Indian woman convicted in Malaysia

Indian woman convicted in Malaysia
Times of India, 25 Dec 2008, 0540 hrs IST, IANS

KUALA LUMPUR: An Indian national has been convicted and sentenced for eight years for forcing a compatriot into prostitution after promising her a job as maid in Malaysian capital. R Punitha, herself a prostitute, pleaded guilty before Judge Mohammed Nasir Mordin. She screamed, cried and hit her head when the sentence was announced, the official Malaysian news agency Bernama reported. She was charged for exploiting S Maruthambal, 33, through force and threats at a house. According to the facts of the case, Maruthambal came under Punitha's care after she was sweet-talked by agents in India that she could get a job as a maid in Malaysia. During her confinement, Maruthambal was forced to provide sexual services to 20 to 25 men daily and her earnings were taken by Punitha. She was also threatened by Punitha that if she refused, her family in India would be killed by gangsters there. Maruthambal managed to escape to the Indian High Commission before making a police report, The Star newspaper said.

Christmas spirits not dampened by recent church attacks in Karnataka

Xmas celebration not dampened by church attacks

Christians across Karnataka, where around 15 churches were vandalised in September over alleged conversion and insult to Hindu gods, celebrated Christmas with fervour.

Hundreds thronged brightly-lit churches for the midnight mass in Bangalore. There were large crowds also in the coastal city of Mangalore and central Karnataka town of Davangere, the two places where several churches had been attacked.

Police personnel guarded the churches.

Archbishop Bernard Moras led the mass at St. Xavier's church in Bangalore and wished people of Karnataka peace, harmony and friendship.

Source: Deccan Herald » State » Detailed Story, Bangalore, IANS :

Be Indian and become rich Indian: Buy Indians and Sell Indians

Be Indian, Buy Indians and Sell Indians

21 Dec 2008, 0450 hrs IST, PTI

Times of India

LONDON: An Indian-origin man, who was jailed for five years for human trafficking in April this year, has been asked to pay more than 3,00,000 pounds by a UK court. The Leicester Crown court ordered Asif Patel, one of the six people convicted in January this year of smuggling illegal migrants from India into Britain, to pay the amount by January 31 next year, or face a further five years in prison. Patel (32) owned a mobile phone shop in Bolton, and was jailed on April 21. At the confiscation hearing, Judge William Everade ordered him to pay back 3, 03,368 pounds. The court was told that Patel sent money to contacts in India who recruited the clients, using a money exchange bureau. Each of the illegal migrants smuggled into the UK reportedly paid around 8,000 pounds. Besides Asif Patel, other members of the people smuggling gang were Sajid Bhikhi, Asif Bhikhi, Sikandar Patel, Soyab Patel and Sabbir Patel. They were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment. The people smugglers forged or stole documents to bring Indian citizens illegally into Britain via South Africa, often on forged South African passports. Holders of the passports can enter Britain as visitors for a period of six months. The investigation, which began in September 1999 after an illegal passport-making factory was discovered under a staircase in a house in Leicester, was led by Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and spanned several countries. In some cases, after the Indian nationals were brought into Britain, they were then facilitated to travel to Canada or the US through the collusion of a corrupt official at the Heathrow airport in UK. Printed from Further action against Indian trafficker 15 Dec 2008, 1350 hrs IST, IANS LEICESTER: A Leicester court is to begin hearing on whether the assets of an India-born shopkeeper, who was jailed for human trafficking early this year, be confiscated or not. Asif Patel, from Daubhill in Bolton, England, was part of a gang that used forged passports to bring thousands of Indian nationals into Britain. His home was raided in 2006 as part of a police investigation into illegal immigration. Patel, aged 32, who owned a mobile phone shop, was jailed for five years on Apr 21 this year after he was found guilty. The Leicester Crown Court heard his role including handling large payments from clients, who paid 8,000 pounds for their passage into Britain. The Bolton News has reported that a week-long confiscation hearing is due to begin at Leicester Crown Court Monday to investigate into Patel's assets.

WASHINGTON: Sonal Shah, the Indian-origin member of US president-elect Barack Obama's transition team, whose links with VHP sparked criticism

Sonal Shah renounces VHP affiliation Times of India, 11 Dec 2008, 1321 hrs IST, PTI WASHINGTON: Sonal Shah, the Indian-origin member of US president-elect Barack Obama's transition team, whose links with VHP sparked criticism, has renounced her affiliation with the Hindu outfit accused of fomenting violence against Muslims and Christians in India. Shah, former member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has said if she could have anticipated the outfit's role in the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat, she would have never associated with its US branch, a year before the incident. "Had I been able to foresee the role of the VHP in India in these heinous events, or anticipate that the VHP of America could possibly stand by silently in the face of its Indian counterpart's complicity in the events of Gujarat in 2002 -- thereby undermining the American group's cultural and humanitarian efforts with which I was involved -- I would not have associated with the VHP of America," Shah said. In a statement, obtained and posted by NextGov and the National Journal, the Google executive said the 2002 Gujarat carnage was one of the "most profound tragedies" in the long history of the state when "extremist political leaders, including some associated with the VHP, incited riots that resulted in the deaths of thousands." In an e-mail sent to her supporters, Shah asked for help in combating the allegations and expressed apprehension that the Obama transition team could ask her to resign. "I need your help," wrote Shah. "This is gaining legs as the National Journal also picked it up and likely Fox. I need to mobilise people against the leftists and the right wing. There is a likely chance that they will ask me to resign as team does not need my publicity." Shah has formerly been with the Goldman Sachs and served as a Treasury Department official in the Clinton administration.

Genocide charges against Sri Lanka officials ready to be filed in USA

Breaking News : Genocide charges against Sri Lanka officials ready to be filed in USA by Fein http://www.tamilsydney.com/content/view/1632/37/

Bruce Fein, a former U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General and currently Counsel for a U.S. Tamil Group said in an interview this week that a 400+ page model indictment charging Sri Lanka officials for genocide against Tamils will be ready to be submitted to the U.S. Justice Department first week of January. He added that the document describes the motivational context, catalogues crimes, and constructs legal arguments establishing culpability of a U.S. citizen and a U.S. greencard holder for the crime of genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka under the U.S. Genocide Accountability Act (18 U.S.C. 1091).

Sarath Fonseka and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa were selected as defendants in lieu of SL President Rajapaksa because Gotabhaya is a U.S. citizen and Fonseka, a permanent resident alien, for whom the United States is responsible as moral, political, and legal matter, Bruce Fein explains.

Full text of the interview with Attorney Fein follows:

TamilNet: Can you describe the legal process your group has chosen to bring Sarath Fonseka and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to justice in U.S. courts?

Fein: The United States Genocide Accountability Act of 2007 (GAA) makes Fonseka and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa subject to a genocide prosecution in United States courts even though the genocidal acts against Tamils occurred in Sri Lanka.

The United States may constitutionally assert extra-territorial jurisdiction over a certain category of universally condemned crimes, which include genocide and torture. The United States recently brought a torture prosecution against the son of Liberia’s Charles Taylor for torture perpetrated in Liberia. They are criminally culpable under the doctrine of command responsibility for criminal acts of their subordinates which they should have known about and prevented or neglected to punish after-the-fact.

TAG [Tamils Against Genocide] has virtually completed a model federal grand jury indictment of Fonseka and Rajapaksa charging violations of the GAA. The facts demonstrating genocide have been compiled from TAG’s independent research and investigations. The two were selected as defendants in lieu of President Mahinda Rajapaksa because Gotabhaya Rajapakse is a U.S. citizen and Sarath Fonseka is a permanent resident alien for whom the United States is responsible as moral, political, and legal matter.

The model indictment will be presented to the new United States Attorney General appointed by President Obama and the new Secretary of State. The two appointees hold the keys to a genocide prosecution, which only the government can initiate.

Tamil's Tamil Nadu State:Telugu Actress Jeya became AMMA /Chief Minister Jeya; Malayalee Actor MGR became Chief Minister

பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில் சேர எஸ்.வி.சேகர் பரிசீலித்து வருகிறார்.

Make phone calls to any country using virtual phone cards

மாயாவதி கட்சியான பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில் சேர எஸ்.வி.சேசர் பரிசீலித்து வருவதாக கூறியுள்ளார்.

