Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time -Two Hundred NINE
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
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US welcomes strong China - Obama
Santa Barbara Arts TV Raj's men to SBI: Don't recruit outsidersTimes Now.tv - 7 hours ago The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Saturday (November 14) blew the 'Marathi Manoos' bugle again. This time in their tirade against non-Maharashtrians, MNS leader Balal Nandgaokar sent out a letter to the Stae Bank of India (SBI) dictating them to ... A sad day for Indian democracy Times of India Samajwadi Party to honour Abu Azmi in Lucknow Hindustan Times Nehruvian Model can solve financial crisisFinancial Express - 2 hours ago New Delhi: Today, the world leaders who are desperate to bail out the economy from the current financial crisis by pumping in billions of dollars. PM, Advani, Sonia pay floral tributes to Nehru in Parliament Daily News & Analysis Nehruvian Moments The Hindu Mulayam disowns Kalyan Singh after election routHindustan Times - 25 minutes ago What was expected of Samajwadi Party after the rout in recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly-Lok Sabha elections, has happened. 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Mandor Express derailment; Railway personnel restoring track Hindustan Times India train accident kills seven BBC News Pakistan: India's statements unwarrantedHindu - - 17 hours ago ISLAMABAD: Pakistan angrily rejected India's statements against the Gilgit-Baltistan elections on Friday as "unwarranted" and said a UN Security Council-mandated plebiscite was the "just solution" to the Kashmir issue. India criticises 'polls' in PoK Economic Times BJP on its own, RSS just gives advice: BhagwatIBNLive.com - 5 minutes ago WHERE IS THE LEADER? BJP in turmoil after its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos be a Citizen Journalist. RSS controlling BJP openly: Congress Press Trust of India Nitin Gadkari likely to be next BJP chief Times of India PM, Sonia to campaign for Jharkhand pollsIBNLive.com - 9 hours ago CAMPAIGNING TOGETHER: PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are the main campaigners for Jharkhand polls. ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Congress to celebrate 125th anniversary in big way Times of India Pranab puzzle in Congress 125-yr panel Calcutta Telegraph Bangladesh says India to agree Nepal railwayReuters India - - 19 minutes ago DHAKA (Reuters) - India will allow Bangladesh to set up long-awaited railway links for transporting commercial goods to and from landlocked Nepal, officials said on Saturday. India, Bangla review ties; focus on Hasina visit Press Trust of India Gilani seeks resumption of composite dialogue with IndiaDaily News & Analysis - 14 minutes ago PTI Islamabad: Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today called for the resumption of the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India, saying only terrorists will benefit from any delay in reviving the stalled peace process. 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He was released from a jungle around 2.30 on Friday afternoon. Maoists release abducted Jharkhand legislator IBNLive.com RJD leader kidnapped by Maoist faction, released Indian Express Feud leaves RSS-bred BJP men in disarrayExpress Buzz - 11 hours ago BANGALORE: The Factional feud within the BJP may be fading out slowly with CM Yeddyurappa fulfilling almost all the demands of the Reddy brothers. BJP's Hara-kiri Deccan Herald Shettar haggles hard to get his men into cabinet Daily News & Analysis Canada needs India more than India needs Canada, says newspaperEconomic Times - Nov 13, 2009 TORONTO: A nuclear deal with India is a must to save Canada's nuclear industry, a respected Canadian daily said in Toronto ahead of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to India next week. Canadian PM to visit India, Nuke deal on agenda Press Trust of India PM's China, India travels are overdue Globe and Mail |
http://www.voanews.com/english/Asia.cfm
Nov 14
, 2009 08:06 PM
4
Friends,
I began my Professional career from Dhanbad, Jharkhand,the capital of Indian Coalfields. I was involved in CHIPKO movement and we were fighting for Himalayan Communities and their Identities. AK Roy, the Marxist co Ordination committee and Koyla Kamgar Union Leader from Jhrakhand and Shankar Guha Niyogi, the leader of Chhatishgarh Mukti Morcha worked in alliance with us. I left my village Basantipur and got admission in GIC, Nainital. I had Visited Kolkata and New Delhi meanwhile beside some other excursions. But like a typical Hill Man, I did know nothing about the plains. We said only the thing which we really meant.I went to Allahabad University for PHD in Poetry, but had been disillusioned as DR. Manas Mukul Das was not available for guidance and I could not adjust with others. I shifted myself and JNU with a plan to join M phil course in linguistics. Meanwhile , I had been offered Lecturership in Kumayun University which I neglected as I wanted to pursue Higher studies. But URMILESH, the PSO leader in JNU visited Dhanbad and offered me to work in Dainik Awaz for some time. I was so much so interested tha I RUSHED to Dhanbad to know Indian Economy and Production system, labour conditions leaving my studies abegging and joined the Hindi New paper as a Trainee Journalist with a salary of 350 Rs. per month. Immediately I was involved in the Aboriginal Life and livelihood thanks to Comrade AK Roy ad Mahashweta Debi. I was a NOVICE in Journalism and could not adjust with the typical syntax and style in Hindi. My friends were fond of making a Donkey of me.
It made me STRONGER and Determined. So, I engaged myself in the studies of coal Mines, Mining and Mines accidents, trade union Phenomenon and Jharkhand Movement. I worked round the clock for Four years.
I joined Classes in Indian School of Mines and CMRS to know technically the Mining affair and mines Safety, Mining Engineering.I was never afraid of Underground Fire and Pollution and would roam anywhere in Jharkhand and Bengal in BCL and ECCL Coalfields. I have seen day to day working in Koyla Nagar, the BCCL headquarter. I had been visiting Mines to find that Survey reports being sidelined and with the absence of Mining Engineers,Agents, Managers, the Mining Sardars had to bear the load of Mining. The Contacters would get payment without doing any work. Illegal Mining was in Vogue. I have visited many spots of Illegal mining and combed the neighbourhood villages to know the Dead persons in cases of Illegal Mining. Near Nirsa, in Chapapur Colliery I succeeded to get some Human Bodies trapped in the illegal Mines involving the Police and not Publishing the news of the Accident. But I could not locate a single member of the Victims` family. In Giridih, near a Hundred people were trapped with the Illegal Mining Pits in SUBSIDENCE. I camped there but could not trace the dead persons.
