In May 2009, ZIM had referred to the ‘mute’ response of Indian Media on one of history’s biggest crimes.

Recent cacophony pertaining to Ruchika Girotra’s persecution by a SPS Rathore made ZIM revisit what remains a criminal behavior by Indian Government Authorities and media.

Brother Paul Alan was someone who escaped justice in Western Australia for fraud and operates in India as a Catholic Christian Missionary and a respected Doctor.  He led Mother Teresa’s “Missionaries of Charity’ Mass. Among other things he set up his own Missionary enterprise “New Hope”, solicited funds through advertorials.

Some of Brother Alan’s actions pertain to practicing medicine and worse doing surgeries on gullible poor, all without having a medical license.

But this was nothing compared to what you will read now. For three full decades, mind you, not just a day or a week or a month, Brother Paul Alan sexually abused and assaulted hundreds of teenage boys across eastern India in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

One boy, 14 year old Anil Kumar, same age as Ruchika, who was deaf and mute but not dumb and who lived with Brother Paul Alan committed suicide (We do not know if it was a murder).

Deaf, Mute boy Anil Kumar who ended up dead with Pedophile Brother Paul:

It is not as if the news is not in the public domain. Sally Sara, ABC’s Indian Correspondent did outstanding investigative journalism to dig out the details on the outlaw.

As Sally Sara captures, Brother Paul Alan has been released on bail multiple times, doing more evil every time and Prosecution non existent.

Cover up in India has been massive. Government, Media, So called Social Rights Activists all went on “Omerta” on this one.

There are many in the Government who need to provide answers on this one:

Navin Patnaik Chief Minister of Orissa

P Chidambaram, Home Minister, India

Rosaiah, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh

Local and State Administration in Brother Paul Alan’s places of operation – Titlagarh and Pure in Orissa and Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh need to provide answers. In fact Pradesh Kumar Maharana, Mayor of Titilagarh said on camera that he knew about the ugly happenings and yet preferred not to act.

Some Questions

Indian Media: Why despite knowing the details, they have preferred to be “deaf and mute”.

Why have civil rights organisations both local and national not acted on this case which is far more gruesome in magnitude than  SPS Rathore’s behavior?

Brother Paul Alan was from Australia and operated for a long time in Orissa with Leprosy Missions. Was he connected to Graham Staines?

What was the connection of organizations like World Vision? There are important stories that directly impact well being of India.  Where are the intrepid reporters that can provide us answers?

Will the Government face the problem or run away from it, and worse try and influence/persecute Sally Sara and work with ABC to have the information removed from public domain?

What are Governance mechanisms to monitor Christian missions and christian funding on evangelizing initiatives which have skyrocketed?

Will civil rights organization file questions to administration under RTI? And will Government come clean?

Answers to the above questions will outline how effective is Indian Democracy.

I have been following, or at least trying to follow, the Copenhagen climate talks ever since it began nearly two weeks ago.

Wading through the viscous stream of jargons, I tried to make sense of the developments or the lack of it at the Danish capital, going through the news reports generated by the media every day.

The coverage, in the paper I work for and elsewhere, reminded me of the story of the blind men trying to figure out what an elephant looks like.

Each newspaper or news agency appeared to have a different take on what was brewing inside the Bella Centre in Copenhagen. Except for spot reports, little else bore any resemblance to each other. “It’s like a wall”, “a thick rope”, no “it’s like a tree trunk” they all seemed to say.

Only one thing was clear — Copenhagen was very cold, like the vibes between the rich, poor and the richer developing countries.

Late on Friday night, came the news that PM Manmohan Singh & US President Barack Obama deferred their return at the request of UN general secretary Ban Ki Moon to thrash out a deal.

Still later in the night or early on Saturday morning the news of some kind of a deal filtered in. Reports said the US had arrived at a “meaningful agreement” with the key developing countries like India, China and Brasil.

The said “deal” is not legally binding and does not talk of any carbon reduction target or any “peaking” deadline — in short it has every thing that the key “interested parties” wanted.

Hardly matters that many of the developing countries reportedly did not even know that there was such an agreement when it was being announced by the American representative.

To sum up, this is what a Green Peace official told the BBC on the last night of the summit: “The city of Copenhagen is a crime scene tonight, with the guilty men and women fleeing to the airport.”

Copenhagen: India on Friday acknowledged that it expected no concrete outcome from the Copenhagen Climate Conference and called for a collective and global effort to come out with a plan in the year 2010.

Addressing the conference, PM Manmohan Singh reiterated India’s position on any kind of deal that may emerge from negotiations. He said India stood for the principle of equity and respective capability.

“The outcome (of the summit) may well fall short of our expectations,” 77-year-old Singh said and favoured “subsequent negotiations towards building a truly global and genuinely collaborative response to climate change being concluded during the year 2010.”

He emphasised that a vast majority of countries did not support any dilution on the pacts agreed upon in Rio and in Kyoto. “To settle for something that could be seen as diminished expectations and diminished implementations would be in our view a very wrong message to emerge from this conference.”

Singh said the agreements under the 1997 Kyoto protocol should be followed by the agreeing nations, including the developed ones. “Need for action on our part is more now than it was during Rio. 2007 Bali mandate should thus be followed, he added.

“Kyoto Protocol should continue to stand as a valid legal instrument. It would go against international public opinion if we succumb in its replacement by a new and weaker set of commitments,” Singh said.

Singh said India was one of the worst sufferers due to climate change and had huge stakes in the climate conference. On its own, he said, India had decided on a national action plan which includes the following: 20K MW solar energy by 2022, improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020, adding additional 6mn hectares of forests over the next 6 years etc.

“We will do more if a supportive global climate regime is in place,” he declared.

“India will not be found wanting,” he stressed.

India also made known that it stood by the smaller states. “Each one of us gathered here today acknowledges that those most affected by climate change are the least responsible for it. Injustice should not prevail for Africa, Small Island States and Least Developed Countries- where survival as a viable nation is in jeopardy.

He said any agreement must respect needs of development and growth in developing nations. “Any new climate regime will only have moral authority and credibility only if it acknowledges that every citizen of the world has equal entitlement to global atmospheric space,” he said.

“We will all play a positive and constructive role so that we can bridge the differences to achieve a balanced and equitable outcome,” the PM concluded.

Before addressing the summmit, the PM held a meeting with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao to consolidate the position of developing countries.

