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Move over Orkut & Facebook, here's Flockpod

2008-02-01T02:13:00.000-08:00

Internet buffs, students and professionals involved in e-learning, bloggers and members of social networking portals such as Orkut or Facebook can now create their own interactive platform to discuss favourite subjects or register votes.

The software called Flockpod, developed by Herbinger Group, enables a user to express his or her opinion over information provided on a particular web page (his own or that of his friends).
FlockPod can be embedded in any web page you want and allows peer contribution on the page without affecting its original content. You don't have to leave the content page and go to another social networking site to discuss it with others.

It helps by making your page visit more visual, concise, and collaborative. It presents data that you are interested in, pulls in new relevant information and organises everything in a neat little widget that you can view in the web application.

FlockPod is a service to which individuals, organisations and groups can subscribe. It can be used in various ways. The service is free of cost for a group of five individuals. As the size of the group increases, one has to pay for using the same.

Harbinger Managing Director Vikas Joshi is optimistic that the new Web 2.0 concept of FlockPod will succeed with companies that run e-learning services.

One can join FlockPod through a simple registration process through www.flockpod.com. The website also provides demos and assistance to use the software. The software currently supports Internet Explorer and needs a Flash player to operate.

People who visit your (or your friend's) website will see an icon and click on it. This will bring up FlockPod. They will interact within FlockPod, and tuck it away when they don't need it anymore.

"FlockPod provides an informal e-learning platform along with a discussion forum. An individual handling an e-learning activity can interact with many others doing the same work globally through FlockPod. Members can initiate debates, obtain feedback on products, subjects, decisions, conduct polls and surveys of employees through this platform while performing the regular tasks," Joshi says.

While an individual is learning a process or a tool through an e-learning system, he or she can also use FlockPod to learn it through a lateral process.

"The trial version has been used by few individuals and we have now launched the commercial version. Pricewaterhouse Coopers has already subscribed to this service, and we are expecting few more corporations to take up this facility," he says.

The platform can also be used to hold training programmes of a multinational company where employees sitting in various countries can join.

The company plans to promote this software through social and personal networking portals such as orkut.com, facebook.com, bharatstudent.com and others.

Credits: http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/01social.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Internet services to be restored by evening

2008-02-01T02:09:00.000-08:00

Internet services in the country, which were disrupted following a major international cable breakdown, would be restored by this evening.

"Only 25 per cent of the links are down today and we expect all the links to be restored by the evening," Internet Service Providers Association of India Rajesh Chharia told PTI.

The Internet services were disrupted on Wednesday night because of damage to two international undersea cables off Egypt coast.

About 50-60 per cent of the capacity was affected due to the rupture in the cables, which connect India to Western Europe, due to anchoring of ships near Alexandria.

He said big BPO firms and companies were not affected as they had their back-up plan but the fault might have affected small BPOs which operate only through a single route.

Majority of the firms are trying to restore their connections through a different route. International long distance and Internet traffic to Europe and the US got affected due to the breakdown.

On Thursday, the department of telecommunication reviewed the situation with senior officials and service providers, and said the link would be restored by the ILD operators within 10 days by expediting the repair.

Service providers Videsh Sanchar Nigam [Get Quote] Limited, Reliance [Get Quote] and Bharti Airtel [Get Quote] are in constant touch with Telecom Egypt to ensure speedy repair of the two submarine cables SEMEWE-4 Cable (SMW-4) and FLAG Cable.

The circuits working on these cables are being shifted by the three firms to other cables such as SMW-3 cable and pacific route cables to restore the telecommunication links.

Credits: http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/01net1.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Shoaib Malik in knotty affair over Indian 'bride'

2008-02-01T02:06:00.000-08:00

The father of a Hyderabadi girl whose love story involving Pakistani cricket captain Shoaib Malik went sour contested his claim that the couple did not enter into a 'nikah' and pressed the player to give a "formal divorce."

M A Siddiqui in a statement said the family will move the court if his daughter does not get divorce which was needed to help her start a "new life."

He was reacting to Malik's statement in Karachi on January 21 when the cricketer claimed that no 'nikah' took place between him and Ayesha Siddiqui.

"The 'nikah' of my daughter (Ayesha) with Shoaib Malik took place on June 3, 2002. We also have the proof," said Siddiqui amid reports that the couple got 'married' through a telephone 'nikah' on that date.

Siddiqui, a resident of posh Banjara Hills in the Andhra Pradesh capital, also challenged Malik's claims that his marriage plans with the Hyderabadi girl ended because both families could not reach an understanding on certain issues.

"Yes I had a long relationship with her and we planned to get married. But no nikah ever took place and in the end our families could not reach an understanding on various things," Malik had said.

Siddiqui alleged Malik wanted to end the relationship not for the reasons he had stated but "just to gain goodwill and build his image."

Siddiqui said his daughter is "devastated and traumatised" by the whole issue and claimed she was hospitalised many times.

Siddiqui claimed that his family called Malik and his family umpteen times but they "refused to talk to us."

"Shoaib Malik never tried to even talk to us even once. This behaviour has saddened deeply," he said.

On his daughter's future, he cited a media report quoting a Maulvi as saying that rightly his daughter needed a "divorce" in order to start a "new life".
Pakistani players were even feted to a grand reception by the Siddiqui family in Hyderabad when the team toured Indian in 2005.

Credits: http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080201/r_t_ie_wl_asia/twl-shoaib-malik-in-knotty-affair-over-i-1e1d2a8_1.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

BJP regrets PM's silence over Chinese claims

2008-02-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Arunachal Pradesh has expressed concern over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "silence", regarding repeated intrusions by China in Arunachal territory.

Addressing a public meeting in Itanagar on Thursday evening, party members said, "Dr Singh, during his maiden visit to the state, soon after his visit to Beijing [Images], was expected to give firm assurance of the Centre's commitment that every inch of Arunachal Pradesh would be protected at any cost. This had brought confidence in the minds of the people. However, it was shocking to hear no mention of it in his public address."

Regretting that the party had been denied appointment with the Indian premier, the BJP said that notwithstanding any party barriers, the people of the state anonymously felt that the PM's initiatives in changing India's approach towards Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China, needed a serious thrust.

"It is in New Delhi's strategic interest," their communique stated.

While submitting a seven-point memorandum, the party urged Dr Singh to convince his Chinese counterpart to respect the bilateral agreement between both the two Asian nations signed in 2003 and maintain the status quo in the areas of both sides of the McMahon Line.

"A firm assurance reiterating that not a single inch of Arunachal land will be compromised and the same shall be adopted in a resolution in the ensuing Budget session of the Parliament," the memorandum added.

The memorandum further demanded that the lackadaisical approach of the Centre to isolate border areas must be changed and declared that the network of roads, telecommunication and other important infrastructural services needed urgent development to match up with the neighbouring country's level in order to meet the frequencies and in case of any eventualities.