I witnessed the Manipulation very closely in Mining Industry in case of accidents. My short story, ISHWAR KI Galti deals with this topic. I knew personally Coal India Management and PR Officials, DGMS, CMRS official and exposed them very well until my Newspaper defended me.
I had to join the Cocktail parties in Coal Mines every night. I had to interact with the Politicians who were themselves Gang leaders in Mafia Empire.
I saw the leaders like SHIBU Soren and Suraj Mandal being Changed. I saw KS Chaterjee, a pure Demogogue. Stefan Marandi, Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda were no where in the LIFE and Politics of Jharkhand who emerged the leader with marginalising Jharkhand leaders, movement and people.
It was a case study of Indian Economy as we saw as Eyewitness how the Natural resources and Minerals were SOLD Off and the Masses left in death procession in INFINITE Starvation. I witnessed the dealing, package and Recharge so often.I also knew well about the CFRI affairs. PUBLIC Money and tax Payers Money being MISUSED. Jharkhand being the RICHEST in Minerals, was the Victim of Mismanagement and Corruption, persecution and Ethnic Cleansing. AS Jharkhand became a separate state, I had been closely watching the Budget Plans, Non budget Plans, Financial management and Flagship Welfare Progrrames, NGOs working, Political parties, People`s representaton and Resistance and the Resource and human Resource Management inflicted by GRAFT.
Madhu KODA case is just a tip of an ICEBERG! It is well in the tradition of Jharkhand and Indian. Nationalisation, Privatisation, Modernisation and licensing of Mines at the COST of the livelihood and Life of Tribal People in central and eastern India have been the GREATEST Source of Resources of Indian parliamentary Politics.
Every One is Black in Coal affairs. just see the case of Orrissa Mines which have been closed in large Number as IRREGULARITIES could not be hidden.
Palash Biswas
Kolkata, India
Nov 14, 2009 02:52 PM
3
"Koda has only set an example of benevolence-par-excellence; by staring Charity at Home."
Rajneesh Batra
New Delhi, India
Nov 14, 2009 02:35 PM
2
Scams in India, are another name for 'joke'.
NOTHING, seemingly can be done to cure this pandemic, since everyone ( the judiciary, police and even the media ), get a share of the pie too.
While Kodas scam has got 'caught' ( we know he will never actually be sentenced to jail though ), minister Raja who got away with a cool 4k-50k C scam, will never be caught. Why this partiality? Todays Congress has too many friends in the media, it seems!
TN politicians are legends of corruption. While MGRs money, even divided among his former ministers, is itself a fortune, Karunanidhis nephew is currently the richest man south of the Vindhyas.
The media is too engrossed in spreading anti-male hatred and the Congress chief is busy with anit-male politics, while the judiciary and police are morally and ethically bankrupt.
The politicians meanwhile, are SPIRITING the money ( through hawala, etc. ), ABROAD - into safe havens in the west, Swiss accounts, Dubai, etc.
Through these, we INDIANS are the biggest losers. Not only has our system been corrupted institutionally, but OUR MONEY is finding its way away from our shores!
Corruption is modern day slavery, since the money we make is finding its way outside the nation.
Partha persistent spammer
chennai, India
Nov 14, 2009 02:05 PM
1
Guess a new "Koda of Konduct" is required? MOU in sms-ese now means "My (place) Or Ur"? Madhu (honey) gets stung by his own bees (from his own bonnet)!!
Harsh Rai Puri
Bhopal, India
http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262840
U.S. President Barack Obama arrived late Saturday in Singapore, where he joins leaders of Pacific Rim economies in meetings to discuss recovery from the global financial crisis and promotion of free trade.
U.S. President Barack Obama is calling for a new era in trans-Pacific relations. In a speech in Tokyo, the president said America is determined to partner with Asia to meet the global challenges of today.
President Obama says America is and always has been a Pacific nation. "The United States of America may have started as a series of ports and cities along the Atlantic ocean, but for generations we also have been a nation of the Pacific. Asia and the United States are not separated by this great ocean; we are bound by it," he said.
We feel the change and mood all over the Globe. Free Market democracy plays HAVOC in South east Asia resembling Africa, Latin America and East Europe! We Indian are GA GA Boom Boom with the Revival of dead Capitalism from grave yard Shaping into Post Modern Manusmriti Apartheid Brahaminical System of Tri Iblis Zionist Fascist Corporate galaxy Imperialism. India Urban and Semi Urban DEMOGRAPHY is made with EXODUS, Displacement, Migration, Destruction on name of DEVELOPMENT, Industrialisation , Urbanisation and realty Boom.More than half of the Urban Semi Urban Population consists of SUMDOG Indians belonging to SC, ST, OBC and Minorities Communities, the Black Negroid Untouchables Indigenous Aboriginal. While the Rural India has been Captured. Free Market Democracy and Technology, Consumer Culture and Cell Phones, retail Chain and Strategical Marketing have changed the Character of Rural Human Scape and land scape with the Exception of the Tribal belt in North East and Central India which have become MOW Zones declared as Maoist as well as Insurgency frontires. We have NO Representation in any sphere of Life and are deprived of everything, Citizenship, human Rights,Civil Rights, Right to Information, right to Employment and Livelihood, right to Food security, right to education as our world, our Traditional Agricultural villages have transformed into MICRO Metro Hubs! Without any Awakening! Without any Empowerment!We have CEASED to be Human Being and converted ourselves into CONSUMERS only!