Indian PM-  Dr. Manmohan Singh surely has his hands full. When he took office, no one must have told him that his job would include apologising for fellow party member’s statements, and also placating people bellowing and fasting for their region’s statehood.

I sorta feel sad for him. With an education like this, and a career like this, he’s given tasks like the above….

by: Maryam Shahid

Eight years in Afghanistan after 9/11, massive failures, destruction of whatever little infrastructure there was, death of countless innocents, soaring high opium trade, terrorized public, a second place in the list of world’s most corrupt nations constitute just a bunch of unsought presents by America’s botched Afghan Policy for this poor nation.

But that’s not it. This war has also given a lot to the American people, in shape of a cataclysmic economy, towering unemployment rates, incalculable soldiers killed, women left widowed, children left orphaned, war cemeteries filled with youthful graves, etc. Exactly, just a bunch of unsought presents for this ‘once-rich’ nation.

For Pakistan, these much friendly gifts or their effects stay devastatingly huge, often inestimable due to their heterogeneous nature.

President Obama, after his tenth war council meeting last week which was finally his last on the subject, announced on Tuesday that the number of U.S. troops will have to be increased further in this landlocked country. Of course, war-mongering comes with such fancy demands.

The Afghan war bill had hit record $43 billion annually this summer with the addition of 21,000 forces Obama had already sent to the battlefield this year. Associated Press reported “The White House has given Congress this rough yardstick for future troop increases: Approximately $1 billion a year for each 1,000 troops atop the current record figure of 68,000”. That was just after Obama took office, the President who preached his intentions to shut down America’s wars as a main pitch for his campaign.

The infusion of approximately 30,000 U.S. troops to begin in early 2010 will be the largest expansion since the beginning of the war and one that could bring the cost above $75 billion annually. The expected increase as reported would include at least three Army brigades and a single, larger Marine Corps contingent. The United States is quietly pressing NATO and other allies to increase forces as well, with a goal of between 5,000 and 7,000 additional non-U.S. troops. Where, NATO and other allies collectively have about 45,000 troops in Afghanistan already.

Obama in his speech has also pledged to increase drone attacks in a fully-sovereign country, Pakistan. This move which will kill many innocent Pakistani civilians for sins undone, won’t be categorized as war crimes since America is not at war with Pakistan. But then what is it? A friendly gesture as an ally they say for eliminating “terrorists”. What is left unsaid is that in midst of all these sugar-coated words, America is now busy finding mere excuses to bomb Baluchistan or in other words to take this war explicitly to Pakistan.

So much for shutting down the wars!

President Obama has been making grounds for announcing these decisions for a few weeks now. In his recent speeches during the past few weeks, President Obama had pressed the matter further saying that it is still in America’s vital national interest to “disrupt, dismantle and destroy” Al-Qaida terrorists and its extremist allies [who amazingly bomb Afghanistan and its neighbor more, just like their troops do]. “I intend to finish the job,” he had boldly claimed.

Obama had earlier stressed to his nation, just as a good salesman would do for a bogus product, “I can tell you, as I’ve said before, that it is in our strategic interest, in our national security interest to make sure that al-Qaida and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively in the area” he said. “We are going to dismantle and degrade their capabilities and ultimately dismantle and destroy their networks.” He had explained his stance on the troops surge on several occasions. Nearing close, he in his usual spellbinding style of a debater had explained, “I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we’re doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive,” while speaking at a White House news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his recent visit.

Clearly Mr. Manmohan being the highest authority of a major UST (United States of Terror) state, in his well-timed trip to the Capitol Hill, did a fine job at convincing America how important this war against Afghanistan and Pakistan was. Mr. Obama however forgot to mention distinctly that Pakistan still stands or [at least how they try to portray it], as an “ally” for America, Afghanistan as an “ally” for India. The international media later boasted that Mr. Manmohan walked out ‘assured’ by U.S. and India is ‘happy’ on the new AfPak Policy.

These policy decisions came after much aspersion by American public who somehow repeatedly complain and protest on the streets for the rising combat deaths of their loved ones in this imposed war. Some congressional democrats, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., have questioned the value of adding forces and clearly expressed concerns on the war’s rising cost. More than half of America is still not persuaded enough on the troops surge even though the U.S. media has been doing a good job, investing billions in selling the scheme.

As anticipated, neither Obama nor his group of bullies, have sketched a concrete exit plan. The new AfPak policy hasn’t consigned to improve anything but rather has vowed to deteriorate things in the South Asian Region further. Surprisingly, mistakes of the past eight years don’t seem to be doing much good to the U.S. government when it comes to learning. Major Nadal’s case for example gives one important aspect and bears testimony to what spurious wars could result in.

Major Nadal was a successful doctor in the U.S. Military, a generally jovial and good natured guy as confirmed by his video footages released and by the people who knew him. Yet he ended up viciously murdering tens of his fellow Army men at a U.S. Military base. It was later revealed he was to be sent to Iraq, another of U.S’s ventures into testing its defenses against defenseless populace. This could be one of the probable reasons of severe nervous tension which made him commit such a heinous crime.

As Reuters, in a report published on Nov 17 by Phil Stewart confirms, “U.S. Army suicides set to hit new high in 2009. In 2008, there were 268 active-duty suicides across the U.S. Armed forces, most in the Army”. The Army suicide rate nearly doubles the U.S. national suicide rates. Imagine the level of frustration mounting in the U.S. Military personnel themselves. Murders, suicides; the conscience sadly can’t be ‘programmed’.

These are just few of the many lessons, which are worth more than being taken as another clause from the chapter of findings on these wars. U.S. should understand that they are doing no good in eliminating terrorists. If not creating more, they are rather acting as a consigliere to these beasts. At the end of the day both are killing innocent civilians.

If really sincere, the U.S. needs to work constructively towards a peaceful Afghanistan. War as a means of delivering peace is a façade, and this cat is out of the sack already. The people of Afghanistan do not trust good-willed U.S. intentions, if any, for the region anymore and so does Pakistan. Increase in troop levels after all will bring harsh repercussions for Pakistan too.  Although U.S. bolsters about its so-called control in Afghanistan but somehow often strategically removes its posts near the eastern border when Pakistan attacks the insurgents. Nothing less than a combat movie, is it?

Learning by your own mistakes, Mr. Obama you should realize by now that the money being spent on additional troops or more appropriately on this ‘stage-drama’ should well be utilized to build infrastructure and facilities that the Afghans really need. The dreams of peaceful life that you propagate, with these thespian invasions and baseless wars modern humanity can only dream of peaceful death, peaceful life is just too far-fetched.

