Crazy About India!! Proud To Be An Indian. Indian Food,Culture,Jokes and Politics

Penis enlargement

2008-09-29T04:41:00.002-07:00

There are many pills and instruments in the market for penis enlargement and male enhancement. However, those pills are not health as they cause many other side effects and may affect your sexual health adversely. It might also finally lead to impotency. Same is the case with the extensors and other instrument. They also harm you more than benefiting you.
However, there is new penis enlargement product called peloop. It is not a pill. It is actually a ring made of Magnet, Tourmaline and Germanium .All you have to do is to wear this loop around your penis and have the desired result within weeks. You do not have to take any medicines internally or stretch your penis to make them longer. By wearing them, you can attain the length and strength as you wished and dreamed.

Before you chose this product, you have to know how this works and the role of the metals from which it is made. The peloop is made up of three elements- Magnet, Tourmaline and Germanium

Now let us look how each element works to give you a longer and stronger penis and how it helps in penis enlargement

Magnet- From the ancient period onwards the use of magnet has been in found in treating various diseases. Magnets seem to improve the quality of the blood circulation. This can in turn increase the nutrient carrying potential of the blood. Blood flow is a key aspect in health and disease; this is probably one of the main healing benefits of using magnets. Improved blood quality results in a reduction in inflammation, reduced calcium deposits, lactic acid and other toxins. With the increase in quality and quantity of blood into your penis, they start to gain length and strength. According to various studies, Magnets are free from side effects and help you attain the size you wanted and also help in male enhancement.

Tourmaline-Like magnet Tournmaline is also used from the olden period. It has been used as a ornament .It has been found to have many health benefits by wearing it. According to traditional medicines it is worn when you are experiencing, diminished physical strength or power,when there is any kind of physical distress. It helps you to empower your masculine nature, experience more courage, vigor, and vitality. It also increase your sexual energy, Strengthen, tone, and support the health of your reproductive system

Germanium- Germanium is a trace element that is used as a dietary supplement. Doctors and scientists have been performing tests and studies on Germanium for years and have found that Germanium has some significant benefits. Germanium is also found to have good effect in blood purification and enhances sexual power. It boost your reproductive organs

From this small study you can understand that the elements used for preparation peloop are healthy to use and do not produce any side effect. The main physiological mechanism happening in the body is blood purification and increasing the blood flow to the penis. It also boosts your sexual organs and makes them stronger. All the elements used are found to have action in enhancing your sexual organs and purifying your blood.

Benefits of using peloop for Penis Enlargement
• No side effects-as no pills are taken internally
• No defects to your Penis as found in manual stretching or similar instruments
• Could be worn all the time as it is easy to use
• The elements used are inert and thus does not create any health problems.
• Cheaper than the Pills and other instruments
• More effective than the pills and other instruments

So what are you waiting for? To have a longer penis is easy .You have to simply wear the peloop at the bottom of your penis just like you wear a ring on your finger. peloop.com even provides adjustable peloop just like belt .

Peloop costs $39.95 for now and the shipping is FREE

So don’t wait,,,grab this product as soon as possible and have good penis size

ISI & Babbar Khalsa planning terror strikes in Punjab: IB‏

2008-09-29T04:41:00.001-07:00

Pakistan's secret intelligence wing Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) is reportedly planning a second coming in the Indian state of
Punjab alongwith Babbar Khalsa and Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) to
resurrect terrorism in the state. Zee News got hold of the Intelligence
Bureau's report, which revealed these startling facts.

According to IB report, ISI had been looking to rebuild their network in
the state and now they are trying to instigate Punjab's unemployed
youth. ISI is planning to target sensitive areas like religious places
as well as the VVIP areas in the state, said the report, adding the
firearms and ammunitions seized in the state hints that terrorists'
are planning an attack.

Following the report, Punjab's security agencies have been alerted
and religious places in Punjab as well as along Pakistan-Punjab border
have been put on alert.

ISI has been looking for opportunities to rebuild their force in Punjab
and they are getting support from Babbar Khalsa and KCF to rebuild their
network. The blast in Shingar cinema hall in Ludhiana is also stated to
be the handiwork of these groups.

The instability in Pakistan is also helping ISI in its network
rebuilding process as the Indo-Pak peace dialogue has taken a back seat.

The report further reveals that ISI had conspired to disrupt peace in
Punjab during the Dera-Sikh tension and this time round they are trying
to lure youth into their operations. For that ISI Brigadier has been in
touch with Babbar Khalsa and Pakistan based KCF. Reportedly, heads of
Babbar Khalsa and KCF held secret meetings recently to decide upon their
operations.

KCF which was responsible for the Khalistan movement is calling upon
their former members who had surrendered and those based in Canada and
other nations. Besides that their sleeper cells in Punjab have also
started to rebuild their network in the state, said the report.

ISI has rebuilt Khalistan Army who are ready to strike Punjab, hidden in
underground bonkers alongside the border they are planning to intrude
into India. The recent bomb blasts have been an attempt to distract
security forces and allow the cadres of Khalistan Army to cross the
border but the BSF have foiled their infiltration bids.

But with Pak Army's support these terrorists are now planning to use
the river routes to enter into the Indian Territory. Terrorists are
reported to be hiding in Ayantpur, Kanganwadi and Karwal areas, and
their aim is to trigger off communal violence in the state.

Speaking exclusively to Zee News, former Punjab DGP KPS Gill said,
"ISI is responsible for terrorism in Punjab as well as in India. In
1993, terrorism was uprooted from Punjab but in the last 15 years the
state government has done nothing to curb spreading of terrorism in the
state. Illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and corruption is driving youth
towards terrorism."

source: zee news

Keep Alert

2008-09-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

Terrorist bomb attacks mostly happen in public places, especially where people gather or travel..
Be vigilant
Look out for suspicious behaviour, vehicles or packages
Do not hesitate to tell the police

Surveillance: Are you aware of anyone video recording or monitoring activities, taking notes, using cameras, maps, binoculars, etc., near key facilities/events?

Suspicious Questioning: Are you aware of anyone attempting to gain information in person, by phone, mail, email, etc., regarding a key facility or people who work there?

Tests of Security: Are you aware of any attempts to penetrate or test physical security or procedures at a key facility/event?

Acquiring Supplies: Are you aware of anyone attempting to improperly acquire explosives, weapons, ammunition, dangerous chemicals, uniforms, badges, flight manuals, access cards or identification for a key facility/event or to legally obtain items under suspicious circumstances that could be used in a terrorist attack?

Suspicious Persons: Are you aware of anyone who does not appear to belong in the workplace, neighborhood, business establishment or near a key facility/event?

"Dry Runs": Have you observed any behavior that appears to be preparation for a terrorist act, such as mapping out routes, playing out scenarios with other people, monitoring key facilities/events, timing traffic lights or traffic flow, or other suspicious activities?

Deploying Assets: Have you observed abandoned vehicles, stockpiling of suspicious materials, or persons being deployed near a key facility/event?

If you answered yes to any of the above...if you have observed any suspicious activity that may relate to terrorism...again, please contact the local police or CB-CID immediately. Your tip could save the lives of innocent people, just like yours and mine.

Stop Addiction

2008-09-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Addiction is one of the main of the curses that the world is facing now. When a person gets addicted, he cannot think or work freely. The person just becomes the slave of the drug or the substance, which he uses. Usually addiction is seen in the youth and people of the lower social and economic group. Addiction is also one of the main causes that increase the rate of crime in the world. Addicts are ready to do anything just for getting the drug or substance for them. They are even ready to kill or steal money for the purpose getting drugs and such things. Addiction also causes to break the god family relations.

Addiction can be using various methods. It could be by Alcoholism or Drug Abuse. The use of these substances in large doses can be fatal too. Uses of single syringe by addicts can also lead to HIV infection.
Now the addicts have a good chance to return to their normal life. Now there is a site, which gives addiction treatment. The treatment is used by various techniques, which is actually a mixture of both medicine and spirituality. A person can get good result by combining both these. In treating drug addicts, the role of mind has great importance as by controlling the mind itself the patient can be able to withdraw from the addiction.
Persons who are victims of drug abuse can be treated by drug rehab. Many people are using this service now. In addition, this service is quite popular now.
You can also get a detailed description about drug rehabilitation from this site. There is form in this site to fill your details. When you submit this form, the counselors will contact you as soon as possible.
All I wanted to see is that this is a good site and can be useful to many addicts. Please forward this anyone you know and need help. You might save a family.

Mainstream Media Questions Delhi Encounter Killings

2008-09-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

By L. George
25 September, 2008
Countercurrents. org
http://www.counterc urrents.org/ george250908. htm

Finally it has happened: the main stream media in India has for the first time come out with something other than the 'official version' of the encounter killings that have taken place in the country.

NDTV Report

An NDTV report with the headline 'Cover-up charges cling to terror probe' has said that Delhi's latest terror spectre throws up contrasting images. A police officer -- one of the finest -- shot 3 times. And, young, educated, fun-loving men who, the police say, are deadly terrorists.

The police are convinced that Atif and his young group, most of them in their 20s with the youngest just 17, is responsible for all the major blasts in India this year and the death of nearly 150 people.

But now, a group of lawyers and human rights activists are raising questions. They ask who are the two missing men, who escaped from the flat in Batla house on the day of encounter. And how could they possibly escape when the only way out was a narrow staircase and there were several policemen in the area.

The other point is that the profiles of these young men seem to indicate terror was the farthest thing in their minds. They were regular college-going students.

One of those arrested, Zeeshan, was taking giving his exams on the day of the encounter. He came on TV to surrender. Why didn't he run away?, asks NDTV. The police say they have evidence that he planted the bomb at Delhi's Barakhamba Road.

Another alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Saqib was also arrested. A gold medalist in economics honours from Jamia Millia University, he was a regular on Orkut. He maintained a profile like most users do and had a wide circle of friends.

Cops claim the 23-year-old was involved in both Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts. Saqib's family has countered the police claims and furnished documents to show that Saquib appeared for six exams from the 23rd of July to the 28th July -- the time that the police claim he was planning the blasts.

Shakib's brother says: "He was the topper in his class for the last two years."

The house where the men were staying and its caretaker are also under the scanner. The caretaker, who has worked in the PWD for several years, insists that he gave the details of the men staying at his home to the police almost a month before the blasts.

However, the police have now arrested him for forging these documents. His son has also been arrested for alleged nexus with the terrorists.

There are several such questions to which there are still no easy answers. And the police know they will have to find hard evidence to back each of their claims. However, they say the death of Inspector Sharma proves there was no fake encounter.

Mail Today

The Mali Today has also come out with a version raising many questions about the encounter:

It says two eyewitnesses of the September 19 cell action at Jamia Nagar have presented a version of the event that is at complete variance with what has been offered by Delhi Police.

Their reconstruction of the event, which indicates a scuffle had probably taken place before the shots were fired, many also explain why Jamia Nagar residents are not buying the police theory that the team has either eliminated or arrested the men allegedly behind the bomb blasts in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

This version given to MAIL TODAY on the condition of anonymity, squares up with the hitherto unreported autopsy report on Sharma and the nature of wounds on the bodies of the two young men killed by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The autopsy report on Sharma, which is with the Headlines Today, says he was shot at from extremely close range, no more than a few centimeters from him. he was hit by three bullets. All of them entered through the back and followed a top-to-down trajectory.

The body of one of the 'terrorists' bears injury marks, sharp wounds and multiple internal injuries in the stomach. Doctors say such injuries are usually attributed to a scuffle, a violent physical assault. Someone may even have stamped on him. His flatmate Mohammed Sajid also dead, was apparently shot in the head. Could his death too have occurred during the scuffle?

Further, could Inspector Sharma have been injured during the fisticuffs that ensued between the alleged Delhi bombers and the policemen who were raiding supposed terrorist hideouts? Is it possible that he suffered the injuries when a bullet went off accidentally during the scuffle?

There is no way to find out the kind of bullet injury that Sharma suffered. No bullets were found on his body during his autopsy. The medical bulletin of Holy family Hospital, where he was taken first, said no "foreign bodies were found in his chest and abdomen.

Mail Today took exhaustive eyewitness accounts of the police action on September 19. Eyewitnesses, who live in the immediate vicinity of L-18, Batla House - the alleged IM hideout - said the Special Cell team that raided the scene of action brought two young men to the ground floor from their fourth-floor flat. they had a verbal altercation with the two men and killed them after some of them realised Sharma had been shot.

Jamia Nagar residents had been seeing heightened activity by the policemen in civilian clothes for about a week before the police action. Yet, they were taken aback when a group of policemen in civvies surrounded L-18, Batla House, on September 19, for they had not seen any suspicious activity in their building. It is hard to keep secrets in the rabbit warren of apartment blocks in Jamia Nagar.

A member of the Special Cell first went up to the fourth-floor flat occupied by Atif and Sajid, pretending to be a cellphone salesman. the young men inside the flat did not receive the undercover policeman cordially. They entered into an argument with sub-inspector Ddharmender, who was pretending to be the salesman.

All this took place in front of the neighbours who had come out onto the balconies of their flats on hearing the commotion. Reacting immediately when the arguments started, the policemen waiting downstairs rushed up.

None of them had their guns out. Clearly, they were not expecting any armed resistance. One of the men, whom the eyewitnesses were able to identify after seeing his images on television, Sharma.

Speaking from behind a grill that covers the fourth-floor staircase at L-18, Sharma yelled at all the neighbours who had come out of their houses to go indoors because they could get hurt in the "firing". Residents of the area followed his instructions. But the eyewitnesses, being quoted by the Mail Today, watched the goings-on from behind their toilet windows.

They saw only two men in the flat. that leaves the man who was arrested from the spot, Mohammed Saif, and the two men who reportedly escaped during the police action unaccounted for.

They saw Sharma's men drag Atif and Sajid to the ground floor landing. The two men, who were subsequently killed, appeared to be in panic and unarmed at the time. No one could see what happened thereafter as the partly covered ground floor landing was not in their line of vision.

The eyewitness could hear the policemen hurling abuses at the two youngmen. This was followed by gunshots. Then someone shouted, "Sahab ko goli lag gayi (the boss has been shot)." The young men could not be hard in this commotion. After sometime, the eyewitnesses hear more gunshots. The policemen came into the view of our eyewitnesses. They were dragging the bodies of two men upstairs.

Around the same time, they saw sub-inspector Dharmender, and another policeman leading Sharma out of the building. The eyewitness couldn't figure out the extent of Sharma's injury from what they saw.

The bodies of two youngmen, meanwhile, were dragged up to their flat by the policemen. Then they wrapped the bodies with cloth.

According to the eyewitnesses, after the two bodies were taken away and piled into a police van, a group of policemen materialised out of the blue with three young men they had rounded up, seemingly from within the L-18 flats. They were unable to make out where the men came from. One of them, it appears now, was Mohammed Saif. He is now in the police custody.

The reconstruction by the eyewitnesses posed some questions. Why did two young men, and their alleged accomplices, not flee the scene or clean up their laptops even after everyone in the neighbourhood was aware of the heightened police presence in the area?

Why did the policemen not have their guns out when they rushed up to the flat after the argument broke out between sub-inspector Dharmender and the two men?

Was Sharma shot at by the alleged terrorists or was he a victim of collateral damage because he happened to be in the range of a ricocheting bullet?

'Multiple masterminds'

We are also forced to take a new look at the announcements made by the Police.

After killing the two youths Atif and Sajjid in Delhi, the special police cell chief Karnal Singh claimed that they were the masterminds behind the bombings of Uttar Pradesh courts (23 November, 2007), Jaipur bombings (13 May, 2008), Ahmedabad bombings (26 July, 2008), and Delhi bombings (13 September, 2008).

He also claimed that they were behind the Varanassi bombings of 2006 and Gorakhpur bombings of 2007. If what the Delhi police claim is true, what about the alleged mastermind that the Gujarat police arrested in connection with Ahmedabad bombings, Abu Basher?

Gujarat Police claimed that he was the master mind of all these bombings.

On September 24th, Mumbai Police have also arrested new 'masterminds' of all these blasts. Rajastan Police had arrested a cyber cafe owner, Shahbas Hussain. They also claim that he was the mastermind of the Jaipur blasts. Whom should we believe?

In the light of these revelations and views people in India and around the world may adopt a new stand: not to swallow the official versions as such.

------------ --------- ------- ------------ --------- -- ------------ -- ------------ ------ ------------ --
Jamia Nagar encounter: Alarm bells for the nation and the community
By Navaid Hamid
http://khabrein. info/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=17063&Itemid=88

Much has been said and written, in last few days, about the unearthing of the network of the terrorists killed and captured in and aftermath of the encounter at L-18, Batla House, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi. In coming days and weeks, the nation would hear and read new details of brief from security agencies, of the plot to destabilise the nation and that of new arrests in the conspiracy to terrorise the country.

Nearly all captured and killed belong to the lower middle strata of the Muslim community who have a highly brilliant educational profile and seem to be living a normal life with high dreams like any other young Indians would have.

The operation has come as a shock for the nation and the Muslim community. Till the black Friday of 9/19, the day on which the net work of the 'terrorists' was unearthed, the Indian Muslims have got words of praise even from the adversaries of Islam and Muslims, from Evangelist President Bush of America to Hindutva mascot Advani in India, for keeping themselves aloof from the groups of the militants confronting the aggressions in Iraq, American led operations in Afghanistan and armed struggle in J&K by separatists in India.

As news spread like a wild fire of the operation at Jamia Nagar, people across the nation watched TV sets in disbelief and confusion. By evening nation got brief of claims, from the security agencies, about the combing operation and unearthing of the 'terrorists' group in the capital, responsible for the bomb attacks in Delhi and other parts of the country. From the claims of the security agencies and the live electronic media trial, nation got first hand information of the indigenous Muslim terrorist network.

While the combing was still in process, the residents of the locality, civil rights groups and the Muslim organisations started raising serious reservations about the operations because of the history of the fake encounters along with the role of security agencies to demonise the Muslim community and the haste of the electronic media to sensationalise the news to raise their viewer ship rate, in past.

Incidentally the confusion, disbelief and shock remain even after so many days of the encounter. A substantial segment of Indian society, even after 60 years of democratic journey of the nation, thinks that it is obligatory for Muslims to believe with blind eyes what ever the security agencies wishes to brief and if they dares to do analysis of the events and reports, the dangers of bracketing them with anti national activities looms large over their heads.

In the Jamia shoot out, with the death of a brilliant Police officer, an encounter specialist and leader of the combing operation who died due to excess bleeding and heart attack after gun injuries in the operation, the security agencies version got weight age and wide acceptability. But still more steps and transparency are needed to convenience the nation.

The shoot out has deeply divided the society and urgent steps are required to control the damage.

The incident has nearly polarised all sections of Muslim society not only in the area around the Jamia and other Muslim concentrated localities in Delhi but also in the targeted villages and lanes around and in Azamgarh in U.P.

The Nation's official electronic channel and Radio felt it in national interest to give wide publicity to the news of transaction of 30 million rupees in one of the account of the suspect of the Delhi Bomb blast and combing operation of Jamia but transaction of few thousands was discovered after cross check from the Bank in Azamgarh. Such conflicting versions strengthen the suspicion of the civil society and the Muslim community about encounters.

There should be no problem for initiating a judicial enquiry of the Jamia encounter if the slate of the security agencies is clean and they have ample evidences against the arrested and killed suspects.

It was nothing but to demonise the entire Muslim community when the Delhi Police paraded the arrested youths with heads covered with Arabian scarf with a desire to substantiate the theory of Islamic terrorists which is un acceptable to every single Muslim in the country. The over zealots in the security agencies fails to understands that such acts are counter productive and harmful even in fight against terrorism.

The sense of 'perceived injustice' and demonisation acts is strengthening the anger and frustration which would be counter productive in the fight against terror and violence.

Now when the un believable has happened and confronting versions are coming with every passing hour, the nation and the community should seriously ponder over the fall out of the incident. If we sincerely desire that the Indian Muslims must accept the version of the security agencies about the Jamia operation, it is in the national interest to go in depth about the reasons behind the emergence of educated young Muslims involvement in acts of violence and terrorism.

We have seen how the Islamic madarsas have been targeted in past about their role in propagation of Jihad and anti national activities. The Muslim community has expected that NDA's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Lal Krishan Advani would keep his promise and bring a white paper on the anti national activities of the madarsas and their role in propagation of Jihad but his government lost power with out any progress on the front.

Now when the biggest Islamic institution in India, Darul Uloom Deoband has categorically denounced the acts of terrorism, issued a "Fatwa" against misuse of Islam and had term the acts of violence against tenets of Islam and as we find not a single name from the Islamic Madarsas in India, involved in any kind of violent or terrorist activity in any part of the country, new phenomenon has emerged in recent past.

Wherever there have been arrests of Muslim youths for any kind of violent activity in recent past, majority of the arrested youths have highly modern educational profile with brilliant academic career. These youths have not even seen the gates of Islamic madarsa's in their life.

As per the version of the security agencies the arrested youths in different incidents in past, from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad and from Delhi to Mumbai and Karnataka, have claimed to be part of the terror network with one commonality, the commonality to take revenge of Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 in which more than 2000 innocent Muslim youths, women children were brutally killed and property worth billions were vandalsied and torched.

If we accepts the theory of the security agencies in black and white, every nationalist have a right to know about the measures taken to address the grievances.

We have silently witnessed that nothing seriously was done to give justice to the victims of Mumbai riots of 1992 and the Modiete pogrom of Gujarat. Who can deny that few victims of Gujarat has got some kind of reprieve and justice due to the intervention of the Supreme Court only.

Finance Minister Mr. P. Chidambaran gave a courageous statement while delivering Filed Marshal Carriapa's Lecture recently by admitting that alienation of the Muslim community in the country is taking educated Muslims towards "path of violence".

There is no denying fact that the more and more educated Muslim youths are loosing hope in the democratic system of the nation as in democracy the numbers are important and these youths feel that the political leadership of the nation is doing great harm to them by turning their faces away from them as they don't have numbers. They wish an inclusive policy for them but get cold response from the polity. Unfortunately majority of the Muslim politicians are shy to advocate their case and are busy in safeguarding their interests for their own survival.

It is high time that instead of jerk reactions, the Muslim leadership and community's organisations should sit together to plan joint strategies to fight the onslaught and do urgent home work to consul the agitated young minds of the community before it's too late. Leadership have to convey a strong message in the community that the path of violence would lead us to nowhere and would do more harm to us beside strengthing the hands of community's adversaries.

It is in the national interest that the political leadership of the nation must find consensus for having an inclusive policy for all including Muslims. To convince the Muslim community and the civil society about the fair and impartial role of the security agencies, some kind of mechanism needs to be developed and the easiest ways seems to be constitution of Judicial Commission to probe every terrorist activity in the country. This is necessary because nation has witnessed that majority of the arrested Muslim youths, in past, have got reprieve from courts during the trials as Anti-Terrorism Squad fails to convince the courts about its charges against the arrested youths.

It is a sad story that more and more Bar Councils in the country are passing resolutions asking its members not to take cases of the arrested Muslim suspects. Hyderabad has witnessed violent assault on Muslim Advocates when they decided to defend the arrested Muslim youths. Who can deny that a good majority from more than 180 Muslim youths arrested for terrorist activities were acquitted in the trial court in Andhra Pradesh and just two suspects are facing charges in Hyderabad blasts.

In Delhi, an advocate has withdrawn himself from the defense Counsel of the arrested suspect. It would be great injustice if nation expects that Muslims must also crucify the arrested suspects with out fair trials.

Knives are out against the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mushir ul Hasan of Jamia Millia Islamia, the institution which was at the forefront of the freedom struggle and was established to strengthen the composite fabric and plural structure of Indian society, for daring to take a courageous step to provide legal aid to two of its students who are suspects in the Delhi Blasts. The purpose seems to not to defend them but to give them a chance to prove their innocence in court. For BJP it is an anti national act.

Leave alone the perpetrators of the mass crimes against hapless Muslims in Mumbai riots and the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, even the killers of Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, Former Prime Ministers Indra Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have a right to get them defended but the arrested Muslim suspects deserves to be hanged without fair trial.

In an ideal state it is paramount duty of the establishment to convince every group and race, by actions, about the impartiality of the state apparatus.

The nation has witnessed the casual behavior of state apparatus when it comes to take even notice of the activities of Bajrang Dal and VHP. Bombs were not only recovered from activists of Bajrang Dal from the State of Maharashtra, U.P. and Orissa, but its activists were killed while developing bombs in Kanpur in State of Uttar Pradesh. Camps of arms training were organized for its cadres but we see no action from the security agencies against the militant Hindutva outfit.

In last two months, Bajrang Dal and VHP activists have killed and attacked Christians, vendalised and torched Churches from Uttarakhand to Orissa and Karnataka but hapless nation waits for more attacks from them on minorities.

The acts of demonising the Muslim community would do more harm instead of solving problems and further alienate Muslims besides posing great dangers for the nation. The politicalisation of terrorism and the victimization of the Muslim community would undoubtly further breed real terrorists in the Muslim community. Nation should rise above petty politics and politicalisation of terrorism must stop at once.

(Navaid Hamid is Secretary, South Asian Council for Minorities and can be reached at navaidhamid@ gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

============ ========= ========= ==
September 25, 2008
Media manipulation by police to create a distinct communalied imagery by Sadanand Menon
http://communalism. blogspot. com/2008/ 09/media- manipulation- by-police- to-create. html
The Uses and Misuses of Photographs

Monday, September 22 was an extraordinary day in the annals the Indian media. I would like to call it a day of shame. For, on that day, our media collectively displayed its herd-like mentality and its entirely uncritical attitude to the use – and misuse – of the photographs it publishes.

At least eight mainstream English language newspapers (including The Times of India, The Indian and The New Indian Express, The Hindu, the Hindustan Times, The Deccan Chronicle) and many more in the language press from North to South and East to West, uncritically published almost identical photographs on their front pages. The photographs were not generated by any single agency. They were neither taken by 'citizen' photographers nor were they official handouts. They were shots by individual staff photographers as well as professional syndicated photographers. What is amazing is what newsrooms across the country chose to do with the image.

The photographs were of three suspects involved in the Delhi blasts, who were arrested from their residence in Delhi's Jamia Nagar. Reports also claimed they were students of the Jamia Milia Islamia. What was fishy about the photographs was that they showed three totally unidentifiable people, their head and face completely swathed in generous length of cloth, flanked by gun-toting policemen in mufti and other hangers-on. Yet it seemed obvious that this was a photo-op provided to the media – not to protect anyone's identity – but to precisely create a definite sense of identity.

For all the three suspects, to mask their identity, were tricked up by the local police in identical 'Palestinian Rumaals' or kaffiyehs or abayas or cassavas as this piece of head-dress is variously known. Though none of their faces were visible, to any casual reader of the newspapers it would be abundantly clear that they were of 'Arab', 'West Asian' or 'Islamic' origin. A clear case of racial profiling!

Some sceptical comments about this on the net, primarily generated by documentary film maker Yousuf Sayeed who lives in the same area, led to a small critical piece in The Hindustan Times two days later, raising critical questions. The sceptics wondered how it came about that the three arrested suspects came to be in possession of identical, brand new rumaals, which they could readily pull out of their pockets to cover their faces. As if, upon realising they might be arrested soon, they went shopping and bought identical scarves, so that everyone will recognise them as 'Islamic terrorists'. Critics pointed out that usually suspects arrested on various charges mask their faces with their own handkerchiefs or borrow towels or black cloth to hood their faces; never before had it seemed like such a costume drama as the Delhi police had managed to stage.

Then came the stunning revelation by the Delhi police commissioner. He confessed that it was his department which had dressed up the suspects in such a suggestive manner and, even more alarmingly, that the Delhi police had purchased these pieces of cloth "in bulk" for use by those arrested. Obviously, every arrested person could now be given a suggestive 'Islamic terrorist' look, thereby setting up dangerous subliminal propaganda within the media.

Repulsive as it is, most people will agree that the Police and its dirty-tricks department are not beyond using such obnoxious methods. What is beyond explanation is how the media collectively fell into this trap and carried these images without a single question mark or doubt about what they so readily display on their front pages.

For those not used to thinking about these things, the question can be framed a little differently. It has to do with conceptual issues related to the use (or misuse) of the image in the media. On any given day, hundreds of thousands of photographs are clicked. Of these, by common consensus, and governed by a largely abstract logic dealing with the received wisdom of 'news-value' or 'news-worthiness' , about five hundred to a thousand pictures might be considered for use within the media. After that, it is quite chancy or dependent on strong editorial choices why a photograph makes it to the papers, in particular the front page.

The front page photo, in the world of the print media, is usually associated with an iconic status. It is supposed be a quick encapsulation of what a paper or a region or a nation or a civilisation imagines as its primary concern. It frames the news of the day with a kind of visual evidence or back-up which then illustrates how it wants to set up the communication and how it wants the readers to enter the narrative.

Very seldom, across 365 days in a year, do we find identical images on the front page. That is supposed to be the greatness and the strength of democratic media practice that editorial position and interpretation of events can vary. It is also part of the notion of healthy competition in the media that variety, diversity and contrariness are seen as virtues – that a news item or image which is used sycophantically by one section of the press, can as easily be used critically by another section of the same press.

That is why, when you come across a substantial section of the national press use just one common image on their front page, and that too without an critical remarks or interrogative comments, one begins to smell the operation of 'ideology', which is nothing but a blind acceptance of certain 'ruling' ideas of a class or of a moment – ideas that indicate the power structures within which 'information' and 'meaning' are manufactured.

To me it is shattering, that on the evening of September 21, across the newsrooms of the best of Indian newspapers, not one editorial discussion chose to evaluate the photograph of the three arrested youngsters draped in checked cloth and use their judgement to 'read' the picture in a dispassionate manner worthy of a free press. Instead the Indian media collectively behaved as they had not even during the period of the Emergency and its draconian censorship. They all fell prey to their own sense of prejudice and communal mindset. The Nazi propaganda machine could not have expected to produce better results.

Obviously, Indian media needs to re-investigate the 'frame' within which it is presenting, colouring and analysing news. Such evidence of a collective cop-out is a serious failing, which it needs to critically examine and carry out correctives. In fact, this is a fit case for being taken before the Press Council.

Shame, a little shame is all that the media needs. For shame as Marx said, is a revolutionary sentiment.

