Collateral confusion in India

In a globalised and shrinking world, romantic liaisons and marriages between people of different races, languages and cultures have become quite common. This cultural remix throws up many comic moments, notes Lakshmi Palecanda
(Marriage itself is a funny institution. So, what do you expect in inter-caste marriages? Well, confusion more confounded, of course.)
A couple of decades ago, an inter-caste marriage was a big deal. However, with downing of international barriers and increased urbanisation has come a whole new acceptance of unions between people from different castes, family situations, and even financial backgrounds.
For, love conquers all, at least initially.
There is a cultural remix happening now in the country on an unprecedented level. All over the country, inter-caste and inter-state marriages are bringing Indians closer to a more homogenous mix. Punjabi, Bangla, Gujju, Bihari and Mizo are tying eternal knots with Tamilian, Kannadiga, Keralite, Telugu and Konkani, blurring and sometimes even erasing caste and cultural barriers, while encouraging national unity. Incidentally, this phenomenon also throws up many comic moments.
First off, mixed weddings themselves are crazy. Couples who marry without parental consent settle for the registrar. But, once the families of the lovers have accepted the cross-cultural match, each of them wants to contribute ideas on events to be conducted on the Big Day. From time immemorial, Indian weddings have been bastions of faith and significance, and naturally, both parties want the matrimonial bond cemented with at least a few of their own traditions. The end result is somewhat like going to a discotheque and finding two traditionally-clad ajjis, one Kannadiga and one Marwari, together on the dance floor, jiving to Lady Gaga.
Ever go to your Iyer friend’s daughter’s wedding and see the Dilliwalla bridegroom arriving on a white horse to be received by madisaar-clad maamis? Or hear conches at a Gowda wedding? Does the wedding hall look like a fancy dress party with saris worn in Marathi, Kodava, Keralite, Gujarathi, and Kannadiga traditional styles? And, does the wedding feast resemble the menu of a multi-cuisine restaurant with dishes culled from kaara oota to thali to tandoori to Continental and Chinese? Most of us have been to these kinds of dos, and if you haven’t already, chances are that you will, sometime soon.
Once, a wedding was a solemn occasion in which there was an underlying competition between families to see who would be more traditional. With mixed marriages especially, the wedding has become a spectacle or a pageant, where the families of the bride and groom are introduced to the other’s cultural identity. At least, that is the intent. What really goes on is a lot of funny compromises and a whole lot of gawking.
In the old days, being a guest at a wedding meant having to awaken reluctantly at unreasonable times of day and night, dress traditionally, and yawn through interminable sessions of same old muhurats. These days, you eagerly charge up your camcorders, wear what you want that is jazzy enough, and dare not blink in case you miss something interesting, like the bride’s North Indian father dressed in a dhothi over his pants at a Tamilian wedding, or a groom’s mother wearing Kannada sari at a Kodava wedding. The homogenous nature of the cacophony heard at weddings has also changed, with the occasions sounding like an audio version of the rupee note’s list of official languages… and don’t forget the dialects!
Kitchen politics
Once the music of the shehnai, nadaswara and vaalaga have become mere echoes in memories or recordings on memory sticks, the newly-wedded couple settle down to real life routines… and realise an immutable fact. Marriages may be made in heaven and enjoyed in the privacy of the bedroom, but they are cemented in the kitchen. Yes, one may love rotis or puliyogare once in a while, but if one grew up on rice and menusu rasam or naati koli saaru, sooner or later, something… or someone… has to give in. This point is definitely a factor in the everyday lives of veg and non-veg combos in a marriage.
Flexibility is the key word here, and since inter-caste couples have already compromised on the most sensitive decision, this usually works itself out in a year or so, though not before throwing up some interesting versions. Most men adjust quickly, especially if they don’t want to cook, with vegetarian men turning omnivores without turning a hair. Women, on the other hand, go nuts initially before establishing ground rules.
Some women turn non-veg themselves, some cook meat for the husband but do not eat it themselves, and a few neither cook nor eat it. Women of the latter category come to another decision point when children arrive on the scene. Kids with one carnivorous parent mostly tend to become carnivores themselves. The same woman who turned up her nose at meat in her kitchen usually relaxes some rules once her children are born, because ‘my children like it, what to do.’
Language is another potential variable in a hybrid union. A woman generally picks up her husband’s mother tongue rapidly, basically since only then can she keep tabs on what the husband’s family is saying. Of course, she justifies this by saying that this is to enhance communication with her husband. But she soon realises that the communication barrier at home is not so much due to the language, but due to the fact that her man has severely impaired listening skills (except when it comes to sports and car talk, when he just won’t shut up), probably due to his Y chromosome. That is when she switches to swearing in her own mother tongue, as swearing is done most efficiently and satisfactorily in one’s own mother tongue.
Meanwhile, the husband, who is not overly worried about his wife’s family’s gossip, has picked up enough language to understand the wife’s cursing, but he won’t reveal that he knows her language just in case she starts expecting him to listen to her more often. Actually, the wife is aware of this fact but pretends that she doesn’t know that he knows, so the deception is not really a deception… well, anybody with a decade of marriage under their belt can grasp this concept of mild passive aggression quite easily.
It is common knowledge that the first year of a love marriage is harder than that of an arranged marriage, because unlike the couple that enters the marriage with no expectations, the love marriage couple have seen only the good side of their spouses during the courting. And just when the couple have settled their differences, and settled down, children come along to throw deep-rooted convictions and prejudices into high relief.
This means a period of adjustment to deal not just with the new little lovable tyrant who is now ruling the roost, but also on ways of bringing up the said tyrant. Both parents agree that one set of rules only should be used to bring up baby so as not to confuse the infant, but differ on whose culture it should be based. Should the baby be eating porridge made of ragi or of jowar? Should his first solid meal be rice or chapati? This period of adjustment ends when the child shows its preference of a Lay’s potato chip and Cadbury’s milk chocolate over porridge and rice/chapati. Every child is a born manipulator with cute gummy smiles, and senses undercurrents of emotions far better than adults can.
Therefore, in due time, parents realise that the little one has actually understood what both parents are fighting over and is training them to accede to its wishes by playing one against the other. On the plus side, the child learns languages, customs and cultures very quickly and often acts as an interpreter to its parents and grandparents.
Selective adaptation
And it is in the children of inter-caste marriages that a very important aspect of culture is revealed. These children live their lives naturally by mixing their parents’ cultures and interpreting them in ways most conducive to their own lives, along with their own input as individuals. Where others feel compelled to follow hidebound customs and traditions, children from mixed marriages have the freedom of choice, to pick and choose the ones they want to follow.
They make their own family traditions, and by doing so, they show that culture is not something that is carved in stone, something which is depleted and diminished by change. Instead, culture is a very alive, ever-changing, evolving entity that is enriched and invigorated by change so that future generations are better able to combat challenges that arise with the passage of time.
Therefore, long live cross-cultural conjugations!
go to the gurudwara. Relatives who wanted to invite the newly-wed couple home for Sunday lunch would be shocked when the salwar-kameez clad, demure looking, gori bride would innocently tell them that they would not be able to make it since “theke jana hai”.
When the young bride, trying so hard to make a good impression, did find out what her husband had been up to, she offered to break a few bottles on his head. Now, almost two decades later, communication is not a problem since she speaks Punjabi and her in-laws have caught on with her Welsh accent.
When Boston-based NRI Prithvi Raj Banerjee fell in love with his Benaras Hindu University classmate Anisha Mahajan some years back, there was a face off between Bengali bhadralok and boisterous Punjabi cultures. Since Bengalis don’t have a baraat in marriages and Punjabis can’t believe a wedding can take place without one, groom-to-be was given a crash course on the topic by his would-be wife and her brothers, who even arranged a band for the visiting Bong brigade.
“Since the Banerjee clan (including my parents) had never attended a baraat, they had no idea about its logistical constraints and didn’t turn up on time on the D day,” recounts Prithvi. So, after an hour-plus of waiting (with only him and his young friends having arrived), the band party started muttering that they had a second shift to attend and would not stay much longer. Common friends of the bride and groom even hinted darkly that the band (as well as the baraatis) might just defect to the bride’s side and be at the gate to welcome him when he eventually turned up.
The distraught groom had to finally take a call on it and decided to go ahead without the seniors. The baraat wound its way to the bride’s house with his tipsy friends and a lone uncle doing him proud by dancing all the way. “My Mom still regrets that she could not dance at my wedding. I’ve asked her to be punctual when it’s time for her grandson to have a baraat. I don’t care where in the world his bride is from, we will have a baraat,” he laughs.
Frankly speaking, how many of us can say which gene pools future members of our family will come from? With the world shrinking so beautifully, life is becoming a cultural cauldron. To quote my Kiwi pal Julie Middleton (who incidentally married her mate of 14 years in a Hindu wedding ceremony held in our garden two years back): Crikey! Who cares so long as we learn to celebrate our differences instead of letting them build walls around us.

