Uploaded by ShivKumarBhat on Feb 6, 2008
Kashmir Ka Dard is heart rending Patriotic Poem by Dr. Hari Om Panwar Ji, giving true sordid picture of Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits.
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Saturday, March 5, 2011
"Kashmir Ka Dard" By Dr. Hari Om Panwar (National Awakening)
Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) meeting Baba Ramdev
Uploaded by undy999 on Jan 24, 2011
No body in India has the Slightest Idea of the persicution kashmiri Pandits have face Not only in the past 20 years but since the time of the mugals....No body has the guts to help them leave alone talking about them....only a pure sole like Guru Tej Bahadurji Stood up for them....Hpe to see people of india change this with the awakening of baba Ramdev.
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Thursday, March 3, 2011
Delhi artist paints Arundhati in the nude
Delhi artist paints Arundhati in the nude
These strokes are enough to give conventionalists a stroke. A naked Arundhati Roy caresses herself as she enjoys a threesome with the two blood thirsty figures of history, Mao and Osama bin Laden, and a voyeur-loving skull looks over their shoulder.
Different strokes: Artist Pranava Prakash with his painting. Pic/Mid Day
Artist Pranava Prakash's 'Goddess of Fifteen Minutes of Fame' sure promises him more than that, as the painter, who was last in news for his controversial nude painting of MF Husain, this time takes on the case of the activist-author as fearlessly as his subject herself.
'Publicity-seeker'
"Arundhati represents all the intellectuals who are selfless promoters of all sorts of causes which can give them publicity. They are dancing to the tune of publicity as a hungry monkey dances to the tune of its master for a banana," explains the painter. He goes on to reason why communist leader Mao and Taliban mastermind Laden needed to be in bed with her: "Arundhati was seen supporting ruthless Naxalites in their war against innocent Indian citizens and then she was hobnobbing with merciless Kashmiri killers who were remorseless in their act."
'Briefs' story
Look at the painting carefully, and you will notice that Mao's underwear shows the hammer and sickle sign of the communist philosophy, which Pranava thinks was "used as an excuse for the large scale killing of dissidents." He is shown reading his famous little red book, and there is a mechanical zip pasted on the corner of Arundhati's lips, "depicting how far our intellectuals are controlled and governed by their masters", in this case Mao and Laden. Coins are stuck all over the canvas, as "a metaphor for all the glitz and glamour associated with being under the limelight all the time." The skull is, in fact, a lamp, the shade of which contains a fragmented part of Jammu and Kashmir.
Brush with trouble
The painter explained its name is borrowed from Arundhati's now famous booker award winning novel "The god of small things", and Andy Warhols's oft referred quote, "In coming time everybody will get fifteen minutes of fame". Prakash took around a month to complete this painting. In the exhibition, which is scheduled from March 22-28 at Lalit Kala Academy will have 15-20 other paintings. MiD DAY contacted Arundhati Roy for comment but she disconnected her phone saying, "I am not talking to the press." MiD DAY dropped an SMS on her mobile number which she did not reply to. Some even allege that in the garb of slamming other public figures, Pranava, himself, is aspiring to be one. But the artist brushes aside these charges. "An artist operates and works within the zone of exalted freedom. The only way he can legitimise his place in society when he stops being neutral and becomes an active participant in all the social debate ¦ may be start a debate on his own, which is exactly what I intend," he said.
And, no amount of criticism will stop him from flirting with controversy in the future. Pranava is ready to stir up another storm with another upcoming work, in which he shows underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and MF Husain in the same frame, juxtaposed with each other.
'Nothing wrong'
Even veteran artists don't see anything wrong in a person expressing his/her thought by painting anyone nude. "It's the artist's way of seeing things and he has freedom of expression. If he paints somebody nude I don't see anything wrong in it," said Subodh Gupta. Other prominent artists too see no harm in painting someone in the nude. However, some feel a creative person can express himself differently. "It is good that the artist liked Arundhati Roy's writing but after seeing her talk about terrorism in Kashmir he was hurt. So he painted her in the nude and I feel he is within his rights. Even the similar trend was seen in foreign country and this form of protest was seen worldwide. But instead of painting her nude an artist could have also portrayed her differently. A creative artist can express himself differently," said Wasim Kapoor, a Kolkata-based painter.
About the artist
Pranava Prakash, who was born in 1979 is an artist working in neo-pop style. Pranava started the "Tuchchart" style with a group of Delhi artists, starting with his Tuchchart show (in 2007) in Delhi.
Pranava is known for his paintings on various socio-political issues like xenophobia. He has done his MBA from Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad and MBBS from Nalanda Medical College, Patna.
Arundhati Roy's controversies
Support for Kashmiri separatism
In an interview with a leading Indian newspaper, published in August 2008, Arundhati Roy expressed her support for the independence of Kashmir from India after massive demonstrations following the Amarnath land transfer controversy. According to her, the rallies were a sign that Kashmiris desire secession from India. She was criticised by both the Congress and BJP for her remarks.
Sardar Sarovar Project
Roy has campaigned along with activist Medha Patkar against the Narmada dam project, saying that it will displace half a million people, with little or no compensation and other benefits. Roy donated her Booker prize money as well as royalties from her books on the project to the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Roy also appears in Franny Armstrong's Drowned Out, a 2002 documentary about the project. Roy's opposition to the Narmada Dam project was criticised as "maligning Gujarat" by Congress and BJP leaders in the state.
