, she is impure and sinful, and to touch Ananda or to allow him to take water from her hands would pollute him with her untouchability, thereby making make him impure as she believes herself to be. But Ananda explains to her that he does not accept the concept of untouchability, nor does he believe her to be impure. He tells her that by giving him water to quench his thirst she would be performing an act of compassion and mercy on her part, and that acts of love, mercy and compassion wipes away all sin and all impurity. She gives him the water to drink and he recovers from his infirmity, filling her with joy at his recovery and at the realization that she is not impure after all, but a worthy and deserving child of God, as is every other living being, and joyfully decides to follow Ananda on the path of Buddha Dharma, no longer plagued by the stigma of believing herself to be impure simply because of her so-called untouchability. As the story closes, Prakriti is accepted into the Sangha, the Buddist fellowship, and happily follows the band of Buddhist monks as they slowly walk off the stage, chanting the beautiful strains of the mantra buddham sharanam gachhami.
Dalitstan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalitstan
Dalitstan.org was a website claiming to be run by The Dalitstan Organization , an otherwise unknown organization advocating the secession of the Republic of India into several separate nations from India including a Dalit homeland.
The "Sudra Holocaust" is described by the organization as follows:
"The concept of a Sudra Holocaust is generally denied by the Brahmanist Government. It does not require the knowledge of an archaeologist, however, to grasp the historicity of the Sudra Holocaust. ... However, at the present day, Shaivism is confined to the Dalits and Adivasis, who form 25% of the population. There are also very few Shiva temples, and Brahmanism (Vedism and Vaishnavism) are the predominant religions of North India. Shaivism, meanwhile, continues to flourish in south India, with Tamil Nadu as its prime locus. This fact once again can only be explained by invoking the Sudra Holocaust, with the Shiva temples and Shaivite civilization which was built up by the indigenous Sudroids being wiped out by the Vaishnava Aryans."
None of these claims or ideas are supported or endorsed by any reputable historians, archaeologists or scholars on South Asian studies. As an example, Shaivism, contrary to the claims made by Dalitstan, is widely practiced in many sections of Hindu society of many Castes, such as in Kashmir in North India and among Tamils [5],[6]. In addition Shaivism and Vaishnavism are movements within Hinduism that occurred several centuries after the splitting of Proto-Indo-Iranian.

And see the India Shining!
Congress for so many days is trying to close the chapter of Ram Sethu and Ram’s existence but its allies are in mood to confront with BJP on the issue. Congress wants to leave no stone unturned to prevent the hijacking of the issue by BJP to its advantage keeping in view the coming elections. On the other hand, The Bharatiya Janata Party must have realised by now that the Ram Sethu controversy will not be a rerun of the Ram temple issue of a decade-and-a-half ago which propelled the party from the margins of Indian politics to centre-stage.
The reason is that there is no anti-Muslim angle in the Sethu dispute. As such, it will not be possible for the party to exploit communal sentiments, as it did in the 1990s, to build up political support. Meanwhile,the BJP leadership today hinted that LK Advani would be its candidate for Prime Minister but an ailing Atal Bihari Vajpayee soon caused a flutter in the party with a few cryptic lines.
Bhubaneswar: Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Puri, has urged the government to amend the law relating to conversions and make provision for stricter punishment for those using allurement as a means to convert poor people.
Kolhapur : Shiv Sena leader and MLA Sadabha Sarvankar has said his party will oppose any move to relocate Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple.Opposing any move to relocate Dadar's famous Siddhivinayak temple, Shiv Sena Executive president Uddhav Thackeray today sought to know whether the country could also be shifted if it was unsafe.
Bijapur : State unit President of Hindu Sena Pramod Muthalik today threatened to launch an agitation including blocking of the border with Tamil Nadu if Chief Minister M Karunanidhi did not withdraw his remark on Lord Ram.
Jalpaiguri : Discontent is brewing of in tea belt of West Bengal that it may lead to closure sixteen more tea estates when efforts are on to reopen 13 closed tea gardens in the district, sources said.
Singur : Tension ran high in Singur today after an out-of-job farmer allegedly committed suicide near the Tata Motors' small car project area.The body of Srikanta Shee, 37, was found hanging from a tree near his hut at Sanapara in Gopal Nagar area this morning fuelling the allegation of unemployment and rising incidence of starvation following acquisition of agricultural land for the industrial project.Local Trinamool Congress MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharjee led demonstrations in front of the Singur police station and Srirampur Walsh Hospital, where Shee's body was sent for post mortem.This was the fourth incident of a farmer committing suicide in the Singur area over the past one year.The incident took place three days before the Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee's visit to the area for a public rally to be held to persist with the movement, spearheaded by the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee, demanding that land be returned to the farmers.

