Rushdie brouhaha is another strike against Free Speech

January 18, 2012 20:13 IST

When Truth dies along with it dies the 'Fabric of Trust' that holds nations and societies together.

From raising dishonest questions over the Batla House encounter to raising false bogeys over the Rushdie visit, the Congress stands guilty of causing irreversible damage to that fabric of trust, says Shashi Shekhar.

As of the writing of this column, uncertainty loomed over writer Salman Rushdie's participation at the Jaipur  Literary Festival.

The political logic over the objection to Rushdie's participation has a very simple basis. The Congress party in Uttar Pradesh  is in a desperate dogfight for the Muslim vote. The Congress government in Rajasthanis in a desperate mood to shift the focus away from the worst sex cum murder scandals to have tainted it in many decades.

The Islamist establishment in India ] is facing both an existential and generational challenge.

Salman Rushdie is a convenient target of opportunity for both the Congress and the Islamist establishment.

It is no secret that the Islamic seminary of Deoband faces both a generational and existential challenge. The manner in which a reformist Maulana Vastanvi was ousted as its rector spoke volumes of the reformist undercurrents that Deoband is facing.

Outside of the Deobandi school of thought, one also saw in recent months a very bold move by the larger Barelvi organisation in India rejecting the import of hardline Islamist ideas from Saudi Arabia.

In fact, one has also seen a rare move towards bridging the communal faultline when back in October prominent Sunni Sufi leaders expressed a sentiment of reconciliation towards Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

At a time when even Godhra has turned the corner on overcoming the scars of 2002 and Muslim victimhood, it is jarring and bizarre that there should be opposition to the Rushdie visit from even the BJP's minority cell in Rajasthan.

At a time when the Delhi  high court cites the example of China on Internet restrictions and Dr Subramanian Swamy has to turn up at a police station to explain an opinion column, the brouhaha over Rushdie may appear to be just another strike against Free Speech.

While protection to freedom of speech in India has at best been opportunistic, I would however hazard against drawing phony parallels with the unfortunate circumstances leading up to the self-imposed exile by the late M F Hussain. There is something deeper at work here.

Let us be clear: Rushdie is asserting his Indian identity as a Person of Indian Origin and consequently his right granted by law to be able to visit India at any time. The irony of expressing inability to guarantee security to Rushdie just the week after Jaipur hosted the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is perhaps lost on the UPA government in Delhi and the Ashok Gehlot government in Jaipur.

The Congress party is hurtling this country down an all too familiar path.

Twenty-three years after the Congress government lead by his father Rajiv Gandhi succumbed to Islamic fundamentalist pressure to ban Rushdie's book, Rahul Gandhi had an opportunity to stand up and show leadership on this issue.

With his silence and his party's ambivalence in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi has failed a critical test as far as providing leadership to this country in bridging the deep communal faultline.

Political leadership to bridge that communal divide will have to come from elsewhere.

India is poised at a critical juncture as its destiny is now closely intertwined with the political fate of destiny's four daughters and one son. All five of them are grassroots achievers. What is more, all of five of them have a chosen a lonely political path with no dynasty to bequeath their political legacy to.

Mayawati and Uma Bharti stand between the cynical politics of competitive communalism in Uttar Pradesh between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Mamata Banerjee stands in between the Congress' anti-federal impulses and the next election. Coming from a state with radically altered demographics, thanks to a soft border policy for decades, it is Mamata Banerjee who will face some early tests in bridging this divide.

No less will be the burden on Narendra Modi in bridging this communal fault-line as he continues down a path that few in the BJP have undertaken.

But the all important inoculation against an Islamist veto on the affairs in Delhi will likely have to come from down South. Noted political satirist and the match-maker of many a political alliance, Cho Ramaswamy, mooted a southern second front against the Congress over the past weekend with a key role for Jayalalithaa

Federalism is the credo that binds all of them together as was evident in their collective opposition to the divisive Communal Violence Bill pushed by the Congress. It is in that shared value of federalism that we must look for a new coalition that not just stands up to the cynical vote bank politics of the Congress, but is also able to pave a political path towards permanently burying this communal faultline.

Politics and politicians, however, can only take us so far down that path.

Ultimately, this has to be about the enlightened self-interest of the Indian Muslim. There is a short distance between denial that arises from victimhood and societal schizophrenia. There cannot be a better example than Pakistan on how the false bogey of Muslim victimhood eventually gives way to mass Islamist schizophrenia to justify Muslim killing fellow Muslim.

Islamist Schizophrenia is today so deep in Pakistan that truth has become the casualty even in matters concerning the deaths of that nation's very own from Benazir Bhutto  to Syed Saleem Shahzad.

When Truth dies along with it dies the 'Fabric of Trust' that holds nations and societies together.

From raising dishonest questions over the Batla House encounter to raising false bogeys over the Rushdie visit, the Congress party and its leadership Sonia and Rahul Gandhi stand guilty of causing irreversible damage to that fabric of trust.

Shashi Shekhar is a social media commentator on Indian politics and public policy. His blog can be found athttp://blog.offstumped.in 

Courtesy:Rediff.com

Self Goal-Congress advertisement in Gujarat praises Narendra Modi

AHMEDABAD: In a possibly embarrassing gaffe, the main opposition Congress has praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in an advertisement in this election year.

A pull-out by Congress, distributed with newspapers on the Republic Day in some parts of the state, features Modi's photograph, and describes him as "a master organiser and astute election strategist".

The two-page advert tries to say that Gujarat has been a progressive state from its birth, and seeks to highlight contribution of all the Chief Minsters of the state, including Modi. State assembly elections are scheduled to be held in December, and campaigning has almost begun.

With yesterday's pull-out, the opposition party seems to have committed a self-goal. The advert informs the readers that "a master organiser, his party's topmost functionary and astute election strategist Shri Narendrabhai Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7 2001". It then lists major achievements under Modi.

