The Indian Panorama

Year: 2014

  • Recognizing Taliban govt in

    Recognizing Taliban govt in

    Afghanistan was blunder: Musharraf

    KARACHI (TIP): Former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf on December 4 admitted that recognizing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was a “blunder” on part of Pakistan, but he blamed the West and the US for the birth of al-Qaida. Speaking to the Youth Parliament here, Musharraf pointed out that Pakistan was the only country that recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 as Saudi Arabia and the UAE later also backed out. The 71-year-old leader admitted that recognising the Taliban regime was a blunder on Pakistan’s part.

    The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 changed the political climate worldwide and “three blunders” were created by the US who left the region after withdrawal of Soviets, said Musharraf, who ruled over Pakistan from 1999 to 2008. The “first blunder was not to rehabilitation the 25,000 Afghan Mujahideen who fought in the war against USSR and they then came to Pakistan which led to the formation of al-Qaida,” he said. “The second blunder was the West’s refusal to recognize Taliban.” He said Pakistan was looked at negatively by the world because of recognizing the Taliban regime and conceded that in 2000 the then US President Bill Clinton came to Pakistan to reprimand the government for recognizing the Taliban.

    Moving on to the third blunder, the former president said the invasion of US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan pushed militants to mountainous areas. “A vacuum was created in Afghanistan which had to be overcome by changing military victory into a political victory,” he said, explaining an ethnically balanced government representing Pakhtuns was needed. “But because this did not happen, the Taliban started reviving in 2003.” Musharraf said the Taliban was selfcreated because of the environment that existed in Afghanistan at that time. “Some say Taliban are our children and we created them … but it’s not true,” the former president said. “During this tumultuous period, frankly, not one civilian government performed socio-economically for Pakistan.

    Not one. Other than the military government,” he claimed. Taking a jab at the current government, he said, “The economy is nose-diving and terrorism is prevalent in all provinces.” Musharraf also said tensions between Pakistan and India will always exist until the Kashmir issue is not resolved. “Political parties do not take better decisions in the greater interest of the nation and democratic governments have never performed well in Pakistan,” he claimed. “Progress was only made during Ayub Khan’s regime besides mine,” he said, adding that the Army must have a constitutional role in .

  • India ban hits Nepal’s mass animal sacrifice

    India ban hits Nepal’s mass animal sacrifice

    KATHMANDU (TIP): Hindu devotees slaughtered an estimated 200,000 animals during a recent festival in Nepal, organizers said on December 2, attributing a sharp fall in numbers to Indian export restrictions. Some 2.5 million worshippers from India and Nepal sacrificed buffaloes, goats and pigeons to the Hindu goddess of power, Gadhimai, on Friday and Saturday, in a ritual held every five years, despite mounting pressure from activists. In 2009 an estimated 300,000 animals had their heads chopped off or throats slit at the Gadhimai festival, held in the remote village of Bariyapur near the Nepal-India border.

    This year, however, a ban on Gadhimai-related animal exports by the Indian Supreme Court provoked police to patrol the border and stop worshippers from taking buffalo and goats across to the temple. “Many devotees were unable to cross the border with animals for sacrifice because of the Indian court order,” said Moti Lal Kasuhawa, secretary of the festival organizing committee. “As a result, we saw a considerable decrease in the number of sacrifices this year,” Kasuhawa told AFP. Animal rights activists applauded the court decision and told AFP they would press on with efforts to ban the slaughter in Nepal. According to legend, the first sacrifices in Bariyapur were conducted several centuries ago when Gadhimai appeared to a prisoner in a dream and asked him to establish a temple to her.

    When he awoke, his shackles had fallen open and he was able to leave the prison and build the temple, where he sacrificed animals to give thanks. The campaign to ban the festival has attracted support from celebrities including British actress Joanna Lumley and French movie legend Brigitte Bardot, who has petitioned Nepal’s president to end the “cruel tradition”.

  • One dead, eight injured in Pakistan blast: Officials

    One dead, eight injured in Pakistan blast: Officials

    QUETTA, PAKISTAN (TIP): A bomb in restive southwest Pakistan on December 4 killed at least one person and wounded eight others, including two schoolchildren, officials said. The blast on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, came during the morning rush hour. “A man riding a bicycle was killed in the explosion on the Sirki road, as eight others including two schoolchildren aged 10-12 years, were injured in the incident,” Akbar Hussain Durrani, the home secretary of the province, told AFP. “The school van these children were boarding also damaged.” Durrani said that the target of the bomb, which was planted in a car, was not immediately clear but security forces patrol in the area. No security official was hurt in the explosion. Another senior police official, Aitezaz Goraya, also confirmed the blast and toll.

    Nobody immediately claimed responsibility, but Baluch separatist rebels active in the area have recently intensified attacks against security forces, ethnic minorities and outsiders. Baluchistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed and most sparsely populated province, is also racked by Islamist militants, banditry and sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites. In October the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that more than 300,000 people, including minority Shiites and Hindus, had left Baluchistan over the past 10 years due to rising unrest.

  • Suicide attack at Afghan funeral kills nine: Police

    Suicide attack at Afghan funeral kills nine: Police

    KUNDUZ (AFGHANISTAN) (TIP): A suicide attack at a funeral in northern Afghanistan killed at least nine people on December 2, officials said, underlining nationwide insecurity as Nato troops end their 13-year war this month. The blast followed a series of attacks in the capital Kabul which have heightened concerns that Afghanistan could tip into a spiral of violence as the US-led military presence declines.

