Palash Speaks

India to Ensure Brahmincal Hegemony on Knowledge and Information
Freedom of expression has been the first casualty in Myanmar as it has always been in India
PRB Act is in for an overhaul
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
BPO staff stressed? Govt plans new norms
'People working in BPO, IT sectors will have a burn out soon if something is not done now', Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said.
http://www.rediff.com/money/index.html
Four months and counting: Binayak Sen awaits justice
Raipur : The national media may be crying foul about the continuing detention of prominent rights activist Binayak Sen since May 14 for his alleged Maoist links, but the Chhattisgarh administration is showing no signs of relenting.
Students in Kolkata protest against Myanmar crackdown
Kolkata, Oct 4 : Hundreds of students took out a protest rally here today against crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators by the military government in Myanmar and expressed solidarity with the Myanmarese demonstrators.Members of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students Federation of India (SFI) raised slogans and marched through the streets of Kolkata.
"Today all the Leftist and democratic students of West Bengal have taken out a rally to protest against the Myanmarese junta crackdown and we are raising our voice that democratic government should be set up in Myanmar at the earliest," said SFI leader Aparbo Chatterjee.
In Yangon, the pro-democracy movement led by monks is being violently repressed by the military government and at least nine people have died in the crackdown.
Meanwhile, continuing its crackdown following last week's protests, the military has reportedly arrested scores of Myanmarese.
The international community has expressed concern over the violent crackdown.

A scintillating century from Yuvraj Singh [Images] was not enough to deny Australia another thumping victory. The visitors easily beat India by 47 runs in the third One-Day International in Uppal, Hyderabad, on Friday to go 2-0 up in the seven-match series. In a bid to give some respite to corporate India and stimulate demand and growth in the festive season, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday asked bankers to take another look at their lending rates.
Environmental watchdog Greenpeace staged a demonstration here today demanding complete ban on import of discarded computers. India's tea production has been hit with heavy floods in the northeastern state of Assam inundating plantations and rampant pests eating away the crop in some areas, officials said.
Freedom of expression has been the first casualty in Myanmar with the government's crackdown in pro-democracy protesters.Consequently, although the protests have become muted and fear lurks, the mood is defiant.In India, the Ruling Brahminical polity has always been successful to curb freedom of expression as they held the monopoly of information and knowledge for thousands and thousands yeras simply implementing Manusmriti laws to deny others than the Brahmins to have knowldge. Once again the ruling comradors of the post modern Galaxy Manusmriti order is active to close the avenues open on Net for global Black Untouchable allaince against zionist Hindu Imperialism. Thus,The 140-year-old Press and Registration of Books Act, enacted during the British period, may undergo extensive overhaul to bring into its ambit the online news portals and web editions of newspapers.Till now the PRB Act of 1867 had been covering only hard copy editions of newspapers and books. Online news portals and web editions of newspapers did not fall within its jurisdiction.
Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi, who drew flak from the broadcasting media for his resolve to bring in the broadcasting bill, had on several occasions in the past made it clear that the PRB Act is in for an overhaul.
"In order to make the provisions under the Act of 1867 more in keeping with the current scenario and times, we are proposing to make certain amendments to make them relevant to the current economic and technological scenario," Dasmunsi said recently.
Ministry sources said the proposed act would have provisions to deal with foreign newspapers, and the FDI (foreign direct investment) in the online news portals and web editions, which did not exist at the time when Act was framed.
Besides framing rules for publishing newspapers and books, the Act provides for penalties -- in form of imprisonment and fines -- for owning press without government permission, not declaring one has stopped printing, and failure to supply newspaper copies to the government.

"The print is no longer the print on paper we have had. It has also gone online on computer screens instead of the paper. The press is no longer the old galley printing press. A paper now can be published in facsimile form through dedicated telecom lines in distant cities," a senior official at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.The ministry is now keen on changing and redefining the definition of many operative terms, such as 'print', 'newspaper'. Rejecting reports that the government was eyeing the online and Internet editions with a view to controlling them, the official said the old law was being considered for change only because it had "not changed with the evolving technologies and new administrative and ownership models".
"In fact, the existing Act is a regulatory act. But the revised law would be an enabling one because it will rather facilitate, rather than hinder, the growth of print media industry," the official claimed.

SC dismisses CBI`s petition against CRB Capital Markets

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to vacate a stay granted by the Delhi High Court on criminal proceedings initiated by CBI against CRB Capital Markets, which had allegedly duped 1.35 lakh small investors and many financial institutions of Rs 1,200 crore in the 1990s.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan dismissed CBI`s plea on the ground that the investigating agency had delayed in filing the appeal against the High Court order.
CBI submitted that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to stay criminal chargesheets filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 pending before the special judge, Mumbai.
The agency contended that the High Court had not only stayed the criminal proceedings, but had also approved the revival scheme of CRB Capital Markets in January last year.
CBI on the basis of complaints had registered various cases against CRB Chairman Chain Roop Bhansali, SBI officials and others for duping the Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India of Rs 3.43 crore and Rs 57 crore, respectively, in 1997.
According to the petitioner, CRB had issued warrants for huge amounts from these banks favouring its own associates who were ineligible for such fixed deposit repayment and brokerage warrants as they neither mobilised funds for the company nor maintained deposits with it.
Such warrants were later encashed from SBI and BoB branches across the country, thus causing undue loss the banks, it added.
It may be noted that the apex court had last month allowed transfer of a trust petition filed by stock market regulator SEBI against CRB Capital Markets from Bombay High Court to Delhi High Court.

Assam: I-cards for unorganised workers on cards

K Anurag in Guwahati reports for Rediff.com:
The government in Assam is mulling to issue identity cards to Indian daily wage labourers on demand to safeguard them against harassment in the name of detection of illegal Bangladeshi migrants in the state.Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said that in response to demands from many organisations on behalf of these unorganised workers, the state government will consider issuing identity cards to these workers.He said these identity cards, which are not supposed to considered as citizens identity card, will be given to only genuine India citizens so that it becomes easier to detect illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in the state and earning their living as daily wage labourers.
Anurag also reports that the Naga rebel group in truce, the NSCN-IM is apparently all set to throw its weight during the forthcoming Assembly election in Nagaland early next year, in another story.The first indication about the rebel group's intention to meddle in the polls came when it decided to impose ban on the entry of veteran Congress leader, former state chief minister and now Governor of Goa S C Jamir into Nagaland.
Gogoi said the government wanted to issue these identity cards in the wake of widespread allegations that genuine Indian daily wage workers were being harassed by police and various other quarters in the name of detection of illegal Bangladeshi migrants as well in operation against insurgents.
He said if made operational, such identity cards would be issued by block level officers in rural areas and assigned executive officers in the administration in urban areas. Such an identity card will have details about the permanent address, age, father's name etc of the card holder.
The All Assam Students Union, however, has expressed its concern over the state government's plan to issue identity cards to daily wage labourers.
AASU adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharrya said, "We suspect that it is another ploy of the Congress government and the party to protect illegal Bangladeshi migrants in lure of their votes. He said no such identity cards should be issued when the process of updating the National Register of Citizens was on in the state as per the Assam Accord of 1985."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met his special envoy on Myanmar, as China praised Ibrahim Gambari's talks with the country's military rulers but made clear the ''crisis'' does not threaten international peace and should stay out of the UN Security Council.Russia echoed China's view that the military's bloody crackdown on democracy activists remains an internal affair outside the council's mandate, but the council should continue to support the efforts of Ban and Gambari to help promote a solution to the situation.Gambari arrived back in New York from his four-day trip to Myanmar last morning and came to UN headquarters soon after for a nearly hour-long, closed-door meeting with Ban and senior UN officials.
''You must be very tired - all the way from Singapore!'' the secretary-general told his envoy before photographers were ushered out of the UN chief's 38th floor office.
The Security Council, meanwhile, agreed during closed consultations that Gambari would brief members this morning at an open meeting, after China and Russia relented on their initial demand that the session be closed.
Ghana's UN Ambassador Leslie Christian, the current council president, said Ban and all 15 council members would also speak publicly.
Myanmar and Singapore, as the current head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will be allowed to address the council as well if they want. Then, the council will hold closed consultations, he said.
Turmoil in Pak has hit dialogue with India: Musharraf

Pakistan's internal turmoil has hit its peace process with India and it is in the interest of both countries to ensure that their ties are not affected by tensions as in the past, President Pervez Musharraf has said.Asserting that the dialogue with India 'has not been stalled,' he said: "Yes, there is a slow down because of the internal turmoil in Pakistan. But I am sure that we will take it (peace process) forward."
Musharraf, who gave his second wide-ranging interview on Thursday in as many days, was asked if there was a possibility that the ties could again be affected by the tensions that had bedeviled them in the past.
"I only hope not in the interest of both India and Pakistan. We must not go back to those times," Musharraf told the Dawn News television channel.
The military ruler, who is seeking re-election on October 6, said he still believed that the Kashmir issue could be resolved if there is political will on the part of both countries.

Minmd you, General Pervez Musharraf has signed an ordinance for sharing power with exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.The National Reconciliation Ordinance gives amnesty to Bhutto and other political leaders except former premier Nawaz Sharif.Pakistan Cabinet had approved the National Reconciliation deal earlier in the day.
President Pervez Musharraf is contesting the polls in uniform once again after amending laws, which prevented him from doing so.His opponents in Saturday's polls, a retired judge Wajihuddin Ahmad and PPP candidate Makhdoom Amin Fahim wanted to stay the polls on the grounds that once the elections are over the election process could not be challenged.Also, government official on Friday had cited major progress overnight in power-sharing talks with Bhutto, hours before Pakistan's SC pondered last-ditch challenges to General Pervez Musharraf's re-election bid.Amid dwindling popularity, Musharraf has held talks with Bhutto to strike a deal that would facilitate her smooth return from eight years in exile, help improve his image and could eventually lead to them sharing power.
On Friday Pakistan's Supreme Court unanimously decided that the presidential election process should continue as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission. But the final decision of the elections was not to be issued till the final disposition of the case.