"He has been trying very hard to convert Gujarat into a vibrant state, he has established separate department for biotechnology, and he has also been able to raise the height of Narmada dam from 11.64 mts to 121.92 mts.

"He has been organising Vibrant Gujarat investor summit every two years," it says, also taking note of Krishi Mohatsav, Navratri Mohatsav, Kite flying festival, Rannoustav, Kakarai Carnival and drive for enrolment of students in schools, all Modi government initiatives.

This is the first time Congress has praised Modi. This is the first time Congress has praised Modi. To be sure, the advert speaks about developmental works carried out under other Chief Ministers too, including the first Chief Minister, Dr Jivraj Mehta, Chimanbhai Patel, Madhavsinh Solanki, Shankarsinh Vaghela, Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta. The last two were BJP Chief Ministers.

"What we are trying to convey through this advertisement is that Gujarat's progress is not due to one person. Gujarat was a progressive state from its inception and all the Chief Ministers have given their best to the state," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

"But, now when the present Chief Minister is trying to take the credit for development of the state, we have positively put up all the aspects in front of the people and it is for them to decide. We are going to take this advertisement campaign all over the state," Doshi added. 

Courtesy:-TOI

Ecclesiophobia (fear of churches)in our land

Suhas Chakma analyses the treatment reserved for Dalit Christians in the country

Illustration: Tanmaya Tyagi

THAT SECULAR India suffers from entrenched Christianophobia is well-established but not publicly acknowledged by the state and the society at large. Nothing reflects it more than the denial of reservations to dalits who converted to Christianity under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, which provides that no one other than those who profess the religion of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism will be considered as Scheduled Castes. India's Christianophobia has come to the fore after the UPA government promised 4.5 per cent quota for backward Muslims, believed to be dalits who embraced Islam, in the run up to the forthcoming UP Assembly election. The same government has been ducking reservations to dalit Christians before the Supreme Court. Sadly, the apex court itself took six years to consider the writ petition on the issue in January 2011.

Historically, Britain ruled India from 1757 to 1947 — for 190 years — but Britishers did not impose their religion, which was the case with the previous rulers. No major group that had formal religions converted to Christianity. In northeast India, which has the largest concentration of Christian populations in the country, those who were practicing formal religions did not convert to Christianity. The tribals like the Chakmas and Mogs who practiced Buddhism from time immemorial did not convert to Christianity. Similarly, Tripuris and Manipuris, who were Vaishnavaites also did not convert. It was only the ethnic groups who had their local religions, termed as animism, who converted to Christianity.

The Christian population through post-independent India remained static. They constituted about 2.35 per cent of the population in 1951, 2.44 per cent in 1961, 2.59 per cent in 1971, 2.45 per cent in 1981, 2.32 per cent in 1991 and 2.3 per cent in the 2001 census. Yet, India enacted a number of laws to prohibit conversion, which were essentially meant for the Christian missionaries.

The self-proclaimed secular Congress Party was the first one to enact the Freedom of Religion Act in Odisha in 1967 followed by Madhya Pradesh in 1968 and in Arunachal Pradesh in 1978. The Bharatiya Janata Party followed suit and introduced the Freedom of Religion Act of Gujarat in 2003 and in Chhattisgarh in 2006. While the Congress opposed the Gujarat bill, it enacted the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act in 2006. Under this Act, conversion to Hinduism is certainly not an offence. The Hindu groups have been openly converting the tribals into Hinduism under the Ghar Wapasi movement while the churches were kept under strict vigil and many missionaries had to face prosecution.

Conversion to Christianity has not helped dalits. The Church itself practises caste system. Across India, cemeteries for dalit Christians are different from the upper castes so is the sitting arrangement. Dalit Christians are not selected in the hierarchy of the church. While in mainland India, the Catholics were mainly blamed for the practice of the caste system, in the northeast India, which has the Baptists, the complaint of domination by the Bishops from South India is often echoed.

Apart from the Freedom of Religion Acts, the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 1976 has been used to monitor the missionaries. The Restricted Area Permit has been used to control the entry of the foreign missionaries in the northeast India. The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010 prohibits conversion. In post-independent India, conversion has essentially been a consequence of expression of negation and the failure of the state to reduce destitution and discrimination.

The Tripuris, who did not convert to Christianity during the British rule, started changing their religion mainly from the 1980s as an expression of negation against the domination by Bengali Hindus. The same Tripuris who are known as Reangs and Brus in Mizoram and had converted into Christianity have been reconverting to Hinduism since 1990s as a protest against domination by the Mizo Christians. The conversion to Christianity by dalits despite caste discrimination within the Church has also to do with expression of negation against the repressive caste system. Across mainland India, adivasis live in absolute poverty and the Christian missionaries have played a critical role in providing food, education, medical assistance, etc.

SINCE INDIA launched its tribal sub plan and special component plan in 1971-72, the contours of conversion have changed. Many of the front organisations of the Hindu religious groups received grants made by the Ministry of Social Justice, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, etc., for running schools and hostels for the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. These Hindu religious organisations have increasingly adopted the methods of Christian missionaries such as providing food, medicine, shelter, education, etc. In this context, the role of the Indian state irrespective of whichever party is in power has been biased.

Religion is a personal issue and must not be regulated by the state. There are a number of dalits who identify themselves legally as Hindus to obtain the benefits of reservations but practice Christianity. The denial of reservations to dalit Christians has kept a large chunk of India's discriminated population in backwardness. India must address caste discrimination with renewed vigour. The dalits, to a large extent, are now politically empowered but the caste system is still alive and being practised. The government, however, has stopped itspublic campaign against the caste system as if it does not exist. The matrimonial pages of Indian newspapers are full of advertisements giving caste preferences. The Railways still clear human excreta manually though it is illegal.

And mostly low caste people are hired for it. States must not interfere in religious matters. They ought to realise certain religious practises like caste discrimination are criminal offences under national laws. The state governments ought to educate people and enforce the law. However, when the state itself practices manual scavenging and promotes one particular religion by not enforcing the Religious Freedom Act against the Hindu religious groups who convert adivasis, it can no longer claim to be secular and non-casteist. The denial of reservation to dalit Christians solely based on their religion also makes India Christianophobic.