Penis size and sex

2008-09-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

Now a days there has been a great increase in the number of extra marital relations and divorces. Most of them are due to inadequate sexual relations between the partners. And according a study in west the main cause is stated as it is due to the small size of male penis. Unbelievably is the talk in the town now. Most of the researchers say it as the right reason.

Do you think so. But studies show that longer penis gives more confidence to males and can do better to please their partners. So you may be wondering whether you have a large or small penis, how do you compare to other men? There have been two credible studies in the past 5 years on the average penis size of men. A study conducted in September 1996 by the Journal of Urology found that the average penis size was approximately 12.9 cm, which is about 5 inches. An alternate study published in the December 2000 International Journal of Impotence Research indicates that the average penis length is about 5.35 inches.

Now a new product has been in the market now for penis enlargement. It is very effective and many people are using this product very effectively. The important advantage of this product is that it can give you good result with out affecting you health. It has been also approved by various doctors worldwide. You can also get adequate information from penis enlargement forum. This forum gives info about various products for penis enlargement. You can also get more information from x4 labs reviews, about how to increase your penis size

India, France to Enhance Nuclear Trade, Co-operation‏

2008-09-16T04:25:00.002-07:00

France will become the first country to conduct nuclear business with India. Both countries will sign a previously agreed text for bilateral civil nuclear cooperation on September 30 during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris, according to the Hindustan Times Sunday.

With this, both New Delhi and Paris have signaled that they won't wait for the ratification of the civilian nuclear agreement between India and the United States, which is now before the U.S. Congress. So, even if the U.S. Congress doesn't pass the deal, India will become a nuclear customer for France, the report said.

It also said that with the French already ready with the ink and paper, Russia can't be far behind. Sources confirmed a statement made by Russian Ambassador to India, Vyacheslav Trubnikov on Saturday, that an Indo-Russian agreement to buy reactors and fuel will be signed during the visit of President Dimitry Medvedev to New Delhi in December.

India is looking to buy uranium from Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) nations willing to sell to India.

However, recently India was ruffled by U.S. President George W. Bush's communication to the U.S. Congress suggesting that Washington had made no legally binding commitments on the supply of nuclear fuel to New Delhi. India plans to raise these issues before the two countries finally sign the deal.

Mr. Bush has invited Prime Minster Manmohan Singh to Washington on September 25 when both sides hope to sign the agreement, provided it has been approved by the U.S. Congress by then, sources said Saturday.

Israel Likely to Train Indian Counter Terror Special Forces‏

2008-09-16T04:25:00.001-07:00

OC Ground Forces Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi paid an unscheduled visit to the disputed state of Kashmir last week to get an up-close look at the challenges the Indian military faces in its fight against Islamic insurgents. Mizrahi was in India for three days of meetings with the country's military brass and to discuss a plan the IDF is drafting for Israeli commandos to train Indian counterterror forces.

Under the proposed agreement, the IDF would send highly-trained commandos to train Indian soldiers in counterterror tactics, urban warfare and fighting in guerrilla settings. Mizrahi's visit to Kashmir was reportedly kept secret at the time since India feared it could spark violence in the disputed state; it was subsequently reported widely in the Indian and Pakistani press.

Media reports said Mizrahi spent several hours at the Akhnoor Military Base in Kashmir where he gave a lecture to senior officers on counterterror operations. India is the largest importer of arms from Israel and since 2002 has bought more than $5 billion worth of equipment.While Mizrahi's visit did not spark violence it did upset Kashmir nationalists. The Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau has recommended that Israelis refrain from visiting Kashmir.

Farooq Ahmad Dar, a senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, told an Indian Qeb site the visit was "part of plan under which India intends to suppress the ongoing intifada movement in Kashmir by dint of power, and change Kashmir's demography."

On Friday, hundreds of Muslims participated in pro-independence rallies across Indian Kashmir, leading to scattered clashes with government forces that left at least two protesters dead and dozens wounded. Separatist leaders have warned Indian authorities that the situation could spiral out of control if they "use force to break peaceful protests."

More than two months of angry protests, some of the biggest anti-India demonstrations in two decades, have left at least 43 people dead in Indian-controlled Kashmir, most of them killed when soldiers opened fire on Muslim protesters. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947, when the two countries fought their first war over the region in the aftermath of Britain's partition of the subcontinent.

Both countries continue to claim all of Kashmir.

Greatest Spy Master Ajit Doval, ex-IB chief on India intelligence

2008-09-16T04:23:00.000-07:00

Anand:Goodevening Mr. Ajit ! The Delhi blasts have once again proved beyond doubt that terrorists are miles ahead of the IB when it comes to planning and execution. Whats also becoming clear is that increasingly they are getting the erudite & tech savvy lot to join their bastions to disrupt the peace in this country by choosing locations at will and with an intention to cause maximum harm. These are ominous signs that we need to nip the evil in the bud or be prepared to witness bloodshed in front of our eyes. No doubt, society at large has a role to play. The simple tenet 'Know thy neighbor' needs to be practised to be aware of one's surroundings. As someone who has been part of the counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence operations, where do you think the lacunae lie and how can we prevent such mindless acts of terror from becoming a routine affair ?
Ajit Doval: Firstly, let me assure you that India's intelligence capabilities are not as low as rated by you. Of course, any major blast is a failure and accountability must be fixed. But more important is the intelligence agencies initiating pre-emptive actions to degrade the capabilities of subversive and terrorist organisations. In a large country with democratic freedom 24 x 7 security cannot be ensured and some desperate persons, if they have got the training equipment and motivation to cause explosions, they can't always be prevented. But what is more important is that they are neutralised before they acquire and position these capabilities to bleed the nation. I think covert offensive operations duly empowered and legalised by the state will help a lot provided the nation can muster political will for that.

shridhar:After major blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedbad, Jaipur; Now in Delhi. It is really a shame on Indian intelligence. Are you still waiting for the same to happen in all other Indian cities? Better to implement POTA, to nab terrorism. What do you say about this, sir....!
Ajit Doval: I think in today's conditions even POTA is not sufficient. WEe need to go for laws tougher than that with the provision that any misuse will also be a punishable offence within the Act.

chandan sharma:Does india need to become more aggressive when dealing with issues related to pakistan and do we need an organization like CIA which are not only meant for intelligence gathering but which can eliminate prospective threats within and outside the country through unofficial means.
Ajit Doval: I think we need to bring all central intelligence agencies under one umbrella to ensure seamless integration in their operations, assessments and response. We also need to take a re-look about how to deal with Pakistan from an intelligence perspective. Indian intelligence overall needs to show greater aggressiveness in its approach towards safeguarding vital national interests.

chenna padmati:Dear Ajit Joval Sir, Though we are seeing the bomb blasts occuring in USA, UK and India, but the frequency at which these are occuring in India is very high. After the London blasts the UK police have thwarted all other attempts by terrorists. What are the reasons in India for having so many Blasts? I would like to know how Indian intelligence differs from US and UK. Please give your answer in detail.
Ajit Doval: I think the first difference is the mere size of the problem that is faced by them and by us. They do not have 15,000 kms of land border of which nearly 9,000 is with Pakistan and Bangladesh which account for infiltration of terrorists, smuggling of arms and explosives and the terrorists finding easy sanctuaries across the borders. Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India and hence the terrorist and subversive groups have received major support from Pakistan to bleed India which is not the case with the UK. Unfortunately, in India the fight against terror has been politicised and there is no national political consensus on the issue which exists in most of the Western countries. India has also not been able to bring in tough anti-terror laws like the UK and other Western countries despite the fact that it has been the world's largest victim of terrorism.

Rohit Kundra:Hello Mr Doval, You obviously have a very healthy and wise experience in Regards to Intelligence, can you tell the Failures of RAW,IB can be attributed to Red Tape , Buerocracy which I am very sure is one of the causes of our Faillure to to prevent any incident.Look at Israel, probably 1/10 size of india, and 100 times better Intelligence Operations compared to our own, better than the US I would assume, Do we need Government Interference at all, since Govt is anyways hopeless and hapless in most cases.
Ajit Doval: Red tape is definitely a big stumbling block in a country's performance in various areas of governance. Security and intelligence are no exceptions. I think there is an urgent need for de-bureaucratising India's intelligence agencies both form outside and within.

Sriram:Does it demotivate you, as a person fighting terror that SIMI was once banned only to be allowed to function once the Govt changed and so did the affiliations and vote bank?
Ajit Doval: I think the overall approach towards radical extremist groups including SIMI has been rather soft. The Govt should have been more firm in dealing with SIMI.

Abhishek:As a common citizen, how can we contribute to improve the situation?
Ajit Doval: Maintaining a high degree of alert and informing the police if anything suspicious comes to your notice.

Nagarajan:Don't you think it's ikpossible for the intelligence agencies to locate the various spots in a particular city where the terrorist group are planning to strike unless the netowrk is smashed beforehand. It's therefore important to strenghthen ground level pollicing at crowded who become police infomer for intelligence agencies.
Ajit Doval: It is not impossible for the intel agencies to strike at their hideouts but they can do it only with the full involvement of police authorities. Intelligence operatives do not have powers of the law to strike on their own , arrest, seize, or raid terrorist premises. These powers are only with the police.

Malay Ray:Why can't we have tougher laws to punish all close relatives of terrorists ? It is understandable that some innocent people will suffer; but aren't the people suffering from these expolsions innocent too ? That's one way to build social and emotional pressure on terrorists.
Ajit Doval: The basic jurisprudence of our criminal law is opposed to the idea of sharing responsibility for criminal actions by those who are not co-conspirators or part of a criminal act. Unless we can prove that the family members had connived, no action can be taken against them. I don't think that in today's world, it will be possible to make laws holding innocent persons, even if they are family members, accountable for the acts of a particular terrorist.

Aditya Sanghi:Hi, When we got to know about operation BAD, the next target was to be delhi, isnt it a total failure of our intelligence that even after getting the code word, we were not able to avoid these blasts? It brings up a big question mark on the competence level of the intellegence if they are at all keeping pace with technology. Such attacks can never be avoided by police, it needs to be owned by the intellegence. Thanks, Aditya Sanghi Informatica Business Solutions
Ajit Doval: Intelligence working is not confined only to intelligence agencies. The local police has to know their area, the movement and activities of people operating there and ground level sources of information at police station level. Once the intelligence about likely terroirts strikes in Delhi were known, the organisation which is likely to strike, identity of some of its oeprators etc had been obtained particularly after detailed interrogations of arrested SIMI activists. The police apparatus should have been more vigilant and pro-active.

RK:Sir, I don't blame the Intelligence Agencies. Don't do feel that without strong anti-terror laws, its too much to ask from Intelligence Agencies ?
Ajit Doval: I totally agree that intelligence by itself is not the complete answer to terrorist threat. Even if one knows many things but is unable to take any action for want of suitable laws and other empowerments, the problem can't be tackled. India needs very strong anti-terror laws to make use of the knowledge avaialble about the terrorists and their overground support base.

nitinmjh:Hello Sir...i wish to know how was terrorism countered and curbed in Punjab and can't we adopt similar kind of strategies and policies to curb this islamic terror as well?? Thanks Nitin
Ajit Doval: I think there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from Punjab as also successes in north-eastern states like Mizoram. At the same time, it is important to understand that all conflicts have their own special characteristics and one model cannot be automatically supplanted in another theatre. Actually, we can learn more from our Kashmir experience in dealing with radical Islamist extremist threat.

ANIL SHETTY:After 9/11 - attack on USA. there is no attack on USA more than 7 years. If they can mainain their security. Why we cannot maintain atleast 50% of them.
Ajit Doval: All security systems operate in a certain environment and setting. Our intrenal and extermal environment as also availability of resources are quite different than what is obtaining in the US. They have taken a doctrinal decision to take the war from where terror threat emanates. That is in their defensive-offence mode. So the theatre of conflict is say in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or other countries. For various reasons, we are operating in a defensive mode. There is a need to have a re-look at overall strategy to tackle terrorism.

Armoredfish:What do the intelligence agencies normally do? That has to be told to the public now. It is time. It is mostly political intelligence for the ruling party. We do not have any covert agency like the MI6 or the U.K or elsewhere. What is your take on this?
Ajit Doval: Intelligence agencies provide knowledge component at policy formulation, policy execution and operational levels. We do have an elaborate intelligence network covering all the areas of internal and external intelligence. The Indian intelligence agencies are as covert but at the same time accountable to the government as MI-5 & MI-6. However, their activities can't be disclosed to the public and large number of misgivings about their poor performance are because of ignorance about their role and activities. There are large number of successes to their creidt of intelligence agencies which unfortunately can't be shared with teh public. Nevertheless, there is need for considerable imporvement.

Vivek:Good Evening Mr. Doval, Is our security apparatus so weak that these attacks just can't be stopped or it merely shows the lack of political will on the part of current government to deal with it.
Ajit Doval: Security apparatus is not weak but obviously in recent years has not been able to cope with the challenges faced by it. There is an urgent need to strengthen and reorgnaise it. Political will is of course the most important component of response mechanism. It detremines the response, capability, in various other allied areas, including efficiency of police forces. Of late, we find poor political will in fighting terrorism.

Aditya Sanghi:Hi, Me as a lay man gets a feeling that there isnt any coordination between states which is one of the major reasons for the failure of intellegence. What one state says seems to be ignored by the other state or centre. How true is this? Is there a scope for improvement and if yes then what are the top three things that come to your mind to improve this? Thanks and regards, Aditya Sanghi Informatica Business Solutions
Ajit Doval: It is not true that there is no coordiantion amongts the states though there is nothing so good which cannot be improved. The problem lies at times in legal; formalities which have to be completed before action or info provided by one state to the other is complied with. For eg, Gujarat Police could not arrest Abu Basheer from Azamgarh though they had info about his activities. UP Police also could not hand over Basherr after arresting him till he was produced in teh court of law and orders obtained. In this interim, lots of useful clues were lost and many conspirators got alerted and fled. In some of the states there is no sensitivity to terrorism and their police forces do not take follow-up action as fast as possible. However, gradually more and more states are coming forward to extend their cooperatioon.

aathrey:Do you think there is a need for special central Intelligence agency with quick hassle free communication from the top to bottom and vice-versa and from one corner to the other with no politician poking their nose.
Ajit Doval: As`far as intelligence agencies are concerned they do have fast and dependable channels of communication. However, what is needed is a nationwide security communication grid which can integrate communcaition between intelligence agencies , police forces , paramilitarty organsiations and defence forces where they are involved in internal security duties. Such a grid should also be connected to national data bank on terrorists so that any information regardign the terrorists, their plans, movements which are known in one part of the country are automatically trasnmitted and accessed by other agencies.

vinay:Our intelligence seem to lag in terms of technology and I.T. Also some hidden traffic cameras would have been helpful. Does our intelligence department spend enough money to upgrade itself from time to time ?
Ajit Doval: Technology is an important component of modern day inetlligence. All Indian agencies do have high tech capabilities besides having a separate organsiation known as National Technical Facilities organsisation which is dedicated to developmnet of new tech and integration. Some highly eminent scientists are involved in tech developmnet for intelligence services. As far as hiddne cameras is concerned, it is a good preventive and detective measure that can be used for policing purposes. It is being used in some areas. However, it does not come within the domain of intelligence technical gadgetry.

Source: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=10297

Some Views on Nuclear Agreement between India - USA

2008-09-11T01:54:00.000-07:00

Nuclear Agreement between India - USA :MUST READ BY EVERY INDIAN

There are lot of talks about 1 2 3 Agreement between India & USA and it
almost led to the topple of Central Government. In this mail I am trying

to explain the commercial & technical aspects relating to this Agreement
which I have read and sharing with you.

What is 123 Agreement?

This is called 123 Agreement because this comes under USA's Atomic Power
Act Section 123.
Let's see how India's (Indians?) Sovereinty & Independence are
pledged...

(1) After this Agreement USA will supply all fuel, machinery / equipment
& technology to India for producing Nuclear Power.

(2) All these days from about 22 Nuclear Power Plants, India is
producing power as well as Atom. It's a high security / secret that
from where which is produced, how much is produced, where it is
supplied, what research is being done with that, etc. to anybody. But
if we sign this Agreement, we have to disclose these secrets and also
agree to 14 of our Nuclear Power Plants to be under the scanner of
International Atomic Power Organisation.

(3) The fuel utilised to produce Atomic Power can be recycled for reuse
and this plant will be under direct supervision of IAPO.

If India does nuclear test, this agreement gets cancelled. But

(1) USA will take back all the machinery / equipments / technology
supplied to India thus far.

(2) Those 14 plants will continue to be under scanner irrespective of
the status of the agreement.

On the other hand, if any of the commitments given by USA is breached by
them, then there is no clause for cancelling this agreement.

The agreement is apparently like this... USA can either hug India or
slap India. India will not ask why are we hugged or why are we slapped.

On the other hand, India cannot hug or slap USA for breach of agreement.

This is only capsule so that easy to read and digest.

Subject: India Pledged.... Part 2

Requirement of Power

The most important requirement for India's Economic Growth in the coming
years will be the power & infrastructure. The argument put forth
favouring the 123 Agreement says that we need Nuclear Power Production
to be increased to meet the demand.

Power Production in India

Presently following are the figures:

Thermal Power 66%

Hydel Power 26%

Solar & Wind Power 5% - Presently Rs.600 Crores are spent for producing
this power.

Nuclear Power 3% - If this is to be increased to 6%, it
requires additional Rs.50,000 Crores.

Naturally it will be wise to increase other 3 modes of power production
rather than the expensive & dangerous Nuclear Power. Isn't??

URANIUM

We used to import Uranium from various other countries. After the
Pokran Test, we are not getting it. To augment the supply, we need to
sign the 123 Agreement to get Uranium from USA. But we will have to
declare to USA from which power plant India takes raw material for
producing Atom Bomb. Why should we disclose our internal secrets to
those rascals ? Will any one allow an outsider to continuously monitor
what's happening in your Hall & Kitchen of your house? Other study
reveals that Uranium is available in India aplenty. Only hurdle is the
acquisition of land. To produce Atomic Power & Bomb in the next 40
years, the requirement of Uranium is 25,000 MT whereas the availability
is 78,000 MT across India.

PLUTONIUM

Presently 35% of Plutonium is used to produce Atomic Bombs. After
signing the Agreement, we will be allowed to use only 10%. Who are those
rascals to restrict the usage of our natural resource ? That is though
you are capable of cooking & eating 10 idlis as your breakfast, you are
allowed only 3 idlis henceforth. How can it be? Why should we accept
this?

THORIUM

As told by Dr.APJ, we have abundant Thorium. In fact we are the 2nd
largest producer of Thorium next only to Australia. India has to
explore this further for producing power. For your information, in
South India - particularly around Kanyakumari, the availability of
Thorium is abundant.

INDIA-IRAN-CHINA

USA does not like the amicable relationship between India-Iran and also
India-China. If India-China relationship gets stronger, then both these
can rule the Eastern Part of the Globe which USA wants to break as per
their divide & rule.

By signing this agreement, USA wants India to depend on it for producing
power which is going to be a crucial factor in future. There is a talk
of bringing Natural Gas from Iran to India with a big pipeline project.
USA doesn't like this proposal.

Atomic Power Technology

Whether power is produced or Bomb is produced, using Atomic power
without spoiling the infrastructure and without allowing the radiation
is always under threat. Moreover preserving the wastes coming out of
Atomic Power Plants is expensive & unsafe.

There was an accident in Three Miles Island in USA. To close this plant
nearly USD 200 Crores spent with tons & tons of concrete but yet to be
fully closed..

In an another accident at Soviet Union's Serbia Plant, even the next
generation child are affected due to the radiation.

It will be very very expensive to defuse & close down an Atomic Power
Plant than its construction cost.

France

France has got 56 Nuclear Power stations producing 73% of the country's
total power requirement. They are catching up the problem of
eliminating the wastes / emissions from out of those plants at the same
time increase the power production capacity. Government of France is
now thinking how to reduce the power consumption in the country.

Conclusion

In view of the above danger, rather than signing the agreement and
pledging India to USA, it will be prudent to increase the Solar & Wind
Energy and more importantly Hyder Power Production can be increased by
linking all rivers across India and by constructing DAMS. (Ofcourse Dam
construction projects can be given to L&T's B&F Sector:-)

The whole process of this Agreement started in the year 2005 when
Manmohan visited USA. In a span of just 2 years a major decision of
signing this agreement has taken place with political motive. On the
contrary, neither this Government nor any other earlier Central
Government could not amend the Constitution thereby nationalise the
rivers across the country thereby effectively utilise the water
resources for both Agriculture purpose and producing Hydel Power. What
an irony?

Whenever someone is helping the needy, you can't expect the TERMS AND
CONDITIONS BETWEEN THE needy and the helper to be EQUAL??? BUT

(1) the helper's ulterior motive should be seen with broad eye because
he is capable of digging a grave behind you and

(2) better to be self-sufficient and explore new avenues with available
resources.

INDIA-CHINA- USA

India is very rich in Culture, follow Religions, Value Ethics, Level of
Education is Very Good.

China is also rich in Culture, follow Religion, better disciplined.

USA does not have Culture, does not have Ethics, only want power over
others. Particularly wants a firm footing in South Asia. Remember the
introduction EURO by European Countries and it is stronger than Dollar?
So their "DAL" cannot be boiled at "EUROPE". They are trying in India
as already Pakistan is in their clutches.

Be Slim

2008-09-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Having a good figure is the most important dream of the young generation.The young generation moves behind various products to make them fit and slim.Tho
For that purpose the drug Phentermine
is highly effective.This has been widely used by many people world wide and provides adequate result to them.
Phentermine is a drug which is classified under the group amphetamine and phenethylamine class. It itself is not an amphetamine. In 1959, the FDA approved this substance as an appetite suppressant drug and since then has been widely used to help obese patients to suppress hunger and lose weight.
Phentermine is an effective appetite suppressant which can help many obese and overweight individuals in their endeavour to lose weight. It works by stimulating the neuro-transmitters which regulate the food consumption of the body. Consumption of this medication basically arouses the specific neuro-transmitters increasing the rate of heart beat and blood pressure, thereby reducing your appetite. In this way, you would eat in smaller portions resulting in weight loss.

This weight loss treatment is intended to be accompanied with a proper diet plan and regular exercise regime. For achieving optimistic weight loss results stick strictly to your doctor’s prescription. Dosage of this medication is determined by a doctor in accordance to your medical condition and individual specific requirement. It is available in the strength of 15mg, 30mg, and 37.5mg Phentermine pills.

Ensure a few precautionary measures while pursuing this medication to gain the maximum weight loss benefits out of this medication. Women planning pregnancy, pregnant women, nursing mothers, children below the age of 12 years are not suggested use of this medication. Notify your doctor pertaining to your medical record so as to avert contraindication of this medication.

Engaging in hazardous activities such as operating machinery, driving a motor vehicle amid others should be done with caution while on this medication.

With a short span of time your body may develop a tolerance towards this appetite suppressant. On such an occasion rather than increasing your dosage of this medication, discontinue its usage. It is to be noted that discontinuation of this medication should be made in consultation with a doctor.

Online pharmacies offer the facility of easy accessibility of this prescription medication. Phentermine can’t be accessed without a prescription. Online Phentermine purchase solves this hurdle too by giving access to online prescription, without running around the doctor’s clinic.
This a very cheap pill and can be used to treat your obesity.Have a look at the pill at Cheap Phentermine.It may be useful to you or your friends

Help Desk by Government of India for NRIs

2008-07-02T05:40:00.002-07:00

He was always outspoken, and his willingness to express his own opinions sometimes got him into trouble. In 1961 he was sidelined after speaking out against the defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon's strategy in the northern border with China. A year later Indian forces suffered defeat at the hands of the Chinese in the Indo-Sino war and Manekshaw was rushed to the region to command the retreating Indian forces. His first order to troops was that there was to be "no withdrawal without written orders and these orders shall never be issued".
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: Outspoken Indian Army chief

http://www.independ ent.co.uk/ news/obituaries/ field-marshal- sam-manekshaw- outspoken- indian-army- chief-856109. html

A story told of the barbed and occasionally barrack-room humour of Sam Manekshaw has him visiting his unit and being told of a soldier who had been punished after contracting a venereal disease. Asking what punishment had been meted out, he was told that the soldier's head had been shaved. "Shaved?" he roared in response. "Dammit. He didn't do it with his head."

Manekshaw was the archetypal solider, the so-called "soldiers' general" who over the space of four decades rose to the highest rank in India's army, serving as Chief of Staff from 1969 until 1973. He was one of just two Indian soldiers to be designated Field Marshal.

That appointment followed what was considered to be his greatest moment, when he drew up the tactics and strategy for India in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war which saw Pakistani forces routed in just 14 days and the creation of the state of Bangladesh. In all, Manekshaw's military career spanned five different wars. "He was also one of the most decorated officers of the Indian Army. In his demise, the nation has lost a great soldier, a true patriot and a noble son," India's defence minister, A.K. Antony, said yesterday.

It might not have been so. Serving with British forces as a young captain against the Japanese in Burma during the Second World War, Manekshaw was seriously injured during a counter-offensive against the invading troops. He was hit by a burst of machine-gun fire and was severely wounded in the stomach. Reports tell that such were his injuries that a senior officer who saw him fall decided to pin his own Military Cross ribbon to the apparently dying Manekshaw. "A dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross," said the officer. As it was, Manekshaw survived.

Even in the most serious situations, Manekshaw, a man who sported a traditional handlebar moustache, found room for humour. Just before the 1971 operation against Pakistan, he was asked by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi whether he was prepared for the imminent conflict. "I am always ready, sweetie," he is said to have replied. Mrs Gandhi was apparently not offended. On another occasion, she asked if he was planning to take over the country. Pointing to his long nose, the general replied: "I don't use it to poke into others' affairs."

He was born Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw in 1914 in Amritsar to Parsi parents who had migrated to Punjab from the small town of Valsad on the Gujarat coast. After completing his education at Amritsar and then at Sherwood College in Nainital, he joined the first batch of 40 cadets at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. In 1934 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army. He held several regimental assignments and was first attached to the Royal Scots and later to the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment.

He was always outspoken, and his willingness to express his own opinions sometimes got him into trouble. In 1961 he was sidelined after speaking out against the defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon's strategy in the northern border with China. A year later Indian forces suffered defeat at the hands of the Chinese in the Indo-Sino war and Manekshaw was rushed to the region to command the retreating Indian forces. His first order to troops was that there was to be "no withdrawal without written orders and these orders shall never be issued". Menon, meanwhile, resigned.

When he retired as Army chief in 1973 Manekshaw moved to southern India and lived in Tamil Nadu. He had been in a military hospital in the town of Wellington for some time where he was being treated for progressive lung disease.

Andrew Buncombe

Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, army officer: born Amritsar, India 3 April 1914; MC 1942; Chief of the Army Staff 1969-73; Field Marshal 1973; married 1939 Silloo Bode (two daughters); died Wellington, India 27 June 2008.

Help Desk by Government of India for NRIs

2008-07-02T05:40:00.001-07:00

NEED HELP, PLEASE CALL 1800113090

(No Charges when calls made through BSNL/MTNL in India)

MAY WE HELP YOU PLEASE?

AUTHENTIC NRI INTORMATION CENTER

Since the Ministry of External Affairs received increased number of enquiries and complaints from the NRIs, it was felt to have a Center to sort out all the problems faced by the NRIs.

Through this Center it is possible to establish a link between anyone who lives at any part of India and outside world.

*It is the first big step taken to protect and help the NRIs

*Immediate help and assitance will be provided by the Government

Released for the Welfare by Ministry of External Affairs

www.moia.gov. in

For help approach the

Authentic NRI Information Center

through BSNL/MTNL

Toll Free No. in India: 1800113090

0091-11-40503090

can also be contacted from any part of the world

How Iran Has Bush Over a Barrel

2008-07-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

If wasn't clear before it should be now: the Bush Administration can't afford to attack Iran. With gas already at $4 a gallon and rising almost every day, Iran figuratively and literally has the United States over a barrel. As much as the Administration is tempted, it is not about to test Iran's promise to "explode" the Middle East if it is attacked.
The Iranians haven't been shy about making clear what's at stake. If the U.S. or Israel so much as drops a bomb on one of its reactors or its military training camps, Iran will shut down Gulf oil exports by launching a barrage of Chinese Silkworm missiles on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Arab oil facilities. In the worst case scenario, seventeen million barrels of oil would come off world markets.
One oil speculator told me that oil would hit $200 a barrel within minutes. But Iran's official news agency, Fars, puts it at $300 a barrel. I asked him if Iran is right, what does that mean?
"Four-dollar- a-gallon of gasoline only reflects $100 oil because the refiners' margins are squeezed," he said. "At $300, you have $12 a gallon of gasoline and riots in Newark, Los Angeles, Harlem, Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas."
In either case, whether at $200 or $300, Bush does not want to be the President who leaves the White House on a mule-drawn cart. But Iran's blackmail is not just about oil. The Iranians truly believe they have us hostage in Iraq — our supply lines, the acquiescence of the Shi'a in the occupation. It would all change in an instant, though, especially if we were to borrow Iraq to attack Iran. The way Fars put it: "In Iraq, fighters would rise up in solidarity with each other and begin ... making the Tet Offensive in 1968 Vietnam."
If this all sounds very alarming, Iran meant it to, and it seems to be working. On Tuesday Bush was talking about the prospect of new sanctions rather than attacking.
Which leaves Israel. Are the Israelis, who have a lot more on their minds than the price of gas in the United States, going to launch a pre-emptive attack? One hard and fast rule in the Middle East is never rule out Israel's readiness to turn the table over. But an Israeli hawk on Iran, with close ties to Israel's Ministry of Defense, told me to forget about it. "There's not a chance Israel will do anything. Maybe there's a window after the American elections and the new President but even that's doubtful. Washington does not have the stomach for another war."
Israel cannot attack or contain Iran on its own; it needs the full military might of the United States behind it. So in the meantime Israel can only huff and puff, hoping new sanctions on Iran will do the trick.

Beware of OLD people

2008-05-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa , taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.
One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost .
Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in trouble now!"
Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are anymore around here?"
Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.
The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!
Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says.
"Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!
Moral of this story...
Don't mess with old farts...
age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!
Bullshit and brilliance only come with age and experience.
If you don't send this to five "old" friends right away there will be five fewer people laughing in the world.
I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, some are just more youthfully challenged.

Letter to god

2008-05-04T06:27:00.001-07:00

A little boy wanted Rs.50 very badly and prayed for weeks, but nothing happened.

Finally he decided to write God a letter requesting the Rs.50.