However, the general still faced a major legal challenge after two rival candidates urged the Supreme Court to delay the vote and disqualify Musharraf, saying he can't run in Saturday's vote by national and provincial legislators while keeping his dual role as powerful army chief.
Eight years after seizing power in a coup, Musharraf says he will step down as army chief and restore civilian rule if he wins another five-year term. His allies say they have enough support to guarantee victory.
Bhutto on Thursday stressed that no deal had been finalized. The government said it would soon issue an ordinance to pardon Bhutto and other politicians. Bhutto plans return from exile on October 18 and also wants guarantees that she will be able to seek a third term as prime minister during parliamentary elections due by January.
''There is many a slip between the cup and the lip,'' said Bhutto in London. ''Until we see the national reconciliation bill in print form, we would not be able to confirm where we stand. But we are now optimistic that this is going through.''

American Patriotism derailed!

Lady Liberty raped!

Israeli Lobby Anti Humanitarian Hate Poster detailed!

"Here We Come For Your Oil Iran!"

http://www.issuesan dalibis.org/ i&aoilgascome. gif
Bush Vetoes Candy for Babies
Move Takes Candy From Over Four Million Babies
In a move that seemed guaranteed to stir controversy, President Bush today vetoed a bill that would give candy to over four million babies.
With one stroke of a pen, Mr. Bush vetoed the Candy for Babies Act, a law that would have expanded candy benefits to America's hungriest babies.
At the White House, aides to the president said that Mr. Bush was "unconcerned" that his veto would create the impression that he was, in effect, taking candy from babies.
"Being president means making tough decisions," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "If that means taking candy from babies, so be it."
Mr. Perino said that the $3 billion saved by vetoing the Candy for Babies Act would be used for one of Mr. Bush's pet projects, a new program that would pay people to kick old ladies who are trying to cross the street.
The funding of the Kicking Old Ladies Act comes on the heels of another potentially unpopular move by the president, an executive order that would force puppies and kittens out of animal shelters and onto the streets in time for the winter.
In other White House news, President Bush responded to criticism of the Blackwater security firm by hiring a new firm to take over security in Iraq, a company called Bongwater.
"I met with the Bongwater folks and I liked them," he said. "They seemed a lot more laid back than Blackwater."
Elsewhere, Britney Spears said she regretted losing custody of her children "because I was just teaching them how to drive."
Dear Comrades / Freinds,

CPI (ML) Web site updated. Please visit: www.cpiml.in

Red Star English Monthly, October Issue uploaded. Direct link for Red Star: http://www.cpiml. in/October% 20RS%202007. htm

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comradly

Abdul Nasser

The next Iraq?

By Eric S. Margolis
Published: October 4, 2007

PARIS: A splintering Burma could create a fire-storm in Southeast Asia.
Seen from afar, the growing turbulence in Myanmar appears a simple struggle between the brutal ruling junta and forces of democracy, led by the Noble Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Up close, however, the crisis is extremely complex and fraught with unpredictable perils that could risk turning Myanmar into Southeast Asia's version of strife-torn Iraq.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is extremely difficult to enter and bans foreign journalists. I have managed to slip into the country four times in recent years. In 2004, I managed to see the nation's elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in her home-cum-prison. She is held like a bird in a cage by the junta, which until recently called itself by the wonderfully Orwellian name, "State Law and Order Council," or Slorc.
In 1988, the junta's soldiers crushed student demonstrations, killing 3,000 people. After Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, the generals annulled the vote and declared martial law.
President George W. Bush and the leaders of other Western nations have called for even tighter sanctions against the Burmese junta and urged its replacement with Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government.
Myanmar is indeed a nasty garrison state. Its generals have plundered resources and kept this beautiful nation in poverty. The country is often referred to as embodying "unspoiled Asia." But that's because the junta and its predecessor, the demented dictator General Ne Win, turned Burma into a hermit kingdom and one of the world's poorest countries.
Extreme caution is advised in dealing with Myanmar. The central government has been at war for 50 years with 17 ethnic rebel groups seeking secession from the former 14-state Union of Burma created by the British Empire.
Burmans, of Tibetan ethnic origin, form 68 percent of the population of 57 million. But there are other distinct ethnic groups: Shan, the largely Christian Karen, Kachin, Chin, Mon, Wa, and Rakhine, Anglo-Burmese, Indians and Chinese. The largest, Shan, with their Shan State Army, are ethnically close to neighboring Thailand and close to the Thai military.
Most of the major ethnic groups have their own small armies and finance themselves by smuggling timber, jewels, and drugs.
Myanmar's 500,000-man armed forces, the "Tatmadaw," battled these various secessionists for 50 years, until the current junta managed to establish uneasy cease-fires with all the major rebel groups.
If the junta were to be replaced by a democratic civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and military repression ended, it is likely Myanmar's ethnic rebellions could quickly re-ignite.
Shan, Karen, Kachin, and Mon still demand their own independent nations. Burma's powerful neighbors - India, China and Thailand - have their eyes on this potentially resource-rich nation. They, and neighboring Bangladesh, also fear Burma's troubles will spill across their borders.
China exercises strong political, economic and military influence over Myanmar and is building a naval base near Yangon to give it direct access for the first time to the Indian Ocean. India sees China threatening its rebellion-plagued eastern hill states and is alarmed by Beijing's naval ambitions in the Indian Ocean.
A new democratic government in Yangon that is not tough enough to deal with secessionist regions around its troubled periphery could see Burma fall into Iraqi-style internal turmoil, and also invite intervention by covetous neighbors. At worst, India and China could even clash head-on over control of strategic Burma.
A splintering Burma could create a fire-storm in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, the Western powers and Asean must understand that if they force the Burmese military from power, they had better have an almost equally strong new government to replace the unloved junta.
Ironically, Aung San Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, a hero of Burmese independence, promised its ethnic regions independence if they so desired. His daughter may reap this whirlwind.
Eric S. Margolis is a contributing foreign editor for Sun National Media Canada and the author of "War at the Top of the World - the Struggle for Afghanistan and Asia."
http://www.iht. com/articles/ 2007/10/04/ news/edmargo. php

A Message to the citizens of the United
States of America:

In light of your failure to elect a competent President
of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give
notice of the revocation of your independence, effective
immediately.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchicalduties over all states, commonwealths, and territories
(excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).Your new prime minister will appoint a
governor for America without the need for furtherelections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determinewhether any of you noticed.To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency,
the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:1. You should look up "revocation" in the OxfordEnglish Dictionary. Then look up aluminium, and checkthe pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how
wrongly you have been pronouncing it.2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words suchas 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learnto spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters,
and the suffix 'ize' will be replaced by the suffix'ise.'3. Generally, you will be expected to raise yourvocabulary to acceptable levels (look up 'vocabulary').4. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed
with filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' isan unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.5. There is no such thing as US English. We willlet Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft
spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of thereinstated letter 'U' and the elimination of 'ize.'6. You will relearn your original national anthem,'God Save the Queen.' July 4th will no longer be
celebrated as a holiday.7. You will learn to resolve personal issues withoutusing guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that youneed so many lawyers and therapists shows that you'renot adult enough to be independent.
8. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you'renot adult enough to sort things out without suingsomeone or speaking to a therapist, then you're notgrown up enough to handle a gun.
9. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to ownor carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler.A permit will be required if you wish to carry avegetable peeler in public.10. All American cars are hereby banned. They are
crap and this is for your own good. When we show youGerman cars, you will understand what we mean.11. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts,and you will start driving on the left with immediate
effect.12. At the same time, you will go metric with immediateeffect and without the benefit of conversion tables.Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understandthe British sense of humour.
13. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (whichyou have been calling 'gasoline') -- roughly $6/US gallon.Get used to it.14. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you
call French fries are not real chips, and those thingsyou insist on calling potato chips are properly calledcrisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat,and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
15. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beeris not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only properBritish Bitter will be referred to as beer, and Europeanbrews of known and accepted provenance will be referred
to as Lager. American brands will be referred to asNear-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold withoutrisk of further confusion.16. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast
English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be
required to cast English actors to play Englishcharacters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt Englishdialogue in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' was anexperience akin to having one's ears removed with
a cheese grater.17. You will cease playing American football. Thereis only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer.Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed toplay rugby (which has some similarities to American
football, but does not involve stopping for a restevery twenty seconds or wearing full Kevlar body armourlike a bunch of nancies).18. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It isnot reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series'
for a game which is not played outside of America.Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is worldbeyond your borders, your error is understandable.19. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving
us mad.20. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) fromHer Majesty's Government will be with you shortly toensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdatedto 1776).Thank you for your co-operation. .
--
Larry
"Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." - John Quincy Adams
How disappointed he must be.
--
Together, We Can Change The World, One Mind At A Time!
Have a great day,
Tommy