    The embattled Kabul police chief who tendered his resignation on Sunday will stay on in the role, a spokesman said, as Afghanistan struggles to respond to rising militant unrest. Nato’s force in Afghanistan will change on December 31 from a combat mission to a support role, with troop numbers cut to about 12,500 — down from a peak of 130,000 in 2010. “A suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives among people who were attending a funeral ceremony in Burka district this morning,” Aminullah Amarkhil, police chief of Baghlan province, told AFP. “Initial reports show nine people, including two police, were killed and around 18 wounded.” Amarkhil said the funeral was for a tribal elder in Baghlan, a province on the main road from Kabul to Mazar-e-Sharif that has suffered worsening security in recent years.

    Taj Mohammad Taqwa, the district chief of Burka, confirmed the death toll to AFP. “The target was probably a number of high-ranking police officials and provincial council members who were attending the ceremony,” he said. “They are unharmed.” There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A Taliban attack on Saturday in Kabul killed a South African father running an education charity and his two teenage children.

  • Aligarh Alumni Association of Washington DC organizes 40th Anniversary Mushaira

    Aligarh Alumni Association of Washington DC organizes 40th Anniversary Mushaira

    Dr. Syed Amir and Dr. Zafar Iqbal

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The tradition of Mushairas, organized by the Aligarh Alumni Association of Washington DC (AAA), was started in 1975 initially with local poets from North America. The first international mushaira was held in 1982 with participation of poets from India and Pakistan. It has now evolved into annual literary festivals eagerly awaited by members of South Asian community of Metropolitan Washington area. During the last 40 years, well-known poets from the Subcontinent and Europe have participated in AAA mushairas.

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    Singing Tarana

    They include: Ahmad Faraz, Akhtar Shumar, Ali Sardar Jafri, Amjad Islam Amjad, Anwar Masood, Ashok Narain, Azhar Inayeti, Bano Arshad, Basheer Badar, Dilawar Figaar, Fahmida Riyaz, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Gulzar Dehelvi, Habib Hashmi, Habib Jaalib, Hasan Kamaal, Himayat Ali Shaer, Ifthikhar Arif, Inamulhuq Javaid, Jameeluddin Aali, Javaid Akhtar, Jazib Qureishi, Kaifi Azmi, Kaleem Ajiz, Khamkhwah Hyderabadi, Khumar Barabankwi, Khushbeir Singh Shaad, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Makhmoor Saeedi, Malikzada Manzoor Ahmad, Meraj Faizabadi, Mohsin Ehsan, Nawaz Deobandi, Nazeer Baqri, Nida Fazli, Nikhat Iftikar, Parveen Shakir, Peerzada Qasim, Rahat Indori, Rahi Masson Raza, Rasheeda Ayan, Rehana Roohi, Sadaf Mirza, Sadaf Mirza, Saghar Khayyami, Saleem Kausar, Shaher Yaar, Shanul Haque Haqqi, Shiv Kumar Nizam, Tahir Faraz, Tariq Sabzwari,Wali Aasi,Waseem Bareilvi,Wasi Shah, Zafar Gorakhpuri, Zahid Fakhri, Zahida Zaidi, and Zubair Rizvi.


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    Prof. Gopichand Narang speaks


    In order to provide more time to poets coming from abraod, the number of poets invited from North America is kept small. A few of them who have participated in AAA mushairas are: A. Abdullah, AbdurRahman Siddiqui, Abidullah Ghazi, Ali Meenai, Ashfaq Hussain, Aziz Qureshi, Baqar Zaidi, Haneef Akhgar, Humaira Rahman, Ishrat Afrin, Khalid Irfan, Mona Shahab, MuniburRahman, Naseem Syed, Nasreen Syed, Nayyar Jahan, Raees Warsi, Razi Raziuddin, Sabiha Saba, Salman Akhtar, Salman Farooqui, Satyapal Anand, Shahida Kazmi, Shahla Naqvi, Shoeb Kidwai, and Zakia Ghazal. This year’s Mushaira held on September 27, 2014, at the Universities of Shady Grove was a landmark event as it celebrated the AAA’s founding four decades earlier. Dr. Abdullah, a senior Aligarian and a prominent literary figure in the area, coordinated the event. He and a team of dedicated volunteers invested many hours and much effort in organizing the event, inviting the poets, facilitating their travel and lodging arrangements.

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    Volunteers who managed the show

    The Association was fortunate in that several popular and renowned poets from Indian and Pakistan, besides some well-known poets from North America, agreed to participate in this 40th year celebration of mushaira tradition in Washington. Guest poets who travelled from overseas to participate in this year’s mushaira were: Imdad Hussaini, Naseer Turabi, and Noreen Talat Arooba from Pakistan. Iqbal Ashhar, Manzar Bhopali, Popular Meruthi, and Rashmi Sanan came from India. Host poets were Aziz Qureshi, Razi Raziuddin, Sabiha Saba, and Shahzaad Rizvi. Mr. Javed Akhtar had accepted the invitation, and his participation was eagerly awaited. Unfortunately, he had to undergo major surgery and was not permitted to continue his travel by his doctors in London.

    Professor Gopichand Narang, the venerable and illustrious Urdu writer, scholar and literary critique presided over the Mushaira. The proceedings opened by a recitation of the Aligarh Tarana by a group mostly comprising Aligarh Muslim University alumni, led by Mr. Masood Farshori, current secretary of the AAA. Dr. Fazal Khan, current president of the AAA, in his prepared remarks welcomed the guests and chronicled the progress of the Assocaition over four decades. He stressed that “For a long time, the AAA has been dedicated to achieving two objectives: (a) preservation of our cultural, literary and artistic heritage in our new homeland, and (b) extension of help to disadvantaged students at AMU who needed it to pursue their education.