The elements of insurgency, terrorism, arms trafficking, unabated circulations of fake currencies, narcotics smuggling and large scale influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to the region were taking place due to lack of proper border management system, the memorandum further stated.

The memo further went on to urge the Centre to release a one-time special support grant against all the incomplete or ongoing Centrally-sponsored schemes during the current fiscal for their time-bound completion, special budgetary provisions for infrastructural development of Arunachal Pradesh to be incorporated in the 11th Five Year Plan and sanction of immediate CBI inquiry and investigations in the multi-crore scam and corruption in the Public Distribution System sector.

The memo also alleged nexus of the senior state political leaders with insurgents.

Credits: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/01bjp.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Ex-SP MP Atiq Ahmed arrested in Delhi

2008-02-01T02:00:00.000-08:00

Delhi Police has arrested the expelled Samajwad Party Member of Parliament (MP) Atiq Ahmed here today.

Ahmed was wanted in more than dozen criminal cases including murder case of Raju Pal, a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA). The Allahabad local court had declared him absconding as he was on run for the last six months.

Uttar Pradesh police has issued a non-bailable warrant against him and a reward of Rs 20,000 was put on him.

Ahmed was MP from Phoolpur constituency of Allahabad District. (ANI)

Credits: http://in.news.yahoo.com/ani/20080201/r_t_ani_nl_general/tnl-ex-sp-mp-atiq-ahmed-arrested-in-delh-99cbaa1_1.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

US warned against injecting troops in frontier Pakistan

2008-02-01T01:57:00.000-08:00

Warning the Bush administration against any 'loony' move to inject American troops in the militant-infested frontier areas of Pakistan, a former top United States official has said that Washington would have to find a way to 'motivate' Pakistan to deal with the extremists there.
"I think that a totally loony idea is to put US forces into the frontier areas of Pakistan," former under decretary of state for political affairs Thomas Pickering told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing on Afghanistan.

"If the Pakistanis themselves cannot do it, with their knowledge, with their capability to operate in those areas, at least now, how are Americans going to get over this particular difficult problem?" he questioned.

Pickering, who is also a former US ambassador to India, said while he had no objections to the US helping Pakistan to deal with the growing militancy in its tribal areas, it was 'a Pakistani problem in almost an exclusive sense'.

"We have to find a way, which we haven't been successful yet, in motivating the Pakistanis to do so," he said.

"It is not a simple problem either for president Pervez Musharraf [Images] or for the Pakistanis to deal with, but I see that's the only road and I totally agree on the looming dangers," Pickering said.

Credits: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/01pak3.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Sidin Sunny Vadukut: An amateur stock-trader's diary

2008-01-25T03:48:00.000-08:00

Dear Diary,

I have just returned from the office after a long and exhausting day. I had to sit through several senseless marketing meetings and one sales forecasting workshop. Honestly, I am getting a little sick of this company. I would have quit it long ago if it were not for the fact that the salary is good, the canteen is awesome and I know the combination to the petty cash safe.

Mr Ramanathan next door made Rs 100,000 rupees on the stock market yesterday. He bought his wife a new saree and a new fridge. My wife seems to know. She has not spoken to me all evening.

August 21st, 2003

Dear Diary,

Ramanathan just bought a new car. Apparently he had invested in Infosys [Get Quote]. The wife is now spending all day in Ramanathan's house. This is bothering me. The least she can do is tell Mrs. Ramanathan (Miss Versova 1978) to spend equal time in our house.

Maybe I will also do some stock market. Or something.

March 3rd, 2004

Dear Diary,

I made Rs 600 profit in one day itself! And I don't even know what I did! I sold some shares of Reliance [Get Quote]. Or maybe I bought it. I have no idea. But I made 600 rupees! Yahoo! I am taking out the family for a movie tonight.

p.s. Saw Mr Ramanathan standing outside the Oberoi while driving back home. The wife was not impressed. I need to beat that man. I will put another Rs 10,000 in the market tomorrow. I will buy something. Or maybe sell it. I don't know. I will do something. Reliance maybe.

December 21st, 2004

Dear Diary,

I have not traded in six months. I have no idea what I am doing. So far I have made an overall profit of three rupees in the market. Also I have a few Reliance shares which I bought in July.

Should I trade? I don't know. I know nothing about the market.

Ramanathan bought a new car. Accord. Bastard.

June 21st, 2005

DEAR DIARY!!!

I love the Ambanis! I love you! I love the Market! I made Rs 100,000 in profit today! I am rich! Now I will show my wife what I can do. I will go online and buy her a surprise gift. Maybe a cool new ipod. Or even a cellphone!

Woohoo! I am going to trade all day. Tomorrow I am also going to get cable at home with CNBC! Everyone who does stocks watches CNBC!

p.s. I was almost going to buy an ipod when suddenly I decided to buy 1000 Cipla. Wife has not been informed.

August 20th, 2005

Dear Diary,

There was a big problem in the office today. The complete petty cash vanished without a trace. Nobody knows what happened. (Hee hee.) We immediately had an inquiry team setup. I will be leading the team.

Bought 1000 Cipla. And a little bit of Reliance. My new Demat account is working awesome on my new computer and broadband connection at home.

September 8th, 2005

Dear Diary,

The Sensex crossed 8000! The market is booming! Everyone on CNBC is talking about the India story! Growth of more than 8% in GDP! What an awesome time to be in India.

p.s. I lost Rs 300,000 today. Petty cash might get stolen again next month.

January 1st, 2006

Dear Diary,

Today I made the smartest investment move ever. I withdrew full amount on my credit card and put it into my Demat account. I have a feeling that the market is going to boom today! I will pay my credit card bill in one or two days at the latest.

I saw CNBC all day today and read Economic Times cover to cover.

March 3rd, 2006

Dear Diary,

The people from the credit card company met me today. We had a conversation involving my mother. I am very upset. I will never again invest in "Uday Shankar Transport and Software Company Pvt. Ltd."

IT is supposed to be booming, no?

I may have some problems with finances. But thankfully I have been doing a lot of overtime in the office and should be able to sell all the equipment from the Server Room next week.

March 11th, 2006

Dear Diary,

Our company is being closed for police investigations. Someone stole everything from the server room.

I will be paying off my credit card bill today.

p.s. I was being such an idiot. Why would I want to waste that cash on bills when Udayan Mukherjee said that the market is buoyant and that positive signals are coming from western markets on the back of good numbers in the US markets? I can easily pay off the bills next week.

March 14th, 2006

Dear Diary,

No power today. I used the BEST bill money to buy Reliance. The wife is upset. She does not understand that the positive signals from the US housing market means that the Sensex is going to boom soon.