சென்னை: மயிலாப்பூர் சட்டமன்ற தொகுதியில் அதிமுக சார்பில் போட்டியிட்டு வெற்றிபெற்றவர் நடிகர் எஸ்.வி.சேகர். இவருக்கு அண்மை காலமாக அதிமுகவில் நடக்கும் எந்தவிதமான கூட்டங்களுக்கும் அழைப்பு கொடுக்கப்படுவதில்லை.

அண்மையில் நடந்த அதிமுக பொதுக்குழு மற்றும் அதிமுக சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர்கள் கூட்டத்திற்கும் அழைப்பல்லை என்றும், அதிமுக சார்பில் நடைபெறும் ஆர்ப்பாட்டங்கள், போராட்டடங்கள், உண்ணாவிரதம் போன்றவற்றிலும் இவரது பெயர் இடம் பெறவில்லை என்றும் எஸ்.வி.சேகரே செய்தியாளர்களிடம் தெரிவித்திருக்கிறார்.

எஸ்.வி.சேகர் அதிமுகவில் ஓரம்கட்டப்படுவதை அறிந்த, பாஜக, பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சி உள்பட பல தமிழக அரசியல் கட்சிகள் தங்கள் கட்சியில் இணையும் படி அவருக்கு அழைப்பு விடுத்தன. இந்நிலையில் அவர் பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில் இணைய முடிவு செய்திருப்பதாக தகவல்கள் வெளியாகியுள்ளன.

இதுகுறித்து செய்தியார்களின் கேள்விகளுக்கு பதில் அளித்த அவர்,

மாயவதி கட்சியான பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியினர் அக்கட்சியில் சேர என்னிடம் பேசியது உண்மைதான். மரியாதை நிமித்தமாக நானும் மாயாவதியை சந்திக்க இருக்கிறேன்.

பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில் 25 முதல் 30 சதவீத இடங்கள் பிராமண சமூகத்தினருக்கு வழங்கப்படுகிறது. எனவே அக்கட்சியில் இணைவது பற்றி நான் பரிசீலித்து வருகிறேன்.

இந்த சமூகத்தில் தலித் மக்கள் அழுத்தப்படுகின்றனர். பிராமணர்கள் ஒதுக்கப்படுகின்றனர். உத்தரபிரதேச மாநிலத்தில் சமூக நல்லிணக்கம் வெற்றிகரமாக செயல்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. இதர மாநிலங்களிலும் அதே நிலைமை உருவாக வேண்டும்.

பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில் சேருவது எனது சமுதாய மக்களுக்கு நன்மை பயப்பதாக அமையும் என்று கருதுகிறேன். பிராமண சமுதாயத் தினரையும், தலித் மக்களையும் ஒன்றிணைக்கும் முயற்சியில் ஈடுபடப்போகிறேன். எங்கள் உரிமைகளை பெற இணைந்து போராடுவோம் என்றார். மேலும் வரும் 6ஆம் தேதி குரு பெயர்ச்சி வருகிறது. அதன் பிறகு மாற்றங்கள் இருக்கும் என்றார்.

India's "messiah of the poor", former PM V.P. Singh, dies

முன்னாள் இந்தியப் பிரதமர் வி.பி.சிங் காலமானார்

Former Prime Minister VP Singh passed away.

இந்தியாவின் முன்னாள் பிரதமர் வி.பி.சிங் நீண்டகாலமாக உடல்நலம் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்த பின்னர் இன்று புது தில்லியில் காலமானார். அவருக்கு வயது 77. பல ஆண்டுகளாக வி.பி.சிங் சிறுநீரக நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தார்.

1989-90 காலகட்டத்தில் இந்தியாவின் பிரதமராகப் பதவி வகித்தவர் வி.பி.சிங்.

இவர் பதவிக்காலத்தில்தான், இந்தியாவின் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட வகுப்பினருக்கு அரசுப் பணியிடங்களில் 27 சதவீத இட ஒதுக்கீட்டை வழங்கும் மண்டல் கமிஷனின் பரிந்துரைகள் அமல்படுத்தப்பட்டன.

India's "messiah of the poor", former PM V.P. Singh, dies

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Former Indian Prime Minister V.P. Singh, remembered for his controversial policy of reserving a larger share of jobs for the country's disadvantaged castes, died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer.

Singh, 77, who was suffering from blood cancer and chronic renal failure, died on Thursday afternoon in New Delhi's Apollo hospital, a hospital spokesman said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, no relation to the deceased, said India had lost a great patriot whose empathy for the country's poorer classes would always be remembered.

Singh served as finance and defence minister in late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet but parted ways with Gandhi, and led a coalition that defeated him at the 1989 elections.

He is best known for his policy of reserving government jobs for India's disadvantaged castes, which sparked off widespread protests from the country's upper classes.

Singh's move, aimed at empowering India's oppressed poorer castes, fragmented the country's politics and led to the emergence of strong caste-based parties.

French Media Questions Shah’s Ties with RSS

French Media Questions Shah’s Ties

Posted by acalltoquestion on November 16, 2008

When Sonal Shah was appointed to US President-elect Barack Obama's transition team shortly after his historic election victory, there were initially loud cheers from many sections of US society.

For Americans invested in minority representation, the presence of the Indian-born American woman on the first black US president's team was further proof that the times had changed.

For the fast-growing Asian Indian community in the US, Shah's rise was testament to the strides the community had taken.

More than 7,000 miles away, in Indian living rooms, Shah's presence on a team that could help design the future of the world somehow brought the prevailing Obamamania closer home.

But within days, Shah was dogged by a controversy that roiled the Indian-American community, sparked a media debate back in India and now threatens to cast a pall over a sizeable number of progressive voters who backed Obama. As the new US President-elect prepares for his Jan. 20, 2009 inauguration, it puts the spotlight on the complex business of governance that Obama now has to face after a groundswell of support delivered him the top spot in the White House.

And it also brings to the fore the issue of India's increasingly international Hindu extremist groups, a phenomenon largely overlooked by the international community.

At the heart of the latest fracas are Shah's contested links with a hard-line Hindu organisation that international rights groups, as well as the US State Department, have implicated in deadly anti-Muslim and anti-Christian violence in India.

Born in India, but raised in the US, where her parents moved when she was a toddler, Shah's credentials are impeccable. The head of Google's Global Development Initiatives, Shah's past posts include vice president of Goldman Sachs. As an economist, she has also served in the US Treasury Department and the National Security Council.

But it's in her do-gooder role as co-founder of Indicorps, a Texas-based NGO that encourages Indians abroad to participate in development work back home in India, that Shah has sparked the latest spat.

An anti-Shah salvo is fired

The first salvo was fired by Vijay Prashad, director of International Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut, who charged that Shah was an active member of the VHPA.

The VHPA (Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America) is the US branch of the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad or World Hindu Council), a Hindu extremist group accused of involvement in the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in the western Indian state of Gujarat in which more than 850 people were brutally killed.

The VHP ideology views India as a Hindu state and regards the country’s multi-religious diversity as a result of historic "foreign invasions" by Muslims as well as Christian missionaries and colonisers.

In recent months, the VHP has been implicated in the deadly anti-Christian violence in the eastern Indian state of Orissa which claimed about 60 lives, destroyed more than 4,000 houses and left as many as 50,000 Christians homeless.

While the VHP's virulent Islamophobia has been largely overlooked by a US administration consumed by its "war on terror", the organisation's anti-Christian campaign has been officially noted and condemned by the US State Department.

The VHP is part of a network of extremist Hindu groups – including the Bajrang Dal and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) – that has ties to the BJP, India’s main opposition party. Together, these organisations, along with a host of others, form the sangh parivar (or "family" of Hindu nationalist groups).

In an article published in a US biweekly, Prashad raised Shah's involvement in relief and charity operations by the VHPA - which play an important role in the organisation's global outreach – to question Shah's suitability in Obama's transition team.

‘Factually inaccurate internet rumours’

Within days, the Indian media as well as the blogosphere erupted in a tidal wave of acrimonious debate.

Reacting to the charges, Shah issued a statement denouncing the "factually inaccurate internet rumours" linking her to "Hindu nationalist groups." She stressed that her "personal politics have nothing in common with the views espoused by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or any such organisation."