By Aparna Pande
This piece appeared in Indolink on November 27, 2009

In 1950 India’s First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the United States. The American media and the Truman administration went all out to welcome Premier Nehru. This week India’s 17^th Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is on a state visit to the United States. The Obama administration, Washington’s policy-making elite and the media are once again celebrating this occasion. It is time to step back and look at the changed Indo-U.S. relationship, then and now.

In 1950 India was a 400 million strong country, independent for only 3 years, with a proud history and civilization but with very little resources. According to Premier Nehru, the architect of India’s foreign policy, the independence of India signaled the “rise of Asia.” As a secular democratic country keen to join the free world, the Indian leadership was keen to build ties with the United States. 

The United States under President Roosevelt had been very supportive of the Indian independence movement and subtle pressure had been repeatedly placed on the British government to allow India first dominion status and then complete independence. When partition took place many American officials were disappointed as for them a united India would have been able to make a much greater contribution to the world. When Prime Minister Nehru came to United States on his first trip there were high expectations from the American side.

However, Nehru was reluctant to involve India too deeply in the preoccupying issue of the day – the cold war. This along with other issues over time led to a disenchantment between the American and Indian leaderships. Since South Asia was never high on the American security agenda except for short periods of time, there was very little incentive to change the status quo. According to political scientist Myron Weiner, South Asia occupied a low priority because “it has no resources vital to the American economy,” it is “not a region with substantial American private investment,” “its geopolitical position raises no fundamental problems for American security,” “has no deep cultural or historical ties with the United States” and “no significant segment of the American population originates or had an enduring association with the region.”

Today, the reality is different. India is a 1.1 billion strong country with the third largest armed forces, the fifth largest economy in the world, and nuclear weapons. India is located in a part of the world which is now strategically important for American foreign policy. India is the largest democracy in the world and one of the few long-lasting democracies in South and South East Asia.

Compared to the very weak economic ties in the 1950s-1960s today the United States is India’s top trading partner with over $61 billion in bilateral trade. Over the last decade India has become the leading outsourcing destination for most American companies with two in five of America’s Fortune 500 companies outsourcing their software to India. U.S. investment in India in 1950s-1960s was mainly in the form of aid and loans, today U.S. is the largest foreign portfolio investor and there is over $16 billion of American foreign direct investment in India.

The India-US civilian nuclear deal of 2005 – an agreement on which is to be signed in Washington this week – will open up a $150 billion market in power plants. Two potential sites for the building of nuclear power plants have already been demarcated for American companies.

India plans on modernizing its military by spending $100 billion in the next ten years and many American companies are contenders for various contracts. Today American arms sales to India average $3.5 billion annually. For the last couple of years India and United States have even held annual joint military exercises.

In 1950s there was a very small Indian-American community, today there is a vibrant community of over 2.5 million. A few hundred Indian students came to study in the United States during the 1950s, today 100,000 Indian students come annually to study.

A report in the American media today reflects the reverse of Weiner’s observation of 1970: “On every big global issue today — from the economy to climate change to fighting terrorism and curbing nuclear proliferation — Washington needs New Delhi’s cooperation.”

This change in five decades is what led President Obama to invited Premier Singh as his first state guest in the White House.

At the welcoming ceremony President Obama stated, “Mr. Prime Minister, yours is the first official state visit of my presidency.  And it is fitting that you and India be so recognized. But above all, your visit at this pivotal moment in history speaks to the opportunity before us to build the relationship between our nations born in the last century into one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century. This is the India that America welcomes today – a leader in Asia and around the world.”

Prime Minister Singh in turn pointed out that the United States and India were separated by distance but bound by common values. “Over the years, we have built upon these values and created a partnership that is based upon both principle and pragmatism. Our relations have been transformed, and today they encompass cooperation in all areas of human activity … This is a moment of great opportunity in our relationship. India and the United States can, and must, work together to harness the immense potential of our talented and enterprising people, and support each other’s growth and prosperity. We should cooperate in addressing global challenges of combating terrorism, making our environment cleaner and moving towards a world free of nuclear weapons.”

This bonhomie does not mean that there are no differences between U.S. and India anymore. These range from India’s relations with Pakistan, Iran’s nuclear weapons and climate change.

India has always seen American influence in South Asia as an attempt to “shore up” Pakistan in its consistent struggle to “seek equality” with India. Indian policy makers also believe that the U.S. has failed to curb Islamabad’s backing of anti-India extremists based in Pakistan mainly because Pakistan has often been a ‘frontline’ ally for the Americans, earlier during the cold war and now in the war against terrorism.

India and Iran share very old and warm ties. Iran is one of India’s leading suppliers of oil and natural gas and the Indian government is keen to go ahead with the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. Though not very comfortable at the prospect of another nuclear-armed power in the region, India is reluctant to support sanctions against Iran, for diplomatic, economic and historical reasons. India is also concerned about the impact of such sanctions on its Muslim population.

On the issue of climate change the Obama administration would like India (and China)- the leading emitters of greenhouse gases in the world – to accept limits on their carbon emissions. The Indian argument is that it is still a developing country and developed countries – who contributed to the present problem – ought to assume the lion’s share of the burden.

Though India has moved away from a strict non-aligned policy and from the 1990s has built deep economic, diplomatic, technological and cultural ties with the United States the Nehruvian legacy is still visible in what former American diplomat and analyst Teresita Shaffer refers to as ‘strategic autonomy.’ India has the capability and the desire to be a global power and an ally of the United States. However, New Delhi’s interests may not always be aligned with Washington’s and that is something both sides will have to bear in mind, to agree to often disagree and still remain friends.

President Obama called India and the United States “natural allies” after a meeting Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House, as the president hosts his first state visit.

Source:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120712790

President Obama called India and the United States “natural allies” after a meeting Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House, as the president hosts his first state visit.

Source:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120712790

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama share a laugh as they wait for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India’s motorcade to depart the State Dinner at the White House, Nov. 24, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The trending topic at the moment seems to be Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit to the United States of America.

The key reports of The Times of India seem to be this and this.

The Hindu however reports this. Even the party scene was described this way…

Well, I find it amusing that The Times of India still considers itself a newspaper….

Even BBC, a British broadcasting network has a better coverage here and here.

Posted by Audiegrl

Click here for list: Expected Attendees at Tonight’s State Dinner

The dinner honors India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

—What’s the hottest ticket in the nation’s capital? An engraved invitation to Tuesday’s White House state dinner, the first hosted by President Obama.