March 15th, 2006

Dear Diary,

Telephone got cut today. Wife has gone to native place with the children. I was very upset before I realised that I can use the savings from groceries, food and fees to buy into three new IPOs.

p.s. Warren Buffet wallpaper on desktop for inspiration.

May 22, 2006,

Dear Diary,

Market crashed 1100 points. Oh shit.

On the bright side I have discovered how much more efficient it is to buy fruits and vegetables every day instead of depending on the fridge. I don't think I need that any more.

June 2, 2006,

Dear Diary,

Wife and children came back today. And left immediately when they realised that I had sacrificed, in my fervour for participation in the capital markets, our furniture and kitchen appliances. She has moved to Mr. Ramanathan's place.

I think I will stay off the market for a while till things improve.

p.s. L&T is rocking. Sigh.

September 26th, 2007

Dear Diary,

Mr. Ambani is worth 50 billion rupees. I know that if I got one more chance at the markets I would make a few millions myself.

Wife and children are back home. Things are going fine.

Maybe if I buy just a little ICICI [Get Quote]. Just a little. Promise.

November 11th, 2007

Dear Diary,

I've been thinking a lot of how much my wife loves me these last few days. Does she even remember the romance we used to share? The evenings we spent holding hands in that caf�? That diamond ring I gave her at our engagement?

I hope not.

January 21st, 2008

Dear Diary,

Sub-prime something. Oh shit.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/jan/25sidin.htm

Chakradhar
http://www.chakradhar.net/
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com/

Scientists a step closer to artificial life

2008-01-25T03:35:00.000-08:00

Scientists have created the first man-made synthetic DNA structure -- one of the three key steps towards the formation of artificial life.

The researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville created the artificial genome code -- the chemical blueprint of life -- by synthesising and assembling 582,970 base pair genome of bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium JCVI-1.0.

In the next step, which is ongoing at the JCVI, the researchers would attempt to create a living bacterial cell-based entirely on the synthetically made genome.

"This extraordinary accomplishment is a technological marvel that was only made possible because of the unique and accomplished JCVI team," according to institute's founder Dr J Craig Venter.

But, he claimed that there are a number of serious constraints 'on that happening' and 'we are working diligently to get rid of them.'

"If we had succeeded it would be part of this paper. As soon as we have it, I doubt that we would be able to keep it a secret. Nor would we want to. It is a matter of time," Dr Venter told The Daily Telegraph.

The researchers made DNA fragments in the laboratory into larger pieces using new methods for the assembly and reproduction of the segments to achieve this 'very exciting' milestone.
In fact, after several years of work perfecting chemical assembly, the team found they could harness the process that cells use to repair damage to their chromosomes to complete the job.
The building blocks of DNA -- adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thiamine (T) -- are not easy chemicals to artificially synthesise into chromosomes.

As the strands of DNA get longer they get increasingly brittle, making them more difficult to work with. So, building a synthetic version of the genome of M genitalium genome that has over 580,000 base pairs presented a formidable challenge.

"We have shown that building large genomes is now feasible and scalable so that important applications such as biofuels can be developed. However, such work would use other kinds of bacteria," one of the researchers, Ham Smith, said.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25life.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Sania tricolour case: Court asks for report

2008-01-25T01:06:00.000-08:00

The third additional district magistrate's court in Tirupati has directed the District Superintendent of Police T V Sashidhar Reddy to conduct an inquiry into allegations that tennis star Sania Mirza had shown disrespect to the national flag.

Magistrate S Satyanarayana on Thursday asked the SP to verify the facts in the case and submit the report to the court before March 18.

The direction was given in response to a petition filed against Sania in the Tirupati court on January 6 by two advocates -- Samanchi Srinivas and K Ramesh.

The case was filed under Section II of Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act. Offenders under the act are liable for an imprisonment of three years.

The allegation against Sania was that, resting in a tennis court-side box, she put her feet up near the Indian tricolour while watching her doubles partner Rohan Bopanna playing Peter Luczac of Australia during the sixth session of the Hopman Cup in Perth on the New Year Day.

A Telugu daily carried the picture of Sania outstretching her legs towards the national flag. The case was filed based on the media reports and pictures on the incident.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25sania.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

life on Mars

2008-01-25T00:34:00.000-08:00

The idea that there may be life on Mars has been around for centuries, but the theory got a dubious boost from recently released photos of the surface of Mars (taken by the NASA robot Spirit) apparently showing a human-like figure. Several Internet sites have glommed onto the image and suggested the figure could be alive.

But what is it? Just a rock, astronomers say.

It's hard enough to accurately recognize figures and faces across the room. Mars, depending on when you measure it, is about 35 million miles away. The best telescopes aren't of much help in determining surface features, and that's why NASA sent robots with cameras to Mars.

The reason many people see a figure on the Martian landscape is the same reason that people see faces in clouds, Rorschach blots, and coffee stains. This phenomenon, called pareidolia, is well known in psychology, and it is the cause of many supposedly mysterious and miraculous events (including the famous "Jesus in the Tortilla"). Examples are all around us; in fact if you have a New Hampshire state quarter, you have pareidolia in your pocket or purse (take a look).

Strong evidence for this psychological explanation lies in the fact that the Spirit image does not look like Martian life (since we don't know what life on Mars looks like), but instead resembles life here on Earth, specifically human life. The image is the result of human interpretation. If you look around the full image of the area (not just the close-up), you will find several rocks and features that resemble non-human Earth life, such as armadillos and snakes. In the right bottom corner, emerging from the sand, there is what looks like a lizard face wearing goggles and an airman's helmet.

This is of course not the first time that NASA images have been claimed to show evidence of Martian life. A man named Richard Hoagland claimed that 1976 photographs of the Cydonia region of Mars showed a human-like face and was clear evidence of aliens.

According to astronomer Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy Web site, if the image really is of a man on Mars, he's awfully small: "Talk about a tempest in a teacup!" Plait said. "The rock on Mars is actually just a few inches high and a few yards from the camera. A few million years of Martian winds sculpted it into an odd shape, which happens to look like, well, a Bigfoot! It's just our natural tendency to see familiar shapes in random objects."

Even though logic and science suggest that the image is of a rock and not an animal, UFO buffs and conspiracy theorists will continue to speculate.

In fact, it will actually be pretty easy to determine whether or not the image is of alien life. In later photographs of the area, either the same shape will be there or it won't. If it is, it's a rock (unless, of course, little Martian men can hold the same pose for weeks or months at a time).

This is exactly how the "Face on Mars" was eventually disproven. On April 5, 1998, the Mars Global Surveyor took photographs of the same region in far higher resolution than was possible in 1976. The new images clearly showed an area heavily eroded, and that the "face" was simply the result of low image quality, pareidolia, and tricks of light and shadow. Hoagland's theory was discredited.

Just don't tell that to the creepy, goggle-wearing Martian sand lizard.