US foreign policy, the War in Afghanistan
In a 2001 opinion piece in a British newspaper, Roy responded to the US military invasion of Afghanistan, finding fault with the argument that this war would be retaliation for the September 11 attacks. She disputes U.S. claims of being a peaceful and freedom-loving nation, listing China and nineteen 3rd World "countries that America has been at war with - and bombed - since the second world war", as well as previous U.S. support for the Taliban movement and support for the Northern Alliance (whose "track record is not very different from the Taliban's").
India's nuclear weaponisation
In response to India's testing of nuclear weapons in Pokhran, Rajasthan, Roy wrote The End of Imagination (1998), a critique of the Indian government's nuclear policies. It was published in her collection The Cost of Living (1999), in which she also crusaded against India's massive hydroelectric dam projects in the central and western states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Criticism of Israel
In August 2006, Roy, along with Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and others, signed a letter in The Guardian called the 2006 Lebanon War a "war crime" and accused Israel of "state terror." In 2007, Roy was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter initiated by Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism and the South West Asian, North African Bay Area Queers and calling on the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival "to honour calls for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions, by discontinuing Israeli consulate sponsorship of the LGBT film festival and not cosponsoring events with the Israeli consulate."
2001 Indian Parliament attack
Roy has raised questions about the investigation into the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the trial of the accused. She called for the death sentence of Mohammad Afzal to be stayed and denounced press coverage of the trial. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised Roy for what it alleges is defence of a terrorist going against the national interest.
The Muthanga incident
In 2003, the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, a social movement for adivasi land rights in Kerala, organised a major land occupation at a former Eucalyptus plantation in the Muthanga Wildlife Reserve. After 48 days, a police force was sent into the area to evict the occupants-one participant of the movement and a policeman were killed, and the leaders of the movement were arrested. Arundhati Roy travelled to the area, visited the movement's leaders in jail, and wrote an open letter to the then Chief Minister of Kerala, AK Antony, saying "You have blood on your hands."
Comments on 2008 Mumbai attacks
Roy has argued that the November 2008 Mumbai attacks cannot be seen in isolation, but must be understood in the context of wider issues in the region's history and society such as widespread poverty, the Partition of India, the atrocities committed during the 2002 Gujarat violence, and the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. Her remarks were strongly criticised by Salman Rushdie and others, who condemned her for linking the Mumbai attacks with Kashmir and economic injustice against Muslims in India.
Criticism of Sri Lanka
In an opinion piece, once again in a British newspaper (April 1, 2009), Roy made a plea for international attention to what she called a possible government-sponsored genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. She cited reports of camps into which Tamils were being herded as part of what she described as "a brazen, openly racist war." Ruvani Freeman, a Sri Lankan writer called Roy's remarks "ill-informed and hypocritical" and criticised her for "whitewashing the atrocities of the LTTE."
Views on the Naxals
Roy has criticised government's armed actions against the Maoists, calling it "war on the poorest people in the country". According to her, the government has "abdicated its responsibility to the people" and launched the offensive against Naxals to aid the corporations with whom it has signed MoUs.
'Husain framed'
In August 2009, MiD DAY reported how the same artist, Dr Pranava Prakash, an Institute of Management Technology (IMT) alumnus, created a canvas that shows a female artist painting MF Husain, as he stands framed against his trademark works. In the painting, Husain is depicted standing with a weasel and a palette. And the artist's inspiration for this controversial painting seems to be a group of woman painters who had taken offence at the master's depiction of the fairer sex in uncompromising positions.
The artist said his paintings reflect his anger against those who disrespect women and justify violence against the fairer sex in the name of tradition. "There has been an increase in attacks on women in the name of moral policing. It is nothing but male chauvinism. The hooligans who attacked the pub in Mangalore in January said they were angered by girls drinking and having fun. But they conveniently chose to ignore boys who were doing the same. Does Western culture corrupt girls alone? This duplicity is the distorted face of modern Indian tradition. And I oppose this," said Dr Prakash. The exhibition was inaugurated on Independence Day, at All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), in New Delhi.
Colour code
Other artwork by Pranava Prakash, which will be exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy between 22 and 28 March:
Ultimate Justice
Hero of India's freedom struggles and messiah of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi pointing a gun towards the biggest 'treasure-hunter' India has seen former union telecommunication minister A Raja, this composition invites instant participation from viewers and raise simple but strong emotions. This is a humble composition with strong imagery and show of abject frustration of middle class towards nexus of business and politics who are looting public money. It is a mix of sketch and some broad brush stroke. Mahatma's act is quite against his thought but artist who himself is a practising Gandhian, says it is not as if Mahatma is endorsing violence but it shows a state of defeat and disbelief Mahatma would have gone through if he had been at all to India of our times.
India's Most Beloved Sons
The picture depicts MF Husain in the nude, being painted by a women artist. True to the style of socio-pop this is again a composition depicting Dawood Ibrahim and MF Hussain in the same frame, juxtaposed to each other. The artist is very forthcoming in his saying that the act of MF Husain leaving India was an act of disbelief in Indian Judicial System. And it is common with Dawood Ibrahim, both of whom have fled the nation to escape trial.