FRANCE 24 tried to contact Shah as well as representatives of the Obama transition team, but neither responded.

For its part, the VHPA mirrored Shah's written statement. "All I will say is Sonal Shah is not associated with the VHPA. She has not been in any office in any capacity with the organisation," said VHPA spokesman Shyam Tiwari in a phone interview with FRANCE 24. In a statement subsequently emailed to FRANCE 24, he reiterated that "Sonal is not associated with the VHP of America in any capacity whatsoever."

But a 2001 VHPA press release appears to undercut Tiwari's claims.

The release, issued shortly after the Jan. 2001 Gujarat earthquake, lists VHPA relief efforts – including wiring $50,000 for "immediate rescue and relief efforts" - and lists Sonal Shah as a "National Coordinator" for the relief effort, above Tiwari's contact information.

When confronted with this evidence by the press, Tiwari subsequently said, "Sonal was a member of the VHP of America at the time of the earthquake. Her membership has expired."

She's not 'an insular child of American suburbia'

The controversy has put the spotlight on the shadowy route of international funds pouring into sangh parivar coffers from a network of charity and relief organisations. Gujarat, the state from where Shah's parents hail, is often at the heart of the international money trail since the western Indian state has an extensive diaspora, with more than a million people of Gujarati origins living in the US and the UK alone.

Following the VHP money trail in Gujarat though is particularly difficult since funds – often in cash - are frequently transferred within the extended business family structure.

In her statement denying links to the VHPA, Shah states, "I'm proud to have helped coordinate relief work following the Gujarat earthquake of 2001, or cultural and religious affiliations of some of my family members, or apolitical humanitarian work I've been privileged to do as a founder of the NGO Indicorps and as the director of global development for Google.org."

But in a phone interview with FRANCE 24, Prasad said Shah's statement denouncing the politics of division and religious hatred was "gratifying, but unpersuasive." He added that he found her denial was irresolute. "It's okay to say she doesn't share the philosophy of the group,' he said. "But she didn't take the opportunity to question, if not condemn, the role these groups played in the violence in Gujarat."

Shah's supporters though note that even if there were tenuous links between the Indicorps co-founder and the VHPA, Shah herself was merely aiding relief efforts during a natural disaster. "It would be deeply wrong if participation in collecting earthquake relief… would be considered enough to disqualify her for office," reads a letter of support by a handful of prominent Indians printed in “Outlook”, a New Delhi-based weekly.

Indeed the blogosphere is awash with Shah's defenders, ranging from Hindu right wing sympathisers to secular progressives. While the latter admit that Shah probably made an "error of judgment," they note that as an Indian American, she may not have been aware of the VHP's nefarious nature.

It's an argument that cuts little ground with Naresh Fernandes, editor-in-chief of TimeOut India, who has extensively covered communal violence in India. "A woman as smart as Shah would have to have blocked out all media reports for her not to know what the VHP represents in India," he said. "Besides, she also runs an NGO in India so it isn't as if she's some insular child of American suburbia."

In the Modi mode

Another troubling issue is Shah's failure to denounce Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a controversial Hindu right wing politician who was denied a US diplomatic visa in 2005.

Modi’s existing tourist/business US visa was also revoked under a US rule that makes any foreign government official who "was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom" ineligible for a visa to the United States.

Prashad notes that despite Modi's well documented complicity in the horrific 2002 Gujarat riots, Shah accepted a 2004 Gujarat state award, which her brother accepted on her behalf in Modi's presence.

Shortly after Obama's victory, the Indian press was speculating about whether the new US administration would finally grant Modi a US visa.

Shah's defenders note that her Modi links are hazy and she can hardly be faulted for an innocuous award acceptance for her commendable relief work in Gujarat.

Prashad however rejects the argument. "It's like if someone received an award from [former Serbian President] Slobodan Milosevic and said 'I just did charity work for victims of the war,'" said Prashad.

The Milosevic analogy is guaranteed to spark another furious roar in a bitter blogosphere battle that shows no sign of dying and is a warning for the new US president-elect as he prepares to take over the White House come Jan. 20, 2009.

http://acalltoquestion.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/french-media-questions-shahs-ties/

Sonal Shah asked to come clean on alleged right wing links

Sonal Shah asked to come clean on alleged right wing links

New York(IANS): Coalition Against Genocide, a group of Indian American individuals and organisations fighting against religious fundamentalism, has in an open letter urged Sonal Shah, a member of president-elect Barack Obama's transition team, to come clean on her alleged past affiliations with right wing Hindu outfits.

The Coalition Against Genocide, in their letter that was released to the press Thursday, said her recent statement in which she repudiated espousing the cause of organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), does not allay all of their concerns.

However, it welcomed her recent public statement where Shah said her "personal politics have nothing in common with the views espoused by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or any such organisation".

Shah had issued this statement early this month after the coalition raised questions on her selection in Obama's transition team by arguing that she had undeniable links with organisations like RSS and VHP.

But this is not enough, given the irrefutable public record of her family's linkages to the VHP and other Sangh Parivar organisations, said the Coalition, which a few years ago had successfully launched a campaign against issuing a US visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

"Your family's connections with the Sangh Parivar have been long, deep, well documented, and presumably continue to this day. So we must respectfully reject any parallels drawn between attempts during the campaign to find president-elect Obama guilty by association and legitimate questions about your past affiliations," the letter said.

The Coalition urged Shah to come clean by publicly urging the Indian government and state governments of Orissa and Gujarat to speedily bring to justice and rehabilitate the thousands of alleged victims of the Sangh Parivar's anti-minority violence and to take immediate and effective measures to prevent such violence in future.

"These steps will lend much credence to your statement that you do not subscribe to the views of Hindu nationalist groups," the letter said, reminding Shah of the high standard of openness and personal accountability set by Obama during his campaign and now as president-elect.

"In that spirit, we hope that you too will take personal responsibility for your undeniable past links with the Sangh Parivar and reconcile your recent statement against the VHP and the RSS with your silence amidst the most egregious human rights violations by them in Gujarat and elsewhere," the letter said.

"We further hope that you will unequivocally disown and repudiate your and your family's past and current associations with the VHP and all other Sangh Parivar organisations," said the Coalition.

The letter has been endorsed by over a dozen Indian American organisations and over two dozen individuals. The letter said they represent families who have grievously suffered from the alleged anti-Muslim and ant-Christian programmes of the VHP.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200811211283.htm

The Hindu, Friday, November 21, 2008 : 1330 Hrs

About Sonal Shah

This is how Sonal is a Changemaker:
Sonal Shah works for Google.org on their Global Development team, where she is working on defining their global development strategy. Prior to Google.org, she was Vice President at Goldman, Sachs and Co. and developed and implemented the firm’s environmental strategy. She is also the co-founder of Indicorps, a U.S.-based non-profit organization offering one-year fellowships for Americans of Indian origin to work on specific development projects in India. As the former Associate Director for Economic and National Security Policy at the Center for American Progress, Sonal worked on trade, outsourcing and post conflict reconstruction issues. Prior to joining the Center, she was the Director of Programs and Operations at the Center for Global Development managing the daily operations and serving as a strategic adviser to the president. She also developed and managed policy and advocacy programs for the Center. Before that she worked for eight years at the Department of Treasury on various economic issues and regions of the world. She was the Director of the office covering sub Saharan Africa, worked in Bosnia and Kosovo after the war, and served as the senior adviser to the Under Secretary and Assistant Secretary at the Department of Treasury during the Asian financial crisis.

http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/user/3018/view

Blogs about: Sonal Shah : http://wordpress.com/tag/sonal-shah/

Indian-American groups protest Sonal Shah's appointment

Times of India -

10 Nov 2008, 2000 hrs IST, PTI

NEW YORK: Three Indian-American groups have protested the appointment of Sonal Shah in US President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, claiming that she is closely associated with the VHP and warned against Hindutva "infiltration" into the power centres of the US society. In a joint statement, Indian Coalition Against Genocide and Indian American Coalition for Pluralism and Non Resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India said they are holding consultations among themselves and like-minded Indian-American leaders on the issue. The organisations have asked Shah to clarify her position about her association with the VHP and its "mother organisation" RSS. The statement said they have avowed to increase their efforts to "educate the American politicians and business leaders about the attempts by the Hindu ultra-nationalist Hindutva movement to infiltrate the power centres of the US society by giving big donations and through volunteer work." The Coalition Against Genocide was instrumental in getting the visa of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi revoked in 2005, it recalled and voiced concerns that an attempt might be made to get his visa reinstated. After India media reports linked Shah to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, her brother Anand Shah had said the 40-year economist's family had nothing to do with the VHP or the Gujarat government. Shah was on November 6 named in a 15-member team which will oversee smooth transition of power from the Bush Administration to the incoming Obama dispensation.