Suhas Chakma is director of the Asian Centre for Human Rights.
suhaschakma@achrweb.org

Courtesy:-Tehelka

Conversions are anti-secular: Farooq Abdullah

A Sharia court had last week asked three Christian priests to leave the state for "luring Muslims in the valley toward Christianity."

January 25, 2012

• 
  

Amidst the ongoing controversy of a sharia court asking Christian priests to leave Jammu and Kashmir, Minister for Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah slammed religious conversions as "anti-secular".

"Those who aid conversions through allurement should be punished," Abdullah, who himself is a Kashmiri, said.

A Sharia court had last week asked three Christian priests to leave the state for "luring Musli

ms in the valley toward Christianity."

The court found Church of North India (CNI) pastor Reverend C. M. Khanna and his associate Gayoor Masih guilty of "luring" and "forcing" Muslims to Christianity, and ordered their expulsion. It also ordered the wives of the two Protestant pastors to leave.

A similar conversion charge has been laid against Catholic missioner Mill Hill Father Jim Borst.

Although it has no jurisdiction under the Indian Constitution, the Shariah court, a 200-year-old body, administers and advises the government on applicability of Islamic laws in the state, which has a Muslim majority.

"We respect Christianity. The trials were held under cordial circumstances and videotaped. The pastors were duly heard," said Mufti Nasir-ul Islam, a top Sharia court official.

Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, said, "There is no immediate threat but surely a great deal of insecurity.
"

 

Muslim airline pilot sacked for terrorist linkage.

 24th January 2012 in

A Muslim airline pilot who was sacked after links were discovered to two suspected terrorists told an employment tribunal today that an "air of suspicion" had been created around him because of his race and religion.

The British man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was suspended by the major airline after he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in October 2007 who were investigating two suspects.

The pilot was linked to the pair through his brother who was a business partner with one of them.

The arrest led to the airline suspending his flight crewpass in order to carry out a full security review of his position which led ultimately to his dismissal in October 2010.

The pilot who is claiming racial discrimination at the hearing in Havant, Hampshire, said that he believed that he had been targeted because he was Asian and a Muslim.

He said that he believed the airline had created a system specifically to handle his situation and to ensure he was removed from the company.

He said: "They had made it up to deal with my race and religion."

He said that by using terms such as "suspected terrorist", the company "had created that air of suspicion that something was going on when it wasn't."

The hearing was told that the claimant had applied to be transferred to three non-flying positions within the airline and had claimed that he had been discriminated against.

But during today's hearing he admitted that he had scored badly in the application process.

The tribunal heard that he had applied for a fourth position as a trainer but had withdrawn his application after falling ill.

The pilot had also claimed he had been discriminated against by being refused flight pay during his security review.

But during the hearing he accepted the company's regulations could be interpreted to show that he was not entitled to such pay in his situation.

A statement released by the airline said: "The safety and security of our customers, aircraft and employees is always our number one priority and we will never compromise this area of our business.

"Following information from the police, we carried out a thorough investigation and risk analysis and concluded that an employee was not suitable to work in their role.

"We reject his allegations of discrimination and we will be resisting the claims made against us."

The hearing continues. 

Courtesy:-Asian Image

Ex-judge raises questions over Gujarat Lokayukta's integrity

August 28, 2011

Rathin Das 

A day after the Gujarat Government moved high court, seeking quashing of the Governor's order to appoint retired Justice RA Mehta  as Lokayukta, many questions have been raised on the whole episode.

 

Former Justice BJ Sethna, who had resigned from high court following false allegations against him few years ago, has not only questioned the process leading to the controversial appointment but also hinted that Mehta is not as much a man of integrity as he is touted to be by the State Congress leaders.

 

Sethna on Saturday said under provisions of the Gujarat Lokayukta Act, it is the State Government which has to begin the process of naming the incumbent for the post.

 

Addressing a seminar on judicial accountability organised by the Gujarat chapter of the Indian Association of Lawyers (IAL), Sethna agreed that the Governor should appoint the Lokayukta in consultation with the Chief Justice and the Leader of Opposition but said the process of recommendation of the names must begin from the Council of Ministers led by the Chief Minister.

 

Sethna questioned why the Opposition and the Chief Justice should insist only on one name and ignore other names short listed by the Council of Ministers.

 

The Chief Minister had sent a list of four names for consideration to the Chief Justice, said Sethna and asked why only one name was recommended to the Governor for appointment as the Lokayukta. And why should the Opposition leader too insist on only one name? asked Sethna.

 

He hinted that the Opposition is insisting on Mehta's name because of his old Congress connections.

 

Sethna said Mehta, before being elevated as a judge in 1983, was a junior to veteran lawyer KK Vekhariya who is now the chief of the Congress legal cell in Gujarat.

 

Revealing the other side of the Lokayukta designate, Justice Sethna questioned Mehta's moral authority to hold the position merely because anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare had stayed with him during his visit here in May this year, a point projected by the state Congress as one of his qualifications for the high post.

 

Drawing parallel from Ramayana, Sethna said Mehta had done to his lawyer friend what Ravana had done to Ram. Mehta had an extra-marital affair for years with the wife of his lawyer friend and the duo finally got married only few years back, according to Sethna.

 

How can a person of such moral attitude be appointed to a high post like Lokayukta. He may not be corrupt for money, but what about moral behaviour? asked Sethna.

 

There is something fishy about naming Justice Mehta for the post, he said and asked why only his name was recommended while there as many as 40 retired honourable High Court judges are available in Gujarat.

 

Sethna said that the Congress had rejected the name of former Justice KR Vyas as the Lokayukta between 2006 and 2009, but the same person was chosen as the Lokayukta in neighbouring Maharashtra.

