सोनिया गांधी की यात्रा का खर्च 1850 करोड़

इतना खर्चा तो प्रधानमंत्री का भी नहीं है :  पिछले तीन साल में सोनिया की सरकारी ऐश का सुबूत, सोनिया गाँधी के उपर सरकार ने पिछले तीन साल में जीतनी रकम उनकी निजी बिदेश यात्राओ पर की है उतना खर्च तो प्रधानमंत्री ने भी नहीं किया है ..एक सुचना के अनुसार पिछले तीन साल में सरकार ने करीब एक हज़ार आठ सौ अस्सी करोड रूपये सोनिया के विदेश दौरे के उपर खर्च किये है ..कैग ने इस पर आपति भी जताई तो दो अधिकारियो का तबादला कर दिया गया .
अब इस पर एक पत्रकार रमेश वर्मा ने सरकार से आर टी आई के तहत निम्न जानकारी मांगी है : 

1. सोनिया के उपर पिछले तीन साल में कुल कितने रूपये सरकार ने उनकी विदेश यात्रा के लिए खर्च की है ?
2. क्या ये यात्राये सरकारी थी ?
3. अगर सरकारी थी तो फिर उन यात्राओ से इस देश को क्या फायदा हुआ ?
4. भारत के संबिधान में सोनिया की हैसियत एक सांसद की है तो फिर उनको प्रोटोकॉल में एक राष्ट्रअध्यछ का दर्जा कैसे मिला है ?
5. सोनिया गाँधी आठ बार अपनी बीमार माँ को देखने न्यूयॉर्क के एक अस्पताल में गयी जो की उनकी एक निजी यात्रा थी फिर हर बार हिल्टन होटल में चार महगे सुइट भारतीय दूतावास ने क्यों सरकारी पैसे से बुक करवाए ?
6. इस देश के प्रोटोकॉल के अनुसार सिर्फ प्रधानमंत्री और राष्ट्रपति ही विशेष विमान से अपने लाव लश्कर के साथ विदेश यात्रा कर सकते है तो फिर एक सांसद को विशेष सरकारी विमान लेकर विदेश यात्रा की अनुमति क्यों दी गयी ?
7. सोनिया गाँधी ने पिछले तीन साल में कितनी बार इटली और वेटिकेन की यात्राये की है ?

मित्रों कई बार कोशिश करने के बावजूद भी जब सरकार की ओर से कोई जबाब नहीं मिला तो थक हारकर केंद्रीय सुचना आयोग में अपील करनी पड़ी.
 केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग प्रधानमंत्री और उनके कार्यालय के गलत रवैये से हैरान हो गया .और उसने प्रधानमंत्री के उपर बहुत ही सख्त टिप्पडी की

1. केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग ने कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष सोनिया गांधी के विदेशी दौरों पर उस पर खर्च हुए पैसे को सार्वजनिक करने को कहा है। सीआईसी ने प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय को इसके निर्देश भी दिए हैं। हिसार के एक आरटीआई कार्यकर्ता रमेश वर्मा ने प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय से सोनिया गांधी के विदेशी दौरों, उन पर खर्च, विदेशी दौरों के मकसद और दौरों से हुए फायदे के बारे में जानकारी मांगी है।
2. 26 फरवरी 2010 को प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय को वर्मा की याचिका मिली, जिसे पीएमओ ने 16 मार्च 2010 को विदेश मंत्रालय को भेज दिया। 26 मार्च 2010 को विदेश मंत्रालय ने याचिका को संसदीय कार्य मंत्रालय के पास भेज दिया। प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय के इस ढ़ीले रवैए पर नाराजगी जताते हुए मुख्य सूचना आयुक्त सत्येन्द्र मिश्रा ने निर्देश दिया कि भविष्य में याचिका की संबंधित मंत्रालय ही भेजा जाए। वर्मा ने पीएमओ के सीपीआईओ को याचिका दी थी। सीपीआईओ को यह याचिका संबंधित मंत्रालय को भेजनी चाहिए थी।

आखिर सोनिया की विदेश यात्राओ में वो कौन सा राज छुपा है जो इस देश के " संत " प्रधानमंत्री इस देश की जनता को बताना नहीं चाहते ? !

Communal Violence Bill can be a disaster for India

ARINDAM CHAUDHURI | New Delhi, June 3, 2011 09:19

http://www.thesundayindian.com/en/story/communal-violence-bill-can-be-a-disaster-for-india/15814/

The road to hell is almost always paved with noble intentions. In the Indian democracy, this has been proven true a countless number of times. I am afraid we shall be headed yet again towards hellish times if a new policy that is being currently debated manages to become law, thanks to the super secular denizens of India whose intensity and range of noble intentions usually matches the mayhem that the same noble intentions often trigger.

I am talking about the well intentioned economists, sociologists, activists and assorted jholawala types who are convinced that it is their divine right to advice the UPA regime on all sorts of policy issues. Right at the top of this pyramid of do-gooders is the National Advisory Council (NAC) which is headed by Sonia Gandhi. Virtually all the members of NAC have impeccable records and reputations when it comes to their commitment towards the aam aadmi of India. Let me also be very clear in stating that a lot of credit for path breaking policy changes like the Right to Information Act, the NREGA and the Right to Education Act should go to the NAC. It is also wonderful to see members of the NAC valiantly battle it out against a callous, insensitive and cruel government when it comes to implementing the Right to Food Act.

In each of these above mentioned cases, the men and women with noble intentions have sought to protect and defend the rights of victims – usually the poor and the downtrodden of India who get only lip service from the government. And now, this group of people has set out to protect and defend the rights of another set of victims – I am talking about the victims of communal riots and violence. Nobody will dispute the fact that communal riots have been a blot on the Indian democracy. Similarly, nobody will dispute the fact that those have usually been the minorities who have borne the brunt of communal violence, even though provocation often comes from both sides of the divide. The 2002 riots of Gujarat and the 2008 riots of Orissa are often cited as classic examples of how communal violence makes hapless victims out of minorities. In Gujarat, it was Muslims; and in Orissa, it was Christians. So to continue with their noble mission to protect and defend victims, members of the NAC have given the green signal to the Communal Violence Bill – officially labelled as the Prevention of  Communal and Targeted Violence Bill – that seeks to protect minorities from murder, mayhem and worse during communal riots.