Sonal Shah controversy: Alleged links to the VHP, BJP communal parties

DH News: Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The appointment of Sonal Shah, an eminent economist, as an advisory board member to assist Obama’s transition team, had sparked a controversy, over her alleged links to the VHP.

Several Indians on Team Obama

Houston, PTI : The Obama-Biden transition team has roped in a number of Indian-Americans, mostly specialists and leading academicians, to assist the Democrats in assuming the responsibilities of the administration.

The appointees are no strangers to the first ever African-American President-elect Barack Obama, with most of them having longstanding association with him.While Indian American Nick Rathod has been appointed director to the Office of Inter-governmental Affairs, Parag Mehta from Texas will oversee affairs of minority groups, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as deputy director of inter-governmental affairs and public liaison.Rathod is currently national outreach director of South Asians for Obama and one of its founding members. Arti Rai, an ex-classmate of Obama at the Harvard Law School, currently a professor of patent law at the Duke University, has been appointed member of the agency review team on science, technology, space, arts and humanities.

The agency review teams are charged with completing a thorough review of various departments, agencies and commissions in the US government to craft policy, budgetary and personnel decisions prior to the President’s inauguration.Anjan Mukherjee, another Indian-American, who is a passout from the Harvard Business School and managing director at the private equity firm Blackstone, has been named one of the several leads on the economics and international trade agency review team.Mukherjee, who was also involved in the Asian Americans’ campaign for Obama, is also a director of Steifel Laboratories, one of his firm’s investment arms.Rachana Bhowmik, Subhasri Ramanathan, Natasha Bilimoria and Puneet Talwar will serve as members of the state, national security, defence, intelligence and arms control agency review teams.Bhowmik was earlier part of Senator Obama’s legislative counsel, handling civil rights, civil liberties, and national security issues such as intelligence, homeland security, and veterans’ issues for the senator.Ramanathan, who is currently a senior analyst with the Government Accountability Office’s Homeland Security and Justice team, has also served as the Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director to the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security, specialising in border security, visa and immigration policy issues.Bilimoria, who was also part of the Clinton administration, is the executive director of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis — a non-profit organisation working to engage Americans in prevention of these diseases in the developing world.Bilimoria previously served as senior public policy officer at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and spent four years with the Clinton Administration, including at the US Department of Treasury.Meanwhile, Puneet is a senior staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and previously served on the State Department’s policy planning staff. The appointment of Sonal Shah, an eminent economist, as an advisory board member to assist Obama’s transition team, had sparked a controversy, over her alleged links to the VHP.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Nov262008/scroll20081126102800.asp?section=updatenews

தமிழகத்தில் பலம் பெறுகிறது பகுஜன் சமாஜ்

தமிழகத்தில் பலம் பெறுகிறது பகுஜன் சமாஜ்

நவம்பர் 25,2008,00:00 IST

சென்னை : ""பார்லிமென்ட் தேர்தலில், கட்சி வெற்றிக்காக தீவிர பிரசாரம் செய்ய இருக்கிறேன்'' என பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில், இன்று இணையவுள்ள ஐ.ஏ.எஸ்., அதிகாரி சிவகாமி கூறினார். தமிழகத்தில் பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியை வலுப்படுத்துவதில், அக்கட்சி தலைவர் மாயாவதி தீவிரமாக ஈடுபட்டுள்ளார். சமீபத்தில், விடுதலை சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சியில் இருந்து விலகிய செல்வம், பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில் இணைந்தார். எம்.எல்.ஏ., பதவியை ராஜினாமா செய்த அவருக்கு கட்சி தமிழக தலைவர் பதவி வழங்கப்பட்டது. இவரை தொடர்ந்து "புதிய கோடாங்கிகள்' இதழ் ஆசிரியரும், பெண்கள் முன்னேற்றத்திற்கு போராடி வருபவருமான ஐ.ஏ.எஸ்., அதிகாரி சிவகாமி கட்சியில் இணைவதற்கு முடிவு செய்தார். அவரை உ.பி.,யில் உள்ள தனது வீட்டிற்கு நேரில் அழைத்த மாயாவதி,"தமிழகத்தில் பெண்கள் வளர்ச்சிக்கு போராடி வருவதை அறிந்தேன். பகுஜன் வளர்சிக்காக எங்களுடன் நீங்கள் இணைந்து செயல்படவேண்டும்' என்று கூறியுள்ளார். இதையடுத்து முழு நேர அரசியலில் ஈடுபட வசதியாக ஐ.ஏ.எஸ்., பதவியில் இருந்து கடந்த சில நாட்களுக்கு முன்பு சிவகாமி விருப்ப ஒய்வு பெற்றார். பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சியில், சிவகாமி இணையும் விழா, சென்னை தி.நகரில் உள்ள திருமண மண்டபத்தில் இன்று நடக்கிறது. கட்சியின் மேலிட பார்வையாளர் சுரேஷ் மானே, தமிழக நிர்வாகிகள் செல்வம், ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங் ஆகியோர் பங்கேற்கின்றனர். தினமலர் நிருபரிடம் சிவகாமி கூறுகையில்,"கட்சியில் இணைந்தபிறகு தமிழகத்தில் உள்ள பட்டி, தொட்டியெல்லாம் சென்று மாயாவதியின் கொள்கைகளை மக்களிடம் விளக்குவேன். பார்லிமென்ட் தேர்தலில் கட்சி வெற்றிக்காக தீவிர பிரசாரம் செய்ய இருக்கிறேன். தற்போது 12 முதல் 13 சதவீத பெண்களே அரசியலில் உள்ளனர். இதை 50 சதவீத அளவிற்கு உயர்த்துவதற்கு பாடுபடுவேன்' என்றார். சிவகாமிக்கு தென் மாநிலங்கள் ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர் அல்லது சுரேஷ் மானேவை போல தேசிய பொதுச்செயலர் பதவி வழங்கப்படும் என தெரிகிறது. மேலும் சிலரையும் பகுஜன் சமாஜ் கட்சிக்கு இழுக்கும் வேலைகள் துவங்கி உள்ளது. இதன் மூலம் தமிழகத்தில் அக்கட்சி வலுப்பெறும் வாய்ப்புகள் அதிகரிக்க துவங்கியுள்ளது.

Many Nations Have Failed to Stem Mental, Physical, Sexual Abuse

Protect Domestic Workers from Violence

November 24, 2008

Governments need to punish abusive employers through the justice system, and to prevent violence by reforming labor and immigration policies that leave these workers at their employer’s mercy.

Nisha Varia, Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division

(New York, November 24, 2008) - Many migrant and domestic workers still face abuse and exploitation in Middle Eastern and Asian countries because governments have failed to adopt measures needed to protect them, Human Rights Watch said today ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25.

Few domestic workers have access to the justice system in the countries where they work, and even those who are able to make complaints of physical or sexual violence rarely receive redress, Human Rights Watch said.

"There are countless cases of employers threatening, humiliating, beating, raping, and sometimes killing domestic workers," said Nisha Varia, deputy director of the women's rights division of Human Rights Watch. "Governments need to punish abusive employers through the justice system, and prevent violence by reforming labor and immigration policies that leave these workers at their employers' mercy."

Millions of women from countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Nepal are domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries throughout the Middle East and Asia. Most countries exclude domestic workers from protection under their labor laws, leaving domestic workers little remedy against exploitative work conditions.

Domestic workers are also at heightened risk of abuse because of restrictive immigration-sponsorship policies that link their visas to their employers. Employers control a worker's immigration status and ability to change jobs, and sometimes whether the worker can return home. Many employers exploit this power to confine domestic workers to the house, withhold pay, and commit other abuses.