He and the first lady will honor India’s prime minister. But in a departure from the traditional venue — the elegant State Dining Room — the Obama’s will gather with a few hundred VIPs in a huge, heated tent on the South Lawn.

Glamor and Grace

The guest list for the black-tie gala remains a closely guarded secret. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will certainly be there.

Several notables are good bets, such as Oprah Winfrey and Chicago hotel billionaire Penny Pritzker, as are top Obama aides David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and Rahm Emanuel.

Tonight's Menu and Desert

Dee Dee Myers, who served as President Clinton’s press secretary, said the lobbying by people seeking an invite had probably been relentless. The first [state dinner] is always the most dramatic,” Myers said. “First impressions are important. That’s your A list, that’s your top game right there. By the time you get to the eighth state dinner, it’ll be a lot less important.”

The gargantuan tent affords a bigger crowd than could fit in the State Dining Room, which holds 140.

State dinners generally draw administration officials and members of Congress, the Cabinet and the diplomatic corps. Obama donors and corporate titans, Hollywood glamour, athletic greats and leading artists are bound to be thrown into the mix, possibly joined by some academics and journalists.

And the morning after, hotheads left off the list are bound to let off steam.

Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh

“There’s always a few angry calls,” Myers said, “because people read the guest list” in the morning papers.

But until the dinner takes place, the heat is on, perhaps for no two people more than Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary, and Cristeta Comerford, the White House’s top chef.

Myers was a guest at a few state dinners put on by Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is another guaranteed attendee Tuesday. As Secretary of State, she hand-delivered the invitation to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July.

Tented parties for state dinners aren’t entirely new. In President Clinton’s final year in office, he had about 700 guests under a tent for an earlier Indian prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

More @

President Obama and Prime Minister Singh Press Conference | The White House

Obama State Dinner Challenges, Real & Imagined: A Vegetarian Guest of Honor, A Scarcity of Vegetables…

“Vegetable veracity: The garden is low on crops, Mr. Singh is fond of fish, and about that beehive gift for dinner guests…“

Please visit our friends at Obama Foodorama. They have more pictures and details about the tent, menu, chef, etc…they are a great source for anything food related at the Obama White House.

Jennifer Hudson to Perform Tonight

Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson will perform at the Obama administration's first state dinner Tuesday.

Hudson, a Chicago native who performed at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008, will perform for 320 guests at the black tie affair.

The Obamas have had several soul singers perform at the White House. For the Governor’s Dinner, they drew on their Chicago connection and had funk band Earth, Wind and Fire perform for guests.

Hudson suffered a major family tragedy in 2008 when her mother, brother and nephew were killed. Obama, who was campaigning at the time, sent condolences to Hudson.

Hudson got her start as a contestant on American Idol and has been a winner at the Oscars and Grammys. She was recently tapped to play Winnie Mandela in a forthcoming biopic.

First Lady Michelle Obama Discusses State and Official Visits

As the White House prepares for tonight’s State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur of India, First Lady Michelle Obama hosts young women from the White House Leadership and Mentoring Program to discuss the history and protocol that surround State and Official Visits. The First Lady discusses how protocol and hospitality can help foster good relations and build strong friendships.

Couple slips though security to crash state dinner
WASHINGTON – The Secret Service says it’s looking into its own security procedures after determining that two people crashed Tuesday night’s state dinner at the White House.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says that President Barack Obama was never in any danger. Donovan says the party crashers went through the same security screening as the 300-plus people actually invited to the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

source:

How many times can a man turn his head,

And pretend that he just doesn’t see

                                                            -Bob Dylan

A spectre is haunting the Indian ruling class-the spectre of Maoism. All powers have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: P. Chidambram and Mohan Bhagwat, Manmohan Singh and Raman Singh, Budhhadev Bhattacharya and Tarun Vijay, N. Ram and Arnab Goswami. On various platforms, both national and international, our prime minister and home minister have been telling the world how it is the ‘biggest internal

Police atrocities in Lalgarh

threat’ facing the Indian nation. Corporate backed mainstream media houses have been penning down stories telling us about the trigger happy ways of the Maoists. What is surely left out quite intentionally in these stories is the context, or the socio-economic roots of the movement or even the innumerable atrocities committed by state backed militias in different parts of the country. Hundreds of villages have been evacuated in Chattisgarh alone and the mainstream media (barring a few exceptions) never found time to document it. Women of Chattisgarh are alleging rape by Salwa Judum men, but the courts in India refuse to listen. Only recently in September in Chattisgarh, the state personnel stabbed 19 people to death, raped the women, cut off the breasts of a 70 year old woman, cut off the fingers and tongue of a 2 year old kid. And precisely when the people retaliate on these forces, these mercenaries become national heroes overnight for the government. Police atrocities in Lalgarh crossed all limits, and the Central or the State Governement never found time to even acknowledge it. And the moment people rose up in rebellion, the Central Government wasted no time in cooperating with the state government in West Bengal to crush the movement. And who was it these forces crushing-its very own citizens, in fact the most impoverished ones, fighting against deprivation, destitution and for a life of dignity. However we have been told is that this is a fight against terrorism, and surely when it comes to terrorism it is blasphemous in our country to ask for any more details, it doesn’t matter if poverty is equated with terrorism.

War against ‘Terror’

In the last few days, the Indian government has deployed 100,000 troops in parts of central India, including Chattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand. Forces are being withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast to join battalions of CRPF commandos, the ITBP, the CoBRA and the BSF. There is also talk of bringing in the Rashtriya Rifles – a battalion created specially for counter-insurgency work – and the purchase of bomb trucks, bomb blankets, bomb baskets, and sophisticated new weaponry. The Air Force has already been deployed and a full scale air operation is in the offing. There are reports that the operation in Jharkand has already started. There are also reports that the police and paramilitary forces have tortured people in Hardali village in Girdih district and Fatehpur village in Ranchi district. Indiscriminate arrests have also taken place. In short the Indian state has declared war against its most oppressed population. It is not a mere coincidence that the same region of Central India is highly rich in minerals, which can be sold to the highest bidders once the region is evacuated in the name of fighting the Maoists. Hundred of MoU’s have already been signed. All that stands between the politicians and this wealth are the tribals.