When I read newspaper reports about this proposed law and the objections raised by politicians like Arun Jaitley, my first reaction was that the BJP was probably trying to play the Hindutva card. But I was speechless with shock when I actually managed to go through some provisions and clauses of the Bill. Most newspapers, magazines and TV channels have been politically correct and have sheepishly and squeamishly reported about the problems with the Draft Bill. But I have never believed in being politically correct. And so, let me say in plain words what the implications of the proposed law are.

If this Draft Bill becomes law, it will become Constitutionally accepted that only Hindus cause riots; and that Muslims, Christians and other minorities can never be held responsible for riots because the definition of the term ‘group’, which is the backbone of this Draft Bill, is made totally in such a manner that the majority, that is the Hindus, will be at the receiving end of the stick. Thus, if this Draft Bill becomes law, the Indian Constitution will accept that only Hindus incite and provoke religious hatred and denigrate other religions; and that Muslims and Christians can never do that. If this Bill becomes law, all the accused in the Gujarat riots will be culpable and be sentenced, while all those responsible for the death of train passengers at Godhra would be presumed to have harboured only goodwill for Hindus. 

If this Bill becomes law, only Hindus will be tried, convicted and sentenced for communal violence and incitement of communal hatred because the Constitution will refuse to accept that Muslims and Christians are capable of violence and hatred. If this Bill becomes law, any anonymous complainant can file a police case against a Hindu for inciting communal hatred – and the police will have to register it as a non-bailable offence. The accused – who would be arrested – would not even have the right to know who the complainant is.
And the accused Hindu will virtually be presumed to be guilty unless he or she can prove his her innocence.
A Hindu activist who complains against fanatic Christian missionaries (Believe me, there are many of them out there) converting tribals through inducements and bribes will be sent behind bars; the Christian missionary who openly calls Hindus ‘heathens’ or ‘Kafirs’ and tramples upon idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses will be forever found innocent by the Indian Constitution.That was as far as Hindus are concerned. But it is not just about them. Every other clause in the Bill seems flawed. The definition of ‘Hate Propaganda’ is designed to give the government draconian powers and curb freedom of speech. The bill seems to be made on the basis of a dictatorial approach which assumes the accused guilty until proven innocent, and this is totally unconstitutional. Then, of course, it talks about the formation of a ‘National Authority’, a new power centre for harassment.

So, now you see where noble intentions can lead up to. I have no doubt whatsoever that activists, do-gooders and others of their ilk, right up to the members of the NAC, genuinely want to protect minorities from communal riots and violence. I have also no doubt that a majority of them – I am deliberately not saying all of them – harbour a peculiar and inexplicable hatred towards all aspects of Hinduism. But ask yourself honestly: Is this Bill going to promote communal harmony in the country? I would have simply laughed out loudly and derisively if the matter had not been not so serious and potentially devastating for India. And frankly, how does one define minorities? There are many districts and towns in India where Muslims or Christians outnumber Hindus. Who will then be blamed for communal violence and riots? If one were to suppose there are riots in two towns in Uttar Pradesh – one with a Muslim majority and one with a Hindu majority... What will the police do in both these cases? Arrest only Hindus because the Indian law will state so?

Moving beyond the Bill and the disastrous impact it will have on India if it becomes law, I must also point out one thing that is peculiar to the Congress party and the Gandhi family in particular. The readers of The Sunday Indian will know that I am quite an admirer of the Gandhi family, due to my particular fondness for the promise that Rajiv Gandhi held. I have never had any doubts about their contribution to the India story. And yet, they have had this strange tendency to depend on and promote advisors and Kitchen Cabinets – a move that has often cost them dearly in political terms.
Indira Gandhi had a series of advisors who came from a non-political background. They were committed Indians. And yet, it is they who are responsible for the monstrous license-permit raj in India that is primarily responsible for the endless corruption. Rajiv Gandhi too had many bright advisors who had no interest in electoral politics. And look at what they did first with the Shah Bano case, then the Ayodhya case and finally the Bofors issue. I fear Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are in danger of committing the same mistake. It was Shah Bano and Ayodhya during the Rajiv era that eventually propelled the BJP to power in Delhi. It could be the Communal Violence Bill in the Sonia and Rahul era that could yet again hand over the keys of Delhi to the BJP.

I will sum up by saying that communal harmony cannot be brought about with such discriminatory bills. It can be brought about by providing access to education and equal opportunities for a dignified living. It’s time the government thinks about such methods instead of passing such draconian bills or for that matter increasing internal security budgets etc. to fight the menace of naxalism. Access to equitable policies and right to a dignified living will take care of most of the problems that the government seems so clueless about.

 

Best Regards,

 

Srinivas Thatipelli

121, East Claremont Street, Edinburgh, EH7 4JA

Scotland, UK, (M)+44(0)7424 675 444

आप टैक्स चुकाते रहिए, ताकि अब्दुल नासेर मदनी स्वस्थ रह सके… ... Abdul Naser Madni, Terrorism in Kerala

आप टैक्स चुकाते रहिए, ताकि अब्दुल नासेर मदनी स्वस्थ रह सके… ... Abdul Naser Madni, Terrorism in Kerala