Benjamin Radford is managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer science magazine. He is author or co-author of three books on skepticism and science literacy. They can be found on his website.

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Original Story: Female Figure on Mars Just a Rock

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Credits : http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20080124/sc_space/femalefigureonmarsjustarock

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Sensex up 740 pts as heavyweights soar

2008-01-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: Equities gained more ground as investor optimism increased looking at the advances in global markets. Thursday’s dip also offered good buying opportunity to buy at attractive prices. “The sharp reduction in the open interest indicates that the venom has been flushed out of the system and traders at Dalal Street may be ready to tango with the rest of the global markets. This is the first time in two years that the open interest has fallen below the level with which the series began,” said Anagram Stock Broking in a note.

“For the immediate term, things look rosy in which our market could recoup some 1000 points more from the occupying bears,” the note added. Banking and power stocks were the biggest beneficiaries of the rally adding over 5 per cent to their respective sectoral indices on the BSE.

At 11:15 am, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was up 738 points or 4.28 per cent at 17,959.52, briefly touching a high of 18,025.94 after opening at 17,504. The 30-share index saw no losers. The biggest gainers were Reliance Energy (up 9.33%), ONGC (8.55%), ICICI Bank (7.44%), Mahindra & Mahindra (6.33%) and Bajaj Auto (5.57%).

Credits : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2730432.cms

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Love in the time of call centres

2008-01-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

Working long, odd hours at a BPO, sleeping away the days and travelling some 30 km to work and back had 23-year-old Pranjul Dogra declaring, "I have no time for love." But then Cupid struck, and Dogra was soon seeing her cab companion - another call centre employee - still working long hours, but with love as a convenient side effect.

Cab romances are now a common trend in the BPO industry. When five to seven people are confined to the seats of a Qualis/ Tavera/ Innova for an average of two hours a day, bonds will invariably emerge, says Dogra.

In a cab is where Himani Bahadur, 28, often dated her now ex-boyfriend. They even changed BPO jobs to be able to work - and go to work - together.

She says their relationship was very much out in the open, with their friends in the cab often teasing them about their constant handholding. The couple's cab driver would even offer good-natured advice to the two - who come from different religious backgrounds and whose families are opposed to the alliance.

Laughs Himani, "Our cab driver would tell us ma-baap toh man jayenge, maine bhi bhaag ke shaadi ki thi; meri biwi bhi toh alag jaat ki thi, par bacche ho kar sab maan jaate hain (parents always come around, even I eloped with a girl from a different caste, but once the kids come on the scene, all's well) "In my Thursday-Friday cabs, a couple started seeing each other based solely on their cab interaction," says Sarthak Bhatt, 23-year-old Am Ex employee. While working at Convergys, Pritika Bajaj was witness to a few cases of puppy love.

"People change shifts to be in the same cab with the person they're seeing. Sometimes they even get off at each other's houses," which, she adds, "gives the rest of us stuff to gossip about.
" Himanshu Dhyani, who worked in the BPO sector for over 7 years before shifting to KPOs, says with about 500 call centres in the NCR, cab friends are something of an obvious consequence.

"Take GE for example; with the 12,000 people they employ, there is bound to be at least a handful you're more than just acquainted with.

" When it comes to bonding with the cabbie, there are mixed responses. "My chap used to call my mother at 4.

30 am to wake me up. I used to be the first pick, and generally always late, so while I got ready, he'd wait and have chai," says Sudhanshu Tripathi, who works with Vertex.

Of course it isn't everyone's cup of tea to chat up fellow commuters. Rajesh Khatri, a team leader at Daksh, is most comfortable keeping small talk to the bare minimum.

Other than reminding the driver to slow down or stay awake, he says he'd rather sleep or listen to music. Himanshu says conversation in a cab is restricted to gossip and b*tching about colleagues.

"There are instances when a team leader plans (with subordinates) to go partying or drinking, but the next morning the cab friend is back to being the boss, so excuses don't go down well," he adds.

Credits : http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080125/r_t_ht_nl_features/tnl-love-in-the-time-of-call-centres-6b6720b_1.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

How can we allow this disgraceful situation to continue?

2008-01-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

L C Jain

Soon after Independence, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, India's first health minister, happened to visit Ajmer. She was shaken by the filthy conditions in which the workers engaged in scavenging were living in -- if it could be called that. She narrated her experience to Gandhiji.

That was on January 27, 1948, three days before he was assassinated. Gandhiji said in his prayer meeting that evening that 'Harijans live surrounded by filth and dirt. The administration is our own. How can we allow this disgraceful situation to continue?'

And here is how we have allowed it to continue till date -- unashamedly through all of 60 years of our Independence. Read on.

For as long as 12 years after Gandhiji's death, the scavengers received no notice by anyone leading India's tryst with destiny. The then Union home minister Govind Ballabh Pant was first to declare in Parliament in 1960 that he was 'very anxious to see the inhuman practice of night soil being carried on head abolished completely and immediately.'

He set up a Scavenging Conditions Inquiry Committee, which reported to Parliament on December 26, 1960, that 'the conditions of scavenging in almost all places were so nauseating that a few of the members in spite of having become accustomed to visiting the filthiest spots in towns, had been vomiting. A few of the towns in the country were so filthy that they could as well be called 'Big Latrines'.' But little was actually done.

In 1993, then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao enacted the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines [Prohibition] Act 1993, described at the time as 'a path-breaking legislation'. Yet, the notification bringing the Act into force was not issued for another four years, until January 26, 1997.

Meanwhile a National Commission on Safai Karamcharis had been appointed in 1995 by Sitaram Kesri, the then minister for social welfare. That commission reported: Safai Karamcharis in this country have not benefited from the spectacular progress all round. Manual scavenging is still prevalent in large parts of the country and they continue to be oppressed, discriminated and subjected to indignity. They live in subhuman conditions in segregated colonies by the side of open drains and public latrines, deprived of basic amenities of drainage, water, public conveniences and bare sanitation. The sanitary workers are made to live in most insanitary conditions, ironical though it sounds.

Filthy living conditions have not only a physical bearing but also social. Scavenging is regarded as 'defiling.' Our social order is divided between those who defile and those who are defiled by the act of cleaning our shit.

Among the unclean or defiling occupations as they are categorised by the welfare ministry, some 7.23 lakh persons have been identified as scavengers. There are about 5 lakh workers engaged in another major defiling occupation -- leather work, particularly in the removal of carcass -- the dead body of an animal. Untouchability is thus embedded on their person. No wonder not one of them has ever been invited to an 'At Home' by any Rashtrapati in the past 60 years.