I have been in MARAM Valley in Senapati District of Manipur in 2000 while shooting with Joshy Joseph his first feature film as a writer.The Village Head picked me to show the Village and atop the Hills he told me that it was the CENTRE of the Universe. he explained the Geography as locating Manipur in the South, Nagaland in the North, Burma in the East and India in the west as Foreign territories. they Insisted quite Violently that the language of the Film should be in the Dialect of their Village.They could speak English also as most of them were converted and schooled in christian Mission. But they hated to speak any other Indian Language including Manipuri. They were the NAGA people who could pass Capital Punishment for the Defaulter. they lived a traditional self sufficient village despite being Enlightened.
Many of you must have been read the BIBHUTI Bhushan classic Novel, ARANYAK which had no Protagonist and not even a central theme. the Book is full of the Fragrance on aboriginal Indigenous Life and Livelihood Self sufficient.
I remember my childhood in Basantipur in sixties while we had to grow Everything we needed. Our People just used to buy Cloths,Fishes, Meat, Kerosine Oil to light the Home and books and copies meant for education.Cereals, Oilseeds, ,Sugar were ABUNDANT and it was before Green Revolution while the fertilizers, machines, genetic seeds, Chemicals were introduced for the first time in Indian Agriculture. pant Nagar University, the Centre for GREEN revolution is only Six KM away from Basantipur and we were partners of the experiments in green revolution and within the end of the decade, we found ourselves STARVING.the Reaction was Little late as we witnessed Khalistan Insurgency in Eighties which heralded as the IMMINENT agricultural Crisis and we never Identified it. When Sharad Joshi in Bidarbha and Mahendra Singh Tikait in Meerut and Western UP, the leaders of SHETKARI Kamgar Union and Bharatiya Kisan Union led the Peasant uprising , I was working in Meerut.But the Movement was SUBVERTED with Ram Janma Bhumi Movement and Babri demolition followed by nationwide Communal Riots leading to further persecution of Minorities in Bangladesh as Taslima Nasreen has written well in her controversial Novel, LAJJA.
Bust Remembering the Self sufficient Rural India, I must suggest you who Never knew it , to read Mahashweta Debi,Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Victor Hugo, Pearl Buck, Galsworthy, Lu Shun and Manik Bandopadhyaya , Premchand, tara shnkar bandopaddhyaya works and only then you may Understand what Free Market democracy means to India.
Meanwhile, the exodus of Rural world to aliegn Metro Cities have created Violent ETHNO Nationalism. As Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has warned the State Bank of India (SBI) not to recruit any "outsiders" during Sunday's exams in which the bank will recruit for 1100 vacancies.
In a warning letter written by MNS leader Bala Nandgangkar, the party has demanded that only Maharashtrians or those living in the state be allowed to take the exam for the Maharashtra openings.
So far, the SBI has not alerted the police to the MNS threat.
Himanshu Roy, a Joint Commissioner of the Mumbai Police, said the police will discuss the issue with the bank to ensure that Sunday's exams "are conducted smoothly."
In the recent Maharashtra assembly elections, the MNS won 13 Assembly seats.
Earlier this week, SP leader Abu Azmi was manhandled by MNS legislators for taking his oath in Hindi.
As Azmi started to take his oath, several MNS members swooped on him and pushed him aside. Legislator Ramesh Banjle uprooted the microphone from the podium.
When Azmi attempted to save himself, MNS member Ram Kadam slapped him and hit him on the face and chest, shocking the 288-member house that had converged for the oath-taking ceremony.
The house was adjourned for 30 minutes. Action followed soon, with four MNS legislators-Vasant Geete, Shishir Shinde, Ram Kadam and Ramesh Wanjale-were suspended for four years by the pro-tem speaker for the violent incident.Air Force One landed at Singapore's Paya Lebar military airbase on a flight from Japan for the latest stop of a nine-day Asian tour that will also take Mr. Obama to China and South Korea.
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders have stressed that the global recovery is still fragile, and more coordinated efforts are needed to overcome protectionism and maintain stable growth.
Mr. Obama was accused by some APEC leaders Saturday of backtracking on free trade.
Mexican President Filipe Calderon singled out Washington for "going in the opposite sense of free trade." Russian President Dmitri Medvedev made the same point.
Mr. Calderon mentioned increasing "buy American" clauses in U.S. legislation.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke Saturday to propose a European Union-style model for cooperation, which he called the Asia-Pacific Community.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said a high standard regional trade agreement under the Trans-Pacific partnership would be good for America.
President Obama said Saturday the United States will engage members of the TPP, which consists of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.
Leaders of Pacific Rim economies are gathering in Singapore to discuss recovering from the global financial crisis and promoting free trade.
Leaders of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation have stressed that the global recovery is still fragile, and more coordinated efforts are needed to overcome protectionism and have stable growth.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, spoke Saturday about establishing a new model for cooperation that he calls the "Asia-Pacific Community".
Mr. Rudd said, "Our vision for the future is how do we create an institution which draws all these economies. And, most importantly, together with an agenda which covers the political, security, and economic space."
The U.S. trade representative, Ron Kirk, gave further details on President Barack Obama's announcement in Tokyo that the United States would engage members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"We believe that a high standard regional trade agreement under the Trans-Pacific partnership can help bring home to the American people the jobs and economic prosperity that are in fact the promise of a global trading society," said Kirk.
The TPP's members are Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.
President Obama, on his first official visit to Asia, arrives in Singapore late Saturday to join the APEC leaders.
BLOGS / Sundeep Dougal
Goonda Raj And 'Hindi Hegemony'
The ugly scenes in Maharashtra Assembly -- where legislators of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) slapped and [roughed up a Samajwadi Party legislator for taking the inaugral oath not in Marathi but in "national language" Hindi provide a lot of food for thought and are bound to keep the commentariat busy. Three perspectives:
First, Samar Halarnkar in the Hindustan Times:
The chattering classes of Mumbai's high-rises hate and fear the Senas, ascribing to them a lunacy beyond understanding. But scratch many seemingly sensible Maharashtrians, and they will gradually talk of culture, tradition, language and the fear of being swamped by Mumbai's great and growing diversity. Of course, they will insist, the way Raj is going about this is wrong, there must be no violence, but you know, what he says isn't really wrong...