Pink Chaddi Campaign
The Pink Chaddi Campaign was a non-violent protest movement launched in India in February 2009 in response to notable incidences of violent conservative and right-wing activism against perceived violations of Indian culture, when a group of women were attacked in a pub in Mangalore. The campaign was conceived particularly in protest against a threat by Pramod Muthalik of the Sri Ram Sene, an orthodox Hindu group. This protest was started by four young women, who asked people to send pink underwear to Muthalik's office on Valentine 's Day.
Peta protest
In October 2009, wearing body suits splattered in red and masks of a cow and a horse, activists of an animal rights group painted a gory picture of animal slaughter to protest the international leather fair that begun in Delhi. Their aim was to sensitise people about animal cruelty and to raise awareness that leather is dead skin. The protest was held in Pragati Maidan, the venue as the leather fair. PETA group dressed as a "skinned cow" and a "skinned horse" and slept in an open show box which had tags of well known leather products.
Naked rage
In October last year, an ex-BSF soldier marched naked in protest against injustice. Ashok Kumar Sirohi alleged that he was ill-treated by his department and was expelled on medical grounds. Sirohi claims that he is fit and ready for his job. The jawan and his young kids marched naked through the heart of the city as a mark of protest. Ashok wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi but the cops detained him while he was walking naked on Rajpath. Ashok threatened that if he didn't get his job back, he would commit suicide.
Online outcry
Founded in 2010, 'Choosna Bandh' campaign was launched on Facebook when a retired Air Force officer and his son were allegedly assaulted for standing up against the corrupt practices of the Sector 33, Noida Registrar's office on November 19 last year by the sub-registrar (RK Gautam), the General Secretary Deed Writers & Bar Association (Lakhi Chand Sharma) and their goons, in full public view. They caught them on camera taking bribes, and were going to report them to the police.
Silent and sound
In February, Mangalore witnessed a unique protest. Around one lakh Christians and secular-minded people marched with black flags in hand and black cloth tied to their mouth, indicating silent protest against church attacks in 2008. The march went on from the Jyothi Circle to the Central Grounds on 20th of February 2011. It was organised by the Catholic Diocese of Mangalore together with different Churches and secular-minded associations. It took around one and a half hour for the entire procession to reach the Central Grounds.
Puts her in bed with Osama and chairman Mao. Says it's his way of protesting against the Booker-winning author for supporting Naxals and Kashmiri separatists
These strokes are enough to give conventionalists a stroke. A naked Arundhati Roy caresses herself as she enjoys a threesome with the two blood thirsty figures of history, Mao and Osama bin Laden, and a voyeur-loving skull looks over their shoulder.
Different strokes: Artist Pranava Prakash with his painting. Pic/Mid Day
Artist Pranava Prakash's 'Goddess of Fifteen Minutes of Fame' sure promises him more than that, as the painter, who was last in news for his controversial nude painting of MF Husain, this time takes on the case of the activist-author as fearlessly as his subject herself.
'Publicity-seeker'
"Arundhati represents all the intellectuals who are selfless promoters of all sorts of causes which can give them publicity. They are dancing to the tune of publicity as a hungry monkey dances to the tune of its master for a banana," explains the painter. He goes on to reason why communist leader Mao and Taliban mastermind Laden needed to be in bed with her: "Arundhati was seen supporting ruthless Naxalites in their war against innocent Indian citizens and then she was hobnobbing with merciless Kashmiri killers who were remorseless in their act."
'Briefs' story
Look at the painting carefully, and you will notice that Mao's underwear shows the hammer and sickle sign of the communist philosophy, which Pranava thinks was "used as an excuse for the large scale killing of dissidents." He is shown reading his famous little red book, and there is a mechanical zip pasted on the corner of Arundhati's lips, "depicting how far our intellectuals are controlled and governed by their masters", in this case Mao and Laden. Coins are stuck all over the canvas, as "a metaphor for all the glitz and glamour associated with being under the limelight all the time." The skull is, in fact, a lamp, the shade of which contains a fragmented part of Jammu and Kashmir.
Brush with trouble
The painter explained its name is borrowed from Arundhati's now famous booker award winning novel "The god of small things", and Andy Warhols's oft referred quote, "In coming time everybody will get fifteen minutes of fame". Prakash took around a month to complete this painting. In the exhibition, which is scheduled from March 22-28 at Lalit Kala Academy will have 15-20 other paintings. MiD DAY contacted Arundhati Roy for comment but she disconnected her phone saying, "I am not talking to the press." MiD DAY dropped an SMS on her mobile number which she did not reply to. Some even allege that in the garb of slamming other public figures, Pranava, himself, is aspiring to be one. But the artist brushes aside these charges. "An artist operates and works within the zone of exalted freedom. The only way he can legitimise his place in society when he stops being neutral and becomes an active participant in all the social debate ¦ may be start a debate on his own, which is exactly what I intend," he said.
And, no amount of criticism will stop him from flirting with controversy in the future. Pranava is ready to stir up another storm with another upcoming work, in which he shows underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and MF Husain in the same frame, juxtaposed with each other.
'Nothing wrong'
Even veteran artists don't see anything wrong in a person expressing his/her thought by painting anyone nude. "It's the artist's way of seeing things and he has freedom of expression. If he paints somebody nude I don't see anything wrong in it," said Subodh Gupta. Other prominent artists too see no harm in painting someone in the nude. However, some feel a creative person can express himself differently. "It is good that the artist liked Arundhati Roy's writing but after seeing her talk about terrorism in Kashmir he was hurt. So he painted her in the nude and I feel he is within his rights. Even the similar trend was seen in foreign country and this form of protest was seen worldwide. But instead of painting her nude an artist could have also portrayed her differently. A creative artist can express himself differently," said Wasim Kapoor, a Kolkata-based painter.