Authorities receive thousands of complaints of labor exploitation or abuse each year. While most involve unpaid wages, food deprivation, and long working hours with no rest, a significant number allege verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. But many cases are never officially reported, due to domestic workers' confinement in private homes, lack of information about their rights, and employers' ability to deport them before they can seek help.

Some law enforcement authorities have begun to prosecute and punish abusive employers, although to varying degrees. In 2008 in Singapore, several employers have been convicted of beating domestic workers, receiving sentences ranging from three weeks to 16 years in prison. In mid-November, a man was sentenced in Malaysia to 32 years in prison for raping a domestic worker, and his wife received six years for abetting the crime.

But criminal justice systems often continue to expose abused domestic workers to further victimization and give them no - or only severely delayed - redress:

• In May 2008, a Riyadh court dropped charges against a Saudi employer who abused Nour Miyati, an Indonesian domestic worker, ignoring both the employer's confession and compelling physical evidence. Nour Miyati suffered daily beatings and was abused so badly that her toes and fingers were amputated after developing gangrene. During the three years of legal proceedings, she remained stuck in an overcrowded embassy shelter unable to work or return to her family in Indonesia. At one point, she also was sentenced 79 lashes for changing her testimony, though the sentence was later reversed.
• On November 27, 2008, a Malaysian judge is to announce the verdict in the four-year case against Yim Pek Ha, the employer of an Indonesian domestic worker, Nirmala Bonat. In 2004, images of Bonat's badly burned and injured body shocked Malaysians. Bonat also had to stay in an overcrowded embassy shelter for years without being allowed to work and had to defend herself from charges of inflicting the abuse herself.

"2008 marked a year of missed opportunities,'' Varia said. "While most governments have started to think about some level of reform, many of these discussions have stalled. Providing comprehensive support services to victims of violence, prosecuting abusers, and providing civil remedies are reforms that just can't wait."

Human Rights Watch recommends that, in order to curtail all forms of violence against migrant domestic workers, governments should:

• Abolish or reform immigration-sponsorship policies so that domestic workers' visas are no longer tied to their employers;
• Develop protocols and train law enforcement officials on how to respond to domestic workers' complaints appropriately, and how to investigate and collect evidence in such cases;
• Prosecute perpetrators of psychological, physical, and sexual violence;
• Expedite criminal cases involving migrant domestic workers, who must often wait for a resolution for several months or years while confined in a shelter, and ensure they have legal permission to work during the interim period;
• Create and widely disseminate contacts for confidential, fully staffed and toll-free hotlines to receive reports of abuses against domestic workers;
• Create comprehensive referral and support services, including health care, counseling, shelter, consular services, and legal aid.
• 
  
• http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/11/24/protect-domestic-workers-violence
• 
  

Sri Lanka: Human Rights Situation Deteriorating in the East

Armed Faction Is Killing, Kidnapping Civilians

November 24, 2008

The Sri Lankan government says that the ‘liberated’ East is an example of democracy in action and a model for areas recaptured from the LTTE. But killings and abductions are rife, and there is total impunity for horrific abuses.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Related Materials:

Sri Lanka: Free Journalist and Other Critics

Sri Lanka: End Internment of Displaced Persons

Sri Lanka: Government Abuses Intensify

(New York, November 24, 2008) – The Sri Lankan government should take immediate steps to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the country’s Eastern Province, where there has been an increase in killings and abductions in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch said today.

Many abuses in the Eastern Province appear to have been carried out by armed elements of the Tamil Makkal Vidulthalai Pulikal (TMVP). The TMVP was originally the political wing of the armed faction earlier known as the Karuna group. It enjoys the strong backing of the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse. Karuna broke away from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2004.

“The Sri Lankan government says that the ‘liberated’ East is an example of democracy in action and a model for areas recaptured from the LTTE,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But killings and abductions are rife, and there is total impunity for horrific abuses.”

Human Rights Watch investigations have found that there have been at least 30 extrajudicial killings in the Eastern Province since September. In one recent case, the bodies of two young Tamil men who had been detained by the police on October 3, 2008, during a security roundup in the town of Batticaloa were found on a beach six days later with their hands and legs tied to a concrete pole, and showing signs of severe torture.

The police claimed that the men, Kandasamy Kugathas, 18, and A. Gunaseelan, 26, were released on the morning of October 4. But a family member of one of the men saw them at the police station that evening. A Human Rights Watch investigation found that the two were taken from their cells at about midnight by men in civilian clothing who had demanded the two by name. Since the killings, the police have intimidated witnesses into changing their account of the killings and falsified important evidence.

On November 2, unidentified gunmen shot and killed five Tamil youth at Kalmunai beach in Ampara district. On October 20, three Sinhalese contractors working in Kokakaddichchoalai in Batticaloa district were shot dead. On October 16, four farmers, two of them Tamils and two Muslims, were shot dead near their land. The killings were in a restricted area near a Tamil Makkal base, accessible only with a police pass. In Trincomalee on September 21, Sivakururaja Kurukkal, chief priest of the Koneswaram Temple, was shot dead in broad daylight while riding his motorcycle in a high-security area near several government checkpoints.

In addition to the recent killings, Human Rights Watch has learned from credible sources of at least 30 abductions in Akkairappatu and Adalachennai divisions in Ampara district in September and October. Witnesses said the abductions were carried out by armed men in civilian clothes who spoke Tamil, suggesting they belonged to the TMVP or other paramilitary groups.

In a case investigated by Human Rights Watch in Ampara in October, a young man previously detained, beaten, and released by the group was reported missing soon after his release. As in a number of other cases, family members did not report the case to the authorities out of fear that harm would come to the victim.

Members of civil society organizations and journalists in the East have also been threatened and attacked. On October 29, Sankarapillai Shantha Kumar, a member of the NGO Consortium in Akkaraipattu, was abducted around midnight from his home. Although a complaint was filed, there has been no credible investigation and he is still missing.

On September 8, Radhika Thevakumar, a journalist with Thinakaran, who at the time was working for the Pillayan faction of the TMVP, was shot and severely wounded in Batticaloa. On September 10, K. Kunarasa, provincial correspondent for the Thinakaran Tamil-language daily in Ampara, received death threats that caused him to limit his reporting. These and other threats and attacks against journalists have caused the media to curtail reporting on the security situation in the East.

“Many in the East believe that the government has given its blessing for these abuses,” said Adams. “It is important for the government to take action against perpetrators to demonstrate that this is not the case.”

Reports of these killings and other abuses come at a time of deepening tensions and violent infighting within the TMVP, particularly between factions loyal to Karuna Amman, the founder, and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known as Pillayan, who was appointed the chief minister of Eastern Province in May.

Karuna returned to Sri Lanka in July, after serving a six-month sentence for immigration fraud in the United Kingdom, and has reclaimed the leadership of the group. On October 7, the government appointed Karuna to Parliament. Both men have been implicated in serious human rights abuses, both while with the LTTE and after they left. The abuses included abducting large numbers of children and forcing them to serve as soldiers.

A clash between the two TMVP factions on October 28 in Chenkalady, in Batticaloa, resulted in the death of four members, including a 16-year-old who had been forcibly recruited by the group. Five others were reported missing after the incident, including another boy. On November 14, the president of the TMVP party and Pillayan’s private secretary, Kumaraswamy Nandagopan, known as Ragu, and his driver were shot dead in the capital, Colombo.

Human Rights Watch has recently documented several cases of forcible recruitment of children by the TMVP. There have been three recent escapes from the group’s Valachennai site in Batticaloa – a 15-year-old who had been held since April on October 31; a 15-year-old who was taken in 2006 from Kiran on November 3; and a 17-year-old held since October 2006 on November 10. Escapees often must go into hiding to prevent being abducted again. In some instances, their families have faced pressure to give a “replacement” child soldier to the group.

“Far from being a reformed and responsible party ready for government, the TMVP is still actively involved in serious human rights abuses,” said Adams. “Instead of holding the group accountable, the Rajapakse government has provided unqualified support. The government needs to open independent investigations into all serious human rights violations and hold perpetrators accountable.”

