Muslim vote at any cost

A Surya Prakash, Tuesday, February 9, 2010 , Pioneer

The Congress is now going all out to garner Muslim support. Though this process accelerated after the Lok Sabha election in 2004 — remember the Prime Minister’s outrageous and unconstitutional assertion that the Muslims have the first right on the nation’s resources and the appointment of the Sachar Committee? — the party is now giving fresh impetus to the cultivation of this minority vote-bank.

Three events in the recent past that are indicative of this trend are the party’s reluctance to defend former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s decision not to bring Uttar Pradesh under central rule prior to December 6, 1992; the deliberate omission of Rao’s name by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in her speech to mark the 125th anniversary of the party; and the despicable attempt by Mr Digvijay Singh, a general secretary of the party, to raise doubts about the Batla House encounter in 2008, in which Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma lost of life.

Obviously, the party is now so obsessed with the pursuit of this vote-bank that it is more than ready to debunk constitutional norms, truth and even national security. Taking the last event first, it is truly amazing how far politicians can go to harvest votes. The encounter took place when the Delhi Police acted on information that terrorists involved in the September 13, 2008, serial blasts in Delhi were holed up in an apartment in the Jamia Nagar area of the national capital. Two members of the Indian Mujahideen were killed in the encounter in which Inspector Sharma lost his life. A couple of suspects escaped. Ever since that encounter, leaders of the Congress have been promoting the theory that this was a ‘fake’ encounter. How a senior police officer can lose his life in a ‘fake’ encounter is another matter!

The Congress, however, has persistently encouraged such talk despite the fact that the National Human Rights Commission cleared the police action and Delhi’s Congress Government had itself decorated Inspector Sharma posthumously for gallantry. Ironically, even as Mr Digvijay Singh was on his cynical vote-bank yatra to Azamgarh, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror squad nabbed an IM terrorist. He has given his interrogators a detailed account of the encounter and told them that he and his associate fired on Inspector Sharma before escaping from Batla House that day. Given these facts, Mr Singh’s attempt to lend credence to the theory that the Balta House encounter was ‘fake’ borders on criminal misrepresentation of facts. If he carries on in this vein, he could well jeopardise national security and the safety of 1.1 billion citizens.

As regards the Congress’s attitude vis-à-vis the decisions of the Narasimha Rao Government in December, 1992, clearly there is an attempt to demonise him and to hold him responsible for the demolition of the structure that was known as the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The structure was demolished by kar sevaks mobilised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu organisations. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister and the Government in Uttar Pradesh was headed by Mr Kalyan Singh of the BJP.

Following the demolition of this structure, both the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party systematically targeted Rao and made him out to be the chief villain vis-à-vis the events of December 6, 1992. Even though the BJP was in power in the State and this Government had failed to live up to the solemn assurances given to the Union Government and the Supreme Court, these two parties held Rao and the Congress primarily responsible for the demolition. The Muslims fell for this argument and moved away from the Congress. The loss of Muslim support for the party was obvious in the Lok Sabha election held in 1996 and in subsequent elections to Parliament and the State legislature. Anxious to win back the Muslims, the Congress chose to tarnish the image of Rao when Parliament debated the Liberhan Commission report. Like its chief opponents in Uttar Pradesh, it took the position that the Government of the day had failed to intervene in time to prevent the demolition of the disputed structure. This line obviously suits the vote-bank politics pursued by the party, but it is far removed from the scheme envisaged by the Constitution and contrary to the opinion of the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations and the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Bommai Case, which upheld Sarkaria’s views.

Rao told the Liberhan Commission that as the Governor of the State did not send any report about an imminent constitutional breakdown, the President could not act on mere hearsay or in a vacuum. Further, the “categorical assurance” of the State Government to the Union Government and the Supreme Court that it would protect the structure “weighed with my Government”. If he had dismissed the State Government on the ground that he did not have faith in the assurances given, the court could well have found fault with the action and declared it ‘unjustified’. The Sarkaria Commission, in fact, had said that Article 356 should be used to take remedial action in order to restore the constitutional machinery.

Since words such as ‘remedial’ and ‘restore’ were used, it clearly showed that this Article could not be used preventively or as a pre-emptive move.

The reasons given by Rao for not resorting to a pre-emptive strike against the Kalyan Singh Government is completely in line with the opinion of the Sarkaria Commission and the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Bommai Case. The court has said that it had the power to see whether the proclamation was based on any material and whether that material was relevant. Therefore, mere rumours, prejudices or heresay were not enough for such a drastic step in democracy. “Governments could not run on subjective mistrust of each other”, Rao had said.

