Palash Speaks

The financial tsunami: sub-prime mortgage debt is but the tip of the iceberg
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

Andhra Cafe
Sensex creating 5 times more wealth than MF route
Financial Express - 8 hours ago
Mumbai, November 25: Investors putting money in blue-chip stocks belonging to benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty directly are earning five times more compared those who take the mutual fund schemes route to invest in stocks from these two indices.
Weekly wrap: Sensex loses 845 pts on global weakness Sify
Value buying sees key indices close higher Economic Times
See also http://www.globalre search.ca/ index.php? context=va&aid=7407 and http://www.iht. com/articles/ 2007/11/23/ business/ 23yen.php and also http://www.economis t.com/finance/ PrinterFriendly. cfm?story_ id=10191717

The dollar
Time to break free
Nov 22nd 2007
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economis t.com/finance/ PrinterFriendly. cfm?story_ id=10191717

The Middle East's oil exporters should end their currencies' peg to the dollar.

IN THE past week Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has damned it as a “worthless piece of paper” and China's premier, Wen Jiabao, has moaned that it is causing his country “big pressure”. The dollar's relentless decline—it hit a new low of $1.49 against the euro on November 21st—is prompting jibes from America's critics, jangling investors' nerves and giving policymakers headaches.
Nowhere are the dilemmas more acute than in the Gulf, where virtually all the oil-rich states peg their currencies to the greenback. The combination of soaring oil prices and the tumbling dollar is distorting their economies and fuelling inflation. When the Gulf states meet on December 3rd in Qatar, they should agree to loosen their ties to the dollar.
The argument for linking to the greenback was to provide an anchor for the region's economies, many of which are small, open and financially immature. In effect, the Gulf states import America's monetary policy. The trouble is that a fixed currency makes it hard for oil exporters to adjust to swings in the price of oil. And monetary policy in the world's largest oil-importer is not always right for those who sell the stuff.
Soaring oil prices have brought the Gulf Arabs huge riches. Their real exchange rates, as a result, ought to rise. The simplest way to do that is for the currency to strengthen, but the peg prevents nominal appreciation. Worse, the dollar itself has been falling. The result is rising domestic inflation. Some smaller Gulf economies now have inflation rates of around 10%.
What is to be done? The two most widely discussed options are to revalue or to shift to a currency basket (which Kuwait has already done). By repegging their currencies to the dollar at a higher rate, the Gulf states would alleviate some of today's inflationary pressure. But they would not address the underlying mismatch between any oil exporter and a dollar peg. Switching the peg to a basket of currencies that included, say, the euro and yen as well would give the Gulf states a bit more protection against oil-price swings, but it is hardly a perfect fit. Since most big currencies belong to oil importers, the Gulf States would still be linking their currencies to monetary conditions that may not suit them.
Eventually, the currency pegs should be abandoned. After all, developed economies that are big commodity exporters, such as Norway, allow their currencies to float. In recent years many emerging economies have shifted from exchange-rate pegs to a “managed float”. Instead of aiming for an exchange rate, their central banks have an inflation target. If the Gulf states move to a single currency, as they plan to in the next few years, that currency should surely float. But floating is not feasible in the short-term. These countries have no history of independent monetary policy and few institutions to conduct it.
Look beyond a basket
For the moment, the Gulf states are stuck with a currency peg. But they could do better than the dollar. One intriguing idea is to include the oil price as part of a basket that includes the leading currencies (see article). This would ensure their currencies absorbed some of the impact of oil-price swings.
A big uncertainty is what such a shift would mean for the dollar. In the short term, the effect on the Gulf states' appetite for greenbacks would not be dramatic, since the dollar would have a big weight in any basket. And there should not be a sudden sale of the oil exporters' dollar reserves. The worry is that the end of the Gulf states' dollar peg would send jittery investors into a panic. That risk is real. But with oil prices rising and the dollar falling, the dangers of inaction are greater. The Gulf states need to get rid of their dollar peg now.
By F. William Engdahl
URL of this article: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7413
Global Research, November 23, 2007
Part 1: Deutsche Bank’s painful lesson
Even experienced banker friends tell me that they think the worst of the US banking troubles are over and that things are slowly getting back to normal. What is lacking in their rosy optimism is the realization of the scale of the ongoing deterioration in credit markets globally, centered in the American asset-backed securities market, and especially in the market for CDO’s—Collateralized Debt Obligations and CMO’s—Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. By now every serious reader has heard the term “It’s a crisis in Sub-Prime US home mortgage debt.” What almost no one I know understands is that the Sub-Prime problem is but the tip of a colossal iceberg that is in a slow meltdown. I offer one recent example to illustrate my point that the “Financial Tsunami” is only beginning.
Deutsche Bank got a hard shock a few days ago when a judge in the state of Ohio in the USA made a ruling that the bank had no legal right to foreclose on 14 homes whose owners had failed to keep current in their monthly mortgage payments. Now this might sound like small beer for Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s largest banks with over 1.1 trillion euros (Billionen) in assets worldwide. As Hilmar Kopper used to say, “peanuts.” It’s not at all peanuts, however, for the Anglo-Saxon banking world and its European allies like Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Barclays Bank, HSBC or others. Why?
A US Federal Judge, C.A. Boyko in Federal District Court in Cleveland Ohio ruled to dismiss a claim by Deutsche Bank National Trust Company. DB’s US subsidiary was seeking to take possession of 14 homes from Cleveland residents living in them, in order to claim the assets.
Here comes the hair in the soup. The Judge asked DB to show documents proving legal title to the 14 homes. DB could not. All DB attorneys could show was a document showing only an “intent to convey the rights in the mortgages.” They could not produce the actual mortgage, the heart of Western property rights since the Magna Charta of not longer.
Again why could Deutsche Bank not show the 14 mortgages on the 14 homes? Because they live in the exotic new world of “global securitization”, where banks like DB or Citigroup buy tens of thousands of mortgages from small local lending banks, “bundle” them into Jumbo new securities which then are rated by Moody’s or Standard & Poors or Fitch, and sell them as bonds to pension funds or other banks or private investors who naively believed they were buying bonds rated AAA, the highest, and never realized that their “bundle” of say 1,000 different home mortgages, contained maybe 20% or 200 mortgages rated “sub-prime,” i.e. of dubious credit quality.
Indeed the profits being earned in the past seven years by the world’s largest financial players from Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley to HSBC, Chase, and yes, Deutsche Bank, were so staggering, few bothered to open the risk models used by the professionals who bundled the mortgages. Certainly not the Big Three rating companies who had a criminal conflict of interest in giving top debt ratings. That changed abruptly last August and since then the major banks have issued one after another report of disastrous “sub-prime” losses.
A new unexpected factor
The Ohio ruling that dismissed DB’s claim to foreclose and take back the 14 homes for non-payment, is far more than bad luck for the bank of Josef Ackermann. It is an earth-shaking precedent for all banks holding what they had thought were collateral in form of real estate property.
How this? Because of the complex structure of asset-backed securities and the widely dispersed ownership of mortgage securities (not actual mortgages but the securities based on same) no one is yet able to identify who precisely holds the physical mortgage document. Oops! A tiny legal detail our Wall Street Rocket Scientist derivatives experts ignored when they were bundling and issuing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of CMO’s in the past six or seven years. As of January 2007 some $6.5 trillion of securitized mortgage debt was outstanding in the United States. That’s a lot by any measure!
In the Ohio case Deutsche Bank is acting as “Trustee” for “securitization pools” or groups of disparate investors who may reside anywhere. But the Trustee never got the legal document known as the mortgage. Judge Boyko ordered DB to prove they were the owners of the mortgages or notes and they could not. DB could only argue that the banks had foreclosed on such cases for years without challenge. The Judge then declared that the banks “seem to adopt the attitude that since they have been doing this for so long, unchallenged, this practice equates with legal compliance. Finally put to the test,” the Judge concluded, “their weak legal arguments compel the court to stop them at the gate.” Deutsche Bank has refused comment.
What next?
As news of this legal precedent spreads across the USA like a California brushfire, hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners who took the bait in times of historically low interest rates to buy a home with often, no money paid down, and the first 2 years with extremely low interest rate in what are known as “interest only” Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs), now face exploding mortgage monthly payments at just the point the US economy is sinking into severe recession. (I regret the plethora of abbreviations used here but it is the fault of Wall Street bankers not this author).
The peak period of the US real estate bubble which began in about 2002 when Alan Greenspan began the most aggressive series of rate cuts in Federal Reserve history was 2005-2006. Greenspan’s intent, as he admitted at the time, was to replace the Dot.com internet stock bubble with a real estate home investment and lending bubble. He argued that was the only way to keep the US economy from deep recession. In retrospect a recession in 2002 would have been far milder and less damaging than what we now face.
Of course, Greenspan has since safely retired, written his memoirs and handed the control (and blame) of the mess over to a young ex-Princeton professor, Ben Bernanke. As a Princeton graduate, I can say I would never trust monetary policy for the world’s most powerful central bank in the hands of a Princeton economics professor. Keep them in their ivy-covered towers.
Now the last phase of every speculative bubble is the one where the animal juices get the most excited. This has been the case with every major speculative bubble since the Holland Tulip speculation of the 1630’s to the South Sea Bubble of 1720 to the 1929 Wall Street crash. It was true as well with the US 2002-2007 Real Estate bubble. In the last two years of the boom in selling real estate loans, banks were convinced they could resell the mortgage loans to a Wall Street financial house who would bundle it with thousands of good better and worse quality mortgage loans and resell them as Collateralized Mortgage Obligation bonds. In the flush of greed, banks became increasingly reckless of the credit worthiness of the prospective home owners. In many cases they did not even bother to check if the person was employed. Who cares? It will be resold and securitized and the risk of mortgage default was historically low.
That was in 2005. The most Sub-prime mortgages written with Adjustable Rate Mortgage contracts were written between 2005-2006, the last and most furious phase of the US bubble. Now a whole new wave of mortgage defaults is about to explode onto the scene beginning January 2008. Between December 2007 and July 1, 2008 more than $690 Billion in mortgages will face an interest rate jump according to the contract terms of the ARMs written two years before. That means market interest rates for those mortgages will explode monthly payments just as recession drives incomes down. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will be forced to do the last resort of any homeowner: stop monthly mortgage payments.