India was the one of the first countries to extend its hand of friendship to Sri Lanka in its recent genocidal war against Tamils. It also supported the rejection of a UN intervention by the Sri Lankan government this war. Home Minister P. Chidambram (former lawyer for Enron-the corporate involved in the biggest scam in the country and member of the board of directors of Vedanta, the multinational that is devastating the Niyamgari hills in Orissa) told us this was the perfect model to be adopted in India to fight the ‘Red menace’.  The reasons now seem pretty clear. The 5^th the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution grants tribals complete rights over their traditional land and forests and prohibits private companies from mining on their land. Once the area is evacuated, like the Sri Lankan model, which by the way Salwa Judum has already been doing for the past few years in Chattisgarh, the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution will not apply, and the land can easily be handed over to the multi-nationals. And we were told only the Maoists didn’t respect the Indian constitution!

The NEP and its Consequences

Under Manmohan Singh as the finance minister in the year 1991, India opened up its markets to corporate globalization under the guise of making the economy more ‘efficient’. The consequences have been disastrous to say the least. Foreign capital, collaborating with and dominating over Indian capital, has acquired a strategic role hold over the economy. More Indians are below the poverty line than ever before. Malnutrition around the country is worse than at the time of Independence. The Arjun Sengupta report revealed that 77% of the population lives under Rs. 20 a day. The new economic policy has attacked whatever little access the poor had to forests, lands, water resources, etc.  Lakhs of farmers have committed suicide, over a lakh in the small district of Vidarbha alone.

Farmer suicides in Andhra-Around 25 farmers committed suicide within a period of 50 days around August 2009

The state is pulling out of its responsibilities even in sectors like education, health care, etc. The country’s healthcare sector is one of the most privatized ones in the world, even worse than that of the US. The problem of displacement has intensified to a great level in this era of privatization and free market. However, at the same time through the non-payment of taxes, through a variety of subsidies and transfers, and through lucrative state support, corporate fortunes have been built up. This period has also seen the rise of a burgeoning middle class, more indifferent and insensitive than ever and aesthetically, culturally, socially, politically at an all time low, making the situation even more depressing. What we are witnessing in our country, to quote Arundhati Roy is the ‘most successful secessionist struggle ever waged in independent India — the secession of the middle and upper classes from the rest of the country.’ It is not a big surprise that our films, books and news channels also no longer speak about such issues. The priorities seem to have changed. In fact most of these purveyors of public opinion are funded by the same corporates who have brought the country to the brink of a civil war.

                The apologists of the ruling class who point to the 9% growth rate as an indicator of the benefits of the 1991 ‘reforms’ should realize that the only meaningful criteria of economic progress is whether increased national incomes are available to the people. When the efforts of the working people produce wealth for a non-working minority, when the working people are deprived of their rightful share in the increased national income, what takes place is not progress but more exploitation and deterioration of the people’s living conditions. In fact, absorption into the imperialist sector does not mean that there will be no growth or development, only that it would be highly exclusionary and uneven and would mean intensified exploitation and greater misery for the vast majority. Therefore the way forward is not continued development, but a revolutionary break with the entire capitalist system. As imperialism always consists of unequal and uneven development, revolution is not only a possibility but a must.

P.Chidambram who insists upon only a military solution to the entire ‘problem’, recently came up with a wider developmental plan. According to him, once the entire Maoist presence is ‘wiped/flushed’ out, he will go ahead with his ‘developmental’ plan which, he says, will bring employment to the area. However, the fact of the matter is that the entire fight is against such a development model-one that is undertaken by multinationals, is exclusionary and displaces ten times more people than it employs. What he is offering is not the solution, but the problem itself.

 Mode of Struggle

A lot of intellectuals, activists opposed to concept of armed struggle have pointed out that such a strategy has no place in a democracy. However there is an important need to question how democratic is ‘Indian democracy’? More than 90% of all independent candidates lost the current Lok Sabha elections, only underlining the fact that it is impossible to win an election without party support (which once again is funded by certain corporates). A democracy survives on certain institutions. However in the case of Indian society, in this era of free market, all these institutions, be it the press, judiciary, administration or even the civil society have been reduced to commodities to be sold to highest bidders. The class bias of Indian judiciary has also been quite well documented. The courts remain virtually inaccessible to a vast majority of is citizens. Even when they have been approached, the poor have got an unfavorable response, while at the same time powerful corporates have got highly favorable verdicts.  To cite a recent example in a case regarding urban slum dwellers the courts have gone to the extent of passing judgments which say “rewarding an encroacher on public land with a free alternate site is like giving a reward to a pickpocket.” At the same time a recent Supreme Court judgement, allowing the Vasant Kunj Mall to resume construction though it didn’t have the requisite clearances, said that the questions of corporations indulging in malpractice does not arise! According to Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan part of the reason for this “lies in the class structure of the Indian judiciary. The higher judiciary in India comes from the elite section of the society and has become a self appointing and self perpetuating oligarchy.” The state has also ignored virtually all non-violent resistance movements in the past be it in Bhopal or the ‘Narmada Bachao’ movement. The movement launched by the PCPA in Lalgarh against police atrocities, asking police forces to apologize for molesting women, was ruthlessly crushed. Various human rights activists who have spoken out against such policies have also been time and again targeted by the state. The case of Binayak Sen is well known who spent almost 2 years in prison only because the state felt it important to silence him for sometime to go ahead with its genocidal policies. Extra-judicial killings of political workers in some of these struggles are also a known phenomenon. The West Bengal government only last month arrested political activists who had been vocal in their ciriticism of the government. As economist Paul Sweezy points out ‘Third World countries that ally with the advanced capitalist countries are characterized by military or police state of one kind or another.’ India, under the garb of being the ‘world’s largest democracy’ is a police state in large parts of the country and is fast turning more authoritarian state with every passing day. The government uses draconian laws like AFSPA, UAPA, MCOCA, Official Secrets Act, Chattisgarh Public Security Act to silence all voices of dissent and to suppress people’s movements. It is impossible for the dominant classes to maintain high rates of exploitation without such coercion. At such a moment if people decide to pick up arms just because every other option has ended in despair, it is important on our part to realize the conditions that has led to such a situation. To sit in urban citadels and discredit the entire movement as a ‘terrorist movement’ will not just be wrong but also unethical. It will not only amount to supporting the status quo but will also legitimize the violence that is entrenched in the very structure of our so called ‘democracy’.   