 

How can the retired judge unfit to be Lokayukta in Gujarat be fit enough for the same post in Congress-NCP ruled Maharashtra? asked Sethna hinting that political mud slinging is dividing the legal fraternity.

 

He also pointed out that the Congress has found fault with the appointment of retired Supreme Court Justice MB Shah too to look into the 17 charges against the Gujarat Government under Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress leaders have forgotten that Justice Shah has an impeccable track record and has been chosen by the Supreme Court for the panel to track black money?, Justice Sethna said adding that it was wrong to call him a puppet of the Gujarat Government.

 

Recounting the hue and cry over his judgement upholding the acquittal of the 21 accused in the infamous Best Bakery case of Vadodara, Sethna said he was finally proved correct when the prime witness turned hostile and went back on her words several times.

 

All of Gujarat's judiciary was criticised, he lamented and said that finally all realised that Zahira cannot be relied upon as witness and she was punished. Sethna said the judiciary reserves its ruling on many vital matters for long but speedily entertains any NGO filing petitions against Gujarat.

SECURITY COVER FOR TRIPURI SAINT SWAMI CHITTARANJAN MAHARAJ OF SHANTIKALI ASHRAM : VHP WROTE TO GOI HOME MINISTER

Office of Ashok Singhal, Patron, VHP Int'L

TeleFax (00-91) (011) 2610 3495, 2617 8992; Fax: 00-91-11-2619 5527

Ref.#VHP/38/2011 Date: Paush Shukla 12, 2068 VS, i.e., January 06Fri, 2012

HON'BLE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS (GOI)
SHRI PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM

North Block, New Delhi -110 001
Ph:(011) 23092462, 23094686
(011) 23093750 (O), 23094221 (OF), 23792222 (R)

Website : http://mha.nic.in

Hon'ble Sir,

1. Your Ministry is very much aware of the atrocious assassination of Ven. Sri Sri Santikali Maharaj – a prominent patriot Sant hailing from the indigenous Tripuri Tribes – at his abode namely Shanti Kali Ashram, P.O.-Birendra Nagar, P.S.-Jirania, West Tripura on 27^th August, 2000 by terrorists and anti-India forces that aimed to undermine and terrorize the indigenous Tribes and urbanites of Tripura so that they give up their India-centric culture, belief, faith and ways of worship including the annual Durga Puja, etc., and give in to secessionism and proselytisation being perpetrated by centrifugal forces (the main elements being the secessionists fed and prompted by foreign Crusaders and also the infiltrator Jihadists from Bangladesh) all over in Northeast India. Your learned-self can appreciate that the assassination of Ven. Sri Sri Santikali Maharaj was a great loss to the cause of nationalist rendezvous of the Northeast Bharat with mainland Bharat. It is also true that the then Communist Government of Tripura did not take the SOS calls from his associates and devotees in view of the serious threat perceptions concerning Ven. Sri Sri Santikaliji Maharaj and the terrorists had a free run and soon executed their intimidation agenda through assassination of the leading Tripuri Saint.

2. After his Master's assassination, Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj – also a prominent Tripuri Saint held in high esteem by his compatriot Tribes – braved to take charge to fearlessly work for his late Guruji's pro-India spirituo-cultural vision and mission dedicated to the service of the underprivileged and weaker sections especially those living in the remotest hilly areas of Tripura. With the cooperation and co-creation of his 100,000 disciples he extended the small network of Ashram-cum-Service Projects (including Residential Schools for local children) from 7 to 24 that now dot various corners of Tripura.

3. As per the terrorist agenda, Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj also has since been receiving threats of dire consequences from the said anti-India forces with the direction to wind up and vanish from the scene so that they could have a free run all over with their Satanic motives. After several attempts on his life by them in which he had hair-breadth escapes, he has now been forced to shift his headquarters to Shantinagar at "Tripurasundari Hilling Sebashram, Santinagar, P.O.-Atharakath, P.S. Jirania, Tripura (West)" – 12 kms away from the previous HQs at Birendra Nagar where his Guruji was assassinated and there were attempts on his life. The attitude of the present Tripura Government and the Governor has to be positive and proactive to save this Tripuri Saint.

4. We had written to your esteemed Ministry on April 25, 2007 requesting for security cover through the Govt. of Tripura for Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj and the Santikali Ashram at Birendra Nagar. I had also met the then GOI Home Minister Sri Shivraj Patil Ji on this matter who had very kindly ensured to reinstate the security cover for Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj and the Santikali Ashram that was earlier provided by the NDA regime. For some unknown reason, the security cover has now unfortunately been withdrawn.

5. Now this is to request your esteemed Ministry to ensure that the security cover is re-established for Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj (Mobile Ph: 09402155480), President, Sree Sree Santikali Mission (Ashram) and his new HQs at Shantinagar at "Tripurasundari Hilling Sebashram, Santinagar, P.O.-Atharakath, P.S. Jirania, Tripura (West)" unless and until the security environment improves there so that he and his followers can carry out unhindered their emancipation work amongst the Tripuris including his One Lakh indigenous devotees comprising of people from Tripuri Tribal and Bengali communities spread all across Tripura. Your learned-self would discern that the anti-India forces are trying to make the indigenous Tripuris rootless while Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj and his mission are trying with farsightedness to ensure and strengthen the people's India-centric indigenous cultural moorings and roots in a remote and virtually isolated area such as our country's North-Eastern dimension which the enemies have always been trying to vivisect from mainland India by slashing the most vulnerable Siliguri Corridor (the narrow strip of land – only 21 to 40 kms in width – also called the Chicken's-neck) that connects both parts of Bharat. You would, therefore, appreciate that the works of Ven. Swami Chittaranjan Maharaj and his mission are vital and surely complementary to those of the Governments of India and Tripura as you know cultural underpinning is as important for a nation's unity and integrity as economic and political underpinning unless a nation wishes to go the USSR way.