India defeats China to be on UN oversight body

India has been elected to the UN Joint Inspection Unit, an independent external oversight body mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations worldwide.

UNITED NATIONS: In a two-way contest with China, India has been elected to the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit, an independent external oversight body mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations of UN system worldwide.

India won the Asia-Pacific region seat for the five-year term beginning 1 January 2013, with a clear majority of 106 votes out of the 183 cast in the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. India has served only once on the JIU, 35 years ago, from 1968 to 1977. China got only 77 votes.

A Gopinathan, India's nominee for the JIU is currently India's permanent representative to the UN offices in Geneva. Earlier, he was India's deputy permanent representative in New York from January 2002 to September 2005. He has also served as joint secretary (UN) from August 1997 to December 2001 at the ministry of external affairs.

The JIU is a standing subsidiary organ of the General Assembly with a mandate covering the United Nations, its separately administered funds and programmes, and the specialised agencies that have accepted its statute. It is composed of not more than eleven inspectors serving for a term of five years, renewable once.

Why Kashmiris want the hated AFSPA to go

Caught in the crossfire between security forces and separatist militants for over two decades, Kashmiris say the government must revoke the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) because the law gives sweeping powers to security personnel in the state that is inching towards peace.

The Kashmiri on the street feels the act, in place since 1990, has given Jammu and Kashmir a terror tag, even as peace is seemingly settling down and tourists are returning to the valley.
People feel the circumstances that forced the implementation of the law no longer exist.
"Even Western countries have started lifting travel advisories against Kashmir. When the government itself boasts of peace, why do we need the AFSPA?" Abdur Rehman, who runs a tourist houseboat in Srinagar, asked this IANS correspondent.
Rehman and many others think the army does not have a strong ground to continue with the AFSPA in the Muslim dominated state of over 10.2 million people. The act was implemented in July 1990 when the armed insurgency backed by Pakistan was at its peak. Gun-toting men, sporting handgrenades, would fire and bomb at will wherever they wanted.
The Indian Army's help was taken after the state police and paramilitary forces failed to curb the reign of terror unleashed by militants, who were growing in number and strength. They were also joined by dreaded foreign mercenaries, mostly from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
More than two decades since, the situation has visibly improved. Violence and militancy have steeply gone down over the years. The number of terror strikes in urban areas has been brought down to almost zero now.
The number of militants present in the entire state, according to official figures, is less than 500, with all top commanders either killed or forced to run away to Pakistan.
Citing these reasons, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has also been strongly demanding partial withdrawal of the law that has come under widespread criticism for alleged violation of human rights by the armed forces.
In its war against cross-border terrorism, the army has been criticised for alleged human rights violations by misusing the law that allows any junior officer to use force, even to kill, on a mere suspicion.
An officer accused of rights violations can be prosecuted only after a nod from the central government and the defence ministry.
Over 1,500 cases of human rights violations have been filed against the army in the last two decades, according to official data.
The army, according to its own investigation, claims that a majority of them - 97 percent - have been found to be "fake or motivated".
It also refuses to hand over the accused officers to civilian authorities because it says it has its own internal mechanism to deal with the "aberrations" of rights violation under the Army Act, 1950.
There are many cases in which the army takes recourse to the iron-fisted AFSPA to contest the prosecution of accused personnel.
Common Kashmiris feel the law should be repealed because the objective to eliminate terror has largely been achieved. They also feel it was hampering justice for the families of victims.
"In how many cases of rights violations have you prosecuted accused officers?" asks human rights lawyer Rubbayya Yasmin. "None," she adds, because the central government hasn't accorded sanction.
"The act should go and it is time to give justice now," Yasmin told IANS.
The army argues that withdrawing the law, even partially, would have "serious operational implications" as militancy would raise its head again. It also argues that partial withdrawal of AFSPA from selected districts would "only create sanctuaries, which the terrorists would exploit to rest, regroup and strike again."
But the reason to continue with the act is not taken well by political and social activists.
Communist Party of India's A.B. Bardhan, a strong advocate of repealing the law, says the army's reason was tantamount to holding Kashmir at "gunpoint".
"It means Kashmir can be kept as part of India with the army of occupation," Bardhan told IANS, adding the time was ripe to withdraw the act at least from the areas where army is not operating.
"Kashmiris have grievances and repealing the law will give them a sense of justice, though there is a long way to go," he added.

2G scam: CBI searches Airtel, Vodafone offices

The CBI today carried out searches at the Vodafone office in Mumbai and Airtel office in Gurgaon after registering a case against ex-Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh and the two telecom service providers for alleged irregularities in spectrum allocation during tenure of Pramod Mahajan as Telecom Minister.

Besides Ghosh, the case was registered against former director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited J R Gupta, the agency said.