BSP supreme Mayawati reached out to Muslims and upper castes in Delhi

Quotas if voted to power: Maya to Muslims, upper castes
Agencies Posted online: Nov 24, 2008 at 2035 hrs

New Delhi, November 24: : Aspiring to form a Government at the Centre, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supreme Mayawati reached out to Muslims and upper castes in Delhi by promising to provide reservation for poor among them if voted to power.

Addressing her second rally in the capital where BSP has fielded candidates in all the 70 seats, she also said her party was committed to extend the quota regime to financially weaker sections of the upper castes as she sought to dispel the notion that BSP represented the interests of only backward castes.

"We will provide reservation to poor Muslims if voted to power," she told a public meeting in Aligaon in south Delhi.

"We are also in favour of providing reservation to the financially poor sections of the upper castes," said Mayawati, who returned to power last year in UP by successfully experimenting with a social engineering formula.

Accusing both the Congress and BJP of being "pro-rich," the Dalit icon said, these parties had always catered to the interests of industrialists and businessmen, on whose support they have thrived.

"BSP, on the other hand, does not depend on this class and has a mass support base," she said vowing to replicate the formula of all-inclusive growth adopted by her party in UP.

"We intend to bring to Delhi our policies of financial and social reform that we have followed in Uttar Pradesh," she said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/quotas-if-voted-to-power-maya-to-muslims-upper-castes/389980/

Statistics about Devendrakula Vellalars

1 Kulam (Devenderars)
12000 Kothras...
7 sub-casts….
70% Educated.
40% land owners
60% worker
85% Agricultural earning
2, 50,000+ Govt. servants
60% educated are jobless
15 % are sick
0% beggary
0% starvation deaths.
80% have their small dwelling place, at least.
97% Hindus
2% Christians
1% Muslims etc...
97% non corrupt officials.
100% sincere in work
100% help others
100% they do charity.
100% follow Justice & truth


Source: Input from Prof. DKR.

What is RESERVATION ?? About 90 per cent of the state's population is already under the reservation umbrella.

What is RESERVATION……??????

About 90 per cent of the state's population is already under the reservation umbrella.

From 1951 onwards, reservation for the Backward Classes was 25 per cent but the Sattanathan Commission recommended a separate educational and employment reservation of 16 per cent for the Most Backward Classes and 17 per cent for the Backward Classes.

In 1969, the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham government under M Karunanidhi appointed the first Tamil Nadu State Backward Classes Commission with A N Sattanathan as the chairman. The Commission found that the Most Backward Classes -- or MBCs -- in Tamil Nadu had a very small presence in state services and professional colleges as they were clubbed together with other castes.

In 1971, the DMK government hiked the reservation for the Backward Classes from 25 per cent to 31 per cent and for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from 16 per cent to 18 per cent.

In 1980, much before the V P Singh government's Mandal move, the Tamil Nadu government had implemented 69 per cent reservation for backward classes in educational institutions and jobs.

In 1980, MGR's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham government increased the reservation for the Backward Classes from 31 per cent to 50 per cent...From then on, there has been 69 per cent reservation in educational institutions

The second Tamil Nadu State Backward Classes Commission came into existence on March 15, 1993, at the Supreme Court's instance. It was formed to examine and recommend upon the requests relating to inclusion and exclusion from the list of Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes.

The Commission conducts enquiries on the representations received from various community organisations and individuals for inclusion of their communities in the list of Backward Classes.

The Commission looks into three factors while identifying a caste group as backward -- social backwardness, economic backwardness and educational backwardness. The weight-age allotted is 50 per cent for social backwardness, 40 per cent for educational backwardness and 10 per cent for economic backwardness

Professor Radhakrishnan disagrees. He says there is no connection between reservation and admissions, particularly in the context of Tamil Nadu, because almost every group is included in the 69 per cent category, except a few upper castes.

"At least 90 per cent of the population is included in the reservation net. If you look at the data of the last five years, you will see that it is only the creamy layer of the Other Backward Classes that gets all the benefits," says Professor Radhakrishnan

"If you look at the employment data, the SCs and the STs have not benefited. For the last 56 years, reservation has not reached the needy, and there is data to show that," he insists.

At least 35 per cent of India's population the age group between 20 and 25 aspires for higher education, but the present enrolment in higher education -- beyond the higher secondary level -- is only 9 per cent to11 per cent, as against 45 per cent to 85 per cent in developed countries.

(

(BC 27% MBC 20% SC 17% ST 1% OC 35%)

Land owners details…

National surveys used rural landholding pattern to assess wealthiness of various social groups. Its findings indicate that OBC and FC are comparable and there is a very minor difference between them. There is a big difference between OBC/FC and SC. Even Scheduled Tribes are placed better than Scheduled Castes. Experts who analysed National survey results point out that other backward class are near average in many parameters.

CBI to reopen investigations into Nanded blasts

23 Nov 2008, 1919 hrs IST, PTI
Times of India


MUMBAI: With fresh leads emerging out of Malegaon blast case, the CBI may soon reopen investigations into the 2006 Nanded blast, which is being seen as a main indicator of saffron group emerging as a major terror network.

While officially the CBI had adopted a taciturn policy on the issue, sources in the agency said it would reopen the case as some leads had emerged during the investigations into the September 29 Malegaon blast in which 11 people, including Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, have been arrested.

CBI's role had come into question from the probe conducted by central security agencies and Maharashtra's ATS, the agency appeared to have not taken due cognisance of deposition of one of the accused arrested in the case.

The accused, whose voice had to be restored after operating his vocal chord which was damaged in the blast, had told investigators that Naresh Rajkondwar, a Bajrang Dal activist, had allegedly planned three blasts outside mosques that shook Jalna and Parbani in Maharashtra in 2003 and 2004.

Several rounds of meetings took place between the CBI officials and central security agencies where sleuths probing the Malegaon blasts pointed out some of the alleged loopholes in the investigations carried out by the CBI.

The Nanded bomb blast took place in the intervening night of April 4 and 5, 2006 at the residence of Laxman Rajkondwar, allegedly a RSS worker. Rajkondwar's son Naresh and Himanshu Panse, who was VHP activist, were killed while assembling the bomb.

CBI had chargesheeted ten people in the case. But sources said it has not been able to trace back the leads provided by some of the accused who claimed to have admitted, before investigators, their role in the earlier blasts.

Recoveries made from Rajkondwar's house included Muslim skull caps, fake beards and a plan showing that the target was to hit a mosque at Aurangabad, nearly 200 km from Nanded.

The CBI would now be focussing more on recovery of over a ton of explosives used in manufacturing of fire crackers and its links with the previous blasts.

Sources said that one of the accused had told the investigators that he was sent to Pune by Naresh on his train ticket on the day when crude explosive material was thrown outside a mosque in Jalna in 2004, a move aimed at creating an alibi for Naresh and to show that he was not in town when the blast took place.

The CBI was also asked by central security agencies as to why the call details of Naresh were not investigated properly, the sources said and claimed that one such call had been traced to an important functionary of a saffron outfit in Ayodhya.

The CBI would also try and probe the links of 10 arrests in the Malegaon blast case including Lt Colonel Srikant Purohit, with the Nanded case.

The agency had investigated the Nanded blast and filed a chargesheet on March 15, 2008 against 10 people which included Sanjay Chowdhury, Yogesh Deshpande, Maruti Wagah, Gunniraj Thakur and Mahesh Pandey, allegedly associated with Bajrang Dal besides the two who were killed.

Indian techie pleads not guilty of Intel theft

23 Nov 2008, 0117 hrs IST, IANS
Times of India.


NEW YORK: An Indian techie, indicted by a federal jury of theft of trade-secret data of Intel worth $1 billion and wire fraud, has pleaded not guilty.

Bishwamohan Pani, 33, was arraigned before a federal court in Boston on Thursday afternoon. Pani pleaded “not guilty” on all five counts, a court clerk said on Friday.

The next hearing in has been scheduled for Jan 13, 2009.

On November 6, a federal grand jury had indicted Pani of stealing trade secret information from Intel, where he worked till June, before joining its rival AMD. The indictment alleges that days before joining AMD, Pani remotely downloaded 13 “top-secret” Intel documents, along with other confidential information of the company.

These included a document which explained how encrypted documents could be reviewed when not connected to Intel’s computer system. It also included information about Intel’s processes for designing its newest generation of microprocessors.