Here is where the Ohio court decision guarantees that the next phase of the US mortgage crisis will assume Tsunami dimension. If the Ohio Deutsche Bank precedent holds in the appeal to the Supreme Court, millions of homes will be in default but the banks prevented from seizing them as collateral assets to resell. Robert Shiller of Yale, the controversial and often correct author of the book, Irrational Exuberance, predicting the 2001-2 Dot.com stock crash, estimates US housing prices could fall as much as 50% in some areas given how home prices have diverged relative to rents.
The $690 billion worth of “interest only” ARMs due for interest rate hike between now and July 2008 are by and large not Sub-prime but a little higher quality, but only just. There are a total of $1.4 trillion in “interest only” ARMs according to the US research firm, First American Loan Performance. A recent study calculates that, as these ARMs face staggering higher interest costs in the next 9 months, more than $325 billion of the loans will default leaving 1 million property owners in technical mortgage default. But if banks are unable to reclaim the homes as assets to offset the non-performing mortgages, the US banking system and a chunk of the global banking system faces a financial gridlock that will make events to date truly “peanuts” by comparison. We will discuss the global geo-political implications of this in our next report, The Financial Tsunami: Part 2.
F. William Engdahl is the author of A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). His most recent book, which has just been released by Global Research is Seeds of Destruction, The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation.
Actuwa ! - http://www.actuwa.org
Archives: http://www.ymlpr.net/pubarchive.php?actuwaNovember 24 / 25, 2007
"A Generalized Meltdown of Financial Institutions"
Take a Look at Professor Roubini's Crystal Ball
By MIKE WHITNEY
http://www.counterp unch.org/ whitney11242007. html
Reality has finally caught up to the stock market. The American
consumer is underwater, the banks are buried in dept, and the
housing market is in terminal distress. The Dow is now below its 200-
Day Moving Average -- the first big "sell" signal. Anything below
12,500 could trigger program-trading and crash the market. The
increased volatility suggests that we are watching a "real time"
meltdown.
International Business editor for the UK Telegraph, Ambrose Evans
Pritchard, summed up yesterday's action in the Asian markets:
"The global credit crisis has hit Asia with a vengeance for the
first time, triggering a massive flight to safety as investors
across the region pull out of risky assets. Yields on three-month
deposits in China and Korea have plummeted to near 1pc in a
spectacular fall over recent days, caused by panic withdrawals from
money market funds and credit derivatives.
"'This' is a severe warning sign,' said Hans Redeker, currency chief
at BNP Paribas. 'Asia ignored the credit crunch in August but now
we're seeing the poison beginning to paralyze the whole global
economy.'" (Credit 'Heart attack' engulfs China and Korea" Ambrose
Evans Pritchard,UK Telegraph,)
The credit storm that began in the United States with subprime
mortgages has spread to markets across the globe. In fact, the train
has already crashed. What we're seeing now is the boxcars piling up
on top of each other.
On Tuesday Chinese government officials ordered a complete halt to
bank lending to slow the speculative frenzy that has created an
enormous equity bubble in the stock market. According to the Wall
Street Journal:
"Chinese authorities are slamming the brakes on bank lending, in
their latest attempt to curb the runaway investment threatening to
overheat what is soon to be the world's third-largest economy. In
recent weeks, regulators have quietly ordered China's commercial
banks to freeze lending through the end of the year, according to
bankers in several cities. The bankers say that to comply, they are
canceling loans and credit lines with businesses and individuals. "
("China freezes lending to Curb Investing Frenzy" Wall Street
Journal)
The move illustrates how concerned the Chinese are that a slowdown
in US consumer spending will trigger a crash on the Shanghai stock
market. It also shows that the Chinese are having difficulty dealing
with the inflation generated by the hundreds of billions of US
dollars absorbed via the trade imbalance with the US. China is awash
in USDs and that surplus is causing a steady rise in food and energy
costs. This could be mitigated by allowing their currency to "float"
freely. But a sudden, steep increase in the Chinese yuan's value
could also send the world headlong into a global recession. For now,
the lending freeze and price fixing appear to be the way out.
Another sign that the markets have reached a "tipping point"
appeared in a Reuters article on Wednesday; "Interbank Covered Bond
Trading Halted on Volatility":
"Renewed credit turmoil and volatility led the European Covered Bond
Council (ECBC) on Wednesday to suspend inter-bank market-making in
covered bonds until Monday, Nov. 26.
The move is a sign of the stress in the covered bond market, which
is dominated by German institutions that have almost a trillion
euros of covered bonds outstanding.
Covered bonds -- backed by pools of assets that remain on the
borrower's balance sheet -- are usually highly liquid and typically
rated triple-A by ratings agencies. The ECBC's recommendation is
aimed at relieving the pressure on market makers who are forced to
quote prices at a fixed bid-offer spread.
"In light of the current market situation and in order to avoid
undue over-acceleration in the widening of spreads, the 8-to-8
Market-Makers & Issuers Committee recommends that inter-bank market-
making be suspended," the ECBC said in a release."
Note: This isn't mortgage-backed junk that's being sold, but highly
liquid bonds that are usually easy to cash in. The ECBC's action is
a sign of pure desperation and indicates that credit paralysis has
infected the entire euro banking system.
Reuters: "Due to general market conditions and the specific
mechanics of the inter-dealer market making it even seems possible
that inter-dealer market making will not be resumed this year."
That's bad. The mechanism for converting covered bonds into cash has
broken down.
The dollar took another pasting on Wednesday, sliding to $1.49 on
the euro; another new record. Gold shot up to $814 per ounce. Oil
continues to flirt with the $100 per barrel mark, and the yen rose
to 107 per dollar forcing a sell-off of hedge fund assets levered
through the carry trade.
Jon Basile, economist at Credit Suisse, summed it up like
this: "There's a heck of a lot of bad news out there." Indeed.
In California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined with four
mortgage lenders to freeze adjustable interest rates (ARMs) for some
of the state's highest-risk borrowers; another unprecedented move.
The Governor hopes to avoid a collapse of the California real estate
market which has gone into a tailspin. Home sales have plummeted
more than 40 per cent for the last two months. Prices have dropped
sharply---roughly 12 per cent statewide. New construction has slowed
to a crawl. Layoffs are steadily rising. Jumbo loans (mortgages over
$417,000) have been put on the "Endangered Species" list. Even
qualified borrowers can't get mortgages. Nothing is selling.
California housing is "off the cliff".
Schwarzenegger' s plan to keep over-extended subprime mortgage-
holders in their homes faces an uncertain future. What incentive is
there for homeowners to continue paying exorbitant monthly rates
when their payments are not applied to the principle? The homeowners
would be better off bailing out, accepting foreclosure, and starting
over with a clean slate.
It's unrealistic to thinks that Schwarzenegger can stop the tidal
wave of foreclosures that are sweeping across the state. An
estimated 3 million homeowners will lose their homes nationwide.
If you want to blame someone; blame Alan Greenspan. He's the one who
created this mess. According to the economist Mike Shedlock:
"The Fed caused the credit crunch by slashing interest rates to 1
per cent to bail out its banking buddies in the wake of a dotcom
bubble collapse. All the Fed did was create a bigger bubble. This
bubble is so big in fact that it cannot even be bailed out. It's the
end of the line for a serially bubble blowing Fed.
"So not only was this the biggest credit bubble in history, this was
also the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class
to the already enormously wealthy. That is the real travesty of
justice regardless of whether or not the price tag is $1 trillion,
$2 trillion, or $10 trillion." (Mike Shedlock, "Mish's Global
Economic Trend Analysis")
The problem has gotten so serious that even Secretary of the
Treasury, Henry Paulson, is putting up red flags. Last week, Paulson
ignited a sell-off on Wall Street when he made this statement:
"The nature of the problem will be significantly bigger next year
because 2006 [mortgages] had lower underwriting standards, no
amortization, and no down payments.... We're never going to be able
to process the number of workouts and modifications (to mortgages)
that are going to be necessary doing it just sort of one-off. I've
talked to enough people now to know that there's no way that's going
to work."
The desperation is palpable. Like Schwarzenegger, Paulson is trying
to get mortgage-lenders to provide a safety net for struggling
borrowers who are defaulting on their loans.
Paulson is calling for emergency legislation that will allow the
Federal Housing Administration to play a greater role in the relief
effort. The FHA has already expanded its traditional role by taking
on hundreds of billions in extra debt just to keep a few "private"
mortgage lenders and banks from going bankrupt. Of course, when
Paulson's plan goes kaput and the debts pile up; it'll be the
taxpayer that foots the bill.
"Paulson also called the Senate's failure to pass legislation
overhauling mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac frustrating, "
saying that the two government-sponsore d entities need to be playing
a bigger role in the housing market.
"If we ever need them it's during times like today, and they're most
valuable when there is distress in the mortgage market," he
said. "I'd like to see them playing an even bigger role."(Wall
Street Journal)
Fannie and Freddie, have already posted enormous quarterly losses
and don't have the capital reserves to put millions of subprime
mortgage-holders under their "government- sponsored" umbrella.
Paulson is just grabbing at straws.
Similar troubles are brewing in the broader market where late-
payments and defaults have spread to credit card debt and new car
loans. Every area of "securitized" debt has suddenly veered off the
road and into the ditch. Last week the Fed injected more credit into
the teetering banking system than anytime since 9-11.
No one has predicted the downward-spiral in the market more
accurately than Nouriel Roubini. Roubini is a Professor at the Stern
School of Business at New York University. His analysis appears
regularly on his blogsite, Global EconoMonitor. Last week's
prediction was particularly dire and is worth reprinting here:
"It is increasingly clear by now that a severe U.S. recession is
inevitable in next few months...I now see the risk of a severe and
worsening liquidity and credit crunch leading to a generalized
meltdown of the financial system of a severity and magnitude like we
have never observed before. In this extreme scenario whose
likelihood is increasing we could see a generalized run on some
banks; and runs on a couple of weaker (non-bank) broker dealers that
may go bankrupt with severe and systemic ripple effects on a mass of
highly leveraged derivative instruments that will lead to a seizure
of the derivatives markets... massive losses on money market funds
with a run on both those sponsored by banks and those not sponsored
by banks; ..ever growing defaults and losses ($500 billion plus) in
subprime, near prime and prime mortgages with severe knock-on effect
on the RMBS and CDOs market; massive losses in consumer credit (auto
loans, credit cards); severe problems and losses in commercial real
estate...; the drying up of liquidity and credit in a variety of
asset backed securities putting the entire model of securitization
at risk; runs on hedge funds and other financial institutions that
do not have access to the Fed's lender of last resort support; a
sharp increase in corporate defaults and credit spreads; and a
massive process of re-intermediation into the banking system of
activities that were until now altogether securitized. " (Nouriel
Roubini's Global EconoMonitor)
"A generalized meltdown of the financial system".
Looks like Chicken Little might have gotten it right this time; "The
sky IS falling."
Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He can be reached at:
fergiewhitney@ msn.com