However, since the Nehru-Gandhis have recklessly used Article 356 to settle political scores and to bring down non-Congress Governments, they are unaccustomed to such constitutional correctness. This is yet another reason why Rao is painted as the villain. Citizens who believe that the Government must work within Constitutional parameters will see merit in Rao’s arguments. Those who do no, like those who justify the fascist Emergency regime of 1975-77, will not.

http://dailypioneer .com/234727/ Muslim-vote- at-any-cost. html

Gen. Fonseka arrested of fraud charges

The former Army commander who recently lost Sri Lanka’s presidential election has been arrested by the country’s military.

Supporters of former General Sarath Fonseka say he was forcibly taken away by heavily armed troops while meeting with several senior opposition leaders at the offices of the Peoples Liberation Front, known as the JVP.

The Sri Lankan military, which Fonseka used to head, says the retired Army four-star general faces fraud charges connected to his tenure in the armed services, which ended last November.

Lakshman Hulugalle is the director general at the military’s Media Center for National Security.

“All offenses were done when he was the commander and the chief of defense staff.  So all of those charges will be taken into the military court,” he said.

Both Fonseka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa were touted as war heroes for last year’s crushing defeat of the rebel Tamil Tigers, ending a quarter century civil war.  But the two allies soon split with the former Army boss contesting the January 26th election, which the incumbent president won by an 18 percent margin.

The loser alleged vote rigging and a plot to kill him after ballots were counted.  The government in turn contended Fonseka was connected to a post-election plot to assassinate President Rajapaksa.  But Sri Lankan government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella says the former general has not been detained in connection with those allegations.

“The conspiracy, we do not know of the details.  It will be revealed after the questioning by the court martial,” said  Rambukwella.

International observers have not supported the opposition’s contention of rigging of the vote counting.  But human-rights groups have accused the government of intimidating and threatening opposition supporters and some journalists after the election.

Earlier this month, the president fired a number of senior military officers who were termed, by the defense ministry, to be a “direct threat” to national security.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Losing-Presidential-Election-Candidate-Arrested-Sri-Lanka–83823877.html

Reservations to Muslims at the cost of Hindu Tax Payers is criminal looting

-Dr Togadia

New Delhi, February 8, 2010

Opposing reservations to Muslims, Dr Pravin Togadia VHP Secretary General criticized, “Andhra HC quashed Andhra Government’s unconstitutional move to give 4% quota to Muslims in Education, jobs & so on. Yet today West Bengal announced 10% reservations to Muslims. For an eye-wash WB govt has shown that these reservations would be for socially, educationally & economically backward Muslims & OBCs in Muslims. This is all twisting the constitution & exploiting the hard working Hindus. Majority Hindus from middle class, higher middle class & other working / business class work hard & pay taxes. Instead of giving benefit of this money to the poor Hindus, Hindu Scheduled castes, Hindu OBCs & Tribes, government is all out to use this money to subsidize Muslims who do not even limit number of children quoting religion. This is not only unfair to Hindus but also it is a criminal looting of Hindus.”

Dr Togadia termed the Sachhar & Rangnath Mishra reports as “Preparation for Criminal Looting of Hindus”. He further added, “Andhra 4% quota, Sachhar & Rangnath reports & now West Bengal giving 10% reservations to Muslims are not sporadic isolated incidents. They are well connected & are a part of a larger conspiracy against Hindus. This criminal conspiracy of looting Hindus is being hatched to please & appease Muslim vote bank. Today Union government also announced that youth from POK would be encouraged to come to J&K & would be given special facilities. At this moment 78% Hindu youth in Bharat are unemployed, 79% Hindu farmers have already lost their lands / crops & most are about to commit suicides, 68% Hindu children are mal nourished. Yet, instead of helping them, governments are showering favours on Muslims. This is not acceptable to Hindus.”

Dr Togadia expressed, “Hindu majority is being exploited in every field like education, employment, bank loans, trade facilities, housing & so on. From Inheritance Act to Marriage Act, all laws are only to trouble Hindus. Essential food costs have gone so high that even well to do middle class families are no more able to feed their children even a cup of milk daily & now there is Muslim reservation burden on the Hindus. Hindus have reached their limit of patience & without waiting for anyone to lead; Hindus would hit the streets any moment against this continued injustice. Muslims claim that they are no more just a simple minority; but they are ‘the second largest majority in India (as Jamait-e-ulema- e-Hind Maulana Madani says) & yet governments are bent on giving them facilities & reservations snatching education, employment, loans & lives of Hindus.”