Kerala woman waits for dead son's body from Gulf

Time of India.
23 Nov 2008, 1159 hrs IST, PTI


PARAVUR: Not giving up hope, a 62-year-old woman here has been waiting for over three months to receive the body of her son, who died in Saudi Arabia in July this year after being allegedly beaten up by his Egyptian officer.

The woman, Vasumathi, had pinned all her hopes on her 32-year-old son, Subeesh, and had gathered whatever little she had to send him to the Gulf nation, hoping their misery would end.

But that was not to be. To her horror, she received information that her son had died after being beaten up by an employer. Since then she has been waiting to see her son for one last time.

Following the intervention of some good samaritans and a human rights organisation in Saudi Arabia, efforts are on to complete the post mortem of the body and bring it to Kerala as early as possible, Vijaykumar, Vice President of Federation of Malayali Association in Saudi Arabia, said.

Subeesh was working in a sand mining company at Alkarji, about 400 km away from Riyad. On July 14 this year, seeing his Egyptian superior beating up another Keralite, Subeesh tried to stop him when he was also beaten up.

Having suffered some internal injuries, his friends Vijaykumar and Balan, who were working in another company, admitted him to Sumarshia hospital where he died after 12 days on July 26.

His body has been kept at the hospital mortuary as 'unknown' body.

BSP hopes for a Maya wave in MP

From Anirban Bhaumik, DH News Service, Gwalior:
"UP hai hamari, ab bari hai MP ki (UP is ours now, its now time to take MP)," shouted Kishore Pandey, a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) activist, as party chief Mayawati appeared on the makeshift podium and waved to the crowd.


““Ab koi ruk nehi payegi, Hati Dilli jayegi (None can now stop the elephant’s march to Delhi)”, bellowed another elderly BSP supporter Munnalal Kushwaha, waving the party’s blue flag with the picture of a jumbo (the party’s symbol) embossed on it.

Pandey is a Brahmin and Kushwaha a Dalit. Both were among the thousands who waited for the chief minister of the neighbouring state for nearly three hours at the Phool Bagh Maidan here.

“They call ours a party of Dalits. But, look at our government in UP. Many upper-caste people are now ministers,” said Mayawati. “We have also given tickets to many Brahmins, Kshatriayas and other upper-caste people in Madhya Pradesh too”, she added.

She has been on a whirlwind tour of the poll-bound state for the past few days — hoping that her now-famous formula of ‘social engineering’ that helped the BSP win votes of both the upper and lower castes in UP would do magic here too.

The BSP is contesting all seats, and many of its candidates are former Congress and BJP stalwarts, who quit their parent organisations after being denied tickets.

Balendu Shukla of the Congress is one of the big catches of the BSP in the Gwalior-Chambal region. The 63-year-old Brahmin leader is now the BSP candidate in the Gwalior South constituency. Nine of Mayawati’s candidates in the 34 constituencies in Gwalior-Chambal region are Brahmins, while six others are Kshatriyas.

The BSP chief on Saturday spoke about several development and welfare projects launched by her government in UP and promised to replicate them in MP if her party is voted to power. “Our party feels that there should be reservation for poor people belonging to upper castes too. And, I promise this will be our priority, once we reach the seat of power in Delhi,” said Mayawati.

Karnataka: Church blasts case hearing on Nov 28

DH News Service,Bangalore:
The Special Court hearing cases on blasts in Churches in various parts of Karnataka in 2000 has adjourned the hearing to Nov 28.

This was after the judge S M Shivangoudar heard the arguments from both the sides. Several activists of Deendar Anjuman Organisation had been convicted in the case and quantum of punishment is yet to be pronounced.

Charges, including the one on waging war against the country have been framed against the accused. The charges attract capital punishment or life imprisonment.

Prosecution sought capital punishment as the act of the convicted amounts to waging war against country. Public prosecutor Nilogal had argued that the act of accused indicates their anti-social nature. They burgled the churches before planting bombs. The court should note that some of them were educated, engineers, doctors and BHEL employees.

The counsel for the accused had sought reduction in quantum of punishment considering the family background of the accused and the circumstances under which they resorted to such acts. Defence counsel G Jairaj claimed that the accused resorted to such acts to prevent religious conversion activities.

The bombs exploded when there was no one in the churches. The intention behind exploding the bombs was not to claim lives or cause damage to the buildings, he said. They resorted to such acts as they were emotionally
immature.

மள்ளர்கள் பள்ளராக ஏன் வீழ்ந்தனர்?ஏன் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட வகுப்புப் பட்டியலில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டனர்

மள்ளர்கள் பள்ளராக ஏன் வீழ்ந்தனர்?ஏன் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட வகுப்புப் பட்டியலில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டனர் என்று கேள்வி எழுப்பி அதற்கான விடையையும் வரலாற்று அறிஞர் கே.ஆர்.அனுமந்தன் பின்வருமாறு குறிப்பிடுவார்.
"தமிழ் மூவேந்தர் மன்னன் அரசு வீழ்ந்தது,மதுரையில்(விஜயநகரப் பேரரசின் பிரதிநிதி அரசான)நாயக்கர் ஆட்சி இருந்த காலத்தில்தான் இவர்களின் வீழ்ச்சி ஆரம்பமாகியுள்ளது.மராத்தியர்களும்,நாயக்கர்களும் தமிழர்கள் இல்லையாதலால்,அவர்கள் தங்கள் சொந்தக்கரத்தால் மட்டும் ஆட்சியை வேரூன்ற முடியவில்லை.இங்கிருந்த சில சமூகத்தாரை அணைத்துக் கொள்ளவேண்டியிருந்தது.சோழ மண்டலத்தில் வன்னியரும்,பாண்டிய மண்டலத்தில் கள்ளர்களும் அவர்களுக்குத் துணை நின்றார்கள்.இதன் மூலம் பல மானியங்களைப் பெற்றார்கள்."(அனுமந்தன் கே.ஆர்.தேவேந்தர்களை வீழ்த்துவதற்காக உருவாக்கப்பட்டதே நாயக்கர் ஆட்சியின் பாளையப்பட்டுமுறை(ஆங்கில மூலம்)தமிழில்,பேராசிரியர் தங்கராஜ்,பாட்டாளி முழக்கம்,ஜூலை1993,பக்கம் 10)
"நாயக்கர் பாளையப்பட்டு முறை என்று ஒரு நிலமானியத் திட்டத்தை உருவாக்கினார்கள்.இதில் தங்களுக்கு வேண்டியவர்களை பாளையக்காரர்களாக நியமித்தார்கள்.பெரும்பாலும் தெலுங்கர்களையும்,ஒரு சில பகுதிகளில் குறிப்பாக இராமநாதபுரம்,புதுக்கோட்டை ஆகிய பகுதிகளில் முறையே மறவர்,கள்ளர் சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர்களையும் நியமித்தார்கள்.பூர்வீகமாக நிலவுடைமையாளர்களாக இருந்த பள்ளர்கள் பாளையப்பட்டு முறை மூலம் நிலவுடைமை இழந்தார்கள்.
பலவந்தமாக நிலங்கள் பிடுங்கப்பட்டன.பறித்த நிலங்களை தங்களுக்கு வேண்டியவர்களுக்கு உரிமையாக்கினார்கள்.அடுத்து,மூவேந்தர்கள் பார்ப்பனர்களை குருக்களாக நியமிக்காததாலும்,பார்ப்பனர்கள் மதமாகிய இந்து மதக் கோட்பாடுகளைப் பின்பற்றாததாலும்,நாயக்க மன்னர்களைத் தங்கள் கைக்குள் வைத்திருந்த பார்ப்பனப் புரோகிதர்கள் இவர்களைத்"தீண்டத்தகாதவர்கள்"என்று அறிவித்தார்கள்.
வட இந்தியாவில் சண்டாளர்களுக்கு விதிக்கப்பட்ட சமூகவிதிகளை இவர்களுக்குப் புகுத்தினார்கள்"(மேலே குறிப்பிட்ட நூல் பக்கம் 12)
மேலே கண்டவை முலம் மள்ளர்களை வீழ்த்திய இனங்களில் முறையே நாயக்கர்,வன்னியர்,மறவர்,கள்ளர் மற்றும் பார்ப்பனர்கள் ஆகியோரின் பங்கு தெளிவாகிறது.