About the artist
Pranava Prakash, who was born in 1979 is an artist working in neo-pop style. Pranava started the "Tuchchart" style with a group of Delhi artists, starting with his Tuchchart show (in 2007) in Delhi.
Pranava is known for his paintings on various socio-political issues like xenophobia. He has done his MBA from Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad and MBBS from Nalanda Medical College, Patna.
Arundhati Roy's controversies
Support for Kashmiri separatism
In an interview with a leading Indian newspaper, published in August 2008, Arundhati Roy expressed her support for the independence of Kashmir from India after massive demonstrations following the Amarnath land transfer controversy. According to her, the rallies were a sign that Kashmiris desire secession from India. She was criticised by both the Congress and BJP for her remarks.
Sardar Sarovar Project
Roy has campaigned along with activist Medha Patkar against the Narmada dam project, saying that it will displace half a million people, with little or no compensation and other benefits. Roy donated her Booker prize money as well as royalties from her books on the project to the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Roy also appears in Franny Armstrong's Drowned Out, a 2002 documentary about the project. Roy's opposition to the Narmada Dam project was criticised as "maligning Gujarat" by Congress and BJP leaders in the state.
US foreign policy, the War in Afghanistan
In a 2001 opinion piece in a British newspaper, Roy responded to the US military invasion of Afghanistan, finding fault with the argument that this war would be retaliation for the September 11 attacks. She disputes U.S. claims of being a peaceful and freedom-loving nation, listing China and nineteen 3rd World "countries that America has been at war with - and bombed - since the second world war", as well as previous U.S. support for the Taliban movement and support for the Northern Alliance (whose "track record is not very different from the Taliban's").
India's nuclear weaponisation
In response to India's testing of nuclear weapons in Pokhran, Rajasthan, Roy wrote The End of Imagination (1998), a critique of the Indian government's nuclear policies. It was published in her collection The Cost of Living (1999), in which she also crusaded against India's massive hydroelectric dam projects in the central and western states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Criticism of Israel
In August 2006, Roy, along with Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and others, signed a letter in The Guardian called the 2006 Lebanon War a "war crime" and accused Israel of "state terror." In 2007, Roy was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter initiated by Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism and the South West Asian, North African Bay Area Queers and calling on the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival "to honour calls for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions, by discontinuing Israeli consulate sponsorship of the LGBT film festival and not cosponsoring events with the Israeli consulate."
2001 Indian Parliament attack
Roy has raised questions about the investigation into the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the trial of the accused. She called for the death sentence of Mohammad Afzal to be stayed and denounced press coverage of the trial. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised Roy for what it alleges is defence of a terrorist going against the national interest.
The Muthanga incident
In 2003, the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, a social movement for adivasi land rights in Kerala, organised a major land occupation at a former Eucalyptus plantation in the Muthanga Wildlife Reserve. After 48 days, a police force was sent into the area to evict the occupants-one participant of the movement and a policeman were killed, and the leaders of the movement were arrested. Arundhati Roy travelled to the area, visited the movement's leaders in jail, and wrote an open letter to the then Chief Minister of Kerala, AK Antony, saying "You have blood on your hands."
Comments on 2008 Mumbai attacks
Roy has argued that the November 2008 Mumbai attacks cannot be seen in isolation, but must be understood in the context of wider issues in the region's history and society such as widespread poverty, the Partition of India, the atrocities committed during the 2002 Gujarat violence, and the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. Her remarks were strongly criticised by Salman Rushdie and others, who condemned her for linking the Mumbai attacks with Kashmir and economic injustice against Muslims in India.
Criticism of Sri Lanka
In an opinion piece, once again in a British newspaper (April 1, 2009), Roy made a plea for international attention to what she called a possible government-sponsored genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. She cited reports of camps into which Tamils were being herded as part of what she described as "a brazen, openly racist war." Ruvani Freeman, a Sri Lankan writer called Roy's remarks "ill-informed and hypocritical" and criticised her for "whitewashing the atrocities of the LTTE."
Views on the Naxals
Roy has criticised government's armed actions against the Maoists, calling it "war on the poorest people in the country". According to her, the government has "abdicated its responsibility to the people" and launched the offensive against Naxals to aid the corporations with whom it has signed MoUs.
'Husain framed'
In August 2009, MiD DAY reported how the same artist, Dr Pranava Prakash, an Institute of Management Technology (IMT) alumnus, created a canvas that shows a female artist painting MF Husain, as he stands framed against his trademark works. In the painting, Husain is depicted standing with a weasel and a palette. And the artist's inspiration for this controversial painting seems to be a group of woman painters who had taken offence at the master's depiction of the fairer sex in uncompromising positions.
The artist said his paintings reflect his anger against those who disrespect women and justify violence against the fairer sex in the name of tradition. "There has been an increase in attacks on women in the name of moral policing. It is nothing but male chauvinism. The hooligans who attacked the pub in Mangalore in January said they were angered by girls drinking and having fun. But they conveniently chose to ignore boys who were doing the same. Does Western culture corrupt girls alone? This duplicity is the distorted face of modern Indian tradition. And I oppose this," said Dr Prakash. The exhibition was inaugurated on Independence Day, at All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), in New Delhi.