What we are witnessing is a failure of democracy. A democracy is known by how it treats its most vulnerable sections. If the most vulnerable sections of the country look up to the Maoists and not the Indian state for help, does it not mean that the Maoists are democratic in their outlook and worldview than the Indian state. It is important to realize that the Maoist movement has certain socio-economic roots and has highlighted certain genuine people’s issues. The current counter-insurgency strategy planned by the Indian state will only lead to death of thousands. This war is being fought in our name and against our own people. It is important to resist this and to let the Manmohan-Chidambram-Budhhadev fascist clique know that this war might satisfy the interests of their corporate lobbies, bit is certainly not in the national interest.

(This article was first published in a slightly different form in Radiance Viewsweekly dated 14 November 2009)

 The resumption of the talks on the ‘Kashmir’ issue is much more than a welcome step. The Union government should consider all shades of opinion in the Valley towards an open and inclusive environment for talks. This will negate for any chances of a third-party intervention and also the controversial UN plebiscite. There is a need for taking concrete and cautious steps towards a ‘practical, pragmatic solution’ as envisioned by our PM.           
Both India and Pakistan must realize the mutual benefits by ending the decade long insurgency in the valley. The recent spurge in the trade and cultural activities with the Pak-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) is the clear and small example of the expected benefits. There is a urgent need to restore the lost pride of the Kashmiri people by reconstructing their lives. Both countries should take the responsibility on these lines by bridging the huge trust gap.The Pakistan needs to go extra mile for a strong economic ties with India to bolster its economy by spending more on the social sector.
               The people of Kashmir should not be denied political justice and freedom to decide their future. This is a progressive and bold step for ushering the much-needed peaceful and tranquil environment in the region.

Here is a real thought provoking article for people who want to know how capitalism expands by creating enemies from no where, create a monster out of it, start a hunt for it and then expand it’s hold on the desired areas in the name of fighting the evil.

We are seeing it in US lead so called war against terror and now India is using the same idea against Maoists.

I think civil society in India should learn from a real horrible experience through which Pakistanis are going due to capitalist-imperialism.
———————————————————————————————————————–

Mr Chidambaram’s War

By Arundhati Roy

The low, flat-topped hills of south Orissa have been home to the Dongria Kondh long before there was a country called India or a state called Orissa. The hills watched over the Kondh. The Kondh watched over the hills and worshipped them as living deities. Now these hills have been sold for the bauxite they contain.

Perhaps the Kondh are supposed to be grateful that their Niyamgiri hill, home to Niyam Raja, their ‘god of universal law’, has been sold to a company with a name like Vedanta (the branch of Hindu philosophy that teaches the Ultimate Nature of Knowledge).

It’s one of the biggest mining corporations in the world and is owned by Anil Aggarwal, the Indian billionaire who lives in London in a mansion that once belonged to the Shah of Iran. Vedanta is only one of the many multinational corporations closing in on Orissa.

If the flat-topped hills are destroyed, the forests that clothe them will be destroyed too. So will the rivers and streams that flow out of them and irrigate the plains below. So will the Dongria Kondh. So will the hundreds of thousands of tribal people who live in the forested heart of India, and whose homeland is similarly under attack.

In our smoky, crowded cities, some people say, ‘So what? Someone has to pay the price of progress.’ Some even say, ‘Let’s face it, these are people whose time has come. Look at any developed country, Europe, the US, Australia — they all have a ‘past’.’

Indeed they do. So why shouldn’t ‘we’? In keeping with this line of thought, the government has announced Operation Green Hunt, a war purportedly against the ‘Maoist’ rebels headquartered in the jungles of central India.

Of course, the Maoists are by no means the only ones rebelling. There is a whole spectrum of struggles all over the country that people are engaged in — the landless, the Dalits, the homeless, workers, peasants, weavers.

They’re pitted against a juggernaut of injustices, including policies that allow a wholesale corporate takeover of people’s land and resources. However, it is the Maoists who the government has singled out as being the biggest threat.

Two years ago, when things were nowhere near as bad as they are now, the prime minister described the Maoists as the ‘single-largest internal security threat’ to the country.

This will probably go down as the most popular and often-repeated thing he ever said. For some reason, the comment he made on January 6, 2009, at a meeting of state chief ministers, when he described the Maoists as having only ‘modest capabilities’ doesn’t seem to have had the same raw appeal.

He revealed his government’s real concern on June 18, 2009, when he told parliament: ‘If left-wing extremism continues to flourish in parts which have natural resources of minerals, the climate for investment would certainly be affected.’

At current market rates, the minerals in the region have been valued not in millions but in trillions of dollars.

Right now in central India, the Maoists’ guerrilla army is made up almost entirely of desperately poor tribal people living in conditions of such chronic hunger that it verges on famine of the kind we only associate with sub-Saharan Africa.

They are people who, even after 60 years of India’s so-called independence, have not had access to education, healthcare or legal redress. They are people who have been mercilessly exploited for decades, consistently cheated by small businessmen and moneylenders, the women raped as a matter of right by police and forest department personnel.

Their journey back to a semblance of dignity is due in large part to the Maoist cadre who have lived and worked and fought by their side for decades.

If the tribals have taken up arms, they have done so because a government which has given them nothing but violence and neglect now wants to snatch away the last thing they have — their land. Clearly, they do not believe the government when it says it only wants to ‘develop’ their region.

Clearly, they do not believe that the roads as wide and flat as aircraft runways that are being built through their forests in Dantewada by the National Mineral Development Corporation are being built for them to walk their children to school on. They believe that if they do not fight for their land, they will be annihilated. That is why they have taken up arms.

MoUist corridor
The forest once known as the Dandakaranya, which stretches from West Bengal through Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, parts of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, is home to millions of India’s tribal people.

The media has taken to calling it the Red corridor or the Maoist corridor. It could just as accurately be called the MoUist corridor. It doesn’t seem to matter at all that the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution provides protection to adivasi people and disallows the alienation of their land.

It looks as though the clause is there only to make the Constitution look good — a bit of window-dressing, a slash of make-up. Scores of corporations, from relatively unknown ones to the biggest mining companies and steel manufacturers in the world, are in the fray to appropriate adivasi homelands — the Mittals, Jindals, Tata, Essar, Posco, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and, of course, Vedanta.There’s an MoU on every mountain, river and forest glade.

We’re talking about social and environmental engineering on an unimaginable scale. And most of this is secret. It’s not in the public domain. Somehow I don’t think that the plans that are afoot to destroy one of the world’s most pristine forests and ecosystems, as well as the people who live in it, will be discussed at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Our 24-hour news channels that are so busy hunting for macabre stories of Maoist violence — and making them up when they run out of the real thing — seem to have no interest at all in this side of the story. I wonder why?