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    I am pleased to report that we continue to make impressive progress to achieve these goals,” he added. Dr. Abdullah in his introductory remarks recounted the services of Professor Narang to Urdu language, enrichment of its literature and promotion of scholarly research and learning in India. He also recited the long list of literary and national awards and honors conferred upon Professor Narang in India and abroad. Professor Narang in his short presidential address, delivered in his colorful captivating style, debunked the false notion that Urdu was the language of Muslims only. He argued that it was born and brought up in India, and exquisitely showcases the joint culture and shared values of Muslims and Hindus developed over centuries.

    In particular, Mushairas and Qawallis, he noted, were entirely Indian in their genealogy and unknown outside the subcontinent. It was one of the best mushaira organized in Washington area attended by captive audience, said veteran poets Naseer Turabi, Manzar Bhopali, and Popular Meruthi, Similar views were expressed by a number of people who attended this event. Congratulatory messages came from Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, DCM, Embassy of India, Hon. N. K. Mishra, Minister (Pers. & Community Affairs), Embassy of India, Hon. Mr. Mohammad Ziauddin, Ambassador of Bangladesh, and Mr. Nadeem Hotiana, Press Attaché’, Embassy of Pakistan. They could not attend the event as they had to be at United Nations Meeting in New York.

    As per mushaira tradition, in the beginning of mushaira hostpoets Aziz Qureshi, Razi Raziuddin, Sabiha Saba, and Shahzaad Rizvi recited their kalaam. Samples of poetry recited at the mushaira by guest poets are as follows:

    Bhala meri shanakht ko kaun mane gaa Hamari aadhi qavahi to muatbar bhi nahiN Khud se jo baat chhupai shaher meIn kaise phail gai Yaa deenvareN bol paRiN ya logon ka andaza ha Nreen Talat Arooba

    Tum apne dil meiN koi ranjish na paal rakhna ChhoTi si zindagi hai phir kiya malaal rakhna Ajnabi ban ke jeene ka hunar seekh lena Apni pahchaan badalte rahe tanha tanha
    Rashmi Saanan

    MeiN hooN jis haal meiN Aey mere sanam rahne de Tegh mut de, mere hathoN me qalam rahne de MaiN to shayer hoon Mera dil hain Bahut hi nazuk MaiN paTakhe se hi mur jaooN gaa bum rahen de Popular Meeruthi

    Bikhero Zulf to badal bhi chha hi jae gaa Tum aao to sahi savan bhi aa hi hae gaa Kitni bhari paR gaee ujle din par raat ko Pooche huns se, kaa hai tumhari jaat Imdad Hussaini

    Husn duniya ki har eik shai mein bahut hai lekin Koee aisa nahiN jo uski ada tak pahonche Tumhare vaade ka qad bhi tumhare jaisa hai Kabhi jo naap ke dekho to kam nikalta hai Manzar Bhopali

    Na jaane kitne chiraghoN ko mil gaee shuhrat Eik aftaab ke be-waqt Doob jane se Urdu hai mera naam main Khusrau ki paheli Main Meer ki humraaz hooN Ghalib ki saheli Iqbal Ashhar

    RaahoN k eek raah who mere ghar ki raah Thahre kisi jagah wo tabiyat nahiN rahi Yeh dil hai ya koi afsos ki surahi hai Yeh chashm o lub haiN ki hasrat bhari hai piyaloN mein Naseer Turabi
    .

  • GOPIO Cosponsors First Successful Health Fair

    GOPIO Cosponsors First Successful Health Fair

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Healthcare is a big issue for new immigrants, especially elderly people. While Medicare is available to virtually all citizens, starting at age 65, immigrants legally present in the U.S. for less than five years are not eligible and private insurance companies generally do not offer health insurance plans for those over 65. Although there are health insurance options, but these are usually catastrophic traveler’s insurance.


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    Organizers. From L to R: Sam Mukherjee, Mayur Modi, Zafar Iqbal, Dr. Surinder Singh Gill


    They usually have a very high deductible and they are very expensive. In view of these harsh realities facing elderly community members from the Subcontinent, the Masjid Gulzar E Madina of Islamic Center Millford Mill Road, Pikesville, Maryland took a bold initiative to organize a first health fair on Sunday 23rd November2014. A number of area community organizations, such as the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) – Metropolitan Washington, Philippines Nurses Association, Chinese Culture and Community Center, Muslim Community Clinic Inc., Silver Spring, Capital Region Telugu Society, Kerala Cultural Organization and Hindu Seva, co-sponsored this event.

    A large number of physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers volunteered their resources and worked tirelessly to provide their services for a large number of attendees covering a wide range of ages. An easy access to physicians of diverse specialties under one roof provided convenient consultation for wide range of medical issues. In addition to primary care, the medical specialties available for free consultations in a privacy setting included primary care, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology-oncology, otolaryngology, orthopedics, rheumatology, and medical ID cards for the community.

    Colgate-sponsored dental van provided dental consultation for children ages 1 to 12. Maryland Physicians Care Van made nutritional healthy food, Amerigroup sponsored Moon Bounce for children, and Columbia Lite House Van did eye sight screenings. The health fair also provided massage therapy and yoga enthusiasts displayed their skills and love for healthy living. Besides yoga sessions on site, there were diabetes and cancer prevention education vendors, healthy living demos and advice booths.

    Mental and behavioral health information, often a taboo topic, was sensitively offered by Counselors Helping South Asians/Indians (Chai). The Samar Group obtained bone marrow sign ups and the Washington Regional Transplant enrolled organ donor. Volunteers from a local Farm Market gave a wide range of fresh vegetables to all attendees. “The outstanding accomplishments of the day were made possible by the cohesive and dedicated collaboration of the Health Fair planning team, physicians, allied medical personnel, county and state health agencies, voluntary charitable organizations countless volunteers, Masjid management, and the Health Fair Advertising team as well as the support of the local organizations,” said Dr. Zafar Iqbal, President GOPIO DC Chapter.