Colour code
Other artwork by Pranava Prakash, which will be exhibited at Lalit Kala Academy between 22 and 28 March:
Ultimate Justice
Hero of India's freedom struggles and messiah of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi pointing a gun towards the biggest 'treasure-hunter' India has seen former union telecommunication minister A Raja, this composition invites instant participation from viewers and raise simple but strong emotions. This is a humble composition with strong imagery and show of abject frustration of middle class towards nexus of business and politics who are looting public money. It is a mix of sketch and some broad brush stroke. Mahatma's act is quite against his thought but artist who himself is a practising Gandhian, says it is not as if Mahatma is endorsing violence but it shows a state of defeat and disbelief Mahatma would have gone through if he had been at all to India of our times.
India's Most Beloved Sons
The picture depicts MF Husain in the nude, being painted by a women artist. True to the style of socio-pop this is again a composition depicting Dawood Ibrahim and MF Hussain in the same frame, juxtaposed to each other. The artist is very forthcoming in his saying that the act of MF Husain leaving India was an act of disbelief in Indian Judicial System. And it is common with Dawood Ibrahim, both of whom have fled the nation to escape trial.
Pink Chaddi Campaign
The Pink Chaddi Campaign was a non-violent protest movement launched in India in February 2009 in response to notable incidences of violent conservative and right-wing activism against perceived violations of Indian culture, when a group of women were attacked in a pub in Mangalore. The campaign was conceived particularly in protest against a threat by Pramod Muthalik of the Sri Ram Sene, an orthodox Hindu group. This protest was started by four young women, who asked people to send pink underwear to Muthalik's office on Valentine 's Day.
Peta protest
In October 2009, wearing body suits splattered in red and masks of a cow and a horse, activists of an animal rights group painted a gory picture of animal slaughter to protest the international leather fair that begun in Delhi. Their aim was to sensitise people about animal cruelty and to raise awareness that leather is dead skin. The protest was held in Pragati Maidan, the venue as the leather fair. PETA group dressed as a "skinned cow" and a "skinned horse" and slept in an open show box which had tags of well known leather products.
Naked rage
In October last year, an ex-BSF soldier marched naked in protest against injustice. Ashok Kumar Sirohi alleged that he was ill-treated by his department and was expelled on medical grounds. Sirohi claims that he is fit and ready for his job. The jawan and his young kids marched naked through the heart of the city as a mark of protest. Ashok wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi but the cops detained him while he was walking naked on Rajpath. Ashok threatened that if he didn't get his job back, he would commit suicide.
Online outcry
Founded in 2010, 'Choosna Bandh' campaign was launched on Facebook when a retired Air Force officer and his son were allegedly assaulted for standing up against the corrupt practices of the Sector 33, Noida Registrar's office on November 19 last year by the sub-registrar (RK Gautam), the General Secretary Deed Writers & Bar Association (Lakhi Chand Sharma) and their goons, in full public view. They caught them on camera taking bribes, and were going to report them to the police.
Silent and sound
In February, Mangalore witnessed a unique protest. Around one lakh Christians and secular-minded people marched with black flags in hand and black cloth tied to their mouth, indicating silent protest against church attacks in 2008. The march went on from the Jyothi Circle to the Central Grounds on 20th of February 2011. It was organised by the Catholic Diocese of Mangalore together with different Churches and secular-minded associations. It took around one and a half hour for the entire procession to reach the Central Grounds.
‘Abused’ as a blogger, Omar takes to tweeting to resume his story
‘Abused’ as a blogger, Omar takes to tweeting to resume his story
Two years after he quit blogging following “a heap of personal abuse”, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is back on the Internet, this time connecting with the people through social networking site Twitter. Omar keeps tweeting through the day, talking about his daily engagements, announcing government decisions, airing his opinions on the day’s issues and responding to queries and suggestions from his online followers.
At times, he posts about waking up feeling a “bit of a zombie”. He also tweets about his daily schedule, which could give nightmares to his security personnel. Be it about a district development board meeting, a security review, a party function or a visit somewhere, Omar ensures he keeps his followers posted.
Once, one of the followers asked how he managed to tweet so often through his busy schedule. Omar responded, “You take a break to go to the loo, I take one to tweet.”
Some of his tweets can make one feel almost part of Omar’s functioning as the Chief Minister. “Heading to the Assembly for the Governor’s address. I’m sure some of my ‘friends’ have some drama planned,” he tweeted on Monday morning. Two hours later, he added: “Now flying to the valley for a public meeting. Back this afternoon for the oath ceremony of the State Chief Information Commissioner.”
His slot on Twitter has only 9,527 followers but it has largely helped dispel the impression that he is an introvert, something that had been held against him during the unrest last year.
He tweets individually with his followers. He responds to queries, suggestions, grievances and to jokes about his dress. A follower wrote, “Omar plz consult someone for your dress code... ur tie is always mismatching ur suit”; Omar replied, “Would that be ties or suits because I’d rather not wear bright colored suits. I’d look like Govinda in one of David Dhawan’s movies.”
To a post about his hair, the CM responded, “I don’t have much of that left to let down. I’m rapidly joining the ranks of the bald & the beautiful.”
His take on World Cup commentary is: “I love Shastri’s comments - 1 weakness in Indian lineup, the bowling & the fielding. Urrr, that’s 2 & there’s not much left then, is there?”.