Why I’m An Estranged Leftist

Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
Children suffering from insomnia in Nandigram
Nandigram (PTI): The long drawn violent events in the area have robbed traumatised children of sleep, who toss and turn at night and often wake up sobbing.
"I have found at least 20 to 25 children, mostly in the age group of 7 to 12, suffering from sleeplessness. The nightmarish experience of the last eleven months have scarred them mentally," District Secretary of Red Cross Rameshwar Mishra told PTI.
These children are mostly from former Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee strongholds of Sonachura, Satengabari, Gokulnagar, Adhikaripara and Mahespur, which fell after being "recaptured" by CPI(M) cadre.
"They can't come out of the traumatic experience and occasionally stay awake the whole night," Mishra said.
Eight-year-old Raju of Satengabari has seen his house burning before his eyes. "He is so afraid that he cannot go out of the relief camp alone and frequently wakes up at night sobbing uncontrollably," he said.
His mother Kalpana says, "I don't know what has happened to my son, but I am very worried. He has been unable to have a sound sleep. I don't have money to take him to Kolkata for treatment." Seven-year-old Minati of Sonachura sleeps so long as she is on her mother's lap but the moment she is put on the bed, she starts crying.
These are not isolated cases.
"I have visited many trouble-torn places, but I haven't seen children insomniacs in such large numbers," said a member of the Red Cross team.
"The problem in Nandigram has been continuing for such a long time that a fear psychosis has taken deep root in tender minds," he said.
"We have not been able to reach out to everybody, but in the relief camp I have found at least 20 children who have been suffering from this nightmarish experience."
He said outbreaks of diarrhoea and dysentery in camps were normal, but not insomnia.
"Diarrhoea and dysentery are understandable. The toilets are bad and drinking water is not upto the mark. These can be tackled with medication. But psychological trauma is very hard to remove," said another member of the team.
"This psychological problem might have a dangerous effect. Unless cured this might to lead to serious psychological disorder later on," he said.
"A number of organisations are providing relief to the people of Nandigram, but they have not noticed this problem. If proper care is not taken then a generation here might live in fear all their lives," he warned.

Why I’m An Estranged Leftist
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Op011207WHY_M_AN.asp
A government must submit to questions by its citizens. That is democracy’s basic premise
APARNA SEN
Filmmaker
NEITHER I, nor my family, have ever been card-carrying members of the party but, in a sense, I grew up living and breathing the Left. As part of Utpal Dutt’s group, we put up plays celebrating workers’ revolts and singing the ‘Internationale’ on stage. Later, I sympathised with the Naxals and admired their selfless passion which was ready to face death for a cause, even though at heart I felt it was a misguided movement. And I rued the fall of the USSR.
As I grew older, I began to realise that communism was, in a sense, against human nature. The personal and profit motive is a fundamental impulse of human life: we are not built like bees and ants to subsume ourselves completely for the good of the collective. This is one reason why I welcomed the economic initiatives of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The second was that I, like any other intelligent person, recognised that industry was essential for the future of Bengal. But I continued to lean to the Left because I saw it as a powerful force of opposition against the excesses of capitalism.
Today that sense of a protective bulwark is lost. I feel completely estranged from West Bengal’s Left Front government. The CPM’s mask has slipped. It has exposed itself as a fascist, anti-people party. Granted Bengal needed to industrialise. Granted you need land to industrialise. But why did the government have to play the middleman for corporations? Why did it not build cooperatives, and take farmers and villagers into confidence? Why did it not choose non-arable sites for factories? After all, there has been no outcry in Salboni where the Jindals have a project and where they have chosen the more painstaking but democratic path of consulting locals. Is there nothing to learn from this?
I became involved in Singur and Nandigram by slow degrees. At a protest rally in Kolkata, I met many women from Singur and Nandigram and was horrified by what I heard. Things began to precipitate in my head: Tapasi Malik’s horrific murder; an attack on my friends’ car as they tried to enter Nandigram; the massacre of March 14. As the editor of Sananda years earlier, I had carried a story about post-poll violence in which CPM cadres had cut off the hands of people who had voted for the Hand, which was Congress’ electoral symbol. At the time, I had not given it much thought, I didn’t think it was a widespread phenomenon. But now, a terrible disillusionment began to set in.
This disillusionment and estrangement has deepened since March 14. It is true that the CPM leader Shankar Samanta was hacked to death in Nandigram by BUPC supporters. I don’t condone that, regardless of the fact that Samanta was considered a criminal. Still, there is a distinction. One is a violence born of simmering anger, fear and distrust. A violence in the defence of land, armed with rustic one-shoters. The other is a violence perpetrated and defended by the State. A violence armed with bombs and sophisticated SLRS. A violence that has reportedly used people as human shields and displaced thousands of others. People are starting to compare Nandigram with Gujarat. And why not?
IT IS not just the physical violence. Equally disturbing is the debased rhetoric and remorseless brazenness that has accompanied it. Leaders like Benoy Konar, Biman Bose and Deepak Sarkar have not left the government any ground to stand on. Sadly, this includes someone like Brinda Karat who talks of ‘Dum Dum Dawai’! They have stopped at nothing: according to them the Governor, the judiciary, the media, civil society — anyone opposed to their terror tactics is a Trinamooli. How outrageous can they be? Every elected government must submit to questions from its citizens. That is the fundamental premise of democracy. This government simply refuses to recognise that.
Nandigram has raised too many unanswered questions. Why did the government not state its intention to shift the proposed chemical hub in writing, when it is so obvious that a formal government notice needs a counter notice from the government to negate it? Why was the CRPF not called in earlier? Why could the police not enter Nandigram if the CPM cadres could? Why has Buddhadeb stooped to the language of payback? the cheap language of tit for tat? All of this has catalysed a new mood. 60,000 people took to the streets in Kolkata. It was exhilarating. This was not an organised protest. People just kept pouring in. As we walked, others joined in.
Many stood showering flowers from their balconies.
The CPM has effectively silenced any voice of protest from among the people of Nandigram. Sad indeed for a government that proclaims to be the “Left”. But I draw hope from civil society. None of us know what lies ahead. There is no credible political alternative, but I am certain something will reveal itself. A new model, a renewed morality.

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 4, Issue 46, Dated Dec 01, 2007