Next, Rajeev Dhavan in the Indian Express, like a good lawyer that he is, doesn't lose sight of the crux of the matter and has useful practical suggestions:
The correct course of action is for the Speaker to issue breach of privilege notices to those who directly participated in this breach, as well as those who conspired to make it happen. This means notices should go to Raj Thackeray to ask him of his complicity in the conspiracy. If he says he was not part of the conspiracy to disrupt the assembly, he would knock himself down a peg or two on this issue. If he admits his involvement, he must be punished along with the others, albeit by token suspension for the legislators and censure for the non-assembly conspirators. At this stage, to punish by imprisonment would make martyrs of such persons. But, issuing process of breach of privilege is a must.
Meanwhile, in the DNA, R Jagannathan, while not questioning Abu Azmi's constitutional right to take oath in Hindi, joins issue with the Hindi hegemonism that his supporters have adopted:
Speaking about Hindi as a national language is no different from speaking about Hinduism as India's official cultural expression. Hindi is a great language, but it is not any more national than Marathi or Kannada, or Bengali or Telugu. Ironically, it was left to the MNS to point out the obvious: that Hindi is just another regional language of India.
Constitutionally though, while there may not be a "national" language, Hindi indeed has been privileged, and as Dhavan points out:
There was always a Hindi version of the Constitution. But if there is any doubt, the 58th amendment mandates the president to publish an authoritative text of the Constitution and every constitutional amendment of it in Hindi (Article 394A). If someone wants to take their oath in Hindi, they are doing no more than following authoritative text of the Constitution itself!
Dhavan also comes to the heart of the matter in his usual no-nonsense style:
What is even more ironical is that even in the Maharashtra assembly, two BJP members took their oath in Sanskrit (Girish Bapat, Girish Mahajan). Congress members took their oath in Hindi (Amin Patel, Ramesh Singh Thakur) and English (Baba Siddique). It is said the Samajwadi Party MLA, Abu Asim Azmi, drew attention to himself and his choice of language. Suppose he did, so what?
http://blogs.outlookindia.com/default.aspx?ddm=10&pid=2131&eid=5
 jitender gupta Ill-gotten: Koda being discharged from hospital cover story: the koda files Miner Sins All of Jharkhand was his stage, and Koda a major player. So, who rewrote the script? |
From Labourer To Chief Minister: In the early '90s, the son of Rasika Koda was nothing more than a labourer in the iron ore mines of Chaibasa, 160 km from Ranchi. By 2000, he was contesting the Bihar assembly elections on a BJP ticket. In 2005, he was denied a BJP ticket, forcing him to contest as an independent. He won, and wrested the mines portfolio in return for supporting the Arjun Munda-led BJP government. A year later, he and a few other independents withdrew that support, reducing the BJP government to a minority. Subsequently, he became the state's first independent chief minister with the support of the Congress, Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shibu Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and independents.
Significantly, Koda continued to retain the mines portfolio even after becoming CM. Everyone, it seems, was happy under him. If he made money, as the allegations and the evidence now indicate, he also shared his wealth generously with friends, key aides, national and state political leaders as well as state government officials loyal to him.
High office in Jharkhand opened up several opportunities for Koda. With nearly 18 per cent of the country's mineral wealth in his state and with enough discretionary powers to help companies get mining leases there, Koda made full use of his position till he had to resign as CM in 2008 ahead of a trust vote because he did not have the numbers.
How The Money Was Made: The mines portfolio in Jharkhand has always been a lucrative one for any government in power. Since Koda held charge of the ministry under the BJP government and retained it as CM, he had the power to clear mining deals. Every recommendation for a mining lease, say I-T, ED and state government officials, brings in anything between Rs 10 and Rs 12 crore as bribe. And state mines secretary Jayashankar Tiwari is said to have cleared 47 mining leases on a single day during Koda's tenure.
|
The final cash cow was the transfer-of-bureaucrats business. Anything between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore is said to have been the going rate for a lucrative posting during Koda's time.
How Koda Got Exposed: A series of investigative reports from 2007 onwards in local Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar apparently blew the lid off the scam. Strange, one might think, as the newspaper is owned by Neutral Publishing House, whose majority shareholders, the Jawahar family, are also the promoters of Usha Martin Group: among the state's oldest and biggest mining companies.
 |
| Paper haul: I-T officials cart away documents from Koda's house |
This group had been trying to set up a joint venture with the state-owned Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation even before Koda became mining minister. This JV, it was proposed, would have Usha Martin holding 76 per cent stake. But Koda opposed the proposal, and redrew the contract when he became CM, reducing Usha Martin's proposed stake to 49 per cent. Finally, after several deliberations, he rejected the proposal. This, many now say, proved to be his undoing, as a series of exposes began appearing in Prabhat Khabar.
Prabhat Khabar has a long and enviable history of investigative journalism, but questions began surfacing about how the documents on Koda were sourced. The rumour mill in Ranchi has it that private detective firms were hired and hackers employed to dig out information that was later also furnished to the I-T department. Neither the I-T department nor the ED denies any of these rumours. When contacted by Outlook, representatives of the Usha Martin Group refused to comment. Also, advocate Ritu Kumar had filed a PIL in August 2008, but the I-T and ED investigations have been stepped up only this year, perhaps to mar the Koda camp's chances in the assembly elections in November-December.
The Money Trail: So, what was Koda doing with the huge cuts he made from the mining lobbies? An army of aides, led by Binod Sinha, his brother Vikash, and the Chowdhury brothers, Sanjay and Dhananjay, invested the slush money in several national and international ventures. Money was also being routed through Mumbai-based businessmen Arvind Vyas and Manoj Punamiya. Documents now available with the ED show that Punamiya's Mumbai-based import-export firms under the Balaji Group had invested in mine leases in places such as Liberia and South Africa.