Immediately after registering the case, CBI teams conducted searches at the official premises of Vodafone in Mumbai,Airtel in Gurgaon and residences of Ghosh and Gupta, it said.

Responding to the raids, Bharti Airtel said it has always maintained the highest standard of corporate governance and regulatory compliance.

"We would like to categorically state that all the spectrum alloted to us from time to time has been strictly as per the stated government policy," a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said.

"We are providing all details and correspondence to the authorities and shall provide complete support as needed in the matter," the spokesperson said.

When approached, Vodafone said they would comment on the developments later.

The CBI had registered a Preliminary Enquiry to look into the allocation of spectrum under Mahajan to certain companies beyond the prescribed limit.

The CBI alleged in its FIR that Department of Telecom had increased the base spectrum for telecom companies from 4.4 MhZ to 6.2 MhZ during Mahajan's tenure from 2001 to 2003 and also allocated extra spectrum on subscriber-based criteria.

The agency has already filed a case with regard to alleged conspiracy in the Aircel-Maxis deal during the tenure of the then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran.

Myanmar window for Delhi

SUJAN DUTTA

Hillary Clinton in Bali on Friday. She will visit Myanmar in December. (AP)
Bali, Nov. 18: Myanmar has broken out as an open secret from a closed conspiracy, to what should be two cheers from New Delhi and three for Calcutta and Imphal in India’s east and Northeast.
Myanmar has been nominated to head a multi-national body — the Asean — for the first time despite being ruled by a military junta because America and Asia think it is curing itself.
From Bali on the rim of the Indian and Pacific Oceans has arisen a rare opportunity for both Myanmar and India.
This is a window for New Delhi and Naypyidaw — the new capital of the Myanmarese junta — to embrace an opportunity that can translate into real benefits for the marginalised peoples along a border that is longer than India-Pakistan’s.
India can dream of sailing goods and people down the Brahmaputra and the Imphal rivers and transferring them to Mandalay just as Myanmar can envisage sailing its sampans down the Irrawaddy so that they may reach the people of blockaded Manipur.
Even more, Myanmar can actually expect India to look at it as a neighbour with friendship benefits and not just a haven for insurgents that harass the northeastern states.
After years of isolation, sanctions and opprobrium, Myanmar has been recognised by an international body, the Asean, and the US as an infantile democracy-in-the-making.
Leaders of the Asean, of which Myanmar is a member, today decided that the country would get to chair and host the next summit of the Asia-Pacific body.
The rotating presidency of Asean was due to Myanmar in 2006 but it was denied the privilege because of human rights allegations against it.
India physically touches the Asean with Myanmar. The states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh share a border with Myanmar that is probably easier to negotiate for bootleggers than armies. Indeed, bootleggers can find the India-Myanmar border more porous than inter-provincial boundaries
New Delhi can still draw comfort, though. Despite western opposition since dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi was interned, New Delhi kept up a military and strategic cooperation with Naypyidaw.
When India looks east, the first country is Myanmar.
Barack Obama, who met Manmohan Singh here today, later said that secretary of state Hillary Clinton would visit Myanmar in December, a breakthrough by any standard.
The US had sanctions imposed on Myanmar but it has begun seeing a “glimmer of democracy” since the junta released political prisoners last month, at the same time when New Delhi was hosting a junta leader.
Myanmar will get to host the next meeting of Asean heads and the East Asia Summit in 2014 when it assumes the presidency of the body. India and China have been strategic rivals in Myanmar.
The “emergence” of Myanmar has the potential to transform the economic and social life of India’s east and Northeast. On the table, but under the cloth, since Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister is the Mekong-Ganga project, a road highway plan intended to connect India with five countries on the banks of the Mekong River — Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, apart from Myanmar.
India has persisted with a diplomatic relationship with the Myanmarese junta, despite India-bred dissident leader Aung San, because of insurgents in the Northeast who are suspected to find safe shelters there. That policy now promises rich-payoffs for India.
For Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Myanmar and Bangladesh are the two key countries for New Delhi’s “Look East” policy to translate from rhetoric to action
Between Manmohan Singh and Mamata Banerjee, over disparate visits between Dhaka, New Delhi and Calcutta, the level of comfort with Bangladesh has increased in spite of the apparent quarrel over the Teesta waters.
Now, from Bali, on a margin in the waters south east of India, is the promise of a hope for India’s perennially disturbed and wide-berthed Northeast. Promises sustain more than hope but hopes outlive promise.

India: more AWACS and BrahMos missiles

NEW DELHI, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- India is in final negotiations for buying two more Israeli-made EL/M-2075 Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Systems, the Times of India reported.

The $800 million contract is in addition to another $1.1 billion deal for three Phalcons signed in 2004 with Israel and Russia, the Times report said. In that deal, Russia supplied the AWACS aircraft -- Ilyushin-76 military transport plane. The three planes were delivered in 2009 and 2010.

The Phalcon is developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Elta Electronics Industries of Israel. Apart from India and Israel, the Phalcon is used by Chile and Singapore.

India also is on schedule for developing its own AWACS, a smaller system than the Phalcon and for use on smaller planes.

The mini-AWACS program is a $400 million project to mount the radars on three Embraer-145 jets bought from Brazil.

Delivery date for the first plane is 2015, according to a Ministry of Defense statement in November 2010. The Ministry also plans another three mini-AWACS, but has not decided on an aircraft.

Dr. Prahlada, Chief Controller of Research and Development at the Defense Research and Development Organization, which is leading the mini-AWACS program, said the systems will be "85 percent indigenous."

The first three mini-AWACS will have a radar range between 150 and 225 miles and stay airborne for up to 5 hours.

Early last year, Boeing was in talks with the Ministry of Defense about using its 737-700 as a platform for the mini-AWACS.

The AWACS will be especially useful for detecting troop movements as well as cruise missiles.

The Time of India also reported that the Indian army has inducted another regiment of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, a precision-strike weapon with a range of around 200 miles.

The missiles likely will be deployed in the state of Arunachal Pradesh state in the northeast along the remote and contested border with China, the report said.

BrahMos missiles will "counter China's huge buildup of military infrastructure all along the 4,057-kilometer (2,500-mile) Line of Actual Control following a similar nod for the western sector facing Pakistan." the Times said.

The BrahMos is a based on Russian technology and is developed by BrahMos Aerospace -- a joint venture company created in 1998. BMA is 50.5 percent Indian-government owned and 49.5 percent by the Russian government. The name BrahMos is derived from two rivers, India's Brahmaputra and Russia's Moskva.

Last year the Indian government announced plans to have a reduced-weight air-launched version of the BrahMos on the air force's Sukhoi SU-30 MK-1 fighter aircraft by 2012.

The two-stage supersonic version, with its solid propellant engine, reaches Mach 3. But a hypersonic version is under development, BrahMos Aerospace said. It will use scram-jet engines, in place of ramjet, and reach Mach 6.