When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to God, INDIA, they decided to forward it to the President of the India as a joke.

The President was so amused, that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy Rs.20.

The President thought this would appear to be a lot of money (Rs.50) to a little boy, and he did not want to spoil the kid.

The little boy was delighted with Rs.20, and decided to write a thank you note to God, which read:

"Dear God: Thank you very much for sending the money. However, I noticed that you sent it through the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, and those donkeys deducted Rs.30 in taxes ... "

"Self Appraisal"

2008-05-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits (phone numbers).

The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:

Boy: "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?

Woman: (at the other end of the phone line): "I already have someone to cut my lawn."

Boy: "Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now."

Woman: I'm very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.

Boy: (with more perseverance) : "Lady, I'll even sweep
your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will
have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida."

Woman: No, thank you.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.

Store Owner: "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."

Boy: "No thanks,

Store Owner: But you were really pleading for one.

Boy: No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the
job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!"

This is what we call "Self Appraisal"

The Duck and the Devil

2008-04-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.

He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.

He Practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target.

Getting A little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was Walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck Square in the head, and injure it badly. He was shocked and grieved.

In a panic, he hid the injured duck in the wood pile, only to see His sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the Dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in The kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go picnik and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make Supper."

Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told Me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally Went picnick and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, He finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had injured the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long You would let Sally make a slave of you."

**********

Thought for the day and every day thereafter?

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil Keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad Habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) ....whatever it is....You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing..... He has seen your whole life.

He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.

He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave Of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He Not only forgives you, but He forgets . It is by God's grace and Mercy that we are saved.

Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today. Share This with a friend and always remember : God is at the window.

A Story of Two Pebbles

2008-04-05T07:34:00.001-07:00

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. Start your day with this thought provoking story and have a nice day.

A Story of Two Pebbles

2008-04-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

15 ways to build a great relationship with your boss

2008-04-02T19:57:00.001-07:00

Wish you had a better relationship with your boss? Feel like you are ignored in favor of others? Wondering if you have any career progression left?

Think about how well you are helping your boss get her job done and meet her obligations. Are you doing everything you can (within legal and ethical bounds, of course) to help her look good and get ahead.

If not, your relationship may be getting in the way. Consider this list of 15 things you can do to improve your relationship with your boss.

1. Show up every day full of energy and enthusiasm. Love your job, and dive into it eagerly every moment of the day. Can't do that? Perhaps you need to find a different job!
2. Be positive. No griping around the water cooler, or in emails or text messages or elsewhere. No complaining and no wallowing in misery. Find the silver lining and focus on it. That does not mean you can never point out a problem to your boss. Just make sure it is a real problem and try to bring two or three potential solutions along with the problem.
3. Learn every day. Learn new skills, pickup new knowledge, meet new people, find new resources. Help refresh the mind of the group.
4. Set SMART goals, review them with your boss to get agreement on targets and deadlines, report on your progress and seek an evaluation when you have delivered on the goals.
5. Speaking of which - Deliver Results! Bosses love that.
6. Take all the time-off you are entitled to. Smart bosses understand that folks are much more productive when they have time to recharge - at night, on the weekend and on vacation. (Bosses note: you need to take time off, too, or your team never will.)
7. Under-promise and over-deliver. Make your mind up to promise only what you know you can control and deliver, and then do it.
8. Do work that is accurate, complete, relevant and useful.
9. Contribute your ideas to make things better.
10. Support your boss. Just like all of us, bosses need positive feedback and encouragement. Make your feedback specific, tied to goals, and behavior based.
11. Focus your work on the things that make a difference to your boss.
12. Communicate just enough and not too much. Learn how much your boss wants to know about various work issues, opportunities and projects and respect those desires.
13. When you communicate with your boss, use her style. If she loves details, give her details. If she wants the big picture, give her that. If she wants to know how a proposal will affect people, provide your thoughts. If she just wants the facts, just give her the facts. If she wants you to get to the point quickly, do so. If she wants to chat first, do that too. Communicate the way your boss likes, not necessarily in your natural style.
14. Say "No" when you need to. The best bosses fear they won't be told when an idea is stupid - so tell 'em!
15. When the boss gives you an assignment, develop a plan of attack and share it with her soon. A good boss will delegate the "what" and expect you to put together the "how." Reward her with a quick and well-thought response.

Does Management know their Staff?

2008-04-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

On walking into the factory, the MD noticed a young guy leaning
against the wall, doing nothing. He approached the young man and
calmly said to him, how much do you earn?"

The young man was quite amazed that he was asked such a personal
question, he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2 000.00 a month, Sir.
Why?"

Without answering, the MD took out his wallet and removed $ 6000.00
cash and gave it to the young man and said, "Around here I pay people
for working, not for standing around looking pretty! Here is 3 months
'salary, now GET OUT and don't come back".

The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight. Noticing a
Few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner, "And that applies
for everybody in this company". He approached one of the onlookers
and asked him, "Who's the young man that I just fired?" To which an
amazing reply came of, "He was the pizza delivery man, Sir...!!!"

Why India Must Stand up to China

2008-03-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

India's response to the harsh Chinese crackdown on legitimate
Tibetan protests in Lhasa and elsewhere has been dispiriting. In
parliament the seasoned politician and foreign minister Pranab
Mukherjee could only express distress at the plight of the hapless
Tibetans. Worse still, Indian security forces swooped down on
nonviolent Tibetan protestors at Dharamsala, the principal refuge of
the Tibetan diaspora, and incarcerated them for 14 days using
India's preventive detention laws, a colonial relic.

India does itself a disservice by not standing up to China over its
treatment of Tibet. If India wishes to be considered a great power,
it needs to display a greater degree of independence and not kowtow
to Beijing. With rapid economic growth, a substantial military
establishment and robust political institutions, India should stop
behaving in a subservient fashion and forthrightly stand up and
defend certain inalienable rights of the Tibetan minority in its
midst—rights that should obtain in any humane and democratic state.

New Delhi's reluctance to challenge China over Tibet goes back to
Beijing's brutal repression of the Khampa revolt 50 years ago, when
the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetans,
fled to India. Although China sharply reproved India for providing
refuge to the Dalai Lama, India stood its ground. Shortly
thereafter, following a breakdown of negotiations over a disputed
border, China attacked and defeated India in October 1962. Even
though India's army has since been modernized and prepared for
mountain warfare, the memory of this rout still haunts Indian
military planners and policymakers. That's why, when the Chinese
army periodically crosses the border, India responds with anodyne
criticism. And why India has been willing to publicly and abjectly
reassure China that the Tibetan exiles will not be allowed to engage
in any meaningful political activity.

Appeasement might not be a bad policy if it actually succeeded in
keeping Beijing satisfied, but it doesn't. There is not a shred of
evidence that it has ever moderated Chinese behavior. Whenever
Tibetan exiles have engaged in minor protests, Beijing has sternly
rebuked India for allowing them to engage in political activities.
Faced with Beijing's continued expressions of discontent, New Delhi
has rarely missed an opportunity to genuflect before the Middle
Kingdom. The Tibetan crackdown is only the latest example.

This humiliating deference undermines India's national interests as
a rising Asian power and corrodes its credentials as a liberal
democracy. If China can so easily cow Indian policymakers, then
India's claims to great power status in Asia, let alone beyond,
appear utterly hollow. It shows that Indian policymakers have been,
to use a term from the cold war era, Finlandized—constrained by a
foreign power. Some policy options cannot even be considered for
fear of offending China. India, for example, has had little to say
about China's penetration of much of Burma and its ongoing quest for
military bases in that country. India has also exercised great
caution in pursuing any significant commercial ties with Taiwan for
fear of incurring the wrath of the mainland. What does it say about
India as a democracy if the authorities harass law-abiding Tibetans
who are only engaging in peaceful protests? Such actions are
fundamentally contrary to the principles of a liberal democracy that
enshrines the right of public political dissent.

It is all but certain that the heavy hand of the Chinese state will
successfully crush the demonstrations that have swept across much of
Tibet. China is well aware that the great powers will issue some
predictable communiqués demanding an end to repression and calling
for political dialogue. They are most unlikely to bolster these
pious sentiments with any viable actions that would prove costly to
the regime in Beijing, such as the imposition of sanctions or the
boycott of Chinese goods. India has long, albeit fitfully, sought to
uphold human rights both at home and abroad. Today, when it has
aspirations of regional and global leadership, it needs to
demonstrate the self-confidence to condemn China's repression of its
Tibetan minority and to provide comfort to the Tibetan diaspora. Any
policy that falls short of these steps amounts to an abetment of
China's abject treatment of a disenfranchised minority. If India's
political leadership wishes to be seen as the exemplars of a major
democratic state with global aspirations, at a minimum it should
grant the Tibetans the right to peaceful protest. It should also
consider deferring the mostly desultory border talks, which have, in
any case, moved at a glacial pace.

Ganguly is a professor of political science at Indiana University in
Bloomington and an adjunct fellow of the Pacific Council on
International Policy.

Transmutation : Ancient Indian Concepts and Practices by B. V. Subbarayappa

2008-03-21T02:58:00.000-07:00

The early concept of transmutation had perceivably two facets : one
of converting the base metals into gold of ever-lasting glitter, and
the other of transforming the transient human body into one of
permanence with the soul. The Bhagavadgita says: ". . . The soul has
neither birth nor death; it is not slain when the body is slain; it
is eternally the same. . . just as a person puts on new garments,
giving up the old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material body,
giving up the old and decaying ones".

The exalted imperishable status accorded, over the ages, to the soul
in the percipience of body-soul relationship had in it the seeds of
challenge to make the material mortal body itself immortal. The
responses to this challenge, which were varied in different cultures,
were often associated with a shroud of mystery. It took some time for
the human mind to cast off the esoteric envelope and, as a first
step, to conceive of rejuvenation, thus extending the longevity of
the material body, but within the concept that the body has birth and
death in contradiction to the soul.

In India, the beginnings of such endeavours can be seen in the
Rigveda wherein Somarasa was extolled as an exhilarating divine
elixir. Later in the Ayurvedic classic, Susruta Samhita, Soma elixir,
it was claimed, would enable its consumer to live for ten thousand
years with a youthful body and supernatural powers. The Ayurveda, the
Science of Life par excellence, has eight divisions and one of them
is entitled Rasayana, concerned with rejuvenating elixirs and
processes for arresting physical and mental decay. There are
references in both the Caraka and Susruta Samhitas to several other
compositions with the claim that they would confer on the consumer a
long youthful life of thousands of years. These elixirs were mostly
herbal and, what is more, certain amount of processed gold was added
to some of them to make them more effective. The rasayana of the
Ayurveda, it may be noted, was more in the nature of prolonging the
life of the material body than ‘transmuting’ it into an immortal
state. Even so, it seemed to have paved the way for speculating on
the immortality of the body.

The concept of material immortality per se received its sustenance
from a natural phenomenon, namely, the perennial glitter and colour
of gold, the anointed king of metals. Here was a metal, it was
believed, which had reached the highest state from the other inferior
metals and possessed imperishable characteristics. It was supposed
that the other metals would undergo transformation, eventually into
the immutable gold.

There was a sort of theoretical framework too for such a supposition.
The well-known Greek thinker, Empedocles (5th century b.c.) developed
a theory of four ‘elements’: Earth, Fire, Water and Air and the four
primary qualities: hot, cold, dry

The Four 'Elements' of Empedocles
and moist (wet). Aristotle (384-322 b.c.) conceived of these
‘elements’ and their qualities as emphasising the unity of matter
amidst all the changes. The ‘primary matter’, a potential one, would
become Earth with the pair of primary qualities, cold and dry; water
with cold and wet; Fire with hot and dryness; and Air with hot and
moist, thus explaining the phenomena of change. These postulates held
out the possibility of transmuting inferior metals into silver and
ultimately into gold, by changing their qualities. The most
perceptible of the changes effected was the colour and the object was
to bring about a change in the colour of inferior metals to that of
silver or gold. This theory was adopted by the Greco-Roman
(Hellenistic) and later the Islamic alchemists in furtherance of
their twin objective of the so-called transmutation of metals and the
preparation of elixir of life for attaining material immortality.
Strange it may seem, the Indian doctrine of five elements which had
provided a theoretical foundation for the Ayurveda and for the
explanation of the phenomenal world, did not lead to concepts of the
foregoing type. The Indian five ‘elements’ had also a metaphysical
undertone which often subsumed their physical concepts. Moreover, it
was a holistic doctrine and the concept of change was circumscribed
by it.

The seed ideas of Indian alchemy, which made their appearance in the
fifth-sixth centuries a.d., were at variance with the Hellenistic
ones. For, its inspirational source was not in the West, but in the
Far East, in the Chinese concepts and practices. Indian alchemy had
social compulsions too. The Ayurvedic elixirs and rejuvenating
treatment were reserved only for males of the upper castes, (women
were excluded), as enjoined by both the Caraka and Susruta Samhitas.
But, to live long in perpetual youth and to experience the best in
life have been the goals of all human beings. Such dispositions as
these react vehemently against rigid caste-structures and privileges
of the few. They go out in search of systems which are conducive to
the realisation of their goals. In India, the tantras offered such a
system and, more importantly, admitted into their fold all —
irrespective of caste, creed or sex in an esoteric, but ingenious
manner. The tantric concept of siddhi evolved certain pathways for
disciplined aspirants. And inherent in that concept was the
attainment of bodily immortality with even supernatural powers
(animadi astasiddhi). This was reinforced by the mythical male-female
symbolism, the union sublime of immortality.

The Chinese male-female symbolism of Yin and Yang, mercury-sulphur
union of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) to which was attributed
extraordinary powers of attaining immortality, found a congenial home
in the Indian Tantric milieu. Buddhist pilgrims and the vajrayana
seemed to have played a seminal role in this alchemical transmission.

Be that as it may, Indian alchemy of both Sanskritic and Tamilian
traditions, developed a wide variety a chemical processes for the
ostensible transmutation of metals and preparation of elixir of life,
in which mercury occupied a prime position. The literature on Indian
alchemy called the Rasasastra is perceptibly voluminous and
methodical in the presentation of a variety of processes whose number
is legion. Of these processes, eighteen samskaras or complex
treatments, which were adopted for the potentiation of mercury,
deserve special mention:
Briefly stated, the eighteen processes concerning mercury as the
central element, are as follows:
1. Svedana: Steaming mercury with a number of plant substances, some
minerals, alkalis and salts;
2. Mardana: Rubbing steamed mercury in a mortar along with some
plant and acidic materials;
3. Murchana: Triturating mercury in a mortar with some more plant
extracts till it loses its own character and form;
4. Uthapana: Steaming mercury again along with alkalis, salts, the
three myrobalans, alum etc., and rubbing mercury again in sunlight so
that the characteristics of mercury, freed from impurities, are
brought into play again;
5. Patana: Three types, viz. urdhva (upwards); adhah (downwards);
and tiryak (sideways); grinding mercury with alkalis, salts and
others, and subjecting the product to distillation;
6. Rodhana: Mixing the distilled mercury with saline water in a
closed pot to restore the ‘vigour or potency’ of mercury;
7. Niyamana: Continuation of the process by steaming mercury for
three days with a number of plant products, alum, borax, iron
sulphate, etc., to restrain the motility of mercury;
8. Sandipana: Steaming this product with alum, black pepper, sour
gruel, alkali and some vegetables substances to ‘kindle’ the desire
of mercury to attain the power of assimilation;
9. Grasa or Gaganagrass: Fixation and assimilation of the ‘essence’
of mica (gagana) to the desired extent;
10. Carana: Boiling this product with sour gruel, leaves of certain
plants, alum and others for a week so that mica is fully assimilated;
11. Garbhadruti: Heating and treating mercury with the desired
metallic substances so that the ‘essence’ of the latter becomes
‘liquified’ and the resultant, after cooling, passes through a piece
of cloth;
12. Bahyadruti: Obtaining ‘essence’ of minerals or metallic
substances also externally;
13. Jarana: Heating the mercurial product with the desired minerals
or metals, alkalis and salts so that they are fully digested or
assimilated;
14. Ranjana: A complex process involving the treatment of mercury
with sulphur, gold, silver and copper as well as salts in such a way
that mercury attains colour;
15. Sarana: Digesting mercury with gold or silver in an oil-base to
increase its ability towards transformation;
16. Kramana: Smearing mercury with several plant extracts, minerals,
milk, etc., and then heating it carefully with a view to enabling it
to possess transmuting powers;
17. Vedhana: Rubbing the resultant mercury with a few select
substances including oil so that it acquires the transmuting power;
18. Bhaksana: Consuming the prescribed quality of the mercurial
product which has undergone the foregoing 17 processes, for the
rejuvenation and longevity.

(This sequence was rigorously followed by Indian alchemists; but
there were variations in the choice of plants and their extracts,
salts, alkaline and acidic substances, minerals and other ingredients).

The important, through esoteric, concept which lay behind these
extremely complex processes was that the mercurial product, after
undergoing sequentially the seventeen processes, was believed to have
all the powers of transmutation. At this stage, it was to be tested
for its efficacy in transmuting base metals into gold and, if the
test was positive, it was to be used for the eighteenth process. The
final product, if consumed in prescribed quantity would, it was
claimed, rejuvenate the body in such a way that it would make the
body as resplendent and imperishable as gold. One could see the ideal
of Philosopher’s Stone of the medieval European alchemy, in the
mercurial product emerging out of the seventeen processes.

There are hundreds of verses in the Rasasastra texts which overtly
deal with a wide variety of processes, some simple and many complex.
Three examples may be cited:
(i) Mercury, cinnabar, pyrites, alum of excellent quality borax,
black pepper — each one part — and sauvarcala salt in equal
proportions to them; six parts of rock salt; powdered iron in the
same proportion; and hundred parts of the juice of Emblic myrobalan,
are to be kept in a stone bowl which is to be deposited in a heap of
cow-dung. After one year, a liquid emerges out of it. This (liquid)
is divine as well as flawless, and is to be compounded with mercury
admixed with pure gold as ‘seed’. This compound possesses the
capability of transmuting a thousand times its weight of all metals
into gold. (Rasopanisat, XVI, 241-245)
(ii) One part of the essence of capula (bismuth compound); two parts
of mercury; four parts of gold (as seed); and sulphur of equal
proportion to that of mercury which is to be mascerated, are to be
heated in a closed crucible. Gold and capula of equal quantities are
to be blended with this mercury. If this mercury is infused with a
hundred times its weight of copper, it makes the latter red and this
attains the power of transmuting a hundred times its weight of silver
into gold.
(Rasasara, XV, 19-22)

(iii) One pala of powdered seed (gold); one pala of pyrites; one pala
of sulphur; one pala of mercury extracted from cinnabar; and one pala
of borax — all together mascerated with the juices of plants endowed
with the properties of ‘fixation’ of mercury. Heated over fire urged
by means of a blow-pipe, mercury attains ‘fixation’ and undergoes
colouration with the aid of sulphur. Blended with an equal weight of
gold by the sarana operation, it is ‘killed’ by heating in a puta.
This mercurial preparation transmutes sixty times its weight of
silver-copper into excellent gold. (Rasasara, XIV,1820)

The technique of effecting transmutation was of five kinds:
1. Lepa Vedha (smearing copper or silver foils with a potent
mercurial product);
2. Ksepa Vedha (throwing such a product into the base metals;
3. Kunta Vedha (pouring the transmuting agent into them);
4. Dhuma Vedha (subjecting the base metal to the action of the fumes
of mercurial preparation); and
5. Sabda Vedha (effecting transmutation by the ‘impact’ of the
transmuting agent)

It is well-nigh impossible even to surmise the nature and extent of
chemical or other types of reactions that occur in the process of the
so-called transmutation, until an experimental verification is
attempted from the modern chemical point of view. It would,
nevertheless, seem that the colour of the ‘inferior’ metal like
copper, tin or lead, would change into that of gold or silver. The
emerging colouration, might be too uniform and intimate enough with
the ‘inferior metal’ to expose, under ordinary conditions, its true
colour. The specific gravity and other physical characteristics of
the so-called transmuted metal might manifest themselves, as a result
of skilful manipulation of the ingredients such as mercury or its
compounds, arsenic sulphides, pyrites, sulphur as well as the
deliberate addition of the noble metals themselves.
Indian alchemists specially of Tamil Nadu, knew the distinction
between the transmuted ‘gold’ and the real one. A Tamil text
(Amudakalaijnanam by Agastya) states clearly that if the artificial
‘gold’ and the natural gold are separately subjected to prolonged
heating or calcination, the former gives out ashes and the real face
of the metal appears, while the natural gold remains uneffected by
this method.
The transmutation of metals and the preparation of elixir of life
which were vigorously pursued by Indian alchemists, were more
esoteric than scientific, despite their attempts at classification
and selection of substances, and the use of a wide variety of
apparatus (mostly earthern), for distillation, sublimation,
incineration, trituration and the like, which the Rasasastra texts
describe meticulously and in great detail. To transmute the base
metals into the noble one, and to make the perishable body an ever
immortal one, were goals ever in sight, but never reached.
It was, nevertheless, a pursuit which was not without a spin-off and
that was in the direction of formulating certain mineral medicines.
Mercury, sulphur, mica, arsenic and iron compounds, alum, gems and
others on the one hand and on the other, metals like gold, silver,
copper and its alloy brass, and lead were processed elaborately by
using a wide variety of apparatus. Generally it was believed by the
rasavadins that the minerals and metals would not acquire the
desirable iatro-chemical properties unless they were treated with one
medicinal plant or the other. The rasasastra texts give details of
the preparation of a large number of medicines, and their therapeutic
effects as well as their dosages. One of the popular preparations
called Makaradhvaja contains specially processed mercuric sulphide
and stimulants like camphor, pepper and cloves. During its
preparation a certain amount of purified gold is also added.

The most important medicinal preparations, as described in the
Rasasastra texts, relate to a class of what are called the bhasma of
metals and minerals. Although the process leading to the formation of
a bhasma is one of incineration of the metal or mineral concerned,
the original substance is subjected to several processes before it
undergoes prolonged heating. Even the heating known as the Putapaka,
is carried out of several days with extreme care. Various types of
Putas are mentioned in the texts, recommending a particular puta for
the desired product, along with its measurement and the quantity of
cow-dung cakes or husk to be used for prolonged heating in order to
obtain the most efficient composition.

This method is believed to impart extraordinary qualities, both
physico-chemical and medicinal, on to the treated substance. A bhasma
is an extremely fine powder, very light and, when thrown on water,
just spreads itself as a thin film on it. Of the bhasmas, that of
mica, gold and silver are most widely used in minute quantities and
are generally mixed with other medicinal compositions.

The Siddha (medical) System which is mostly prevalent in Tamil Nadu,
appears to have been evolved from the earlier alchemical concepts and
practices. Though the System had originally its own ways of preparing
certain substances of medicinal value, like muppu (a specially
prepared mixture of three salts), it assimilated gradually some of
the alchemical preparations and developed a number of mineral
compositions which go under the names, bhaspam (Skt.: bhasma),
cendurams (Skt.: sindura) and cunnams (probably calcium compounds or
earthly substances).

There is no denying that the Indian alchemists had realised the
importance of medicinal preparation more than of the transmutation of
base metals into gold. In the West, such a realisation came about
only in the sixteenth century a.d., as a result of the ceaseless
efforts of several thoughtful iatro-chemists led by Paracelsus. But
in India, a trend in this direction could be perceived even in the
eleventh century a.d. Although the Rasasastra is not regarded as an
integral part of the Ayurveda, some of the medicinal compositions of
the former have found a place for themselves in the traditional
medical care in India.

References
Primary Sources
Rasahrdaya-tantra of Govinda Bhagavatpada: (ed.) Jadavji Trikumji
Acarya, Bombay, (eds.) B.V. Subbarayappa et. al., (under publication
by INSA) 1911.
Rasakaumudi of Jnanacandra Sharman: (ed.) S.S. Pranacarya, Lahore
(1928).
Rasamrtam: (ed.) Jadavji Trikumji Acarya, New Delhi (1951).
Rasapaddhati of Bindu Pandita: (ed.) Madhava Pandita, Bombay (1925).
Rasasanketakalika: (ed.) Jadavji Trikumji Acarya, Bombay (1912).
Rasaprakasasudhakara of Yasodhara: (ed.) Jadavji Trikumji Acarya,
Bombay (1912).
Rasarnava: (ed.) P.C. Rayand Harish Candra Kaviratna, Calcutta (1910).
Rasarnavakalpa: (eds.) Mira Roy and B.V. Subbarayappa, New Delhi (1976).
Rasaratnakara of Nityanatha Siddha: edited (annoon) with Hindi
commentary, Bombay (1897).
Rasaratnasamuccaya of Vagbhata: (ed.) Vinayak Apte, Poona (1890).
Rasasara of Govindacarya: (ed.) Jadavji Trikumji Acarya, Bombay (1912).
Rasendracintamani of Ramachandra: (ed.) Jivananda Vidyasagar,
Calcutta (1878).
Rasendracudamani of Somadeva: (ed.) Yadav Sarman, Lahore (1932).
Rasatarangini: (ed.) Sadananda Sarma, New Delhi (1953).
Rasopanisat: (ed.) K. Sambasiva Sastry, Trivandrum (1928).
The Rgveda: (tr.) H.H. Wilson, 6 vols, London (1860).
(t.) R.T.H. Griffith, Banaras, (1963) (reprint).
SECONDARY SOURCES
Holmyard, E.J., Alchemy, Penguin Books, London (1957).
Ray P., (ed.), History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India,
Calcutta (1956).
Ray P.C., History of Hindu Chemistry (2 vols), Calcutta (1902, 1905).
Read, John, Through Alchemy to Chemistry, London (1957).
Subbarayappa, B.V., ‘Chemical Practices and Alchemy’, In A Concise
History of Science in India, (eds.) D.M. Bose, S.N. Sen, and B.V.
Subbarayappa, New Delhi (1971).
Taylor, Sherwood, The Alchemist, London (1958).

Land for Sale in Kunnamkulam --Kerala

2008-03-16T23:14:00.001-07:00

A good square plot of 50 cent is available in kunnamkulam near Malankara Hospital.The plot is a leveled ground which is ideal for building flats and apartment.It is just 10 mins walking distance from kunnamkulam town and is opposite to the Malankara Nursing College.

The area is ideal for building home as there is a school very near to the plot and also shopping and other and requirements.

The cost of the area is 2 lakh which can be negotiated

Contact at riyazn123@yahoo.co.in

JUST SUPERB AND EXCELLENT

2008-03-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big notice on the door on which was written:

'Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym'.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: 'Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!'. One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:

'There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life.
You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success.
You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes,when mkt turns bullish.
Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs,
when you realize that you are the only one responsible( not the mkt) for your life.
'The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself'

Indian Cities Eye New Delhi's Quiet 'Citizen

2008-03-06T01:20:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI -- Seven neighborhood activists sat across
from a
bureaucrat last week with a long list of complaints
about damaged
streetlights, uncollected trash and what is known here
as the monkey
menace -- hordes of monkeys straying into homes
through windows and
balconies. The bureaucrat offered tea and biscuits,
took copious
notes and ordered immediate action to resolve the
problems.

"We also have a complaint against your accounts
officer," thundered
Satya Paul Gupta, 78, who heads his neighborhood
association. "He
sleeps on our files and keeps telling us, 'Next week,
next week.' "

Satya Paul Gupta, 78, at the park being renovated by
his neighborhood
residents' association in New Delhi. Such groups have
proliferated in
the capital under a citizen-government partnership
program called
Bhagidari. (By Rama Lakshmi -- The Washington Post)
Enlarge Photo
The bureaucrat called the accounts officer. "There are
complaints
against you. Come to my office fast," he said. "You
are answerable."

Gupta leaned back in his chair and smiled. Eight years
ago, this
would have been unimaginable; highhanded and
inaccessible city
officials would have shooed residents away. But under
a popular
government initiative called Bhagidari, which is Hindi
for
partnership, citizens' groups across New Delhi have
been empowered to
walk into any office and demand answers.

Since 2000, neighborhood groups participating in the
program have
collaborated with the government to solve everyday
problems with
sewage, trash collection, roads and community parks.
And that is no
small feat in a country infamous for its bureaucracy
and red tape.

"Bhagidari is a silent citizen revolution that fixes
the problem of
corrupt officials and indifferent politicians, " said
Gupta, who
represents about 35,000 people as the head of what is
known here as a
Residents' Welfare Association, or RWA.

Before Bhagidari, there were only about 20 RWAs across
the city. Now,
there are more than 2,000 such groups, and they are
enjoying expanded
political clout. Many are run by retirees like Gupta.

"My RWA business card has the most powerful logo in
the city, the
Bhagidari logo," he said. "It opens doors, makes
officials sit up and
listen."

With its economy booming, India is grappling with how
to manage
growing cities, many of them populated by an
increasingly assertive
middle class. Analysts say Bhagidari might be part of
the answer. At
least six Indian states besides Delhi are studying the
idea for
possible implementation in their capitals.

"These neighborhood groups have now become a very
potent platform of
people's power," said Arvind Kejriwal, head of a group
called
Parivartan, which campaigns for participatory and
transparent
government across India. "They now have a say in how
the money is
spent in their areas and how to hold the officials
accountable. The
middle class in the city has moved from complete
cynicism toward
their rulers to active participation in governance."

Bhagidari is the brainchild of Shiela Dixit, chief
minister of the
Delhi regional government, whose Congress party was
returned to power
in 1998. Back then, Dixit was worried that citizens'
complaints
weren't reaching elected politicians.

"We needed a different model of governance in a
mega-city of more
than 14 million," said Keshav Chandra, an aide to
Dixit who oversees
the Bhagidari program. "Bhagidari gives us a direct
understanding of
the pulse of the people."

Dixit opened her doors to the numerous RWAs, ordered
local officials
to meet with them every month and created a separate
fund for their
needs. Two years ago, she strengthened them by
ordering that
contractors be paid only after the residents' groups
had expressed
satisfaction with the quality of work done. Last
month, the Delhi
government decided that no developmental work would be
undertaken in
the city without RWA input.

In the campaign for state elections in November,
Bhagidari is being
showcased as Dixit's biggest achievement.

Despite the best of intentions, however, Bhagidari's
power-to-the-
people mantra has not been easy to implement in a
system rife with
corruption. The notion of being accountable to
residents met with
bitter resistance in the first few years, and members
of Dixit's own
party opposed the program on the grounds that she was
circumventing
them to listen to the people directly.