Dr Togadia termed this move unconstitutional & expressed the concern that this would encourage not just conversions but also Jehadi incidents. He said, “Those who argue that Muslims are poor in Bharat & therefore they turn to Jehad, are living in a fool’s paradise. Pilots, Engineers, professionals from well to do families are following Jehad as a life style based on Madarsa preaching. If they are poor they do Jehad by bomb & when they get rich or educated they use planes, computers against Bharat. Therefore, it will help governments to get all Hindus to avail of education, employment, trade facilities instead of wasting Hindu Tax payer’s money on inspiring Jehad. When majority develops, the nation automatically develops. Those who do not even follow Bharat’s constitution should not be given an opportunity to misuse Bharat’s democracy & constitution for increasing their population to ‘minoratize’ Hindus.”

Dr Togadia suggested that if Muslim reservation moves continue then VHP would have to seriously look into the option of a democratic nation wide agitation soon.

____________ _________ __

For further details & info, contact Dr Togadia on drtogadia@gmail. com

KCR vows rightful share for Muslims

By By DC Correspondent

Feb 08 2010

Hyderabad, Feb. 7: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, on Sunday said he supported providing reservation to Muslims in proportion to their population in Telangana. “The reservations will be on the lines of those in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Addressing a public meeting “Telangana Garajna” organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind at Nizam College grounds here, Mr Rao said, “The sea of Muslims here should clear all doubts in the minds of the Union home minister and others. This meeting is crucial: it upsets the claims of Andhra leaders that Muslims were against Telangana and sends a clear message to the Centre.”

Starting his speech with a sher-o-shayari in Urdu, Mr Rao jeered at the Andhra leaders’ inability to speak Urdu properly. “I have seen our Chief Ministers from Andhra wishing ‘Ood Mubarak’ instead of Id Mubarak,” he said.

Mr Rao pointed out that Muslim percentage in government jobs has dipped from 36 per cent to one.

“Not even one per cent of the state budget is given to the minority welfare department. Don’t Muslims pay taxes?” he asked.

Mr Rao said he will fight for at least 12 per cent reservation for Muslims in employment and education sectors, and the Assembly apart from local bodies.

Professor Kancha Ilaiah and Balladeer Gaddar demanded that the first Chief Minister of Telangana should either be from the SC, ST, BC, or Muslim community. “The T leaders should make their stand clear on this issue,” they said.

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Source URL:
http://www.deccanch ronicle.com/ hyderabad/ kcr-vows- rightful- share-muslims- 648

West Bengal announces reservation for Muslims in govt jobs

PTI, 8 February 2010, 03:37pm IST

KOLKATA: On a day when the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down job reservation for Muslims, the West Bengal government on Monday announced 10 per cent quota in employment for the community under the OBC category.

The state government declared the quota for the Muslims who were educationally, socially and economically backward in the state.

“We have decided to accept the recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission and will take steps to implement it,” chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told newsmen at the state secretariat without waiting for the Centre’s decision on the report.

He said like other states there was reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in the state. The government, he said, had begun the process of identifying Muslims who were educationally, socially and economically backward. There was 7 per cent reservation for OBCs in the state.

“After identification, we will provide reservation to them under the OBC category,” the chief minister said.

Earlier in the day, a Constitution bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down a state law providing 4 per cent reservation in educational institutions and jobs to 15 groups belonging to the Muslim community.

Soon after the court’s order, Andhra chief minister K Rosaiah directed the state advocate general D S R Murthy to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.

http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/india/ West-Bengal- announces- reservation- for-Muslims- in-govt-jobs/ articleshow/ 5548428.cms

Law Ministry releases Gopalaswami’s letter on Chawla to President

New Delhi: The Law Ministry has released the letter written by the then Chief Election Commissioner, N. Gopalaswami, to the President seeking removal of fellow Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, while the Rashtrapati Bhavan declined to make the document public.

The appellate authority under the Right to Information Act in the Ministry allowed the request by S.S. Ranawat of Bhilwara in Rajasthan, for information on the unprecedented recommendation made by Mr. Gopalaswami in January last year. The Rashtrapati Bhavan had cited Mr. Chawla’s opposition to the disclosure as a reason for not making it public.