Thanking Your Excellency in anticipation,

Yours in the service of

Maa Bhaarati and Dharma,

Sd/-

(ASHOK SINGHAL)

Patron

Israel Likely to strike Iran

Officials Lobby Against Attack on Iran as Military Leaders Bolster Defenses

WASHINGTON—U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.

Iranians on Friday carried the flag-draped coffin of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a scientist working in Iran's nuclear sector assassinated in Tehran.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a string of private messages to Israeli leaders warning about the dire consequences of a strike. The U.S. wants Israel to give more time for the effects of sanctions and other measures intended to force Iran to abandon its perceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.

Stepping up the pressure, Mr. Obama spoke by telephone on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet with Israeli military officials in Tel Aviv next week.

The high-stakes planning and diplomacy comes as U.S. officials warn Tehran, including through what administration officials described Friday as direct messages to Iran's leaders, against provocative actions.

Tehran has warned that it could retaliate to tightened sanctions by blocking oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to punish the perpetrators of the assassination—blamed by Iran on the U.S. and Israel—of an Iranian scientist involved in the nuclear program.

The U.S. denied the charge and condemned the attack. Israel hasn't commented.

The U.S. and Iran, however, have taken steps in recent days apparently designed to ease tensions. Iran has agreed to host a delegation of United Nations nuclear inspectors this month. The U.S., meanwhile, has twice this month rescued Iranian sailors in the region's seas.

Covert efforts by Israel's intelligence service to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons have been credited with slowing the program without the high risk of military conflict that could be sparked by an airstrike. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

But Israel has declined to rule out a strike, as has the U.S.

"It is the policy of the Israeli government, and the Obama administration, that all options remain on the table. And it is crucial that the ayatollahs in Tehran take this policy seriously," said Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the U.S.

Mr. Netanyahu said in a recent interview that Iran has begun to "wobble," a signal some U.S. officials believe suggests he is willing to follow the current U.S. strategy, which seeks to avoid a military confrontation with Iran.

"Recent comments by the Israelis show they understand how tough the sanctions we've put in place are and are giving them time to work," said a senior Obama administration official.

The U.S. military is preparing for a number of possible responses to an Israeli strike, including assaults by pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. believes its embassy and other diplomatic outposts in Iraq are more vulnerable following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last month. Up to 15,000 U.S. diplomats, federal employees and contractors are expected to remain in Iraq.

In large measure to deter Iran, the U.S. has 15,000 troops in Kuwait, and has moved a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf area.

It has also been pre-positioning aircraft and other military equipment, officials say. Arms transfers to key allies in the Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, have been fast-tracked as a further deterrent, officials say.

Israeli officials said Mr. Netanyahu's government continues to closely coordinate with the U.S. in responding to the Iranian threat. "Israel believes that heightened sanctions combined with a credible military threat may dissuade the Iranian regime from developing nuclear capabilities," Mr. Oren said.

Mr. Panetta and other top officials have privately sought assurances from Israeli leaders in recent weeks that they won't take military action against Iran. But the Israeli response has been noncommittal, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials briefed on the military's planning said concern has mounted over the past two years that Israel may strike Iran. But rising tensions with Iran and recent changes at Iranian nuclear sites have ratcheted up the level of U.S. alarm.

"Our concern is heightened," a senior U.S. military official said of the probability of an Israeli strike over U.S. objections.

Tehran crossed at least one of Israel's "red lines" earlier this month when it announced it had begun enriching uranium at the Fordow underground nuclear facility near the holy city of Qom.

The planned closing of Israel's nuclear plant near Dimona this month, which was reported in Israeli media, sounded alarms in Washington, where officials feared it meant Israel was repositioning its own nuclear assets to safeguard them against a potential Iranian counterstrike.

Despite the close relationship between the U.S. and Israel, U.S. officials have consistently puzzled over Israeli intentions. "It's hard to know what's bluster and what's not with the Israelis," said a former U.S. official.

Inside the Israeli security establishment, a sort of good cop, bad cop routine, in which Israeli officials rattle sabers amid a U.S. scramble to restrain them, has assumed its own name: "Hold Me Back."

Some American intelligence officials complain that Israel represents a blind spot in U.S. intelligence, which devotes little resources to Israel. Some officials have long argued that, given the potential for Israel to drag the U.S. into potentially explosive situations, the U.S. should devote more resources to divining Israel's true intentions.

Islamic court convicts Christian cleric in Kashmir

Clergymen all deny forced conversion accusations

New Delhi

January 13, 2012

An Islamic court in Kashmir has convicted a Protestant pastor of converting Muslims to Christianity, while another pastor and a Catholic priest have been indicted on similar charges.

Rev CM Thomas of the All Saints' Church was convicted on Wednesday for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed, creating tension within communities and immoral activities, according to the Kashmir Observer newspaper.

Also on Wednesday, the shariat court summoned Church of North India pastor Rev C M Khanna to answer charges of converting Muslims through "allurement."

The same court had summoned Father Jim Borst in early December. However, the Dutch Mill Hill missioner ignored the summons.

Reverend Khanna alleged the shariat court forced him to sign documents written in Urdu.

The court has reportedly said it would announce its verdicts against the accused soon.

The reports also said the pastor was shown footage showing him baptizing people and that during interrogation he had made "some startling revelations" and confessed that he had lured people to change religion.

Reverend Khanna said today the allegations were fabricated.

He said he does baptize adults since it was his "ministerial duty" to do so for people who "freely choose" to become Christian.

"There was no forced conversion or allurement. We do not offer money or jobs to those who come to our Church," he asserted.

Reverend Khanna said the Islamic court should laud Christian contributions to the state instead of harassing people like him.

He said his Church works for peace and harmony in the troubled state but some people fail to recognize its efforts.

Catholic Bishop Peter Celestine Elampassery of Jammu-Srinagar said the charges against Fr Borst were also fabricated.

He regretted that such allegations are made despite the Church's efforts to serve society as a whole "through health, social and educational apostates."