As the elections draw closer, residents' associations
worry about
their future. The Bhagidari program lacks statutory
authority and
could be eliminated by the next government.

"The officers do not like the daily nagging and
ordering by the
residents," said Mool Chand Chawla, 66, a local
politician from the
opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. "Bhagidari is not
good for
democracy because it bypasses elected representatives
like me. I am
here to serve the people. We do not need a parallel
power structure."

Gupta, the head of his neighborhood RWA, said
Bhagidari has done a
lot of good. His group, for instance, recently
procured money to
renovate a community park that had been full of trash
and stray
animals. A new gate, a wall and a walking track have
been built, and
the park is being cleaned up and replanted.

Still, Gupta said, he understands why some politicians
don't like the
program.

"Their under-the-table earnings have gone down," he
said. "Their
power has eroded because they are now answerable to
ordinary citizens
like me."

CHARGE MOBILE WITH PIPAL LEAVES-INDIAN INNOVATION

2008-02-26T09:17:00.000-08:00

Its very Strange But True Very True.
Now, you do not require any mobile charger to charge your mobiles. Only there is need to use green leaf of peepal tree and after some time your mobile will get charged..
No soon the people came to learn this development, they tested it and found encouraging results. If your mobile has been discharged and you are inside a jungle then you need not to use any charger. You Should pluck two peepal leaves and your work would be done.
It is very good idea and easy to charge your mobile. You would have to open your mobile battery and connect it with peepal leaf. After that without shaking mobile set you should set the battery in your mobile set. After some time your mobile would be charged.
Though it is unbelievable but as soon as the residents of Chitrakoot came to know about the discovery they could not believe the news. But when they saw it practically then the incident proved true.
Now hundreds of mobile holders are using this technique and charging their mobiles.
Several persons including Sushil Kumar Shukla, Santosh Verma, principal of MahatmaGandhi School , Raj Karan Patel, Shyam Patel, Shekhar Dwivedi, Pramod Gupta, Manager of Gayatri temple, RN Tripathi proved the incident true.
Whereas according to the botanists, it is just changing mutual energy into electrical energy power can be saved in battery. Similarly, it is also possible. They said that it is the subject of research.

Step by Step guide to charge your mobile battery using peepal leaf
1- Open your mobile cover
2- Take out your battery
3- Take two to three fresh leaves of peepal/pipal/ashwattha tree
4- Touch the stub of these leaves on your mobile battery terminal for a minute
5- Clean the mobile battery terminal with the soft cloth
6- Put your battery again in your mobile and switch it on
7- Now you can see the result
8- If required repeat the process with fresh leaves Regards

Woman in your Life

2008-02-23T08:28:00.002-08:00

The woman in your life...very well expressed...

Tomorrow you may get a working woman, but you should marry her with these facts as well.

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as
you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your
Sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system
that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as
much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family ,name

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning and cook
food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more,
and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother,
a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as
to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply
Because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important,
relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some
and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this......

Please appreciate "HER"

HOW DEEP A SLEEPER ARE YOU??

2008-02-23T08:28:00.001-08:00

TAKE THE TEST AND KNOW:>>>>>
Write down your anser on a sheet of paper for example 1.a 2.b etc
Q.1 A bureaucrat offers to do your work faster if you're willing to offer
him a bribe. You:
A} Pay up. It's too much of a hassle otherwise.
B} Politely decline, and pretend it never happened.
C} Decline, and lodge a complaint against him.
Q.2 An underage child is offered to you as house-help. You:
A} Hire him/her. It's much cheaper.
B} Decline. It'll play on your conscience.
C} Decline, and file a complaint at the police station.
Q.3 You've been informed that there will be a water shortage. You:
A} Install a mini-tank in your home so you're not affected.
B} Shower for a few minutes less every day.
C} Conserve water yourself, and start an awareness campaign in your locality.
Q.4 You see someone throwing away an empty wrapper on a road. You:
A} Ignore it. The sweeper will pick it up eventually.
B} You pick it up, and throw it in a dustbin yourself.
C} Confront him, and request him to throw it in a dustbin.
Q.5 You see a pothole in a road. You:
A} Make a mental note not to drive over it.
B} Curse the BMC, the road contractors and the world.
C} Write to the media, and embarrass the authorities enough to fix it.
Q.6 You see a rare wildlife pelt in an acquaintance' s house. You:
A} Admire it for its beauty.
B} Keep your discomfort to yourself.
C} Convince the person to turn the pelt over to the authorities.
Q.7 A shopkeeper is selling goods for more than the M.R.P. You:
A} Purchase it. It's a small difference, anyway.
B} Don't buy it, as a mark of protest.
C} Inform him that it's illegal, and take him to the authorities if he doesn't listen.
Q.8 Election time is around the corner, and you don't like any
candidate. You:
A} Don't vote.
B} Go to the polling booth, and cast an invalid vote.
C} Become politically active to ensure that there's a decent candidate who's contesting.
Q.9 Your company is allotting you the car of your choice.
You decide to get:
A} The big SUV.
B} The luxury sedan.
C} The Eco-friendly hybrid car.
Q.10 You witness a major crime that's taking place. You:
A} Walk away, and pretend you saw nothing.
B} Make an anonymous call to the police, tipping them off.
C} Make a police complaint in person, and stand witness during the court trial.

Points: A- 1 point. B- 2 points. C- 5 points.
Scoring: 10-15 points: You're a deep sleeper, even when you're awake. Because you see the problems at hand, but wilfully choose to ignore them. You'll need a lot of effort to awaken.
16-35 points: You're a moderate sleeper, because you're aware of the issues that concern society. You need to push yourself more to make a real difference, and truly awaken.36 points and above: You're truly awakened. You react in the best possible manner to every problem, and try to make a positive impact. The world needs more people like you.

My Dad is Great

2008-02-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

How children think of there dad at different ages

At 4 Years
My daddy is great.

At 6 Years
My daddy knows everybody.

At 10 Years
My daddy is good but is short tempered

At 12 Years
My daddy was very nice to me when I was young.

At 14 Years
My daddy is getting fastidious.

At 16 Years
My daddy is not in line with the current times.

At 18 Years
My daddy is becoming increasingly cranky.

At 20 Years
Oh! It's becoming difficult to tolerate daddy. Wonder how Mom puts up with him.

At 25 Years
Daddy is objecting to everything.

At 30 Years
It's becoming difficult to manage my son.. I was so scared of my father when I was young.

At 40 Years
Daddy brought me up with so much discipline. Even I should do the same.

At 45 Years
I am baffled as to how my daddy brought us up.

At 50 Years
My daddy faced so many hardships to bring us up. I am unable to manage a single son.

At 55 Years
My daddy was so far sighted and planned so many things for us. He is one of his kind and unique.

At 60 Years
My daddy is great.

Thus, it took 56 Years to complete the cycle and come back to the 1st stage !

DANGEROUS DRUGS HAVE BEEN GLOBALLY DISCARDED BUT ARE AVAILABLE IN INDIA.

2008-02-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

DANGEROUS DRUGS HAVE BEEN GLOBALLY DISCARDED BUT ARE AVAILABLE IN INDIA. The most common ones are
D cold, action 500 & Nimulid.

ANALGIN:
This is a pain-killer. Reason for ban: Bone marrow depression.
Brand name : Novalgin
___________________________________________________________
CISAPRIDE:
Acidity, constipation. Reason for ban : irregular heartbeat
Brand name : Ciza, Syspride
____________________________________________________________
DROPERIDOL:
Anti-depressant. Reason for ban : Irregular heartbeat.
Brand name : Droperol
______________________________________________________________
FURAZOLIDONE:
Antidiarrhoeal.. Reason for ban : Cancer.
Brand name : Furoxone, Lomofen

_____________________________________________________________
NIMESULIDE:
Painkiller, fever. Reason for ban : Liver failure.
Brand name : Nise, Nimulid
________________________________________________________________________

NITROFURAZONE:
Antibacterial cream.

Reason for ban :

Cancer..
Brand name : Furacin
________________________________________________________________________

PHENOLPHTHALEIN:
Laxative. Reason for ban : Cancer.
Brand name : Agarol
________________________________________________________________________
PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE:
cold and cough. Reason for ban : stroke.
Brand name : D'cold, Vicks Action-500
________________________________________________________________________
OXYPHENBUTAZONE:
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Reason for ban : Bone marrow depression.
Brand name : Sioril
_______________________________________________________________________
PIPERAZINE:
Anti-worms. Reason for ban : Nerve damage.
Brand name : Piperazine
________________________________________________________________________
QUINIODOCHLOR:
Anti-diarrhoeal. Reason for ban : Damage to sight.
Brand name : Enteroquinol

Financial News

2008-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Man has been a wanderer from the time of his orgin. He has a habit of wander from an adverse condition to a place where there is great resources. This phenomenon is still happening today too.
AS a result of this evolutionary nature in the man’s in built behavior, he tries this behavior in the economic field also. As a result various economic systems are done. Now there is latest system of transaction. It is called the Structured Settlement.
A structured settlement is periodic payments, that a claimant accepts to resolve a personal injury tort claim or to compromise a statutory periodic payment obligation such as a workers compensation case. This is a means to make the transaction easier than it is now.
To know more just Click Here

What British did to Conquer us!!!

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

BRAHMIN VIOLENCE AGAINST BUDDHISM IN INDIA HAS NO PARALLEL Dr. M.S.Jayaprakash

2008-01-13T02:41:00.000-08:00

The ruthless demolition of Buddha statues by the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan has invited severe criticisms from different quarters of the world. It is quite surprising to note that the Arya Brahmin Nazi-led Indian Govt. supported by all other brhamanical Nazis has condemned the Taliban action. It appears paradoxical that the ancestors of the present brhamanical Nazis in India want only destroyed the Buddhist statues and brutally killed the followers of Buddha in India. An impartial student of history can unequivocally remark that the Indian brhamins have no moral right to criticise the Taliban action.
Hundreds of the Buddhist statues, Stupas and Viharas were destroyed in India between 830 AD and 966 AD in the name of the revival of brhamanism. Indigenous and foreign sources, both literary and archaeological, speak volumes of the havoc done to Buddhism by the brahmins in India.
Role of Sankaracharya

Brhmin leaders like the Sankaracharyas and many kings and rulers took pride in demolishing the Buddhist images aiming at the total eradication of the Buddhist culture. Today, their descendants destroyed the Babri Masjid and they have also published a list of mosques to be destroyed in the near future. It is with this sin of pride that they are condemning the deed on the part of the Afghans.
The Brahmin, Pushyamitra Sunga, demolished 84,000 Budhist stupas which had been built by Ashoka the Great (Romila Thaper, Ashoka and Decline of Mouryas, London, 1961, p 200). It was followed by the smashing of the Buddhist centres in Magadha. Thousands of Budhist monks were mercilessly killed. King Jalaluka destroyed the Budhist viharas within his jurisdiction on the ground that the chanting of the hymns by the Buddhist devotees disturbed his sleep. (Kalhana, Rajatharangini, 1:40). In Kashmir, King Kinnara demolished thousands of Viharas and captured the Budhists villages to please the Brahmins. (Kalhana 1:80).
Demon's role
A large number of Buddhist viharas were usurped by the Brahmins and converted into brahmin religion (Hindu) temples where the Untouchables (formerly buddhists) were given no entrance. The Buddhist places were projected as the Hindu temples by writing puranas which were concocted myths or pseudo-history.
The important temples found at Tirupati, Ahoble, Undavalli, Ellora, Bengal, Puri, Badrinath, Mathura, Ayodhya, Sringeri, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Delhi, Nalanda, Gudiallam, Nagarjuna Konda, Srisailam and Sabarimala (Lord Ayyappa) in Kerala are some of the striking examples of the Brahmanic usurpation of the Buddhist centres.
At Nagarjunakonda, the Adi Sankara played a demon's role in destroying the Buddhist statues and monuments. Longhurst who conducted excavations at Nagarjunakonda has recorded this in his book Memoirs of the Archaelogical Survey of India No: 54, The Budhist Antiquties of Nagarjunakonda (Delhi, 1938, p.6.).
Non-Brahmins burnt alive
The ruthless manner in which all the buildings at Nagarjunakonda were destroyed is simply appalling and cannot represent the work of treasure-seekers because many of the pillars, statues and sculptures have been wantonly smashed to pieces. Local tradition relates that the Brahmin teacher Sankaracharya came to Nagarjunakonda with a host of followers and destroyed the Budhist monuments. The cultivated lands on which the ruined buildings stand was a religious grant made to Sankaracharya.
In Kerala, Sankaracharya and his close associate Kumarila Bhatta, an avowed enemy of Budhism, organised a religious crusade against the Buddhists. We get a vivid description of the pleasure of Sankaracharya on seeing the people of non-Brahmanic faith being burnt to death from the book Sankara Digvijaya.
Havoc played in Kerala
Kumarila instigated king Suddhavanan of Ujjaini to exterminate the Buddhists. From the Mirchakatika of Sudraka we learn that the king's brother-in-law in Ujjain persecuted the Budhist monks. They were treated as bullocks by passing a string through their noses and yoking them to carts. The Keralopathi documents refer to the extermination of Buddhism from Kerala by Kumarila. About the activities of Sankara, Swami Vivekananda observe:
"And such was the heart of Sankara that he burnt to death lots of the Buddhist monks by defeating them in argument. What can you call such an action on Sankara's part except fanaticism." (Complete works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol.VII. p. 118, Calcutta, 1997).
Kerala's Buddhist history
There are hundreds of places in Kerala having the names like palli either affixed or suffixed with them. Karungapalli, Karthikapalli, Pallickal, Pallippuram are some of the examples of these places. The term palli means a Budhist vihara.
It should be noted that Kerala had 1,200 years of Buddhist tradition.Till recently schools in Kerala had been called as Ezhuthupalli or Pallikoodam. Our Christian and Muslim brothers use the term palli to denote their place of worship. The pallies were wantonly smashed by the Brahmin Nazis under the leadership of Sankara and Kumarila.
They exterminated 1,200 years of Buddhist tradition and transformed Kerala into a Brahminical State.Original inhabitants of Kerala like the Ezhavas, Pulayas etc. were crushed under the yoke of casteism. Many viharas were transformed into temples and the majority of the people were prevented from entering the temples under the pretext of caste inhibitions.
Role of Parasurama
It can also be noted that the name of Kerala is the sanskritised Aryan version of the Dravidian and Budhist term cherala. The Parasurama legend regarding the origin of Kerala says that the land of Kerala was raised from the sea by Parasurama by throwing an axe from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. This is a cock and bull story created by the Brahmins to hide all crimes against the Buddhists.
A number of the Buddha statues have been found at places like Ambalapuzha, Karungapalli, Pallickal, Bharanikkavu, Mavelikkara and Neelamperur. They are all in a disfigured state.
Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala and Lord Padmanabha at Thiruvananthapuram are the proxy images of the Buddha being worshipped as Vishnu.
Hundreds of Buddhists were killed on the banks of the river at Aluva in Kerala. The term Aluva is derived from Alavi which means Trisul, a weapon used by the brahmin Nazis to stab the Buddhists. Similarly on the banks of the Vaiga river in Tamil Ndu thousands of the Buddhists were killed by the Saiva saint Sambanthar. The Tamil books Thevaram documents this brutal extermination of Buddhism.
Historians hiding facts
This is what really happened in India, the land of the Buddha. But our so-called eminent historians are bent upon hiding the cruelty inflicted on the Budhists in India. These "historians" have succeeded in creating an impression that India is a land of non-violence and tolerance. The entire world has been duped by them.
The deed on the part of Taliban is justifiable on the ground that Islam does not permit idols. At the same time, one has to note that Islam does not allow the deomolition of other people's religious centres and images. Whatever may be the argument for and against the Taliban action, the Hindu atrocities on Buddhism in India has no parallel in the entire history of religious struggles. Let the world know the cruel and crooked face of "Indian vulture, no culture".
(Courtesy: The Dalit Voice April 16-30.The author is the Prof. of History, Guru Vihar, Punnathala, Kollam Dt of Kerala)

Also read the book by K. Jamnadas on "Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist Shrine" . Mail him at kjmndas_cha@ sancharnet. in for details of the book.

Indians earn

2008-01-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

Indians are the most important category of people who browse net in search online jobs. But most of them fail to get one. There are many Indians like me who earn by blogging. But earning money online is always easier than you think And earning from blogging is the best way to earn money online. The main reason is that you don’t have any investments and all you get is profit. There are some sites that pay for blogging. They pay you for putting some articles in your blog
If you want to know how to earn from blogging then try Smorty.com.This site pays you for writing reviews. Smorty is a service connecting advertisers with bloggers. They also pay you every week through PayPal and so you do not have to wait for earnings to reach a specific amount as in some other sites. I feel this is the most reliable way to earn money online. To start earning with Smorty.com is simple. You have to register in this site first and then add you blogs or site in this site. When you sites are approved then you will be able to write reviews and earn money.
Just visit and get paid to blog

Osho

2008-01-11T04:32:00.001-08:00

1931 - 1953 Early Years

December 11,1931: Osho is born in Kuchwada, a small village in the state of Madhya Pradesh, central India.

He is the eldest of eleven children of a Jaina cloth merchant. Stories of His early years describe Him as independent and rebellious as a child, questioning all social, religious and philosophical beliefs. As a youth He experiments with meditation techniques.
March 21, 1953: \o becomes enlightened at the age of twenty-one, while majoring in philosophy at D.N. Jain college in Jabalpur.

1953 - 1956 Education

1956: Osho receives His M.A. from the University of Sagar with First Class Honors in Philosophy.
He is the All-India Debating Champion and Gold Medal winner in His graduating class.
1957-1966 University Professor and Public Speaker
1957: Osho is appointed as a professor at the Sanskrit College in Raipur.
1958: He is appointed Professor of Philosophy at the University of Jabalpur, where He taught until 1966.
A powerful and passionate debater, He also travels widely in India, speaking to large audiences and challenging orthodox religious leaders in public debates.
1966: After nine years of teaching, He leaves the university to devote Himself entirely to the raising of human consciousness. On a regular basis, He begins to address gatherings 20,000 to 50,000 in the open-air maidans of India’s major cities. Four times a year He conducts intense ten-day meditation camps.
In 1970, the 14th of April, He introduces His revolutionary meditation technique, dynamic Meditation, which begins with a period of uninhibited movement and catharsis, followed by a period of silence and stillness. Since then this meditation technique has been used by psychotherapists, medical doctors, teachers and other professionals around the world .

1969 - 1974 Mumbai Years

Late 1960’s: His Hindi talks become available in English translations.
1970: In July, 1970, He moves to Mumbai, where He lives until 1974.
1970: Osho - at this time called Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - begins to initiate seekers into Neo-Sannyas or discipleship, a path of commitment to self-exploration and meditation which does not involve renouncing the world or anything else. Osho’s understanding of ‘Sannyas’ is a radical departure from the traditional Eastern viewpoint. For Him it is not the material world that needs to be renounced but our past and the conditionings and belief systems that each generation imposes on the next. He continues to conduct meditation camps at Mount Abu in Rajasthan but stops accepting invitations to speak throughout the country. He devotes his energies entirely to the rapidly expanding group of sannyasins around Him.
At this time, the first Westerners begin to arrive and to be initiated into Neo-Sannyas. Among them are leading psychotherapists from the human potential movement in Europe and America, seeking the next step in their own inner growth. With Osho they experience new, original meditation techniques for contemporary man, synthesizing the wisdom of the East with the science of the West.

1974 - 1981 Poona Ashram

During these seven years He gives a 90 minutes discourse nearly every morning, alternating every month between Hindi and English. His discourses offer insights into all the major spiritual paths, including Yoga, Zen, Taoism, Tantra and Sufism. He also speaks on Gautam Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, and other mystics. These discourses have been collected into over 600 volumes and translated into 50 languages.
In the evenings, during these years, He answers questions on personal matters such as love, jealousy, meditation. These ‘darshans’ are compiled in 64 darshan diaries of which 40 are published.
The commune that arose around Osho at this time offers a wide variety of therapy groups which combine Eastern meditation techniques with Western psychotherapy. Therapists from all over the world are attracted and by 1980 the international community gained a reputation as ‘ the world’s finest growth and therapy center.’ One hundred thousand people pass through its gates each year.
1981: He develops a degenerative back condition. In March 1981, after giving daily discourses for nearly 15 years, Osho begins a three-year period of self-imposed public silence. In view of the possible need for emergency surgery, and on the recommendation of His personal doctors, He travels to the U.S. This same year, His American disciples purchase a 64,000-acre ranch in Oregon and invite Him to visit. He eventually agrees to stay in the U.S. and allows an application for permanent residence to be filed on His behalf.

1981 - 1985 Rajneeshpuram

A model agricultural commune rises from the ruins of the central Oregonian high desert. Thousands of overgrazed and economically unviable acres are reclaimed. The city of Rajneeshpuram is incorporated and eventually provides services to 5,000 residents. Annual summer festivals are held which draw 15,000 visitors from all over the world. Very quickly, Rajneeshpuram becomes the largest spiritual community ever pioneered in America.
Opposition to the commune and new city keeps pace with its success. Responding to the anti-cult fervor which pervades all levels of American society during the Reagan years, local, state and federal politicians make inflammatory speeches against the Rajneeshees. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Treasury Department, and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agency (ATF) are only a few of the agencies spending millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money while harassing the commune with unwarranted and fruitless investigations. Similar costly campaigns are conducted in Oregon.
October 1984: Osho ends three and one half years of self-imposed silence.
July 1985: He resumes His public discourses each morning to thousands of seekers gathered in a two-acre meditation hall.
Sept. - Oct. 1985: The Oregon Commune is Destroyed
September 14: Osho’s personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and several members of the commune’s management suddenly leave, and a whole pattern of illegal acts they have committed - including poisoning, arson, wiretapping, and attempted murder - are exposed. Osho invites law enforcement officials to investigate Sheela’s crimes. The authorities, however, see the investigation as a golden opportunity to destroy the commune entirely.
October 23: A U.S. federal grand jury in Portland secretly indicts Osho and 7 others on relatively minor charges of immigration fraud.
October 28: Without warrants, federal and local officials arrest at gun point Osho and others in Charlotte, North Carolina. While the others are released, He is held without bail for twelve days. A five-hour return plane trip to Oregon takes four days. En route, Osho is held incommunicado and forced to register under the pseudonym, David Washington, in the Oklahoma County jail. Subsequent events indicate that it is probable that He was poisoned with the heavy metal thallium while in that jail and the El Reno Federal Penitentiary.
November: Emotions and publicity swell around Osho’s immigration case. Fearing for His life and the well-being of sannyasins in volatile Oregon, attorneys agree to an Alford Plea on two out of 35 of the original charges against Him. According to the rules of the plea, the defendant maintains innocence while saying that the prosecution could have convicted him. Osho and His attorneys maintain His innocence in the court. He is fined $400,000 and is deported from America.
Among others, U.S. Attorney in Portland, Charles Turner, publicly concedes that the government was intent on destroying Rajneeshpuram.

1985 - 1986 World Tour

January-February: He travels to Kathmandu, Nepal and speaks twice daily for the next two months. In February, the Nepalese government refuses visas for His visitors and closest attendants. He leaves Nepal and embarks on a world tour.
February-March: At His first stop, Greece, he is granted a 30-day tourist visa. But after only 18 days, on March 5, Greek police forcibly break into the house where He is staying, arrest Him at gun point, and deport him. Greek media reports indicate government and church pressure provoked the police intervention.
During the following two weeks He visits or asks permission to visit 17 countries in Europe and the Americas. All of these countries either refuse to grant Him a visitor’s visa or revoke His visa upon His arrival, and force Him to leave. Some refuse even landing permission for His plane.
March-June: On March 19 He travels to Uruguay. On May 14th the government has scheduled a press conference to announce that He will be granted permanent residence in Uruguay. Uruguay’s President Sanguinetti later admits that he received a telephone call from Washington, D.C. the night before the press conference. He is told that if Osho is allowed to stay in Uruguay, the six billion dollar debt Uruguay owes to the U.S. will be due immediately and no further loans will be granted. Osho is ordered to leave Uruguay on June 18th.
June-July: During the next month He is deported from both Jamaica and Portugal. In all, 21 countries had denied Him entry or deported Him after arrival. On July 29,1986, He returns to Mumbai, India.

1987 - 1989 Osho Commune International

January 1987: He returns to the ashram in Pune, India, which is renamed Rajneeshdham.
July 1988: Osho begins, for the first time in 14 years, to personally lead the meditation at the end of each evening’s discourse. He also introduces a revolutionary new meditation technique called The Mystic Rose.
January-February 1989: He stops using the name "Bhagwan," retaining only the name Rajneesh. However, His disciples ask to call Him ‘Osho’ and He accepts this form of address. Osho explains that His name is derived from William James’ word ‘oceanic’ which means dissolving into the ocean. Oceanic describes the experience, He says, but what about the experiencer? For that we use the word ‘Osho.’ At the same time, He came to find out that ‘Osho’ has also been used historically in the Far East, meaning "The Blessed One, on Whom the Sky Showers Flowers."
March-June 1989: Osho is resting to recover from the effects of the poisoning, which by now are strongly influencing His health.
July 1989: His health is getting better and He makes two appearances for silent darshans during the Festival, now renamed Osho Full Moon Celebration.
August 1989: Osho begins to make daily appearances in Gautama the Buddha Auditorium for evening darshan. He inaugurates a special group of white-robed sannyasins called the "Osho White Robe Brotherhood. " All sannyasins and non-sannyasins attending the evening darshans are asked to wear white robes.
September 1989: Osho drops the name "Rajneesh," signifying His complete discontinuity from the past. He is known simply as "Osho," and the ashram is renamed "Osho Commune International. "

1990 Osho leaves His body
January 1990: During the second week in January, Osho’s body becomes noticeably weaker. On January 18, He is so physically weak that He is unable to come to Gautama the Buddha Auditorium. On January 19, His pulse becomes irregular. When His doctor inquires whether they should prepare for cardiac resuscitation, Osho says, "No, just let me go. Existence decides its timing." He leaves His body at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m. His body is brought to Gautama the Buddha Auditorium for a celebration, and is then carried to the burning ghats for cremation. Two days later, His ashes are brought to Osho Commune International and placed in His samadhi in Chuang Tzu Auditorium with the inscription:
OSHO
Never Born
Never Died
Only Visited This Planet Earth Between
11 December 1931 - 19 January 1990

Swami Vivekananda

2008-01-11T04:32:00.000-08:00

Swami Vivekananda' s inspiring personality was well known both in India and in World during the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. The unknown monk of India suddenly leapt into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, at which he represented Hinduism. His vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture as well as his deep spiritual insight, fervid eloquence, brilliant conversation, broad human sympathy, colourful personality, and handsome figure made an irresistible appeal to the many types of Westerners who came in contact with him. People who saw or heard Vivekananda even once still cherish his memory after a lapse of more than half a century.

In West Vivekananda' s mission was the interpretation of India's spiritual culture, especially in its Vedantic setting. He also tried to enrich the religious consciousness of the West through the rational and humanistic teachings of the Vedanta philosophy. In West he became India's spiritual ambassador and pleaded eloquently for better understanding between India and the New World in order to create a healthy synthesis of East and West, of religion and science.

In his own motherland Vivekananda is regarded as the patriot saint of modern India and an inspirer of her dormant national consciousness. To the Hindus he preached the ideal of a strength-giving and man-making religion. Service to man as the visible manifestation of the Godhead was the special form of worship he advocated for the Indians, devoted as they were to the rituals and myths of their ancient faith. Many political leaders of India have publicly acknowledged their indebtedness to Swami Vivekananda. Poet Ravindranath Tagore said if you want to know India, read Vivekananda. Everything about him in positive and nothing negative. Mahatma Gandhi said that more he read Vivekananda, more his love for India grew.

The Swami's mission was both national and international. A lover of mankind, he strove to promote peace and human brotherhood on the spiritual foundation of the Vedantic Oneness of existence. A mystic of the highest order, Vivekananda had a direct and intuitive experience of Reality. He derived his ideas from that unfailing source of wisdom and often presented them in the soul-stirring language of poetry.

The natural tendency of Vivekananda' s mind, like that of his Master, Ramakrishna, was to soar above the world and forget itself in contemplation of the Absolute. But another part of his personality bled at the sight of human suffering in East and West alike. It might appear that his mind seldom found a point of rest in its oscillation between contemplation of God and service to man. Be that as it may, he chose, in obedience to a higher call, service to man as his mission on earth; and this choice has endeared him to people in the World.

In the course of a short life of thirty-nine years (1863-1902), of which only ten were devoted to public activities — and those, too, in the midst of acute physical suffering — he left for posterity his four classics: Jnana-Yoga, Bhakti-Yoga, Karma-Yoga, and Raja-Yoga, all of which are outstanding treatises on Hindu philosophy. In addition, he delivered innumerable lectures, wrote inspired letters in his own hand to his many friends and disciples, composed numerous poems, and acted as spiritual guide to the many seekers who came to him for instruction. He also organized the Ramakrishna Order of monks, which is the most outstanding religious organization of modern India. It is devoted to the propagation of the Hindu spiritual culture not only in the Swami's native land, but also in West and in other parts of the world.

Swami Vivekananda once spoke of himself as a 'condensed India.' His life and teachings are of inestimable value to the World for an understanding of the mind of Asia. William James, the Harvard philosopher, called the Swami the 'paragon of Vedantists.' Max Müller and Paul Deussen, the famous Orientalists of the nineteenth century, held him in genuine respect and affection. 'His words,' writes Romain Rolland, 'are great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march of Handel choruses. I cannot touch these sayings of his, scattered as they are through the pages of books, at thirty years' distance, without receiving a thrill through my body like an electric shock. And what shocks, what transports, must have been produced when in burning words they issued from the lips of the hero!'