    This successful event was coordinated by Mayur Mody and the management of Islamic Center thanked him for providing excellent leadership with efficient and indefatigable energy. The logistics for medical team was coordinated by Dr. Surinder Singh Gill and Dr. Alif Manijwala, and Dr. Sukhpal headed the team of volunteers. The health fair was open to people of all different ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds and over 400 people were able to get medical consultation.

  • Indian Passport, Visa updated Rules

    Indian Passport, Visa updated Rules

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Here are some of the passport and visa rules that have been revised in the recent past.

    New Tourist Visa norms for US nationals:

    The Govt. of India has directed that, apart from special circumstances, Indian Missions/Posts in the United States of America will grant Multi entry Tourist Visa for a period of 10 years to the Nationals of the United States of America with a stipulation that “continuous period of stay during each visit will not exceed 180 days and no registration will be required”. The stipulated fee for a ten year Tourist Visa shall be USD 150.

    New Rules for PIO:

    Effective 30th September 2014 – as per the Notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the PIO Rules have changed:

    A PIO Card issued to an applicant shall be valid for his lifetime from the date of its issue provided that such applicant has a valid US or Foreign Passport.

    The above is valid for existing PIO Cards and as well as New PIO Cards issued post 30th September 2014.

    PIO Cards holders if staying in India for a period of over 6 months need not go to FRRO (Local) and get their extended stay endorsed. This ruling is done away with.

  • 60 LOSE VISION AFTER SURGERY AT EYE CAMP IN PUNJAB

    60 LOSE VISION AFTER SURGERY AT EYE CAMP IN PUNJAB

    AMRITSAR (TIP): At least 60 persons have lost their eyesight after an operation at an eye camp organised by an NGO in Gurdaspur district, civil and medical authorities said. While 16 persons belonged to villages of Amritsar the rest were from Gurdaspur district. All of them were admitted in city ENT hospitals of Amritsar and Gursdaspur. Confirming the incident, Deputy Commissioner Amritsar, Ravi Bhagat, said here today that the 16 affected patients admitted to the city ENT Hospital are under the supervision of Assistant Professor Karamjit Singh. Singh said that all of them have permanently lost their vision.

    Bhagat said that a high-level inquiry has been ordered to find the doctors who performed the operations at the camp. Giving details, Civil Surgeon Amritsar, Rajiv Bhalla, said all the patients were operated at an eye camp in Ghuman village of Gurdaspur district around ten days ago. The incident emerged when all the 16 patients, who belonged to Amritsar, approached Deputy Commissioner Bhagat to lodge a complaint against the NGO and doctors concerned. Bhalla said,”It was found that there were a total of 60 patients and sixteen of them were from Amritsar.” Rest were from Gurdaspur district.

    He said that cataract surgery in the eye camp was performed under “severe unhygienic condition” whereupon eyes of all the 60 patients were found damaged permanently. Bhalla said that before organising the eye camp, mandatory permission was required from the district Administration and Civil Surgeons of Gurdaspur and Amritsar but all the norms were not followed. Bhalla said that all the affected patients were above the age of 60 with poor economical condition. They are being provided free medical treatment in the ENT hospital of Amritsar and Gurdaspur. The incident comes days after 11 women died and 34 were reported critical after undergoing “faulty” sterilisation surgeries at a government-organised family planning camp in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh.

  • CRPF men’s uniforms in garbage bin to be probed

    CRPF men’s uniforms in garbage bin to be probed

    NEW DELHI (TIP): A day after blood-stained uniforms and shoes of CRPF troops killed by Maoists were found in a garbage bin, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on December 4 instructed Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh to “order a probe and fix responsibility” on those who “insulted” the martyrs. Soon after the callous handling of the effects of the martyrs became public, the Home Minister ordered the probe amid claims by senior CRPF officials of mischief by political leaders to gain political mileage. “I have asked Ch’garh CM to fix responsibility and punish those involved in insulting the uniform of the deceased CRPF men,” the Home Minister tweeted.

    He said security personnel of the state as well as central forces should be appropriately honoured. The CRPF also would inquire into the incident. Acting Central Reserve Police Force Director General R C Tayal said the inquiry would be conducted by an officer deputed by the Inspector General (Operations) in Chhattisgarh and a report would be submitted soon. “We suspect some political workers took these items from the lower staff of the hospital in Raipur.We are looking into it,” Tayal said. Sources said the uniforms of the dead personnel were handed over to local police as per procedure. “My message is that we have all respect for our martyrs.

    If I need to say sorry to the families of those killed, I will do so. The usual process in such cases is that these (personal effects) are taken by the case investigating police officer. Let me get the details of the inquiry and we will take required action,” Tayal said.

  • Haryana puts bravery award for Rohtak sisters on hold

    Haryana puts bravery award for Rohtak sisters on hold

    CHANDIGARH (TIP): Amid new disclosures in the alleged molestation of two sisters in a moving bus near Rohtak on November 28, the Haryana government, on December 4, put its decision of honouring both the girls on Republic Day on hold till the final outcome of a probe. The government made the announcement of honouring the girls on the basis of media reports. But the decision is being held back in the wake of new inputs, including the surfacing of three videos related to the controversy.

    Many co-passengers, including a few women, told the police there was no molestation in the bus and the girls thrashed the boys in the course of a dispute over a seat. However, the two sisters have been terming passengers’ statements as stories concocted to pressurize them. “Whether or not to award the girls will be ascertained only after investigating the matter,” said chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar while speaking to journalists in Rohtak. The CM also assured an impartial probe into the matter when family members of the accused and other villagers met him.