In 2000, then finance minister Yashwant Sinha made a provision for removal of night soil 'in a mission mode within one year.' As in the past, end of story. Interestingly, Sinha also provided in the same Budget (2001-2002) some relief for those who he said 'live in a harsh and cruel world' by enlarging the concessions to the entertainment industry. 'Our entertainment industry, particularly the film industry not only provides the much needed fantasy to millions of our people who live in an otherwise harsh and cruel world, it has also emerged as an important segment of our economy and holds great promise for the future.'

Although his budgetary mission mode failed to touch nightsoil, the daydreaming films and fantasy have continued to flourish such as to be able to entertain us. Aaja nachle.

Let us return to the fate of the scavengers. On August 22, 2007, the public accounts committee reported to the Lok Sabha on the progress of the National Scheme of Liberation and Rehabilitation of scavengers and their dependents. The verdict: the scheme had failed to deliver its social vision after ten years of continuous but regrettably half-hearted efforts.

The National Action Plan for total eradication of manual scavenging by 2007 had also been prepared by the Planning Commission, and the ministry of urban employment and poverty alleviation and the central government have accorded 'highest priority' for rehabilitation of manual scavengers by including it as one of the items in the 'thrust areas' of the ministry of social justice and empowerment.

But the committee regretted that it was not given any information relating to targets set and achievements made during each of the years since 2002, in respect of the number of manual scavengers who were liberated and rehabilitated. In the absence of any meaningful feedback, the committee cannot but conclude that much progress has not been made.

The committee 'deplores the callous attitude displayed by the ministry in not furnishing the requisite information to the committee which is anything but regrettable'. It urged the central and state governments to implement the schemes envisaged for the benefit of scavengers in letter and spirit. More than three months have passed since the committee submitted its report. No one in authority has moved an inch; nor have any of the over 800 MPs who have secured a lifetime pension for themselves, been moved by the shocking revelations.

One prays that a day comes when the mighty of this land would spare at least a fraction of the tenacity they have bestowed on propelling the 123 Agreement, so that we may also move an inch forward on serial numbers 4 or 5 or 6, that is, the liberation of scavengers from filth enjoined upon us by Gandhiji in his haunting message on January 27, 1948: How can we allow this disgraceful situation to continue?

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25guest.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

J&K: UP serial blasts mastermind shot dead

2008-01-24T23:23:00.000-08:00

The Jammu & Kashmir police on Friday killed Bashir Ahmed alias Sabah, the chief commmander of Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami and the alleged mastermind of the Uttar Pradesh serial blasts at Chatroo village in Kishtawar district on Friday.

A senior police officer told rediff.com that Ahmed was a most wanted militant.

He said Ahmed was responsible for training and recruiting militants in UP's Faizabad and Varanasi diistricts.The killing has been described by senior police officers as a major success.

The HuJI chief, who was being tracked by the Jammu and Kashmir police for nearly a month, was killed in an ambush by the commandos of the state police.

Ahmed, a resident of Kishtawar division, was being tracked after his name surfaced during the interrogation of militants arrested in connection with the serial blasts.

The blasts, which took place in three court premises of Uttar Pradesh in November last year, had killed over a dozen people.

A satellite phone, a wireless set and some AK rifles were recovered from the slain militant.

Ahmed's role was also being probed in the twin blasts at Hyderabad.

He joined Harkat-ul-Ansar in 1992 and received training in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir before moving to Alaq-e-Ghair in Afghanistan, where he specialised in handling and making of improvised explosive devices, communication systems and jungle warfare.

Ahmed was then made the in-charge of militant training from 1995-98 at Jungle-Mangal camp in PoK and Mansera in Pakistan before returning to Jammu and Kashmir.He was arrested by the police from Karpan in 2000, but was released in 2002 when the Public Safety Act was quashed.

Immediately after his release, he joined the HuJI and rose to the rank of supreme commander.

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Kuldeep Khoda told PTI that it was a neatly executed operation. "It is definitely a major success for us, especially after the UP police informed us about his role in the serial blasts.

The entire team of Doda range, who participated in the operation that took place in three feet deep snow, are being suitably rewarded.

"The name of Ahmed, who was also known as Sabah Hijaji, came up during the interrogation of two HuJI militants -- Sajjad and Tariq Kashmiri alias Akhthar -- arrested from Doda town in December 2007 for planting explosive devices at three courts in Uttar Pradesh.

The two had claimed that Ahmed was the mastermind of the serial blasts in the state and the consignment of ammonium nitrate and RDX was provided by him.They said they got direct orders from Hijaji in Doda area, who was under pressure from across the border to act following continued depletion of his cadre, who were either being killed in encounters or arrested.

Sources said that Ahmed was planning to carry out serial blasts in Mumbai and had also conducted reconnaissance at Gateway of India, Andheri, Oberoi Hotel and Navi Mumbai for planting explosive devices.

However, Ahmed changed his mind and decided to carry out serial blasts in various courts of Uttar Pradesh, to get back at lawyers who refused to take up cases of militants.

Faizabad court premises had witnessed an altercation between lawyers and HuJI militants. The local bar association had banned its advocates from taking up their cases.

While the court premises in Varanasi was a witness to the beating of one Waliullah Khan, the main accused in the Sankat Mochan temple explosions, lawyers in Lucknow also manhandled two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, who were planning to kidnap Congress leader Rahul Gandhi .

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25huji.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Ashok Chakra for braveheart Major

2008-01-24T23:20:00.000-08:00

He was just days away from flying home to see his first child when he led his men upfront in a bloody encounter with intruding militants in Kashmir valley. Major Dinesh Raghu Raman rescued a colleague, who was caught in the firing line, but he lost his life.

Raman will be posthumously conferred with the nation's highest peacetime award, the Ashok Chakra, on Republic Day.

Braving heavy gunfire from holed up Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in Ringwari hamlet in Tangmarg in Baramulla district, the 34 Rashtriya Rifles officer led his men in the encounter. Nine militants were killed in the encounter, which was billed as the bloodiest gunfight in Kashmir valley last year.

Raman rushed to the gunfight site on hearing about his forces cordoning off a house in the hamlet, following a tip-off that a big group of terrorists was holed up in the house, after managing to sneak across the Line of Control.

Raman also went headlong into the terrorist firing line to rescue his colleague Major K P Vinay, in the best traditions of camaraderie in the Army.

After slaying a number of terrorists, Raman brought back Major Vinay from the firing line and in the process received shots in his chest and legs.

Raman, along with his injured fellow soldiers, was airlifted to the Srinagar base hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

As he was being taken away from the encounter site, the profusely bleeding Raman's last words to his men were, "Don't let any terrorist escape".

Raman's wife Latha, an employee of Tata Consultancy Services, was on an assignment to London and had just returned as she was expecting her first child in two months time. Raman had applied for leave to join his wife.

Receiving his body at Palam technical area in New Delhi, his father veteran Subedar Major (Hon captain) S Krishnamurthy said "In spite of losing my son, I would still advise my grandchild who is yet to be born, to join the Army and serve the nation".