Amitabh Bachhan

2008-01-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

Amitabh Bachhan is, in popular parlance, the king of Indian cinema was born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India . The older of the two sons of Harivansh Rai, an acclaimed Hindi poet, and the socialite Teji Bachhan, Amitabh went to Sherwood College, a boarding school in the hill-station town of Nainital, and from there to Delhi University where he earned an arts degree.
This six feet tall man started the trend of the angry young man in the film industry. Director K. A. Abbas launched him in the film Saat Hindustani which went unnoticed. This versatile actor even did the playback in most of his films. Altogether, Amitabh Bachhan has appeared in over 100 films, an astounding number most of which,were box office blockbusters.
QUITE simply, the answer is Bachchan's string of box office hits. One after the other, the actor's films hit the jackpot with such sustained regularity that in the seventies and eighties, Amitabh Bachchan became the safest bet for producers, distributors and exhibitors alike. Amitabh met with a serious accident on the sets of Coolie, the entire nation united in prayers for his speedy recovery. The prayers turned into a blessing for the superhero, as he returned to the scene with double the impact.
It was love at first sight for Amitabh as Jaya became his spouse and the famous Guddi girl Jaya Bhaduri transformed into Mrs. Bachchan.About ten years later, Amitabh retired from the film world. He then tried his hand at politics.Due to his enormous popularity, not to mention the close association with Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, he was elected to parliament with a huge majority from his home city of Allahabad. He resigned his seat in parliament and returned to cinema.
He launched his company ABCL which is known as Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited which realesed many controversial films like Mani Ratnam's Bombay and Shekhar Kapoor's Bandit Queen and commercial film's like Joy Augustine's Tere Mere Sapne and Sachin's Naam Kya Hai which was produced under the same banner.His company was the principal sponsor of the 1996 Miss World Contest, held in Bangalore.
The Big B was back! As the year 2000 ended, at the age of 58, Amitabh Bachchan was once again the Superstar of India. His latest album release was Eer Bhir Phatte and Kabhi Kabhi.
Address
Amitabh Bachhan, Pratiksha, 10th Rd, J.V.P.D. Scheme, Bombay 400049
FILMOGRAPHY
1969 SAAT HINDUSTANI Amitabh Bachchan(intr. )
1971 ANAND Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Sumita Sanyal
1971 PARVAANA Amitabh Bachchan, Navin Nischol, Yogita Bali
1971 PYAR KI KAHANI Amitabh Bachchan
1972 BANDHE HAATH Amitabh Bachchan
1972 BANSI BIRJU Amitabh Bachchan
1972 BOMBAY TO GOA Amitabh Bachchan, Aruna Irani, Shatrughan Sinha
1972 EK NAZAR Amitabh Bachchan
1972 RAASTE KA PATHAR Amitabh Bachchan
1972 SANJOG Amitabh Bachchan
1973 ABHIMAAN Amitabh Bachchan, Asrani, Jaya Bhaduri
1973 GEHRI CHAAL Amitabh Bachchan
1973 NAMAK HARAAM Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Rekha
1973 SAUDAGAR Amitabh Bachchan, Nutan
1973 ZANJEER Amitabh Bachchan
1974 BENAAM Amitabh Bachchan
1974 KASAUTI Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Pran
1974 KUNWARA BAAP Mehmood, Bharati, Manorama
1974 MAJBOOR Amitabh Bachchan, Pravin Babi, Pran
1974 ROTI KAPDA AUR MAKAAN Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Manoj Kumar
1975 CHUPKE CHUPKE Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri
1975 DEEWAR Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor
1975 FARAAR Sanjeev Kumar, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan
1975 HERA PHERI Amitabh Bachchan
1975 MILI Ashok Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Usha Kiran
1975 SHOLAY Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar
1975 ZAMEER Amitabh Bachchan, Saira Banu, Shammi Kapoor
1976 DO ANJAANE Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Rekha
1976 KABHI KABHI Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Shashi Kapoor
1977 ADAALAT Amitabh Bachchan, Waheeda Rehman, Neetu Singh
1977 ALAAP Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Chhaya Devi
1977 AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor
1977 IMAAN DHARAM Amitabh Bachchan
1977 KHOON PASINA Amitabh Bachchan
1977 PARVARISH Amitabh Bachchan
1978 BESHARAM Amitabh Bachchan
1978 DON Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman
1978 GANGA KI SAUGANDH Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Amjad Khan
1978 KASME VAADE Amitabh Bachchan
1978 MUQADDAR KA SIKANDER Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Vinod Khanna
1978 TRISHUL Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Sanjeev Kumar
1979 JURMANA Raakhee Gulzar, Amitabh Bachchan, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo
1979 KAALA PATTHAR Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Shashi Kapoor
1979 MR. NATWARLAL Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha
1979 SUHAAG Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha
1980 ADAALAT Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee
1980 ANUSANDHAN (BENGALI) Amitabh Bachchan
1980 BARSAAT KI EK RAAT Amitabh Bachchan
1980 DO AUR DO PANCH Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi, Praveen
1980 DOSTANA Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman
1980 PUKAAR Amitabh Bachchan
1980 RAM BALRAM Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman
1980 SHAAN Sunil Dutt (special app.), Shashi Kapoor
1980 THE GREAT GAMBLER Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh
1981 KAALIA Amitabh Bachchan, Asha Parekh, Parveen Babi
1981 LAWAARIS Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Zeenat Aman
1981 MANZIL Amitabh Bachchan
1981 NASEEB Amitabh Bachchan
1981 NASTIK Amitabh Bachchan
1982 BEMISAAL Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Vinod Mehra
1982 DESH PREMEE Amitabh Bachchan
1982 KHUD DAAR Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Mehra
1982 NAMAK HALAAL Amitabh Bachchan, Smita Patil
1982 SATTE PE SATTA Amitabh Bachchan (double role), Hema Malini, Macmohan
1982 SHAKTI Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Smita Patil
1982 SILSILA Amitabh Bachchan, Shakti Kapoor, Jaya Bachchan
1982 YAARANA Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Tanuja
1983 ANDHAA KAANOON Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant, Hema Malini
1983 COOLIE Amitabh Bachchan, Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor
1983 MAHAAN Amitabh Bachchan (triple role), Waheeda Rehman
1984 INQUILAB Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan
1985 PET PYAR AUR PAAP Amitabh Bachchan
1985 SHARAABI Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Prada, Pran
1985 AMIR ADMIN GAREEB ADMI Zeenat Aman, (guest app.) Amitabh Bachchan
1985 GIRAFTAAR Kamal Hassan, Poonam Dhillon, Amitabh Bachchan
1985 MARD Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh, Nirupa Roy
1986 AAKHRI RAASTA Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Pradha
1986 JALWA Nana Patekar, (guest app.) Amitabh Bachchan
1987 KAUN A KAUN HARA Amitabh Bachchan
1988 HERO HIRALAL Amitabh Bachchan, (intr.) Sanjana Kapoor
1988 SHAHENSHA Amitabh Bachchan, Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra
1988 SOORMA BHOPALI Amitabh Bachchan
1989 GANGAA JAMUNAA SARASWATHI Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jaya Pradha
1989 JADUGAR Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jaya Pradha
1989 MAIN AZAAD HOON Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi
1989 TOOFAN Amitabh Bachchan
1990 AAJ KA ARJUN Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Prada, Raadhika
1990 AGNEEPATH Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny Denzongpa
1990 KRODH Amitabh Bachchan
1991 AJOOBA Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia
1991 AKELA Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Amrita Singh
1991 HUM Amitabh Bachchan, Kimi Katkar, Rajnikant
1991 INDRAJIT Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Neelam
1992 KHUDA GAWAH Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Danny Denzongpa
1994 INSANIYAT Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Pradha, Vinod Mehra
1996 GHATAK Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Mamta Kulkarni
1997 MRITYUDAATA Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia, Arbaaz Khan
1998 BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Raveena Tandon
1998 MAJOR SAAB Amitabh Bachchan, Nafisa Ali, Ajay Devgan
1999 AYE WATAN TERE LIYE Amitabh Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia, Arshad Warsi 1999 HINDUSTAN KI KASAM Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen, Manisha Koirala
1999 LAL BADSHAH Amitabh Bachchan, Manisha Koirala, Shilpa Shetty
1999 RISHTAA Amitabh Bachchan+, Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit
1999 SURYAVANSHAM Amitabh Bachchan (double role), Soundarya
1999 TUMHARE LIYE Govinda, Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee
(incomplete)

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

2008-01-05T21:36:00.001-08:00

Born October 15, 1931, Tamil Nadu, India, usually referred as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, was the eleventh President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007. A notable scientist and engineer, he is often referred to as the Missile Man of India for his work and is considered a progressive mentor, innovator and visionary in India. He is also popularly known as the People's President. His term as president ended on July 25, 2007.

Kalam has received honorary doctorates from as many as thirty universities .
The Government of India has honored him with the nation's highest civilian honors: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; Padma Vibhushan in 1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.

Kalam is the third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna before being elected to the highest office, the other two being Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain. He is also the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Referred to as the "People's President", Kalam is often considered amongst India's greatest presidents, going on to win a poll conducted by news channel CNN-IBN for India's Best President.

In October 2007, Kalam received a Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Wolverhampton.

Kalam's probable views on certain issues have been espoused by him in his book India 2020 where he strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and into a developed nation by the year 2020. Kalam is credited with the view that India ought to take a more assertive stance in international relations; he regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology as well. He has proposed a research programme for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open source software over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of open source software on a large scale will bring more people the benefits of information technology.

Kalam's belief in the power of science to resolve society's problems and his views of these problems as a result of inefficient distribution of resources is modernistic. He also sees science and technology as ideology-free areas and emphasizes the cultivation of scientific temper and entrepreneurial drive. In this, he finds a lot of support among India's new business leaders like the founders of Infosys and Wipro, (leading Indian IT corporations) who began their careers as technology professionals much in the same way Kalam did.

APJ Abdul Kalam was born in 1931 in a middle-class family in Rameshwaram, a town well-known for its Hindu shrines. His mother tongue is Tamil. His father, a devout Muslim, owned boats which he rented out to local fishermen and was a good friend of Hindu religious leaders and the school teachers at Rameshwaram. APJ Abdul Kalam mentions in his biography that to support his studies, he started his career as a newspaper vendor. This was also told in the book, A Boy and His Dream: Three Stories from the Childhood of Abdul Kalam by Vinita Krishna. The house Kalam was born in can still be found on the Mosque street at Rameswaram, and his brother's curio shop abuts it. This has become a point-of-call for tourists who seek out the place. Kalam grew up in an intimate relationship with nature, and he says in Wings of Fire that he never could imagine that water could be so powerful a destroying force as that he witnessed when he was six. That was in 1964 when a cyclonic storm swept away the Pamban bridge and a trainload of passengers with it and also Kalam's native village, Dhanushkodi.

Kalam observes strict personal discipline, vegetarianism, teetotalism and celibacy. Kalam is a scholar of Thirukkural; in most of his speeches, he quotes at least one kural. Kalam has written several inspirational books, most notably his autobiography Wings of Fire, aimed at motivating Indian youth. Another of his books, Guiding Souls: Dialogues on the Purpose of Life reveals his spiritual side. He has written poems in Tamil as well. It has been reported that there is considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him.

Dr. Kalam visited the Carnegie Mellon campus on October 16th, 2007 where he spoke in front of numerous students and faculty regarding the role of science and the view of India in the future. He received a honorary doctorate from the university.

Dr. Abdul Kalam graduated from Madras Institute of Technology majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. He, as the Project Director, made significant contributions to the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). He, as Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), also played major part in developing many missiles of India including Agni and Prithvi. He was the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period, led by him.

Online Casinos

2008-01-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

One day I just happened to see an article on gambling in a site. I was surprised to see that that a huge part of the population was behind online gambling sites. There are many such sites which provide online gaming facility. But only a few are reliable ones. Among them
http://www.topusaonlinecasinos.com is the best.
Even I have good personal experience with this site. They not only rank the site according to their quality but also give tips to be successful. This site also has reviews of over a number of quality gambling sites. They rank them according to their quality and priority.
The design of the site is also very simple and beautiful. The home page of the site is very simple gives a quick view of what is inside it. Even those who do not have any idea about online casinos can get along with the design. In the front page you can see a small description of all the sites included by them. There is also a small review of all these sites given in the front page. Players can select the sites after reading these reviews so that they won’t loss their money.
If you want to play online casino then you should give a try at online casino.

2007 the year of rewards to India

2007-12-27T06:18:00.001-08:00

The year 2007 has been a very fruitful year with India shining in all major events apart from the blooming economy which is having the dollar dance to its tunes and exposing ample employment oppurtunities with many blossoming industries under the desired encouragement given by the respective state governments
TAJMAHALthe symbol of love and the greatest monument India ever possesed and continous to live up to its expectations by again being included in the new 7 wonders of the world exposing the rich cultural heritage of India.
MUKESH AMBANI of Reliance Industries with his grit determination and hardwork earned the distinction of being the richest man in the world prevailing over the Microsoft
Chairman BillGates ,with two more prominent Indians listing among the top ten comprising of Mr.Lakshmi mittal of Mittal Industries and Aziz Premji of Wipro.
TEAM INDIA lifted the prestigious and innagural 20 20 World Cup Cricket 2007 title defeating Pakistan in a nail biting finish under the leadership of Young Dhoni and his team of young blood who won laurels and bountiful of rewards for winning the title.
ASIA CUP HOCKEY 2007 even though the upliftment of our
national sport hockey is mediocore still team india amassed to win the Asia cup trouncing Korea 7-2 in the finals played at Chennai and also creating a world record for scoring 20 goals against Sri Lanka in the preliminary rounds .
NEHRU CUP FOOTBALL2007 the game of football is not so
enthralling as played in European countries , the game is not overwhelming as compared to the cricket, even though ranked 157 in the world rankings pulled up their socks in winning the Nehru cup football cup defeating Syria 1-0 and received a rousing applause for the achievement .
WORLD CHESS TITLE the game of brains Chess has been dominated by the Indian classy counter part Visvanathan
Anand who with his clever moves by his wizard brain earned him the world title for the year 2007 and stands No-1 in the World rankings and has lifted Indias name to dizzy heights
With even Pankaj Advani rousing to claim his world cup title in the Billiards event, India stands tall and high with three world cup titles in its Kitty for the year 2007.
May we wish many more laurels to our country India in the coming year 2008 and wish every one a happy and prosperous New Year.

Fraudsters target net banking users

2007-12-27T06:18:00.000-08:00

Thiruvananthapuram: A former call centre employee who checked the status of her bank account online recently was dismayed to find that Rs.7,900 had been transferred to another account without her knowledge.

The 41-year-old woman, who wanted her name to be withheld, told Hindu The that she had received an e-mail purportedly from the customer service centre of the bank on November 1.

The e-mail said the bank’s central server was down and users of its online banking facility were required to re-enter their account details. The e-mail had a link on which she did not click.

She logged on directly to what appeared to be the bank’s web site. She entered her customer identity (username) and password. She also changed her password.

On December 12, she checked her account online and found that she had lost the money. It had been transferred to another account of the same bank somewhere in north India. She contacted the customer service centre of the bank, which denied sending her any such e-mail.

The woman said she later checked the e-mail again and by clicking the link accessed the same web site (supposedly that of the bank) where she had entered her account details earlier. She suspects the fraud committed was an ‘inside’ job. The woman said she used the online banking facility mostly for booking railway tickets.

Circle Inspector E.S. Bijumon of the Hi-Tech Cell, who is investigating the woman’s complaint, said it was a classic case of ‘phishing.’ He said more than 10 such cases, mostly from Ernkaulam district, were reported recently.

It is a method of operation by which online fraudsters ‘fish’ for usernames, passwords and credit/debit card details of (mostly) online banking facility users. They obtain e-mail addresses of potential victims by scouring the Internet.

He said ‘phishing’ attempts were usually in the form of an e-mail appearing to be from one’s bank. Such e-mails had a link which when clicked on would lead the customer to a fraudulent ‘log on page’ designed to capture his or her account details. Such phoney web sites closely resemble those of credible banks. ‘Phishing’ e-mails often prompt customers to confirm, provide or update sensitive information by conveying a sense of urgency (such as a breakdown of their bank’s servers).

The police said the link on the e-mail received by the victim led to a U.S-based server and not the one handling the bank’s online operations. The ‘phishing’ e-mail received by the woman had originated from the same server.

The police said customers should check with their bank before responding to e-mails concerning their accounts.

Some ‘phishing’ e-mails hide Trojan Horse software capable of capturing the customer’s computer keystrokes. Such a software relays captured information back to the sender, enabling them to figure out the user names and passwords of other people.

JRD Tata

2007-12-26T04:39:00.001-08:00

Born: July 29, 1904
Died: on November 29, 1993
Achievements:
He had the honor of being India's first pilot; was Chairman of Tata & Sons for 50 years; launched Air India International as India's first international airline; received Bharat Ratna in 1992.
JRD Tata was one of the most enterprising Indian entrepreneurs. He was a pioneer aviator and built one of the largest industrial houses of India.
JRD Tata was born on July 29, 1904 in Paris. His mother was a French, while his father was Parsi. JRD's full name was Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and he was popularly known as Jeh to his friends. JRD's father Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Sri Jamsetji Tata shared their greatness from the same great-great- grandfather, Ervad Jamsheed Tata, a priest of Navsari.
JRD Tata was the second of four children. He was educated in France, Japan and England before being drafted into the French army for a mandatory one-year period. JRD wanted to extend his service in the forces but destiny had something else in store for him. By leaving the French army JRD's life was saved because shortly thereafter, the regiment in which he served was totally wiped out during an expedition in Morocco.
JRD Tata joined Tata & Sons as an unpaid apprentice in 1925. He has great interest in flying. On February 10, 1929, JRD became the first Indian to pass the pilot's examination. With this distinctive honor of being India's first pilot, he was instrumental in giving wings to India by building Tata Airlines, which ultimately became Air India. His passion for flying was fulfilled with the formation of the Tata Aviation Service in 1932.
In 1938, at the age of 34, JRD was elected Chairman of Tata & Sons making him the head of the largest industrial group in India. He started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later on July 26, 1988, when he left , Tata & Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest.
JRD was the trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its inception in 1932, which remained under his wings for over half a century. Under his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the Tata Memorial Center for Cancer, Research and Treatment, Bombay, 1941. It also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 1936 (TISS), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1945 (TIFR), and the National Center for Performing Arts.
In 1948, JRD Tata launched Air India International as India's first international airline. In 1953, the Indian Government appointed JRD as Chairman of Air-India and a director on the Board of Indian Airlines-a position JRD retained for 25-years. For his crowning achievements in Aviation, JRD was bestowed with the title of Honorary Air Commodore of India.
In 1956, JRD Tata initiated a program of closer "employee association with management" to give workers a stronger voice in the affairs of the company. He firmly believed in employee welfare and espoused the principles of an eight-hour working day, free medical aid, workers' provident scheme, and workmen's accident compensation schemes, which were later, adopted as statutory requirements in India.
JRD Tata cared greatly for his workers. In 1979, Tata Steel instituted a new practice; a worker is deemed to be "at work" from the moment he leaves home for work till he returns home from work. The company is financially liable to the worker if any mishap takes place on the way to and from work. Tata Steel Township was also selected as a UN Global Compact City because of the quality of life, conditions of sanitation, roads and welfare that were offered by Tata Steel.
JRD Tata received a number of awards. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 1957 on the eve of silver jubilee of Air India. He also received the Guggenheim Medal for aviation in 1988. In 1992, because of his selfless humanitarian endeavors, JRD Tata was awarded India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna-one of the rarest instances in which this award was granted during a person's lifetime. In the same year, JRD Tata was also bestowed with the United Nations Population Award for his crusading endeavors towards initiating and successfully implementing the family planning movement in India, much before it became an official government policy.
JRD Tata died in Geneva, Switzerland on November 29, 1993 at the age of 89. On his death, the Indian Parliament was adjourned in his memory-an honor not usually given to persons who are not Members of Parliament.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai

2007-12-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

Vikram Sarabhai died on 30 December 1971 at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was visiting Thiruvananthapuram to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Thumba railway station. During his last days, he was under a great amount of stress due to excessive travelling and a huge work-load which adversely affected his health.
Indian Space Program
The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. He successfully convinced the government of the importance of a space programme for a developing country like India after the Russian Sputnik launch. Dr. Sarabhai emphasized the importance of a space program in his quote:
"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. "
"But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society."
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha, widely regarded as the father of India's nuclear science program, supported Dr. Sarabhai in setting up the first rocket launching station in India. This center was established at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the coast of the Arabian Sea, primarily because of its proximity to the equator. After a remarkable effort in setting up the infrastructure, personnel, communication links, and launch pads, the inaugural flight was launched on November 21, 1963 with a sodium vapour payload.
As a result of Dr. Sarabhai's dialogue with NASA in 1966, the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) was launched during July 1975 - July 1976 (when Dr.Sarabhai was no more).
Dr. Sarabhai started a project for the fabrication and launch of an Indian Satellite. As a result, the first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, was put in orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome.
Dr. Sarabhai was very interested in science education and founded a Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad in 1966. Today, the Centre is called the Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre.
He led the family's 'Sarabhai' diversified business group.
His interests varied from science to sports to statistics. He set up Operations Research Group (ORG), the first market research organization in the country.
Dr Vikram Sarabhai established many institutes which are of international repute. Most notable among them are IIMs (Indian Institute Of Management) which are considered world class for their management studies. Also he helped establishing PRL (Physical Research Laboratory) which is doing commendable job in R&D in Physics. Dr Vikram Sarabhai setup ATIRA (Ahmedabad Textiles Industrial Research Association) which helped the booming textiles business in Ahmedabad. He also setup CEPT (Center for Environmental Planning and Technology). Not stopping with all these he went ahead and setup BMA (Blind Men Association) which helps visually challenged people with necessary skills and support.
Awards
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1962)
Padma Bhushan (1966)
Padma Vibhushan, posthumous (after-death) (1972)
Distinguished Positions
President of the Physics section, Indian Science Congress (1962),
President of the General Conference of the I.A.E.A., Verína (1970),
Vice-President, Fourth U.N. Conference on `Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy' (1971)
Honors
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC), a research institute specialising in solid and liquid propellants for rockets located in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) , capital of Kerala state, is named in his memory.
Along with other Ahmedabad-based industrialists, he played a major role in the creation of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Fight Global Warming with GreenIQ.com

2007-12-19T01:27:00.000-08:00

The world is getting hotter day by day due to the emission of various gases and smokes from industries and vehicles. It is very important to prevent this increase in temperature as it may just cause the depletion of the ozone layer and causes the melting of ice in Antarctica which will cause many areas to come under water. To prevent all these we need to reduce the emission of gases into the atmosphere.

For reducing global warming I came across a site http://www.greeniq.com/.In this site they give various alternatives to the materials that we use daily and cause global warming. There are lots of article in this site which tell us how to make this world greener and reduce global warming.

One of the interesting things that i saw in this site http://www.GreenIQ.com is the Room By Room Greening Guide. In this guide they give various tips on how to make your home greener and thus the world even greener. In the Room By Room Greening Guide they explain in detail what to do in each rooms starting from bed room to your bathrooms and from your office to your kitchen and laundry.

I feel that by following directions from this site we can at least reduce our share of global warming and try to make world greener than before...GreenIQ

Modern Jokes

2007-12-16T01:48:00.000-08:00

From:Story: 1

A young executive was leaving the office at 6 p.m. when he found CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand. "Listen," said the CEO, "this is a very sensitive and important document, and my secretary has left. Can you make this thing work?" "Certainly," said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button. "Excellent, excellent!" said the CEO. As his paper disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one copy."

Lesson I – " Never, never assume that your BOSS knows everything ".

Story: 2

A crusty old man walks into a bank and says to the teller at the window: "I want to open a damn checking account." To which the astonished woman replies: "I beg your pardon, sir; I must have misunderstood you. What did you say?" "Listen up bitch! I said, I want to open a damn checking account right now!" "I'm very sorry sir, but we do not tolerate that kind of language in this bank." Having said this, the teller leaves the window and goes over to the bank manager to tell him about her problem customer.

They both return and the manager asks the old geezer: "What seems to be the problem here?" "There's no damn problem, sonny," the elderly man says. "I just won 50 million bucks in the damn lottery and I want to open a damn checking account in this damn bank!" "I see," says the manager thoughtfully. And you're saying that this bitch here is giving you a hard time?"

Lesson II – "If you are RICH, you can get away with almost anything".

Story: 3

An American and Japanese were sitting on the plane on the way to LA when the American turned to the Japanese and asked, "What kind of ese are you?" Confused, the Japanese replied, "Sorry but I don't understand what you mean." The American repeated, "What kind of -ese are you?" Again, the Japanese was confused over the question. The American, now irritated, then yelled, "What kind of -ese are you...Are you a Chinese, Japanese,Vietnamese !, etc......??? " The Japanese then replied, "Oh, I am a Japanese." A while later the Japanese turned to the American and asked what kind of 'key' was he. The American, frustrated, yelled, "What do you mean what kind of '-key' am I?!" The Japanese said, "Are you a Yankee, donkey, or monkey?"

Lesson III – "Never insult anyone".

Story: 4

There were these 4 guys, a Russian, a German, a British and a French, who found this small genie bottle. When they rubbed the bottle, a genie appeared. Thankful that the 4 guys had released him out of the bottle, he said, "Next to you all are 4 swimming pools, I will give each of you a wish. When you run towards the pool and jump, you shout what you want the pool of water to become, then your wish will come true."

The French wanted to start. He ran towards the pool, jumped and shouted "WINE". The pool immediately changed into a pool of wine. The Frenchman was so happy swimming and drinking from the pool. Next is the Russian's turn, he did the same andshouted," VODKA" and immersed himself into a pool of vodka. The German was next and he jumped and shouted, "BEER". He was so contented with his beer pool. The last is the British. He was running towards the pool when suddenly he steps on a banana peel . He slipped towards the pool and shouted, SHIT!!!!!!!. ........"

Lesson IV – "Think twice before you say something, because sometimes what you say accidentally does happen ".

Story: 5

A junior manager, a senior manager and their boss are on their way to a meeting. On their way through a park, they come across a wonder lamp. They rub the lamp and a ghost appears. The ghost says,
"Normally, one is granted three wishes but as you are three , I will allow one wish each" So the eager senior manager shouts, I want the first wish. I want to be in the Bahamas , on a fast boat and have no worries for a month. "Pfufffff, and he is gone. Now the junior manager could not keep quiet and shouts , "I want to be in Florida with beautiful girls, plenty of food and cocktails for a month." "Pfufffff, and he is also gone. Then it's the boss's turn, and he says calmly, "I want these two idiots back in the office after lunch"

Lesson V- "Always allow the bosses to speak first"

ndia to have missile defence shield in 3 yrs

2007-12-14T02:08:00.000-08:00

Press Trust of India

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 (New Delhi)

India will have its own missile defence shield ready in three years, a development that will mark a big leap in securing the country's high value assets and major cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

The two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system to cope with both threats from ballistic missiles as well as terrain-hugging cruise missile could be ready by 2010.

This assurance came from the country's top missile scientist V K Saraswat in the backdrop of Pakistan building up an arsenal of missiles, which would give India hardly a 3-4 minute reaction time.

''An integrated test trial of the interceptor missile and its sub-systems would be conducted in June next year,'' Saraswat told newspersons on the recent successful test trials of the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missiles in endo-atmospheric mode.

He said three to four more flight trials of the AAD and another four trials of exo-atmospheric missiles were required before declaring the system as ''operational''.

The missile scientist said the AAD system could also be configured to take care of threats from terrain-hugging cruise missiles.

Asked when BMD could be mass-produced to cover the whole nation, Saraswat said that within weeks of the system being validated the production lines would be ready to roll out the system in bulk.

He said there was a ''substantial'' private sector participation in the BMD development programme.

Missile Defense: India Tests Supersonic Interceptor Missile

2007-12-12T04:16:00.000-08:00

Indian Defence scientists successfully carried out the second launch of a Single Stage Interceptor Missile against an incoming ballistic missile target of enemy represented by a modified Prithvi Missile at the Wheeler Island near Bay of Bengal, close to the Dhamra coast in Orissa.

The endo-atmospheric Interceptor intercepted the missile at 15 Km altitude exactly as designed at high supersonic speed at 11 this morning. All the elements of Ballistic Missile Defence System such as Long Range Tracking Radar, Multi-function Fire Control Radar, Mission Control Centre, Launch Control Centre, Mobile Launcher, Mobile and Multi Layer Communication System, Data Links to Interceptor participated in the mission.

The Interceptor and all the Elements performed in a copybook fashion validating the design of the Endo-Atmospheric layer of the BMD system. The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony has congratulated the DRDO team led by Dr. V. K. Saraswat for this significant accomplishment.

Faudulent Union bank of Indian website

2007-12-07T04:48:00.001-08:00

http://www.rockgardenmusic.com/home/flash/index.html
Please open above website and you will see a fraudulent union bank
of Indian website that will ask you to submit all login details of
of your online banking.

Please donot give any details and dont login in a false window.

Not only this but similar mesages in name of any other bank.Look
at the URL window on top.You will find some other website name
than bank name domain and or httr instead of https which is
normally used when passwrods are to be inserted.

We have already reported this to union bank of India and the
server hosting this website is also being reported to block
this.

Please cirulate to as many people as possible urgently in public
interest.If anyone of you is from union Bank of india please take
matter to your top managemetn urgently for action from their
end.

Beware while using the trial rooms any where.

2007-12-07T04:48:00.000-08:00

Have you seen recent advertisement of M/S SAINT GOBAIN GLASSES shown in TELEVISION'S - Then you must have known about 2 Way mirror)

How to determine if a mirror is 2 way or not ? (Not a Joke!)
Not to scare you, but to make sure that you aware. Many of the Hotels and Textile showrooms cheat the customers this way.

HOW TO DETECT A 2-WAY MIRROR?
When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc.,
How many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror I.e., they can
see you, but you can't see them. There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms or bathroom or bedrooms.
It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of
mirror we are looking at?

CONDUCT THIS SIMPLE TEST:
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail,
then it is a GENUINE mirror.

However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR! (There may be someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything. It is simple to do.

This is a really good thing to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass.
Whereas with a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind! Make sure and check every time you enter in hotel rooms.

Ladies:
Share this with your friends.

Men:
Share this with your sisters, wives, daughters, friends, colleagues, etc.

Indian develops mobile-based security system for

2007-11-30T06:42:00.000-08:00

New Delhi: An Indian software analyst has developed a
mobile phone-based system that may provide better
protection to BPO staff in transit.

“The GPS-based systems here are not adequate as India
has not developed detailed maps for our cities.
However, our system, Webtra, will work everywhere
as it is based on mobile technology,” said
Chennai-based V M Sankaran Nampoothiri.

As soon as an employee gets into a cab, he or she will
log on to the mobile phone and send an SMS to a
centralised number. Five minutes later, a message
automatically goes to the employee.