In his 93-page report, Mr. Gopalaswami cited several instances of “partisan behaviour” on the part of Mr. Chawla.

Acting on the petition filed by BJP leader L.K. Advani and 179 other MPs, who had levelled accusations of “political partisanship,” the then CEC contended that he had powers under the Constitution to recommend the removal of Mr. Chawla. The government, however, rejected the recommendation and later appointed Mr. Chawla CEC.

Mr. Gopalaswami cited Mr. Chawla’s own notings on another occasion that the CEC had the power to make such a recommendation.

In the recommendation to the President, Mr. Gopalaswami said he concluded that “significant facts” and “irresistible conclusions” from the report submitted by him were crucial in judging the suitability of Mr. Chawla as Election Commissioner.

He said Mr. Chawla’s continuance as Election Commissioner was “not justified.”

“My recommendation, therefore, under the powers vested in me under the second proviso to Article 324(5) of the Constitution, is to remove Shri Navin B. Chawla from the post of Election Commissioner,” Mr. Gopalaswami said in his January 16, 2009 letter, months before the general elections during which he demitted office.

Referring to 12 instances cited by him, Mr. Gopalaswami said: “Taken individually [they] appear to indicate Shri Chawla’s political partisanship. Collectively, they point to a continuity of consistent thought and action in furthering the interest of one party with which he appeared to be in constant touch, raising serious doubts about his political detachment.

“Further, it was not only that he appeared to be lacking in political neutrality but more pernicious were his attempts to influence Election Commissioner Dr. Quraishi, not by dint of valid arguments, but by spreading stories that Dr. Quraishi was supporting the opposite views.”

On many occasions, Mr. Gopalaswami said, Dr. Quraishi had confided that he was under pressure, as for instance when he was in favour of elections being held in Karnataka on time and wanted the electoral rolls prepared for the new constituencies using the ‘cut and paste’ method, but did not want his name taken because he was under pressure.

Dr. Quraishi once shared a comment made by Mr. Chawla to him that “they are angry with you not so much because you were instrumental in Sonia Gandhi getting a notice from ECI on her birthday [reference to the notice on the maut ka saudagar remarks] but for the fact that you sided with the CEC in advancing the elections in Himachal Pradesh.”

Such pressure tactics, Mr. Gopalaswami said, did not augur well for the Election Commission because the independence and neutrality of the members could be jeopardised by subjecting them to mental pressure and pressure from other vested interests.

“Such an approach would strike at the very foundation of the Election Commission as a neutral body,” he said.

The then CEC said that from time to time he had taken care to apprise some select people of these happenings lest they be labelled as an afterthought.

U.P. elections

As for the episode of U.P. elections in 2007, when Mr. Chawla wanted the poll announcement deferred anticipating imposition of President’s rule, which was demanded by the Congress, Mr. Gopalaswami said the matter was brought to the notice of the then President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Mr. Gopalaswami said his immediate predecessors, J.M. Lyngdoh and B.B. Tandon, and a retired Gujarat IAS official, had also been told about these instances.

“It is also necessary to record here that prior to May 2005, in the one year and three months of my experience as Election Commissioner, there was not even one single incident in which there was any remotely partisan view expressed by any Commissioner on any occasion when the general election to the Parliament 2004 and election to the Legislative Assemblies of Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar [2005] were conducted.”

Mr. Gopalaswami said Mr. Chawla’s “present conduct seems a part of a continuum of the conduct he had exhibited, of closeness to a certain political formation, during the emergency a little over 30 years ago and more recently, prior to his appointment as EC, when he received donations for the trusts which he and his family members ran, to the period of the last three and a half years in the Election Commission.”

Mr. Gopalaswami said these would certainly be significant factors in deciding Mr. Chawla’s continuance in the post of Election Commissioner. These would equally be significant in determining his suitability to the office of CEC. — PTI

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/08/stories/2010020858431100.htm

Vinaasa kaalE vipareetha buddhi

TRS chief promises quota for Muslims Special Correspondent

In proportion to their population, says KCR

— PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrasekhar Rao (second from right) with leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on the Nizam College grounds in Hyderabad on Sunday.

HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao has promised political reservation and a quota in education and employment based on population for Muslims in separate Telangana.

Addressing a public meeting organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on the Nizam College grounds here with permission granted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Mr. Rao felt Muslims would not be assured of social justice unless they got political reservation.