Fall & fall of Buddha
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Fall__fall_of_Buddha/articleshow/2568183.cms
KOLKATA: A UN refugee with a valid visa is desperately looking for a home in the city she loves, A panicky government, struts and frets, and finally pushes her out of the state. This is despite its professed love for the underdog — especially if she is facing persecution from fundamentalists. Welcome to the Left-ruled West Bengal where the fatwa rules today, fatwa in any form —religious or political.
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen today has one thing in common with scores of families in Nandigram. They have all lost their home in a day. Taslima doesn't know how long she will be moving places, hiding her face from the Muslim fanatics who want her scalp, as though she has done something criminal. She is yet to hear from chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — yesterday's Marxist poster boy and todays run-of-the-mill opportunist politico — who appears to head a mobocracy where numbers matter more than principles.
Bengal is not familiar with this servile face of the Left that didn't hesitate to stand by the Muslim divorcee Shah Bano despite pressures from the Muslim fundamentalists. When the Supreme Court granted alimony to Shahbano in 1985, the Rajiv Gandhi government moved the Muslim Personal Law Bill in Parliament against the court ruling in a bid to make peace with fundamentalists. Buddhadeb and his party at that time stood against the tide. Now, after 30 years of uninterrupted rule, Buddha and his ilk in the CPM have chosen the easy path: either crush dissent, or compromise.
The role reversal didn't come in a day. It began the day when the CM banned Nasreen's novel Dwikhandita on grounds that some of its passages (pg 49-50) contained some "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any group by insulting its religion or religious belief." What's worse is Buddha banned its printing at the behest of some city 'intellectuals' close to him. This was the first assault on a writer's freedom in the post-Emergency period. Later, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court lifted the ban.
But the court order was not enough to repair the damage. The government move dug up old issues and left tongues wagging. Soon thereafter, Hindu fundamentalists questioned M F Hussain's paintings on Saraswati. Some moved the court against Sunil Gangyopadhyay's autobiographical novel Ardhek Jiban, where he recounted how his first sexual arousal was after he saw an exquisite Saraswati idol. All this while, the Marxist intellectuals kept mum lest they hurt religious sentiments. And when fundamentalists took the Taslima to the streets, they were at a loss. Or else, why should Left Front chairman Biman Bose lose his senses and say that Taslima should leave the state for the sake of peace? Or, senior CPM leaders like West Bengal Assembly Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim say that Taslima was becoming a threat to peace? Even worse, former police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee — now in the dog house for his alleged role in the Rizwanur death — went to Taslima's Kolkata residence and put pressure on her to leave the state. This was before last week's violence in Kolkata. But still, the timing is important. Mukherjee went to Taslima's place when the government went on the back foot after the Nandigram carnage.
The former top cop offered her a shelter in Marxist-ruled Kerala that Taslima reportedly shot down. The purpose seems apparent. Mukherjee perhaps felt that his showing Taslima the door might help his political bosses to assuage feelings of the Muslims, some of whom lost their home and hearth in Nandigram. The flip flop in the CPM and the administration that followed, bears out how the ruling CPM is slowly becoming panicky about its influence over large sections in the peasantry and among Muslims that were earlier solidly behind the party. Hence, it's given to knee-jerk reactions, like turfing Taslima out, after crassly toting up political numbers. This is the way parties that were scorned by the Marxists as being solely governed by electoral considerations, would have perhaps behaved.
But the Marxists themselves? Perhaps unknown to himself, Buddha has been steadily losing his admirers. There was a time — just a few months ago, really — when not just the peasantry and workers but the Bengali middle class swore by him. Today leftist intellectuals like Sumit Sarkar, liberal activists like Medha Patkar are deadly opposed to him and his government. The Bengali middle class, for whom Buddha represented a modernizing force, is today deeply disappointed with him. One thing after another has added to the popular disenchantment. First, there was the government's high-handed handling of Nandigram, then came the Rizwanur case in which the state apparatus seems to have been used and abused to thwart two young lovers, and now the government's capitulation in the Taslima affair before Muslim fundamentalists.
Bengal which prides itself for its liberal and secular ethos, seems shocked that their once-favourite leader is a party to all this. The government seems aware of its steep decline in the popularity chart. Hence it is desperately trying to make up for little losses with huge compromises. The chief minister may be praying for Taslima's visa to expire on February 17, 2008. But that won't rid his conscience of the fact that he denied a home to a writer in his "progressive" state.
saugata.roy@timesgroup.com

Foreign Leaders Overthrown by George W. Bush
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
Press Release

Indian MPs Delegation to visit Thimpu
to study the state of affairs

New Delhi, November 22. A delegation of Indian MPs would visit Thimphu
and
take an account of the preparation of the first democratic elections in
Bhutan. This was decided unanimously in a seminar organized by Bhutan
Solidarity in New Delhi today. The seminar also came to a decision
collectively that a chance should be given to refugees, who are more
than
one lakh in number and currently staying in Jhapa and Morung districts
in
Nepal, so that they could participate in the democratic process in
Bhutan.
Another resolution of the seminar took the problem of Bhutanese
refugees
not only a problem between Bhutan and Nepal, but India is also involved
with this issue very closely, and demanded a tripartite dialogue
between
Nepal, Bhutan and India to solve the problem.

While addressing the seminar Forward Block’s Secretary Devrajan
expressed
his concern over plight of democracy in neighboring countries of India.
He
was worried also about the Indian Government’s view over this issue and
the current Indian Foreign policy, which is being now guided by and in
favour of economic vested interests. We are looking at Myanmar for the
reserves of natural gases and in Bhutan our focus is on hydroelectric
projects. That’s the reason why our government is supporting autocratic
rulers and extending her helping hand in the repression of democratic
forces. Devrajan was very critical of Indian Foreign Minister Pranab
Mukherjee. He mentioned his statement in which he said that the problem
of
Bhutanese refugees is not a problem between Nepal and Bhutan but it’s
an
international one. But few days after making this statement probably
under
a pressure he retreated from his position and again termed the problem
as
bilateral. Devrajan reminded the misbehavior faced by the then Defence
Minister of India George Fernandes, who had to put his clothes off in
an
insulting manner at a airport in the US during his visit. Therefore how
can we imagine that the same US would rehabilitate 60 thousands
Bhutanese
on its land. It’s a sheer deception. The US is maneuvering by any means
to
set its presence in South Asia and we should be careful of this design.

Senior Journalist Kuldeep Nayar also expressed his concern over the
apathy
of Indian Government towards the atrocities on Bhutanese refugees. He
was
optimistic also of democratic Bhutan and said that one day democracy
would
usher in bhutan and then what our government would say to Bhutanese
people. He said if the king of Bhutan is really taking honest steps for
a
democratic system in Bhutan, he should call all those citizens of
Bhutan
who are staying in refugees’ camps since last 17 years, back to the
country before the scheduled election in 2008.

Inaugurating the seminar the president of Bhutan Solidarity and MLA of
Madhya Pradesh Assembly Dr Sunilam elaborated why different political
parties of India are required to be active on the issues of Bhutanese
refugees. He said Indian government should rethink over its Bhutan
policy
keeping the pressure exerted by common people and political parties and
the Indian government should approach the issue through human angle.

The ex-president of Bhutan Solidarity Anand Swaroop Verma expressed his
doubt if there is no peaceful solution of this problem, then it would
be
not easy to stop youths of these refugees camps from taking up violence
as
a solution. He called the US plan a conspiracy and appealed Indian
government to give its attention to the refugees problem timely because
it
would be a last chance now. He took the presence of the worst
autocratic
rule of the world as the most unfortunate situation in the
neighbourhood
of the world’s largest democracy.

Samajwadi Party MP Brijbhushan Tiwari expressd his solidarity with
refugees’ struggle for return to their own country. He told that he
went
to Jhapa in April this year and had a dialogue with refugees. They were
not ready to rehabilitate themselves in US or any third country in any
circumstances. They have made up their mind to face any threat and want
to
return to their own country in any situation. Tiwari appealed to Indian
Government to understand refugees’ emotions and not to put any
hindrance
in the process of their return. He narrated the incidents of forcing
them
with lathis and bullets to go back on the Mechi Bridge built on
Indo-Nepal
border. He was present in Jhapa at a time when refugees were trying to
cross the bridge to go back to their homeland. He promised to launch a
movement in India for the return of refugees and pressurize our
government
through public opinion.

Forward Block’s MP from Cooch Bihar Hiten Burman told about his
familiarity with Bhutanese refugees. He always made efforts to help
government in finding a solution to the problem. Expressing his
discontent
over the Bhutan policy of the Central Government he alarmed if there is
no
early solution to the problem, the situation could be devastating.
Representatives of three prominent political parties of Bhutan – Bhutan
People’s Party, Druk National Congress and Bhutan National Democratic
Party took part in the seminar. These three parties are banned in
Bhutan.
Expressing his greetings to the seminar the president of Bhutan Peoples
Party Balram Paudel informed the house through a message about the
current
situation of refugees. Due to his illness he himself couldn’t be
present
in the seminar.
The president of Druk National Congress Rongthong Kunley Dorji exposed
the
scheduled 2008 election in his speech. He said it a farce only to
deceive
international community. He explained how the king of Bhutan declared
the
leading political parties as illegal in Bhutan and formed few parties
with
the help of his nearest relatives. The king is designing a conspiracy
for
the election amongst those relatives’ parties. He alerted Indian
government about the increasing interference of international forces
and
suggested for to follow the foreign policy of Bhutan for time being as
it
have been done in the past. Dorji deposed his faith in Indian
government
and requested to rethink over the refugees’ problem with a sympathetic
approach. It is sad for a democratic country like India to support a
autocratic monarchy.
Dr DNS Dhakal, president of Bhutan National Democratic Party condemned
the
repressive steps of Bhutan Government and made an appeal to the people
of
India to pressurize Indian government for dignified and safe
repatriation
of Bhutanese refugees.
The president of CPI (ML)-(New Proletariat) Shivmangal Siddhantkar also
condemned Indian government in strong words and said Indian government
has
been a subservient to the US and busy in implementing the American
policies in Bhutan also. Ignoring democratic forces in Myanmar and
Bhutan
it has collaborated with autocratic rulers for its vested interests,
which
is highly condemnable
Pramod Kaphley, the human right activists from Nepal, narrated how
there
have been 16 rounds of talks between Nepal and Bhutan, but no solution
has
been achieved so far. He also emphasized the need of India’s presence
in
the dialogue without which there would be no solution of the problem.
In his presidential address, senior socialist leader Surendra Mohan
expressed his concern to Bhutanese refugees and solidarity to Bhutanese
refugees’ struggle. He said that in the history from the times of Prime
Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to the present period, India never
accepted such a situation where Nepal, Bhutan or Sikkim (of that
period)
could make a policy independently. He narrated the incidents related to
Sikkim and quoted from the former prime minister of Nepal, Late B P
Koirala to substantiate his remarks. Attacking on the Indian policy on
Bhutan he appealed to Indian government to stop giving support to
autocratic rulers and to stand by the side of democratic movements. He
called the people to pressurize the government to do so. Surendra Mohan
gave his full approval to the proposal made by Devrajan of Forward
Block
to send a delegation of Indian MPs to Thimpu for the study of Bhutan’s
sate of affairs and to submit its report to the Parliament in return.
Dr. Sunilam
President
Bhutan Solidarity

--
www.bhootan.org attemps to reach out to as many people as possible and
provide information on Bhutan.

Foreign Leaders Overthrown by George W. Bush
King George & the Reverse Midas Touch
by Tom Page, 11/24/07, Bostonians for the Overthow of King George!

Bush's military actions have toppled hostile regimes in Iraq & Afghanistan, yet left chaos in the wake for both those counties - resulting in no security, let alone democracy there and only greatly increased animosity toward the USA in those countries (even among former dissidents of those regimes).