बंगलोर के एक पॉश इलाके व्हाइटफ़ील्ड में स्थित सौख्य इंटरनेशनल होलिस्टिक सेंटर में एक वीआईपी मरीज का आयुर्वेदिक इलाज किया जा रहा है, उसे फ़ाइव स्टार श्रेणी की “पंचकर्म चिकित्सा” सुविधा दी जा रही है, ताकि वह जल्द से जल्द स्वस्थ हो सके। यह चिकित्सा उसे माननीय-माननीय (108 बार और जोड़ें) सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्देशों के अनुरूप प्रदान की जा रही है। यह वीआईपी मरीज कोई और नहीं, बल्कि कोयम्बटूर एवं बंगलोर बम धमाकों का प्रमुख आरोपी अब्दुल नासेर मदनी है। उल्लेखनीय है कि राष्ट्रीय जाँच एजेंसी (NIA) ने अब्दुल नासेर मदनी के लश्कर से सम्बन्धों की बात स्वीकार की है और जाँच जारी है, परन्तु इस आतंकवादी को बंगलोर के निकट पाँच सितारा स्पा सेण्टर में इलाज दिया जा रहा है, क्योंकि भारत एक “सेकुलर” देश है। ज़ाहिर है कि अब्दुल नासेर मदनी के 26 दिन के इस आयुर्वेदिक कोर्स का लगभग दस लाख का खर्च भारत के ईमानदार करदाताओं की जेब से ही जाएगा। (चित्र में मदनी का आलीशान सुईट)

सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्देशों के तहत अब्दुल नासेर मदनी को 7 जून को इस स्पा केन्द्र में भरती किया गया है, क्योंकि “मदनी बचाओ समिति” नाम की “सुपर-सेकुलर संस्था” ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट के समक्ष याचिका दायर करके बताया कि फ़िलहाल व्हील चेयर पर जीवन बिता रहे अब्दुल मदनी को डायबिटीज़, पीठ दर्द एवं न्यूराइटिस (तलवों में जलन) की वजह से चिकित्सा सहायता मुहैया करवाना आवश्यक है। कर्नाटक पुलिस अपना मन मसोसकर और खून जलाकर अब्दुल नासेर मदनी की सेवा में पाँच पुलिस वालों को दिन-रात लगाए हुए है, सोचिये कि पुलिसवालों की मनःस्थिति पर क्या गुज़रती होगी?

साध्वी प्रज्ञा भी मालेगाँव बम धमाकों के सिलसिले में मुम्बई पुलिस की हिरासत में हैं, उनके साथ जो सलूक हो रहा है वह आप यहाँ पढ़ सकते हैं (Sadhvi Pragya Hindu Terrorist??), परन्तु अब्दुल मदनी के इलाज की इस “सेकुलर” घटना से सबसे पहला सवाल तो यही खड़ा होता है कि क्या किसी आतंकवादी को इस प्रकार की पंचकर्म चिकित्सा दी जानी चाहिए? और चलो मान लो कि “गाँधीवादी नपुंसक इंजेक्शन” की वजह से “सेकुलर भारतवासी” इस आतंकवादी के अच्छे स्वास्थ्य की कामना कर भी लें तब भी इसका खर्च हमें क्यों उठाना चाहिए? सुप्रीम कोर्ट को यह निर्देश देना चाहिए था कि मदनी के इस इलाज का पूरा खर्च उसे और उसकी संस्थाओं को दुबई एवं केरल के मदरसों से मिलने वाले चन्दे से वसूला जाए।

एक रिटायर्ड पुलिस अधिकारी ने अपनी व्यथा ज़ाहिर करते हुए कहा कि “क्या पूरे देश के लाखों कैदियों में सिर्फ़ अब्दुल मदनी ही इन बीमारियों से पीड़ित है? फ़िर सिर्फ़ अकेले उसी को यह विशेष सुविधा क्यों दी जा रही है?”, परन्तु ऐसे सवाल पूछना बेकार है क्योंकि माननीय सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने ही आदेश दिया है और मदनी को बचाने वाली संस्थाएं “सेकुलर” मानी जाती हैं, और वोट बैंक की इस “घृणित” राजनीति के कारण ही 2006 में केरल विधानसभा (जहाँ सिर्फ़ कांग्रेस और वामपंथी हैं) ने सर्वानुमति से एक प्रस्ताव पारित करके अब्दुल नासेर मदनी को रिहा करने की माँग की थी, और जब स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री भी हमें चेता चुके हैं कि संसाधनों पर पहला हक मुस्लिमों का है तो हमें स्वीकार कर लेना चाहिए…

अफ़ज़ल गुरु हो या अजमल कसाब, भारत सरकार से वीआईपी ट्रीटमेण्ट लेना उनका “पैदाइशी अधिकार” है। वैसे तो “सेकुलरिज़्म” अपने-आप में ही एक घटिया चीज है, लेकिन जब वह कांग्रेस और वामपंथियों के हाथ होती है, तब वह घृणित और बदबूदार हो जाती है… भाजपा भी उसी रास्ते पर चलने की कोशिश कर रही है। ऐसे में “राष्ट्रवादी तत्व” अपना सिर पटकने के लिये अभिशप्त हैं, जबकि “सिर्फ़ मैं और मेरा परिवार” मानसिकता के अधिसंख्य अज्ञानी हिन्दू पैसा कमाने और टैक्स चुकाने में मशगूल हैं, ताकि उस टैक्स के पैसों का ऐसा “सदुपयोग” हो सके…। 

(सुप्रीम कोर्ट पर कोई भी टिप्पणी करते समय कृपया “माननीय X 108” शब्द का उपयोग अवश्य करें…)
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अब थोड़ा सा विषयांतर :
चलते-चलते :- बाबा रामदेव के आंदोलन को असफ़ल करने में एक प्रमुख भूमिका निभाने वाले अण्णा हजारे का एक रूप यह भी है, नीचे दी गई लिंक देखें… गाँधीवादी अण्णा, गैर-मराठियों को बाहर करने के मुद्दे पर राज ठाकरे का समर्थन कर रहे हैं…। मैंने पिछली पोस्ट में राज ठाकरे के साथ अण्णा का फ़ोटो दिया था, वह यही इशारा देने के लिए दिया था, कि अण्णा का कोई भरोसा नहीं, ये रामदेव बाबा-भगवाधारियों-संघ-भाजपा का विरोध करते हैं, लेकिन राज ठाकरे की तारीफ़ करते हैं…। महाराष्ट्र में इनके विरोधी इन्हें "सुपारीबाज अनशनकारी" कहते हैं, तो निश्चित ही कोई मजबूत कारण होगा, जो कि जल्दी ही सामने आ जायेगा…
http://newshopper.sulekha.com/hazare-backs-raj-thackeray-s-tirade-against-non-marathis_news_1024638.htm