Kolkata: The mysterious death of a Muslim youth, married to a businessman's daughter against her family's wish, sparked a clash between cops and a mob in Kolkata Saturday even as a rights body claimed the deceased was constantly threatened by two top police officers to end the marriage. The mob went on a rampage in Park Circus area and set a police vehicle on fire around noon. The body of Rizwanur Rehman, a 30-year-old English honours graduate and a graphics designer, was found with injury marks beside a railway track the day before. His head had been smashed in.
When a rumour spread that the body of Rizwanur - who had married Priyanka Todi of Salt Lake in northeastern Kolkata - had gone missing from the police morgue, a mob gathered in Park Circus in south Kolkata, where he used to live. The area turned into a battlefield as the irate mob first blocked a road and then damaged a private bus. The group then attacked policemen with bricks and a jeep was set on fire. The police charged the mob with sticks and used teargas to bring the situation under control. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also deployed in the area.More than a dozen people, including cops, were injured.
"We will probe whatever the allegations - whether the youth died accidentally or committed suicide or by any other means. But the entire violence was because of rumours of his body missing from the morgue. Even some TV channels spread this rumour," Kolkata Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee told reporters at the spot. The police later confirmed that the body of Rizwanur was in the morgue of the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital.
Meanwhile, Sujato Bhadro of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), who was approached by Rizwanur after alleged threatening calls from police, told IANS: "The girl should be brought before people and an independent inquiry should be ordered as this is a case of communal behaviour by police. It is complete abuse of power by the police and some rich people." Bhadra said a letter by Rizwanur clearly mentioned the names of top cops like Gyanwant Singh (deputy commissioner of police headquarters), Ajay Kumar (deputy commissioner, detective department-I) and police officer Sukanta Chakraborty as the ones who threatened him.
"This is inhuman and not an accidental case. The girl was taken back by her parents after putting pressure on Rizwanur. She last spoke to him from Tirupati where she was taken by her parents. Her parents forced her to tell Rizwanur that he should not approach the media or take legal steps to get her back," Bhadro alleged.
"Sadiq, a witness to their marriage, was also threatened by police," Bhadro said.
While the railway police filed a case as it was seen as a case of being hit by a train, Rizwanur's family alleged that he had been threatened by his in-laws since his wedding in August 2006 and repeatedly asked to divorce his wife.
"My brother was also threatened several times by personnel from Karaya police station and senior police officials from Lal Bazar, the headquarters of Kolkata Police. We suspect that there is some foul play in my brother's death," said Rukbanur, Rizwanur's elder brother, at their Tiljala Lane house.
The house of the Todis in Salt Lake was locked and a police picket was posted there while the body of Rizwanur was brought to his family for burial after a post-mortem examination.
Mamata Banerjee, chief of West Bengal's main opposition Trinamool Congress, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter, alleging that the state police's Criminal Investigation department (CID) could not be trusted.
The victim's friend Sadiq said that the last message he had received from Rizwanur had said: "Raise the voice of opposition after my death".