There may be a silver lining to the Bush foreign policy dark cloud, for some countries, but NOT for any other countries the neocons intended though. There have been no reformist political revolutions leading to greater freedom in Iraq or Afghanistan, as the neocons all predicted. No significant change in course has come from a Bush backlash in America (yet) either. But, Bush's militarism has caused several coups for progressives against conservative/ neo-fascist world leaders in Bush-allied nations around the world.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard was the most recent neocon casualty. He was the last of Bush-friendly world leaders to remain supportive and unapologetic for his decision to commit troops to assist Bush in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Howard's party was just ousted by the Australian electorate this week - an electorate so angry that Howard himself nearly lost his seat in parliament too, almost lost home district!

Politically, Bush seems to have the reverse Midas touch (i.e. everything and everyone he touches turns to shit). The neocons predicted a wave of regime changes in the Middle East after the regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan were toppled (leading to greater freedom for all). Instead, because of their clueless naivete and bungling, its their neocon-friendly allies that have been toppled next (and at least now some political progress for the citizens of those countries).

Check out the list of foreign leaders ousted by Bush (so far):

Mullah Mohammed Omar - Brutal leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan (1996-2001). Overthrown by Northern Alliance forces with air support from US military in October 2001. Escaped capture, along with Osama Bin Laden, after Bush refused to put US troops on the ground in Afghanistan (because he was already diverting US troops to Iraq). (Omar remains in hiding to this day, whereabouts unknown, believed to be working Taliban forces in Pakistan.)

Saddam Hussein - President of Iraq (1979-2203). Ousted when US military invaded Iraq (without provocation) in April 2003. (Later captured and executed, replaced by American viceroy & then a series of Iraqi puppet leaders. Iraq currently in midst of civil war, millions dead, wounded, and displaced. remains occupied by US military to this day.)

Jose Maria Aznar - President of Spain (1996-2004), leader of Spanish Nationalist Party. Ousted from power in landslide electoral upset by Socialist Party in April 2004 - due to widespread public anger over his strong support of Bush's invasion of Iraq and commitment of Spanish troops in Iraq. (Today, Aznar is on the Board of Drirectors for News Corp which owns Fox News.)

Silvio Berlusconi - President of Italy (2001-2006), leader of Italian Nationalist Party, media mogul, one of the wealthiest men in Italy (alleged to have Sicilian mafia ties). Ousted from power by landslide electoral victory for Liberal Democrats in May 2006 - due to widespread public anger over his strong support of Bush's invasion of Iraq & commitment of Italian troops there.

Tony Blair - Prime Minister of United Kingdom (1997-2007). Ousted from power by his own party after landslide electoral victory for opposition parties in British Parliament May 2006.- due to widespread public anger over his strong support of Bush's invasion of Iraq & commitment of British troops in Iraq. (Tony Blair, once the most-popular postwar British PM, became the least popular PM in public opinion polls, just 23% by the time he left, almost entirely due of close ties to Bush.)

John Howard - Prime Minister of Australia (1996-2007). Ousted from power by electoral landslide upset victory for Australia's Labor Party on Nov. 24, 2007 - because of widespread public anger over Howard's strong support of Bush's invasion of Iraq and commitment of Australian troops in Iraq. Public was also reportedly angered by his alliance with Bush against the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change. (Newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Rudd vows to ratify Kyoto and withdraw Australian troops from Iraq. See: http://news. yahoo.com/ s/nm/20071124/ ts_nm/australia_ election_ dc ).

There have been other postive regime changes around the world indirectly caused by Bush too.

In Latin America, for example, in recent years, the 1990s trend of Latin American leaders all cozying up to Uncle Sam has reversed. As a result of Bush's support for the coup attempt against Hugo Chavez in 2001, Chavez won a huge landslide re-election last year, gaining more than three-quarters of the vote. Animosity toward American foreign policy during the Bush years has also led to pro-social justice reformers winning democratic elections in recent years in Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Brazil, and elsewhere. Latin America is increasingly looking to better ties with its neighbors and Europe and Asia rather than looking to closer ties to American corporations as a path to economic development.

We can only hope that this global political trend against neocon foreign policies and American hegemony around the world portends well for real regime change in the United States soon too.

The Calcutta Chromosome
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: alashchandrabiswas@gmail.com">palashchandrabiswas@gmail.com
The Calcutta Chromosome
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14565932&vsv=SHGTslot1
Saturday, 24 November , 2007, 17:20
Last Updated: Sunday, 25 November , 2007, 13:14

Antara Dev Sen is Editor of The Little Magazine, an independent publication devoted to essays, literature and criticism on social concerns and issues neglected by mainstream media (www.littlemag.com). Sen has earlier worked as a senior editor with The Hindustan Times and The Indian Express, among other assignments. She can be contacted at sen@littlemag.com
Finally, Calcutta (Now, Kolkata) didn’t let us down. It rose graciously to meet the ferocious fury of its affronted citizens with quiet dignity and sanity. The hostility, stone-pelting, effigy burning and terrible anger hurtling across the city on Wednesday did not lead to blood on the streets. Or even large-scale looting and robbing, which now mark violent protests, especially when there is a religious or caste angle.
Instead, the citizens’ anger was directed at the police and the State authorities – at those they held responsible for insulting them, their religious beliefs, their fundamental human rights to life, liberty and property. It was the culmination of months, even years, of frustration of the deprived at being denied justice by a government that pretends to care. It looked so bad that the army was brought in. Like it is during riots. And maybe the mere presence of the army did have a role in bringing us back to our senses.
But then, this was Kolkata, after all. A city that has seen enormous religious friction from the division of Bengal in 1905, through the sickening riots of 1946, the Partition of India in 1947, the birth of Bangladesh in 1971. Yet, since the 1960s, the city has maintained sectarian harmony, clung to its secular identity and, largely due to Left intervention, prevented its people from killing each other in the name of religion. This week, we came very close to ending all that.
But in a crisis, one rushes to one’s roots. And the neglected, nearly forgotten spirit of Kolkata unfurled to shield its citizens from the bloodshed. Saving us from what would have been the final badge of dishonour that we were poised to pin on ourselves.
Read Antara's latest columns
As I see it, the violent protest was not really about the Left government’s sheltering provocative writer Taslima Nasreen, or about her insulting Islam. The illiberal, illogical demand for her removal from Bengal may have been spearheaded by Muslim fundamentalists and Opposition parties keen to wean away Muslim voters from the Left, but they could trigger such an outburst only because it uncorked the bottled up anger and hurt that Muslims in West Bengal have increasingly faced in their everyday life.
Merely protecting minorities from killers is not enough. They need to be protected from deprivation; they need to share in the fruits of progress as an equal partner. There, the well-meaning, ideology-spouting Left government has failed.
The Sachar Committee Report last year pointed out how West Bengal had the lowest number of Muslims in higher positions in PSUs: a stunning zero per cent. Zero. Zilch. Nil. And how barely 4.2 per cent of State government employees are Muslims. In a state where 27 per cent of the population is Muslim.
Since the beginning of the year, there was the continuing tension over land acquisition for a chemical hub in Nandigram, where most of the victims were poor Muslim farmers. Then the curious death of Rizwanur Rahman – widely believed to be murdered by cops on the orders of his disapproving father-in-law, industrialist Ashok Todi – and the State government’s apathy, or its readiness to protect those the public believe to be guilty, further frustrated the Muslims.
Finally, there was the shameless violence in Nandigram this month, where farmers opposing the CPI(M)’s muscle flexing were brutally killed, raped and maimed, their homes looted and burnt, their families destroyed. Again, most of the victims happened to be Muslims. Too many wrong signals had gone out, and after decades of feeling secure in the state, the Muslims of West Bengal had serious doubts.
It was particularly hurtful because Bengal has had a 30-year uninterrupted rule by the Left, which has, in principle been a staunch friend and protector of the Indian Muslim. Yet there had been hardly any empowerment of Muslims in the state, and their basic physical security seemed to be vanishing. So any excuse would be fine to vent their anger at the State government.
Worryingly, this simmering discontent can soon put the state on the boil. Disgruntlement and deprivation roll out the red carpet for trouble. Not surprisingly, there has been an increase in Muslim fundamentalism in Bengal recently, with bigots bustling in to soothe the wounded pride and frayed nerves of needy Muslims, wooing them away from the liberal values of the state that has neglected them for too long. There have been other agenda-mongers too, like the gun-toting Maoists who have been rejuvenating their movement across India and beyond.
This is perhaps also the reason that Nandigram got so out of hand. Back in February, after widespread protests and some violence, the government had bowed to the farmers’ wishes, withdrawn the proposal of building the chemical industry on their fertile farmland and declared that no land would be acquired in Nandigram. But by then the anger of the locals had been fanned by politics, and the Trinamul Congress and a Maoist group were egging them on.
Enraged locals drove out CPI(M) cadres and sympathisers and cordoned off Nandigram. The administration’s attempt at entering in March resulted in the disgraceful killing of at least 14 people in police firing. The government withdrew and for months Nandigram remained cut off, defying the administration, suspended as an ungoverned zone.
To end the impasse, this time round, the police stood by as armed CPI(M) cadres battled their way in, killing, mutilating, raping and pillaging their way through to regain their lost territory, as thousands fled for their lives. The cadres have always been the private army of the CPI(M), and with 30 years of undisturbed Left rule in the state, the cadre raj has become invincible. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee – known for his sensitivity and love of poetry and philosophy – didn’t seem perturbed at the bloodbath as he shoved aside his responsibilities as the CM of the state to emerge as the smug leader of the victorious CPI(M). The protestors at Nandigram had been “paid back in their own coin,” he declared triumphantly.
It so shocked West Bengal that the common people and the intelligentsia thronged the streets in protest. Activists and cultural stars singing protest songs were arrested as writers, filmmakers, painters and theatre-persons – many of them Left supporters – voiced their rage in public gatherings, newspapers and on TV.
Governor Gopal Gandhi termed Nandigram’s capture by cadres “unlawful and unacceptable” and urged the government to take “effective control” of this “war zone”. Even the CPI, Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) – CPI(M)’s allies in the Left Front – raged in dissent. RSP leader and PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami resigned, protesting against this “planned attack by the CPI(M).”
Clearly, the CPI(M) has lost the moral argument in Nandigram. But it stands to lose much more. What had started as a fight against forcible land acquisition has turned into a battle for territory and against democratic principles. And the Maoists are only one part of the problem.
Yes, as Maoist groups consolidate their forces across the country, they are emerging stronger and may pose a serious threat to our internal security if they step up their war against the State. We have already seen the terrible price of violent Naxalism in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharasthra and Bihar, which has only been fuelled further by irresponsible and unethical countermeasures like the Salwa Judum.
Maoist militancy is particularly dangerous given its links with the various insurgent movements around the country, from Kashmir to the Northeast. The problem needs to be recognised and tackled through acceptable tools of our flourishing democracy.
But we have seen an increasing erosion of our democratic principles. That seems to be the real problem. We see it in West Bengal now – a state where prolonged Left rule has not encouraged but wiped out spaces for democratic dialogue or dissent. We see it in the CPI(M)’s brazen brutality in Nandigram and in the Chief Minister’s response.
And in the unashamed human rights violations by security forces, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions and torture. Though the Border Security Forces (BSF) on the India-Bangladesh border is renowned for this, the police – who seem to be serving the ruling party and not the people – are not far better. Rizwanur’s death reminds us of that.
Last year, while hearing the case of a harassed Muslim citizen, the Kolkata High Court had said: “The state police will have to understand the difference between a jungle raj and a civil society. The manner in which police are allowing musclemen to torture law-abiding citizens, it seems we are living in a jungle raj.” Things seem to have got worse since then. The CPI(M) needs to recognise that its strength lies not in the muscle of the jungle, but in the values of freedom, democracy, equality and justice that it once held sacred.
Thankfully, these democratic principles and liberal values still runs in Kolkata’s blood, popping up at times of crisis and bringing it back from the brink of devastation. But for how long? Too much neglect of real issues, too little justice, too many poison pals may warp the Kolkata chromosome, changing the free-thinking city forever. But till now, it has retained its sanity. Like it did this week, when it spurned the troublemakers’ enthusiastic invitation to riot.
Finally, Kolkata keeps our trust. It brings together its people – ignoring differences of religious or political belief – to form a protective wall around itself. It makes those of us who love the city feel very grateful, very proud, and very humble.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s and not of Sify.com.