India has hopes for exporting the missiles, but only after all Ministry of Defense orders have been met.

Omar says ample opportunity to allay Army's concerns on AFSPA

Amid raging controversy over the issue of partial withdrawal of AFSPA, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said there was ample opportunity to address the concerns of the armed forces and still go ahead with the proposed plan.

Omar, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, also made it clear that he was not in the "business of playing politics with national security", nor would he do so ever in future.
"I believe that there is ample opportunity to address both the concerns of armed forces while still allowing us to go ahead with the position that we have taken which is keeping with what the Cabinet Committee on Security recommended almost a year ago," he said after a meeting with Chidambaram.
Omar said as part of his efforts to evolve a consensus on the partial withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, he has already met the Prime Minister, and other members of the CCS -- Defence Minister A K Antony, the Home Minister and would meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee later tonight.
"Obviously the effort is to narrow the differences between what we would like to see happening and what the Army is so far as publicly stated as comfortable to let happen," he said.
The Chief Minister dismissed the suggestion that by raking the AFSPA he was trying to deflect other issues facing his government and said he has been raising the AFSPA issue ever since be became the Chief Minister three years ago.

"Please understand. I have been talking about AFSPA and its possible partial roll back almost the day since I became the Chief Minister...I am not in the business of playing politics with national security. I never have been and I never will be," he said.
Asked what assurance he has received from the Prime Minister and the Union Ministers, Omar said it was not proper for him to say anything on their behalf.
"I am not...Its not my place to speak on behalf of raksha mantri or the Prime Minister or the Home Minister. I have made our point of view very clear. They, I think, were very receptive, to what we had to say. As I say, this is an ongoing process, this will continue," he said.
The Chief Minister said he was in the process of meeting all the members of the CCS and his effort was to reach the goal of partial withdrawal of AFSPA.
"I met the raksha mantri yesterday. I met the Prime Minister this morning. I just concluded a meeting with the Home Minister. I am scheduled to meet the Finance Minister later tonight. This will conclude my first round of discussions with the members of CCS.
"These discussions will continue. If necessary, I will meet them again. My effort is to reach the goal of partial withdrawal of AFSPA and simultaneously ally the apprehensions of the armed forces," he said.
Asked about hardline Hurriyat faction's statement that if Disturbed Areas Act, Public Safety Act and AFSPA were lifted then there will be a public uprising in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said the separatists did not want the withdrawal of AFSPA as it would benefit them in two ways.
"If not withdrawn, they will say it has not withdrawn. If withdrawn, they will threaten you (with such statement) and you will get scared by their threat," he said.
The Chief Minister said the state government was talking about withdrawal of AFSPA from the areas where armed forces were not operating now.
"If they (Hurriyat) have the courage, they should do whatever they want to do... They should show me by doing something in Srinagar...Even today the forces are not operating in Srinagar. They can't do anything. They know that if the Act is withdrawn, people will be happy and they will lose ground. They want to threaten you...," Omar said.
The Chief Minister said apart from the issue of the partial withdrawal of the AFSPA, he has discussed with the Home Minister several other issues including overall security environment of the state.
"We reviewed the overall security environment of the state, particularly in light of the fact that offices have moved from Srinagar to Jammu for winter. We also discussed some of the ongoing works visa-a-vis the rehabilitation of migrants etc," he said.

Over 7,500 Pakistanis overstayed in India: RTI

As many as 7,691 Pakistanis and 32,644 Bangladeshis were found to be overstaying in India even after their visas expired, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed.

The information was given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Foreigners Division, in response to an RTI application by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
The foreigners division of MHA has informed that the data is available only till 2009 and the data for last year and this year has not been compiled yet.
"It is not possible to estimate the total number of such foreign nationals, including Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals, who have entered into the country without valid travel documents and are staying in the country since the entry of such foreign nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious," the MHA said in the RTI reply.
According to Dec 31, 2009 statistics of MHA, 7,691 Pakistanis, many of them Hindus and Sikhs, are overstaying in India.

"A number of Pakistani nationals belonging to the minority community in Pakistan, the Hindus and Sikhs, have come to India with a desire to get Indian citizenship. But the central database about Hindus who have come from Pakistan and Bangladesh in anticipation of Indian Citizenship is not maintained," the MHA has said in the RTI reply.
Almost 32,644, Bangladeshi nationals have overstayed in India. Apart from Pakistan and Bangladesh, 33,106 individuals of other nationalities were also found to be overstaying in India.
The RTI data indicate that after Pakistan and Bangladesh, the other nationals belong to Afghanistan (13,569), Sri Lanka (2,490), US (1,535) and Nigeria (1,121).
The ministry has also revealed that during 2009, 12,147 foreign nationals, including five Pakistani nationals and 10,602 Bangladeshi nationals, were deported from the country.

EC plans to use Facebook to educate voters

The Election Commission is planning to take the help of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to impart electoral messages to young voters, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said.

"The Commission is now seriously looking at the social media as the hubs to impart electoral education," Quraishi said delivering the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecture 2011 titled 'Education for Deepening Democracy'.
"Like Maulana Azad, I believe that an educated and aware citizen is the best guarantee for deepening both democracy and development," Quraishi said.
The CEC said he had recently held talks with policy makers of Education and Youth ministries to integrate citizenship and voter education as a part of the curriculum of their various courses.

"We have established the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management ( IIDEM) making voter education a core area of emphasis in it," Quraishi said.
Regretting that many voters in the age group of 18-35 years do not exercise their voting rights for whatever reason, the CEC said the Commission has put voter education and awareness programme on fast track to improve the situation.
In a strategic initiative called YUVA (Youth Unite for Voter Awareness), the Commission has planned to rope in the new and young voters, he said.

Hazare made demi-god by Team Anna members: blogger

Seeking to put Team Anna members on the backfoot, the Gandhian's former blogger Raju Parulekar has accused a 'gang of four' in Anna Hazare's core team of using the activist as a demi-god to further their interests and hold government to 'ransom'.

Parulekar, who fell out with Hazare after the latter publicly snubbed him on the issue of restructuring of Core Committee, alleged that Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and Manish Sisodia had 'free reigns' and had free run in media by becoming 'experts' on various subjects which gave them also the 'stature of being virtuous and demi-gods'.

He sought answers from Hazare as to who 'pressurised' him not to show the door to Bhushan from the Core team for his controversial comments on plebiscite in Kashmir, saying who will understand the legal loopholes in the bill and whether he was aware of the financial transactions of Kejriwal and Sisodia and their 'ambitions'.

He also questioned the entire Jan Lokpal bill movement in his blog posting late last night to put his side of the story claiming that he had not manipulated Hazare's blog postings. He said the 'disillusioned' countrymen have misled to believe that this self-centered movement will 'create heaven for them' and a stricter Janlokpal Bill (law) can abolish more than 50 per cent of corruption from their life.