    The three youths, Mohit, Kuldeep and Deepak, from Asan village of Sonipat, were arrested and later released on bail. On December 1, the Khattar government had announced that both sisters would be honoured. At the time, Khattar said both girls showed indomitable courage and bravery by opposing the misdemeanour of three youths who tried to molest them. “Initially, we received a message from the media and other sources of the government that the two girls had to struggle after they were teased in a bus. Being a sensitive government, we took the first step (of honouring the girls) in public interest,” said Jawahar Yadav, adviser to Haryana CM, on December 4 . “Till now, three videos have surfaced and according to the opinion of the government, there should be no injustice with anybody, girls, boys or any other associated party like the driver and conductor of the bus,” he said.

    In the latest video, family members of the accused are seen thrashing them and asking them to seek an apology from the girls at the police station. “Kuldeep’s father Balbir Singh, a retired soldier, was very upset. Despite the accused insisting they were innocent, he asked them to seek an apology from the girls because he was apprehensive about their career in case an FIR was registered against them,” said Sandeep Rathi, advocate of the accused, who claimed that the video was prepared by the girls’ family in the police station. In another video, the girls were seen thrashing a youth at a park in Rohtak. Residents of the native village of the accused have been opposing any award for the girls. “The government should set up a special investigation team to probe the matter,” said Raj Singh, sarpanch of Asan village.

  • 4 Army personnel, 3 cops killed in terror attack in J&K

    4 Army personnel, 3 cops killed in terror attack in J&K

    JAMMU (TIP): Four security force personnel and three militants were killed in a predawn attack on an Army camp in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district which is going to polls in the third phase of elections in the state on December 9. Militants carried out an attack on the army camp at Mohra in Uri Tehsil at around 3.10 AM on December 5 and engaged the security forces in a fierce gunbattle, police officials said. The officials said in the exchange of firing two army jawans and two policemen were killed while three militants were also neutralised.

    Inspector General of Police Kashmir A G Mir, while confirming the death of militants and policemen, said the army casualties were being verified. Army officials said there were some casualties suffered by the force but the exact numbers are being verified. The police officials said the militants had probably infiltrated into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir recently. “It is being investigated,” they said. The attack comes just four days ahead of elections in Uri and six other constituencies of the Baramulla district on December 9. On December 2, Army foiled an infiltration bid in Handwara area of Kupwara district killing six militants while one army personnel was also killed. The infiltration bid was foiled even as people in Kupwara district were voting to elect their representatives.

  • Eminent jurist Krishna Iyer is dead

    Eminent jurist Krishna Iyer is dead

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (TIP): Eminent jurist and member of Kerala’s first Communist government Justice V R Krishna Iyer, 99, died at a private hospital in Kochi at 3:30 pm on Dec 4 Justice Iyer was admitted to Medical Trust Hospital with breathing difficulties on November 24. The former Supreme Court judge celebrated entry into his 100th year on November 15 when prominent citizens from all walks of life came together to greet him. Born in 1915 to advocate V V Rama Iyer and Narayani Ammal in Palakkad district, Justice Iyer was one of Kerala’s most revered sons who continued to be responsive to social issues all through his post-retirement life in Kochi.

    Justice Iyer is celebrated for his admission of PILs in court and for his Supreme Court judgments that interpreted law in the context of fundamental human rights. He retired as a Supreme Court judge in 1980. Iyer is survived by two sons. His wife Sharada died in 1974. A member of the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1952, Iyer was minister for Home, Law, Social Welfare, Power, Inland Navigation, Irrigation and Prisons in the 1957 Communist government of the state under E M S Namboodirippad. In 1987 he contested, unsuccessfully, in the presidential election against R Venkataraman. He was also a prolific writer with more than 50 titles on varied legal aspects to his name. ‘Wandering in Many Worlds’, an autobiography and ‘Maranaananthara Jeevitham’, a collection of essays on the concept of life after death, are also among his important works. He was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

  • Fractured mandate likely in J&K

    Fractured mandate likely in J&K

    SRINAGAR (TIP): Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) seems to be heading towards a hung Assembly with no political party having a clear advantage after two rounds of the five-phase elections. The Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), National Conference (NC) and the People⠙s Democratic Party (PDP) have all claimed decisive advantages after the end of the two phases. Polling was held in 33 out the 87 constituencies and ground reports give the Congress the edge. In the first phase on November 25 in which 15 seats went to the polls, the contest was mainly between the Congress, NC and the BJP.

    Political analysts believe that the Congress may win six to eight seats in the first phase, followed by the NC and the BJP. The first phase was held mainly in the Assembly segments which have remained the Congress and NC bastion for decades. In the second phase, where 18 constituencies went to the polls, all the four parties may share seats. In this phase, the Peopleâ ™s Conference (PC) headed by separatist-turned-mainstream leader Sajjad Lone, is expected to win two to three seats in the frontier district of Kupwara in north Kashmir.

    Political analysts, however, believe that the equation can change in the remaining rounds scheduled for December 9, 14 and 20 as the PDP and BJP has a clear advantage in these 54 seats. While 12 seats in south Kashmir, considered to be a PDP bastion, are going to the polls in the third and fourth phase, most seats in the urban areas of Hindu-dominated Jammu region will have elections in the fourth and fifth phases.

  • MY WAY OF DOING POLITICS IS TO STRENGTHEN PEOPLE: RAHUL

    MY WAY OF DOING POLITICS IS TO STRENGTHEN PEOPLE: RAHUL

    AMETHI (TIP): Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of living in an ivory tower disconnected with grassroot realities, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said here on December 4 his style of doing politics was different from that of the PM. “Jo Sarkar mein hain aur meri soch mein bada fark hai (There is a great difference in ideology of the one in power and mine),” he said, adding that he believed in giving power to the people while the PM preferred to become the centre of power himself.