“If he or she does not respond to the message, a call
will follow after another five minutes. If the person
still fails to respond, the system will declare
a crisis alert. The transport department will call the
family of the person, as well as other employees who
were slotted in the same cab,” he said.

“It is really foolish to expect that a person in
trouble will be able to call any helpline or office.
For us, it’s not communication but break of
communication
that is a good alert,” he added.

“Our system has a database of thousands of hospitals
across the country. This can help employees and
companies rush to a nearby hospital in case of
emergency,”
he said.

When asked about false alerts and subsequent chaos
that it may create, Nampoothiri preferred to err on
the side of caution.

“Since these employees are young... the system may
sound 90 per cent false alerts, but the remaining 10
per cent will be of great help,” he said.

The cost of installing the system could be around Rs
350 per person per month. Nampoothiri said currently
two BPOs in the country were using his system,
while others were in talks with him.

“If a company wants to install the system with speech
detectors, the cost will be more. A speech detector
could translate at least 10 languages and scores
of regional accents into English. This will help in
deciphering the voice and language of a cab driver and
employees,” he said.

Blind Ayurvedic Doctor

2007-11-30T06:38:00.000-08:00

Dr. Sameer Mansuri says he's perfectly happy to be blind.
And he has no desire whatsoever to be able to see. Sceptical? Listen to his explanation and he could almost make you believe he's lucky to be blind. The
31-year-old Mansuri, who is an Ayurvedic doctor who diagnoses ailments by feeling a patient's pulse, argues, "Your concentration decreases by 50 per cent
when you can see because you get distracted by everything around you." So, he adds, with an infectious laugh, "Believe me when I say I'm happy to be blind.
It actually helps me in my work."

The Ahmedabad-based Mansuri, who has a doctorate in Ayurveda, comes in every fortnight to Mumbai, where his patients range from reigning Bollywood superstars
and film directors to middle- class professionals and families. He prepares his medications in Ahmedabad and sources herbs and other ingredients from Punjab,
Andhra Pradesh, the Himalayas and Yemen. Yes, admits this graduate of English Literature,
says " Mansuri, waiting for his next patient in the Holiday Inn hotel at Juhu.

His easy laughter and perennially cheerful disposition belie both his visual impairment and the journey to his current position. It is the tale of a youngster
who constantly stumbled over obstacles but refused to fall down. The story began a few months after his birth, on new year's day in 1975, when his mother
tried to kill him in a bathtub filled with hot water. The family was ashamed of the bllnd-infaat, who was saved by an un-cle who caught his motheFln the
hick of time. "My uncle tells me my mother planned to drown me in the tub and claim I fell in accidentally because I couldn't see," he narrates.

At the age of five, his parents packed him off to a .boarding school for the blind where he excelled in his studies. After completing his BA with a first
class, Mansuri left Ahmedabad as he faced re-j peated humiliation there and settled in _ Hyderabad. With no professional skills, "he discovered he could
make a living as a ! masseur and turned out tsTbe surprisingly good at it too.

Then an encounter with Guru Shamshuddin, an 89-year-old_Ayurvedic doctor, changed his life. Though he was initially reluctant, the youngster learnt about
pulse diagnosis, the cause and cure of diseases and preparation of herbal medicines. After obtaining a practitioner's license in Hyderabad in 1999, Mansuri
was directed by Shamshuddin to return to Ahmedabad and setup a clinic there.

Word of his cures spread soon and today, the doctor runs a brisk practice. Hetal Gandhi, 35, who lost vision in both her eyes three years ago due to a
retinal disease, regained partial eyesight six months after she began Dr. Mansuri's treatment in February.

block quote
"I can read the headlines in a newspaper now and can walk about in the house on my own,"
block quote end

said Gandhi, speaking from Ahmedabad. Film producer and director Subhash Ghai is another admirer ,"Dr. Sameer Mansuri's treatment has bean very beneficial
for my physical and mental energy levels. His pulse diagnosis is very good and he's treated my family and friends as well," says Ghai.

Although he is perfectly comfortable with his handicap, Mansuri does not easily forgive what he perceives as slights against the visually impaired. Business
magnate Vijay Mallya should know. "I'm sorry you had an unpleasant experience with one of my flights.... since we have fallen short of your expectations,
please, accept my apologies," Mallya wrote to Mansuri last month after he received a complaint from the doctor about some re¬marks made by the ground crew
of King¬fisher Airlines in Mumbai. "I took action because if someone like me can be 'hu¬miliated, what about other blind people?" Mansuri asks angrily

The doctor, who lives in Ahmedabad's Paldi area with his wife - who's blind too - and their four-year-old son, says he does not treat more than 60 patients
a month because he wants to devote more time to the trust he's set up to take care of the needs of the visually impaired. His way of giving back something
to society in gratitude.

Dr. Samir wows Bollywood

Dr. Samir found many fans in Bollywood celebrities.

Aishwarya Rai - Bachhan was treated by Dr. Samir for hypertension and uneasiness.

Vivek Oberio, Music Director - Anu Kapoor have consulted Dr. Samir for their medical conditions.

Assistant Director - Abdul Kayyum, of rajkumar Santoshi Productions had consulted Dr. Samir for Ulceritis.

What baffles us is that dispite the fact these personalitied can avial the best of the medical treatment, they still turn to Dr. Samir as he treats without
any surgerical procedures.

Salman Khan, Subhash Ghai, Ashok Mehta are among many others who are treated by Dr. Samir Mansuri

Source:

http://www.dr-samir.com

Going to Propose a Girl ?

2007-11-30T04:39:00.001-08:00

Here are the top most reply of a girl, when you propose her...

1) Nahi........ ......... ???

2) Chiiiii..... Kitne gande vichar hain tumhare..... ..

3) Maine tumhe sirf ek acche dost ki nazar se dekha hai ....

4) Mera pehle se ek boyfrnd hai....

5) Main in baton pe vishwas nahi karti, apne padhai pe dhyaan lagao...

6) tum abhi tak mujhe jaante kahan ho ?Yeh shayad infatuation hai....

7) Tumhara bank balance kitna hai…??

8) Magar last year to Maine tumhe raakhi baandhi thi ..hai naa..bhaiyya. .??

9) Mein abhi is relation ke liye mentally prepared nahi hoo....

10) Mein apne dady se pooch ke tumhe kaal answer karu…??

11) Itni is baat kehne ke liye itni der lagaa di??

12) Ye donon ke dil me hai na, to phir kya kehna!!

13) Sorry

14) "……Apna chehra kabhi aayine me dekha hai….. L…………………………… "

15) "Main toh tumhe apna Bhai maanati hu"

16) "Yes .. I too like you … (but hope you don't cheat on me ) " … (Which we guys most oftenly do )

17) Phele kyon nahi bataya AB tum late ho gaye ..

18) Tum agar pehle mile hote to sochti.

19) Tumhari himmat kaise hui mere baare mein aisa sochne ki… (probably followed by a slap)

20) Girl: mujhe sochna ka wakt do…

Guy: kitna wakt???(with hope)

Girl: saat janam

21) Mai ek shaadi shuda ladki hu ;-)

22) Mein tumhare chotte bhai se pyaar karti hoon…

23) Now that's a real tragedy….

Girl: Hee hee ……hee hee hee…..hee ….hee……hee……

Hee hee ……hee hee hee…..hee ….hee……hee……

24) Boy: I love U!

Gal: I don't think ABT all this before marriage.

25) Keep loving I don't care.

26) Tum mere liye kya kar sakte ho…

27) Kaun as number hai mera tumhare proposals ki history mein. Ha ha ha ha….

28) tumhe is nazar se kabhi dekha nahi

29) tumhare barre mein kabhi aisa socha nahi

30) mummy se pooch kar bataungi

31) mere bhaiyya se baat kar lo , who hi tumhe samajhayenge

32) Knyo, Tina NE "No" bola?

33) Lekin tum to Mina ke piche pade the, Kya usne thappad mara?

34) Kitne time ke liye -???

35) Worst one-- Jo bhi bolna hai jaldi bolo mera beta school se aata hoga..

36) Thanks. I love you, too.

37) Boy :- Sonya, I love U…..

Gal :- Sorry , Next 3 Months tak Waiting List chal rahi hai….

38) "What?"

39) "Let's just stay away from this"

40) My friend in college got one classic reply … "I THINK I'M ENGAGED"

41) "I think, I will have better options in future ..."

42)Mujhe tumse is baare mein koi baat nahi karni, then she starts ignoring, phir bhi nahi sudhare then she threatens via some common friends.

43) My Boy friend is very short Tempered. Beware of it.

44) like you as a friend but I never thought about us like this…cant we be just good friends for ever

45) Actually my younger sis likes you a lot. ..

46) My mummy does not like your family (if the family knows each other.) ..

47) "Why me?..Tumne mere meih essa kya dekha?..."she wants you to list down all the Good qualities that you even might have not seen in her. ...

48) SLAP !! ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS....it is said ..

49)hehe I didn't expect that from you....

50)nice joke ...

51)tum ladke kuchh or nahi soch sakte jaha ladki dekhi fisal gaye.....

52)achha tum bhi meine socha sirf harsh,nikhil, ravi, etc etc ko hi mujhme interest hai ..... And then walks on.......... ...

53)tumhe to purpose karna bhi nahi aata.... Peheli bari hai kya?? Koi baat nahi mein batati Hun ???...

Air Force Impressed With Akash Surface To Air Missiles Performance

2007-11-24T06:03:00.005-08:00

Over a week long field trials of indigenously developed Surface-to-Air Missile Akash in the deserts of Rajasthan have impressed the top officials of Indian Air Force (IAF), according to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The medium range missile with a range of between 27 to 30 kms has yet to inducted by the IAF, and there were media reports earlier claiming that the IAF's top brass were not satisfied with the missile system, as they found instances when parts of missiles fell from the main body.

Efforts were made to improve the missiles, and field trials were held. The recent field trials conducted in Pokhran in the second week of November have put to rest such kinds of speculations. "The IAF officials were completely impressed by the field trials of the missiles," said a DRDO official.

In August this year, answering to a question in Lok Sabha, Defence Minister A K Antony clarified that the IAF has not declined the induction of Akash missile. Development of Akash missile is a part of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), and the missile system was expected to be inducted by the Indian Army and the Air Force by 2003.

As on July 31, 2007, an amount of Rs. 492.41 crore has already been spent on development of Akash, which has a launch weight of 720 kg, a diameter of 35 cm and a length of 5.8 metres.

It can fly at supersonic speed of around 2.5 Mach and can reach an altitude of 18 kms. The missile is supported by multi-target and multi-function phased array fire control radar called 'Rajendra' that has a range of about 60 km.

The first test flight of the missile was conducted in 1990, and since then many development and field trials have taken place.

Source : india-Defence

Indian Army Still Short Of 11,371 Officers

2007-11-24T06:03:00.003-08:00

There is No shortage of soldiers in the Army. However, there is a shortage of 11,371 officers in the Army which is mainly in the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and below. Several measures have been taken by the Government to enhance recruitment in the Army.

All officers including those in Short Service Commission (SSC) have been made eligible to hold substantive rank of Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel and equivalents after 2, 6 and 13 years of reckonable service respectively. The term of SSC Officer has been extended to 14 years.

This has made the Army an attractive career option. Besides Army has undertaken sustained image projection publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth. Awareness campaigns, participation in career fairs and exhibitions, advertisements in print and electronic media are also some of the other measures in this direction.

This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Amir Alam Khan in Rajya Sabha.

Infiltration Increasing From Pakistan: Army Chief

2007-11-24T06:03:00.002-08:00

Infiltration from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir has increased in recent weeks, Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said here Friday.

Here to address a conference on 'Changing dimensions of international security and its implications for India', Kapoor said that subversive elements are trying to get into the country.

'You would have noticed that of late there have been attempts to increase infiltration by the other side. The situation is very much under our control but infiltration still continues,' Kapoor said.

The Army chief said that the political situation in Pakistan was being observed.

'We want a stable Pakistan. We hope that things will get back to normal early,' he added.

Regarding the controversy over security checks of service chiefs at airports, Kapoor steered clear saying that 'it was up to the government to decide on the issue.'

Addressing the conference, Kapoor said that security in the present times had several connotations. 'There is environmental security, information security, energy security and humanitarian security,' he said.

'Globalisation had brought about strengths and inimical disorders into the realms of security. Globalisation had blurred boundaries and enhanced vulnerability. Acquisition of mass destruction weapons by non-state actors are also a cause of concern,' he added.

Talking of the future threat scenario, Kapoor said that one had to guard against threats to strategic installations, economy manipulation of stock exchanges, propaganda, drug trafficking, global warming and de-forestation. He also referred to the growing discontent in the society because of socio-economic disparities, which were causing alienation, societal faults like religion, ethnic, communal divisive factors and environmental issues.

He also emphasised the need for re-structuring of the forces with emphasis on right side, technological advancements, budgetary support and to build joint operational capabilities with sister forces

Source: http://www.newspostindia.com/report-24440

India Launches Operation To Aid Cyclone-hit Bangladesh

2007-11-24T06:03:00.001-08:00

India has launched an operation to help the victims of the cyclone-hit Bangladesh, even as the world community assured $550 million and Bangladeshis in US launched a fund collection drive.

'Operation Sahayata' would provide relief materials worth Rs.30 million (Tk 520 million or $8.6 million) to the cyclone-hit victims in Bangladesh.

The materials to be sent would include medical equipment, 20,000 packs of ready-to-eat food, 10,000 blankets, 400 tents and 2,400 kg of medicines, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) news agency reported Friday.

One of the three Il-76 aircraft carrying relief materials under the programme arrived at Zia International Airport here in the early hours Thursday, said an Indian High Commission official, adding that two more aircraft would arrive Friday and Saturday.

India will provide assistance of $22 million, including 40,000 tonnes of rice, 10,000 tonnes of wheat and 1,000 tonnes of milk powder, media reports said Friday.

Donor nations and agencies have so far pledged over $550 million in assistance for the people in south and southwestern districts hit by Cyclone Sidr as the government unveiled a three-phase rehabilitation plan.

The Food and Disaster Management Ministry has outlined both short and long term rehabilitation programmes for the cyclone-hit areas, which include repair of damaged roads and houses as well as saving the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, ministry sources said.

Meanwhile, a disaster management expert Thursday asked the Bangladeshi government to repair roads in the affected region as first priority for easy transportation of relief materials to remote areas.

'I think there is no crisis of relief materials as people from home and abroad have responded positively to help the affected people,' Gawher Nayeem Wahra, convener of Bangladesh Disaster Forum, was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

Despite the massive rehabilitation and relief programmes of the government, various quarters have raised questions about the management of relief distribution, as many of the affected people are yet to receive emergency aid.

Wahra said transportation of relief materials to remote areas has become a major challenge. Most of the roads have been damaged in the cyclone, while damage to jetties also affected the communication system.

'The government can engage army personnel in repairing the roads and jetties immediately,' he said.

He, however, pointed out that the aid workers are facing acute problems in reaching destitute people in remote areas.

A coordination meeting of secretaries of different ministries at the cabinet division discussed requirement of foreign assistance to meet the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr.

They were informed that the World Bank assured an assistance of $250 million and the Asian Development Bank pledged $100 million for the affected people.

'Of the $250 million World Bank assistance, $75 million will be provided as budgetary support,' said a top government official.

The government has identified Barguna, Patuakhali, Bagerhat and Pirojpur as the worst affected districts and eight other districts - Barisal, Jhalakathi, Bhola, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Shariatpur, Khulna and Satkhira - as badly affected.

The government will run a Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme from December to March in 12 districts. Every VGF cardholder will get 15 kg of rice per month free.

A total of 25,90,000 cards will be distributed in the districts, officials said.

According to the Food and Disaster Management Ministry data Thursday night, 6.5 million people have been badly affected by Cyclone Sidr. Crops on 461,392 acres of land have been damaged completely and on 1,225,304 acres partially.

The cyclone has destroyed at least 363,346 houses completely and 815,628 houses partially.

The Bangladesh Embassy in the US and the Bangladeshi community residing there are jointly raising funds for the cyclone-affected people.

India Launches Operation To Aid Cyclone-hit Bangladesh

2007-11-24T06:03:00.000-08:00

Road safety: 17 online driver education videos for Indian road users

2007-11-23T01:08:00.001-08:00

Almost 10% of the global road traffic accidents occur in India. Much
of the world wide web is full of sarcasm & mocking of the
indisciplined driving on Indian roads. Unfortunately in since 60
years since independence the authorities have failed to publish a
National Highway code. Licences are given to anyone who can
demonstrate an ability to use the clutch-accelerator, consequently
the motoer driving schools teach just that and no more. Concepts such
as - blindspots, principle of MSM, the tyre & tarmac rule, 2 second
gap and most improtantly giving way are not known to the average
Indian driver.

This site http://driving-india.blogspot.com/ has been created with
the purpose of providing driver education and training to all Indian
road users. It is by far the most comprehensive website providing
training in defensive driving. Learning simple road habits can make
our roads safe and also free up congestion caused by traffic chaos.

At present 17 driver education videos aimed at changing the driving
culture on Indian roads are available. The video are unique in that
the footage is real life action from streets of London. We have
copied the Western habits: Replaced the dhoti with denim, high rise
buildings for Indian cottages, burgers and coke instead of Indian
breads and perhaps sugarcane juice. Surely we can copy the Western
ways of travelling too.

To watch the videos, interested readers may visit: http://driving-
india.blogspot.com/

The videos cover the following topics:

Video 1: Covers the concept of Blind spots
Video 2: Introduces the principle of Mirrors, Signal and Manoeuvre
Video 3: At red lights, stop behind the stop line
Video 4: At red lights there are no free left turns
Video 5: The Zebra belongs to pedestrians
Video 6: Tyres and Tarmac (rather than bumper to bumper)
Video 7: Merging with the Main road
Video 8: Leaving The Main Road
Video 9: Never Cut Corners
Video 10: Show Courtesy on roads
Video 11: 5 Rules that help deal with Roundabouts
Video 12: Speed limits, stopping distances, tailgating & 2 seconds
rule
Video 13: Lane discipline and overtaking
Video 14: Low beam or high beam?
Video 15: Parallel (reverse parking) made easy
Video 16: Give the cyclist the respect of a car
Video 17: Dealing with in-car condensation

SANTA Ji

2007-11-23T01:08:00.000-08:00

Santa needed some money desperately. Banta
Tells him that if he prays to Shivji in a temple, his
prayers would surely be answered.
So Santa goes to a Shiva temple. The temple had a
large Lord Shiva
statue. Santa closes his eyes, bows his head, joins
his hands and says his prayer.
Santa: "Ho Jee tussee itne vadde ho. Itne mahan ho.
Saannoo 100 rupayen chahiye. Kripa karo."
(OH GOD I NEED 100$ PLZZ HELP ME)
The priest sees Santa praying. He wants to help Santa
but knows that a Sikh will never accept the money. So
he drops a 100-rupee note,from behind the statue, so
that Santa can not see
him.
After Santa had says his prayers, and opens his eyes.
He sees the note
and thinks that god has listened to his prayers. He
takes the note and goes away.
However he is back again next day for money. Now the
priest is really annoyed with Santa.
The Priest decides that he is not going to give any
more money to Santa. He changes the big Shivji statue
with a smaller one of Ganapathi(LORD SHIV SON) that day.
Once again Santa goes to the prayer room. However he
does not notice the difference.
Santa closes his eyes, bows his head, joins his hands
and says his prayer.
Santa: "Ho Jee tussee itne vadde ho. Itne mahan ho.
Ajj to saannoo 50 rupayen hi chahiye. Kirpa karo."
(OH GOD YOU ARE GREAT I NEED 50$ PLZZ HELP ME)
After that he slowly opens his eyes and does not find
any money. So he lowers his demand a bit.
Santa: "O papa jee tussee itne vadde ho. Itne mahan
ho. Asee 10 rupayen me hi kaam chala lenge. Kirpa karo
jee."
(OH GOD YOU ARE GREAT I NEED just 10$ PLZZ HELP ME)
Again he slowly opens his eyes and does not find any
money. He slowly raises his head and now notices
the small Ganapathi(LORD SHIV SON) statue. He carefully looks left and
then right, and then slowly moves a bit forward near
the statue.
Then he whispers to the statue: "Puttar, Papa kitthe
hein ??!!
(WHERE IS YOUR DAD????)

VASTU GUIDELINES ON VEHICLE PARKING

2007-11-18T05:45:00.000-08:00

Your cars reflect your personalities. In some countries it is practice to give a personal name to their own vehicles. Most of the people spend hours at a time in their cars which become like mini- homes. Like our homes, they become an extension of ourselves.

A neat, clean car generates a different impression of its owner to a dirty one. Negative energy in cars has the power to create a lasting damage and destruction to their owners and to others. To keep a clean space and healthy flow of energy, remove clutter such as fast food cartons, car park tickets, confectionary wrappers etc. Look after them as your family member.

Vehicle being important medium of transport, some rules of vastu can also be applied here. Following such rules one derives maximum benefit of vastu science. In metro cities it may be difficult to park he vehicle in desired direction but it is possible to choose any positive prime direction i.e. east or north.

1. Vehicle parking should be on the North West location of the plot or building. This rule is applied where the vehicle is parked for maximum period of time.

2. Vehicle should be parked facing positive directions i.e.east or north.

3. Parking at south west should be avoided. The car remains in the garage for longer period or it will require frequent repairs. In short the vehicle will not be useful for the owner.

4. Vehicle should not be parked facing south. South facing vehicle does not help user in positive way. User may feel his/her target or work is not going in positive direction.

5. Business people should park their vehicle facing North. This will help them in getting better deal in business. People in job should park their vehicle facing east. This will improve their intelegence and skill to work better in their work place. If parking is done facing west of North west corner, there will too much traveling for owner of vehicle. Whenever you have important project or business deal, park your vehicle facing north or east on the previous night.

6. Roof of the parking area should have slope towards east or north.

7. The slope in the parking area should be towards east or north.

Indians develop new iron using ancient technology

2007-11-16T23:46:00.001-08:00

Indian metallurgists have developed a type of corrosion-resistant iron that construction engineers would love. And vital clues for it came for Delhi's famous Iron Pillar that has been standing tall for over 1,600 years.

Developed by Ramamurthy Balasubramaniam and his former student Gadadhar Sahoo of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur, the iron contains phosphorus and shows remarkable resistance to corrosion, especially in concrete.

'This is a significant first step in the possible commercial (large-scale) use of these irons,' Balasubramaniam, better known as Bala, told IANS.

Most steels today contain small amounts of carbon and manganese. Modern steel makers avoid phosphorus because its segregation to grain boundaries makes the steel brittle.

But the IIT team successfully produced ductile phosphoric irons by driving the phosphorus away from grain boundaries through clever alloy design and novel heat treatment.

Ironically, Bala's material is not new. It was being made by Indian ironsmiths centuries ago. Bala says he got the clue for developing this material from the six-tonne seven-metre tall Delhi Iron Pillar - a major tourist attraction in the Qutb Minar complex -- that has been standing for centuries in the harsh weather of the capital without any corrosion.

'As a metallurgist, I was intrigued,' Bala told IANS. And his passionate quest to unravel the mystery that began in 1990s has now culminated in phosphoric irons.

The test samples developed by the IIT team remained fresh after three months of being immersed in solution, simulating the corrosive concrete environment, whereas the best commercially available steels got rusted. In another experiment, they embedded the samples in concrete to simulate actual conditions and obtained similar results.

'The work is especially important in regard to the widespread use of steels in civil structures,' said Gerhard E. Welsch, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio).

'The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis has added new urgency,' Welsch said in a congratulatory message to Bala. Seven people died when the bridge across the Mississippi river collapsed Aug 2, 2007.

Current philosophies to tackle corrosion in concrete include the addition of inhibitors to the cement mix, use of rebars that are galvanised, epoxy coated, or micro-alloyed by the addition of small amounts of chromium, copper and nickel -- elements that are known to induce passivity in iron.

Their high cost is a disadvantage, says Bala. 'Besides, we have experimentally shown our phosphoric irons perform better.'

Bala's real break came when he found that the iron used in the Delhi pillar contained elevated amounts of phosphorus -- as much as 0.25 percent against less than 0.05 percent in today's iron. He found this was a result of the ancient process where iron ore is reduced in a single step by mixing it with charcoal, without any limestone addition.

Modern blast furnaces, on the other hand, use limestone yielding molten slag and pig iron (high in carbon) that is later converted into steel. Most phosphorus is carried away by the basic slag.

Further studies and analysing rust from the pillar showed that phosphorus catalysed the formation of a protective passive film on the surface of the pillar that acted as a barrier between the metal and rust.

Tanjore Anantharaman, author of the book 'Delhi Iron Pillar - the Rustless Wonder' and Bala's former teacher at the Benaras Hindu University, says phosphorus was long suspected to be behind the pillar's corrosion resistance. 'It was Bala who proved it.'

That was in 2000. Actual material development and corrosion tests were initiated in 2003 when Sahoo joined Bala for his PhD that he completed in 2006.

'Our papers based on the thesis are coming out now,' Bala said. All the work, he said, was done with institute funds without any external support.

'Certainly, we are not claiming that this is the end of our studies,' admits Bala. 'We have shown the usefulness of phosphoric irons for concrete reinforcement applications. Now it has to be taken up by more researchers for greater understanding.'

Bala thanks his forefathers for the success. 'I am of the firm belief that ancient Indian metallurgists had the empirical knowledge that high phosphorus content ores resulted in corrosion-resistant iron. They did not create this material by accident.'

(Courtesy: IndiaeNews.com; October 13, 2007)

(URL: http://www.indiaenews.com/technology/20071013/75049.htm )

Indians develop new iron using ancient technology

2007-11-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

India Concerned Over Safety Of Pakistani Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation

2007-11-16T23:19:00.003-08:00

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday termed the proliferation of weapons of mass destructions (WMDs) as the world's most critical challenge, and expressed concern over the possibility of it falling into the hands of terrorists.

Speaking at a function here today, Mukherjee said, "Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the possibility of their falling into the hands of terrorists must rank among the most critical challenges facing the world today."

He said that present measures to stop proliferation of such weapons are not sufficient, and called for adoption of a new approach that would also prioritise disarmament.

"The issue cannot be addressed merely by focusing on supply-side technology controls. The so-called AQ Khan network made a mockery of these controls," he said, adding, "India has always pursued the objective of global disarmament, based on the principles of universality, non-discrimination and effective compliance."

Mukherjee's statement comes in the wake of the current unrest in Pakistan, that has led to growing fears in the global community that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal could fall into the hands of al Qaeda supportive militants there. Pakistan has rejected such fears, and has said that it could defend its nuclear arsenal.

U.S. Defense Major Raytheon Ties Up With L&T, Wipro, Godrej

2007-11-16T23:19:00.002-08:00

Leading US defence company Raytheon has signed memorandums of understanding with major Indian companies in the last few days to develop defence technology for India's armed forces. 'We have signed MoUs with Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, Godrej & Boyce and Data Patterns in the last few days,' Wes Motooka, Raytheon's vice-president for international strategy and business development, told IANS at the Dubai Airshow here Tuesday.

These were in addition to the MoU Raytheon had signed with Tata Power in February this year. Raytheon is now working closely with the strategic electronics division of Tata Power. 'These strategic alignments make good business sense for Raytheon and for India,' said Motooka. 'The scope (of these partnerships) is envisioned to include electronics, metal fabrication, test equipment, environmental control, power supplies and automatic mechanisms.'

These Indian companies are among the largest manufacturers of technology and defence equipment for India's armed forces. They produce a wide range of products in the areas of radar, naval systems, telecommunications and broadcast, electronic warfare, tank electronics, opto-electronics, professional electronic components and solar photovoltaic systems. Motooka said the tie-ups were a critical phase of Raytheon's plan to build a team committed to providing top quality products for India's armed forces.

'Our Indian associates are highly respected and proven technology suppliers. Our complementary capabilities will bring great value to India's military forces. We are looking forward to mutual success with these Indian companies.' He added that his company is looking for more tie-ups with Indian firms. 'We are looking for more Indian companies to partner but these are all subject to approval from the Indian and US governments.

' Source : india-defence.com

Infiltration increases, so do gun battles

2007-11-16T23:19:00.001-08:00

SRINAGAR: Increased militant infiltration from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the last few months is fuelling fierce gun battles between the army and the ultras in border areas of Kashmir.

In the last 24 hours, 10 militants and two soldiers have been killed in various gun battles in the border district of Kupwara. Six top militants and two soldiers were killed in a fierce encounter in the Lolab valley on Friday.

Army spokesman Lt Col AK Mathur said on Friday 18 and 28 Rashtriya Rifles troops cordoned off the valley following specific information and launched operations. "In the morning, the troops established contact with the ultras. In the fierce gun battle that followed, all the six ultras hiding there were gunned down. We also lost two soldiers," said Mathur.

The slain soldiers have been identified as rifleman Raj Pal Singh and signalman Adi Naryanan of 18 RR.

"We recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the slain," Mathur said.
Three militants were killed in another encounter at Sonapidi, Kularoos, near the line of control in Kupwara district.

Vijay Kumar, superintendent of police, Kupwara, said, "Initially, two militants were killed in the encounter that began on Thursday. Later, we recovered the body of one more militant."

Kumar said another militant was killed in Gund Manchhar in Kupwara. "On receiving specific information, a joint team of police and 2-PARA eliminated an unidentified militant at Gund Manchher," he said.

The SP, Kupwara, said the encounters had increased due to the rise in infiltration from PoK. "Most militants killed had infiltrated Kashmir recently," he said.

source : http://www.dnaindia.com

Infiltration increases, so do gun battles

2007-11-16T23:19:00.000-08:00

SRINAGAR: Increased militant infiltration from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the last few months is fuelling fierce gun battles between the army and the ultras in border areas of Kashmir.

The slain soldiers have been identified as rifleman Raj Pal Singh and signalman Adi Naryanan of 18 RR.

"We recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the slain," Mathur said.
Three militants were killed in another encounter at Sonapidi, Kularoos, near the line of control in Kupwara district.

Vijay Kumar, superintendent of police, Kupwara, said, "Initially, two militants were killed in the encounter that began on Thursday. Later, we recovered the body of one more militant."