"...truth lies somewhere else," he said, adding "this bunch of 20-plus people and 'gang of four' among them take the country for a ride and hold the government for ransom...are we going to place our country in the hands of these four-five people and their salaried gang members? ". "How difficult will it be for the agitation to sustain and pull ahead alone on Anna Hazare’s moral strength? Which direction it is heading to? Are any of us Indians familiar with the other members of Team Anna except for Bhushan father-son-duo, Bedi, Sisodia and Kejriwal? Who has selected these 21 people to represent the 120 crore people in India?" he asked.

The only difference between parties and Team Anna was the moral authority wielded by Hazare because of which 20-plus people including ‘Gang of four’ enjoy privilege of being called ‘patriots’ and whole political class bow at their feet with "sheer guilt of their absolute corruption..." Parulekar, who also released a letter he wrote but did not sent to Hazare, said there is no movement on the ground to bring systemic change and the present fight for Jan Lokpal Bill if enacted will mean "another opportunity for corruption".

On the controversial letter by Hazare on restructuring Team Anna which was made public by him, Parulekar said Hazare has cast aspersions on his honesty and integrity but he felt that it was not the Gandhian's words but those of somebody else, "dangerous, wicked, self-centered and in real-sense enemy of the people of country called India."

He claimed that the October 30 meeting in Ralegan Siddhi was stormy and Hazare contradicted Kejriwal and others. "I have shown Annaji's handwritten and signed letter for re-structuring ‘Team Anna’ to the trio. They were shaken but remained arrogant. Kejriwal said, ‘we ‘Team Anna’ have decided in Kosambi that the ‘team’ will remain so hence the letter is insignificant.’ He went on to claim that to re-structure ‘Team Anna’ will harm Janlokpal issue. Annaji wrote on a piece of paper, ‘how come re-structuring and Janlokpal bill issue is contradictory?’ Annaji’s reaction was all the more explosive," he said.

Parulekar claimed that Bhushan mocked at Hazare asking what he knew about Chinese history as he spoke about a 'gang of four' in government targeting Team Anna. Parulekar also alleged that Kumar Vishwas' letter seeking disbanding of the team was "orchestrated" by Kejriwal and others.

"The moment I announced to the media your plans of bringing about changes in ‘Team Anna’ at the earliest, Kumar Vishwas suddenly appeared from Gaziabad and started reading and explaining the letter that was meant to be a ‘secret’," he said. He also questioned why the donations for Hazare agitation was deposited in the trust held jointly by Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia and why it was were not deposited in Ralegansiddhi's trust account.

"Swami Ramdev, Shri Shri, Medha Patkar, Rajendra Singhji and even Hegde sahib distanced themselves from the movement. Though they do not publicly disown the movement they are hurt within which is absolutely visible," he claimed.

Kingfisher urgently needs $400 million to survive: Expert

Tycoon Vijay Mallya's cash-strapped and bleeding private carrier Kingfisher Airlines urgently requires about $400 million (Rs.2,000 crore) to survive and keep flying, an aviation expert said late Friday.

"If Kingfisher has to survive, it urgently requires capital infusion of $400 million, including $200 million immediately to maintain its daily operations," Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) chief executive Kapil Kaul told IANS.
Noting that the financial health of Kingfisher was critical, Kaul said the country's leading private airline had to operate a manageable fleet from cash flow perspective and rationalise its routes to match with demand.
"The airline has no choice but exit from loss-making routes and operate a fleet that is manageable from a cash flow point of view," Kaul said from New Delhi.
The two-decade-old CAPA provides independent aviation market intelligence, analysis and data services.
Expressing concern over the sudden turn of events for the debt-ridden airline, Kaul said Kingfisher had to find ways and means to reduce non-bank dues at least by Rs.2,000 crore to overcome the financial crisis it was facing.

"According to our estimates, Kingfisher will require about $800 million (Rs.4,000 crore) to fully fund its business plan over next two years. Funds can be raised through rights issue (as planned), GDR (global depository receipts), QIPs (qualified institutional placement) or converting finance leases into sale lease back and leverage future aircraft orders," Kaul said in an e-mail.
Advocating substantial contribution and commitment by the promoter group (United Breweries Holdings & Kingfisher Finvest India), the aviation expert said the airline had to bring in serious management to initiate a genuine recover plan.
"The key issue is to ensure sustainable viability. We have a largely loss-making aviation industry due to the very fragile financial status of the domestic airline industry in which Kingfisher is no exception," Kaul pointed out.
The Indian private carriers reported a combined cumulative loss of $6 billion (Rs.30,000 crore) till March 2011.
"The domestic carriers are projected to report a combined loss of $2.5 billion (Rs.1,250 crore) by end of this fiscal (2011-12), with the state-run Air India alone accounting for $1.75-2 billion) and other airlines to the tune of $600-700 million," Kaul noted.
Making the Gurgaon-based private carrier IndiGo exception to losses as it is expected to be profitable this fiscal (FY 2012) too, Kaul said the low-cost airline continued to deliver a robust performance in extremely challenging circumstances.

Referring to the restructured debt of Kingfisher (Rs.6,007 crore/$1.2 billion), the analyst said the cumulative debt burden of the three big Indian carriers, including Air India (AI) and Jet Airways was a whopping $16 billion (Rs.80,000 crore).
"Indian banks have an exposure of $6 billion (Rs.30,000 crore) related to working capital and term loans. They will have an additional exposure ($2 billion) on the aircraft related financing," Kaul observed.
As of date, Indian carriers, including Air India will immediately require $2.5 billion to fund their operations and stay afloat.
"The operating environment is very challenging. Fuel costs are high, rupee has depreciated by over 10 percent and AI continues to work with loss leadership pricing. I expect this to continue in the near-term," Kaul asserted.
Though the domestic aviation sector will grow 17-18 percent this fiscal, most of the growth will come from cost minus pricing by the airlines.
"We have a serious issue on hand and that is to address the viability of these carriers. Unfortunately, there is no direction in this regard. Government response to the financial crisis continues to be ad hoc and weak. We don't have strategic aviation thinking at present," Kaul added.

Kerala tops child rights index

Aarti Dhar

Resource person P.S. Sreekala training students at P.S. Nataraja Pillai Memorial UPS as part of the Holistic Child Health Programme of Kudumbasree here in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: S. Mahinsha
As in most social sector indicators, Kerala tops the national child rights index, followed by Karnataka. Arunachal Pradesh is the worst performer in protecting the rights of children.
Strangely, Kerala's child marriage indicator is the lowest, and the State's performance is far from satisfactory in early childhood care and crimes against children.
One point that stands out in the indexing — the first of its kind in the country — is that economic growth does not necessarily improve the wellbeing of children. Jharkhand is the only State whose economic status matches its child rights rank — both standing at 17.