अग्निवेश नामक “सेकुलर वामपंथी दलाल” को तो सभी लोग अच्छी तरह जानते हैं, इसलिये उसकी बात करना बेकार है…रही बात केजरीवाल और भूषणों की, वे भी जल्दी ही बेनकाब होंगे। रामदेव बाबा (यानी भगवाधारी) को "भ्रष्ट" और "कारोबारी" बताकर उनकी मुहिम का विरोध करने वाले, जल्दी ही सोच में पड़ने वाले हैं… :)

Posted by Suresh Chiplunkar at 12:14 P

Sanskara Bharati Akhila Bharatiya baithak

Sanskara Bharati  Akhila Bharatiya baithak held at Bhubaneswara with a colourful way

Muslims must introspect Sandhya Jain

Muslims must introspect

Sandhya Jain

May 10, 2011  

It is strange that Osama bin Laden, who propagated the purist Wahhabi Islam of Saudi Arabia, never articulated a viable path for his followers.

Osama bin Laden’s purported last will and testament and the manner of his death hold vital lessons that the Islamic world, particularly the Sunni Muslim ummah, should urgently ponder over. According to the Kuwait-based newspaper Al-Anbaa, Osama bin Laden instructed his wives not to remarry, thus flouting Islamic law and practice, and putting himself at par with Prophet Mohammed, for whom alone Allah made this exception, as per the Quran. He also asked his children not to join Al Qaeda. By apologising to them for the lack of time he devoted to their upbringing, he virtually repudiated the universal jihad to which he had committed his life, and those of his followers.

Contemporary Islam’s most charismatic figure, comparable with Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab who inspired the rise of the Saudi dynasty as protector of a new Islamic purism, was doomed to fail in his mission to establish an Islamic Caliphate. For Osama bin Laden lacked the autonomy of the Prophet and the early Caliphs; he was trained and funded by Washington, DC to serve American political objectives. He subordinated himself and his movement to serve a nation leading a civilisation at war with his own Islamic faith; a contradiction of ends and means that ultimately proved fatal.

The idea of the Caliphate attracted Muslim youth experiencing the powerlessness of Islam in the modern era; but the dream was part of the West’s cynical manipulation of Muslim societies, a continuum of its patronage of military dictatorships in strategically important countries. Osama bin Laden compares well with TE Lawrence who instigated the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire to extend British influence in the region; Osama bin Laden provided validation for American overreach in many parts of the globe, such as Afghanistan and Iraq. He became the symbol of the West’s systematic demonisation of Islam.

It is strange that a man who propagated the purist Wahhabi Islam of his native Saudi Arabia and never articulated a viable path for his followers should have privately nurtured prophet-like ambitions, with the right to demand beyond-death allegiance from his wives. If Sunni Islam accepts this novelty, the ummah must further introspect and modulate aspects of the faith — specifically jihad — that put it at odds with the world, particularly non-monotheistic societies.

Since the World Wars, many Muslim leaders have surrendered to Western manipulation in exchange for totalitarian power over their subjects. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, pillars of Anglo-American control over much of the Muslim world, face a new challenge. As London recovers from military-economic fatigue and flexes old imperial muscles, and Washington injects fresh adrenaline to maintain sole superpower status, Riyadh and Islamabad must decide if they will continue a ‘friendship’ hated by their own citizens, or rise in defence of fellow Muslim countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, that resist Western powers?

More pertinently, will Riyadh and Islamabad resist Western pressure against Shias as represented by Iran and Syria (Alawite) where the US wants ‘regime change’? Will Saudis make peace with their Shia population in the north-east, Iraq’s Shia majority which is pro-Iran, and Shia-majority Bahrain? The regime is fragile with rising unemployment and local resentment at the lifestyle of 7,000-odd princelings; the royals depend upon former Pakistani soldiers for security. While Saudi oil wealth lubricates the Western economies, Pakistan is critical for America’s renewed interest in Central Asia, where fears of ‘regime change’ again loom. In fact, Iran cannot be contained without a hold in Central Asia.

But the fresh strain in Washington-Islamabad relations following the action against Osama bin Laden has shaken Pakistan’s delicate democracy and made it vulnerable to a military takeover. The question naturally arises: How does America plan to compensate Pakistan — in Afghanistan, or Kashmir, or both? The US has had troops in Afghanistan since October 2001 and is anxious to pull them out; Osama bin Laden’s death provides an honourable exit. A Pakistan-friendly Afghanistan will upset India, but there is no guarantee that the tumultuous Afghan tribes will defer to America’s ‘major non-NATO ally’.

A few words about Osama bin Laden’s death are in order. He was killed by American Navy SEALs on the intervening night of May 1-2, as attested by his wife and 12-year-old daughter, who said her father was caught and shot in cold blood, unarmed. Pakistani policemen found at least three corpses of unarmed men shot through the nose and ears, lying in pools of blood. No arms of any kind were found.

There can be only one reason why the world’s most wanted man would live with his family and associates completely unarmed in a foreign country, which is that the Pakistan Government had assumed responsibility for his security. Only Islamabad could have enabled Osama bin Laden to live in a sheltered mansion in Abbottabad, within yards of the elite Military Academy and in the neighbourhood of retired defence officers. Doubtless this catered to his need for regular dialysis.

Assuming that the Pakistani Army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the ISI Director-General, Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, were not informed about the US raid, and the Black Hawk stealth helicopters evaded radar detection, but four helicopters could hardly land in a neighbourhood unnoticed. Civilian neighbours watched from their roofs, but local police constables slept through the episode, as did the serving and retired officers. All this reeks of complicity.

It seems likely that Osama bin Laden, suffering from serious kidney problems, diabetes and low blood pressure, was turned over to the Americans because he was near his end. Pakistan would not have been able to conceal his death or manage the fallout in terms of a surge in support for Al Qaeda, funeral crowds, and so on. Maybe his native Saudi Arabia gave the nudge, saying it would not accept his body. Washington managed all these issues by killing him and tossing his body into the Arabian Sea. A man who died on land cannot be buried at sea; this was politically expedient. The flip side is that it has humiliated the entire ummah.