Binod Sinha and Sanjay Chowdhury also created several companies—including Camtech Manufacturing and Blue Techno—that would invest in infrastructure projects in Dubai and also help route over Rs 1,450 crore to shell companies abroad. Blue Techno also entered into various MoUs and agreements with companies in Thailand and South Africa for purchase of land for development of ports and mines. The company is reported to have offices, functioning as fronts for money transfer, in Mumbai, Singapore, Nigeria and Indonesia, besides a central Asian country.
Punamiya's Balaji Group—basically Balaji Universal Trade and Balaji Bullion—was central to Koda's operations to siphon off the money he made by issuing mining licences post-September 2006. Based in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar with a small office at Nariman Point, Punamiya helped Koda & Co launder money by providing them the import-export cover they needed. Investigators say Koda zeroed in on Punamiya through his political connections. In fact, Koda's associates Binod Sinha and Sanjay Chowdhury are directors of Balaji Bullion.
Punamiya, through his companies, made cash deposits of Rs 650 crore in the Zaveri Bazaar branch of the Union Bank of India between late 2006 and 2008. The total transactions are worth Rs 990 crore in these accounts. Investigators say they are yet to open some almirahs and lockers on various premises of the Balaji Group, which could add to the volume of cash that has been discovered.
Is It The End For Koda?: In Ranchi, they say he'll win the elections and that the case will drag on and be forgotten.
By Saikat Datta in Ranchi and Smruti Koppikar in Mumbai
SPECIAL REPORT-India's food dilemma: high prices or shortages
* Looming scarcity opens door to genetically modified crops
By Himangshu Watts
NEW DELHI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - For a man who will inherit vast tracts of fertile farmland in Punjab, India's grain bowl, Jaswinder Singh made what seemed to him a logical career move -- he took a job with a telecoms company in New Delhi.
"I can't go back to the village after an M.B.A. Delhi has more money, better quality of life. The job is more satisfying, and you don't depend on the weather or prices set by the government," said Singh, who earns rent from his farm, while a tenant tills the land.
Singh's choice reflects a growing and worrisome trend in the nation's agriculture sector: Indian farms are failing to attract capital or talent, either from rich landlords like Singh, or the 21,000 students who graduate from India's 50 agricultural and veterinary universities.
"At present, most of the farm graduates are either taking jobs in the government, or financial institutions, or in private sector industry. They are seldom taking to farming as a profession," a report by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation said.
The views of the foundation -- set up by M.S. Swaminathan, who led India's Green Revolution in the 1960s that helped make this vast nation self-sufficient in food -- were echoed in a poll by the National Sample Survey Organisation, a government body. The survey showed 40 percent of Indian farmers would quit farming, if they had a choice -- an alarming revelation for a country where two-thirds of the billion-plus people live in villages.
SLOW GROWTH
India's farm sector has changed remarkably little since the advent of the Green Revolution, while other industries have been transformed over the past two decades. As a result, agriculture's share of the Indian economy shrank to 17.5 percent last year, from nearly 30 percent in the early 1990s.
"We are not realising that farming is becoming an increasingly less profitable profession. There was a time when farmers had very little choice. Things have changed. Farmers would like to make a shift," said T.K. Bhaumik, a leading economist.
This has raised concerns that India's farm output could lag demand and the country -- which ranks among the world's top three consumers of rice, wheat, sugar, tea, coarse grains and cotton -- will become a large food importer unless yields jump.
"The increase in yields in the past decades have been insignificant. India sorely needs another Green Revolution," says Kushagra Nayan Bajaj, joint managing director of Bajaj Hinduthan (BJHN.BO), India's top sugar producer, which is importing raw sugar after a drought ravaged the domestic cane crop.
But the next revolution faces a tougher challenge -- in part because of the environmental damage done by the previous one. Back then, abundant groundwater was available and the soil was not degraded by pesticides and fertilisers, which initially helped boost productivity.
P.C. Kesavan, distinguished fellow at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, said chemicals used in agriculture had destroyed the sustainability of productivity in the long run.
"Yes, a second Green Revolution is indeed very essential -- the very need of the hour. But, it should not be the same kind of Green Revolution that the first was," he said.
In India's Punjab state, the flagship of India's Green Revolution, groundwater is declining rapidly.
"The water table of Punjab is falling at an alarming rate, especially in the central districts, due to excess drawing of groundwater," said Karam Singh, an agricultural economist at the Punjab State Farmers Commission.
Sardara Singh Johl, an economist and former chairman of India's Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, said there would be very little water available for farming in the state. "This could severely compromise the food security of India. Government should realise the gravity of the situation and allocate funds for research to conserve groundwater," he said.
To prevent food shortages, economists and scientists are calling for a range of policy initiatives, such as allowing genetically modified crops, greater investment in irrigation, better economics in farming and greater government attention to agriculture.
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An institution builder
A. R. VENKATACHALAPATHY
| A prolific writer, M. N. Srinivas was an inspiring teacher nurturing generations of sociologists |
THE OXFORD INDIA SRINIVAS: Oxford University Press, YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 995.
M. N. Srinivas (1916–1999) was undoubtedly India's most distinguished and accomplished sociologist. His long and active intellectual life that started during the period immediately preceding Indian Independence extended up to the end of the millennium. As an intellectual of the Nehruvian generation, his interest in the study of social transformation in India was not merely academic. It is symbolic perhaps that his first stint of fieldwork in what later became & #8220;the remembered village" of Rampura was interrupted by the assassination of Gandhiji.
Srinivas' was a productive life and he authored a number of papers and monographs. His writings were rich in empirical detail and, even though he did not wear theory on his sleeves, were marked by analytical and theoretical rigour. Notwithstanding his essay 'Social Anthropology and Literary Sensibility', which is included in the volume under review, he was no literary stylist. However his writing was always clear and lucid, and engaging with understated humour. Apart from being a prolific writer, he was an inspiring teacher who nurtured generations of sociologists and social anthropologists, and an institution-builder.