Omar was the first politician in the state to start blogging through 2008. Then in opposition, Omar blogged about the prevailing political situation in the state, offering his personal takes about the way the unrest over the Amarnath land row was being handled. He often came up with candid commentary on the conflict over the state, and once defended the decision of his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah to accede with India.
“Some will argue that his decision in 1947 was wrong — looking at the present state of Pakistan and the side of Kashmir with it, I can’t see how they can justify that argument. Was independence an option? Sure let’s ask the Tibetans about how it is to survive as an independent country with China, India and Pakistan for neighbours,” he wrote.
The CM’s fresh tryst with the web is two months old.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Hindu : States / Other States : Opposition stages walkout from J&K Assembly
The Hindu : States / Other States : Opposition stages walkout from J&K Assembly
The entire Opposition on Tuesday walked out of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after staging noisy protests with some PDP members tearing question papers and clashing with the watch and ward staff.
The action by the Opposition, which accused the State government of carrying out mass arrests and human rights violations, came after Speaker refused to accept the notice of adjournment motion given by PDP leader Mehmooba Mufti on the summer unrest in the Valley and the situation in the State.
As the Assembly proceedings began, Opposition parties including PDP, BJP, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) and Jammu State Morcha (JSM) stood up and raised slogans against the government calling it a ‘total failure’ on all fronts, including security and development.
The Opposition members, who stormed the well of the House, also tried to disrupt the Question Hour demanding a reply from the government.
PDP led by Ms. Mehbooba started the protest in the Assembly during the Question Hour. The party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was also present in the House.
PDP MLAs tore papers relating to questions and clashed with the watch and ward staff, who tried to take them out of the House. In the melee, PDP MLA Zulfikar Hussain was reported to have received a minor injury.
Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone, however, intervened and asked the watch and ward staff not to evict another PDP MLA Javed Mir from the House.
Ms. Mehbooba had earlier given a notice to the Speaker to adjourn the House over the issue of summer killings in Kashmir and alleged mass arrests.
She had also demanded release of political prisoners in the state but the Speaker ignored the notice and allowed the Question Hour to commence. Following this, the Opposition staged a walkout from the House.
“We staged a walkout from the House in protest against the failure of the state government on all fronts, including security and development. The writ of the government does not run. They are ruling the state by force with police and security forces,” Leader of the BJP Legislative party Chaman Lal Gupta told reporters.
He also alleged that the government had ill-treated the BJP leaders at Jammu Airport during ‘Ekta Yatra’ and did not allow them to hoist the tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
Keywords: Jammu and kashmir Assembly proceedings
This is cowardice, not discretion by Kanchan Gupta
This is cowardice, not discretion by Kanchan Gupta
March 02, 2011 2:41:00 AM
Kanchan Gupta
Public memory is notoriously short and few bother to either remember or recall events of the past. The old pretend memory lapse; the young are blissfully ignorant. This is more so in a country like India where the masses have a poor sense of history and the classes have a loathing for the past. Yet, at times it is necessary to recall events, if only to highlight how our national resolve has weakened in direct proportion to the strengthening of our economy. It would be facetious to suggest an inevitable correlation between the two, but it could be argued that while the rise of our self-seeking middle classes may have led to the creation of a bazaar where tin pots and iPads jostle for space and which is the world’s envy, they have also sapped the nation of its national spirit to a great extent. A pusillanimous Government, whether in New Delhi or in State capitals, is a natural corollary of this phenomenon. Politically convenient and socially fashionable bunkum about India as a soft power has left the Indian state looking vulnerable as never before.
This is most evident from the response of both society and authority to terrorism, irrespective of the colour of the terrorists’ ideology. Instead of standing up and daring those who use guns and bombs to terrorise people, we meekly surrender, thus exposing ourselves to further violence. But it wasn’t always like this. In February 1984, an Indian diplomat, Ravindra Mhatre, posted at our mission in Birmingham, was kidnapped while returning home with a cake to celebrate his daughter’s birthday by members of the then UK-based Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front. The Government of India had till then faced other hostage situations — Indian Airlines flights had been hijacked to Pakistan — but nothing quite similar. The British authorities were nonplussed; officials in New Delhi were stunned.
Within hours of the kidnapping, the abductors issued their list of demands, which included one million pounds in cash and the release of Maqbool Butt, co-founder of the JKLF, who was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail after being sentenced to death for killing personnel of Indian security forces some years ago. For two days there were hectic attempts to goad Mrs Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister, into agreeing to negotiate a deal with Mhatre’s abductors. But Mrs Gandhi remained unmoved and her message was unambiguous: No talks, no deal; the hostage-takers can do their worst. On February 6, Mhatre’s body was found in a lane near a farm. He had been shot dead after the JKLF realised it was futile to expect Mrs Gandhi to wilt under pressure and agree to a swap. There were no 24x7 television news channels those days to dramatise the event, but newspaper reports were sufficient to generate national outrage. A grim-faced Mrs Gandhi struck back. Maqbool Butt was executed five days later on February 11 after President Zail Singh was told to spurn his mercy petition. The JKLF leaders in Birmingham panicked and fled Britain; it’s another matter that British courts abjectly failed to fetch justice to Mhatre.