The militant Sunni Muslims of Jammu & Kashmir who are keen to join Pakistan’s US-serving Generals would do well to recall how India ensured a burial with appropriate rites to the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on Mumbai in 2008, as also those who attacked Parliament House in 2001, after Pakistan refused to accept their bodies. Do they still want to abandon the land of dharma for the land of deceit?

http://www.dailypioneer.com/337594/Muslims-must-introspect.html

From ‘shy’ to ‘shameless’ politics S Gurumurthy

From ‘shy’ to ‘shameless’ politics 

S Gurumurthy

Here is a sample for the extent of anger against the corrupt today. “If you can’t deal sternly with corruption, India will break up like the Soviet Union. We should emulate China and hang highly corrupt people openly at the India Gate.” Who says this? Abhijit Bhattacharya, formerly chief commissioner of customs and excise. A newspaper correspondent, who overheard him saying so to his friend on phone, quoted it in his report. Here is an entry in Abhijit Bhattacharya’s bio. He impounded and taxed the aircraft imported by Mukesh Ambani as gift to his wife. See just the three scams and the volumes of bribe which make responsible people like Bhattacharya talk of hanging the corrupt in public: 2G ($40 billions). CWG ($1.5 billion) and Hasan Ali ($24.8 billion) – totalling $66.3 billion or over Rs 3 lakh crore. 

Nobody denies, indeed no one can deny, the fact of high corruption. Yet, no one dares to identify the face of the corrupt high. Raja, Kanimozhi or Kalmadi do not exhaust the faces of the corrupt. Are they main players? Or just side actors? Raja himself says that he will “reveal all later” — implying undisclosed actors. They cannot be his peons. They have to be above him, not under him. If the comparables of Rajas and Kanis were the ultimate face of corruption, then, with chargesheets against them, the UPA government has effectively contained corruption. But even the ruling party does not dare lay such a claim. No one is satisfied with chargesheeting the buccaneers and second and third line corrupt political leaders. Everyone knows that corruption on such a massive scale is not possible without the tacit or active involvement of those at the very top.

There are speculations about the big names involved. No seer is needed to say who are bigger than those named. Those at the top are answerable irrespective of who is the culprit. But instead, they are lecturing and pontificating on the evil of corruption, swearing zero tolerance to it! And more. They have even joined the crusaders against corruption! And paradoxically, neither the neutral crusaders against corruption nor the partisan opposition dare name or hold those higher than Raja, Kani and Kalmadi responsible. The reason is the shift in the political discourse on corruption. The corrupt have started applying to themselves the norms of criminals in courts. Mere charges are not adequate now to make the corrupt respond: a chargesheet in court is a must to make them answer. Even the media and the crusaders against corruption seem to have accepted this shift. How did this shift take place? Read on.   

Recall the Bofors scam, which decided the outcome of 1989 elections. The Bofors bribe in millions fade in comparison today’s bribes in billions. The entire non-congress political spectrum — from the CPM to the BJP — made Rajiv Gandhi answerable for the Bofors scam, and united to defeat him on that issue. Rajiv’s political mistake was that he claimed to be clean. The Bofors scam hit his clean image. He denied there was any payoff in the deal at all. That proved a lie, as the media exposed payoffs to Quattrocchi, Hindujas, and Chaddas. There was no photographic evidence of payoff to Rajiv. He was suspected mainly because the payoff taker ‘Q’ was his wife’s (Sonia’s) friend. That made him the direct target of the opposition. For, credible allegations were considered adequate to make politicians answerable to the public. Chargesheets were required only to make criminals answerable to courts. This distinction between norms of politics and the rule of courts has been obliterated in the political discourse of today.

So, like criminals, corrupt political leaders are considered honest today unless they are charged in court. They even insist that they are innocent till charges are proved in court. Criminal jurisprudence has been imported into political process.

This shift has made political class shameless. Shyness, which was the norm of politics, has been replaced by shamelessness. Now all that a politician has to do is to turn a blind eye to the allegations against him or her; remain shamelessly silent when charged in public. He or she will be considered honest, so long as charges are not proved beyond reasonable doubt. See how this shift works now.

Despite the huge scams Manmohan Singh is repeatedly certified as “personally” honest. The scams are the product of the UPA led by Sonia Gandhi. Yet she is perpetually celebrated as saint. More.

Apart from Sonia’s link with Bofors payoff through ‘Q’, there are serious charges by credible investigators that she has inherited bribe monies abroad. She remains silent. That is accepted adequate response. The neutral crusaders against corruption did not demand any answer from her when she supported them for tough laws against corruption. Seeing her, even B S Yeddyurappa began supporting the Lokpal Bill! This is shift from shy to shameless politics at work.   

PS: By insidiously making corruption an apolitical issue, the corrupt have robbed its potency. Corruption is potent only as political issue, rulers Vs opposition affair. Jayaprakash Narayan never made the Bihar movement a war of the honest against the dishonest. He united the opposition, with its share of corruption, against the bigger corruption of the rulers.

Mulayams and Laloos of today are after all the products of his movement. So, JP, an idealist, was equally strategic too. Neither Anna Hazare nor Swami Ramdev can succeed in their mission unless they, like JP, united the opposition against the rulers. Are they prepared to drop their high claim to neutrality? Ramnath Goenka, a battle veteran, used to say that the neutrals fall between two stools. That seems to be the fate of the neutral anti-corruption movement today.

(The writer is a well-known commentator on political and economic issues.

E-mail: comment@gurumurthy.net

http://expressbuzz.com/biography/‘Shy’-to-‘shameless’-politics/273519.html

Most wanted at large

Joginder Singh

Given India’s archaic laws and ageing leadership, it is unlikely that even if we can extradite terrorists from Pakistan, we will be able to convict them in a court of law.

Given below is a list of India’s 10 most-wanted criminals, all of whom are living in Pakistan, alongwith a description of the crimes they have committed.