Party to terror
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071125/spectrum/main1.htm
Unbridled violence in Nandigram, where the West Bengal government had forcibly tried to acquire land for industrialisation, bared the coercive power of the state at its worst. Subhrangshu Gupta on the simmering cauldron that Nandigram has become

Aparna sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Srisendu Banerjee join people from all walks of life for a peaceful
protest in Kolkata — PTI Photo
THEY say when Nandigram flares, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee attends film festivals at Nandan, just as Nero had fiddled while Rome burned. In the 1970s during fervent Naxalite activity in Bengal, when the cadres and their Red Masters were forced to leave their houses, they faced the ordeal of a life riddled with fear and hunger while they were underground. The former Congress Chief Minister, the Gandhian Prafulla Chandra Sen, then a Janata Dal leader, went from door to door with his men and followers in search of the "comrades in refuge" and brought them home. Sen, thus, acted as a messiah to the helpless comrades.

A child participates with the intellectuals in the mass rally organised in protest against the Nandigram violence.
— PTI photo

The comrades later on returned their "gratitude" by making false allegations and levelling scandalous charges against Sen. The Gandhian leader died afterwards in distress and poverty. Before dying he prayed to the Almighty to excuse these "ungrateful"comrades. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is one of those comrades who went underground at that time. Of course, later on he got back to normal life safe and sound when the Naxalites were wiped out by Indira Gandhi. Now at the helm of affairs, Buddhadeb justifies "the same methods of repression and atrocities" to the people of Nandigram, of which he himself was a victim once. It appears that the Marxist Buddhadeb has turned Stalinist.
State of misrule
There is no denying that about 1500- odd CPM supporters had been forced to leave their homes in Nandigram after the March 14 massacre in which 14 innocent farmers were gunned down in an operation launched jointly by the police and the comrades. The evicted people were later sheltered and rehabilitated in camps at the nearby Khejuri, a CPM stronghold. After living prolonged nightmarish lives and facing the inhuman ordeal at the Khejuri camps for 11 long months, these homeless people are again back to their homes, making several hundred others similarly homeless. Buddhadeb salutes the comrades for achieving a difficult task which the state government could not. The Chief Minister does not regret that "the process of returning" had been achieved through gunshots and bloodshed. He went on record to say that "The enemies who had evicted our people in Nandigram were paid back in their own coin." The Chief Minister has forgotten the oath he has taken at the time of swearing-in that he would serve the people impartially and work for the interest of the state and its people irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and political ideologies.
The Chief Minister says he cannot ignore his political identity. "l’m a Chief Minister but how can l forget l’m also a CPM worker." He salutes the comrades for achieving a difficult task.
Volatile response

Victims of violence: Villagers sitting outside their burnt houses at Satengabari in Nandigram

The Nandigram issue has evoked a widespread response across the board. Political parties, governments, officials, intellectuals, professionals , teachers, students and people from all walks of lives reacted to the Nandigram issue. This brought about a crisis in the Left Front, the CPM and affected the state’s law and order. The Left Front is divided and so is the CPM. The three major partners, the RSP, Forward Bloc and the CPI have threatened to quit the government. The veteran Jyoti Basu has publicly expressed his resentment at the state government’s faulty handling of the situation. Prakash Karat, however, is siding with Buddhadeb.
The Politburo and the party leadership in the state have realised that the Nandigram issue has delivered a blow to the party’s popularity and the functioning of its government in West Bengal.
Seeds of discord
The Nandigram problem erupted due to the implementation of the state government’s policy of rapid industrialisation. During the Congress regime, industrialisation had taken a backseat due to several causes of which a major one was the militant stance of the unions, which the Left parties had encouraged.
Of late, Buddhadeb and other CPM leaders have realised their past mistakes and therefore they suddenly undertook a rapid industrialisation programme for repairing the damage done to West Bengal "overnight."
Buddhadeb has invited multi-nationals and foreign investments. He visited Europe, America and Britain, as well as China and Japan. He even received a pat from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for being proactive about industrial growth and foreign investment. Henry Kissinger equated him with Ding Xiaping and the US ambassador too saluted him for his pro-capitalist industrial policy. No wonder Buddhadeb had started dreaming of a new Bengal— a state flush with corporate and foreign investment, IT, software and chemical hubs.
In Nandigram, the Salim group of Indonesia floated a massive industrialisation programme worth over Rs 50,000 crore to build a chemical hub, power plant, modern new township, sky-scrapers and provide infrastructure for industries and modern amenities to the people. The government started with the programme of the chemical hub and Nandigram was chosen as the site where over 20,000 acres of land needed to be acquired.
Accordingly, the Haldia Development Authority which controls Nandigram administratively, issued a notification on February
10, regarding acquiring of the areas at Nandigram for the proposed chemical hub. However, farmers and land-owners had no prior knowledge about the acquisition of their lands. This was the beginning of the Nandigram controversy. Some time back the state government had faced the land acquiring problem at Singur where some 10,000 acres of land had been forcibly acquired for Tata Motor’s small car project. The local farmers resisted. They formed a Bhoomi Bacchaoo Committee and launched a movement against the acquiring of their lands and transferring them to industries. Several political forces and the CPM’s opponent, Trinamool Congress, joined the farmers in their agitation. There were clashes and killings at Singur. Tapashi Mallick, a 16-year-old woman volunteer of the BBC was raped and then burnt alive inside the Tata Motor’s plant site. Mamata Banerjee, social activist, Medha Patkar and several other organisations and political parties protested the government’s forcible land acquiring policy. The three major Left Front partners, the CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc also opposed the Chief Minister’s land-acquiring policy. Singur’s Tata Motor’s project, however, was pushed through. In Nandigram acquisition of land could not be affected. There were clashes and killings over the acquiring of land by the two warring groups—BBC activists and the CPM.
In these clashes, firearms and other lethal weapons were freely used. The BBC and the Trinamool Congress kept Nandigram under their grip. Neither the police nor the district administration had any access to Nandigram. And then there was the March 14 massacre in which 14 poor farmers were killed by an operation launched jointly by the police and the CPM cadres while they were trying free the area from the BBC’s clutch and establish the rule of law there. But the Nandigram people did not yield.
They would not allow their lands to be acquired in the way it happened in Singur. The Chief Minister was forced to abandon his plan to set up the chemical hub at Nandigram and instead, a barren island at a distance, namely, Nayachar was chosen as a new site for the Salim’s chemical hub. However, the political as well as administrative crises which had been initially created at Singur, by that time had already shifted to Nandigram.
History of Nandigram
In the past, the people of Nandigram fought tooth-and-nail against the British Raj. The first "independent government" was formed in Nandigram much before 1947 by freedom fighters under the leadership of Satish Samata, with the late Ajoy Mukherjee as Prime Minister.
The latter became the Chief Minister of West Bengal twice (in 1967 and 1969) of the United Front government.
Now the CPI has been the main political force in Nandigram as well as in two other constituencies at Panskura (west) and Tamluk, where the CPI candidates won the last assembly elections.
Officially, the chemical hub proposal in Nandigram has been abandoned but the crisis that has been created is yet to subside. Instead, the increasing arrogance and high-handedness of a section in the CPM towards the Opposition parties, Press and their opponents have been fomenting a new crisis. The "poor" Governor, Gopal Krishna tried to intervene but had to keep silent because he was snubbed. But the Nandigram problem will not end unless a political solution to the political crisis is worked out. Various political parties which have become involved in the on-going issue for gaining political mileage have become more of a problem rather than pave the way towards reaching a solution.
On November 12, 2007, the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the West Bengal Government directing it to submit a factual report on the conditions prevailing in Nandigram. The Calcutta High Court on too rejected all arguments of the state government and held that the action of the police on March 14 was wholly unconstitutional and could not be justified.