Perhaps it’s because the development lobby to which they are so much in thrall says the mining industry will ratchet up the rate of GDP growth dramatically and provide employment to the people it displaces. This does not take into account the catastrophic costs of environmental damage. But even on its own narrow terms, it is simply untrue.

Most of the money goes into the bank accounts of the mining corporations. Less than 10 per cent comes to the public exchequer. A very tiny percentage of the displaced people get jobs, and those who do, earn slave-wages to do humiliating, backbreaking work.

By caving in to this paroxysm of greed, we are bolstering other countries’ economies with our ecology. The mining companies desperately need this ‘war’. It’s an old technique. They hope the impact of the violence will drive out the people who have so far managed to resist the attempts that have been made to evict them.

Whether this will indeed be the outcome, or whether it’ll simply swell the ranks of the Maoists remains to be seen.

The real problem is that the flagship of India’s miraculous ‘growth’ story has run aground. It came at a huge social and environmental cost. And now, as the rivers dry up and forests disappear, as the water table recedes and as people realise what is being done to them, the chickens are coming home to roost.

All over the country, there’s unrest, there are protests by people refusing to give up their land and their access to resources, refusing to believe false promises any more. Suddenly, it’s beginning to look as though the 10 per cent growth rate and democracy are mutually incompatible.

Militarisation
To get the bauxite out of the flat-topped hills, to get iron ore out from under the forest floor, to get 85 per cent of India’s people off their land and into the cities (which is what Home Minister Chidambaram says he’d like to see), India has to become a police state.

The government has to militarise. To justify that militarisation, it needs an enemy. The Maoists are that enemy. They are to corporate fundamentalists what the Muslims are to Hindu fundamentalists. (Is there a fraternity of fundamentalists? Is that why the RSS has expressed open admiration for Mr Chidambaram?)

It would be a grave mistake to imagine that the paramilitary troops, the Rajnandgaon air base, the Bilaspur brigade headquarters, the Unlawful Activities Act, the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and Operation Green Hunt are all being put in place just to flush out a few thousand Maoists from the forests.

In all the talk of Operation Green Hunt, whether or not Mr Chidambaram goes ahead and ‘presses the button’, I detect the kernel of a coming state of emergency. (Here’s a math question: If it takes 600,000 soldiers to hold down the tiny valley of Kashmir, how many will it take to contain the mounting rage of hundreds of millions of people?)

Instead of narco-analysing Kobad Gandhy, the recently arrested Maoist leader, it might be a better idea to talk to him.

In the meanwhile, will someone who’s going to the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year please ask the only question worth asking: Can we leave the bauxite in the mountain?

Source:http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/12-mr+chidambarams+war–bi-11

Colours of Congress Shine while the Saffron Colour Fades. 2009 Assemble Tri Victory of Secular Forces is Begining of a Rahul Lead 2014

Congress sticking to its secular plank, and performance as major support.

Due to lack of policies which could connect the people and masses with it BJP and its Allies have major setback.

BJP and its well wishers in the recent show down and indiscipline among senior leaders like Rajnath, Arun Jaittly, Jaswant, Yashwant, Advani.

Advani raised the issues like Ram Temple in these elections, it appears people like to hear defiantly from Advani on issues of common interests and better conditions of life and peace and prosperity of the people of the Naiton.

The whole brigade of RSS could not help them maintain discipline and induce confidence in the Voters to shift from Congress and its allies.

India is right of performance and unity of the people of the nation and not the divide of faiths which build disadvantage to the nation and its people.

In times like this when world is going thru several ifs and buts, and India faced with drought and floods and very new challenges and concerns.

Congress with its revived confidence and signal to perform and work of building the nation with greater determination and zeal should push hard on the issues which will benefit one all.

Sonia, Rahul, Manmohan triangle seems to be working consistently. Hope this will continue in the 2014 General Elections too to which Rahul is Eyes.

The people of the three states rejected the BJP and its Allies who in this elections too did not learn the lessons they should have.

From Our Correspondent

New Delhi—Preparing his Armed Forces to be ready to react to the terror drama that Indian Intelligence Agency, Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) is preparing to execute before November 24,2009, when Indian Premier Manmohan Singh would be leaving for high profile US Visit, the Indian Prime minister on Tuesday gave a call to his Services Chiefs to be ready for another Mumbai like terror attack. Manmohan said on Tuesday that the regular Intelligence reports had warned of “imminent attacks” in the country and security forces needed to be prepared to meet any challenge.

Addressing the top commanders of three Services in New Delhi, he also said that the situation in India’s immediate neighbourhood had worsened, apparently referring to the developments in Pakistan which he did not spell out.

He referred to last year’s Mumbai attacks and the terror strike at the Indian Embassy in Kabul earlier this month, which he said was “yet another grim reminder of the forces” that India is pitted against. “There are both state and non-state actors involved in the business of terrorism. India is a democracy and an open society and is, therefore, sometimes highly vulnerable,” Singh said.

It may be mentioned here that the way the Indian government has so very confidently predicting another 26/11 like terror episode, the world media and global intelligence officials are more than convinced that this time the plot of such an episode has once again been designed by Indian intelligence agency RAW and it is more likely to be executed before Indian Premier’s scheduled official trip to United States, starting from 24th of next month so that he could generate added US support for India and pressure for neighbouring Pakistan.

Courtesy: Daily Mail

Recently Times of India published an article on 10-most powerful men in the UPA government excluding Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Surprisingly, the man who was ranked No-1 in the list was not Pranab Mukharjee, it was Ahemad Patel, political advisor to Sonia Gandhi. Though, Pranabda was given all his due in later part of the article and all his abilities to run the UPA government were mentioned but the question here is; was Pranab Mukharjee lacking in being the most experienced minister and coming from Brahmin caste which Nehru-Gandhi family is always afraid of?

Pranab Mukharjee is virtally running the government in all its difficult time be it the Mumbai terror attack or economic recession. His only sin is that he claimed for top job after the assassination of Madam Gandhi in 1984; which he reportedly claimed for being the most senior minister in the cabinet. Once Manmohan Singh worked under him as the Governor of Reserve Bank of India when Pranabda was finance minister. But it is the turn of time that he is working under his subordinate 20 years later!