Iran nuclear scientist killed in Tehran motorbike bomb attack

Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan is latest victim in series of attacks apparently targeting key figures in Tehran's nuclear programme

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Footage from local TV shows the scene in Tehran where an Iranian professor working at a nuclear facility was killed Link to this video

An Iranian university professor working at one of the country's main uranium enrichment facilities has been killed in Tehran, apparently the latest victim in what is widely seen as a covert war against the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.

Attackers riding on motorcycles are reported to have attached a magnetic bomb to a Peugeot 405 carrying Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a 32-year-old chemistry expert from Tehran's Sharif University who held the position of a deputy director for commercial affairs at Natanz nuclear plant in central Iran.

According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Ahmadi Roshan's expertise was in making polymeric membranes for gaseous diffusion, part of the process needed for the enrichment of uranium.

Fars said Ahmadi Roshan's driver also died after being taken to Resalat hospital in Tehran. The agency said the blast took place at 8:30am local time in Shahid Golnabi street in Tehran's eastern area of Seyed Khandan.

The explosion came on the second anniversary of the killing of Masoud Ali Mohammadi, a nuclear scientist blown up outside his home by a remote-control bomb that had been attached to a motorcycle parked on the street.

Iran's nuclear programme has suffered a series of dramatic setbacks in recent years with the assassinations of its scientists in attacks similar to the one that killed Ahmadi Roshan.

In November 2010 Majid Shahriari, a nuclear scientist, was killed, and Fereidoon Abbasi Davani, Iran's current atomic chief, survived an attack by assailants on motorcycles. Last July Darioush Rezaeinejad, an Iranian academic whose affiliation to the country's nuclear activities is in doubt, was shot by gunmen riding on motorcycles.

Iranian state agencies described Wednesday's attack as a terrorist operation, and a senior official blamed Israel for it. "The bomb was a magnetic one and the same as the ones previously used for the assassination of the scientists, and is the work of the Zionists," Fars quoted Tehran's deputy governor, Safarali Baratlou, as saying. Iran refers to Israel as the Zionist regime.

Analysts believe the assassinations are related to each other and are part of a covert war aimed at disrupting Iran's nuclear programme, which Iranian authorities say is for peaceful purposes but many western governments believe has military applications.

In response to the attacks Iran has pointed the finger at Israel, the US and Britain. "Iran's enemies should know they cannot prevent Iran's progress by carrying out such terrorist acts," said Iran's vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, in quotes carried by the state Irna news agency.

Iran says western officials' public endorsement of a covert campaign against its nuclear programme is evidence of their involvement in the attacks.

On Tuesday the Israeli general Benny Gantz was quoted as telling a parliamentary panel that 2012 would be a "critical year" for Iran, in part because of "things that happen to it unnaturally".

No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack in Tehran, nor for any of the previous assassinations, but Israel has so far not denied involvement.

Iran has also referred to Israel's history of covert operations, such as Mossad's kidnapping of the nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu and the systematic killings of people involved in the Black September massacre.

Both British and US officials have also spoken of the usefulness of covert operations against the Islamic republic.

In a speech in 2010 Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, said: "We need intelligence-led operations to make it more difficult for countries like Iran to develop nuclear weapons."

He added that the intelligence services' role was "to find out what these states are doing … and identify ways to slow down their access to vital materials and technology".

Iran has also blamed the International Atomic Energy Agency for the assassination of its scientists, accusing the UN body of revealing the names of its experts to the regime's enemies.

Iran's nuclear programme has also been hit by Stuxnet, a computer worm designed to sabotage the regime's enrichment of uranium, and its missile programme has been hit by a series of explosions.

In November 2011 an explosion at a military base killed the architect of the Islamic regime's missile programme along with dozens of its elite revolutionary guards. A similar blast last year hit a missile base in Khorramabad, Iran's nearest point to Israel.

The latest events come as fears grow of a major confrontation between Iran and the west over Tehran's nuclear programme. The west has responded to Iran's refusal to bow to international pressure by attempting to ban its oil imports; Iran has threatened to close the strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for oil tankers.

In defiance of the western pressure, Iran this week began uranium enrichment at Fordo facility, near the holy city of Qom, in an underground, bunker-like site built for protection against possible air strikes.

Summons issued to Kumar Ketkar-Editor-Divya Marathi

In a major breakthrough,Dapoli court today issued a summons to Marathi journalist and Hindu bashing former Loksatta editor Kumar Ketkar to be physically present before Dapoli court on 16th April 2012.While second hearing on defamation suit filed by social activist N R Shigwan,court ordered Dapoli Police Inspector to approach Kumar Ketkar to hand over summons.

Dapoli Court,after thoroughly studying the evidences produced by lawyer of Mr Shigwan,regarding objectionable comments made by Ketkar against judiciary,reached to the conclusion that there is substantial content in Ketkar's articles which defames Indian Judiciary and RSS.Ketkar had wrote in a article that there are considerable RSS agents placed in a Indian Judiciary,which can twist and manipulate the decisions and judgement of Indian courts.If Ketkar can't prove his allegations against Indian Judiciary,he might face stringent punishment in near future.

The only way out for Mr Kumar Ketkar is that,to apologize in public for his defamatory comments and to produce written apology to court,otherwise he would have to face legal difficulty.

This is first court case Kumar Ketkar is facing in his life for his baseless series of articles targetting Hindu Organizations.

It would be interesting to see how Ketkar tackles this crisis.

Muslim voter's number shoot up in Assam due to Bangladeshi infilatration

 Date: 9th January,2012 

Guwahati, January 07: The final electoral roll published by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday has revealed that there is an increase of voters in the religious minority (Muslims) dominated areas of the State. It is interesting to observe that, the Muslim dominated Barpeta district in Assam has seen highest 4.97 per cent increase in voters in the State, which is highest in the State.

In Barpeta district, Baghpor Assembly Constituency witnessed 8.65 per cent increase in the number of voters compared to the draft electoral roll.

The final electoral roll published by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday has revealed this interesting fact relating to the number of voters in Assam.