Mass Media Versus Mass Reality
http://www.cpiml.in/071010.htm
[Note: In this analysis of May 2004 just after Lok Sabha elections P. Sainath, the senior journalist shows how the monopoly media has kept itself far away from Indian reality. The media have decided that 70 per cent of the population does not make news. The electorate has decided otherwise. P Sainath contrasts expectations before the elections with actual outcomes, and finds plenty that should have been always evident. During the period after the elections this gap has widened. Reproduced from www. indiatimes.org - Red Star]
The first thing the election results drive home is the sheer disconnect between the Indian elite and the Indian people. Here was a leadership that thought the ‘India Shining’ campaign would bring it success. A part of the elite — even those with the Congress party — went further than that. They believed the claims of ‘India Shining’ itself were valid and true. The dispute was over the patent rights on the shine. Did those belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party or to the Congress?
The Indian voters had very different issues on their mind. They were rejecting the National Democratic Alliance Government, which, as one poll slogan had it, stood for the “National Disinvestment Agency.” The intensity of this electoral quake rates an 8 on the political Richter scale. At this point, the `feel good’ factor seems so pathetic as to require no ridicule. The ruling party even tried to co-opt the thrill of a great cricket tour of Pakistan. It didn’t work. Yet while the spin doctors have been sacked, the age of spin doctoring has arrived.
Also rubbed in yet again was, of course, that second huge disconnect. That between mass media and mass reality. Little in the media output of these past five years had prepared audiences for anything like this outcome. The polls succeeded where journalism failed. They brought back to the agenda the issues of ordinary Indians. Deeper analysis must await more data. However, some broad contours seem clear.
There is almost no government in the country that has ill-treated its farmers and not paid the price. That has hurt agriculture and not been punished. India has never seen so many farmers’ suicides as in the past six to eight years. For some, the urge to blame it all on nature is overwhelming. And yes, droughts have badly hurt people in parts of the country. But that would be missing the wood for the trees. Countless millions of Indians have seen their livelihoods crippled by policies hostile to them. Many of these applied to agriculture, on which two-thirds of the people depend. Any incoming government that fails to see this writes its own exit policy.
The politics of divisiveness and intolerance also stand rejected. In no other period post-Independence have the minorities felt so insecure. And with good reason. From Graham Staines to Gujarat, the record is a grisly one. The basic fabric of a secular society came under assault. Co-opting a few figureheads from the minorities failed to work for the BJP-NDA. People went by their lived experience, not by the lure of poll-eve lucre. And amongst all communities, people have shown they want a secular polity. Even in Gujarat, the Congress party seems to have made its gains in the areas worst hit by the bloodshed of 2002. It suggests that many Hindus, too, have counted the costs of the past few years.
Under no other national government has there been the kind of intolerance towards dissent as in the past six years. The Tehelka episode and the hyper-activism of the Censor Board are just two of many examples. The rewriting of history — often with bizarre content — was also part of this. So too the vilification of some of this nation’s great historians. Years from now, the country will still be assessing the damage done to some of our best-known educational institutions. It’s worth remembering that much of this happened with elite consent. Until, of course, Murli Manohar Joshi got carried away. It was when he trampled on the Indian Institutes of Management, the elite’s pet institutions, that the squeals of protest began.
Dr. Joshi has been defeated. So too have been the Ram Naiks, the Yashwant Sinhas, the V.C. Shuklas and the Sharad Yadavs. The electorate has shown little respect for those we call ‘heavyweights.’
The polls also seem to show India 2004 to be a far more federal nation than before. There will be many different forces vying for political space. And that reflects the nation’s diversity. Those yearning for a simple ‘two-party’ system have a long wait ahead. One vital feature of this election was the partial recognition of this by the Congress party. Wherever it struck alliances and accommodated other forces, it gained. Now this can be termed electoral arithmetic. Even opportunistic. And indeed it is. Like it or not, it is also a negotiating of political space in a vast and diverse nation.
The poll campaign of the ruling formation was also marked by sharp hypocrisy. Appeals at press conferences and on television for decorum were followed on the ground by crude personal attacks. Indeed, this seems to have backfired in Tamilnadu. Even apart from the crushing strength of the DMK-led alliance, the foreigner diatribe against Sonia Gandhi did not go down well. Not in a State that knows her husband — also an Indian and a Prime Minister — lost his life on its soil. A victim of mindless hatred.
At one level, elections in the past year have followed a simple pattern. With a few exceptions, the Congress has gained greatly where the BJP or its allies have been in power for some time. And vice versa. People in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are still voting against the policies of their former Congress Governments. Even the massive numerical strength of the Congress-NCP tie-up in Maharashtra did not bring them the gains it should have.
The electorate has put the new Government on notice. “Business as usual. More of the same,” won’t do. Already one Congress leader at the Centre has promised exactly that. Far from rejecting the Chandrababu Naidu model, he suggests the Congress will give the people of Andhra Pradesh “Naidu +.” In which case the people of Andhra Pradesh will surely give his party the treatment they gave Mr. Naidu
Simply put, the term “reforms” is much like the words patriotism, motherhood and apple pie. Who could possibly be against any of those? It’s when you get down to defining these terms that the gaps show up. (Mahatma Gandhi was a patriot. The BJP thinks Narendra Modi is one, too.)
At the he

Decisive Time Ahead for Asian Nato , Nuke Deal and UPA GOI
Nuke Deal has to be finalised and Indian Marxist have to get an escape route for eye washing, it may well be a snap mid term poll!
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
In Mumbai, the Atomic Energy Department clarified that it is not holding any formal negotiations with the IAEA for drafting a safeguards agreement.
A brief statement read out by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the end of the two-hour-long UPA-Left meeting said the discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere and will continue on October 9. The Left will also closely watch the visit of IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to New Delhi next week.Though it is expected that some informal talks on the nuclear deal may happen, the Left has warned against any move to formalise negotiations. But discussions on India specific safeguards are not on the agenda during the IAEA chief's visit to New Delhi next week. Meanwhile, at the UPA-Left committee meeting, the government gave a reply to the left's rejoinder on the 123 Agreement.
When contacted by NDTV, the Department of Atomic Energy said, ''No talks or meetings on India specific safeguards are scheduled during the IAEA chief's visit. All occasions in which IAEA chief is participating are public gatherings or visits to laboratories''.

"All members of the committee took part in the meeting. The meeting carried forward the earlier discussions on the basis of inputs provided by both sides," Mukherjee said.
"DAE is not holding any formal negotiations with the IAEA for drafting the safeguards agreement," a press release issued by DAE's Public Awareness Division said. The department also said that it has not received any initial draft of a safeguards agreement from IAEA Safeguards Department as reported in the media. The clarification comes in the wake of reports that it is holding consultations to work out an `agreed text' under the nuclear deal.

Friends, it is decisive time ahead for Asian nato, Nuke Deal and UPA Government ruling India to colonise Asia! US Imperialism is way ahead with War Against Terrorism in this divided geopolitics transplanting Puppet leadership everywhere. It has special schemes for Pakistan, Myanmar and Iran to estabilish a zionist hindu white supremacy on Asian People. Comply with the galaxy Manusmriti Order or Persih, the Wall Writing is too Golden! Nuke Deal has to be finalised and Indian Marxist have to get an escape route for eye washing, it may well be a snap mid term poll! Sources in the Department of Atomic Energy were quoted as saying that consultations were necessary to ensure a draft text was finalized and that formal discussions with the IAEA are expected to take place later this month. It’s clear that October is going to be a decisive month for this coalition. The next two nuclear panel meetings including the one being held later on Friday and the other expected around the middle of the month are going to decide the fate of this Government. The UPA-Left committee on Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation had one more meeting on Friday, when it was conveyed to the supporting parties that informal consultations were on with the IAEA over the safeguards agreement.
Meanwhile, Cutting across party lines, a small group of senior lawmakers have introduced a non-binding resolution in the US House of Representatives seeking tough restraints on nuclear trade with India. The move is seen as indicating not only displeasure by a section of members but also intended to significantly delay or perhaps outright derail the final passage of the civilian nuclear initiative that will operationalise the Indo-US deal. The resolution introduced last night in the House by Howard L Berman, Democrat from California; Flordia Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; and Jeff Fortenberry, Republican from Nebraska, is non-binding. All of them are members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a key panel of the Congress that will have to approve the final legislation when submitted by the administration.
The point has been more than clear as The day the Indo-US nuke deal was signed, Congress President Sonia Gandhi hailed the move as "historic". In a "Letter to Congress Workers", Sonia said, "India and the US have signed a historic 123 Agreement that lifts the decades-old embargo against nuclear trade with India. This will allow India to expand its energy sector to meet the growing demands of our economic growth and put an end to the power shortages that we are all familiar with." She added that the agreement will help the country expand power generation for its agricultural sector and the growing industrial sector. She also said the deal is a recognition of the achievements of India's scientists who have worked diligently to keep the indigenous nuclear programme live.
After the meeting of the Left-UPA Committee on the Indo-US nuke deal, the Left parties have asked the government not to start formal talks with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on nuclear-safeguards.The Left has also advised the government to wait for findings of the UPA-Left panel studying the nuke deal.While no dramatic announcements on withdrawal of support are expected immediately, the tension between both sides is now going to escalate and the Manmohan Singh regime will find the going tough beyond the first week of November. During the meeting held on Friday, the government had asked the Left if India could begin formal talks with IAEA on the safeguards.This was the third meeting of the committee set up to go into the concerns and reservations expressed by the Left parties who are opposed to the deal. The next meeting will be held on October 9 instead of on October 14 as scheduled earlier in view of Eid.

Earlier, reacting to agency reports that said the government has already begun consultations with the IAEA, the Left leader said they would like to know the nature of these consultations but it's clear any negotiations with the IAEA will be the breaking point.Left sources said they strongly opposed the government going ahead with operationalising the deal, including any negotiations with the IAEA for reaching a safeguards agreement. They said they were told by the government that it had to go on with informal consultations with the IAEA. Debabrata Biswas, Forward Bloc leader, who attended the meeting, said the Left parties have the impression that the government would not go ahead with operationalising the deal till the committee completes its discussions and comes out with findings.
A delegation of Indian-Americans, who lobbied hard in the US in favour of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, will hold discussions later this month with the Left parties, who continue to be at loggerheads with the UPA government on the agreement.A 10-member delegation of Indo-American political activists led by United States India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) will meet the Indian leadership across the political spectrum, including the BJP, the Left parties and the Third Front.
"We will try and understand their position on the nuclear deal and their opposition to it," Robinder Sachdev, founding member and Director, USINPAC said here. The delegation, which will have representatives from various Indian-American associations, is expected to be in the capital between October 22 and 24.
India would become 70 per cent self-reliant in matters of defence acquisitions by 2010 and 90 per cent by 2020, the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence Balasaheb Vikhe Patil said on Friday.
India's National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan paid a secret visit to Afghanistan earlier this week for a first hand assessment of the security situation, prompted by the escalating violence and growing influence of the Taliban militia. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday ordered measures to boost oversight of US security firm Blackwater, including putting video cameras on its convoys, after last month's deadly shootings in Iraq. Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party dismissed the Myanmar junta's offer of talks as surreal on Friday, while China said the ruthless suppression of pro-democracy protests did not require international ...
The uniformed President played a pre-eminent political actor by scripting a political plot to curb brewing opposition against him. He has reached a power-sharing deal with self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. This move has not only ended the scope of palpable opposition of Nawaz-Benazir duo against him in the elections 2007. He also handled his both enemies by making an out of court settlement with one and bullying the other one. On one hand he foiled Nawaz sharif’s fair chance to contest electons by deporting him to Saudi Arabia and on the other hand he tamed the threat of opposition from Benazir by gratifying her with the shared power.
Sunita's taste of India
October 4, 2007