Major Raghu Raman hailed from Kachipuram in Tamil Nadu and was commissioned in 1999 in the Jat regiment.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25major.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

If Pak wants, US ready to send troops to fight insurgency

2008-01-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

The Bush administration is ready to send a small contingent of United States troops into Pakistan to fight insurgency if Islamabad asks for assistance, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said.

"We remain ready, willing and able to assist the Pakistanis and to partner with them to provide additional training, to conduct joint operations, should they desire to do so," Gates, flanked by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, said at a news conference.

The top Pentagon official said that Pakistan has not requested any additional assistance as it battles an increasingly active insurgency, adding the US will respect the Musharraf government's decision on how to tackle the problem.

"We're not aware of any proposals that the Pakistanis have made to us at this point....at this point it's their nickel, and we await proposals or suggestions from them," the Defence Secretary said.

"I think that the emergence of this fairly considerable security challenge in Pakistan has really been brought home to the Pakistani government relatively recently and particularly with the tragic assassination of Bhutto. So I think it's not particularly surprising that they have not fully thought through exactly how they intend to proceed," Gates added.

The top US commander in the region, Admiral William Fallon, was in Pakistan this week. He met senior Pakistani officials, including new army chief General Ashfaq Kayani. Admiral Fallon had told reporters that Pakistani officials were now more willing to seek US assistance.

Gates said any US military operation to target al Qaeda bases in Pakistan's tribal areas will involve only a small number of troops.

"You're not talking about significant numbers of US troops if you're talking about going after al Qaeda in the border area... in my way of thinking, we're talking about a very small number of troops, should that happen. And it's clearly a pretty remote area. But, again, the Pakistani government has to be the judge of this," he said.

Admiral Mullen said that talks with Pakistan on possible US assistance were going on and that "If asked to assist, I think we could do a lot".

But Gates placed the al Qaeda threat in a larger perspective over and beyond what is taking place in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"We are all concerned about the re-establishment of al-Qaeda safe havens in the border area. I think it would be unrealistic to assume that all of the planning that they're doing is focused strictly on Pakistan. So I think that that is a continuing threat to Europe as well as to us," he said.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/25pak1.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

HuJI commander shot dead in J&K

2008-01-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

JAMMU: The self-styled supreme commander of the banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI) and the alleged mastermind of the UP serial blasts, Bashir Ahmed alias Sabah was on Friday shot dead by police in Kishtawar district.

The HuJI chief, who was being tracked by the Jammu and Kashmir police for nearly a month, was killed in an ambush by the commandos of the state police in Cahtru village of Kishtawar district, official sources said.

Ahmed, a resident of Kishtawar division, was being tracked after his name surfaced during the interrogation of militants arrested in connection with the serial blasts in three court premises of Uttar Pradesh in November last year that left over a dozen people dead and scores others injured.

A satellite phone, a wireless set and some AK rifles were recovered from the slain militant. Ahmed's role was also being probed in the twin blasts at Hyderabad. He joined Harkat-ul-Ansar in 1992 and received training in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir before moving to Alaq-e-Ghair in Afghanistan where he specialised in handling and making of Improvised Explosive Devices, communication systems and jungle warfare.

Ahmed was then made in-charge of militant training from 1995-98 at Jungle-Mangal camp in PoK and Mansera in Pakistan before returning to Jammu and Kashmir. He was arrested by police from Karpan in 2000 but was released in 2002 when the Public Safety Act was quashed. Immediately after his release, he joined HuJI and rose to the rank of becoming its Supreme Commander.

Credits : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HuJI_supreme_commander_shot_dead_in_JK/articleshow/2729974.cms

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

2 divorces for every 5 marriages in Mumbai

2008-01-24T20:38:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI: For every five weddings registered in Mumbai and Thane since 2002, family courts have received two applications for divorce.

Exactly 104,287 marriages were registered in Mumbai and Thane between January 2002 and October 2007. During the same period, the family courts in the two districts received 44,922 applications for divorce. Figures for 2007 bear out the trend. Mumbai and Thane registered 17,221 marriages between January and October last year. There were 7,813 applications for divorce within the same time span.

The statistics have alarmed psychiatrists and sociologists. Mumbai, say sociologists, is increasingly time-stressed with many couples doing about 80 km of commuting every day in addition to eight- to ten-hour jobs. "Even longstanding, stable matrimonial relationships may eventually crack under severe pressure," a Tata Institute of Social Sciences sociologist said.

"There is no shame or stigma attached to a divorce now and even parents often back their daughters who want to separate if things do not fall in place," psychiatrist Harish Shetty added. The increasing numbers corroborate what they say. Last year (until October) saw 4,138 divorce applications in Mumbai. This is an increase of 47.5% over the 2002 figure of 2,805.

Other urban centres in the state are catching up with Mumbai. Thane district saw 3,675 divorce pleas between January and October 2007, while Pune saw 1,372 pleas in the entire year.

Credits : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2_divorces_for_every_5_marriages_in_Mumbai/articleshow/2729438.cms

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

I have lost everything

2008-01-23T03:15:00.000-08:00

August 31, 2007, is a day software engineer Lakshmana K Kailash would like to forget. In the wee hours of that dreaded day, he was picked up from his Bangalore home by six policemen from Pune on charges of defaming Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on Orkut.com.

Despite protesting that he did not know anything about it, he was taken to Pune and thrown into jail, where he spent 50 days with over 200 undertrial prisoners for an offence he did not commit.

He was charged under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code ('deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings'), and Section 67 of the IT Act (publishing 'lascivious material on the Internet').

Fifty days later, his luck changed and the three people who were behind the offence were arrested. Lakshmana, who is currently with his family in Tamil Nadu, says his fight is not over yet. He has slapped a legal notice demanding Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) from Bharti Airtel and the Pune police. He said his arrest was based on the Internet Protocol address provided by the telecom service provider Bharti.

Rediff.com Special Correspondent Vicky Nanjappa caught up with Lakshmana to find out how he plans to take on the telecom giant and the police.

In jail, what was going on in your mind?
I used to talk to other undertrial prisoners most of the time. They used to tell me that it would take a minimum of nine months before I actually got a hearing. However, for me it was a miracle that the three real culprits were apprehended and I was able to get out soon.
Initially, I was very weak. I had stopped eating properly. But I realised my family needed me and I decided I had to be strong.

Do you have faith in the judiciary?
Yes, I do. It was the judiciary after all that issued my release order. However, I do feel there is a need to finetune the law -- the Information Technology Act in particular. It is very unfortunate that a person is arrested just on the basis of the IP address.
When I was at the office of the commissioner of police, I asked him what if his IP address had been misused. He really did not have an answer to that. With a bit of finetuning and proper implementation, I feel the entire system could be put in place.