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray was arrested on Saturday, for the second time ever for repeatedly failing to respond to court summons to depose in a defamation case filed against him.Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former deputy prime minister Lal Kishenchand Advani is contemplating another rath yatra to pay homage to those who sacrificed everything for the country's freedom.Speaking on Saturday at a massive public gathering, coinciding with his party's three-day national executive meeting that got underway in Bhopal on Friday, Advani recalled his rath yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya and said the journey had not only altered the course of national politics, but also brought several changes in him.
This is the third incident of mob fury in recent times, in what's emerging as Bihar's own brand of brutal justice.There has been a string of incidents in which mobs have lynched suspected criminals in Bihar. And for that matter, Ranjesh is the only survivor among the 11 alleged thieves lynched by an angry mob at the Rajapakar village in Vaishali.IBNlive reports.While Ranjesh barely escaped alive the others didn’t. The bodies of the 10 alleged thieves were found lying in the paddy fields. Villagers say they were caught red-handed, running away with cash and jewellery.In yet another instance of the mob taking the law into its hands, two persons were lynched on suspicion of being robbers in Bihar. The incident took place at Nutan Colony in Sultanganj on Friday night. The police are yet to identify the deceased.A mob of over 300 people nabbed the two men while they were allegedly trying to escape after robbing a person, Deputy Superintendent of Police S P Choudhary told rediff.com.

Earlier this week, an angry mob attacked three men and blinded them in Nawada district.

Last month, policemen in Bhagalpur helped a mob beat up a suspected thief. The administration is running out of excuses.

“Four or five incidents have occurred. Are they isolated incidents or part of a trend?” asks Chief Minister, Bihar, Nitish Kumar.

“It is every person's right to protect themselves. They should do that,” says IG Muzaffarpur, Krishna Chaudary.

And the Opposition is already crying foul.

“There is no law and order in the state. It is a complete anarchy,” says former chief minister, Bihar, Lalu Prasad.
First in Bhagalpur then Nawada, and now Vaishali, the people imparting street justice now.
Dalit man beaten to death in Bihar
A Dalit man was beaten to death and another seriously injured by landowners in a Bihar village over a land-related dispute, police said Thursday.
Bhagwat Ravidas, 60, a landless labourer, died after he was lynched by landowners and their henchmen in Bhadrar village in Banka district, about 200 km from here.
Bhagwat's relative, Hari Ravidas, was also seriously injured in the incident. He was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition Wednesday.
Police said poverty-stricken and landless Dalits have been living on land owned by the government for decades.
"Landowners and their henchmen attacked the Dalits and destroyed their thatched huts Tuesday night in a bid to capture the land. Bhagwat and Ravi were beaten up when they tried to put up a protest," a police official said.
A case has been lodged against 49 people in this connection but no one has been arrested yet.
Last week, 10 people belonging to the Nat community, were lynched in Vaishali district. A high-level probe has found the 10 men were not thieves as suspected earlier.
In another incident, two minor boys were beaten up and their heads tonsured partially when they were suspected of stealing detergent powder from a shop in Nawada district.
Amulya Ganguli writes:
In contrast, the BJP must have noted with dismay that there is a distinct possibility of the Sethu affair leading to Hindu vs Hindu clashes, as has already been evident in the attack on the Bangalore house of the daughter of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, following the latter's anti-Ram comments.
Any such development, reminiscent of caste conflicts, will be hugely damaging to all the parties involved. In the present instance, it is the BJP and the DMK, which have squared off for a fight over what many people will consider an esoteric issue.
It is perhaps to avoid such clashes — which claimed two lives when a bus from Tamil Nadu was set on fire probably by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists near Bangalore — that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has intervened. The suggestion of this paterfamilias of the saffron brotherhood is to set up a panel — the Ramesswaram Ram Sethu Raksha Manch — to conduct a movement to 'save' the Sethu, thereby denying the BJP the leadership role.
The move is in tune with the earlier exhortations by the VHP to the BJP not to politicise the dispute. In making this appeal, the VHP may have had in mind the fate of the 'politicised' temple agitation, which has faded out.
The decision of the RSS will partly check the BJP's attempts to make political capital out of the issue — something which will not please L.K. Advani, the party's senior leader, who was said to have been contemplating embarking on yet another rath yatra (chariot ride), recalling such a journey he made in 1990 to launch the Ram temple agitation.
While the success of that movement made the BJP eager to seize on the Ram Sethu dispute, its enthusiasm is not shared this time by some of its allies. The Janata Dal-United (JD-U), for instance, which is in power in Bihar along with the BJP, has dismissed the subject as a non-issue, declaring that other matters, such as poverty and unemployment, were more important.
This indifference of even the BJP's partners is probably due to the perception that the repeated use of religious symbols to boost political prospects can breed cynicism even among their traditional supporters about their motives.
As is known, the BJP's Ayodhya agitation was based on the propagation of the belief that the Mughal emperor, Babur, had built the Babri masjid at the site where Lord Ram was born. Similarly, the Ram Sethu issue is based on the conviction that this 'natural formation' comprising coral reefs and sand banks, which is also known as the Adam's bridge in the Palk Strait, is the mythical bridge built by Ram's simian militia when the Hindu deity went to Sri Lanka to rescue his abducted wife, Sita, from the demon king, Ravan.
However, as the DMK's response has shown, there is also a north-south divide on the subject, precluding the possibility of the Hindutva camp building up a national movement. If sections in the south are lukewarm about the issue, if not positively hostile, the reason is the tradition of anti-brahmin and anti-north Indian stance, which the Dravidian parties have adopted to consolidate their mainly backward and lower caste support base.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14531436