    Rahul also came forward to assist one Vidyavati, a member of the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana who was scheduled to make a speech on the 10th anniversary of the Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital in Amethi. Vidyavati who was too short to be visible from behind the podium and was interrupted by Rahul who asked her to stand on a foot stool to address the crowd. Later, making his own address, he said, “I could have sat there and watched. But she came here wanting to be seen and heard. I want to ensure no one feels disadvantaged. This is my way of doing politics.

    I want to strengthen people.” Making a dig at Modi’s “autocratic” style of functioning, Rahul said, “Unki ye soch hai ki poore Hindustan ko Dilli se chalaya jaaye.” (He wants to run all of India sitting in New Delhi) Alleging also that the NDA government had created a clique, where PM Modi held the reins of power and a select group of bureaucrats did his bidding, Rahul asked his audiences to use their discretion to decide what kind of governance they preferred. “It is up to you to choose whether you want a government that gave you RTI, panchayati raj, rural employment guarantee and food security, or a government that likes to keep all the power centered in itself,” he said. Concluding his two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency, Rahul reiterated his dig at the Centre’s Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and said as MP to 750 villages, he wanted each one to be model villages, rather than one single village.

    Participating in the anniversary celebrations of the eye hospital, Rahul also said the eye hospital, named after his grand mother, aimed to rid UP of cataract in the coming years. He also congratulated the doctors and staff members of the hospital for being adjudged the best eye hospital in Uttar Pradesh, in a recent AC Neilson survey on hospitals. While touring his constituency, Rahul stopped at a garment store in the city where he first tried and then purchased a jacket.

    Even as visitors looked on fondly, a family that ad come visiting the shop asked Rahul about his wedding plans, advising the MP to wed in Amethi so they could join the ‘baraat.’ Jovially, the Congress vice president, now 44, replied, “You all give me such a long list of things to do that I have little time left to do anything else.”

  • DELHI ON ALERT OVER POSSIBLE LET ATTACK AHEAD OF OBAMA VISIT: REPORTS

    DELHI ON ALERT OVER POSSIBLE LET ATTACK AHEAD OF OBAMA VISIT: REPORTS

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Delhi police and other security agencies have sounded a high-alert in the Capital after they received inputs suggesting a possible terror attack before the scheduled US President Barack Obama, according to reports. American President Obama will be visiting India next month as the chief guest for Republic Day celebrations. “Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba jihadis were planning a ‘sensational terror attack’ in the run-up to Obamaâ ™s two-day visit during the Republic Day next month. The alert has been communicated to the highest levels of the Modi government,” according to Hindustan Times.

    The report also suggested that based on the intelligence, Delhi police and other security agencies have advanced security drills. The agencies would start initiating security arrangements from this week. Meanwhile, another report suggested that US Secret Service (USSS), the agency responsible for the safety of American presidents and vice-presidents, will fly down to India in next few days, to take stock of the security measures undertaken by the Indian authorities.

    “The USSS experts will hold consultations with a team of Delhi Police besides senior officials on the route that the president will take from airport to the hotel where he will be staying, besides the route on which Obama will travel to various venues in the city,” according to an Economic Times report. US President Obama last month accepted the invitation of PM Modi to grace the Republic Day functions as the chief guest, as a sign of significantly expanding ties between two countries. Obama is also the first US President to attend the Republic Day celebrations.

  • KCR applies for US diplomatic visa, sparks speculation

    KCR applies for US diplomatic visa, sparks speculation

    HYDERABAD (TIP): After his trip to Singapore in August, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao appears to have set his sights on visiting the United States of America. On December 3, the chief minister, made a quick trip to the office of the US Consulate General in Begumpet in the city to complete the formalities of applying for a diplomatic visa. During his visit, which was described as one that lasted just a few minutes, the chief minister also provided his fingerprints as required for biometrics data for all US visa-seekers, it was learnt.

    Confirming that Chandrasekhar Rao’s visit to the consulate was for a diplomatic visa, the official representative of the Telangana government in New Delhi, S Venugopalachary said that it was a routine visit as required for the visa process. He said the diplomatic visa would be valid for 10 years and added that the chief minister had no immediate plans to visit the United States. However, the grapevine was abuzz here in the city after the visit and speculation was rife that the chief minister may be planning a trip to the United States sometime in January.

    But that prospect of an immediate visit appears unlikely in the absence of any official information on a proposed trip, especially since the Telangana government will need to present its first full-fledged budget in the state assembly before February 28 for the 2015-16 financial year. Sources in the chief minister’s office also confirmed that Chandrasekhar Rao went to the consulate to apply for a diplomatic visa, though no confirmation could be had on a possible timeline for a proposed trip. “It has been all hush-hush,” an official said. There was also speculation during the afternoon that the chief minister would utilize a visit to the US for a full medical check up.

  • 20 years on, kin of girls switched at birth sue clinic for €12m

    20 years on, kin of girls switched at birth sue clinic for €12m

    LONDON (TIP): Sophie and Manon Serrano might be taken for sisters. The mother, 38, and daughter, 20, are the same height, have long, dark hair and are besties, too. They walked arm in arm into a court in the south of France this week to complain that they should never have known each other. When Manon was 10, she found that her mother was not her mother after all.

    Her “real” mother was living 20 miles away with a little girl whose “real” mother was Sophie. In July 1994, a few days after their birth, the two girls were placed in the same cot at a maternity clinic in Cannes. After treatment for jaundice, they were returned to the wrong mothers. The changelings were 10 before the mistake was revealed. The “other” baby and her “parents” were also represented in court in Grasse this week but they requested anonymity. Each young woman is cherished by her accidental foster family.