A man puts his signature to oppose the Nandigram violence at Mother Teresa Sarani in Kolkata

Call of conscience
Thousands poured into the heart of Calcutta to condemn the manner in which CPM cadres recaptured Nandigram. A record turnout of nearly 100,000 people, the tail end moved two hours after the rally started from College Square to Esplanade. Teachers, students, actors, singers, poets, officegoers, directors, businessmen and even monks and nuns responded to the clarion call of their conscience and marched in peaceful protest through the streets of Calcutta. It was unprecedented because no political party or leader had given the call for the march, it was just the people—cutting across party or ideology—who responded to the lawlessness in the state.

BSP believes in interest of all castes: Mayawati
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
BSP believes in interest of all castes: Mayawati
Mumbai: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP chief, Mayawati, on Saturday appealed to the people of all sections to unite under one umbrella. Addressing a party rally at Shivaji Park here, Mayawati asked people not to vote for Congress and BJP and support only the BSP which believes in the interest of all castes.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today addressed a rally in Mumbai in an attempt to woo voters of Maharashtra. Mayawati Sunday declared her party's intention to capture power in the centre with the aim of improving the lot of the poor, minorities and weaker sections of society.
An estimated 300,000 people thronged at the Shivaji Park to hear Mayawati, who was addressing a rally for the first time outside Uttar Pradesh since her surprise victory in that state in May.

"Our party believes that people in Maharashtra, rather in India, should come together and join hands. People of all sections of the society should support our party so that we can come to power. It is important for us," said Mayawati.She further said that it was important for people to unite irrespective of their religion, caste and community.Mumbai was painted blue with posters and banners to welcome the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, who seems all set to capture a vote bank outside her state.
Mayawati commands almost total support of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, who constitute about 21 percent of the state's population.
Amid periodic applause, Mayawati trained guns at all other major parties including the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and their allies, saying they always came to power with the support of industrialists.

'After coming to power, they simply forget the poor, the backward sections, minorities and the downtrodden of society who continue to suffer in their misery,' Mayawati said.

In the past 60 years, while the rich became richer, poverty and other social evils afflicting the silent masses have not yet been eradicated, she said.

The time for change has come and people have the option of voting the BSP to power in the states and at the centre, she said, urging all backward sections to unite - a hint at the divided Dalit factions in Maharashtra.

She appealed all to wholeheartedly support the BSP in its quest to provide social justice to the poor and the downtrodden, irrespective of caste, community, religion or social hierarchy.

'We shall not enrich the rich and affluent, but serve to bring a smile to the poorest of the poor in the remotest corners of India,' she said to loud cheers from the enthusiastic gathering which waited in the blazing sun for nearly four hours to hear her.

Mayawati also assured that BSP was not against the upper castes since it would not be possible to achieve total social justice without their support and backing. Hitting out at the Congress for labelling BSP as 'anti-upper castes', she asked why it supported the BSP in the past Uttar Pradesh elections if that was the case.

She claimed that the Congress was apprehensive of the challenges posed by the BSP even in Maharashtra - where it is leading the ruling coalition - during the past few years. According to her, that was why just before the last assembly elections in 2004, the Congress replaced Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh with Sushilkumar Shinde, a Dalit leader.

She assured that when BSP would come to power in Maharashtra, it would appoint a suitable person as chief minister, irrespective of whether the caste factor.

However, she carefully avoided making any reference to the prickly case of rape and massacre of Dalits in Khairlanji by an upper caste mob in September 2006.

Commenting on unemployment in the country, Mayawati assured that if BSP was voted to power at the centre, she would implement reservations in the private sector. 'In Uttar Pradesh, we have not only filled up all reserved posts lying vacant for years, but are also implementing reservations in the private sector.'

The BSP state unit had made hectic preparations for the rally over the past few weeks. An estimated 2,000 trucks and tempos had ferried party activists from all over Maharashtra and some had even come down from the neighbouring states like Gujarat and Karnataka.

The BSP also issued full-page advertisements in newspapers here inviting people for the 'historic' rally. All major roads, railways stations, prominent buildings sported the BSP's election symbol - elephant and party flags.

State BSP leaders including president Vilas Garud were actively involved in making all-out efforts to ensure success of the Mayawati Grand Rally, as it was named.

The state police had made elaborate security arrangements in and around the venue where thousands of activists had started converging since Saturday.

Heavy security was also evident on the road leading from the Shivaji Park in central Mumbai to the Hotel Taj Mahal where she stayed overnight after arriving here Saturday afternoon.
Mayawati sacks UP STF chief
Unhappy with the performance of the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has issued marching orders to STF Additional Director General Shailja Kant Mishra

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS is an Advocacy Platform committed for Dalit Human Rights at the Grass root, National and International levels. Dalits In News aims at sensitizing Civil societies, HR Mechanisms and providing updates of HR violations on Dalits for their Intervention.
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON DALIT HUMAN RIGHTS
NCDHR
Dalits In News
November 24, 2007
Dalit run college in Tamil Nadu- Tehelka
http://www.ndtv. com/convergence/ ndtv/story. aspx?id=NEWEN200 70033689&ch=11/22/2007% 209:30:00% 20PM
Trampling On The Women Of The Grassroots ?- Tehelka
http://www.tehelka. com/story_ main36.asp? filename= cr011207do_ bigha.asp
Tehelka
Dalit run college in Tamil Nadu
http://www.ndtv. com/convergence/ ndtv/story. aspx?id=NEWEN200 70033689&ch=11/22/2007% 209:30:00% 20PM
Sam Daniel
Thursday, November 22, 2007 (Thiruvallur)
In a refreshing change dalits in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu have started their own community college in an attempt to equip themselves.
It is modeled just like those in the cities and even the principal is a dalit woman who has studied only upto class 12.
Its a community college with a difference no classrooms, no laboratories, just a space under the tree. This is how dalit men and women of Amithanallur village gather for their daily lessons after their chores.
Most of them haven't completed high school but now they want to enhance their vocational skills including tailoring, weaving and even advanced farming techniques.
Inspired by former president Dr APJ Abduul Kalaam their aim is to bring as many urban amenities to their village in the long run.
The courses are tailor made according to the community's requirement. Anbarasi the principal's main job is to rope in the right faculty.
Anbarasi said, ''We lag behind because villages lack many facilities. Once that is provided we too can become engineers, doctors and collectors.''
G Karunanidhi president of Amithanallur Panchayat said, ''We want to transform our village into a city like Chennai.''
The panchayat office doubles up as a computer centre for youngsters and in another part of the village there is an outdoor English class to improve their conversational skills.
Gomathi a English learner said, ''I want to learn English so that I can teach my daughter and other kids as well.''
With no government funds experts don't mind doing voluntary service free of cost.
Kris Dev poverty alleviation consultant said, ''When we give the inputs they require we can transform them.''
Puroshottaman a resource person said, ''I want to spend the rest of my life this way.''
Although development in Chennai has reached global levels it has not percolated into this village, just 40 kms away. But hoefully this initiative will lead to development.
Tehelka
Trampling On The Women Of The Grassroots ?
http://www.tehelka. com/story_ main36.asp? filename= cr011207do_ bigha.asp