Lack of attention

Kerala, which ranks first in the national child rights, stands ninth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) status, whereas Maharashtra, which ranks first in the GDP, is standing third in child rights. Maharashtra does badly in sex ratio and child marriage, which points to the lack of attention to children. Arunachal Pradesh has performed fairly well in sex ratio, child marriage and early childhood care.
This composite index, brought out by the HAQ-Centre for Child Rights, looks into all aspects of child wellbeing in all sectors and indicators for realisation of child rights as a whole.
With the second highest GDP in the country, Uttar Pradesh ranks 18th in child rights and 27th in the provision of health care, next only to Jharkhand. Surprising facts the indexing has thrown up are that Mizoram is doing badly in controlling child labour, while crimes against children are the highest in Nagaland (in proportion to the number of children), and Manipur is the worst performer in crimes by children and Bihar is the best.
“It [the index] was timed to coincide with the 12th Five Year Planning process, and we hope it will help to identify the States that still lag behind, and highlight the specific areas — geographical and sectoral — that pull them down, so that they can be paid attention to,” said Enakshi Ganguly Thukral of HAQ.

Regional pattern

The ranking has a regional pattern: four of the five best performing States — Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh — are from the southern region. Maharashtra alone is from the west. On the other hand, all the worst performing States are in the Northeast: Sikkim, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, of the five States falling in the not-so-well performing States category, Tripura, Assam and Mizoram are from the Northeast. They are performing badly in almost indicators.
A significant proportion of the population of the worst performing States, which are performing badly in education, are tribals: Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are tribal-dominated, with indigenous groups constituting 26.3 per cent and 64.2 per cent of the population. This is also true of health, wherein the five worst performing State are Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. All among them are essentially tribal States, except Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra, though ranking third in child rights, has not been able to address the falling sex ratio and child marriage. In fact, all the five best performing States are not doing well in early childhood care and preventing child marriage.
Kerala and Goa, the two best performing States in health, are performing poorly in the provision of health infrastructure. Himachal Pradesh, one of the five best States in health care, ranks among the last five in HIV/AIDS intervention.

Anna's future may be less rosy than his past

It is possible that the Congress will finally succeed in outflanking Anna Hazare. It isn't only the decision to introduce the Lokpal bill which is likely to take the wind out of the latter's sails, another piece of legislation to tackle corruption at the lower level will send the message that the government is at last serious about purposeful legal measures and not insipid ones, as was the earlier perception.

True, the Lokpal bill is unlikely to be passed during the winter session, as the civil activists want. The government may even engage in a bit of filibustering to ensure that the debate stretches into 2012. There are enough critics of the measure outside the government, like the Congress' old friend Lalu Prasad, who can help prolong the discussion on the grounds of a closer look.
Even then, once the consideration of the bill is taken up by parliament, it will be extremely difficult for activists to rev up their campaign. Certainly, there can be no question in this context of a third fast, as promised by Anna. The movement can continue, of course. Even suspicions can be voiced about the dilatory parliamentary tactics. But anything smacking of pressure tactics will be counter-productive. What this means is that the Anna camp has lost its trump card that compelled the government to accept its terms, namely, its version of the bill, by exerting relentless pressure.
Till now, the group has been fairly successful - in fact, more successful than any such movement in the past, including Jayaprakash Narayan's. The latter's pro-democracy movement was actually a failure considering that JP himself was jailed along with scores of other top-ranking leaders and the period from June 1975, to March 1977 was largely uneventful. It was only Indira Gandhi's erroneous reading of the prevailing calm which made her call for elections with disastrous results for the Congress.
Anna's success, on the other hand, was based, first, on the deep disquiet among the aam admi about the prevailing corruption and, secondly, on the Congress' initial mishandling of protests, mainly because it seemed to have no idea about how the many scams have undermined its position. But now the wheel has apparently started turning the other way.
Anna's problem is that he wants to operate outside the system because he regards it as corrupt to the core. However, in trying to place himself above it - above parliament, in the words of an acolyte - he has been acting in accordance with a certain traditional viewpoint which maintains that the present Westminster system is essentially alien to the Indian ethos. What the adherents of this belief hark back to is a glorious Indian past, where the kings were subservient to the sages.
Hazare apparently fancies himself in that role, which is above and beyond the existing system, not least because it reflects Mahatma Gandhi's lifestyle and JP's concept of a partyless democracy. Although his austere image has helped him carry conviction, some of his followers have proved to be his Achilles' heel. Hence his decision to frame a "constitution" for his group. But it is a dicey path since it carries the whiff of politics, which the Gandhian claims to shun.
Already some of his followers have dropped out because of the movement's political role during the Hisar parliamentary by-election in which Anna's men campaigned against the Congress. Now the constitution may be another contentious issue. For instance, how will Anna's position be defined? Will he be above the movement as well - someone whose word will be law? It has been said that the constitution will have an ethical content in the wake of the allegations about income-tax evasion, the parking of campaign funds, the fudging of travel expenses, a pro-separatist stand in Kashmir, etc., which have been levelled against some of Anna's followers. But who will be the judge and jury and what will be the punishment?
Evidently, when Anna launched his anti-corruption battle, he did not anticipate that it would become such a big affair, capturing the imagination of the people who were looking for a hero in a dispiriting time and attracting activists from various walks of life. It was all very well when the government was on the retreat. But now the difficulty of sustaining the two basic ingredients of the movement - hype and a lily-white image - have come to the fore.
The government, on its part, can carry on much as before since the focus will be on parliament rather than on it. But Anna will have to ensure that the movement does not flag, that the bill does not go off track and that no other allegations of dubious transactions are made against his followers. Clearly, Anna's future will be less rosy than his past.

No purpose of Press Council, scrap it!

The new Press Council Chairman, Justice Markandey Katju was probably unaware of the work done by the National Broadcasting Association in promoting self-regulation in the electronic media when he demanded the extension of the Press Council's powers to cover TV channels in the country.

More than 45 TV channels are covered by the body which is headed by one of the more distinguished former chief justices of India, J S Verma. In the short space of two years, it framed its guidelines, considered nearly 200 complaints and passed orders against nine broadcasters, even fining some of them. A parallel body headed by retired Justice A P Shah deals with the entertainment channels.

Justice Katju's ignorance stems from his agenda which is nothing short of bossing over the TV news channels, directing their programming towards allegedly socially and educationally relevant streams, ensuring that the anchors ask the right questions, and going down to the fine detail of ensuring that guests in talk shows do not interrupt each other. He has, of course, made no bones about the fact that his method will not be pedagogical, but one based on the fear of the stick, which he generously says will be used only in "extreme" situations.

In contrast to Justice Katju who is a government functionary, Justice Verma and the NBA work pro bono. Considering that it does little to either foster press freedom or aid the media to enhance its quality, scrapping the Press Council of India would be a good idea, and it would save some public money.