The Ram Sethu controversy is being used as a chess board on which Lord Ram has been made a Pawn in the hands of politicians who can use him the way they get the maximum gains. Whole episode can provide BJP a chance to gain its eroded support and lost position at centre. Congress getting alert of the political mileage naturally going to Bhartiya Janata Party being a so-called custodian of Hindu interests is reported to make a modest plea to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister not to further push the controversy so as to erode the support base of the Congress party in North especially in Hindu voters due to the adverse comments of the ally of UPA government.No doubt that Congress is conscious of the coming parliamentary elections which can present a changed graph of the poll’s results if the allies continue to resort to such provocative remarks about the most worshipped god of Hindus which constitute around 80 percent of the population of India.
India may have a booming economy with a soaring stock exchange fast growing technology and services sector, but it's built on service of a much more unpleasant kind, as this week's Unreported World reveals.
Reporter Ramita Navai and Producer Siobhan Sinnerton travel through India exposing the horrific plight of the country's 170 million Dalits; Literally meaning "the broken people" - and previously called "the untouchables", they are at the bottom of India's caste system and are some of the most oppressed people on Earth.
Economic growth has done little to improve the Dalits' lot; despite legislation, they still form 60 per cent of all those below the poverty line. Now, as Unreported World reports, Dalits are starting to fight for political power in an Indian civil rights movement against segregation every bit as bad as apartheid South Africa and the 1950s American South.
The team begin their journey with Dalits who are manual scavengers - a polite term for those whose role in life is to clean latrines by hand. It's a practise which is officially illegal, but a million Dalits do it every day. Navai accompanies Sangita as she begins her daily job cleaning the latrines of upper caste families. She is the third generation to do this and tells Navai that she desperately wishes her children don't suffer the same role.
Not only is it degrading, but the work can be dangerous. The team is told about a Dalit who has died after being overcome by fumes while cleaning a deep sewer. Other Dalits have dragged his body outside the municipality that hired him in protest. By law no Indian municipalities are permitted to employ manual scavengers, so the team goes to question the Chief Officer of the municipality. He denies that any scavengers are employed, despite the crowd outside who claim they are his employees.
The position of Dalits at the bottom of the caste ladder is deeply ingrained and those who step out of line are often ritually humiliated or punished with violence. In Devaliya an activist takes the team to a refuge full of Dalit families who have fled violence and harassment from upper caste families. Inside, Rudiben tells Navai that her husband had been standing up for the rights of Dalits in their village, angering the dominant caste and resulting in a horrific attack when he was speared to death by upper caste villagers. She says that when the case went to court, the villagers threatened to kill her children, intimidated the main witness and were subsequently aquitted.
In Maharashtra, the team meets Bhayalal, whose wife, daughter and two sons were beaten to death after he complained about access to land. Eleven villagers are currently on trial for murder. The Indian Government introduced an atrocities against Dalits law to deal with caste crime 18 years ago, but its implementation has been abysmal with a conviction rate of just two per cent.
Traveling to the eastern state of Bihar, the team finds a group of very young protesters - including school children who are forced by their teachers to clean toilets rather than study when they go to school. One boy tells Navai that when he asked to use the toilet, his teacher locked him in the cubicle for six hours.
Just as Black Americans did in the 1950s, educated Dalits are forming civil rights movements, challenging local governments and demanding equal access to services. As the team leaves the country, it's clear these leaders face an uphill struggle against such an entrenched system, but the price of failure will be to condemn millions to continuing misery and degradation.
Bangalore: A large group of Dalits, including women and children, under the banner of Dalit Liberation Human Rights Forum-Karnataka, on Friday staged a demonstration in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue, here demanding punishment to those responsible for various types of inhuman treatment meted out to them in the State.The protesters alleged that the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party Government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy had failed to protect the interests of women and children among Dalits and other weaker sections. They demanded dismissal of this Government for failing to discharge its responsibilities.
State convenor of the forum Basavaraj Kautal alleged that 16,000 persons had secured jobs in various cadres in the State Government producing false caste certificates and impersonating as Dalits. He demanded filing of criminal cases against them under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and replacing them with the qualified and eligible Dalits.
The State Human Rights Commission should constitute a committee to go into the charges of untouchability in the anganvadis, midday meal centres and other public places, he said.