    Neither family wants to swap daughters. They are, though, suing for 12m: 2m for each daughter, the rest for their families. They say the maternity clinic and health staff involved – or at least their insurance companies – should pay exemplary damages for their two decades of emotional suffering. Judgment is expected in February. The story sounds like a film script. And, indeed, one of the most repeated movies on French TV, ‘La Vie est un Longue Fleuve Tranquille’ (Life is a long quiet river), tells an almost identical story. The real story unfolded in the court was further complicated by race.

    Manon’s birth parents are from Reunion, a French island. Although Manon looks strikingly like her non-biological mother, she has darker skin. When the mistake was discovered 10 years ago, the two families briefly befriended each another, before drifting apart.

  • Blast from the past? New Bond film is titled ‘Spectre’

    Blast from the past? New Bond film is titled ‘Spectre’

    IYER HEATH (ENGLAND) (TIP): James Bond will take on a sinister organization with links to his past in the next installment of the blockbuster spy series, which star director Sam Mendes said on December 5 would be called ‘SPECTRE’. Mendes unveiled a new cast and souped-up car — an Aston Martin DB 10 — but few other details about the 24th film in the series, that will see Daniel Craig return for his fourth outing as the dapper, martini-drinking agent. “We’ve got to be bigger and better than ‘Skyfall’. It’s as simple as that,” Craig said, referring to the previous film in the series.

    He said he’d had a role in shaping the script, with Mendes and the writers. “I’m allowed free rein — what a gig,” he said. Austrian actor Christoph Waltz would play a leading role, Mendes added, without going into more details. Most commentators assumed the sadistic villain of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Basterds’ would play the baddie. Italian actress Monica Bellucci and French actress Lea Seydoux, who shot to fame in the erotic hit ‘Blue is the Warmest Colour’, would play “Bond girls”, Mendes added at a press conference at Pinewood Studios north of London. In a teaser description of the plot, Sony Pictures Entertainment said in a statement: “A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization.

    While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.” The title was a clear reference to the global criminal organization that Bond has battled since the first film in the series, 1962’s “Dr No”.

  • ISIS attacks govt airbase in eastern Syria

    ISIS attacks govt airbase in eastern Syria

    BEIRUT (TIP): ISIS militants have launched an attack overnight on a major military air base in eastern Syria in what looked to be a push to eliminate the last significant government outpost in the extremist-dominated region, activists said on December 4. The airfield just outside the city of Deir el-Zour is a key military facility for President Bashar Assad, giving his warplanes a hub from which to bomb ISIS-held cities and towns across much of eastern Syria. For the ISIS group, capturing the airport would eliminate the remaining pocket of resistance in the area and provide a major morale and propaganda boost after a string of setbacks in recent weeks. The assault against the air base began under the cover of darkness with a suicide car bombing against a Syrian military position on the airfield’s outskirts, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist collective, also reported the fighting. Both groups said heavy clashes raged amid government shelling on the villages surrounding the airfield.

  • Bangladesh arrests woman leader of militant outfit

    Bangladesh arrests woman leader of militant outfit

    DHAKA (TIP): Bangladesh has arrested four members of an outlawed militant group, including the chief of its women’s wing, police said on December 1, as authorities intensify a crackdown on militants. The arrest follows Indian security officials’ exposure of a plot last month targeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Two members of a banned Bangladesh group were killed in an explosion while building bombs in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, just over the border with Bangladesh.

    Police said they arrested Fatema, the chief of the women’s wing of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, whose husband Sajid was arrested by Indian police in connection with the West Bengal blast. “Fatema and three men were arrested in a raid in Dhaka and we also recovered a huge quantity of bomb-making materials and explosives,” police spokesman Monirul Islam told a news conference. The group also planned to assassinate the country’s main opposition leader, Khaleda Zia, Indian officials said.

    Hasina and Zia have dominated Bangladeshi politics for more than a decade. Last week, a team headed by the chief of India’s main counter-terrorism arm, the National Investigations Agency, held talks with Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka and handed over a list of 11 suspects thought to be hiding there. Under Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has been working closely with India to tackle militant groups, including the handover of those India suspects of stirring up trouble in its remote northeast.

    The Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen was thought to have been lying low since a crackdown by authorities after it detonated nearly 500 bombs almost simultaneously on a single day in 2005 across Bangladesh, including in Dhaka, the capital. In subsequent suicide attacks on several courthouses, its militants killed 25 people and wounded hundreds. A security van taking members of the group to court earlier this year was targeted by gunmen who opened fire and tossed bombs at the vehicle.

  • Malaysian state mulls guillotine as punishment for thieves

    Malaysian state mulls guillotine as punishment for thieves

    KUALA LUMPUR (TIP): A minister in Malaysia’s Kelantan state has suggested that a ‘mini’ guillotine could be used to amputate those convicted of stealing in the Muslim state, which is ruled by a fundamentalist party. The guillotine, similar to that used to behead French King Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette in 1793, is being considered by leaders of the state who are keen to implement Islamic Hudud law which seeks severe punishment for thieves and rapists, which include amputation.

    The fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) led state’s hudud law technical committee, said to be facing problems finding suitable methods to amputate limbs of those convicted of stealing, is considering this ‘mini’ form of the guillotine as an option. The party chairman Amar Abdullah said he would suggest to the panel to use such a contraption which would not need a surgeon to operate. Kelantan deputy Chief minister Mohd Amar said despite the negative reactions to getting surgeons to amputate the limbs of offenders, the committee was still mulling the idea, Star said today.