More so, since its chairman seems determined to play the stalking horse for the government which claims that it wants to merely "regulate" the media, while in reality its aim is to restrict it.

Don't cite Metallica to malign Delhi

My friend and I had reached Saket when we got a call from the venue saying that the Metallica gig had been cancelled. We had only just asked the taxi to turn back, when my mother phoned from Allahabad giving us the same information. By the time we got home, we realised that the cancellation had become national news and was all over the TV channels. Minutes later, the Internet was abuzz with comments about the gig that never was.
There was a curious slant to the debate. Those from Bombay and Bangalore launched into an attack on Delhi. This, it seemed, was not about a band and a cancelled concert. This moronic inferno was about Delhi versus the Rest of India. People from other cities rubbed their hands gleefully. What did you expect from Delhi? - that crude, horrible, power-hungry and anarchic city.
Comparison
There is something curious about this. It's the West that has often spoken in superior tones about India's inefficiency and ineptitude. In the aftermath of the gig fiasco, people from Bombay and Bangalore seemed to take on this superior attitude. They behaved as if they come from ultra-civilised societies where everything works like clockwork. We know what the reality is. We know that they come from crowded, dying cities that are riddled with ethnic and regional concerns, and where morality is regulated by the state. They come from cities that have seen terrible riots, where dancing is banned at live gigs, where parochial concerns-whether it be Telangana or the Marathi manoos-dominate.
Delhi, in many ways, is a young new city. It doesn't suffer from any of these bugbears. A couple of days after the Metallica cancellation, it became clear that the organisers of the event were responsible for the chaos, that angry people went berserk only after the event was cancelled. It could have happened anywhere. When a hundred thousand people peacefully watched the Formula One race on the same weekend, the Internet trolls were silent.
Young Delhi, on the other hand, is mature about what happens in other cities. Weeks ago, a group of friends went out for dinner in Andheri West in Bombay. They were heckled by drunken men. When two members of the group protested the harassment they were killed. Delhi didn't rub its hands in glee. We didn't say, oh god, Bombay, awful city, why can't it sort things out? We commiserated. Every time Bombay gets flooded, we don't clap our hands and stomp our feet.
There are a couple of things that are happening here. People from other cities do not realise how far ahead Delhi has moved. There is ignorance. The gap between Delhi and the Rest of India has widened in the last decade. There is jealousy too. Those who have experienced this change, realise that this is the only big city in the country that allows one the space to breathe, while also guaranteeing anonymity. Things happen here, culturally there are more events taking place in Delhi than in any other city, and traffic moves here, even during rush hour. There is also a diversity of professions.
The issues that the young grapple with here in Delhi are different in nature from other cities. We are not bothered about morality, religion, what's in our culture and what's not, all this old-fashioned stuff. The young here are dealing with new issues, more modern issues, like the influx of foreigners and how they fit into our lives. For the rest of this piece, I'll concentrate on the new immigration, for I believe it illustrates that the young in Delhi have more pragmatic concerns.
Delhi has attracted more foreigners in the last ten years than ever before. Many of them are part and parcel of the life of the city; they settle here because they find it more habitable than creaking Bombay or sleepy Chennai. This new expat does not work in an embassy or a multinational, and is certainly not a hippie. She works instead in publishing, plays in local bands, edits magazines.
Expats
Gavin Morris, a Londoner, visited India almost ten times over a period of five years. Having lived in London and New York, he wanted to move to a big city but not to one in the West. New Delhi, India, was a natural choice. It helped that he could find work here. Delhi is host to several international publishing majors; Gavin designs book covers for many of them. He likes Delhi because it is constantly changing. "The Metro is amazing, and there are tons of restaurants now. I remember the choice being pretty limited earlier on. The city has really transformed itself."
Stefan Kaye is a musician and event organiser. He's the man behind The Medicine Show, a successful variety show that blends Broadway musical, farce and cabaret. Arundhati Roy is a very vocal fan of his band The Ska Vengers, regulars on the Delhi music scene. Before turning up in Delhi, he spent time in Barcelona and Brighton. Stefan has singlehandedly rejuvenated the live music scene in Delhi, proving the point that the new expats are contributing in a big way to the cultural life of our cities. Just as Indians went to the UK to realise their dreams, now people from other parts of the world are coming here, and to Delhi in particular, to realise theirs.
Expats, once they become part of the local fabric, also become important agents of change, trying to jolt the natives out of their somnolence. The Medicine Show's Bangalore edition had two men in rabbit costumes gyrating to Louis Armstrong's "We've Got All the Time in the World", followed by an act by Adam Pasha, Bangalore's very own drag queen. Manola Gayatri, a performance artist danced naked, while Stefan's band performed.
Hurdles
She was spray-painted from head to toe; the nudity was cleverly camouflaged. She flashed torchlight on a gasping audience. When the show was over, a middleaged woman came up to her and said, "I would never have dared to go to the beach in my swimsuit. Seeing you I feel better about my nakedness." Stefan says, "My show has adult themes but no sexism or racism. I want to show that women can be sexy but not for the gratification of men. In my own way, I'm trying to redress the prudery that came to India via us Brits."
It's not all smooth sailing though, being an expat among natives. Stefan has encountered his share of aggression in Delhi. He's been asked to go back to the UK or "whichever shit hole country he comes from." A music magazine printed an anonymous letter that asked fellow Indians to "kick his teeth in." Some local musicians, jealous of his success, have insinuated that he finds it easier to get gigs because he is white. He's had people barging into a recording studio and telling him he can't write songs about Binayak Sen and Narendra Modi simply because he is "not from around here."
Stefan though is planning to stick it out. He loves Delhi. He says he is not going to behave like a guest all the time. "I will not keep silent just because I am a foreigner. If I see injustice around me I will react. As a primate I think it's my duty to do so."
A vibrant young multi-ethnic Delhi is showing other cities the way. We are working out a new template for the future. We are still in the process. The cancelled Metallica show was just an aberration. And it was certainly not our fault.

Irom supporters observe token fast

Imphal, Nov 6 (PTI) Hundreds of supporters of Manipur's 'Iron Lady' Irom Sharmila, whose indefinite hunger-strike for repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act entered 11th year today, went on a fastd here and across the country. "Hundreds of people from all walks of life came here to support our cause, observe a token fast and help Sharmila in her fight," Just Peace Foundation's Onil Kshetrimayum told PTI as protesters fasted from 10:00 am till 4:00 pm at 25 venues here and the districts of Manipur. The 39-year-old civil rights activist's elder brother Irom Singhajit led the mass fast here. Students body All Manipur Students Union and civil society groups like Sharmila Kanba Lup, Meira Paibi, senior citizen groups, Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network and those affected by alleged atrocities of the army joined the hunger strike. Leaders from Manipur Peoples Party (MPP) also lent support. The Ima Market in the heart of the town and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, where Sharmila is forcibly nose-fed, were among the venues of the mass fast. The 'Save Democracy Repeal AFSPA' group observed fast in other parts of the country also, said civil rights activist Seram Rojesh Kumar. In Delhi, a day-long fast was held as also a discussion. Street theatre on democracy and AFSPA, music and poetry recitals by amateur social-artists were held along with 'Tales from the Margin', a touching documentary by Kavita Joshi on the issue, was also screened. Cities like Bangalore, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Pune and Patna also joined in to express solidarity with Sharmila.