Maulana Azhar Masood: Leader of Jaish-i-Mohammad, he is held responsible for the 2001 attack on Parliament. He is also wanted for an attack on the Jammu & Kashmir legislature that was carried out on October 1, 2001, in which 38 people were killed.

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed: Co-founder of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, he is also wanted for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack. Currently, he operates from Muridke town, near Lahore.

Dawood Ibrahim: An underworld don, he is accused of planning and financing 13 explosions in Mumbai in 1993 in which almost 300 people died. He is also wanted in several other cases relating to illegal arms supply, counterfeiting, drug trade, funding alleged criminals, smuggling and murder. He lives in Karachi.

Chhota Shakeel: A key associate of Dawood Ibrahim, he is wanted for murder, extortion, abduction and for blackmailing top businessmen and film stars. He is believed to a spy for the ISI. He now lives in Karachi.

“Tiger” Ibrahim Memon: Along with Dawood Ibrahim, he is the other prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He is also wanted for murder, extortion, kidnapping, terrorism and smuggling arms and explosives. He lives in Karachi and travels frequently to Dubai.

Ayub Memon: Brother of Ibrahim Memon, he is also an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. He alleged helped Ibrahim Memon carry out the blasts. He is wanted in cases of terrorism and smuggling. He also lives in Karachi.

Abdul Razzak: Accused of involvement in the Mumbai blasts. He is wanted in cases of terrorism and arms smuggling. He lives in Karachi.

Syed Salahuddin: Head of Hizbul Mujahideen, he has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on Indian forces in Kashmir. He lives in Muzaffarabad.

Ibrahim Athar: An associate of Maulana Azhar Masood, he was one of those who hijacked the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999. He lives in Bahawalpur.

Zahoor Ibrahim Mistri: A member of Harkat-ul-Ansar, which later became Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, he is also wanted in connection with the hijacking of IC-814. He lives in Karachi.

Now, the big question is can India bring these terrorists across the border so that they may be tried under Indian laws? Pakistan is clearly following a policy wherein its neighbour’s enemy is its friend. How else can one explain the free reign enjoyed by so many of these terrorists in that country?

India may cry itself hoarse demanding that the aforementioned fugitives be handed over to the Government, but as we well know Pakistan’s standard response will either be that the wanted individual is not a Pakistani citizen or that he/she does not live in Pakistan. Indeed, this was exactly their stand when Ajmal Kasab was arrested after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Pakistan’s perverse policies towards India notwithstanding, it is also important to ensure that our own case files on these terror suspects remain up to date. Without impeccable records and strong, creditworthy evidence we will never be able to bring these terrorists to justice. The fact that India’s criminal laws themselves are outdated, only makes matters worse. Proof of that lies in the multiple acquittals of several suspects who were charged for their roles in the 1998 Mumbai blasts as well as the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Our laws were framed around 1863 when terrorism, as we know it today, did not exist. Using archaic laws to try modern day crimes is like pitting a bullock cart against an automobile.

Apart from an outdated criminal justice system, the other factor that plays against us as in the fight against terrorism, is our pseudo commitment to human rights, in the name of which the Indian judiciary has acquitted some more terrorists. I am certain that even if India manages to extradite some of the terrorists from Pakistan, they will possibly not be convicted as we attempt to make a show of human rights in the country.

Yet, in every other country national security trumps human rights concerns everyday. Take the US for example: The Guantánamo, Bay detention centre is still very much functioning despite a huge hue and cry from human rights defenders and other rights groups who have claimed that those held in that centre have been subject to human rights violations.

Located inside the US Naval Base on Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, the detention centre was was established in 2002 by former US President George W Bush to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq. The detainment areas consist of three camps: Camp Delta (which includes Camp Echo), Camp Iguana, and Camp X-Ray, the last of which has been closed. Despite widespread condemnation for perpetrating human rights abuses, the detention camp currently holds at least 172 detainees. Even President Barack Obama who had promised to shut down the facility during his 2008 election campaign has since changed his mind.

India, however, continues to be a state that is perennially soft on terror. There is no point bringing the wanted fugitives back from Pakistan if we cannot have expedited trials for them. Take the Batla House incident for example: The ‘encounter’ happened in 2008 but it was not until this year that we were able to frame charges. Similarly, it took 13 years for the trial of the1993 Mumbai blasts case to be completed. Unfortunately, our Government remains incapable of taking strong preemptive action to prevent terror attacks. We only indulge in big talk and our leaders including those from the military like to make grandiose statements but rarely to do they care to follow up.

It does not require great analytical skills to understand that our western neighbour is a rogue state. Official US documents from the Guantánamo bay detention centre, published by WikiLeaks, have revealed that US anti-terror experts were aware that Pakistani officials gave orders to terror operatives in India while at least one Lashkar-e-Tayyeba militant detained at Guantánamo was a direct ISI agent.

Yet, India has done nothing about any of this. This is because we are governed by ancient worthies, many of whom are in their seventies and eighties with literally one foot in the grave. Not a whole lot can be expected from them in terms of initiative or youthful motivation.

Little wonder then that countries with younger leaders, such as the US, the UK and France have taken greater political strides. Even in India, when we had younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi, bold decisions were taken and implemented. This is no longer the case. Even if Pakistan does hand over the terrorists, do we have a clear policy of how to deal with them? Apart from condemning them or calling them cowards, our leaders must do a lot more to ensure that the terrorists are brought to justice. That is their job and they have to get it done.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/338843/Most-wanted-at-large.html

In China, a rediscovery of Sanskrit

In China, a rediscovery of Sanskrit

Ananth Krishnan

The Hindu A class in session at Peking University with renowned Indian Sanskrit scholar Satyavrat Shastri teaching Chinese graduate students. Photo: Ananth Krishnan

The Sanskrit programme at Peking University has a long history, set up in the 1960s and subsequently expanded by renowned Indologist Ji Xianlin, who translated dozens of works

Almost two millennia after the language first came to China through Buddhist scriptures, renewed interest in Buddhist studies and recent discoveries of long-forgotten manuscripts in Tibet have sparked a revival of the study of the ancient language among Chinese scholars.