    “The surgeon must first agree to carry out the procedure but he is likely to face the wrath of the Malaysian Medical Association for violating the Hippocratic Oath,” he said. The guillotine was fast, effective and required only one person to operate, two others to hold down the offender and a doctor to ensure the punished person does not drastically suffer from the punishment, he said adding that the judge who meted out the sentence must also be present. “I will make extensive studies on the method used during the French Revolution in the 18th century when guillotines were used to sever the heads of those sentenced to death,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

  • JACQUELINE JOINS SRI LANKA WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

    JACQUELINE JOINS SRI LANKA WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

    Jacqueline Fernandez, who feels passionately about the cause of animal and wildlife protection, has earlier been associated with PETA and the cause of banning horse-drawn carriages in India. This time around, the actress has taken up another cause of protecting elephants in the wild. Jacqueline has joined the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society that works towards protecting elephants in the wild.

    Talking about the endeavour of the society, Jacqueline says, “I believe strongly in spreading awareness and educating not only the inhabitants of the village but also the general public of the need to conserve the elephant in the wild. We don’t realize how difficult it is for people in remote villages to balance a sustainable livelihood, but what we also don’t realize is that through decades of development, humans have encroached on elephant habitats and made their livelihoods in these habitats. This has made it difficult for elephants to find new habitats because the fact is there is no new land to move into.”

  • SONAM KAPOOR TURNS SANTA FOR A CAUSE

    SONAM KAPOOR TURNS SANTA FOR A CAUSE

    Bollywood’s very own fashionista Sonam Kapoor has collaborated with Pernia Qureshi’s Pop-Up Shop to retail garments from her personal wardrobe on the website. All proceeds from the sale will go towards Smile Foundation, an NGO that focuses on helping underprivileged children and youth across twenty five states in the country, said a statement. This partnership will bring pieces from Sonam’s uber chic closet along with ensembles from an assortment of high street brands, Indian designers as well as International fashion labels like Roberto Cavalli, Marc Cain, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Halston Heritage, Anita Dongre, Pernia Qureshi, Nishka Lulla, Atsu, Masaba, Disney and more. “I love the outfits that Pernia and I selected from my wardrobe. I have worn these once, most probably and not more than that. It’s as good as new and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the charity. So you’re shopping and you don’t need to feel guilty about it,” said the actress.

  • Ungli

    Ungli

    Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Randeep Hooda, Sanjay Dutt, Kangana Ranuat, Angad Bedi, Neil Bhoopalam, Neha Dhupia
    Direction: Rensil D’ Silva
    Genre: Drama
    Duration: 1 hour 54 minutes

    Story: Four friends turn into vigilantes to clean up corruption and crime in the country.

    Review: This story has its heart in the right place, mind all over the place, and finger on the wrong pulse. ‘Ungli’ is socially relevant, earnest in delivering a strong message, albeit, the weak execution doesn’t support the larger intent. Abhay (Randeep) a crime journalist, Maya (Kangana) a medical intern, Goti (Neil) a computer hardware expert, and Kalim (Angad) a garage owner – are four buddies so enraged with our corrupt system that they show law-makers the middle finger and then take law into their own hands. Here’s the back story. Their buddy was beaten up by a powerful man’s son; the victim went into coma and justice was denied.

    From there team ‘Ungli’ is born. The fearless foursome dressed in black face masks, hoods and headlights set out to punish and shame (they’re valiant, not violent) unscrupulous cops, rickshaw drivers, RTO officers and government babus. Television channels are sent recordings of their operations, and soon they become darlins’ of the aam junta and sansani khabar for the media. Their plans are simple and too smooth – therein lies the problem. Enter ACP Kale (Dutt) who’s given the task of tracking down the cool criminals. Enter bindaas cop with a bad boy image, Nikhil (Emraan), who is hired by ACP to crack the case.

    At this point, an item number (by Shraddha Kapoor) also makes a forced entry. Soon, a fistful of predictable twists and turns also enter – which do nothing to turn around the story into anything out of the ordinary. Rensil D’Silva’s plot is fast-paced, in spite of the many potholes it slips into. He strings the story like episodes, never allowing the drama to intensify. The outlaws have a motive, but their plans are way too improbable and flaky. There’s a fleeting romance thrown in too and attacks of laughable dialogue.

    The performances are average – Kangana looks too bored for revenge, Emraan is unenthused and under-utilized, salt ‘n’ pepper Dutt tries some heavy dialogue but leaves no impact. Randeep looks believable and delivers a fine act and Neha (playing his colleague and love interest) does her part well.

  • JESSICA ALBA TRAINING HARD FOR ‘MECHANIC: RESURRECTION’

    JESSICA ALBA TRAINING HARD FOR ‘MECHANIC: RESURRECTION’

    Actress Jessica Alba is working out hard for her action-packed role in the upcoming film “Mechanic: Resurrection”. The 33-year-old works out two to four times a week for hour-long sessions that focus on highintensity intervals. She is training under Michael Margolin, co-founder of Krav Maga, the Israeli military’s official system of hand-to-hand combat. “It gets you in good shape and you’re also learning a skill,” her trainer Margolin said about the training. It’s an effective workout, “because of the kicking and punching with the resistance of another individual,” he added. Talking about Alba, he said: “We start with a warm-up, and then we do intervals. We do a lot of mitt work where she’s kicking and punching various targets as strong as she can for a period of time, and then she rests for a period of time. We also mix in medicine balls, kettle bells and some light weights.” Directed by Dennis Gansel, the action thriller also stars Jason Statham, Tommy Lee Jones and Michelle Yeoh. “Mechanic: Resurrection” is slated to release in early 2016.