Your company, HCL, stood by you.
I will be getting back to work in Bangalore soon. My company has been very supportive and I really appreciate that. At present I am on medical leave and need some more time before I actually start working.

What was the attitude of both Bharti and the police?
What I realised about the police was that they were not getting enough technical assistance in this case. There were many instances where I suggested certain remedies to them. Both Bharti and the police told me they had only done their duty. But the fact remains that I have suffered and I have only one life.

Why did you decide to sue both?
I spoke to both. The police told me they acted based on the information provided to them by Bharti. When I asked Bharti, they told me that 1,000 pieces of evidence can be given, but it is the duty of the police to verify it. I really got tired of these replies and realised that both were trying to wash their hands off this case.
I am the one who suffered and I needed answers and that is why I decided to sue both of them.

How has your family reacted to this episode?
I hail from a middle class family, and values, dreams and self-respect are of utmost importance to us. Our family has had a good reputation in society for the past 100 years. None of my family members have even set foot in a police station except when we had to get our passports made.
We have not even been involved in a civil case. So you could well imagine what my family must have gone through when this happened. My family members were really upset and I can only thank God that they were strong and did not do anything drastic.
Throughout this entire case, my brother was in Pune all the time. He did not know the local language; the lawyers were pushing him around. My heart goes out to him when I think of that.
There are relatives who still do not talk to us. My family is still in a state of shock.

Has this episode changed you as a person?
Yes, it has made me a stronger person. I have realised that I have to fight to earn my self-respect back. I am shattered and have lost everything. I need a lot of support from people. I am still very scared to use the Internet. I will have to be stronger.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/21inter.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Boycott call mars Hindu fest in Malaysia

2008-01-23T02:50:00.000-08:00

Ethnic Indians in Malaysia on Wednesday marked the annual Hindu festival of Thaipusam, declared as a national holiday in Malaysia for the first time, but a boycott call linked to alleged discrimination against the community and fears of violence kept many away from the celebrations.

Worshippers, some with hooks and spears pierced through their bodies, thronged Hindu temples across the country while more than 40,000 climbed the famous Batu Caves, which houses the Sri Subramaniar temple of Lord Murugan (Kartik), in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

Every year, at least a million Hindus visit Batu Caves on this day, but this year the crowd seemed to be much lesser in number. Other than the boycott call by Indian activists, rumours that violence could break out also kept people away.

Some worshippers said devotees were asked to attend prayers at other temples instead of Batu Caves, which is controlled by the Malaysian Indian Congress, a partner of the ruling Barisan Party.

Indian activists accuse the MIC of not doing enough for the community. Text messages criticising the party did rounds before the festival.

MIC president Samy Vellu, however, did not see any drop in the crowds visiting Batu Caves, saying that at least one million had come. "The crowd is the usual crowd. I have come to Thaipusam for 60 years... I am very very happy," he said.

"I don't think religious people who went to pray to Lord Murugan will listen to all the naughty fellows," Vellu said of the SMS campaign.

"Who can threaten us? Anyone who threatens us we can find out where he is. It takes only five hours to find out where he is. They can't run away from us."

Some 20,000 ethnic Indians rallied in Kuala Lumpur on November 25 on a call by non-governmental organisation Hindu Rights Action Front to raise their grievances over alleged discrimination in the Muslim-majority country.

The government has denied the allegations.

Five leaders of Hindraf remain behind bars on charges of threatening public security and inciting racial hatred. In a move to assuage the feelings of agitated ethnic Indians ahead of elections, the Malaysian prime minister has declared the Thaipusam festival as a national holiday.

Thaipusam is a major Hindu festival among Indians in Malaysia and Singapore where devotees offer prayers to Lord Murugan.

Hundreds of youth carried 'kavadi' (decorated wooden frames) over their shoulders while going up the 172 steep steps of the Batu Caves. Men, women and children attired in new clothes balanced pails of milk on top of their heads heading towards temples.

Ethnic Indians form 7.8 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people of which 60 per cent are Muslim Malays while 25 per cent are ethnic Chinese who are Buddhists or Christians.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/23malaysia.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

A lesson from Pakistan

2008-01-23T02:32:00.000-08:00

After Partition, Pakistan's population had 15 per cent Hindus and 2 per cent Christians. If Pakistan had promoted diversity then, the next generation would have grown up in a multi-cultural, multi-religious society and exercised more tolerance.

General Zia-ul-Haq replaced this multi-cultural heritage with radical "Islamisation" of civil society and the army. The rich Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh legacy common to both countries was discarded.

Pakistan was once a land of learning, where universities like Taxila flourished and Ayurveda texts were written. It forgot its pluralistic tradition, unlike India, where for example, the contribution of the Mughal Empire is recognised and honoured.

Instead, generations of Pakistani students have received mono-cultural, mono-religious education, making them radical. When I visited Pakistan some years ago, I met several journalists and interacted with thousands of people.

To my amazement, they knew very little about India's freedom movement or Mahatma Gandhi and his principles of non-violence and forgiveness. Children in Pakistan know nothing about the Bhakti movement, the spiritual renaissance our sub-continent once witnessed.

By tampering with history books, educationists have done great damage to society. The soft power they appear to wield ultimately brings out a hardened attitude in people.

Extremists generally tend to be very insular. Unfortunately, even in India, these tendencies are seen today in protests about "Vande Mataram" being sung in schools and colleges, a fatwa issued to an actor for visiting a Ganesh festival, and objections to Valentine's Day.

These should be unequivocally condemned by society as a whole. A composite society will always promote harmony and peace and check extremism.

Since Partition, the minority population in India has grown manifold while Pakistan's minority population has fallen to 1 per cent. Pakistan's biggest mistake is not supporting its minority communities, because extremism in one religion does not remain contained in one.

Credits : http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080123/r_t_ht_op_clm/top-a-lesson-from-pakistan-622486c.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

'The nation needs to give much more importance to its soldiers

2008-01-23T02:26:00.000-08:00

There is a strange restlessness in the Nair home after Harshan's death says his brother. "There is scarcely a day when my mother hasn't cried for him. What we have lost is slowly sinking in." On August 14, the family received a telegram from the Indian defence secretary informing them that Captain Harshan 'who made a supreme sacrifice in the performance of his duty to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of our great nation' had received the Ashok Chakra.

"After Kargil there is a special sense of respect for the soldiers. But when a soldier's body is brought back home it becomes the affair of the State, the locality. Martyrs are eventually remembered only occasionally. The nation needs to give much more importance to its soldiers," says Mr Nair as his wife sits beside him, her grief heartbreakingly palpable.

To give a sense of what Harshan was made of, his childhood friend Manu relates an incident which perhaps defines this fine young man.

'Half way through the IMA, he told me he wanted to join the Special Forces. He told me it was risky -- so I told him the way he was thinking at 21 would be different from what he would want at 26. And Harshan turned round and told me -- "If I want to live like a soldier, I don't want to be an ordinary soldier -- I want to be a true soldier."'