The SP, Kupwara, said the encounters had increased due to the rise in infiltration from PoK. "Most militants killed had infiltrated Kashmir recently," he said.

source : http://www.dnaindia.com

Bhai Ka Resume

2007-11-16T01:23:00.005-08:00

Pakya Bhai Supariwala urf Yeda Khopadi

Objective:
To obtain a challenging position as a Crime Implementation Analyst (CIA)

Education:
* B.S. (Crime Technology) Tihar Jail, India, August 1994

* M.S. (Criminal Sciences) Virginia Prison for International Smugglers and the Unlawful Activists(VPISUA) , August 1996.

Thesis:

"On escaping from high security prisons like Alcatraz with minimal efforts"

Coursework:
Cop Psychology, Plastic Explosives Technology, Bomb Controls and Timer Dev ice Theory, International Smuggling and Drug Trafficking, Object Oriented Crime Design

Work Experience:

* Research Assistant, LTTE Labs, Jaffna, Aug 1990-Aug 1991

* Worked on the prestigious Belt Bomb project

* Dev eloped instant death cyanide capsules in orange, strawberry; and mint flavors (Patent# 007,13,666)

Summer Internship:

Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Mastan Associates, Bombay , June1987-July1990

* Worked as a hitman and was responsible for many supari style killings

* Participated in election rigging in Bihar and made hafta Collections

Honors & Achievements:

* Won 1980 Gabbar Singh Memorial Award (given to child prodigies in crime)

* Member, IPKF (Indian Professional Killers Forum) student chapter

* Performer of the year in 2004 General Elections in Bihar & U.P.

* Strong hold on Govt. & NGOs.

* Specialized in extortion,illegal construction business & fake academic degree supply.

References:

* Dr. Charles Sobhraj, Full Time Prof., Tihar Jail, New Delhi

* Dr. Chandra Swamy, Visiting Faculty Tihar Jail, New Delhi

* Dr. Dawood Ibrahim , Overseas Projects Manager, Dub ai

Too Funny Sardar Jokes

2007-11-16T01:23:00.004-08:00

Inspector to Santa: Phansi se pehle, bata teri aakhri ichha kya hai?
Santa: Mere pair upar aur sir neeche kar k phansi de do!

Santa proposing a girl: Darling kya tum mujse shadi karogi?
Girl: Tameez se baat karo.
Santa: Behan ji, kya aap mujhse shaadi karoge?

Banta: Meri biwi mujhe chod ke chali gayi. Santa: Tu uska khyal nahi rakhta hoga.
Banta: Arre yaar, Sagi behan ki tarah rakhta tha

Banta joins army, given AK 47. He's puzzled & asks Major: Sir, yeh bandook ki nali samne rakhun ya ulta?
Major: Kisi bhi taraf rakho, faida desh ka hi hoga

Santa: Bus stand jane k kitne paise?
Rikshawala: 10 Rs
Santa: 2Rs mein chalega to theek hai
Rikshawala: 2Rs mein kaun le k jayega?
Santa: Peeche baith main lekar jata hoon.

Santa: Main aur meri girlfriend shaadi kar rahe hain.
Banta: Wow, Kab?
Santa: Meri 7 Dec ko aur uski 13 Jan ko.

Santa kissed his girl friend in the park.
Girl: Plz ye sb shadi se pehle…
Santa: Don’t worry darling, I'm already married.

Pappu: Dad what’s Sex?
Santa gets tensed but explains everything.
Pappu: But dad how do I write all that in this small box of school admission form?

Santa: What is the similarity between Bill Gates n Me?
Banta: Don’t know.
Santa: Well.. He never comes to my house & I never go 2 his!

Girl: Will you love me after marriage also?
Santa: This depends on your husband, if he allows me.

WHRE IS THE CIVILISATION????

2007-11-16T01:23:00.003-08:00

An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the
World.
So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to China .
On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he
Noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read
"$10,000 per call".
The American, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by
what The telephone was used for.

The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for
$10,000 you could talk to God.

The American thanked the priest and went along his way.

Next stop was in Japan . There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the
Same golden telephone with the same sign under it.
He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in China
and He asked a nearby nun what its purpose was.
She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000
He Could talk to God.

"O.K., thank you," said the American.

He then traveled to Pakistan , Srilanka , Russia , Germany and France .

In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same
"$10,000
Per call" sign under it.
The American, upon leaving Vermont decided to travel to up to India
to
See if Indians had the same phone.

He arrived in India , and again, in the first church he entered,
there
Was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read
"One Rupee per call."

The American was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign.
"Father, I've traveled all over World and I've seen this same golden
Telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to
Heaven,
But in the US the price was $10,000 per call.

Why is it so cheap here?"

>
> Readers, it is your turn........ Think ......before you scroll down...
>
>
>
> ............ ......
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... .....
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... .....
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
> ............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......
>
>
>
>
> The priest smiled and answered, "You're in India now, Son - it's a
> Local
> Call".
> This is the only heaven on the Earth.

Telephone

2007-11-16T01:23:00.002-08:00

WHRE IS THE CIVILISATION????

2007-11-16T01:23:00.001-08:00

Conversation between Bill Gates and our very own Laloo of Bihar

Gates : Namaskar! you must have heard of Windows.
Laloo : Oh yes! most govt. offices we have the single window clearance
concept.

Gates : At home have u installed Windows?
Laloo : I have removed all windows due to increased burgalaries in our
house.

Gates(Confused) : Then what is the system you operate on?
Laloo : OPERATION? Yes, I had a Hernia operation last month.

Gates(Sweating) : Hope the internet is being used a lot in India.
Laloo: Oh Yes! Due to increased mosquito problems many people are
sleeping
under the net.

Gates: By the year 2000 India should export computer chips.
Laloo: We are already exporting Uncle Chips.

Gates(Feeling very Uneasy): do you regularly use LapTops?
Laloo: My grand-child sleeps on the top of my lap.

Gates(Heavily Sweating): The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh knows a
lot
about RAM and ROM.
Laloo : RUM? Prohibition is being lifted and it will be shortly
available in
A.P..

Gates(Feeling Dizzy): I would like to take your leave before my system
crashes.
Laloo: I have exhuasted all my leave.

Gates: I have no energy left, let us go out and have a bite.
Laloo: BITE? I believe in non-violence. I will not bite.

Gates: (System Crashes and Found Missing).
"Windows is restarting.Please wait........ ....."

WHRE IS THE CIVILISATION????

2007-11-16T01:23:00.000-08:00

Man in India Marries Dog to Atone for Stoning to Death Mating Canines
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Hindustan Times, Associated Press and Time of India contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311079,00.html

NEW DELHI — Selva Kumar had been hounded for 15 years by the memory of a horrible act he'd committed as a teenager.

As an 18-year-old he had stoned and clubbed to death two dogs he found engaged in mating. He then hung their carcasses from a tree.

That's when his personal suffering began.

"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," Kumar told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

Kumar, now 33 and living in the southern Indian district of Sivaganga, could no longer take the physical pain of the "dog curse," so he sought the advice of an astrologer.
Indian man marries a dog
Friends and relations attend P. Selvakumar's wedding to a dog

Her cure for his maladies?

"Marry a dog."

Which is just what Kumar did on Sunday.

In a ceremony befitting a beautiful Indian bride, the bitch, a former 10-year-old stray named "Selvi," was bathed and dressed in a ceremonial orange sari with a garland of flowers adorning her neck. She was then brought to the temple in Tamil Nadu to be presented to Kumar by members of his family.

Kumar, sitting beside his bride, recited his marriage vows, declaring, "I will take care of it until its death." Then, the "couple" was declared married.

Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.

The Hindustan Times reported Kumar's family hosted a feast — while Selvi dined on a bun.

No word on where the couple would honeymoon or reside, or whether they had registered for gifts.

A gujarati boy

2007-11-11T02:22:00.000-08:00

One day many years ago at a school in South London a teacher said to the class of 5-year-olds, "I'll give $20 to the child who can tell me who was the most respected man, whom people consider God, who ever lived."
An Irish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Patrick." The teacher said, "Sorry Alan, that's not correct."
Then a Scottish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Andrew." The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, Hamish, that's not right either.
Finally, a Gujarati boy raised his hand and said, "It was Jesus Christ." The teacher said, "That's absolutely right, Jayant, come up here and I'll give you the $20."
As the teacher was giving Jayant his money, she said, "You know Jayant, since you are Gujarati, I was very surprised you said Jesus Christ." Jayant replied, "Yes, in my heart I knew it was Lord Krishna, but business is busin ess!"

Indian Navy to Receive Technology to Prevent Ship Detection

2007-11-10T06:05:00.004-08:00

Indigenous warship technology for evading detection by enemy ships and submarines will be handed over to the Indian Navy in Vishakapatnam on Wednesday.

A. Sivathanu Pillai, chief controller (R&D) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will hand over the products to Vice-Admiral D.S.P. Varma, chief of materials at the Naval Headquarters. The Vishakapatnam-based Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) has developed the technologies.

'These technologies are aimed for use in modern warships under design and construction. NSTL has nurtured these technologies in the recent past and is progressing strongly towards self-reliance in this critical arena,' a defence ministry release said Tuesday.

'Warship technology is a multi-disciplinary field covering different aspects such as acoustics and electro-magnetics covering a wide band of frequencies. An inter-disciplinary and holistic approach has been adopted in developing these products,' the release added.

NSTL has developed a number of products to avert damages to naval ships in enemy attacks.

Among the products developed are acoustics enclosures, acoustic silencers, double stage vibration isolation systems, radar transparent ladders, stanchions, camouflage screens, and composite blowers.

'All these products were subjected to extensive laboratory and shipboard evaluations. After successful evaluations, these products have been accepted for induction into the Indian Navy,' the release said.

DRDO To Develop Long Range, Subsonic Cruise Missile

2007-11-10T06:05:00.003-08:00

Indian defence scientists have taken up a new cruise missile development programme. The missile named Nirbhay (The Fearless) is in the same class as the US's Tomahawk and will have a range that is 300km longer than Pakistan's Babur.

Nirbhay is Indiaâ€™s seventh missile development project after the Agni series, the Prithvi series, Brahmos (in a joint venture with Russia), Akash, Trishul and Nag. The last three were part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme founded by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Nirbhay is being developed alongside Astra, an air-to-air missile designed to hit targets beyond visual range.

A cruise missile can be guided to a target. A ballistic missile is fired at a pre-determined target. Nirbhay will carry onboard a terrain-identification system that will map its course and relay the information to its guidance and propulsion systems. â€œEvery modern military needs to have missile options. The requirement for Nirbhay was projected by all three armed forces to fill a gap in our missile programme,â€� Avinash Chander, the director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad, who is in charge of the project, told The Telegraph in Delhi today.

Nirbhay will be a terrain-hugging missile capable of avoiding detection by ground-based radar. It would have a range of 1,000km. â€œWe have Brahmos, which is a supersonic cruise missile and the need was felt for a subsonic cruise missile that will be capable of being launched from multiple platforms in land, air and sea,â€� Chander said.

In the schedule drawn up for Nirbhay, a technology demonstrator is slotted for early 2009. Chander said the design for the system is complete and â€œhardware preparations are onâ€�. He said Nirbhay would weigh around 1,000kg and travel at 0.7 mach (nearly 840kmph) and would be capable of delivering 24 different types of warheads. The Pakistani subsonic cruise missile Babur (also called Hatf VII) has ranges of 500 to 700km. The USâ€™s Tomahawk has many versions, the latest of which has ranges in excess of 1,500km.

India Russia To Sign Akula Submarine Deal; To Be Leased For Seven Years

2007-11-10T06:05:00.002-08:00

Ahead of Prime Ministers upcoming visit to Moscow from November 10th, India and Russia are widely expected to sign on the Indian Navy Akula Submarine Lease Deal.

Indian Navy is all set to acquire the nuclear powered advanced submarines for a period of up to seven years. This acquisition would help the Navy prepare for the induction of the ATV, India's indigenous nuclear-powered vessel-in-the-making which goes for sea trials in 2009. Strategic submarines are the key to India's quest for a credible nuclear deterrence.

For Russia, raising the stakes, it hopes, will increase Indian dependence as Moscow seeks to defend its position as No. 1 defense supplier to New Delhi, however Russia's importance as a defense partner to New Delhi declines following India's vastly improving internal defense capabilities compounded with close relations and improving with Israel, France and the United States.

Project 971 Ð©ÑƒÐºÐ°-Ð` (Shchuka-B, 'Shchuka' meaning pike, NATO reporting name "Akula"), is a nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) first deployed by the Soviet Navy in 1986. The class is sometimes erroneously called the "Bars" class, after one of its members. Note that Akula ("shark") is the Soviet designation of the ballistic missile submarine class designated by NATO as the Typhoon class submarine. They are sometimes bitterly called "the Walker class," referring to John Anthony Walker, whose espionage data related to sonar detection was used to improve this submarine.

There are three sub-classes or flights of Shchuka, consisting of the original seven "Akula I" submarines built between 1982 and 1986, five "Improved Akula" submarines built between 1986 and 1991, and four "Akula II" submarines built from 1991. This information is disputed, however, as the distinction between the Improved Akula and the Akula II class is debated by authoritative sources.

Akula incorporates a double hull system that increases the strength reserve and is able to dive deeper than any other modern SSN. It is the quietest Russian nuclear attack submarine; the noise radiated by the Akula-II class is comparable to that of early versions of the American Los Angeles class.

India, Africa, Defence: India To Strengthen Strategic Ties With Gabon

2007-11-10T06:05:00.001-08:00

India will provide expertise to the small defence forces of the Central African Republic of Gabon in disaster management, training and healthcare.

This was agreed during talks between the visiting Senior Minister for National Defence of Gabon, Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba and the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in New Delhi last night. Shri Sanjeeva Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry, later gave a presentation on the potential for cooperation during the delegation level talks.

Ties between the two countries have been expanding since the visit of a high-level Ministerial delegation led by the Gabonese President Mr. El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba to India in May last year. India offered a $14.5 million Line of Credit to Gabon for a housing project during the visit of Gabonese Deputy Minister of Housing Development in July, this year. However, there have been no high-level visits to Gabon from the Indian side.

Gabon, which is slightly bigger than Uttar Pradesh in size, has a very small military of about 10,000 personnel, divided into army, navy, air force and national police. Besides, France, who ruled Gabon for 75 years till 1960, maintain a battalion of 750 marines in the African nation located on the Atlantic Coast. Gabon, whose oil sector accounts for nearly half its GDP, quit the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1995.

India Approves More Funds For Minorities' Development

2007-11-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

The Union cabinet Thursday approved increasing the share capital of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corp (NMDFC) from Rs.6.5 billion to Rs.7.5 billion for economic development of backward sections amongst minorities.

The change in shareholding pattern of the NMDFC would enable it to reach out to more people from backward sections that are below the poverty line

source : http://www.newspostindia.com/report-22579

World's Richest Man...

2007-11-08T07:42:00.000-08:00

Mukesh Ambani is world's richest man
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani today became the richest person in the world, surpassing American software czar Bill Gates, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim Helu and famous investment guru Warren Buffett, courtesy the bull run in the stock market.

Following a strong share price rally on in his three group companies, India's most valued firm Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, the net worth of Mukesh Ambani rose to $63.2 billion (Rs 2,49,108 crore).

In comparison, the net worth of both Gates and Slim is estimated to be slightly lower at around $62.29 billion each, with Slim leading among the two by a narrow margin.

The five richest people in the world with their net worth

1. Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)

2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)

3. William (Bill) Gates ($62.29 billion)

4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)

5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)

Warren Buffett, earlier the third richest in the world, also dropped one position with a net worth of about $56 billion.

Ambani's wealth of about Rs 2,49,000 crore includes about Rs 2,10,000 crore from RIL (50.98% stake), Rs 37,500 crore from RPL (37.5%) and Rs 2,100 crore from RIIL (46.23%).

Slim's wealth has been calculated on the basis of his stake in companies like America Movil (30%), Carso Global (82%), Grupo Carso (75%), Inbursa (67%), IDEAL (30%) and Saks Inc (10%).

According to information available with the US and Mexican stock exchanges where these companies are listed, Slim currently holds shares worth a total of $62.2993 billion, with more than half coming from Latin American mobile major America Movil. Slim is closely followed by Gates with a net worth of $62.29 billion currently.

Earlier last month, US business magazine Forbes had named Gates as the richest American with a net worth of $59 billion, calculated as on August 30. The magazine had said that a movement of $2 in the share price for Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, could "add or subtract $1 billion" from his wealth.

Since August-end, Microsoft's share price has risen by $6.58 (based on yesterday's closing on Nasdaq at $35.03), which results into a gain of $3.29 billion in Gates' wealth based on Forbes assumption.

Besides a stake in Microsoft, Gates' wealth also includes the commission and license fees earned by him and gains through his shares in an investment holding company that invests across the market.

Gates is followed by Buffett at the fourth place in the league of the world's richest with a net worth of $55.9 billion through his holding in his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway and in other companies. At the end of August, Buffett's wealth stood at $52 billion, as per the Forbes magazine. Berkshire Hathaway's share price has gained by about 7.5% since then.

Earlier on September 26, Ambani had overtaken steel czar Lakshmi Mittal to become the richest Indian in the world.

Mittal currently ranks as the fifth richest in the world with a net worth of $50.9 billion through his 44.79% stake in world's biggest steel maker ArcelorMittal.

While most of Mittal's wealth comes from his steel empire, though he has also spread his wings into businesses like oil and real estate, those of Ambani and Gates are mostly through petrochemicals and software respectively. However, Buffett and Slim are making money from investments across a host of sectors.

Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in the World!! Lakshmi Mittal being at 5th position. Two Indians being at top 5!!

Time Pass

2007-11-03T09:22:00.002-07:00

This is a real story of a young college girl who passed away last month
in Chandigarh. Her name was Priya. She was hit by a truck.

She was working in a call centre. She has a boy friend named Shankar.
Both of them are true lovers. They always hang on the phone.You can
never see her without her handphone. In fact she also changed
her phone
from Airtel to Hutch, so both of them can be on the same network, and
save on the cost.

She spends half of the day talking with shankar. Priya's family knows
about their relationship. Shankar is very close with Priya's family.
(just imagine their love) . Before she passed away shealways told her
friends "If I pass away please burn me with my handphone"
she also said the same thing to her parents.

After her death, people cudnt carry her body, I was there. A lot of them
tried to do so but still cant , everybody including me, had tried to
carry the body, the result is still the same. Eventually, they called a
person who know to one of their neighbours, who can speak with the soul
of dead person, who is a friend of her father.

He took a stick and started speaking to himself slowly.

After a few minutes, he said "this girl misses something here." Then her
friends told that person about her intentions to burn her with her
phone.
He then opened the grave box and place her phone and sim card inside the
casket. After that they tried to carry the body. It could be moved and
they carried it into the van easily.

All of us were shocked. Priya's parents did not inform Shankar that
Priya had passed away.

After 2 weeks Shankar called Priya's mom.....

Shankar :...."Aunty, I'm coming home today. Cook something nice for
me.
Dont tell Priya that I'm coming home today, I wanna surprise her."
Her mother replied....."You come home first, I wanna tell you
something very important."

After he came, they told him the truth about Priya. Shankar thinks
that they were playing a fool. He was laughing and said "dont try to
fool me - tell Priya to come out, i have a gift for her. Please stop
this nonsense".

Then they show him the original death certificate to him.
They gave him proof to make him believe. (Shankar started to sweat)
He
said... "Its not true. We spoke yesterday. She still calls me.
Shankar was shaking.

Suddenly, Shankar's phone rang. "see this is from Priya, see
this...."
he showed the phone to priya's family. all of them told him to
answer. he talked using the loudspeaker mode.

All of them heard his conversation.

Loud and clear, no cross lines, no humming.

It is the actual voice of Priya & there is no way others could use
her
sim card since it is nailed.

Inside the grave box they were so shocked and asked for the same
person's
(who can speak with the soul of deal perosns) help again. He brought
his
master to solve this matter.

He & his master

worked for 5 hours.

Then they discovered one thing which really shocked
them€ ’¥’¥’¥

Hutch has the best coverage.

Where ever you go, our network follows!!!

Proud To Be Indian

2007-11-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

The first thing that strikes one about Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr. YS Rajan€ ¦’²s book, India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium is its positive tone. A man who always believed in teamwork, he insists that every reply he gives is further elaborated upon by his colleague and co-author Dr. Rajan, who has put in a long innings with the Indian Space Research Organization. Dr. Kalam says: € ¦’³ We are confident that poverty will be substantially reduced and that no Indian will be living below the poverty line by 2020. We believe that once food and job availability increase, this will have a triggering effect on the whole economy. We also believe this can be achieved without huge capital investments and have elaborated on this in our book.€ ¦’´
***
Tipu Sultan€ ¦’²s army was the first to use rockets. Abdul Kalam tells the story, in half jest and half pain that the British leant about accurate rocket propulsion from Tipu Sultan€ ¦’²s armoury.
***
The ATM bank card technology was developed in India in the late Eighties but it was patented in the US. It was a one million-dollar sale to Unisys which in turn made $700 million by selling it all over the world.
***
The bathing complex at Shirdi, Nasik in Maharashtra, built and maintained by Sulabh International for the Shirdi Saibaba Trust is the largest bathing complex in the world. The complex can serve 30000 people a day.
***
India has the second largest English-speaking graduates in the world (next to the USA).
***
The word navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word € ¦’³navigath€ ¦’´. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word € ¦’³nou€ ¦’´. Which means boat in sanskrit and few other Indian languages. The art of navigation was developed in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The strong Maratha navy had the British at bay for a long time.
***
India€ ¦’²s professional standing army of 1.1 million is the second largest in the world after China€ ¦’²s.
***
India has 18 officially recognized languages with a number of dialects and spin-offs. The nation has newspapers in 87 languages, radio programs in 71 and films in 15.
Sanskrit literature is more than 5000 years old and tamil 3000. Some Indian languages do not have a script. Although some languages are called € ¦’³tribal€ ¦’´ or € ¦’³aboriginal€ ¦’´, their populations may be larger than those that speak some European languages. Bhili and Santali both tribal languages, each have more than 4 million speakers. Gondi is spoken by more than 2 million people.
With 366 and 207 million speakers, Hindi is second and Bengali fifth among the top ten languages spoken in the world. Chinese tops the list as those speaking Chinese Mandarin number 874 million according to the World Almanac and Book of Facts, Modern Language Association of America and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
***
India produces the highest number of feature films per year from eight centres in a record 30 languages and dialects. Between 1912 and 1999, India produced 31264 feature films, both silent and talkies, of which Hindi films comprise 8566.
***
Abhinav Bindra of Chandigarh, is the only person to have shot a perfect score 600/600 in the air rifle (ISU) category at the Chandigarh State Shooting Championship at Patilal Rao range, eclipsing the previous mark 597/600 set by Austria€ ¦’²s Wolfram Wibel.
***
India is the largest producer of milk in the world. The milk is processed and distributed using state-of-the-art technology. The National Dairy Development Board now handles more than 10,900 metric tonnes of milk a day. It is estimated that Operation Flood increased milk-production during the period 1974-94 by 44 million metric tonnes per year. The entire operation is run on a commercial basis. Of the 72,000 village level co-operatives, milk was collected only from 53,000. The rest of them were considered to be commercially unviable. It is estimated that this alone is responsible for more than a billion dollars of rural income. Here is an indigenous initiative that converted the poor into consumers. More importantly, it created six million entrepreneurs in India€ ¦’²s villages.
***
India possesses the largest postal network in the world. It comprises 154149 post offices of which 89 per cent are located in 604341 villages. Letters are collected from 564701 letterboxes and processed by a network of 573 Railway Mail Service (RMS).
***
According to the Gemological Institute of America until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world.
***
There are more than 5000 dailies, 16,000 weeklies and over 6000 fortnightlies in all Indian languages, higher than in any other country.
***
Chennai based eye hospital Sankar Netralaya is the first eye hospital in Asia to obtain an ISO certification.
***
Bharat Bala talks about a moment four years ago as the turning point in his life. His father, a freedom fighter and a close associate of Kamaraj, looked at him and said, € ¦’³ You say that good advertising is being able to encapsulate a product€ ¦’²s Big Idea. Can you create a Big Idea for our country? Can you sell India to Indians?€ ¦’´ That€ ¦’²s how Vande Mataram was born.
In three and half years Bharat Bala, Kanika and the team travelled 60,000 kilometers of India for Vande Mataram, Vande Mataram II and Jana Gana Mana. Ma Tujhe Salam, one of Rahman€ ¦’²s compositions in the first Vande Mataram album, played in 400 cinema halls. € ¦’³ There was chaos in the theatres,€ ¦’´ Bharat Bala says proudly, € ¦’³they kept playing the song again and again!€ ¦’´
Jana Gana Mana took 65 musicians to Ladakh. And they weren€ ¦’²t just any musicians: Bhimsen Joshi, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Jasraj, Shiv Kumar Sharma€ ¦’¥. you name them, they were there. Each one gave his/her own unique rendition of the national anthem, each wearing white, each standing dramatically against the area€ ¦’²s bleak backdrop.
***
Carlene Moore Ellis, director, education programme, for Intel Corporation, thinks that the computer education in India is fairly unique. She says: € ¦’³Our concerns in the US have not enough home work, too much free time, not enough time spent on math and science in classrooms. It is a great concern that American students are scoring last in math and science in the whole world. The top scorer in math and science is pretty much Asia. I think India€ ¦’²s math and science skills are outrageously good. I should have put my children in India from KG through class 8. I greatly admire this country€ ¦’²s passion for education. The valuing of education as a culture, the indisputable regard for educators and people attempting to educate a country of a billion people is very much to be admired. You should be proud of what you€ ¦’²ve done as a country.€ ¦’´
***
Hero Cycles Ltd., the flagship company of the Hero group, has been the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world since 1986. The two units at Ludhiana and Sahibabad have a combined production capacity of more than 16,500 bicycles a day.
***
The Keeled Chana National Park, Bharatpur (Rajasthan) is considered one of the finest bird sanctuaries in the world.
***
Taranath Shenoy, who is deaf, dumb and blind in one eye, did not let his physical disability stop him from swimming across the English Channel and the Straits of Gibraltar.
***
Jaipur foot looks exactly like the normal foot and matches the color of the skin. An Indian creation, Jaipur foot is now a part of medical terminology. Sudha Chandran who is a famous Bharatanatyam dancer lost her leg in an accident. She gave her first performance with the artificial limb on January 28 1984 and danced for nearly two hours.
***
In Surya Siddhanta, Bhaskaracharya calculates the time taken for the earth to orbit the sun to 9 decimal places (365.258756484 days). The modern accepted measurement is 365.2596 days. The difference between the ancient measurement (1500 years ago) and the modern measurement is only 0.00085 days (0.0002%). India has given the world the idea of the smallest and the largest measure of time € ¦’¶ from 34,000 th of a second (Krati) to 4.32 billion years (Kalpa).
***
Amartya Sen is high up in the world league of serious thinkers and a Nobel laureate in economics. He could have also won the prize for philosophy if the committee recognized the subject.
His work on the causes of famine changed public perceptions by showing why thousands might starve even when a country€ ¦’²s food production has not diminished, and his analysis of poverty has been enormously influential. Arguing that simple measures of GNP were not enough to assess the standard of living, he helped to create the United Nations€ ¦’² Human Development Index€ ¦’¥.
€ ¦’³He has a mind like a searchlight, yet he works at Mozartian speed. His output is staggering in its volume,€ ¦’´ comments Robert Cassen, an economist at the LSE.
-Jonathan Steele, March 31, 2001, The Guardian
***
From 173 million voters 50 years ago, the number grew to 619 million in the 1999 general elections, making India€ ¦’²s elections the largest in the world.
***
In 1997, Cipla launched transparent Rotahaler, the world€ ¦’²s first dry powder inhaler device now patented by Cipla in India and abroad.
***
Mr. Narayan NR Murthy, Chairman and CEO of Infosys, was named among the € ¦’±25 most influential global executives€ ¦’² by TIME/CNN in 2001. Infosys was ranked number two in corporate governance in a survey of 495 emerging companies conducted by CLSA emerging markets.
Mr. Narayan Murthy has sold 36,500 of his own shares in Infosys to contribute to charitable activities. The total value of this sale will be close to Rs.12 crores, based on that day€ ¦’²s closing price of Rs.3,210 on BSE. According to a notice sent to the stock exchange, Mr.Narayan Murthy owned 5.64 lakh shares in Infosys that, after the sale, has come down to 5.28 lakh shares.
Mr.Narayan Murthy and other Infoscians see social responsibility as a way of life. Mr. Narayan Murthy is a regular contributor to several charities. He and his wife Sudha Murthy have contributed close to Rs. Eight crores for the creation of 100 Nirmala Bangalore sanitation systems, HealthNet Infrastructure, under the Bangalore Agenda Task Force.
***
India is already the globe€ ¦’²s largest producer of films, annually cranking out some 800 titles. Exports earned $100 million in 1999, a tenfold increase since 1990. The year 2000 earnings were estimated at $250 million. Management consultant Arthur Andersen predicts Indian exports will expand by at least 50 per cent each year, earning around $3 billion by 2006.
India€ ¦’²s IT software and engineering savvy is spilling into India€ ¦’²s fast-growing reputation as an outsourcing center for high-quality, low-cost animation and special effects. (Indian companies typically charge 75 percent less than U.S. companies.) Arthur Andersen forecasts that Indian animation exports alone will reach $2 billion in 2003.
€ ¦’³Indians have it in them to match Hollywood€ ¦’²s standards shoulder to shoulder. For instance Signs, Manoj Night Shyamalan€ ¦’²s latest film, debuted at number one in mid-August 2002 with a staggering $60.3 million in ticket sales. Signs played in 3,264 theatres, averaged $18,469 per location and grossed more than the rest of the Top Five combined. Manoj Shymalan is described as the next Steven Spielberg. He improved on the record openings of his previous film, Unbreakable (2000), which grossed $30.3 million in the first weekend and eventually closed with $95 million. The Sixth Sense (1999) debuted at $26.7 million and raked in $293.5 million. Both films, starring Bruce Willis, collectively grossed over $900 million at the global box office. Signs posted the 11 th largest opening weekend ever, the fifth best among sequels and the second biggest in August 2002 after Rush Hour 2, which premiered around the same weekend a year ago.€ ¦’´
Source: Article by Anil Padmanabhan in India Today, August 2002
Manoj Night Shyamalan also wrote the screenplay for the family hit Stuart Little and became the first Indian-American or € ¦’±person of color€ ¦’² to ever be nominated in both the best writer and director Oscar categories.
The Gladiator recreates ancient Rome in all her majesty and film critics are going nuts about the perfect atmospheric smoke and the dazzling sets. The large chunks of these sets were not made in Dream Work€ ¦’²s fancy Hollywood studio, but right here in India. A Mumbai-based art-decorator firm, Nitish Roy & Associates, was hired to design portions of the sets for the spectacular Roman saga. The offer to prop up the Gladiator came like a bolt from the blue. Mr.Roy and his partner Sunil Pillai got a call in January 1999 from an old friend, Crispan Sallis, who had been hired as art decorator for the Gladiator to replace the existing one who had made a hash of things and had run through most of the budget. Recounts Mr.Pillai, € ¦’³ Crispan called us and said, € ¦’± I have no time and almost no money. You have to help me.€ ¦’´ It was an order they couldn€ ¦’²t refuse. Also one does not refuse a $107 million-budget Ridley Scott film.
Gurinder Chadha€ ¦’²s Bend It Like Beckham shot to number one in the British Box office, which represents a record for a film directed by an Indian.
***
The world€ ¦’²s first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC.
Nalanda University, the Harvard of its times was built in 4 th century BC and was one of the greatest achievements in the field of education. More than 10,500 students studied over 60 subjects at the Nalanda University. The subjects included Brahminical and Buddhist, sacred and secular, philosophical and practical. Nalanda attracted students not only from parts of India but also from far off lands.
***
The fact about the awe of Indian railways continues: Tracks of 1,00,000 Km. 700 stations. 2,300 railway yards. 11,000 freight and passenger trains a day. Over a million passengers a day. The longest tunnel in the world. The highest station in the world. One of the most challenging bits of construction (Konkan Railway). The largest railway in the world. In 1906, the largest railway station in the world was built at Howrah. One of the largest employers in the world. And perhaps among the cheapest tickets in the world.
***
Reuters is today the world€ ¦’²s largest news and television agency, with 198 bureaus serving 150 countries and revenues of more than $ six billion. The reputation of the service has been enhanced as much by its scoops and pioneering use of technology as by its fierce determination to protect its independence. Now, for the first time, it has placed its trust on an Indian to preserve its neutrality by appointing Mammen Mathew, Editor and Managing Director of the Malayala Manorama Group of Publications, as a Reuters trustee and director. Mammen Mathew, Chief Editor of TheWeek, is modest about the honour. € ¦’³It is a national recognition,€ ¦’´ he says. € ¦’³ It is an acceptance of the vibrancy of Indian journalism.€ ¦’´
***
Four Indian scientists have discovered that a type of chilli grown in the country€ ¦’²s Northeast region has the highest Scoville units per capsaicin € ¦’¶ a measure of hotness. The hottest chilli on earth is Indian indeed! Called the Tezpur Chilli after the area where it is grown, scientists say the pepper has beaten Mexico€ ¦’²s Red Savina Habanero, widely acclaimed as the hottest chilli in the world. € ¦’±The Tezpur Chilli was rated 85,000 Scoville units€ ¦’¥ The Mexican Chilli contained 57,000 Scoville units of pure capsaicin,€ ¦’² one of the scientists said.
***
A number of foreign airlines like British Airways, Singapore airlines and Swissair get their software developed in India-one good reason why their airlines run so efficiently.
***
Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages. According to Forbes (July 1987), Sanskrit was considered the most suitable language for speech recognition in Computer.During the early years of software revolution when western scientists were figuring out a way of constructing a protocol for writing code, they realized that the principles had already been laid down in the Sanskrit language by Panini some 2500 years ago.
***
India€ ¦’²s promising contribution to the world, the Simputer, a low cost portable alternative is out and its worldwide demand already exceeds the one million mark. It was formally launched here by its creators, four professors of the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) in Bangalore and three experts from Encore Software. The name Simputer, derived from € ¦’±Simple€ ¦’² and € ¦’±Computer€ ¦’² is about the size of a palm top but much more powerful and has ten times its processing speed. If produced in large volumes, it would cost Rs.9000 or less than $200.
The Simputer is expected to enable IT benefits to reach the common man. It has a special role in the third world because it ensures that illiteracy is not longer a barrier to handle computers. The key to bridging the digital divide is to have shared devices that permit truly simple and natural user interfaces based on sight, touch and audio. The Simputer meets these demands through a browser for the Information Markup Language (IML). IML has been created to provide a uniform experience to users and to allow the rapid development of solutions on any platform. Multi-lingual, it can operate in English, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Bengali. It can play MP3 files, send and receive e-mail and browse the web. It has a touch screen graphical interface, a speech synthesizer that can read text aloud to illiterates and a Smartcard for multiple sharing.
Simputers can be set up either at info kiosks, in the village panchayat, schools or even shops. Media Lab Asia has also purchased 100 units, state governments € ¦’¶ especially in the South € ¦’¶ are launching trials, and so are countries in Africa, Europe, the Far East, South East Asia and South America. Experts predict that the Simputer will revolutionize the market much in the same way as Sony€ ¦’²s Walkman.
***
Hindalco was adjudged the worldwide runner-up for the Millennium Business Award for Environmental Achievement under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme. The company€ ¦’²s Hirakud smelter was adjudged the Best Performing Smelter in the one to three million hours category by the International Primary Aluminium Institute, UK.
***
The Patang museum in Ahmedabad is one of the only two kite museums of the world. The other one being located in Tokyo.
***
In many ways, the 1200 hectare township called Kumbhanagar is a mini-India, a temporary home to people from all over the country and, indeed, the world. The clean Kumbha is a creation of 6000 sweepers working virtually round the clock. It has been gratifying to see workers remove trash from bathing ghats almost as soon as it is spotted. A monumental 200 tonnes of solid waste is trucked away from the Kumbhanagar every day. The 30 million pilgrims who took a holy dip on January 24, 2001 numbered more than the residents of Delhi and Mumbai put together; to use another reference point, they equalled the Canadian population.
India Today, 5 February 2001
***
In a breakthrough in brain research, the Indian American scientist has discovered that the part of the brain used for hearing can also be made to see. Mriganka Sur, head of the department of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that when an animal€ ¦’²s brain was rewired so that visual input was directed to the auditory cortex, or the part used for hearing, it responded to visual stimuli
***
Indian-American scientist Rusi Taleyarkhan is making waves. He, along with his US colleagues, has caused a stir in the world scientific community by claiming to be the first to have achieved nuclear fusion in a small table-top experiment at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, USA.
Taleyarkhan, an alumnus of IIT Chennai, along with another scientist Richard Lahey, led the research team. Taleyarkhan opine, € ¦’³ The real significance of my discovery is that now for the first time one can use simple mechanical means to initiate and control fundamental forces of nature, specifically nuclear fusion. This has immense potential for limitless and clean form of energy. Presently we have been able to utilize simple tabletop mechanical energy to induce and control a nuclear fusion phenomenon. This can be used for a variety of applications like materials synthesis, chemical reactions, radiography and medicinal treatment.
In the future, is this technique can be scaled, it will be possible to generate a limitless and a relatively clean energy source for several hundred years. Fusion reactions of a certain type would produce about the same energy that will be a million times greater than either gasoline or coal.
Source: The Times of India
***
In the number of companies listed, India is in second place, only after US. The US leads with 6355 listed companies as of end 2001. India follows closely with 5795.
***
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) is a world heritage site, the second after the Semming Railway in Australia to be accorded the status. The UNESCO world heritage committee said, € ¦’³ DHR is the first and still the most outstanding example of hill passenger railway,€ ¦’´ the committee said. Opened in 1881, it applied bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problems of establishing an effective rail link across a difficult mountainous terrain of great beauty. Fully operational and retaining most of its original features intact, the DHR is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multicultural region.
***

Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics scientists achieved a 99.995 per cent concentration of helium. India is now a part of an elite club comprising US, Poland, Russia, Algeria and Falkland Islands, which have the technology to produce liquefied helium. The breakthrough means India may not have to import helium from US, which costs Rs. 400 per cu.m. The technology has applications in medicine, space research, defense and atomic energy. The capability to produce liquid helium will boost cryotechnology in India.
***
Bangalore has been named one of the top seven intelligent communities in the world for 2002 by Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a project of the World Teleport Association. The other six intelligent communities named by ICF are: Calgary in Canada, Florida High Tech Corridor Council and La Grange in the US, Seoul in South Korea, Singapore and Sunderland in the UK.
ICF developed a list of five Intelligent Community Indicators that provide the first global framework for understanding how communities and regions could gain a competitive edge today. The indicators relate to the deployment of broadband communications, knowledge work, programmes to overcome the digital divide, access to risk capital and effective economic development marketing.
According to ICF, the top seven have been chosen not because they excel in all these areas, but because each demonstrates excellence in at least one.
***
Dr.A.D. Karve, an Indian scientist heading a Pune-based non-governmental organization, has won a 30,000 pound sterling international award for discovering and implementing a unique technology for producing clean fuel from sugarcane waste. Karve, grandson of social reformer Maharshi Dondo Keshav Karve, was chosen for the award from among four finalists from over the world. The project converts a large-scale environmental problem € ¦’¶ burning millions of tonnes of sugarcane waste in open fields each year € ¦’¶ into a huge income-generating opportunity: providing clean and cheap domestic fuel.
***
Shaleen Haralalka, a 12 th standard student of St.John€ ¦’²s High School at Kota in Rajasthan, has developed equipment that can destroy landmines. He is among the four youngsters from India to be awarded a British Council scholarship to attend the two-week international science forum in London. He was one of the eight students in the world chosen by the Indian Space Research Organization and NASA to participate in the € ¦’³Red Rover Goes to Mars€ ¦’´ mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles in March. The equipment developed by Shaleen Haralalka is remote controlled, small, portable, lightweight and economical (production cost of Rs 10,000 per piece only).
Source: The Times of India, 25 July 2002
***
Copernicus published his theory of revolution of the earth in 1543 AD. Some 1000 years earlier, Aryabhatta stated that the earth revolves around the sun using the following specific words: € ¦’³ Just as a person travelling in a boat feels that the trees on the bank are moving, people on the Earth feel that the Sun is moving.€ ¦’´
***
A few drops of this medicine put in a band-aid strip and pressed against the skin on a patient suffering from malignant brain tumor gave immense relief from the excruciating pain! Prof. Asru Sinha and a group of scientists in Jadhavpur University introduced this anti-neoplastin. It has shown remarkable efficacy in nearly 30,000 people in the last two years. The success rate was 78- 80% from esophageal cancer, 60% for colon and for rectum it was 65%.
***
The managers of Yahoo! And scores of other search engines that enable netizens to cruise the Infobahn have the late Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan to thank. He was the pioneer of Library Science. In the thirties, while studying in England, Ranganathan created a classification and retrieval system that formed the technical basis of many search engines today. He wrote the classic € ¦’± The five laws of Library Science€ ¦’² in 1931. In a recent Yahoo! Article, Aimee Glassel, the Internet Scout Projects€ ¦’² lead Internet cataloger says, € ¦’³ What Ranganathan recognized was that the world of knowledge was growing very quickly, with new areas being discovered and new ways to combine existing subjects. Any classification that attempted to enumerate a finite number of subjects without full capabilities for expansion to allow for new areas of knowledge could never meet the needs of the future. Ranganathan wanted to classify knowledge into broad classes, which were then broken down
into basic concepts or elements according to characteristics called facets. Individual facets were then synthesized to form a complete class number, which could describe in detail a single book. This is the underlying principle of colon classification.€ ¦’´

***
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad is the toughest management school in the world to get into, ahead of Harvard Business school, Columbia University, Spain€ ¦’²s Institute de Empressa and France€ ¦’²s Insead, according to a survey by The Economist. There€ ¦’²s more. In terms of the course content, it comes in fifth after Yale, Harvard, IE and Paris€ ¦’² Haute Etudes Commercials. Even in times of crisis in the global job markets, the McKinseys, JP Morgans and AT Kearneys of the world flock to recruit youngsters from IIM campuses. They clock and average pay of Rs 21 lakh a year € ¦’¶ a little less than half the starting average for graduates of Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Stanford.
***
Pere Vicens, president of the International Publishers Association feels that the Calcutta Books Fair is the biggest of its kind in the world. € ¦’³I€ ¦’²ve never seen anything like this before. In fact, an open-air fair of this nature is quite unparalleled. The Madrid fair too is out in the open. But the Calcutta event is unique in its diversity.
***
In many ways, the 1200 hectare township called Kumbhanagar is a mini-India, a temporary home to people from all over the country and, indeed, the world. The clean Kumbha is a creation of 6000 sweepers working virtually round the clock. It has been gratifying to see workers remove trash from bathing ghats almost as soon as it is spotted. A monumental 200 tonnes of solid waste is trucked away from the Kumbhanagar every day. The 30 million pilgrims who took a holy dip on January 24, 2001 numbered more than the residents of Delhi and Mumbai put together; to use another reference point, they equalled the Canadian population.
India Today, 5 February 2001
***
The great Brihadeshwarar or the Meenakshi temple or Dilwara were built at the same time the great cathedrals in Europe were built. In sheer conception, scale and aesthetics, India matched and challenged the best.
***
The four religions born in India are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. These religions are followed by 25 per cent of the world€ ¦’²s population. Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism are the third, fourth and fifth largest religions respectively in the world today. There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country including the Muslim world. The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia, built at the end of the 11 th century. The Venkateshwara temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10 th century, is the world€ ¦’²s largest religious pilgrimage destination, larger than either Rome or Mecca, with an average of 30,000 daily visitors donating $6 million a day.
***
Perched on a lonely desolate hill, high in the inner Himalayas, is the latest hot spot for international astronomers € ¦’¶ the site for the spanking new Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO). Situated 4,517 m above mean-sea-level in the village of Hanle in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, this observatory € ¦’¶ commissioned in the year 2002 is the highest in the world. The Hanle telescope tops by 200m, the highest so far, the Meyer-Womble Observatory in the US, operated by the University of Denver, deep in the Ricky Mountains. For astronomers, the observatory€ ¦’²s height is crucial. The higher you go, the lesser the aberrations caused by the earth€ ¦’²s atmosphere.
***
The International Mathematical Union awarded the prestigious R. Nevanlinna Prize for Computer Science, at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Beijing, to the Chennai-born Professor Madhu Sudan of MIT. An IITian and doctorate from Caltech, Professor Madhu Sudan was being recognized by the international mathematical fraternity for his € ¦’³wide-ranging and brilliant€ ¦’´ error-correcting codes.
Three Indian computer engineers € ¦’¶ Professor Manindra Agrawal and his students Neeraj Katyal and Nitin Saxena at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur € ¦’¶ made world headlines by solving an age-old mathematical problem. They devised a way for a computer to state quickly and definitively if a number is prime. Experts around the world raved that the result was one of the most definitive proofs in computer science in a decade.
29-year-old Nirav Tolia of epinions.com first headed to medical school, switched over to Stanford, then joined Yahoo. He left after three years to start his own company, epinions.com. Today it is listed among one of the top five shopping sites and among the 50 most useful sites by Yahoo Internet Live. It was nominated by Wired Magazine as the most innovative start-up and selected as one of the top 10 companies of 2000 by the Industry Standard.
Source: The Times of India, 15 September 2002
***

185 Fortune 500 companies are outsourcing software from India.
The Indian software industry will grow by at least 30 per cent this year.
IBM Global Services, Bangalore, has bagged a ten-year project from AT&T, with more than 5000 people likely to work on the project.
Sun Microsystems identified its Indian operations as one of the top five locations with a potential to earn over $ one billion revenue over the next five years. They may increase their Indian manpower from 400 to 4000 in the coming years.
Cisco purchased 29 acres in Bangalore and plans to invest Rs. 900 crore in India to expand operations.
GE plans to invest $800 million in IT and expects software exports from India to rise to $ three billion by 2004, with software outsourcing accounting for a third of the export targets.
Intel is investing $25 million for a technology development centre in Bangalore and could expand engineering staff by 50 per cent.
Computer Science Corporation is setting up development centres in Noida and Hyderabad.
Consultancy firm Ernst & Young is planning to set up its second software development centre in India.

Source: Outlook, 24 December 2001
Jack Welch salutes India € ¦’¶ € ¦’³I had recently returned from a tour of our R & D operations in India and was excited by what I had seen. We could not have the R & D teams in United States doing all the advanced, fun work while farming out the lower-value projects to places like India. My visits to India convinced me that their research labs were filled with scientists equal to or better than those in United States € ¦’¶ and in a lot more disciplines than software.€ ¦’´
***
India is now a part of the global space-faring elite. India successfully launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) placing the country€ ¦’²s first meteorological satellite, Metsat, in orbit. So far, these satellites have been put in orbit only by US, Japan and some European nations. The action took place at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The 44-metre rocket set off with a blast with the satellite weighing 1060 kilograms. The cost of the satellite was Rs. 75 crore.
Twenty minutes after lift-off it was celebration time even in the mission control room. The PSLV had successfully placed the satellite in the geosynchronous transfer orbit € ¦’¶ when the satellite matches the earth€ ¦’²s rotation and appears stationary from the ground. A camera on board the satellite will constantly watch over the developing weather systems. High-technology instruments will relay the information to the Meteorological Utilization Centre in New Delhi. Thus unexpected natural calamities like the 1999 super cyclone in Orissa will be history. Now India will be prepared.
***
Dhar district has a population of 1.7 million, with 54 per cent of the population being tribal and 60 per cent of the population living below the poverty line € ¦’¶ not really a promising territory for an IT revolution.
An intranet, named Gyaandoot, connects 21 rural cybercafes called Soochanalaya kiosk. Each Soochanalaya provides services to about 10 to 15 Gram Panchayats, 20 to 30 villages and to a population ranging between 20000 to 30000. The intranet covers five out of 13 blocks in the district and three out of seven tehsils in the district. The Soochanalayas are located along roadsides, bordering villages, which people normally traverse. They together serve a population of over half a million. The € ¦’±manager€ ¦’² of the Soochanalaya (kiosk) is a matriculate, not an employee but an entrepreneur who runs these on commercial lines without receiving salary or stipend.
Today, people can send applications, various certificates, forms and complaints of practically all types at a cost of only Rs. 10 and thereafter, in a maximum period of 10 days. Sometimes in less than 10 days, an intimation of the readiness of the certificate or grievance redressal is sent back to them through e-mail at the concerned Soochanalaya. Perhaps the most satisfying acknowledgment for the Gyaandoot project was the Stockholm Award in 2000, which was won competing against 109 IT projects from around the globe. It is the only Indian project to receive this award in any category in the past four years. There is a lot to be learnt from such initiatives if only we allowed ourselves to think.
Source: Economic Times
***
Bikram Choudhary is a 56-year-old, California based yoga exponent. His sequence of 26 asanas (each of which is performed twice) and two breathing exercises, are practised in temperatures crossing 100 degrees. Bikram runs over 600 yoga studios in the US alone. He claims to have cured every major disease, including former US president Richard Nixon€ ¦’²s phlebitis. His celebrity followers include Michael Jackson, Shirley Maclaine and Madonna. His $ 7 million empire makes him one of the biggest players in the burgeoning of yoga industry.
Born in Kolkata, Bikram started learning yoga at four. At 13, Bikram won the National India Yoga contest. At his guru€ ¦’²s urging, Bikram travelled to the West. He opened his first studio in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, in the early 70s, in a basement, where he slept on the floor and conducted free classes. Today, a 90-minute class at his institute costs $ 200 € ¦’¶ one of the most expensive sessions in the city. Bikram€ ¦’²s diligence in spreading the good word of yoga has resulted in over 75 per cent of all US health clubs offering yoga classes.
Source: Time News Network Magazine
***
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) is a world heritage site, the second after the Semming Railway in Australia to be accorded the status. The UNESCO world heritage committee said, € ¦’³ DHR is the first and still the most outstanding example of hill passenger railway,€ ¦’´ the committee said. Opened in 1881, it applied bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problems of establishing an effective rail link across a difficult mountainous terrain of great beauty. Fully operational and retaining most of its original features intact, the DHR is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multicultural region.
***
When people call Silicon Valley€ ¦’²s Indian population a mafia, they mean that the immigrants who live in the Bay Area and work in high tech € ¦’¶ roughly 200,000, according to siliconindia magazine € ¦’¶ have formed an amazing web. Indians invest in one another€ ¦’²s companies, sit on one another€ ¦’²s boards and hire each other in key jobs. Many live in close proximity and hang out together. The network might be only mildly interesting if so many of the Valley€ ¦’²s Indian immigrants hadn€ ¦’²t become phenomenally wealthy and successful in the past ten years. People generally don€ ¦’²t think of it this way, but Bay Area Indian immigrants represent America€ ¦’²s most successful immigrant group. Collectively, they€ ¦’²ve created companies that account for $235 billion of market value.
***
A scale of four notes known as Svaratantra came into being. The ancient Aryans like the ancient Greeks had their music confined to four notes. An account of seven notes is found in the Manduki Siksha of the Atharva Veda. The seven notes are Shadja, Rishaba, Gandhara, Madhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada abbreviated to Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni respectively. It is stated that the note produced by the peacock at the highest point of rapture is the note Shadja. Rishaba is said to represent the sound that is made by the cow while calling her calf. Gandhara is the bleat of the goat. Madhyama is the identified with the cry of the heron. The nightingale of India the Koel sings always in Panchama. Dhaivata is the neighing of the horse. Nishada is the trumpeting of the elephant.
Though there was only one system of music in India, cultural development has produced two broad systems of Indian classical music, Hindustani and Karnatak. In spite of many variations in their structure and style, there is a marked fundamental unity between the two systems. Raga concept is a unique feature of Indian music. Raga is the basis of Indian melody. Indian music is built on Raga and Tala concepts. The word Raga is derived from the Sanskrit root, meaning € ¦’±to color€ ¦’², and the basic idea being that certain melodic shapes produce a continuity of emotional experience and color the mind. Ragas are classified in various ways according to regions, seasons, time to sing, aesthetic qualities, scientific capabilities, their individual characters, pleasing capacities and many other ways. This time classification is strictly adhered to in Hindustani music but not so much in Karnatak music.
€ ¦’³In the ancient times, men of medicine were also men of music. They were vaids who would, after checking a patient€ ¦’²s pulse, say: € ¦’±Give him so-and-so medicine and make him hear a recital of Raag Gandhar.€ ¦’² These vaids successfully correlated the sa-re-ga-ma-pa to the various points of the body. This is what has made our music a veritable treasure house.€ ¦’´ - Naushad Ali, legendary composer
The Sapta Swaras have a distinct power and the vibrations produced by these notes have an inherent potential in them. A yogi through intense meditation acquires the required power, which is communicated to the common man in various ways, music being one of them. The vibration produced by combination of notes has psychological impact on the person and can cure him of his mental and physical problem. - Layam,
September 1994.
***
India€ ¦’²s higher education sector is vast. In the number of students enrolled in higher education as a percentage of the population aged 20 to 24, not only is India a considerable distance ahead of any other country of comparable income level, but there is in fact no country with even twice India€ ¦’²s per capita income that comes anywhere close to its higher education ratio (World Bank 1982: World View 1982). In the number of doctors per unit of population, India is second only to China among all countries having an income per head no higher than twice India€ ¦’²s.
Source: How is India doing by Amartya Sen
Vinod Gupta was a boy from a remote village in Uttar Pradesh€ ¦’²s Rampur district. He now makes US $370 million through his Omaha-based ( Nebraska state) software company InfoUSA with a market capitalization of US $900 million in 33 years. He is known for his Rs 25 crore donation to his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur, and a women€ ¦’²s polytechnic in Rampur worth Rs 1.2 million.
***
€ ¦’³Most US companies are totally dependent on our database for their e-net business, which includes Infospace, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, etc. I have friends like President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. I have helped her raise election funds from a state like Nebraska. I even helped Vice President Al Gore in his campaign. It€ ¦’²s not only friendship, the Democrats are more keen on Indian affairs which I like. I also helped a few Republican candidates and have a long list of Republican friends as well,€ ¦’´ says Gupta.
***
Conde Nast Traveler, a reputed magazine, has chosen India as € ¦’±the best value for money€ ¦’² destination and the eleventh best holiday destination in the world (scoring an impressive 96.73 out of 100) in a poll conducted among the magazine€ ¦’²s readers worldwide, ranking it above otherwise popular bets such as Singapore, Malaysia and Switzerland.
Source: Business Line, 2 November 2002
***
Rabindranath Tagore is not just the first Indian Nobel Laureate, but also the first Asian to be so honoured, taking into account all the subjects in which the award is given by the Nobel Committee.
***
The Lifeline Express (or the Jeevan Rekha Express) is the world€ ¦’²s first hospital on wheels. The train set out on June 16, 1991 on its pilot journey to provide people living in remote parts of India with free medical and surgical facilities.
***
The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
***
India has 18 officially recognized languages with a number of dialects and spin-offs. The nation has newspapers in 87 languages, radio programs in 71 and films in 15.
Sanskrit literature is more than 5000 years old and tamil 3000. Some Indian languages do not have a script. Although some languages are called € ¦’³tribal€ ¦’´ or € ¦’³aboriginal€ ¦’´, their populations may be larger than those that speak some European languages. Bhili and Santali both tribal languages, each have more than 4 million speakers. Gondi is spoken by more than 2 million people.
With 366 and 207 million speakers, Hindi is second and Bengali fifth among the top ten languages spoken in the world. Chinese tops the list as those speaking Chinese Mandarin number 874 million according to the World Almanac and Book of Facts, Modern Language Association of America and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
***
The first scheduled airline in the world to enroll a woman pilot was Indian airlines. This happened in the year 1966. On 8 March 1998 it operated two all-women crew flights to mark Women€ ¦’²s day.
***

Nuclear Deal

2007-10-31T06:17:00.001-07:00

The nuclear deal has become a catch22 situation for the UPA government. Left front, though hesitant for an election, they cannot eat their pride on this issue. The challenge offered by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to withdraw support on this issue was too great for them to swallow. Though Manmohan singh swallowed his pride and sticking to the chair.

The intrinsic “American phobia” of the left front and the restoration work going on around the world for uplifting the shape of the busted communist dream, is compelling the Communist parties and its allies to draw a line against the nuclear deal and in real to show their abomination towards the so called American Imperialism and so and so….

Yes of course as the cliché, “two sides of the coin” (unless the coin is from the film Sholay) here in this deal also – the two sides are debated strongly and concluded vehemently according to the stands already taken by the parties.

Communists and its branches are trying to prove that they can bite as dangerously as their barking is and Congress trying to buy time so that they can allow the lefties to pull the string at a time that suits them, (may be after seeing the results in Gujarath) and BJP –still waiting under the tree hoping the crow will sing and it will get the fruit. But their present “inner party Democracy” – will make the fruit sour for them.

Nuclear deal – is it going to be an election issue in India? At any time India went for an election with any issue that concerned the whole country? Yes once we went to polls with a single aim – to oust Indira Gandhi other than that – it was always local issues and mandir masjid issue. People who don’t have enough to eat – dress and take shelter – what they will say about the nuclear deals? Are we Indians, with the exception of the so called urban aristocrats and rural technocrats, are well aware to put forward opinions about the nuclear issue?

Congress is well conscious of the above fact – “THE SHINING INDIA” slogan didn’t saved the last BJP government, because the “Shining” was limited to the IT zone and to the share market area, the rural India was in the grip of farmer suicide and poverty. Likewise “Nuclear Deal” is not going to make any effect on the rural population of India, how much the lefties try. Of course they can make confusion in the Muslim vote bank – but the chance to convert that confusion into confrontation with Congress is minimal. The lefty’s success lies in their “SUCCESS” to find route in to the rural India, but that route is congested with all A- B and C parties with their chunk of communal and feudalist vote banks.

The changes that taking place in the Chinese Communist party and the “capitalist” factor in the Bengal Communist party – can it bring any transform to the “thinking cells” of the Indian Politburo and compel them to take practical steps breaking their ideological fence, in which they made themselves captives of the changing world?

By January we can get a clear picture, whether Indian government is still controlled by the American interest or by the Communist threat.

MODIFICATION

2007-10-31T06:17:00.000-07:00

It was our evening out; I went to my friend’s house with our plans for the evening. When I reached his house, he told me to watch the breaking news in the channel. After waiting to finish the 5 minutes long break on the channel, finally they started to show the “Exclusive”.

The “revealing” of the members of the “parivar”. I was not surprised or shocked hearing the gruesome revelations. Every thing they said were already known to the world, anyone disbelieved the reality of Gujarat of that time, than one should have got amazed, hearing the revelation.

My skeptic mind started to look for the hidden motive behind this disclosure. Why suddenly someone start to talk to others about the heinous acts of life they have carried out with such a glee. My friend was firm that the revelations are not cooked; people sometimes start to spill the beans once they feel the listener is admiring his activities and when the criminal thinks that the heinous act he done was heroism!

I just noticed the facial expressions of the culprits – with what enjoyment in their eyes they narrate their mayhem? One when narrating how he split open the stomach of a pregnant woman I found pleasure on his eyes! Which is that faith on this earth that brings pleasure on ones eyes when narrating the cruelty one has done? Which is that religion that makes one feel delighted when declaring that he cut the limbs and the penis before throwing one innocent, helpless, unarmed man into the fire?

Only a mind that was calloused by hatred can do those things, and for such- there is no religion, only animal instinct remains in them and they should not be considered as human beings. Moreover, animals they do not have any religion they are just animals.

When I read the Ashish Khetan’s “Voyager between Two Worlds”, I really got shocked and amazed! How one can risk his own life and that of his family to bring out the truth? Will this going to make an iota of difference in our society other than mudslinging? Is his “findings” more valuable than his life?

BJP already out calling the revelation as a tactics of Congress and Tehalka , Congress and allies calling for the “heads”. Was there anything new in the revelations that the voters who are going to vote not knowing? Will these revelations going to influence any way the voters? I think, Gujarat got a leader like Modi because they want a leader like him. Their mind was ready to accept and garland Modi, will these revelations bring any change to that mind setting? I think NO, the revelations may have an impact on some, but the majority will still look at Modi and his “modification” with admiration. Hitler was also adored and admired by Germans.

The sufferers remained in the camps for years licking their wounds and they will remain in the camps sulking about their fate. The criminals will win the election and use and misuse the power – Ashish Ketan will look for another investigate journalism or sting operation. Life will move on...; they never spared Gandhi, are those innocents better than Gandhi in the scavenger’s eye?

Yeh hai Gujrat yeh hai Gujrat Yeh hai Gujrat Modi Bhai!!