REF: http://www.karuthu. com/forum/ forum_posts. asp?TID=3268&PID=80572

Dalit Students of Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Chennai,

Attempt to Murder or Self Defence?????

Dalit students have been facing various problems in education institutions including in reputed institutes like JNU, DU, TISS and AIMS. Recently there were student's death in Hyderabad Central University and Dalit girl students' death in Pondichery and Madras Universities and a Young girl's death in Engineering College in Kerala.There are many atrocities and discrimination against dalit students in cases in many colleges and universities. The Dalit students have been abused and harassed by caste Hindu teachers, students and goons as they (Dalits) face discrimination both inside and outside campuses. This is the situation throughout the country. The Dalit students suffer in almost in all colleges. The management always favors the Caste Hindu teachers and students and victimizes the Dalit students.

Case in Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Chennai

There was a series of problems for Dalit students in Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Chennai. Last four years especially since the establishment of Thevar Peravai(Thevar is the Caste Hindu leader for the community, which has the history of discriminating Dalits inaspect)the caste Hindu (Thevar) students have been abusing and attacking Dalit students in the college campus and hostels. This matter has been reported to police and both Mr. Karunanithi and Ms. Jayalalitha `s government was very aware of this incidence. The many of the Thever students have been asking to remove Dr. Ambedkar's name and rename the college as Chennai Law College . They always negatively comment and abuse Dr. Ambedkar in the presence of Dalit students. They also use derogatory words and caste names to abuse Dalits. Last four years many atrocity cases have been filed against Thevar students. Six month back a group of Thevar students planned to attack Dalit students and were caught by police.

But police did not take any action against them. Mr. Bharathi Kanna, student leader of Thevar Peravai is said to be an instrument for many of these incidence and three months back he was charged a case under SC/ST (POA) Act. FIR was filed but no interrogation happened after that and also he was instrumental for many problems.

The Thevar students organized a Guru puja (for Pasumpon Muthuramalingam, a Thevar leader) on October, 30 2008. They published a pamphlet in which they did not want to use Dr. Ambedkar's name, instead they just wrote " Chennai Law College ". Some of the Dalit students protested against this act and asked them to write full name of the college. These students were beaten by the Thevar students and were injured badly and hospitalized. These students were in critical condition. But there was no action against any students in this regard. The Dalit students were threatened to death. Many Dalit students could not go to examination out of fear as they experienced brutal attacks earlier by Thevers. On 12th Dalit students went to write examination and they were attacked by the Thevars with knife. Bharathi Kannan & Armugam attacked Chithiraiselvan, a third year dalit student of Dr Ambedkar Law College. They cut his ear and hit on his head which led him for life or death situation. This led some of the friends of the victim intervene to save Chithiraiselvan. Bahrahti Kannan was well protected and properly hospitalized in special ward at General Hospital , Chennai while Chithiraiselvan treated as an accused and denied proper emergency care and protection in Royapettah Government Hospital .

Chitraiselvan told the National Commission for Scheduled Caste on Saturday that he was the first to be attacked allegedly by students belonging to a backward community on that day. They were armed with deadly weapons, he told the commission. S.S. Sharma, Joint Director of the Commission told that Chitraiselvan who was inside the campus along with other Dalit students, when a group of backward class students attacked him causing injuries on his head and ear. Seeing blood oozing out of his ears, the Dalit students attacked the other group of students and later took Chitraiselvan to the hospital.

At this juncture we need to interrogate and find the truth regarding the incidents and make sure that the victims are ensured appropriate remedy and justice, and also to build need full mechanism to protect vulnerable Dalit students.

The Facts behind the Incidents of violence at Dr. Ambedkar Law College

The Facts behind the Incidents of violence at Chennai

Dr. Ambedkar Law College.

The incident of violence on 12.11.2008 at Dr.Ambedkar Law College has shaken the conscience of every body. This incident surely needs to be condemned. The reason behind the submission of details herein is to bring out the facts behind the incidents of violence at a law college that we all believe is to produce future judges and socially conscious lawyer.

That clashes take place in the law college is not a new phenomena. We are shaken thoroughly to know the details of the brewing tension over the past four years that has broken out violently today. "Thevar Peravai" that functions with its headquarters at Chennai has been concentrating, specifically targeting the Thevar community students from the southern districts of Tamilnadu. It functions primarily in whipping up the passions and utilizes them for their vested parochial goals. With these students a casteist organization named ' Mukkulothor Student's Federation" has already been formed. The main objective of this organization is to target and attack the Dalits. And they also raise queries like while all other 4 govt. law colleges are named as Govt.law college, why should the Chennai law college be named after Dr.Ambedkar and called Dr.Ambedkar law college. Since Dr.Ambedkar is a Dalit this name should be changed. This is their contention for their past 4 years. They do not use Ambedkar's name in any of their advertisement and mention it only as 'Chennai Law College'.

Such activities has raised unnecessary discomfiture amonsgtthe dalit students and raised a sense of hatred between the communities. In all these issues Bharathi Kannan, belonging to Mukkulathor Student Federation is the prime culprit. In the recent past,( in 6 months duration) Bharathi Kannan was waiting with five of his friends with swords in hand prowling to kill atleast tow Dalit boys. Police came to know of this and arrested him red handed with 3 long swords in their possession. But they were released without any complaints been filed against them. Though the college authorities were in the know of his activities it did not make any efforts to curb him. In the same manner he with his friends went and attacked the students of Dr.Ambedkar Law college residing in hostel at Millers road, Kilpauk. The Principal did not take any action. At least there are 17 cases including attempt to murder, pending on Bharathi Kannan.

In this circumstance on '30^th October' during the Thevar Jayanthi the passion were whipped up. The poster prepared by Mukkulothor Students Federation expressed the re assertion of its casteist hierarchy, with usages avoiding Dr. Ambedkar's name. Also they teased the Dalit students on that day. The Dalits who questioned this were beaten up and with the law college students having exams from 3 rd of November, Mukkulothor Students Federation declared that any Dalit entering the college would be thrashed and killed. They were roaming around in the college complex with logs, iron rod, dagger and swords. Dalit boys could not enter the hall. Some Dalit boys came sneaking through and wrote the exams. Police or college authority did not take any action even though they were in the know of things.

Only on such a condition they came on 12.11.2008with logs, sticks etc for self protection. College authorities insisted that the students should avoid precipitating the issue. The Dalit students retorted stating that when the college authorities did not take any action when they were being prevented from attending exams, and they had come there for giving protection for Dalits and not attacking the Mukkulathor. Since some Dalit students have come for exams and Mukkulathors have identified and planned to attack them, they came for their defence. In such a situation Bharathikannan, Arumugam and Ayyadurai with daggers 2 ft. long, jumped in shouting that they shall kill at least 5 or so and moved towards the Dalit students. The Dalit students ran helter- shelter for their safety. When Bharathi Kannan and Arumugam ran and caught hold of Chithraiselvan, a Dalit student and tried to stab him down through the head. When he turned and saved his head his ears were torn off by the dagger. Other students joined in to save Chithrai Selvan and hit Bharathi kannan and Arumugam.

The sole responsibility for this callous approach rests entirely with the college authorities. For the last 4years when in the name of celebrating Thevar Jayanthi, efforts to assert caste hierarchy were being made, specifically failing to address Dr.Ambedkar Law college as such and naming it only as Chennai law college, threatening of the Dalit students, issuing threat to life for those Dalit students who opposed bringing caste conflict into the campus etc were brought to the notice of the college authorities no action was taken. Especially, for the last three days when it was brought to their notice of the magnitude and massive proportion of the brewing trouble, police or the college authorities made no action was taken to prevent the same.

In this situation Bharathi Kannan came in with daggers in hand to attack Dalit students. If the college authorities had acted in time this incident of violence could have been prevented.

Our demands:

1) Take appropriate action on the Principal for failing to take necessary action in time to prevent the brewing violence.

2) College authorities should initiate necessary action to prevent the casteist organizations that function from within the campus triggering violence.

3) Give due protection to all the students especially the Dalit students.

4) Take necessary action on those behind the incidents of violence, the organization, Thevar Peravai for fomenting casteist feelings.

5) Take appropriate action on the police authorities that failed to prevent the students who prowled inside the college campus for the past one week with weapons.