Cynics would suggest that Mrs Gandhi’s audacious tit-for-tat policy did not yield long-term results. That, however, is a fallacious argument, not the least because it overlooks certain crucial facts. Between 1984 and the winter of 1989, the cadre of the JKLF, which was then the sole terrorist organisation demanding azadi, were on the run and their top leaders were in jail. Mrs Gandhi had based her decision on the simple principle that a country as large as India could absorb the loss of one official but it couldn’t countenance the threat posed by terrorists. It worked — till VP Singh came to power and appointed Mufti Mohammed Sayeed as his Home Minister. On December 8, 1989, Rubaiya Sayeed, the Mufti’s daughter, was kidnapped in Kashmir by JKLF gunmen who demanded the release of five senior ‘commanders’ of the organisation from prison. VP Singh capitulated and Jammu & Kashmir has never been the same again; nor has the Government been able to stand firm before terrorist demands after that spectacular submission of the authority of the state to the fear induced by terrorism. It irreparably broke the national spirit and the will of the Government, as was demonstrated during the week-long saga of shame that followed the hijacking of IC-814 to Kandahar which ended with our setting free three Pakistani terrorists who have since acquired greater infamy through their murderous jihad.
The reason why these events from the past are important to recall and remember is to contextualise the astonishingly timid surrender by the Government of Odisha before the Maoists who abducted the Collector of Malkangiri district R Vineel Krishna and a junior engineer, Pabitra Majhi, 26 years to the month after Mhatre’s kidnapping by terrorists of another ideological persuasion. The Maoists initially made 14 demands, including the immediate halt to counter-insurgency operations, withdrawal of all Central paramilitary forces from areas infested by Red terrorists, release of five of their senior comrades wanted for scores of crimes and cancellation of agreements with multinational corporations. They also named their own choice of negotiators to strike a deal with the Government, which meekly complied without even bothering to look into the strategic implications of grovelling before Maoists whose depredations the Prime Minister has repeatedly described as the “biggest threat to India’s national security”. Last Wednesday Majhi was set free by the Maoists after one of their most wanted comrades, Ganti Prasadam, accused of more than 100 crimes, was “granted bail”; they next upped the ante and asked for the release of four other jailed comrades, taking the total to nine. Twenty-four hours later, the Collector was set free in a ‘people’s court’.
Frankly, it is immaterial how the Malkangiri story ended. It is equally irrelevant that the State Government now claims that it acted in a pragmatic and responsible manner. Any justification of the shameful and shaming surrender by the state is so much poppycock and nothing more than that. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik need not have hastened to appease those waging war on the state. He could have taken a cue from the Governments of Bihar and Chhattisgarh which dared the Maoists to kill abducted policemen rather than give in; used negotiations as tactics to gain time, locate the abductors and threaten them with an overwhelming response; and, secured the freedom of the hostages without giving in to their demands. Even if that tactical ploy had failed in Odisha, surely India could have absorbed the loss of two men to secure the safety of more than a billion people?
Sadly, the message from Bihar and Chhattisgarh, as also from West Bengal where the Left Front is waging a determined war against Maoists in Lalgarh, admittedly using means that may not be entirely fair or legal, will now be drowned by the pathetic whimper from Odisha. The memory of 277 men in uniform killed by Maoists in 2010 stands pitilessly ridiculed by a limp-wristed Government that lacks both courage and conviction. Strangely the Union Government refused to step in and prevent the Odisha Government from causing lasting damage to India’s war on terror. Equally strangely, New Delhi claims it asked Bhubaneswar not to capitulate. Which brings us to the question: Who calls the shots in India’s war on terror?
-- Follow the writer on: http://twitter.com/KanchanGupta. Blog on this and other issues at http://kanchangupta.blogspot.com. Write to him at kanchangupta@rocketmail.com
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a slightly different take 2...strategy and tactics
By Arihant on 2/27/2011 9:03:59 PM
Antinational elements either indulge in crime or its abetment,there must be a trail,and howsoever faint it may be,to the analytical and meticulous it is enough,and while it may not be possible to arraign these follks for the main charges,secondary and tertiary charges against them can be upheld.
Maoist vote bank?!
By Rajinder Singh on 2/27/2011 4:15:46 PM
Odisha is different from Bhiar and Chattisgarh. Most "Maoists" in Odisha are actually tribal coverts to Christianity. We must remember that Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was killed by "Maoists" for his opposition to conversions. So, it is actually a battle for vote bank, 'fought' with compliance by Naveen Patnaik, and silence by Manmohan.
surrender
By ram on 2/27/2011 1:41:56 PM
Treating the symptom will cure the disease.We should implement unique id scheme for all.Some boy suggest that it will be prone o msuse by market forces and others.Then what is the logic in asking MPs and MLA,JUDICIARY ,Bureaucrats to declare their assets.Are their rights and security less imporatnt.Gve subsidy and other benefits direct to the a/c opened with unique ID .Implement minor irrigation shemes with helpof MNREGA fund.Irrgigation channels be built by got and deep tubewell be provided i
a slightly different take..
By Arihant on 2/27/2011 12:11:45 PM
Where the political leadership is and has been corrupt and compromised,where patently antinational forces have a voice in various bodies and where the investigative and intelligence arm is plagued by political interference and patronage nothing is possible.This is the only problem before India,nothing else.