Camera: Raja Sen
Today marks 50 years of space flight. Here, in a quick montage, we look at the state of Gujarat celebrating NASA's Sunita Williams as she comes to her father's native state.
The crowds, the media, the celebrations: everything was insanely larger than life as Sunita and her father, Dr Deepak Pandya, were honoured, mobbed and exalted by Ahmedabad and the nearby villages of Jhulasan and Nadipur.
We followed Sunita around for two days, ladies and gents, during which she really learned to wave.
http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/oct/04video1.htm
In fact, as the nuclear stand-off in the ruling alliance heads toward a confrontation, the Left had declared on Thursday itself that it “cannot be expected to back a government that pursues the NDA government’s foreign policy”. On the eve of the crucial UPA-Left panel meeting on the nuclear deal, the Leftists enlarged the conflict by finding fault with an entire gamut of foreign policy issues, making any reconciliation virtually impossible. The Left parties on Friday issued a veiled threat to the Manmohan Singh Government at the Centre saying that they would not hold back from withdrawing support to the Government if it proceeded to make the nuclear pact operational against their wishes. Even as the face-off has begun, the Government, on its part, has shown no sign of putting a pause on the deal, as has been demanded by the Left. In fact New Delhi has been holding informal consultations with the IAEA on the safeguards agreement.
Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Than Shwe has agreed to meet democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but only if she stops calling for confrontation, "utter devastation" and economic sanctions against the regime, state-media said on Friday.
"If she declares to give them up, the senior general will personally meet with her," said a government announcement published in The New Light of Myanmar.
India and the Philippines pledged on Friday to strengthen trade, fight terror and develop renewable energy sources in a slew of agreements signed during a visit by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.
For the first time, personnel from the country's newly raised Strategic Forces Command today successfully conducted the "user trial" of the nuclear capable 700 km range indigenously developed AGNI-I ballistic missile from the Wheelers island off the Orissa coast. The missile tested was an upgraded version in which considerable improvements have been made in re-entry technology, giving the weapon more manoeuverability, DRDO scientists said. This was the fourth test-firing of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which is capable of striking a target up to a distance of 700 km.There were "considerable improvements in its re-entry technology and manoeuvreability" since Agni's first trial was carried out on January 25, 2002 from Wheelers Island, the sources said.On the other hand,The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected 8% GDP growth for India in the medium term, but has said the country would require policies to foster improvements in the labour market conditions, for better job creation and in the ...
The test firing -- the fourth in the 700 km Agni-I series -- was carried out at 10.30 am by the Strategic Forces personnel using mobile launchers from the Integrated Test Range complex 4 -- signalling the missile being made operational with the armed forces.
"The performance parameters of the missile were as expected and the desired objective have been met," a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
The trials were undertaken, ministry sources said to fix operating procedures for the missiles, which have already been inducted into the armed forces. Agni-I would be the second series of missiles to be inducted after the much shorter range Prithvi.
The Strategic Forces Command has raised a new missile group 334 for operating these missiles. AGNI-I is so far the only missile in India's arsenal which operates on solid fuel. The 3,000 kms range AGNI-III, which is under trial, also uses solid fuel.
Agni-I is a single stage version of Agni-II missile. It has a length of 15 metres and weighs 12 tons. It is capable of carrying a 1,000 kg payload and both nuclear as well as conventional warheads. The rocket propels it at a velocity of 2.5 km per second, sources said.

On the eve of International Atomic Energy Agency's Director-General Mohammed El Baradei's visit to India next week, three influential US lawmakers have called called on the Bush Administration to eliminate any ambiguity over the United States-India civilian nuclear agreement before it goes to bat for New Delhi at the Nuclear Suppliers Group.All the three lawmakers are members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.On the other hand,Congressman Jim McDermott, Washington state Democrat, and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, October 2, took to the House floor to laud Sonia Gandhi [Images] for inspiring the UN resolution designating Mahatma Gandhi's [Images] birthday as the International Day of Non-Violence.

McDermott, informed his Congressional colleagues, "Today, is a very special day. Today, October 2, marks the birth date of Mahatma Gandhi. To honour him, the United Nations approved a resolution that, beginning today, designates October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence."

"It's a start--one that was inspired by Sonia Gandhi after she successfully led an international conference called Peace, Non-Violence and Empowerment--Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century," in January 2007,the lawmaker said.
in New delhi, Left-UPA committee that is currently examining the Indo-US nuclear deal will meet for the third time on Friday.The Left will demand some clear answers from the government, particularly on whether it plans to go ahead with negotiations on India-specific safeguards with the IAEA by this month.Meanwhile,In a move that could raise the hackles of the Left parties, the Indian Air Force has sought the government's nod to take part in the world's most advanced aerial combat training exercises, ironically labelled Red Flag, hosted by the US.The IAF wants to take part in the exercises slated for January 2008 and has sought the government's clearance, Air Force Chief Fali Homi Major said in Delhi on Friday. If the Government gives the nod, this will be the second time in months that the Indian Armed Forces would be engaged in war games with US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies. Last month Indian warships conducted war maneouvers with ships, submarines and fighters from US, Australia, Japan [Images] and Singapore in the Bay of Bengal, which triggered widespread protests from the Left parties.
Raising concerns that the 123 Agreement between Washington and New Delhi, made public on August 3, does not adhere to the letter and spirit of the enabling Hyde Amendment approved overwhelmingly by the House and the Senate and signed into law last December by President Bush, Representatives Howard Berman, California Democrat, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida [Images] Republican, and Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska Republican, introduced legislation late on Thursday, saying "it remains to be determined if the nuclear cooperation agreement is fully consistent with the Hyde Act."
The legislation, although non-binding, said the Administration should clarify all conflicts of interpretation regarding the nuclear cooperation agreement prior to seeking an exemption for India in Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines.
It also warned that an unqualified exemption for India would create a strong incentive for India to negotiate nuclear cooperation agreements with other countries with less stringent conditions than those contained in the agreement negotiated between India and the United States, thereby undermining the United States nonproliferation policy and US commercial interests.
The legislation also called for an immediate termination of all nuclear commerce by Nuclear Supplier Group member states if India detonates a nuclear explosive device or if the IAEA has determined that India violated its international safeguards commitments.While the Hyde Act has mentioned such a cut-off in nuclear trade with India if it conducts another test, this has not been explicitly spelled out in the 123 Agreement, and Indian government officials have said that the 123 supersedes the Hyde Act, although senior Administration officials have remained circumspect.

A senior Left leader told NDTV that if that happens, the Left will have to take a decision on its support to the government. Reacting to agency reports that say the government has already begun consultations with the IAEA, the Left leader said they would like to know the nature of these consultations but it's clear any negotiations with the IAEA will be the breaking point.
The Left will also closely watch the visit of IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to New Delhi next week.Though it is expected that some informal talks on the nuclear deal may happen, the Left has warned against any move to formalise negotiations.
Speaking to NDTV, CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury said that his party has once again reminded the government that it should not go ahead with any negotiations with the IAEA before the special committee completes its work.But discussions on India specific safeguards are not on the agenda during the IAEA chief's visit to New Delhi next week.
When contacted by NDTV, the Department of Atomic Energy said, ''No talks or meetings on India specific safeguards are scheduled during the IAEA chief's visit. All occasions in which IAEA chief is participating are public gatherings or visits to laboratories''.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechuri today openly warned the government that the Left parties were in no mood to oblige the Government further if it decided to go ahead with the nuclear pact with the US. “We will have to do a re-think on continuing support to the Government if India goes ahead to make the agreement operational. If they proceed, we have made our stand clear to withdraw support to the government”.
Yechuri went on to say, "Surely, no one can expect it to support this UPA Government, which in violation of the CMP, is pursuing to continue the direction of India's foreign policy that was begun in the first place by the BJP-led NDA government." Yechuri was talking to reporters in New Delhi today on the possibilities of Friday’s meeting.
Even the CPI general secretary A B Bardhan had on Thursday warned the ruling UPA coalition that the Left support could not be taken for granted. He had said that there were indications that Government would go ahead with operationalising the deal. No reconciliation could be possible unless it puts the deal on hold, he said. So far, the Left parties had not decided on withdrawing support as they did not want to foist a pre-term election on the country, Bardhan said adding the Left would continue their outside support to the government as long as it adhered to the Common Minimum Programme.
“UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has admitted the differences during her speech in New York but preferred to remain silent on how to resolve them,” CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said. Ms. Gandhi had said there was no cause for alarm in view of differences between the UPA government and it’s crucial outside supporter on the deal. He said unless the government put the deal on hold there would not be any reconciliation.