Beijing’s Peking University has now launched an ambitious programme to train more than 60 Chinese students in Sanskrit, with the hope of creating a team of researchers to help translate hundreds of manuscripts containing scriptures that have been found in Tibet and other centres of Buddhism, such as Hangzhou in China’s east.

“There is a rich manuscript collection in Tibet, particularly. Many of the originals have not been recovered, and are only available in Chinese and Tibetan, so it is important for us to find a way to render them back into Sanskrit,” said Satyavrat Shastri, a renowned New Delhi-based Sanskrit scholar and poet, who is in Beijing this week as a visiting lecturer to meet and advise students and teachers here.

“What they are trying to do here is invaluable, and they are making great progress,” Mr. Shastri said, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by the students’ technical level.

“I was struck by the interest, of both teachers and scholars, in little details, such as getting the pronunciation perfect. They recited the Bhagavad Gita with me, and it was a unique experience. The pronunciation, the metre [of reciting the verses], was remarkable.”

The Sanskrit programme at Peking University has a long history, set up in the 1960s and subsequently expanded by renowned Indologist Ji Xianlin, who translated dozens of works and is seen by many here as single-handedly introducing classical Indian culture to a whole generation of Chinese.

Today, the programme hopes to carry forward the legacy of Ji, who died in 2009.

The university’s efforts received a boost in 2005, when it was given support by the Ministry of Education to expand admissions, part of an effort to boost manuscript research.

Now, for the first time, the programme has a regular annual intake of students at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels, currently training between 50 and 60 students.

“We want to continue what Ji Xianlin started,” said Duan Qing, a professor in Sanskrit and Pali who once trained under Ji. “Our programme is quite mature now, and is the only complete Sanskrit programme in China.”

She attributed the recent boost in funding to increasing government support for the humanities, ignored during the People’s Republic’s first three decades when the country’s focus was on development alone.

“Sanskrit research is being viewed with importance now,” she said. “India and China were culturally connected. I don’t think there’s another country in the world where so many Sanskrit works were translated into another language, and this has been going on for more 1,000 years.”

Ms. Duan heads the Research Institute of Sanskrit Manuscripts and Buddhist Literature at Peking University, which is working with regional governments and hoping to create an archive for lost manuscripts and palm-leaves. Graduate students will work with the institute to help translate scriptures.

Yu Huaijin, a PhD student who is studying Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhava, said she joined the programme because she believed it was playing the role of “a bridge between two cultures.”

“India and China are neighbours, but they know little about each other, especially the younger generation. It is a big objective for me to introduce Indian culture and literature to a Chinese audience,” she said.

Few Chinese students are interested in Indian culture, with much greater interest in Western literature. Ms. Yu, too, was first a student of Western literature — until she happened to read a translation of the Mahabharata by Ji Xianlin. “It was a different world,” she said. “And one that few Chinese are aware of.”

Peking University has also begun working with Sanskrit programmes in universities in the West, particularly in Germany, to improve both teaching methods and archiving practices.

Indian universities, have however, appeared to show little interest in taking forward cooperation. Mr. Shastri, who is an honorary professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, admitted there was “precious little” cooperation between the two countries. There was room for much more, he said, encouraged by the positive response to his teaching methods this past week.

“We want to learn Sanskrit through traditional methods,” one teacher told him. “Not from the West.”

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article2023696.ece?homepage=true&sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dd1f00093055a8b%2C0

Binayak Sen: Convicted of sedition, advising the plan panel

R Vaidyanathan

Within weeks of getting bail from the Supreme Court in connection with charges of sedition, Binayak Sen has been made a member of the Planning Commission’s steering committee on health, which will advise the panel on the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017). Interestingly the mainstream media reported Sen as a human rights activist — whatever it is — rather than his conviction for sedition. The steering committee will review the National Health Policy, 2002, and explore the possibility of adopting the right to health as an approach with special focus on women, children, life-cycle care and preventive and curative healthcare.

Other than doing seditious activities, Sen is supposed to be running a healthcare organisation in Bilaspur and so Syeda Hameed, another jholawala [silk variety, not jute] in the Planning Commission, has appointed him as a part of the 40-member committee on health chaired by her. Hameeda’s claim to fame is being from Miranda House and a human rights activist, and a founder of the South Asian Human Rights group other than researching on Bhutto. None of it has anything to do with health.

His appointment has been confirmed by Montek Singh Ahuluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, and the chairman of the Planning Commission, namely the PM, will claim, as usual, that he knows nothing about such events. Binayak Sen himself has also been gracious to accept it.

Many of the civil society groups, both in the NAC and outside, are silent. The rule of law is primary and critical for these groups if it is pertains to Narendra Modi’s Gujarat but not to the naxals of Chhattisgarh. The session’s court has convicted Binayk Sen for sedition and facilitating Maoist insurgency, which seeks to destroy the Indian State and replace it with the dictatorship of the proletariat, where power stems from the barrel of the gun controlled by the politburo.

The conviction (remember these are not allegations) was upheld by the Jharkhand high court and he was refused bail. There was a hue and cry after the high court judgment, with reports mentioning him as a doctor and globally known right activist who has won several awards. As if a Nobel laureate, for instance, cannot be a murderer.

Suddenly, the mainstream media (MSM), which is part of the civil society jholawalas, forgot about the rule of law and the need to respect judicial verdicts. Then the Supreme Court gave him bail, which was reported by the MSM as Sen “walking free”. That is a distortion since he is still a convicted person and is out on bail.

Sedition, as we all understand, is a serious charge and there are civil rights groups that carefully tabulate the number of convicts and accused criminals standing for election. They have reported the number of persons with a criminal background in the various legislative assemblies and even in parliament. Civil groups and MSM routinely condemn their presence in these august bodies.

Sen has not committed a misdemeanour but felony, or a very serious crime. Unless he is acquitted, he is a convict for sedition.

He may be the national vice-president of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties, but he cannot work to destroy all our liberties under a Maoist rule.

The chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh, has expressed his indignation at the appointment of a convict for sedition by the central government in the Planning Commission. Baijendra Kumar, principal secretary to the chief minister, said that “the chief minister had disapproved of Sen’s nomination as he is convicted and out on bail. The case against him continues in court.”