CYNTHIA STEPHEN
IT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST ironies of our times. Grassroots NGO women activists in the forefront of the struggle for rights for the poor — usually from the local 'target' communities themselves — have little access to the very same rights. These women are employed as anganwadi or balwadi workers, community health personnel, informal schoolteachers, and credit group organisers with little job security. They are mostly Dalits, Adivasis or urban slum dwellers. Their work brings them into direct conflict with vested interests — liquor barons, slumlords, child traffickers, corrupt government functionaries, religious fundamentalists and petty politicians.
Bhanwari Devi, a Dalit employed on a stipend of Rs 200 a month as a field worker, was gang-raped in 1992 for preventing a case of child marriage. Her case, fought not by her employer but by a women's NGO, figured in Supreme Court's 1997 Vishakha judgement on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace. Justice still evades Bhanwari Devi.
According to Invisible, Yet Widespread: The Non-Profit Sector in India, a 2003 study by the Society for Participatory Research in Asia, 1.2 million NGOs employ 19.4 million staff. This is nearly as many employees as in the entire public sector — Central, state and local bodies — which is about 20 million. It is the establishment costs (Rs 674 crore), rather than development or welfare, that is a priority expenditure of these NGOs.
In many grassroots NGOs, women field workers earn about Rs 1,500 — less than the minimum wage — despite years of dedicated work and training. The majority of NGO workers have no job security, provident fund, gratuity, medical or personal accident insurance. International donors insist that NGOs plan and implement development projects. But there is shocking disparity between the working conditions of the management staff and that of the field workers. Many NGOs demand accountability from government for deficiencies, acts of omission and commission in human rights, environmental issues, policies and funding. How accountable are NGOs themselves on the issue of staff welfare? What is the role of the donors who approve aid proposals and budgets and monitor programmes? Grassroots NGO activists have been included in the Schedule in the legislation on unorganised workers, following lobbying by activists. They must get their due.
ARUN KHOTE
Secretary- Media
National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR)
8/1, 2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar,
New Delhi-110008
Ph: 011- 25842249 /25842250
0- 9350183802
email: arun@ncdhr.org
arun.khote@gmail. com
ncdhr@vsnl.net
Website: www.ncdhr.org
Dalit leaders nervous as Mayawati soars
Nandu R Kulkarni
MUMBAI, Nov. 24: Different factions of the Republican Party of India have renewed their efforts to come closer and form at least a federal political entity in Maharashtra to prevent Bahujan Samajwadi chief Miss Mayawati from getting a foothold in the state, with a majority of the population consisting of Dalits, Other Backward Classes and minorities. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister is scheduled to hold a rally at Shivaji Park here tomorrow, which a BSP member says will be a “mammoth show of strength".
RPI's factional leaders who have been heading splinter groups for decades, have realised that the ground is slipping from under their feet since the Dalits, OBCs and Muslims are looking for a proponent of their cause. Miss Mayawati has been briefed by her BSP followers about the plight of these sections of society, mainly on account of the near-defunct RPI.
Like in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP leader has asked her party workers to rope in Brahmins in the state who form just 2.5 per cent of the total population and are often hated by Marathas and Dalits alike. There are three main RPI factions in Maharashtra, separately headed by Dr Prakash Ambedkar (grandson of BR Ambedkar), Mr Ramdas Athavle and Mr
TM Kamble.
Another RPI leader, Mr RS Gavai, took leave from active politics after he was made Bihar governor. He was rewarded for his proximity to the Congress. Mr Athavle is close to Nationalist Congress Party president Mr Sharad Pawar. He gets elected to Parliament from the Congress-NCP quota. Mr Kamble pretends to be independent of these factions but heads his own. It was not a coincidence for Dr Ambedkar and Mr Kamble to hold Press conferences on the same day and give separate calls for the merger of all RPI factions into a single unit. Both leaders, however, differed on the basics. Dr Ambedkar said different factions should dissolve their identities and come together as a new political party, while Mr Kamble stressed the need for holding inter-factional negotiations to end disputes.
Analysts say the disputes are not about programme, policy or principles but of leadership and power. Over the years, these leaders have met several times but talks failed because each of them wanted to lead the united RPI, launched by the late BR Ambedkar. These feuding splinter groups enjoyed a good run until Miss Mayawati’s shadow started looming large on the state’s political horizon.
The BSP fought a number of seats in the last assembly election, mostly in the Vidarbha region which has a significant strength of Dalit and OBC voters. She did not win a seat but was polled a percentage of votes that alerted the other parties to take cognizance.
The Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP have Dalits and OBCs in their ranks who are exploited to poach on votebanks. The majority votes in the state are divided among these groups. The leaders of these parties have seen to it that the Dalit, OBC and Muslim vote stay divided election after election. Miss Mayawati’s would be the first ambitious political move to consolidate these votes into a single bank. This has worried not only mainstream parties but also the fiefs in charge of various RPI groups.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister is an aggressive campaigner ready to cash in on her success in India’s largest state assembly election.
The population of Maharashtra is close to 10 crore with Dalits, OBCs and Muslims in clear majority. The massive votebank is for any leader to capture provided he/she has passion to sway these sections.
Ahead of Miss Mayawati’s visit to Mumbai, such OBC leaders as Mr Chagan Bhujbal are in demand. The Shiv Sena has softened its stand on the defector of yore. He left the Sena in December, 1991. BJP state president Mr Nitin Gadkari has invited him to join the party. Analysts say even the Uttar Pradesh chief minister could try to rope in Mr Bhujbal. But the NCP said he belongs to it and would never desert Mr Pawar.
As all parties are feeling the Mayawati tremors, the BSP chief is avoiding the media. Politicians in Maharashtra are nervous about tomorrow's rally where she is expected to show her cards.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=177743

Mayawati paints the city blue.
Shubhangi Khapre
Sunday, November 25, 2007 03:21 IST
Tens of thousands gather for rally
MUMBAI: Mumbai has been painted blue to greet UP chief minister Mayawati, who arrived here on Saturday, unfazed by the serial blasts in her state.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is ready to withstand any attempts by opponents to stymie Sunday's rally at Shivaji Park, where Mayawati will bring to Maharashtra her political mantra of social engineering — sarvajan hitaye, sarvajan sukhay. "We have in place mechanisms to ensure people reach Shivaji Park, even if there are state-sponsored attempts to sabotage the rally," said state BSP chief Vilas Garud.
More than 1,000 workers were employed to paint the walls along railway stations and public places. The stretch from Borivili to Churchgate via Dadar has been plastered with posters of the BSP's blue elephant. The huge cutouts of 'Behenji' at Shivaji Park are hard to miss.
However, the BSP has accused the BMC and state government of trying to scuttle the rally's success. According to Tushar Jagtap of the BSP, "The behaviour of civic officials is shocking. They have removed all Mayawati posters and cutouts."
The streams of people who have poured into Mumbai in small groups have made Bandra, Goregaon, Mahim, Matunga, Dadar, Ghatkopar and Chembur their temporary homes.
"We have booked hotels and lodges along Western and Central railways. All hotels in Dadar at the Rs 2,500 to Rs 7,500 per room rates have been booked for the rally by the BSP," said party officials. So have all marriage and community halls.
"Behenji's Mumbai visit has to be a spectacular show," said one volunteer, one of the more than 10,000 BAMSEF, Bahujan Volunteer and BSP workers who have been working round the clock. Some 5,000 vehicles have been deployed to fetch people from Vidarbha, Marathwada and Thane to Mumbai.
While the BSP urged the workers to travel by trains and buses to cut down expenditure, those from the hinterland insisted on private transport. The party has hired vehicles from state transport authorities, BEST and private operators.
In addition, 200 workers have been stationed in Mumbai's 36 assembly segments in Mumbai to attend to the needs of the visitors. In fact, to avoid any problems, visitors from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have been housed separately. Every assembly segment has medical centres and 24-hour kitchens to provide food and beverages.
However, this massive mobilisation has been silent, so as to avoid annoying the civic authorities or police department.
http://www.dnaindia .com/report. asp?newsid= 1135313&pageid=2
The Congress-NCP and Sena-BJP combines will be monitoring Mayawati's rally to see whether she has
become a focal point for Dalits in the state, reports Neeta Kolhatkar
MUMBAI: Even before she set foot in Mumbai, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Mayawati has created a stir. Dalit leaders of both the Prakash Ambedkar and Ramdas Athavale groups have asked their party workers to refrain from attending the BSP rally in the city today.
The BSP hopes to replace the Republican Party of India as the rallying point for Dalits in Maharashtra. Activists claim over 6,000 Dalits across Mumbai, most younger than 30, have joined the BSP in the last three months.
The RPI has already been divided into three factions: One led by Ramdas Athavale, son of the late RS Gawai; another by BR Ambedkar's grandson Prakash, and the Ambedkar Bharatiya Republican Party-Bahujan Maha Sangh (BRP-BMS). The Athavale faction has been close to the Nationalist Congress Party, the Gawai faction to the Congress, and the Ambedkar group to the BJP. This has resulted in a divided votebank that has helped the major parties. Hence the worry over Mayawati's increasing clout in Maharashtra.
"Although Maharashtra is Ambedkar's state, politicians have exploited the Dalits and the Ambedkar name for their own gains. Mayawati's party has shown gumption in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, even making [aviation minister] Praful Patel lose his seat. A similar wave may hit the Congress and NCP in Maharashtra, " says Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut.
"Mayawati will make a difference to the political equations in the state. There are some disgruntled OBCs and Dalits who may move to her, though one cannot see any prominent leaders doing so," says NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
Congress leaders feel that the gap between the RPI and the Dalit community has become so great that both will not move in the same direction. "The issues and caste composition in Maharashtra are different [from those in UP]," says Anant Gadgil, spokesperson for the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC).
"Mayawati's stand of taking Brahmins along with her in the BSP has turned off hardcore Ambedkar followers. The real picture will be clear only after Sunday's rally," says Bhujbal.
Meanwhile, the BSP claims it will announce the names of 25 new members at the rally. "We have already been joined by some former Congress and NCP legislators and councillors, " says a BSP representative
The fracturing of the RPI into units, which operate as annexes to parties with a different ideology, opens the path for UP's Dalit leader
BSP may fill the vacuum
Ramaiah
Sunday, November 25, 2007 03:23 IST
MUMBAI: Dalits are the most oppressed, and Dalit women are doubly so. That's what one hears all the time. So Mayawati's rise to the position of chief minister is remarkable. As a Dalit woman, she has brought hope to the oppressed.
Mayawati's ability to bring together the Dalits, backward castes, religious minorities and even the upper castes who, till recently, were targets of her attack, acquires significance in Maharashtra. I had the opportunity, as part of a Tata Institute of Social Sciences study, to travel to the interior of Maharashtra and interact with a large number of Dalit leaders. Local leaders expressed disappointment with the performance of non-BSP parties in the state. Though the Republican Party of India still holds a special place among Dalits because it was founded by Ambedkar, it is so wracked by infighting that it now stands as a divided house with hardly any political clout.
The BSP rally in Mumbai today is aimed at showing its strength in Maharashtra. BSP cadres in the state claim they have representatives in all 30,000 villages of Maharashtra, have a cadre-base of about eight lakh and a support base of over 10 lakh. The party has already made its presence felt in the state, which is evident from BSP leaders being elected corporators and sarpanches in recent elections.
Ramaiah is professor and chairperson at the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, TISS

http://www.dnaindia .com/report. asp?newsid= 1135297

Nepal's Maoists threaten to take up arms again
We'll fight 40 yrs more if needed: Prachanda
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
The term of the UNMIN, which is monitoring the arms and the army of the Maoists and the government as part of Nepal's peace process, is set to be extended, with the Himalayan nation deciding to approach the UN Security Council with a formal request in this regard soon.
Nepal on Sunday formally decided to request the UN Security Council (UNSC) to extend the term of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) within the next week.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala informed the UNMIN chief Ian Martin about the cabinet meeting regarding the extension of the UNMINs term for six months