Jammu and Kashmir Zero Violence
BY: PAUL BEERSMANS
http://www.jkreporter.com/guest_column.html
As early as 13 August 1948 the UN Commission for India and Pakistan requested Pakistan to withdraw its troops from the State as a pre-condition for organising the plebiscite. The same Commission in its resolution of 5 January 1949 repeated this request. Until this date, Pakistan has not withdrawn its armed forces and consequently the plebiscite has not been held.
Following conclusions can be drawn, based on the experi-ences of my visit to India and the Indian J&K State:
A. J&K, as it was before partition, is at present under the rule of three countries:
1. China: Aksai Chin and a territory of 180 kms ceded by Pakistan to China;
2. India: J&K State comprising Jammu-region, the Kashmir-Valley and Ladakh;
3. Pakistan: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (Northern Areas).
The culture, history, traditions, language, religion, etc. of these specific regions are totally different from each other. In J&K State this is also the case for Jammu, theValley and Ladakh . The link between these three regions can be called “Kashmiriyat” epitomised by tolerance, mutual respect, peace. In this respect it should be noted that the Kashmiris want the Kashmiri Pandits to return to the Valley, but this is only possible if their safety can be guaranteed.
B. Shops that open early in the morning and close late in the evening, busy traffic, children going to school, men and women, young and old, doing their business, their shopping, their social meetings in anormal manner were enough to make me beleive that things had become considerably normal now.
- In the Valley the railway link between Qazigund (in the east) and Baramulla (in the west) is progressing at an impressive pace and should be operational in 2008;
- new roads are constructed, existing roads are being repaired, improved and enlarged;
- new official buildings, hospitals, medical dispensations, schools, etc., etc. are being built;
- historical monuments are under renovation;
- fountains brighten up parks and busy crossings;
- shopping centres, hotels, residential areas, houses, posh villas, etc. are being built, renovated;
- mobile phones have become common and are operative in the remotest areas, and
- the car parking is completely modernisedand latest and most expensive models of cars can be seen in the Valley.
D. Priority must be given to end the sufferings of the Kashmiris. This can only be realised by stopping violence: zero violence. They want to have a future and jobs for themselves and their children. After 17 years of militancy it is high time to give the growing up generation a chance to have a normal youth and education.
E. Criminals are taking advantage of the troubled situation. They are abducting people for money, raping, murdering, extorting money from businesspersons, using mafia practices under the cover of ‘the movement’: militancy is a lucrative industry.
F. Violence has been rejected as an instrument for seeking a solution for a political problem. Pakistan should stop cross-border terrorism and cross-border infiltration, stop sending money, ammunition and weapons and stop giving training. As long as Pakistan supports terrorism, openly or covertly, there cannot be peace in J&K and without peace there cannot be a solution.
G. The pace of the peace process is not encouraging. There is almost no space for progress due to the internal situation in Pakistan. Internal and external aspects are linked to each other: if the internal situation is not good then the external relations will be affected negatively. The peace process has slowed down and that is not because of India, but the domestic situation in Pakistan. The process is slow and one should not expect a short-term solution. This can only be reached through small steps.
H. The dissident leaders insist that the peace process should be tripartite. Most of them do not have a solutioN. They are floating the ideas and the four points proposal of Musharraf as a basis for negotiations. ‘Let a tripartite dialogue start and a solution will emerge automatically’, they beleive.
I. The ‘opt-out’ option proposed by People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Lone does not find support in the Valley. There is some support in Jammu-region whereas in Leh district Ladakh Union Territory Front is fully supporting this option.
J. Everyone disavowed the statement of the Pakistani Ambassador in Brussels as if Gilgit-Baltistan (Nort-hern Areas as this area was renamed by Pakistan) is a part of Pakistan and not of J&K. All of the people I met ascertained that Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of J&K within the 1947 borders. Pakistan treats this area and its population step motherly: they enjoy no status or even the semblance of democratic representation. They are kept in poverty, illiteracy and back-wardness. The deprivation and lack of even very basic needs can be easily seen. A few locals are able to secure govern-ment jobs but even then they are paid up to 35% less than non-native employees; there is no local broadcast media. This must change and also their views and aspirations taken into consideration.
K. In the eyes of the mainstream parties the introduced CBM are important steps in the good direction and they insist on implementing much more CBM, especially improving trade relations and opening more roads across the LoC.
L. The dissident leaders are of the opinion that their aim and demand is not for a soft border or for CBM but for a final solution of the issue.
M. Everytime the Centre invites them they refuse to accept the invitation because they cannot share the table of talks with the mainstream politicians who according to them are a part of the Indian establishment. However, they must understand that the Centre must also talk to the mainstream parties as they are the democratically elected representatives of the Kashmiris and also they are a part of the Kashmiri society.
N. A dialogue is necessary on three levels:
1. bilateral level: between India and Pakistan;
2. national level: between the Govern-ment of India, the J&K State Govern-ment and the representatives of the Kashmiri society;
3. internal level: between different regions of J&K.
O. Four out of five WG submitted their conclusions and recommendations to the Indian Prime Minister. Concrete results are expected soon and after their implementation the situation will normalise although the dissidents are of the opinion that the WG do not take the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiris into consideration: the conclusions and recommendations have nothing to do with the peace process as they are only dealing with internal questions in order to address administrative problems.
P. There is no doubt that human rights violations are committed by the security forces and by the militants. There is also no doubt that not all cases of human rights violations committed by the security forces are disclosed or prosecuted. It is also a fact that the security forces always are blamed if something happens. Dissident leaders do not mention and are not critical on human rights violations committed by militants or ordinary crimes committed by bandits.
Q. A fundamental change of mindset among the security forces is needed regarding their attitude towards civilians. Organising crackdowns on a Sunday in an overcrowded ‘Sunday mark’ or on the so busy Boulevard along Dal Lake are not increasing the feeling of security among the civilian population, local and tourists as well. On the contrary, it creates fear, frustration and bad feelings towards them.
R. It is not clear if infiltration is going up or down butthere are militants, having enough equipment to keep the pot boiling. They can come and go as they like. They can come across the LoC, via Nepal, via Bangladesh as it is impossible to seal off completely the long Indian border.
S. The Kashmiris are in general happy with the democratic elected Government. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his Ministers are trying to fulfil the commitments they made. But the positive changes are not visible enough and not reaching the Kashmiris. The Govern-ment should intensify its efforts to meet the expectations and the wishes of the Kashmiris.
T. Corruption is adding to the misery and sufferings of the common Kashmiri. It has also a destabilising effect on the normal functioning of the civil society. The Kashmiris who have responsible jobs in the police, in the judicial system, in the administration, etc. are supposed to look after the well functioning of the society. By indulging into corruption they are betraying their own compatriots. It is high time that at all levels in J&K State a serious effort is made to tackle corruption. It is too easy to point to the Centre as being the origin of all evils, but one should have the courage and the honesty to recognise the shortcomings in the own system and take the necessary steps to redress the situation.
U. The cry for the right of self-determination by some parties in the Valley is supported by Pakistan. The same cry is heard in the areas under Pakistani administration, but without limitations: all options should be left open, such as accession to India, accession to Pakistan, Azadi (= freedom), total independence, partition.
V. Pakistan has no stand in J&K. Pakistan invaded J&K and is at the origin of the de facto partitioning of the State. As early as 13 August 1948 the UN Commission for India and Pakistan requested Pakistan to withdraw its troops from the State as a pre-condition for organising the plebiscite. The same Commission in its resolution of 5 January 1949 repeated this request. Until this date, Pakistan has not withdrawn its armed forces and consequently the plebiscite has not been held.
This conclusion is confirmed by the ‘Report on Kashmir: present situation and future prospects’ of Rapporteur Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Vice Chair-person of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Union, and almost unanimously adopted by the Committee on Foreign Affairs (March 2007) and by the European Parliament. This report reads as follows: ‘Pakistan continues to point to early UN Security Council Resolutions on Kashmir to support its contention that there should be a plebiscite to determine whether a reunited Jammu and Kashmir should ‘join’ India or Pakistan. The report notes, however, that the UN-laid down conditions for such a plebiscite have not been, and can no longer be, met by Pakistan. ’
The report is in favour of negotiations with the following wording: ‘In conclusion, the report recognises the ancient and unique heritage of the Kashmiri people, and the rapporteur has nothing but praise for their tenacity. After so many decades of conflict and tragedy in this particularly beautiful and historic part of the sub-continent’, it is heartening to see the two great powers, India and Pakistan, coming together with the people of Kashmir and that peaceful solutions are both on the horizon and being implemented, a familiar process which the European Parliament fully supports’.
Paul Beersmans is President, Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir
II. Sources of Weapons for Militias in Punjab and Kashmir
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/kashmir/1994/kashmir94-02.htm
India has long accused the government of Pakistan of directly supplying weapons, as well as other forms of military support, to militants in Punjab and Kashmir. Most long-time observers of the region concur.(5) Both Sikh and Kashmiri militant leaders have acknowledged as much,(6) and many of the weapons used by militants in both states clearly were acquired in Pakistan. Nevertheless, there are many complexities and uncertainties about the arms supply relationship.
Available evidence suggests that most weapons obtained by Sikh and Kashmiri militants have come from two sources inside Pakistan: the arms bazaar in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (nwfp)--a vast black market for weapons--and members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intel

Heads will roll, Basu Warns!
Whose Heads, Pardon!
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
In many places in West Bengal people are demonstrating against food distribution shops following allegations of corruption in the State Government department. But, the CAB twist in Rzwanur Priyanka Love story seems to be very tricky. Involvement of Snehashis Ganguli with Industrialist Tody has polarised the marxists in two separate camps. Basu seems to defend Buddha Deb but the most loyal man of Buddha`s police force, the CAB chairman is being targeted by dissidents lobby headed by none elese than Subhash Chakrobarti, the dearmost lietinent of the nonagerian Marxists patrirch!Entire bengali Brahminical hegemony is involved in this game as TRP prompts live telecast of the phenomenon even sidelining the so called Second Food Movement initiated by Ms Opportunism, the firebrand lady experiencing the heat and dust of Rural Bengal in trouble torn districts Bankura and Birbhum. Nandigram Singur hype and Death Procession in tea gardens have been overlaped by a tragic Lovestory consisting of sensual elements quite suitable to Bollywood Films. It is Marxist Expertise in its best to involve intellegentsia, polity, media and public opinion in its game of Vote bank mobilisation so superfine!
Two Kolkata police officers have been suspended in connection with the death of a Muslim teacher, who was found dead after allegedly being harassed by the police to leave his Hindu wife, and former CM Jyoti Basu has said more “heads will roll”.Assistant Commissioner Sukanti Chakraborty and Sub Inspector Krishnendu Das were suspended after an interim probe into Rizwanur Rehman’s death last month. The police were allegedly hounding Rehman to leave his wife Priyanka Todi, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi, and had threatened to frame him for abduction and theft.IANS reports the suspended police officers have told the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) their superiors asked them to harass Rehman and his wife Priyanka to opt out of the marriage.