Brought out under the series, 'The Oxford India Collection' that brings together "writings of enduring value published by OUP," this volume has articles that figured M.N. Srinivas' Collected Essays (2002). It has an Introduction by Ramachandra Guha and a Foreword by A.M. Shah. Classified under eight rubrics, the essays cover a wide gamut of areas that have concerned not only Srinivas but Indian sociologists as a whole. Many of them have been frequently cited, discussed, and debated.
Study on village
The first set of essays relates to village studies, the staple of Indian sociologists. Here Srinivas draws from his decades-long fieldwork in Rampura. In the first essay, he takes on several persistent myths about the Indian village — that it is self-sufficient, to cite an example — and dispels them. He traces these myths to the writings of early British administrators and maintains that they were disseminated by thinkers such as Marx and Maine.
His seminal formulation of "dominant caste" — a numerically preponderant caste fairly high on the hierarchical caste school with considerable landholding — which explains much about the Indian countryside, finds a place in this section. A few essays study village disputes, another area where Srinivas is a pioneer. The second section has essays on 'caste and social structure', an area of equal importance. At the very beginning of his career, Srinivas formulated the concept of 'Sanskritisation' that postulates a process of mobility, wherein castes, lower down the ritual scale, aspired to a higher position by imitating the practices of the upper castes. Although his characterisation of the Brahmin as a role model is deeply problematic, his delineation of the process has been very useful in understanding the dynamics of change in caste society. Understandably, this concept has not only been used widely in academic studies but it has had a wider currency. Even if one does not agree with all that Srinivas has to say about caste as a system, there is no doubt that his essays have furthered our understanding of the relation between caste and varna, the dynamics of caste mobility, and the changing role of caste in a democratic and electoral society. The term 'vote bank', which he conceived in the limited sense of a patron's ability to deliver a bloc of votes for the politician, has since expanded its meaning and acquired huge dimensions so much as to permeate the political discourse.
There are brief, yet illuminative, sections on gender, religion, and cultural and social change. As a pioneer sociologist, Srinivas had an engaging relationship with the discipline, of which he was a master practitioner. Given the difficulty in demarcating the province and practice of the disciplines of sociology and social anthropology in the Indian context, he wrote some insightful essays. His heyday came before the self-reflexive moment in anthropology. But, again as a pioneer of the fieldwork method in Indian sociology, his essays reveal much about participant observation and ethnographic research, and they should be mandatory reading for students. The last section of five autobiographical essays makes for delightful reading.
On caste
In the wake of 'Mandal', Srinivas received a bad press for his ambiguous views on caste as a category for state's positive discriminatory action. Ramachandra Guha has, over the years, valiantly retrieved Srinivas' importance and it is appropriate that he should have written the Introduction. Chris Fuller's interview, barely a year before Srinivas' death, rounds off the book.
It is customary to sign off a review with the remark that the book under notice is indispensable reading for the intelligent layperson and it should adorn his/her bookshelf. Maybe a cliché elsewhere, but in this case it is certainly meaningful and appropriate.
http://www.hindu.com/br/2009/11/10/stories/2009111050051300.htmA land of breathtaking beauty and charm
'Mangalaba', is a word similar to 'Ayubowan' people of Myanmar use to greet people they meet.
 |
| President Mahinda Rajapaksa is greeted by Myanmar top leader Senior-General Than Shwe in Myanmar. Courtesy - President's media photo division |
During my brief stay I have been able to view some of its ancient kingdom's and the famous floating villages on a lake which are popular tourist attractions. During these trips I was able to savour Myanmar's village life.
Five months ago, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his entourage visited Myanmar.
A Head of State of Myanmar will visit Sri Lanka after 43 years.
The last visit of a Myanmar Head of State was that of Prime Minister U Nu in 1966.
This is the first time the present Myanmar Head of State Gen. Than Shwe is visiting Sri Lanka.
Myanmar was the first country President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited after defeating terrorism and re-uniting the country.
After a very successful visit, President Rajapaksa invited General Than Shwe to visit Sri Lanka as a reciprocal gesture.
General Than Shwe and his entourage will arrive in Sri Lanka today.
During his tour, he is due to visit the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and the Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi to pay homage.
Cultural relations between Sri Lanka and Myanmar date back to several centuries.
Sri Lanka and Myanmar are two countries professing Theravada Buddhism.
It was Bhikkhus from Myanmar who helped to establish the Amarapura and Ramanna Maha Nikayas in Sri Lanka.
Prior to that when Buddhism deteriorated in Myanmar Bhikkhus from Sri Lanka had visited Myanmar to re-establish the Sasana.
They had introduced our architecture and arts to that country.
The lifestyles of the people of Myanmar are very similar to that of Sri Lankans.
Their environment and climate are also much similar to that of Sri Lanka.
But the political system is different in that Burma is administered by a cabinet of military rulers. Above this, cabinet is a supreme authority called the 'Council for Peace and Development'. It is headed by Gen. Than Shwe.
He had been in this position for nearly 20 years. Last year a new constitution was drawn up following a referendum.
A general election is to be held in 2010 to elect members to parliament. Law and order is strictly implemented in Myanmar.
Although Myanmar is almost 10 times the size of Sri Lanka geographically it's population is only thrice that of Sri Lanka. Majority of people in Myanmar lead a frugal life and their main occupation is agriculture.
There is no shortage of water for agriculture as there are seasonal rains as expected and a large number of rivers and tributaries and canals crisscrossing the country. The use of human labour in agriculture is maximised with minimum use of machinery. According to statistics, there is an excess of paddy harvest every year.
Myanmar is not only self-sufficient in rice but has an excess which is exported to other countries.
Sugarcane is also grown extensively resulting in a very large sugar production in the country. Vegetables, potatoes and yams, other cereals and spices seen in Sri Lanka are found aplenty in markets in Myanmar.
For weights and measures, Myanmar does not use the imperial system or the metric system. Their measurement and weights system is known as viz. 1,600 grammes go to make a viz. Their currency is known as vat. One viz of the best quality rice is priced at 1,000 vat. 1,000 vat is equal to about 100 Sri Lankan rupees.