Assam's electoral roll showing voters inflation signals. According to the final electoral roll, the total number of voters in Assam is 1,85, 62145.  Out of which 9593899 are males and 8968246 are females. As per the draft electoral roll, the number of total voters in the State is 1,81,60423.

The total number of voters increased in the final electoral roll is 401722 and the increase is 2.21 per cent in comparison to the draft electoral roll.

Other Assembly constituencies in Barpeta district like Jonia, Barpeta, Sarukhetri, Chenga, Bhabanipur and Patacharkuchi have witnessed rise in numbers of voters at the rates of 7.63 per cent, 6.41 per cent, 4.68 per cent, 4.43 per cent, 4.70 per cent, 1.64 per cent and 1.36 per cent respectively.

Assembly Constituency wise, Majuli, the world's largest river island in Jorhat district, has recorded 2.15 per cent decrease in number of voters, which is the lowest in the State.

It is also interesting that the Sivasagar district, land of the indigenous Assamese (Hindu) population, has seen the decrease in number of voters in the final electoral roll. The percentage of decrease in voters in Sivasagar district is also the lowest in Assam.

According to the final electoral roll, there is 0.13 per overall decrease in the number of voters in Sivasagar district – minus 1.76 per cent in Sivasagar Assembly Constituency, minus 0.56 per cent in Thowra, minus 0.16 per cent in Amguri, 0.71 per cent in Nazira, 0.68 per cent in Mahmara and 0.39 per cent in Sonari.

Besides Sivasagar, other districts of Assam have witnessed increase in the number of voters. There is 2.58 per cent increase in voters in Cachar district, 2.89 per cent in Karimganj district, 3.38 per cent in Hailakandi district, 1.12 per cent in Dima Hasao district, 2.21 per cent in Diphu, 2.91 per cent in Dhubri district, 2.61 per cent in Kokrajhar district, 2.89 per cent in Bongaigaon district, 4.24 per cent in Goalpara district, 2.34 per cent in Kamrup (rural) district, 1.75 per cent in Kamrup (metro) district and 1.37 per cent in Nalbari district.

The districts of Udalguri, Darrang, Sonitpur, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia have also witnessed rise in number of voters at the rates of 1.82 per cent, 2.44 per cent, 1.43 per cent, 1.78 per cent, 2.38 per cent, 1.38 per cent, 0.25 per cent, 2.97 per cent, 1.78 per cent, 1.08 per cent and 1.69 per cent respectively.

The provisional 2011 Census report for the state released in March 2011 had stated Assam's population is now 3,11,69,272 registering an increase of 45,13,744 in the last 10 years. The population growth in the state during 1991-2001 was 18.92 per cent, according to the report. The 2001-11 decadel increase has been 16.93 per cent.

It is noteworthy that the highest growth of population at 24.40 per cent was in Dhubri district bordering Bangladesh. 

Last year the BJP had raised the issue of abnormal rise in the number of voters in Assam in the 2010 electoral rolls to the Chief Election commissioner. It was argued that while the rise in voters at the national level is 1.6 per cent, it is 16 per cent in Assam. BJP had demanded to delete the names of illegal Bangladeshis from the voters list of Assam, to prepare a correct voters list before the 2011 Assembly election in Assam.

In 2011 polls, the Congress registered an unexpectedly huge victory by winning 78 of 126 seats of Assam Assembly. Tarun Gogoi has returned to power for his third consecutive term.

It was said that the poll outcome must primarily be attributed to the Muslim-backed AIUDF succeeded in doubling its strength from 9 to 18. The AIUDF gained overwhelmingly in the immigrant Muslim dominated areas of lower Assam where the party's strength grew from 3 in 2006 to 13 in 2011.

Now, the question that has to be asked is what are very the reasons in the increase of voters in the religious minority (Muslims) dominated areas of the State and also how Muslim dominated Barpeta district in Assam has seen highest 4.97 per cent increase in voters.

In this spectrum, the report on 'Illegal Migration into Assam' prepared by General S K Sinha in year 2008 throws light on this issue. The report states that, "The dangerous consequences of large scale illegal migration from Bangladesh, both for the people of Assam and more for the Nation as a whole, need to be emphatically stressed. No misconceived and mistaken notions of secularism should be allowed to come in the way of doing so. As a result of population movement from Bangladesh, the spectre looms large of the indigenous people of Assam being reduced to a minority in their home State. Their cultural survival will be in jeopardy, their political control will be weakened and their employment opportunities will be undermined."

He reports further comments, "The silent and invidious demographic invasion of Assam may result in the loss of the geostrategically vital districts of Lower Assam. The influx of these illegal migrants is turning these districts into a Muslim majority region".

The rise in voter percentage in Assam, especially of Muslims, suggests that the comments made by Gen. S K Sinha is becoming a reality in Assam.

The report further comments that, "It will then only be a matter of time when a demand for their merger with Bangladesh may be made. The rapid growth of international Islamic fundamentalism may provide the driving force for this demand. In this context, it is pertinent that Bangladesh has long discarded secularism and has chosen to become an Islamic State. Loss of Lower Assam will sever the entire land mass of the North East, from the rest of India and the rich natural resources of that region will be lost to the Nation."

Muslim population of Assam has shown a rise of 77.42% in 1991 from what it was in 1971. Hindu population has risen by nearly 41.89% in this period.

Muslim population in Assam has risen from 24.68% in 1951 to 28.42% in 1991. As per 1991 census, four districts (Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta and Hailakandi) have become Muslim majority districts. Two more districts (Nowgaon and Karimganj) should have become so by 1998 and one district (Morigaon) is fast approaching this population.

Gen S K Sinha has also revealed that it is also Pakistan's ISI has been active in Bangladesh supporting militant movements in Assam. Muslim militant organisations have mushroomed in Assam and there are reports of some 50 Assamese Muslim youth having gone for training to Afghanistan and Kashmir.