However, their experience in 53 years of unified State was bitter.

Mr. Rao assured that a special provision in Constitution would be invoked, as was done by Tamil Nadu government, to extend reservation to Muslims in education and employment.

They would get the reservations proportionate to their population which was 13 per cent to 15 per cent in Telangana.

The TRS chief also promised a budget for welfare of Muslims based on their population.

He appealed to the Muslims to shed self-defeatism and assert themselves in separate Telangana.

Earlier, Telugu Desam Party leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy faced an angry crowd demanding that party president N. Chandrababu Naidu spell out his stand on separate Telangana.

Mr. Reddy informed the crowd that it misunderstood Mr. Naidu and said it was with the latter’s permission that 39 MLAs of the party in Telangana joined the movement for Statehood.

The TDP leader also assured that his party would extend political reservations and reservations in education and employment to Muslims in separate Telangana.

Former Home Minister T. Devender Goud wondered if there was a government in the State as organisations wanting to hold meetings did so with court permission every time.

Veteran Congress leader G. Venkatswamy deplored that the contribution of local population for the development of Hyderabad was sought to be snatched by outsiders.

The meeting adopted several resolutions, one of which sought professional, people friendly and law abiding police force in Telangana State. Congress MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, Telangana Joint Action Committee convener C. Kodandaram and former Minister Basheeruddin Babu Khan also spoke.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/02/08/stories/2010020858290900.htm

Andhra to challenge HC order on Muslim quota

IANS

First Published : 08 Feb 2010 12:33:24 PM IST

Last Updated : 08 Feb 2010 03:33:03 PM IST

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government Monday decided to challenge in the Supreme Court the verdict of the high court quashing a legislation for four percent reservation to Muslims in education and jobs.Immediately after the seven-member constitutional bench delivered its verdict, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah directed the state advocate general to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court.A statement from the chief minister’s office said he has directed the advocate general to take necessary action immediately for filing the SLP in the Supreme Court against the judgement of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) staged a protest outside the state secretariat demanding that the government take immediate steps to protect the four percent reservation.Former minister and Congress party leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir said the government was committed to provide reservations to Muslims and would take all steps to protect the interests of the community.Shabbir clarified that the reservations were provided only to the economically and socially backward classes among Muslims and not to the entire community.Main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) vice-president Lal Jan Basha said the government was not sincere in providing reservations to Muslims as it failed to put up strong arguments in support of the legislation.Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) said Muslims deserved reservations as they were more backward than Scheduled Castes. TRS legislator Harish Rao said a constitutional amendment should be brought for the purpose.He said TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao had already promised 12 percent reservation to Muslims in the proposed Telangana state.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the court verdict. “Our stand that reservations should not be provided on the basis of religion stands vindicated. This is the defeat of vote bank politics of the Congress party,” said BJP state president Bandaru Dattatreya.

No to muslim quotas: AP High Court

Andhra HC quashes quota for Muslims

IANS

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh High Court Monday quashed a legislation providing four percent reservation to Muslims in education and jobs.

Delivering the much-awaited judgement, the seven-member constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice A.R. Dave ruled that reservations cannot be provided on the basis of religion.

The court order has come as a big blow to the Congress government, which had brought a legislation providing four percent reservation to certain backward groups among Muslims.

Some individuals and organisations had challenged the bill, contending that the reservations were unconstitutional. This is the third time since 2004 that the high court has quashed quota for Muslims.

In 2004 that the state government had provided five percent reservation to Muslims but the high court had quashed the order.

However, on the court’s advice, the government reconstituted the backward classes commission and directed it to conduct a detailed survey of the socio-economic conditions of Muslims.

On the recommendations of the commission, the government issued an ordinance in 2005 and subsequently the assembly passed legislation for five percent reservation.

However, the high court set aside the legislation on the ground that this would exceed the 50 percent total reservation limit set by the Supreme Court.

In an attempt to keep the reservations within the 50 percent limit, the government reduced the quantum to four percent and issued an order in 2007 providing four percent quota in government jobs and educational institutions for 15 socially and educationally backward classes among Muslims.

The government brought an ordinance, which was later replaced by a legislation passed by the assembly..

The four percent quota was also challenged in the high court. The petitioners argued that the government identified backward classes in the community without gathering scientific data.