But Raman Singh is merely an elected chief minister and not an unelectable jholawala — who currently hold de facto power at Delhi. It is all the more surprising that the ministry of home affairs is silent.

What next? Arundhati Roy, who is accused of treason, can be put in the National Integration Council and of course, Kasab can be part of the foreign ministry panel on Indo-Pak Aman ki Asha. And rule of Law - what is that?

— The author is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore. The views expressed are personal.

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/analysis_binayak-sen-

Sri Gurumurthy's talks was divided into different topics. Status of Black money abroad:

Sri Gurumurthy's talks was divided into different topics. 

Status of Black money abroad: 

• During 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Jairam Ramesh, refused to even acknowledge the presence of Black money abroad and rubbished all claims by Individuals and various other leaders as 'mostly bogus sources'.
• The German govt was willing to give the details of the secret account in Liechtenstein to GOI. However, the GOI never requested such information ever and continously denied presence of any such 'Black' money. But then Global Financial Integrity, a Public Policy Think Tank in Washington DC, researched and reported that an estimated $462 billion of India's illicit assets were held abroad. 67% of this amount was stashed in last 18 years, i.e after liberalization. (Report on Indian unaccounted money abroad - http://india.gfip.org/)
• In 1986, Sri Gurumurthy along with Mr.Vinod Pande and Mr. Bhure Lal started a anti-corruption campaign. Their work in this regard revealed that close to $300 billion of Indian money was stashed away in swiss banks. However a forged letter was planted to discredit Sri Gurumurthy for availing the services of a US detective agency, Fairfax. Sri Gurumurthy was arrested on the count that he was trying to get details of Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Amitabh Bachchan and the anti-corruption movement came to a halt. (http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/audience.nsf/(docid)/3BE4371E8803F741652569400062C30D - Arrest of Gurumurthy and related news)
• Sri Gurumurthy said that the present anti-corruption movement is hijacked by the GOI itself with the blessings of Sonia Gandhi, so it will not succeed. A anti-corruption movement has to be against the govt and not anybody else. The opposition has to take the lead in such a movement, which is not a case currently. 

Black Money and Tax Havens and western interests: 

• There are 70 tax havens in the world today. 8 Lakh 23 Thousand comapnies are registered in the British Virgin Islands. In the 1980's the Western countries encouraged the third world countries to stash money in tax havens as they could earn profit out of it. Later politicians, criminals took advantage of it. 
• Black money outside is as good as treason. The money stashed abroad could be used against the country itself and so amounts to treason. Whereas money that is parked in India itself, though illegal, will still be used within the country for various purposes.
• Black money is not an issue with the west, as for them they are fine collecting the taxes on it. India has to get the black money back. 
• Stock market capital in 1997 was $20 billion, in 2009 it was $48 billion. But net worth of rich individuals was $3 trillion in 97, in 2009 it rose to $33 trillion. America borrows money from rest of the world so that they can spend!!! Housing debt of Americans is about $10.3 trillion. Alan Greenspan said saving money is in the interest of America but the American economy became a debt economy through credits and loans.

Cause of black money: 

• In 1967, it was estimated that 10% of India's GPD was black money. In 2009 it was 50% of the country's GDP! 
• Corruption, bribes, kickbacks, criminal acts, etc raise the black money. 
• AG Noorani wrote in the 'Statesman'(December 31, 1988), on how Rajiv Gandhi expressed deep gratitude to KGB for the benefits accruing to the Prime Minister’s family from the commercial dealings of the firm he controls in co-operation with the Soviet foreign trade organisations. (Rajiv Gandhi's secret letters - http://defenceforumindia.com/political-%7C-social/18347-rajiv-gandhis-one-swiss-bank-account-has-%24-2-2-billion-%24-11-billion.html - Read the 'KGB Papers' section)
• Subramanium Swamy wrote to the swiss magazine,Schweizer Illustrierte, to confirm the publication of the article mentioning Rajiv Gandhi as holder of $2.2 Billion in swiss bank account (Scanned copy of the article -> http://goo.gl/0mJrr). The magazine confirmed the article (here -> http://www.janataparty.org/annexures/ann10p43.html), but the GOI did not act on this information for obvious reasons.

Hasan Ali case: 

• Hasan Ali is protected by the people in power currently at the centre. Ali's swiss bank accounts were not frozen despite the proof of his holdings.
• A sting on him by Ashok Deshbhratar, an DCP who was probing the case, exposed Ali. Ashok was forced to do the sting as Hasan Ali never revealed anything during official interrogation. However, Deshbhratar was suspended (Cop who conducted 'sting operation' on Hasan Ali faces suspension -> http://goo.gl/lIa0w) for the 'unofficial' sting. Deshbhratar today is forced to go on indefinite leave. However, Ashok Deshbhratar filed an affidavit in the SC mentioning the sting operation and its details.
• Sri Gurumurthy read out a portion of Ashok Deshbhratar's affidavit in the SC at the lecture.
• Sonia Gandhi protected Ali by changing the Mumbai police commissioner and derailed the process of investigation. 
• The opposition is not targeting Sonia Gandhi as they claim they do not have sufficient proofs. The session concluded by Sri Gurumurthy requesting the public, right thinking individuals, intellectuals to put pressure on the opposition to question Sonia Gandhi and ask GOI to get the black money back.

The lecture was followed by a short 15mins Q&A session. The day ended with a soulful rendition of 'Vande Mataram' by a Swayamsevak. 

PS: 

- Articles related to Sri Gurumurthy's talk 

• Read more about the 'Anti Corruption Front' here -> http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=13559&SKIN=B
• Sonia Gandhi - A DANGEROUS POLITICIAN GUIDED BY VENDETTA - AG Noorani : http://gandhiheritage.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=5&id=26&Itemid=27 (Read all three parts)
• Hasan Ali case - Ram Jethmalani and Ashok Deshbhratar in SC : http://www.asianage.com/india/sc-probe-threat-iit-prof-ed-496