Veteran CPM leader Jyoti Basu on Friday said "some heads" in the city police force would roll in the computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rehman's death case and the Kolkata police chief's name had also been "referred".In the severest indictment of the role of the police in the death of Rizwanur Rehman, who was threatened by senior officers to separate from his Hindu wife, Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu on Friday said that two officers had been removed and the police commissioner might not be spared. While,the state Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy hinted indecision prevailing in the Administartaive Camp. He did not contradict basu either but said meaningfully, Two deputy commissioners of Kolkata Police may be removed from their posts for their alleged involvement in the mysterious death of city youth Rizwanur Rahaman, who had married industrialist Ashok Todi's daughter.
"Heads will roll and even Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee may not be spared," Basu said.
Basu criticised the police chief for his press conference two days after Rizwanur's death on September 21 defending police officers who threatened him to part with his Hindu wife Priyanka, the daughter of industrialist, Ashok Todi.
"It is very bad and undesirable. It has come to the notice of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee," Basu said.
Asked why no action was taken against two other senior police officers, who threatened Rizwanur, Basu said, "The court is hearing a case on a petition (by the victim's family) praying for a CBI probe in this matter. Let us wait for the court's decision," Basu said.
Home Secretary P R Roy, however, said no decision had been taken for the removal of the police chief and if necessary action might be taken against Deputy Commissioner (headquarters) Gyanwant Singh and Deputy Commissioner (detective department) Ajay Kumar.Roy said the government did not endorse the statement of the police commissioner that it was possible for the police to interfere in the married life of two adults. He said the two other police officers, Sub-Inspector Krishnendu Das and Assistant Commissioner (Anti-Rowdy section) Sukanti Chakraborty might be re-examined by the CID.
The deputy commissioner (south) and officer-in-charge, Karaya police station would also be examined, he added.
Park Circus where Rizwanur lived falls under the police station. Roy said no decision has been taken on the transfer or suspension of any police officer though the government was actively considering action.
There is much ink and breath being expended on what the incident means for West Bengal’s image as a secular society. This is not at the core of this particular issue. Whether West Bengal has infestations of ‘communalism’, or if its Muslim population is discriminated against, or whether the secular veneer hides an age-old ‘religious’ divide are serious questions, but not central to the task at hand. Which is to find out who were behind the death of Rahman and whether the police did help one citizen bump off another. The reasons behind Mr Todi’s opposition to the Rizwanur-Priyanka match could have been the vast gulf in the economic status of his family and the one which his daughter went to live in. It could have been Rahman’s being a Muslim that was unacceptable to Mr Todi. It could well have been a combination of the socio-economic and religious reasons. But this does not concern us. What does is whether a murder is being hushed up by a powerful, well-connected person, the trail of which could include a member of the state cricket board and the Kolkata Police Commissioner himself. The manner in which the current probe is being conducted by the state’s Criminal Investigation Department suggests that those entrusted with the duty of getting to the bottom of the matter are not keen on the job. Also, how can Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee expect an unbiased probe against the two police officers suspected of working at Mr Todi’s behest when they continue to remain part of the force? Hindustan Times comments.The News Paper reports: The lifeless body of Rizwanur Rahman, a 30-year-old graphics designer, was found lying on the rail tracks near Dum Dum station in Kolkata on September 21. This was exactly a month and three days after Rahman and Priyanka Todi had got married at the office of a registrar against the wishes of the latter’s family, especially that of the young woman’s father, industrialist Ashok Todi. In the intervening period, evidence, including Rahman’s letter to an NGO, suggested that not only was the young man threatened by the Todi family and told to ‘remove himself’ from Priyanka’s life, but he was also ‘advised’ by the police to forget about this ‘impossible’ marriage. Ironically, it was the police that the couple had initially asked for protection from goons who they feared Mr Todi would send after them. Since Kolkata woke up to the horrific news of the death of Rizwanur Rahman, the possibility that members of the police force may have been ‘hired’ by a rich industrialist to separate his daughter from her husband has actually jolted civil society out of its torpor.
Violence against ration dealers continue

Violent protests continued today over corruption in the public distribution system in West Bengal with mobs attacking and ransacking houses of ration dealers in Birbhum district, as the CPI(M) said that vested interests were at work.
The district police said that houses of ration dealers at Bagdola and Naksh villages were attacked and ransacked.
In Malda district, 12 ration dealers were suspended and four others were show caused as their fair priced shops functioned irregularly, sold food grains without cash memos and there were discrepancies in stocks, district Food Controller Neelkamal Saha told reporters.
The district administration and the district Left Front committee distributed leaflets appealing to the people not to take law into their own hands.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who visited Labhpur in the district, the scene of police firing on a violent mob in which a person was killed On October 1, demanded CBI inquiry into the 'ration scam'.
The reason behind the police firing must be probed, she said and handed over Rs 15000 to the family of Ayur Sheikh who lost his life.
The over fortnight-long agitation against corrupt ration dealers broke out in Bankura district on September 16 and spread to Birbhum and Bardhamman districts and has claimed three lives.
The CPI(M) condemned the violence and said that 'vested interests' were behind it.
"Vested interests have resorted to the path of violence to jeopardise the rationing system in the state," CPI(M) state party secretary Biman Bose told a meeting of the party's state committee here. A statement issued after the meeting said the state government was taking steps to maintain the supply of food grains and expedite steps against the corruption and irregularities in ration allotment.
It also claimed "A systematic attempt is being made to attack the party and hatch conspiracies against it on various issues."
Mamata to launch ‘Food Movement II’
Statesman News Service
SONAMUKHI (Bankura), Oct. 4: Its now Ms Mamata Banerjee’s turn to flag-off a new food movement against the alleged corruption in the public distribution system in the Left-ruled state. Ms Bannerjee raised her voice against the Marxists, who ironically had generated a movement for similar cause against the Congress government in 1969, holding the party responsible for the situation.
Ms Banerjee said: “In these 38 years, since the food movement had taken place, the Marxists have changed a lot and have forgotten the spirit of food revolution. They must learn a lesson in a new form.”
Ms Banerjee’s rally at Ganganidanga in Bankura was attended by those villagers who suffered police atrocity while protesting against the alleged corruption by the ration dealers. She said: “The Marxists are hand in glove with the corrupt ration dealers across the state, which was first revealed in Bankura and now, similar things are coming to light in several districts such as Birbhum, Burdwan, Midnapore (West) and Murshidabad. The police on the orders of the CPI-M cadres are unleashing terror wherever the hungry masses are trying to protest against the pilferage of food grains.”
She asked the police to restrain saying: “Behave properly or you have to face the consequences.”
Ms Banerjee, however, demanded a CBI probe into the ration corruption and announced several programmes to give the movement a momentum. On 8 October, the party will demonstrate in front of every block office and on 9 October, the demonstrations will be held in front of every SDO office across the state. On 11 October, the party will hold a mass rally in Kolkata seeking support against the state’s continued apathy in the matter. Ms Banerjee is scheduled to visit the house of Dhanupada Das, latest victim of police firing.
VIDARBHA JANANDOLAN SAMITI
11, Trisaran Society, In front of Somalwar School, Khamla, Nagpur – 440 025
Tel No. (0712) 2282457 Mob No. 9422108846 / 9371137653 / 9822593943, Fax : 07235-227387
PRESS NOTE URGENT / NEWS FLASH ; - PIL ON THE ISSUE OF FARMERS SUICIDES :
HIGH COURT NOT SATISFIED WITH THE FARMERS PACKAGE SCHEMES : OBSERVED VIEW THAT IT'S NOT LONG LASTING TO SAVE FARMERS FROM SUICIDES AND EXPRESSED THAT MAHARASHTRA GOVT. TO COME OUT WITH EFFECTIVE LONG LASTING METHODS & STEPS REQUIRED TO REDRESS HARDSHIP OF FARMERS IN CRISIS :
"HOWEVER, WAIVER OF LOAN AND EVOLVING OF METHODOLOGY & PACKAGE SCHEMES BY ITSELF, IN OUR VIEW WOULD NOT PROVIDE LONG LASTING SOLUTION TO ERRADICATE THE SERIOUS ISSUE OF COMMISSIONING OF SUICIDES BY THE FARMERS OF VIDARBHA…………..
it is undoubtedly very serious ISSUE in nature and, therefore, we are very much concerned about the same………………..
We expect the concerned authorities at all level to look into the issue without lapse of time considering the gravity of the situation, which would benefit the farmers in distress and reduce their hardships," ………………….
……………………………………… observed division bench of high court at nagpur .
Nagpur, 4th October, 2007
============ ========
"However, waiver of loan and evolving of methodology & package schemes by itself, in our view would not provide long lasting solution to eradicate the serious issue of commissioning of suicides by the Farmers of Vidarbha ………….. It is undoubtedly very serious issue in nature and, therefore, we are very much concerned about the same………………..
We expect the concerned authorities at all level to look into the issue without lapse of time considering the gravity of the situation, which would benefit the farmers in distress and reduce their hardships,…………………."
Nagpur Bench of Mumbai High Court has expressed this desire in its Order today. The Division Bench of High Court consisting Justice Dilip Sinha and Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari after prolonged hearing on the affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary to the State Government on the implementation of the Vidarbha Farmers' Package, examined in detail the various expenditures and the spending of amount of Rs. 1860 Crores so far by the State Government, expressed its view that the amount of Rs. 825 Crores spent on so called waiver of loans and evolving of methodology & farmers' package schemes itself would not provide long lasting solutions to eradicate the serious issue of commissioning of suicides by the farmers and thus, virtually rejected the Farmers' Packages of the Government being implemented for the crisis ridden Vidarbha Farmers.
High-Court has expressed its great concern about the matter and came down heavily on the style & casual approach of the State Govt. in tackling the serious issue of agrarian crisis in Vidarbha Region. The High Court also expected from the State Government to come out with other methods for the purpose of providing long lasting benefits to the farmers so that the serious issue of Farmers' Suicides can be tackled effectively.
While hearing the Public Interest Litigation filed by Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, President, Shri Kishore Tiwari, Division Bench headed by Justice Dilip Sinha and Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari at Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court expressed its great concern and displeasure on the entire crisis and observed that the farmers suicides are the matter of serious concern to the Society and the Court and expected that the authorities of the State Govt. at all level to look into the issue without lapse of time considering the gravity of the situation, as expressed by the Division Bench of the High-Court from time to time.
It may be recalled that on last 6th August 2007, Nagpur Division Bench of the High-Court has directed the State to file detailed affidavit through its Principal Secretary explaining various aspects of the relief measures being undertaken by the State Govt. through its packages including details of the Credit Facilities being made available to the crisis ridden cotton cultivating farmers of the Vidarbha Region who are committing suicides. The affidavit filed by Shri Ramesh Kumar, Principal Secretary – Relief & Rehabilitation Deptt. of the State was tabled in the High-Court and was taken for detailed hearing today. The Division Bench was extremely unhappy with the shortcomings in the implementation of the packages and the style & casual approach of the Govt. as pointed out by the Petitioner's Counsel Adv. Firdos Mirza. After hearing the matter for entire day, the Division Bench of the High-Court here expressed the view that the waiver of loans and evolving of methodology & farmers' package schemes itself would not provide long lasting solutions to eradicate the serious issue of commissioning of suicides by the farmers.
Though the Writ Petition was filed by the petitioner way back in the month of February, 2006, due to the apathy of the respondents State Officials, the plight of the farmers is continued and farmers' suicides are reported in every crisis ridden Districts of Vidarbha. The toll of the unfortunate incidence of farmers' suicides has crossed 1700 nos. this year and is continued unabated. The reports of farmers committing suicides are coming every day from all 11 districts of Vidarbha Region. The relief measures have not been provided timely and bouncing of Cheque of Rs.10,000/- issued from PMO Relief Fund to farm widow is the classic example of how casually State Govt. is functioning.
The Petitioner has made party respondents to Chief Secretary of the State and other top officials including Principal Secretary-Home Affairs, Principal Secretary Agriculture, Principal Secretary Marketing, Secretary Co-operation, Commissioner of Agriculture at Pune, Director General of Police, Divisional Commissioners of Revenue Divisions at Amravati & Nagpur, Director General of Specially Formed Shri Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swawlamban Mission having office at Amravati & National Commission for Farmers, appointed by Ministry of Agriculture headed by Shri Sharad Pawar at New Delhi,
The petition will be taken up for further hearing on 1st November, 2007 after four weeks at the Nagpur Bench of Mumbai High Court. Advocate Firdos Mirza & Advocate Vinod Tiwari appeared for the petitioner and State was represented by Asstt. Govt. Pleader Smt. Bharati Dangre
Satbir Singh Bedi wrote:
The Cricketomania has gripped our country to such an
extent that nearly all online portals of the media
carry the word "Cricket" on top of their portals as if
there is no sport besides Cricket. When our Cricket
team is defeated, we feel so much rage as if our
honour is violated. We take our revenge on the
cricketers by burning their effigies, by burning their
posters and by damaging their house or other
properties. Cricketers have to hide themselves to get
away from the wrath of their fellow countrymen and
leading the assault on Cricketers is the media men who
carry such articles on our defeat in the Cricket World
Cup or such other events that the Cricket loving crowd
becomes hysterical. However, when our Cricket Team
wins as in the case of Twenty Twenty World Cup, our
media raises such a frenzy that the Cricket fans turns
hysterical and megalomaniac. There is so much fun and
frolics. Even the State Governments become seized
with such frenzy that it announces so many rewards for
the Cricketers at a time when the prices of onions
etc. are rising and the poor people even do not get
two square meals a day.
Our Agriculture Minister is particularly obsessed with
Cricket. He knows that there is so much money in
Cricket that it is best to become Cricket Board Chief
and enjoy life. Meanwhile, the Agriculture may go to
hell; there may be very slow progress in Agriculture;
the farmers of Vidarbha may commit suicide but Cricket
and felicitation of Cricketers must go on. And why
should farmers of Vidarbha commit suicide. Do not
they know that committing suicide is a legal offence.
If Agriculture is not progressing, it is not the fault
of the Agriculture Minister. After all, he has to
look after Cricket also. Is he not the Cricket Board
Chief. And anyway, Agriculture is a State Subject.
So, it is for the States to work on ensuring its
progress. Agriculture Minister cannot do much.
In olden days, army used to attract elite people. The
valiant warriors were honoured. In fact, the Army men
were so proud that they called themselves gentlemen
and would not fight a duel with anybody who was not a
gentlemen. In "Pickwick Papers" by Charles Dickens,
the army man just refuses to fight with an actor.
However, today actors and cricketers dominate the
scene, the news, the space in the media. As for the
army men, what are they doing. There is no war and
cannot they control terrorism? If they cannot and die
while fighting terrorists, it is their headache and
funeral. Why should media and other people bother?
So, the result is there is huge dearth in officers'
rank in the army because nobody just wants to die a
vain death. Why should youngsters not become film
actors, TV actors, models and cricketers and enjoy
life? To hell with Army. We would remember it only
if Pakistan or China actually attack us otherwise they
can enjoy the snow in Siachin. So long live Cricket!
Long Live Film Actors! Long Live models!
Satbir Singh Bedi