Indian police halt Tibetan's self-immolation bid

The protester poured fuel on his body and lit himself before police overpowered him (AFP, Roberto Schmidt)

NEW DELHI — A Tibetan exile set himself on fire outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi on Friday before Indian police intervened, witnesses said, in the latest self-immolation protest against China.
The young protester poured liquid fuel on his body and lit himself before police overpowered him and put out the flames, which licked up his trousers and across his waist, an AFP photographer at the scene reported.
The man, who was on his own, had stepped off a public bus and shouted slogans during his protest before several policemen grabbed him and he fell to the ground.
He appeared to have suffered minor burns on his legs and was taken away in a police vehicle. A New Delhi police spokesman was unable to provide further details.
Since March there has been a series of self-immolations by Buddhist monks and nuns in southwest China in protests demanding religious freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.
At least five monks and two nuns have died, rights groups have said, with the most recent death being reported on Thursday when a nun, named Qiu Xiang and aged about 35, set fire to herself in China's Sichuan province.
Tibetan groups in Delhi said the activist in Friday's protest was a 25-year-old named Sherab Tsedor.

India objects to Chinese company's map, Beijing promises rectification

A Chinese company Thursday signed a pact for investing $400 million in Gujarat, but a row erupted when China's ambassador Zhang Yan asked an Indian journalist to "shut up" when he questioned the company's map showing Arunachal Pradesh as a part of China.

India was prompt to take up the issue, with the Chinese envoy assuring that the mistake will be rectified. TBEA, a Chinese power company, inked a memorandum of understanding for investing around $400 million in two-stages for manufacturing transformers in Gujarat.
The company is part of the business delegation Nur Bekri, governor of the Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, has brought to India to explore two-way investment opportunities. The brochure of the Chinese company, which was circulated at a business function, showed a map of India on its front page that depicted Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Chinese territory and parts of Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, evoking consternation among journalists.

When Chinese ambassador to India Zhang Yan was asked for his reaction, the envoy first said it's "a technical issue." However, when he continued to be pressed, he lost his cool and said "shut up," triggering much outrage among the media there. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory. The issue is part of boundary talks between India and China.
India and China have held 14 round of boundary talks to resolve their decades old territorial dispute, but not much headway has been made. The next round will be held in New Delhi November-end. Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary in charge of China in the external affairs ministry, promptly took up the issue with the Chinese ambassador and conveyed his objections.

The envoy admitted that it was a mistake and he will have it rectified soon, reliable sources told IANS. The envoy also said that it was a private company and should not be seen as a reflection of the Chinese position. Zhang, on his part, admitted that Bambawale brought up the issue, but declined to say anything more than that it was a technical issue. "This is a technical issue. We handle these issues. Your joint secretary has mentioned and I have said that we will look into this."
"I have talked to our people. So what can I do for you," the Chinese diplomat told the journalist. Zhang added that "shut up is not something that changes the nature of these things because we are handling this in a friendly way".

Bekri, who began his four-day visit to India Thursday, has been invited by the Indian government under the India-China Distinguished Visitors' Programme. Speaking at a business meet organized by the CII, Bekri invited Indian companies to scale up two-way trade and investment.
He met Vice President Hamid Ansari and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. Bekri will go to Agra Friday and to Mumbai Saturday, where he is expected to seek business and tourism linkages between his province and India. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited China in June. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is expected to go to China later this month to attract Chinese investment in his state.

$1 million jackpot: Should Sushil Kumar rejoice or worry?

P V Subramanyam



Sushil Kumar from Bihar just won the Rs 5 crores jackpot (Rs. 50 Million) on the fifth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. (For those who do not know KBC, this is the Indian version of Who wants to be a Millionaire)
Sushil Kumar will not receive the entire Rs. 5 crores, the tax department will eat up about one third of his jackpot leaving him with about Rs. 3.5 crores; that's still a sizeable amount.
Let us see how it can help Mr. Sushil Kumar - a post graduate in philosophy and an IAS aspirant - in his life. He is currently a school teacher earning a meager Rs. 6000 per month.
In an interview Sushil Kumar revealed that he has some obligations that need to met first before he invests the rest of his money

• An elder brother who wants to set up his own business
• A younger brother wanting to quit his 'piddly' Rs. 1500 per month job and also wants to start a new business.
• His parents will want a nice big house - befitting the 'crorepati' son's status
• Sushil Kumar himself plans to quit his job in order to concentrate on his IAS exam.

Sadly, along with a big amount of money God does not gift one with 'financial wisdom' - not even the wisdom of knowing that he needs unbiased financial advice. I can see a tomorrow and, therefore, find it difficult to rejoice in his success.
Why you ask? Here's why
Even in his small village there will be a lot of people chasing him — "investment consultants" There will be greedy hands pulling from all sides:
Namely, LIC agents, mutual fund agents, bank managers, other life insurance companies, pension providers, brokerage houses and bankers.
It would be really interesting to track his life over the next 10 years on a year to year basis to see how much this money is scaring him, helping him, torturing him and helping him to meet his goals.
The author P V Subramanyam is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a financial trainer by profession. Writing being a passion he also regularly pens his thought in his blog Subramoney.com

I-T Dept sends notices to persons involved in black money cases

New Delhi: The Income Tax Department has started sending notices to persons involved in black money cases on the basis of information received from abroad, even as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said their names would be disclosed after initiation of prosecution proceedings.
The notices are being sent by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to individuals and entities across countries following scrutiny of classified banking data received from foreign countries about Swiss Bank accounts.
"As and when the information (is received), investigation starts, prosecution takes place (and) matter comes to the court. Then, as per the existing treaty terms, we can reveal the names in cases of prosecution by the Income Tax Department," Mukherjee told reporters here when asked whether the government has received information about industrialists and MPs in connection with black money.
The minister had earlier said the government has received information from France about the overseas bank accounts of Indians. "In 69 cases, the taxpayers have admitted to unaccounted income of Rs 397.17 crore. Taxes of Rs 30.07 crore have also been paid," he had said.
India, according to the Finance Ministry, has so far received over 9,900 pieces of information from several countries regarding suspicious transactions by Indian citizens, which are now under different stages of processing and investigation.
The Department of Criminal Investigation will initiate legal proceedings in several cases in the next few months, sources said, adding that the cases would be dealt with under criminal provisions of the IT Act.
In a number of cases being probed by the DCI, the department plans to conducts searches and surveys for obtaining additional information.