People of Myanmar are accustomed to simple attire. People of all walks of life from the highest echelons to the simple man on the street are dressed in cotton sarong and shirt while women wear cloth and jacket. At all state functions, all VIPs except military chiefs wear an expensive sarong and a coat along with a hat sewn in cloth.
Students in Myanmar wear a white shirt and a green sarong. Instead of shoes they wear sandals. the teachers also wear a similar uniform.
People in Myanmar are devoted Buddhists. Myanmar has a large number of temples and dagobas surpassing many other Buddhist countries. In the ancient Bagan kingdom alone, there are 4,400 temples and dagobas. People visit temples for worship in the morning and evening and youth especially can be seen in deep meditation during these times. They also recite Pali stanzas.
There are several lakhs of bhikkhus in Myanmar. Hundreds of them reside in 'Sanghavasas' set up in all regions. Separate universities have bene set up to teach the Abhidhamma to the Bhikkhus.
The Maha Sangha doing Pindapatha rounds is a common scene in Myanmar in the morning and forenoon. They always use the 'alms bowl' for partaking of food and are always seen barefooted.
It is customary for youth in Myanmar to don the robes for a small period before marriage.
Females outnumber males in Myanmar. Women in Myanmar are accustomed to heavy labour like men and they can be seen at construction sites working even on scaffolding. The majority of employees in supermarkets and other shops are women.
People in Myanmar are honest and trustworthy.
They never try to cheat people who does not know their language. This is evident even in the shops and hotels, where people get the correct balance after paying for an item they buy even if you cannot converse with the staff.
Humility and hospitality are inborn qualities of the people in Myanmar.
According to the normal lifestyle in Myanmar, people get up early in the morning and have their breakfast around 5.30 a.m. They normally have their lunch at 11.30 a.m. and dinner at 6.30 p.m. All state banquets are held between 6.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. Bhikkhus partake of their forenoon dana at 10.30 a.m.
People in Myanmar are talented in folk art. I had the occasion to view some art exhibitions which showcased their creations which have a fine and excellent finish. Fancy lacquer goods produced in Bagan are most outstanding and world class.
Forest cover in Myanmar is almost 50 percent of its total land area. Teak is widely used in the manufacture of furniture. Myanmar is internationally famous for its Teak known as 'Burma teak.
In the countryside, most of the houses of the ordinary people have been built on timber logs or pillars. This is mostly to prevent flooding during rains.
Lakhs of people live in a wide expanse of water called Inlay lake situated in the central hills in houses built on logs. These are called floating villages. They have small vegetable cultivations, shops and schools in this lake built in this manner and their chief mode of transport is by boat. These floating villages are a popular tourist attraction in Myanmar.
Charges in most tourist hotels in Myanmar are very moderate. A large number of tourists from all parts of the world visit Myanmar daily notwithstanding economic sanctions imposed by certain western nations.
I wish to recommend Myanmar as an important destination especially for Buddhist pilgrims who wish to pay homage to places of religious interest.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/11/12/fea01.asp
Justine Hunter
Hazelton, B.C. — From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 10:34PM EST Last updated on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 3:19AM EST
On a hot afternoon last July, a distressed teenager called the RCMP. They found him at the edge of a sheer cliff 80 meters above the Bulkley River, threatening to jump. They spent four hours trying to talk to him. Then he went over.
This month, Shawn Michael Webber's grandmother sang a lament to release his 18-year-old spirit in a ceremony of the Gitxsan people, a collective of 61 aboriginal groups, called houses, in northwestern B.C.
It helped drive away his mother's recurring nightmare where he is falling and calling for her. But his death has fuelled an already-fierce debate within the Gitxsan people about their collective future.
Youth suicides are only the most visible part of that debate. Gitxsan leaders acknowledge their people are struggling with endemic sexual and physical abuse, rampant alcoholism, neglected children in overcrowded homes, and generations who don't know what it is like to earn a regular paycheque.
What Shawn needed, said Beverly Clifton Percival, one of the Gitxsan's hereditary chiefs, was hope for his future. It's a story that has been told on other Canadian native reserves, but here in this northern community, she is part of a team pushing for a groundbreaking treaty proposal. It is a plan shaped by the Gitxsan's traditional culture – but it's propelled by despair.
Chief Clifton Percival believes the Gitxsan people can achieve economic self-sufficiency and walk away from their dependence on the welfare of the Indian Act. "What you'll see will be thriving communities, sustainable and wealthy – not Donald Trump wealth, but wealth enough to be independent."
The Globe and Mail
Alice Jeffrey stands in the now-abandoned village of Gisgaga'a, where she was born in 1944. She hopes to revive the settlement.
It is a plan that depends on the governments of Canada and British Columbia entering into an unprecedented agreement to give the Gitxsan's hereditary chiefs a measure of control over resources within the 33,000 square kilometres they claim as their traditional territories. In exchange, the Gitxsan would give up their reserves and their status under the Indian Act and become regular, taxpaying Canadians.
Today, Canada and B.C. are trying to assess whether they can make such a treaty with the Gitxsan. It contains some elements of the contentious 1969 White Paper that proposed to end the dependence of Indians by giving them equal status with other Canadians. That policy was abandoned in the face of fierce opposition from aboriginals. Now, 40 years later, some Gitxsan leaders are reshaping that notion in their own design.
The B.C. government in particular has expressed interest in the treaty proposal – Premier Gordon Campbell has pledged to make reconciliation with aboriginals a priority, but has been frustrated in his pursuit of a "new relationship."
But it has also exposed a rift within the Gitxsan leadership. The two sides are set to face off in court, battling over who can claim to speak for the Gitxsan people – and therefore who controls the land base.
Marjorie McRae, chief councillor of the Gitanmaax Indian band, is leading the opposition to the new way of life proposed by the Gitxsan Treaty Office.
At an annual general meeting on her reserve Tuesday night, a buffet dinner was served before official business began. There was a family atmosphere as kids at play dashed around. But Chief McRae was furious over a report that Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl is ready to look at the proposal.