So, why he was not offered the top job even after having all the qualities? Insiders in the political circles say that perhaps his experience and his caste is the greatest obstacle in his promotion. Though, outside of Congress Brahmins has become the PM of India but it was only Narshimha Rao in the Congress who fulfilled his term in the office. And people know well that how he cornered Nehru family during his whole tenure. Brahmin leaders, having a nation wide presence of its caste does not suit Nehru family; as it pretends to be the single claimant for its vote. So, if a Brahmin leader emerges on the scene, no matter how weak he is, he can polarize the community and its impact across the section of the society. Considering this, a Manmohan Singh type of non-political, non-all India presence caste can be a suitable candidate for the dynasty but a Pranab Mukharjee or Arjun Singh can pose a serious threat to its supremacy. That is the sin of Pranab Mukharjee. He is an essential evil for the Nehru-Gandhi family; he is vital for running the government but at the same time dangerous for its political supremacy.

merisarkar news service.
New Delhi, September 28, 2009

India on Monday said that normalization of relations with Pakistan depends on that country taking concrete steps against terror emanating from its soil. India said further dialogue between the two countries depends on how the trial of Mumbai terror attack accused is conducted in that country and it will monitor the trial ‘very carefully’.

Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said after meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, “I utilized this opportunity to convey to Foreign Minister Qureshi that for the dialogue process to succeed, it is essential to ensure an environment free of violence, terrorism and the threat to use violence.”

He further told the Pakistani leader that India had serious concerns about terrorists and extremist groups operating from Pakistan which are a security risk for India and its citizens.

Mr. Krishna said that he was assured by Foreign Minister Qureshi about the seriousness of his Government in pursuing the case against terrorists responsible for the attack.

Mr. Krishna also discussed the issue of Hafiz Sayeed with Pakistani leader and demanded swift action against him in the light of evidence provided by India.

Pakistani leader conveyed that the trial against those accused for the Mumbai attack would begin shortly and that the Pakistan Government will take steps to see justice done.

Manmohan Singh and SM Krishna (File Photo)

Manmohan Singh meets Brown on sidelines of G-20 summit
Ani
September 25th, 2009

PITTSBURGH – Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the sidelines of Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh, US.

A draft G20 document said on Friday that the world leaders promised to work as “quickly as possible” to conclude long-running world trade talks and have their top trade officials hold a stock-taking session by early next year.

“We remain committed to further trade liberalization. We are determined to seek an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha development round in 2010,” the leaders said in the draft communique obtained by a foreign news agency.

Leaders of the Group of 20, which groups major industrialized and developing countries, were gathered in Pittsburgh for talks aimed at putting the world on a path to more sustainable growth following the worst economic downturn in decades.

The final draft of their communique will be issued at the end of their two-day meeting

The Doha round, launched in late 2001 with the goal of help poor countries prosper through trade, is already the longest set of world trade negotiations since the modern rules-based trading system began.

After nearly eight years of negotiation, World Trade Organization members still have not reached agreement on core formulas, known in trade jargon as “modalities,” for cutting agricultural and industrial tariffs and reducing trade-distorting farm subsidies. (ANI)

Foreverliving India Worlds Best Aloe Vera Products.
AppleDiet Works
Join ForeverLiving
Investment Free Business
ForeverLiivng Santacruz

Manmohan Singh meets Brown on sidelines of G-20 summit
Ani
September 25th, 2009

PITTSBURGH – Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the sidelines of Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh, US.

A draft G20 document said on Friday that the world leaders promised to work as “quickly as possible” to conclude long-running world trade talks and have their top trade officials hold a stock-taking session by early next year.

“We remain committed to further trade liberalization. We are determined to seek an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha development round in 2010,” the leaders said in the draft communique obtained by a foreign news agency.

Leaders of the Group of 20, which groups major industrialized and developing countries, were gathered in Pittsburgh for talks aimed at putting the world on a path to more sustainable growth following the worst economic downturn in decades.

The final draft of their communique will be issued at the end of their two-day meeting

The Doha round, launched in late 2001 with the goal of help poor countries prosper through trade, is already the longest set of world trade negotiations since the modern rules-based trading system began.

After nearly eight years of negotiation, World Trade Organization members still have not reached agreement on core formulas, known in trade jargon as “modalities,” for cutting agricultural and industrial tariffs and reducing trade-distorting farm subsidies. (ANI)

Foreverliving India Worlds Best Aloe Vera Products.
AppleDiet Works
Join ForeverLiving
Investment Free Business
ForeverLiivng Santacruz

I am truly Amazed! My Government suddenly seems to have found the balls to stand up to the non-sensical rantings of the Chinese Government. They have been trying to provoke the Indian Government into doing something stupid since a long time, for example crushing the Asian Development Bank’s proposal for development in India’s Eastern states, specifically claiming that since Arunachal Pradesh is “disputed” property, the ADB can’t pump money into it via India. I don’t get it, How can AP be disputed?? It’s Our territory! Anyways, the other day there was the news about Chinese incursions into Indian territory along the Line of Actual Control and it seems that China wants us to keep diverting more personnel and resources into the area for at least one stupid mistake to flare up into a big issue, but it’s ok from their side to fire at us and injure two of our soldiers. Also, there was the noise about what the Indian Democracy should Not do about The Dalai Lama (read-we shouldn’t let him in!!!). Apparently it’ll be bad if we let him go to Tawang to reconnect with his roots…

Here’s what China’s stance has been about India-

1. We’re not here to listen to your nonsense
2. You better listen to us or we’ll give grenades to Pakistani Terrorists the next time they come to your country (oh wait, we’ll do that anyways…)
3. Give us Arunachal Pradesh and anything west of that, we’ll be happy with that.

Oh did I forget that a recent report by a Chinese think tank says that the best way to win in the future is to make sure that India is broken up into twenty-thirty small states and effectively destroyed?

So, what’s India doing about all of this?? In the recent past, they were stupid enough to let the CPI(M) jeopardize it’s integrity but now they seem to have done quite a bit to reverse the idea that we are breakable…

India recently caught a Chinese plane carrying Arms and Ammunitions across Indian airspace, apparently they forget to tell us that they had some nice missiles on board. Good for you India! Way to go!

And just today, India said to the Red Dragon, hey, too bad, the Dalai can visit any time he wants, We Like him… Also, something which sounded like,

Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India and the Dalai Lama is free to go anywhere in India

Finally the right moves India, Cheers!

I wonder who we should be thanking for this, Manmohan Singh(uhh…), S M Krishna (ya, maybe) or Shashi Tharoor and his new ideas?

Seriously, people, start reading the News, you’ll learn a lot!