It seems that the much debated trend in Assam, of 'First rise in Muslim population by infiltration from Bangladesh and then convert them into Voters (legal Citizen of India and politically strong minority)', is coming into reality and taking a larger turn now.

Whether this reality will be instrumental in direct or indirect assault on the national, cultural and demographic integrity structure of India, is the question that needs to be discussed right now!

Marxists are reviewing their fondness for Islamic Radicals in Kerala

VR Jayaraj

It is gradually dawning on the CPI(M) that aligning with Islamists has alienated middle-class Hindus

Pinarayi Vijayan, the neo-liberal State secretary of the CPI(M) in Kerala, has been facing criticism from within his party and outside for his harebrained idea of forging an open alliance with the Islamist People's Democratic Party led by Abdul Nasser Madani for the 2009 general election. Not many leaders in the party had supported that move even then. Senior comrades like then Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan had openly opposed it and most of the partners in the LDF were furious with Mr Vijayan for persistence with the idea of carrying the alliance forward. But he was ready to even antagonise the CPI — the CPI(M)'s closest ally in the LDF — for the sake of the alliance with Madani by allotting the Ponnani Lok Sabha seat in Muslim-majority Malappuram district to a candidate of the Islamist leader's choice despite the fact that the CPI had been contesting it for several elections.

The CPI(M) secretary even shared an election campaign stage with Madani at Ponnani to absolve him of all charges of extremism. With an iron hand, Mr Vijayan had suppressed criticism from within the party against his ill-advised election move. But it found its inevitable reflection in the Lok Sabha election when the Left was defeated in 80 per cent of the seats. Now, Mr Vijayan can no longer defend his folly — after all, he was faced with an avalanche of criticism by senior party functionaries during conferences in preparation for the 20th national congress to be held in Kozhikode in April.

A new realisation has dawned on the Kerala CPI(M) — or, at least upon some of its seniormost leaders — that appeasing hardcore elements within religious communities is sure to have a negative effect, especially during the polls. This was the essential message that was reflected in the words of former Home Minister and Polit Bureau member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan when he spoke the other day about the need to strengthen the party's work among religious communities, especially the minorities. Mr Kodiyeri is known to be Mr Vijayan's most trusted lieutenant in implementing the neo-liberal agenda and is presently seen as the strongest contender for the secretary's post. He pointed out to his comrades that the party and the Left had not been able to defeat the consolidation of religious organisations in the State Assembly election in April 2011 and this was one of the main reasons for the LDF's defeat by a whisker.

The neo-liberals in the CPI(M) were not prepared to accept the ominous fact that their affinity for religious fundamentalists was eroding public support, especially among middle-class Hindus and peace-loving Muslims, even after unambiguous signs had emerged in the form of the 2009 general election results. Even Mr Kodiyeri, who now takes on the agenda set by Mr Vijayan, had not thought of abdicating that relationship in the run-up to local elections in October 2010. When the Karnataka Police arrived in Kollam in August that year to arrest Madani for his role in the 2008 Bangalore bombings, Mr Kodiyeri, as the Minister commanding the State police, stalled the proceedings for over a week, much to the delight of the Islamists.

What many in the CPI(M) now understand and what some its top leaders are reluctant to admit is that the Left's electoral victories in 2004 and 2006 had nothing to do with its affiliation with the fundamentalists. Both these elections were fought against a backdrop of serious issues which also concerned religious communities — such as rampant corruption, lack of accountability and questions regarding the morality of leaders in the Congress-led UDF. The Left was destined to be defeated in the 2009 and 2011 elections, as it happened in West Bengal in a devastating manner because it had failed to answer these questions. Instead, it was busy translating neo-liberal principles into administrative practice. This was the rationale behind the consolidation of Muslims with the Muslim League and the Christians with the Congress and its allies like the Kerala Congress(M).

What the Marxist theorists fail to understand — even at this stage — is that the results of the last Assembly election have proved that it is not their association with Muslim outfits or various Christian denominations that helped them in moments of crisis. The LDF had managed to come close to retaining power in the April Assembly election without any such associations — barring the behind-the-scene understanding with the Jama'at-e-Islami which was not a big determinant anyway. Despite the fact that compared to 2006, the Muslim League had been able to win back the support of large sections of the Muslim community, and the Christian church stood solidly behind the Congress and its pro-Church allies, the UDF could win only 72 seats out of the total 140 in the Assembly while the LDF managed to bag 68 seats. Also, there was no huge difference between the percentages of votes won by the two fronts.

This brings to the fore the middle-class Hindu votes' factor on which the CPI(M) has always depended on during elections. The open alliance of the Marxists with Madani's party in the 2009 Lok Sabha election had obviously caused an aversion among those middle-class Hindu voters who supported them despite their atheistic ideology. When the Marxists ended such relationships and the religious minorities consolidated behind the Congress and its allies in the last Assembly election, the Hindu voters heaved a sigh of relief and decided to support the Left once again. This, and the nationwide upsurge against the corruption of the Congress-led UPA regime which the octogenarian Marxist, Mr Achuthanandan, successfully made into an election issue, along with the immoralities of UDF leaders, did the trick. If these factors had not played their part, the fate of the Left in Kerala would not have been too different from what its counterparts experienced in West Bengal.

That certain top Marxist leaders are rethinking the party's relationship with religious minorities in the context of the upcoming congress is important. The 20th CPI(M) congress is crucial to its very survival as a communist party in many ways. The party is going into it in a totally different political setting compared to that which existed during the 19th congress in Coimbatore in April 2008. The avalanche of developments that shook India, which included the electoral devastation of the party in West Bengal, has created so much confusion among the Marxists that the central leadership has not yet been able to draft a clean ideological document to be put before the delegates.

For the moment, the strongest unit of the party in the country is in Kerala. The way it chooses its efforts to grow will have an inevitable bearing on the organisation as a whole. Its approach to religious communities, including the minorities, is crucial in this sense.

Courtesy:-Daily Pioneer