"People are scared," she said. "The safety net is being threatened here."
Chief McRae, along with 10 other chiefs and councillors, gathered around a boardroom table in Hazelton. In turn, they argued the Gitxsan Treaty Office does not have a mandate to negotiate for them, that the proposal is dangerous, and that the hereditary system is undemocratic.
"The Indian Act is a protection for our culture," said Billy Blackwater, a hereditary chief of the Basxha'laha house. "It's there for you when you need it."
Earlier in the day, another meal was laid out.
Alice Jeffrey unpacked a small banquet in the woods close to the remote, and now abandoned, village of Gisgaga'a, where she was born in 1944. She cheerfully reported that the local bear population is still healthy – she saw a grizzly bear sow with four cubs near her cabin this spring.
Chief Jeffrey produced fragrant local blueberries, smoked sockeye salmon, fried bread and more. There was no snow on the ground, but still a bite in the air, as a small group huddled around a roaring fire while the matriarch directed the meal.
The Globe and Mail
Family members and friends hold a prayer circle for Shawn Webber (pictured in the frame) who committed suicide in July. He was 18 years old.
She is the hereditary chief of the Gisgaga'a, who are one of the 61 Gitxsan houses, each with its own claim to specific tracts of land. "It's a community that's vacant of people," she explained. The residents were persuaded to leave in 1946 by government agents who promised them housing on reserves. "I'm the third generation who wants to go home."
The log cabins have been reduced to shells. But a blue tarp covers what remains of a church. She hopes to restore it, the first step toward a revival of the settlement.
In the village of Gitwangak, 30 kilometres southwest of Hazelton, big families crowd into tiny homes. A line of weathered totem poles – they would be a museum curator's treasure – dominate the skyline.
Marcel Fowler moved here eight years ago when he inherited a home from his grandfather. He is Gitxsan by birth, but could shed no light on the provenance of the totem poles. He offers no opinion on the debate over the treaty proposal either. What do the Gitxsan want? Mr. Fowler said he just wants a job.
At a Remembrance Day ceremony at Hazelton's cenotaph, about 300 people turned out to pay respect to the town's war dead. The poem In Flanders Fields was recited in both English and Gitxsan. Brigitta van Heek, a local school district official, moves easily through the group, chatting up veterans and young boys on bikes. She came to Hazelton in 1970 and has watched the collapse of the forest industry eat away at the community.
"A lot of the role models here have left to chase jobs," she says. It shows up in the classrooms as kids come to school hungry and apathetic.
Elmer Derrick, chief negotiator of the Gitxsan Treaty Office, said the welfare of the Indian Act has proved to be a trap. "People are on their hands and knees – that's what the Crown policies have done to our people," he said. "The status quo is not working and it has to change."
But he faces strong opposition from people in the community who fear change. "Everybody claws at my back because they believe we are giving away our medicine chest rights." That is, the entitlement to health care – and other benefits – that flow from the Indian Act. He believes that the Gitxsan would fare better as ordinary Canadians, and that their cultural traditions would be safeguarded.
Sadie Mowatt, Shawn Webber's 75-year-old grandmother and a hereditary chief, said the Gitxsan traditions remain strong but their family structure has eroded over her lifetime. She followed her mother's prescription for taking care of your own: "Make sure your windows are clean." There was no welfare back then – but there were trees and fish, enough to provide jobs and feed a family. Now she looks around and sees a community that is unrecognizable. "Too many kids having kids."
This week, Shawn's family returned to the bridge that spans the canyon where he fell to his death. They looked at the cliff face, and speculated on what might have made a difference.
His mother clutched a photo of her young boy who loved basketball and wanted to join the Armed Forces, unable to explain how he came to the place where he lost all hope.
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Al Gore calls for a green building revolutionLos Angeles Times - Nov 12, 2009 ... spoke Wednesday night at Greenbuild, the world's largest sustainable design conference, calling for a green revolution to solve the country's problems. ... Africa: Climate Change Boosts Need for Policies to Support African FarmersAllAfrica.com - 19 hours ago Akin Adesina, vice president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), talked to AllAfrica about the work of the young, Nairobi-based ... Is Africa selling out its own farmers? New Vision Is Africa selling out its farmers? Globe and Mail SPECIAL REPORT-India's food dilemma: high prices or shortagesReuters - - Nov 11, 2009 The views of the foundation -- set up by MS Swaminathan, who led India's Green Revolution in the 1960s that helped make this vast nation self-sufficient in ... Can India Achieve Food Security?Treehugger - - Nov 13, 2009 Not a lot has changed since the Green Revolution of the 1960s, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to turn a profit. As a result, more and more are ... Hunger in India: The Crisis Worsens EconomyWatch.com SPECIAL REPORT-Food: Is Monsanto the answer or the problem?Reuters - - Nov 10, 2009 LOUIS, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, had only months to live when he received a visit from ... The fight over the future of food Globe and Mail 'NREGA to lead country to a 2nd Green Revolution'Press Trust of India - Oct 30, 2009 But the first Green Revolution came about as a result of very high water guzzling cropping systems from the irrigated regions of the country. ... The green revolution is coming to local wineriesSanta Rosa Press Democrat - - Nov 8, 2009 "It's going to be increasingly important for consumers to know that the wines they choose are participating in the green revolution that our planet is going ... The media and the farm sectorThe Hindu - Nov 10, 2009 A major trigger for the Green Revolution, which was a term coined by Dr. William Gaud of the US Department of Agriculture in 1968 to mark a significant ... Norman Borlaug, 1914-2009: Pioneer of the Green RevolutionVoice of America - Nov 9, 2009 Borlaug became known as the "Father of the Green Revolution." Some people say he saved more lives than anyone else in history. Yet one American newspaper ... Africa bolsters food security through agriculture investmentBuenos Aires News - Nov 12, 2009 The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa has teamed up with the New Partnership for African Development to convince African governments to increase ... Ghana: Agra, Nepad in Historic Partnership AllAfrica.com Stay up to date on these results: |
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