Flaying Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for his remarks on 'Lord Rama', Vishweswara Theertha Swami of Pejawar Mutt in Karnataka's Udupi district, today invited him for a public debate on the issue.
In Bhubaneswar, Vishwa Hindu Parishad today asked its cadres and other like-minded people to file police complaints against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Hindus by his recent statement on Ram Setu. The call was given by VHP's international general secretary Pravin Togadia, who said its activists and others would start filing FIRs against Karunanidhi from September 24. He said at least 1,000 FIRs were ready to be filed in different police stations in the country on Monday.
Firebrand saffron leader Uma Bharti today filed a police complaint here against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, DMK chief Karunanidhi and some others for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community on the Ram Setu issue. In the complaint filed at the Parliament Street Police Station, she demanded action against Law Minister H R Bharadwaj, Culture Minister Ambika Soni and Shipping Minister T R Baalu. The Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader sought action against Gandhi, Singh and his cabinet colleagues Bharadwaj, Soni and Baalu in connection with the controversial Ram Setu affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, saying the "sentences and words" in the document hurt the sentiments of Hindus.
Stepping up its campaign on the Ram Sethu issue, the BJP today attacked on the Congress-led coalition at the Centre, demanding its unqualified apology for denying existence of Ram and said a government displaying "such ignorance does not deserve to stay in office". A resolution on Ram Sethu was approved at the party's ongoing national executive meeting here, but senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi made it clear that the party "would not directly take up the campaign. It will support the Rameshwaram Ram Sethu Raksha Manch to save the bridge.
"We had never promised to construct the Ram temple ourselves, but had promised support to the endeavour undertaken by trusts like the Ram Janma Bhoomi Nyas," Joshi told reporters, adding "we will also extend all possible support to the Manch for preservation the Sethu".
Strongly condemning the affidavits submitted by the ASI on the Ram Sethu issue in the Supreme Court, he said instead of totally withdrawing the "blasphemous" affidavit and apologizing for its submission, the UPA government has even failed to identify as to who drafted it and at what level it was approved.
Reiterating the demand for declaring Ram Sethu as a world heritage monument, Joshi said his party disapproves the diversionary tactics adopted by certain groups by raising slogans and arguments which tend to divide people on the basis of geographical, linguistic and racial theories, which have long been rejected by scholars and the people as well.

Mumbai: In a veiled criticism of DMK leader Karunanidhi over his remarks on Lord Ram, NCP chief Sharad Pawar today said "people should desist from making remarks that hurt anybody's beliefs". The decision on the Sethusamudram project was taken when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, Pawar said. "At that time, there was a demand from both DMK and AIADMK. I am not aware why there is a change now," he said.
Asked if the 'Ram lehar' (Ram wave), sought to be created by some parties, would be a major issue during the next polls, Pawar said "elections are not fought over the same issue again".

Priest's murder: Dara Singh, 3 others get life imprisonment
Dara Singh, serving a life sentence for the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines, was on Saturday sentenced to a life term for the killing of a Catholic priest in Mayurbhanj district eight years ago.Three others -- Jadunath Mahanto, Chema Ho and Rajkishore Majanto -- were also sentenced to life by District Judge Sachidananda Sahu who had convicted them on Septemeber 11.They were also sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for burning a church, five years for trespass and three years for armed attack. The sentences would run con