West Bengal: How The Left Front And Its Government Emerged
Biman Basu
BEFORE 1947 AND AFTER
To seek a proper answer to this question, one shall have to flip back pages of the history of struggles and movements in the not-too-recent-past of Bengal. Thus we find that during a special period in the 1930s, when the independence movement was raging, the Communist Party placed the theory of a united front against imperialism. It was way back in 1936. In the years that followed, unity was built up among the working people while, on the other hand, a united anti-imperialist programme was formulated in conjunction with other forces.
Among the joint programmes then implemented were the all-India post and telegraph strike, movements of the government employees and, above all, the programmes built up around the naval uprising at the Bombay seaport. Later, the historic Tebhaga movement unified the rural poor and created a point of inspiration for kisans in the then united Bengal. There was a big movement of students and youth as well. These struggles and movements stand as evidence of the splendid historic role played by the Communist Party in the pre-independence period.
Mass struggles took place and advanced along various routes after the country’s independence as well. In West Bengal, the Communist Party discharged its historic responsibility by playing a crucial role in the organisation of various mass movements. Thus, in 1953, when the already profit earning British-owned Calcutta Tramways Company hiked the tram fare (backed suitably by the then Congress raj) in order to further increase its profit margin, the Communist Party and other anti-Congress parties put up an angry resistance.
In 1954, when Dr B C Roy was the Congress chief minister, a massive food crisis overtook the state. There was a near-famine condition in Bengal. An anti-famine committee was then set up, and it organised statewide movements.
In 1954-55, in order to contribute to the struggle for Goa’s freedom from Portuguese occupation, a big march of satyagrahis to Goa was organised thanks to the united effort of all anti-Congress forces. In fact, the number of satyagrahis coming from far-off Bengal was much more than those coming from the states nearer to Goa.
Soon the committee against the Bengal-Bihar merger conducted a statewide movement against the merger proposal. At this time, the Lok Sabha byelections saw Professor Mohit Moitra, president of the anti-merger committee, receive the support of all anti-Congress political parties and defeat the Congress candidate, Ashok Sen, from Kolkata Northwest. In the tumultuous political atmosphere that was thus created, chief minister B C Roy had to withdraw the Bengal-Bihar merger proposal and victory celebrations were observed throughout Bengal.
BARBARIC KILLINGS
In 1954-56, the teachers of Bengal launched a movement to demand subsistence salaries. The salary then varied from Rs 62 to Rs 96 a month, and went up to a maximum of Rs 112. The teachers had no job security either. But the state government rejected the legitimate demands of these teachers and unleashed police repression against them. A massive anti-Congress struggle then grew up against the move. Further, a statewide students’ agitation grew up when the Phillips commission called for curtailment of higher education. A food movement was organised in 1958, as was a students’ agitation in the same year.
In 1959, the state suffered from a massive food shortage. Following a month-long campaign movement, a central rally was organised in what is now the Shahid Minar Maidan. The rally, held on August 31, spilled over into the Surendranath Park (formerly Curzon Park) and Rani Rashmoni Road. The massive rally had Jyoti Basu and other leaders of the democratic movements in the forefront. The administration was at a loss about what to do in the face of such a huge rally. There are indications that they initially thought about taking the rallyists into custody, but suddenly they decided to change the tactic. The rallyists kept raising militant slogans for more than half an hour but, just before the dusk settled in, the police arrested the leaders and then started a brutal lathicharge; 80 people were bludgeoned to death on the spot and hundreds left injured. This was one of the rarest examples of so many people being killed in such a short space of time, at the crest of a democratic movement that remained peaceful.
Students organised a strike on September 1. When the police fired upon their rally and killed some students, a protest day was observed in the form of a strike on September 2. A general strike was organised successfully on September 3. Over 130 courted martyrdom between August 31 and September 3.
Mass movements were organised during 1960-61 also. The student movement roared in protest against the setting up of an Indo-American Foundation for import of wheat under the PL 480 scheme. In this background, a united Left alliance contested against the Congress during the 1962 general elections. In 1962, when a Sino-Indian border clash occurred, we raised the demand for a solution of the problem through bilateral discussions. For this, a part of the Communist Party was dubbed as Chinese agents. A movement against the increase in tram fare took place in 1965. In the same year, when an Indo-Pak war broke out, we communists demanded a solution through peaceful talks, and now we were dubbed as the agents of Pakistan.
In February 1966, a student agitation demanded food, kerosene oil and exercise books. But the police opened fire against the students. A school student, Nurul Islam, was killed. A big movement of students now roared across West Bengal, followed by a still bigger mass movement. Several districts like Nadia, Hooghly, Burdwan, and 24 Parganas plus Kolkata became the volcanoes of protests. In March, a one-day strike against police oppression in Bengal evoked two-day or even three-day strikes in some of the districts. The massive discontent among the common people in the state created a negative atmosphere for the ruling Congress party, and it broke into two. Ajoy Mukherjee and some other leaders left the Congress to form the Bangla Congress.
1967 ELECTIONS: A TURNING POINT
We stood steadfast against all these attacks and never shied away from the issues that were in the interest of the working class, the peasants and the mass of other toilers.
It was in this background that the 1967 elections for the state assembly were held, with no complete understanding among the anti-Congress forces. Though there were two fronts in contest against the Congress, the latter got pushed into a minority position in the assembly. The two anti-Congress fronts --- the United Left Front (ULF) and the People’s United Left Front (PULF) --- now came together to create a United Front (UF) in the post-election scenario, and formed the state government. It is to be noted that, despite being the leader of the largest political party, Jyoti Basu did not become the chief minister. Instead, Ajoy Mukherjee of a minor group (the Bangla Congress) was allowed to sit in this chair.
But the Congress regime at the centre struck back and the UF government was dismissed within nine months. But the mid-term election of 1969 again made the Congress a minority party. UF candidates fought unitedly and a second UF government was set up. However, this government too was dismissed within 13 months. From 1970 onward, an atmosphere of terror was being created. A mid-term election was held in 1971. Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who at times opens his mouth to pontificate on this and who later became the chief minister, was then a central minister and looked after the Bengal related matters. He created an atmosphere of terror in the state in a planned manner. This has been referred to by a former US ambassador to India, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, in his book A Dangerous Place. He notes that the US supplied funds to prevent the rapid growth of communist influence in West Bengal. The book mentions that the US twice helped India with funds in such like situations: once to topple the first communist government in Kerala under E M S Namboodiripad, and then to curtail the communist strength in West Bengal. Maybe, in the days to come, we get to read how many more times had the US put in funds to influence the Indian politics.
However, what was unfortunate was that even after such wealth of experience no united front was set up for the mid-term elections of 1971. The CPI(M) forged an understanding with a few smaller parties and, in the elections that followed, anti-Congress forces together got a majority again. The CPI(M) emerged as the largest single party. Yet the governor ignored the parliamentary norms and did not invite the CPI(M) to form a government.
CPI(M) FACES THE SEMI-FASCIST TERROR
In the meantime, the CPI(M) had spread amongst the masses in all the 16 districts then existing. Its relations and contacts had grown with different sections of the people through various mass organisations who led the movements and struggles.
The 1972 election was marked by a massive rigging. Booth capturing, false voting, forced voting and manipulation during the counting of ballots took place on a large scale. All-out efforts were made that the CPI(M) was defeated everywhere during the assembly elections. However, these attempts did not succeed and we won several seats. Nevertheless, the CPI(M) boycotted the state assembly set up on the basis of these malpractices. Its winning MLAs did not take oath in protest, nor did they take their wages and other perquisites for five years. This was an example of the morality and principled stand of the CPI(M).
The Congress government that took office now was headed by Siddhartha Shankar Ray as the chief minister. Under him, every effort was made to isolate the CPI(M) from the people.
Not all the political parties, at that point in time, adopted a principled stand as the CPI(M) did. The CPI(M) was able to take a principled stand because it works towards forging a unity of the workers, peasants and other toilers to change the society, and exert itself in the interest of the working people; it is because it acknowledges and accepts Marxism-Leninism as a science and its guiding ideology. The party had had to tackle a variety of situational realities at various points of time in its daily functioning and in its effort to build up mass movements in the interests of the people.
The CPI(M) has had to adopt a different tactic while confronting the semi-fascist terror of the 1970s. We had to tackle such situations as institution of false cases against 80,000 of its supporters, ouster of over 20,000 families of its cadres from their hearth and home, and illegal occupation or forcible closure of about 350 trade union offices. As many as 927 teachers were not allowed to join work, and from the students was taken away the right to form student unions. On the other hand, we had to carry out such programmes as the demand for increase of wages for agricultural workers, and organising programmes including marches and a central programme in Kolkata against the imperialist aggression in Vietnam. On March 28, 1973, a historic movement was carried out as part of the anti-unemployment day. In this way, very many mass movements could be organised with success. At the national level, Mrs Indira Gandhi proclaimed Emergency in 1975, but we in West Bengal had already had a bitter taste of it from 1972 till 1977.
LEFT FRONT STUNS OTHERS
Once the Emergency was relaxed in January 1977, Lok Sabha elections were declared and took place in March. During this time, through their experience, several Left parties in West Bengal understood the new reality and formed a Left Front based on a common programme. The Left Front and the Janata Party, formed through the merger of a breakaway group of the Congress party with several other parties, contested the Lok Sabha elections with an understanding. The Congress lost t