TV Debate
By Surya on 2/27/2011 11:28:31 AM
After seeing your photo-it was you in the left right centre last Friday....You are just good, I would suggest ask your Boss Chandan NOT to come for TV debate as he is too soft....-):You took off that kid from Tehelka very well...Please appear in TV more often and SHUT UP these kids.....Tx
NAXALISM, &TERRORISM, POOR SHOW BY GOVT OF INDIA
By BAPTY .S on 2/27/2011 11:12:22 AM
MR KANCHAN as usual good article, perhaps you could have been bold enough to say only ''MAN OR C.M IN INDIA WHO IS CAPABLE OF TACKLING THIS IS SHRI NARENDRA MODI" we are all bearing about the bush,allowing all this to happen,instead of head on tackling it.
THIS IS COWARDICE ,NOT DISCRETION
By ramesh kumar on 2/27/2011 6:55:54 AM
I totally agree with you sir ,it is a meek surrender.Congress ruled centre is hand in glove with underground forces,as in Assam A member of such force was found having been sheltered by one congress minister.Basic question is how can Maoism or Naxalism can be state subject or simple law and order problem.
why support people like Binayak Sen.
RECENT STATEMENT OF CHIDAMBRAM ON AFJAL GURU IS EQUALLY SHOCKING.HIS JUSTIFICATION ARE APPALLING.
I DO WONDER,WHAT KIND OF A NATION WE ARE.!
Trying to slink off to Srinagar, Geelani held at IGI Airport by Karn Pratap Singh
Trying to slink off to Srinagar, Geelani held at IGI Airport by Karn Pratap Singh
March 02, 2011 2:21:14 AM
Karn Pratap Singh | New Delhi
http://www.dailypioneer.com/321417/Trying-to-slink-off-to-Srinagar-Geelani-held-at-IGI-Airport.html
Despite being served notice for not leaving the city without informing the investigating agency, Hurriyat faction leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani attempted to leave the Capital on Tuesday.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police, however, detained him at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal-3, where he and his son had gone to board a flight for Srinagar. Geelani was brought to Lodhi Colony office of the Special Cell and interrogated for at least four hours for his alleged involvement in the hawala racket.
The Delhi Police had served a notice on Geelani on February 22 asking him to join the investigation in a hawala case, in which four Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists arrested by the Special Cell on January 22 this year had named him. Geelani, however, showed his inability in joining the investigation claiming he was not well and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Delhi. The Special Cell served a fresh notice on him asking him to indicate a convenient date and time when he could meet an officer investigating the case of hawala transactions.
Confirming that Geelani was stopped from going to Srinagar, Special Commissioner of Police (special cell) PN Aggarwal said, “He was called in to join investigation related to a hawala case.
Our investigating officials questioned him over the matter.” Sources in the Special Cell revealed that Geelani was taken to Special Cell’s Lodhi Colony office around 11 am and questioned in connection with his alleged role in the hawala racket, besides the reason for leaving the city without informing the investigating agency.
“Despite repeated attempts he could not give any satisfactory reason to leave for Srinagar,” said the source adding he was allowed to leave the Special cell office around 3 pm. The separatist leader was under observation at his Malviya Nagar residence from the time he was served a notice by the investigating agency. Four cops in plain clothes were keeping a round-the-clock watch on his movement and on Tuesday morning they learnt about his movement to IGI Airport.
The recently-unearthed hawala trail in the Kashmir Valley has put the spotlight on some senior leaders of the Hurriyat Conference, following which the head of the hardline faction of the separatist group, Geelani, was asked not to leave Delhi so that he could be questioned.
Spokesman of hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference Ayaz Akbar had alleged if Geelani was being implicated in the hawala case it would be construed as an attempt to defame the movement in Kashmir. Akbar also confirmed that Geelani was taken to Lodhi Colony while he was going to catch a flight to Kashmir.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police, however, detained him at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal-3, where he and his son had gone to board a flight for Srinagar. Geelani was brought to Lodhi Colony office of the Special Cell and interrogated for at least four hours for his alleged involvement in the hawala racket.
The Delhi Police had served a notice on Geelani on February 22 asking him to join the investigation in a hawala case, in which four Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists arrested by the Special Cell on January 22 this year had named him. Geelani, however, showed his inability in joining the investigation claiming he was not well and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Delhi. The Special Cell served a fresh notice on him asking him to indicate a convenient date and time when he could meet an officer investigating the case of hawala transactions.
Confirming that Geelani was stopped from going to Srinagar, Special Commissioner of Police (special cell) PN Aggarwal said, “He was called in to join investigation related to a hawala case.
Our investigating officials questioned him over the matter.” Sources in the Special Cell revealed that Geelani was taken to Special Cell’s Lodhi Colony office around 11 am and questioned in connection with his alleged role in the hawala racket, besides the reason for leaving the city without informing the investigating agency.
“Despite repeated attempts he could not give any satisfactory reason to leave for Srinagar,” said the source adding he was allowed to leave the Special cell office around 3 pm. The separatist leader was under observation at his Malviya Nagar residence from the time he was served a notice by the investigating agency. Four cops in plain clothes were keeping a round-the-clock watch on his movement and on Tuesday morning they learnt about his movement to IGI Airport.
The recently-unearthed hawala trail in the Kashmir Valley has put the spotlight on some senior leaders of the Hurriyat Conference, following which the head of the hardline faction of the separatist group, Geelani, was asked not to leave Delhi so that he could be questioned.
Spokesman of hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference Ayaz Akbar had alleged if Geelani was being implicated in the hawala case it would be construed as an attempt to defame the movement in Kashmir. Akbar also confirmed that Geelani was taken to Lodhi Colony while he was going to catch a flight to Kashmir.
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