R Harshan was exactly that and his friends want India to know about him. There are two other brave men who will be awared the Ashok Chakra on Republic Day. Let us not fail them because a nation that does not remember its martyrs is a nation without a soul.

Credits:http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/23resld7.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Bhutto's killing: Cops grill teenager

2008-01-23T01:48:00.000-08:00

Police in the garrison city of Rawalpindi questioned a teenaged boy, arrested for his alleged involvement in former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto's [Images] assassination, and his accomplice on Wednesday.

Aitezaz Shah, a 15-year-old suicide bomber arrested last week along with one Sher Zaman in Dera Ismail Khan town of North West Frontier Province, was handed over to Punjab Police on Tuesday and brought to Rawalpindi.

The police team, formed to probe Bhutto's assassination in Rawalpindi on December 27, will also question the duo.

Security officials had on Tuesday night raided a madrassa in Karachi where Shah had studied before going to South Waziristan and Afghanistan for training in terrorist camps. During the raid on Zaman's house in Dera Ismail Khan, police seized explosives and other materials used in making suicide vests.

Officials connected with the probe say that Shah was likely to be questioned by the Scotland Yard team that is helping Pakistani investigators.

Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told media persons at a weekly briefing on Tuesday that the British team 'will be at liberty to interrogate the two suspects arrested from Dera Ismail Khan as they are assisting us in the case.'

"We will have no objection if the Scotland Yard team wishes to interrogate Aitezaz Shah and Sher Zaman," Cheema said, adding, "If they (Scotland Yard team) require, the government would facilitate them to quiz the duo."

The Scotland Yard sleuths have gone back to Britain to analyse the evidence they had gathered but the British High Commission has said they could return to Pakistan if necessary.
Pakistani officials are currently trying to corroborate Shah's claim that he was part of a five-member squad sent by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander Baitullah Mehsud to kill Bhutto.

Referring to the questioning of Shah and Zaman, Cheema said: "They have given a statement with regard to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. But we cannot say anything about them until and unless there is corroborating evidence to suggest that whatever they say is correct."

Officials said police had arrested Shah's father from Karachi and his uncle Shabbir Hussain Shah at Battal town in Mansehra. Police in Karachi have also arrested a relative of Baitullah Mehsud.

Credits : http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/23bhutto.htm

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Most Asian markets rebound from recent plunge as investors cheer surprise US interest rate cut

2008-01-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

TOKYO (AP) - Most Asian markets rebounded strongly Wednesday, reversing their recent gut-wrenching plunge as investors welcomed a hefty, surprise interest rate cut overnight by the U.S. Federal Reserve to shore up the sagging American economy.

But analysts said volatile swings were expected to linger in regional trading for some time because the Fed's quick action, at an emergency meeting, was seen by some traders as a sign American authorities view the U.S. credit crunch as a very serious problem.

"The Fed's action provided a very positive surprise," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, strategist at Shinko Securities Co. in Tokyo. "But people are also starting to think that things may be so bad they needed to act."

Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 3.4 percent in the morning session, recouping some of its 9.3 percent loss the last two days. Australia's benchmark index rebounded 5.1 percent, snapping a 12-day losing streak.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index - which had plummeted 13.6 percent Monday and Tuesday - surged 7.5 percent at the opening before trimming gains to 22,945.13, up 5.5 percent, in late morning trading.

Fears of a U.S. recession, which would likely erode demand for Asian exports, has battered the region's markets since the start of the year. The sell-offs accelerated Monday and Tuesday amid skepticism that a stimulus package announced by U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday wouldn't do much to support growth.

Jolted by worries of a global recession, the Fed on Tuesday slashed its federal funds rate three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.5 percent, the biggest reduction in this target rate for overnight loans on records going back to 1990. It also was the first time the Fed has changed rates between meetings since 2001.

On Wall Street Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 450 points initially but recouped most of its losses as the day progressed to close at 11,971.19, down 128.11 points, or 1.1 percent. Markets were closed Monday for a holiday in the U.S.

In Hong Kong, where the benchmark index had plunged 22 percent since the start of the year, investors took heart from the U.S. rate cut and snapped up stocks that had fallen to attractive levels.

Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities, estimated that the Hong Kong market had been oversold by about 15 percent.

"It's time to recover, but investors still need to be cautious because the fluctuation now is too big," he said.

The Fed's move also helped lift the dollar, which rose to 106.90 yen late morning in Tokyo, up from 106.48 yen late Tuesday in New York - another bit of good news for Japanese exporters.
Still, analysts warned that lower interest rates won't fix bad credit problems - and usually take several months to have an effect on an economy.

"We consider the Fed's rate cut still insufficient for the global financial markets to completely recover and help the Japanese stocks to fully rebound," Credit Suisse chief strategist Shinichi Ichikawa said.

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Credits : http://www.aol.in/news/story/200801222316004937636/index.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com

Bihar girl makes it to NCERT school textbooks

2008-01-23T01:18:00.000-08:00

Patna, January 22: The success story of a teenage girl, living in a nondescript village of Bihar, getting educated by her own efforts while rearing honey bees for a livelihood, has found a place in a school textbook.

The story of Anita Kushwaha, the 17-year-old who lives in Muzaffarpur district, about 70 km from Patna has been published in the book published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The chapter titled Anita and the honey bees in the class IV book describes Anita as 'Queen Bee'.
Highlighting her struggle, the book mentions about Anita hailing from a modest background who was born in a poor family of agricultural labourers. Her parents were too poor to get her ambition of getting educated fulfilled.

"I wanted to study but my parents and relatives in my village did not encourage. I realised that I have to help out myself. I need to fund my studies myself. Today, I have found a place in the textbooks. I want to work for the cause of the deprived children so that they also make it to the headlines and textbooks," said Anita.

Anita came to the limelight in 2006 when Unicef chose her as one of the 'inspiring stories' for its girl stars campaign.

She was the youngest among the 15 girls who were selected for the Unicef campaign. Unicef then made a film on her and released books on her struggle for education and survival.

She was able to persuade her parents not to get her married at an early age. She decided to earn not only to fund her school studies but her higher studies also.

She has been doing some odd jobs to earn a livelihood and also assisting in the upcoming of children of poor families.

Anita has become a role model and a source of inspiration for many.

"Anita has set an example for all of us. She has made the district proud. She came from a very poor family and yet has become a success story. She is a source of inspiration for us," said Satyamev Amit, a student of class four.

Anita is currently pursuing her Bachelors in Arts (English) degree from a college in Muzaffarpur.

Credits : http://www.aol.in/news/story/2008012202389026000002/index.html

Chakradhar
www.chakradhar.net
http://zoomsays.blogspot.com