Medha to Mobilise Anti Polavaram Movement
BJP looks at Hindutva again!
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
Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar today asserted that she would organise the tribals and fight a legal battle against the mammoth Polavaram project taken up by the Andhra Pradesh government despite 'objections' from the riparian states of Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Medha Patkar wants the State Government to implement Indiramma, its massive housing programme, “not as builder-based” but as one benefiting the poor in all respects, making them participants in the process.She met Chief Minister Y. S . Rajasekhara Reddy at the Secretariat on Thursday seeking his response to problems faced by farmers whose lands have been acquired for SEZ in Kakinada. She also wanted inclusion of 805 tribal villages in the agency in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. Ms. Patkar appreciated that the State Government had taken up construction of 80 lakh houses but stressed that their construction should not be builder-based as in Maharashtra where the rich thrived in the name of serving the poor.
Allotment of lands to the rich must be made on the city outskirts as they could afford staying far, but the poor should be provided accommodation within the city. In this connection, she criticised the displacement of 500 families by Musi project.
She said over 4,100 acres of lush green fields, spread over 16 villages near Kakinada, had been allotted to the SEZ much against the announcement made by the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson that agriculture land would not be used for SEZs.
On Polavaram, she said the benefits expected from a big project could be ensured through smaller ones at different places, and in case of Polavaram, through three lifts. She said she was, not however, opposed to ONGC taking up drilling operations on agriculture lands in the Krishna-Godavari basin. “The nation needs oil and gas”.
At a dharna by urban poor at Indira Park earlier, Ms. Patkar asked them not to accept the beautification plans of Governments for cities as they were sought to be taken up at their cost.
BJP looks at Hindutva again!They claim that Hindutva is not about a religion. It is about an ethical lifestyle based on compassion and love. What Love? What Compassion?
Just trace the History of India and go beyond the shining sensex India! dalits are always in News. And it is all about infinite persecution!SEZ drive is not enough.With its coverage in large parts of rural India, the Centre is looking at using the development-oriented programme for political gains.
The spirit is back. BJP has finally learnt that there is no alternative to Hindutva. It is the only way to unite Indian mainstream under ‘Vande Ma Taram.’ PM Manmohan Singh may be running out of patience trying deal with the Indian communists who have literally brought the Government of India to its knees as far US India nuclear deal is concerned.BJP threatens to take the matter to the people of Karnataka. They want mandate from people. But at the end they will blink and try to keep the coalition intact. JD(S) power center in India should have stopped it.
The weekly magazine India Today has called special economic zones like this one "the biggest push for industrial expansion in post-independence India." By offering businesses tax incentives and insulating them from government interference, India hopes to boost manufacturing and exports. The businesses will develop their own infrastructure, including power plants and road networks -- a testament to the fact that emerging economies are not always able to build the foundations to help businesses flourish.
While India's economy is growing at an impressive 9 percent annually, that growth has left much of rural India untouched. Two-thirds of the country's people still struggle on $1 a day, and more than 40 million are registered as unemployed.
In establishing special economic zones, or SEZs, India is taking its cue from China and Brazil, among other countries, which have used similar zones to kick-start their economies and create millions of jobs.
The SEZ in Neemana and nearby villages is being run by Reliance Industries. The Mumbai-based company is building a gas-fueled power plant and an airport; the zone will serve as home to a host of Indian and foreign companies in the biotech, nanotechnology and information technology industries.
Across 25,000 acres of farmland, Reliance plans to build roads, homes, schools, hospitals, and shopping and entertainment plazas. The company has assured villagers that they will make up half of its workforce and has opened a training institute for village youth.

What has prompted India Inc to turn its energies to rural retailing is the fact that rural markets are growing at double the rate of urban markets.
Rural India in going through a phase of transformation for the better and its growth needs both appreciation and encouragement, says a top United Nations official.
"Most of the states in India are peaking at the right time. The government initiative and role of rural Indians in the field of sanitation and poverty alleviation is showing its results," said Lizette Burgers, chief of water and sanitation, Unicef India.
"In spite of its huge size in terms of both population and geography, the country is doing extraordinarily well. The initiative in the field of child health, polio eradication and curbing open defecation are really yielding results," Burgers told IANS in an interview.
Mayawati road to Delhi will be smooth if political drive goes with cultural revolution
http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/oct2007/editorial.htm
We hank our Backward Caste Brother Nagesh Chaudhary of Nagpur for telling us that socio-cultural revolution is more important than gaining political power (See articles). This is the opinion of Babasaheb Ambedkar and all other Bahujan revolutionaries.
Brahminical counter-revolutionaries (like the RSS today) have successfully experimented this concept by remaining as king-makers rather than becoming kings themselves.
Kanshi Ram experiment: We too were holding the same opinion but made slight compromise to accommodate Brother Kanshi Ram’s views and said both socio-cultural revolution and political revolution should go hand in hand. We made this compromise because Kanshi Ram’s BSP experiment did catch up in UP and brought the party to power. But before capturing power Kanshi Ram did years and years socio-cultural spade work.
However, it should not be forgotten that the key to Kanshi Ram’s success in UP was the caste factor. The powerful Chamars belonging to Kanshi Ram-Mayawati jati came out in full support of BSP in accordance with our “caste identity” theory.
In other words capturing political power in UP became easier because of the Chamars who formed a sizeable population among the UP Dalits.
But extending UP experiment to other states may be difficult because Chamars do no