The high court, in its interim order, permitted admissions made under the quota. This was challenged by the petitioners in the Supreme Court. The apex court stayed implementation of the order but left it to the high court to dispose off the batch of writ petitions.

http://www.expressb uzz.com/ edition/story. aspx?Title= Andhra+HC+quashes+ quota+for+ Muslims&artid=npEdJRjTw5M=& SectionID=b7ziAYMen jw=& MainSectionID= b7ziAYMenjw=& SEO=reservations, +quota& SectionName= pWehHe7IsSU=

Court strikes down reservation for Muslims in Govt jobs

K. VENKATESHWARLU, FEB. 8, 2010

Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday struck down as unconstitutional, a State Government’s order providing four per cent reservation for Muslim community in Government jobs and educational institutions.

This is for the second time that the Government has faced embarrassment as its two earlier attempts too met the same fate.

The Congress Government first tried to implement its election promise made in 2004 by granting five percent reservation but it was dismissed by the Court saying it exceeded the 50 per cent limit set by Supreme Court for reservations.

After much debate and study by State BC Commission, the quota was reduced to four per cent but this too has been rejected by the Court.

PTI adds:

The order was passed by the seven-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave on a petition filed by an advocate K. Kondala Rao.

The State government had moved a bill in the Assembly on the basis of a report submitted to it by the Andhra Pradesh Commission for Backward Classes. The bill was later passed by the Assembly.

The report had recommended that the socially and educationally backward should be adequately represented in the State. The government order (GO) was issued on July 7, 2007 providing the 4 per cent reservation to the 15 groups.

http://beta. thehindu. com/news/ states/andhra- pradesh/ article102733. ece?homepage= true

Kerala HC upholds reservation on economic basis

Express News Service

First Published : 14 Jan 2010 02:47:00 AM IST

Last Updated : 14 Jan 2010 12:59:02 PM IST

KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday upheld the state government order providing reservation for financially backward students of forward communities for UG and PG courses in government educational institutions.

Dismissing the petition filed by the Kerala Muslim Jama-Ath Council challenging the government order, the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S R Bannurmath and Justice A K Basheer said that students of backward communities should secure admission at higher and postgraduate level by competing with meritorious students.

“Reservation has brought a revolutionary change in the socio-economic situation of the backward class. Now they have to wake up from the slumber of satiated insouciance.

Providing financial reservation for the poor segment of forward castes will not in any way affect the rights of the backward class or the benefits they enjoy,” it observed.

The court further observed that it was high time the reservation quota for employment was brought down as excellence in educational and professional fields could be achieved only if there was an element of competitiveness.

The court considered the contention that the poor segment of the forward castes should not be given solace totally uncharitable.

It said there could be no doubt that the government was vested with the power to issue a notification.

The order does not violate any provisions of the Constitution. “A perusal of the order will show that the objective of the govt is to address a problem faced by students belonging to forward castes. Many students of forward castes fail to get admission as they are considered only on the basis of merit. After allocation of seats under various quotas, the number of merit seats is comparatively low. Those denied admission are forced to discontinue studies as they are unable to afford the expense of courses at private institutions,” the court said.

Regarding the contention of the petitioner that the Muslim community had not been given due consideration in the educational sector, the court said that the overall situation of Muslims in the state had undergone tremendous change, especially during the past few years.

“It is high time the community leaders thought of shedding their ‘backward’ tag and prepared to compete with others for a slot in the general merit category,” the court said.

http://www.expressb uzz.com/ edition/story. aspx?Title= Andhra+HC+quashes+ quota+for+ Muslims&artid=EoXKMBW9SK8=& SectionID=1ZkF/ jmWuSA=& MainSectionID= 1ZkF/jmWuSA=& SEO=Chief+Justice+ S+R+ Bannurmath+and+ Justice+A+ K+ Bashe&SectionName= X7s7i|xOZ5Y=

Just boycott Pakistan

http://dailypioneer .com/233677/ Just-boycott- Pakistan. html

R Vaidyanathan

It is futile to persist with talking to a country whose politics, society and economy are controlled by its Army and which will never abandon its policy of promoting cross-border terrorism. Corporate India must get real and simply enforce a total boycott of Pakistan. It will yield results

Pakistan is one of the few places where the Army owns a country and runs it. This is an important issue since studies have found that a large number of corporates in Pakistan are ultimately owned by Fauji Foundation, Army Welfare Trust, Bahria Foundation and Shaheen Foundation — all owned by the different wings of the Pakistani armed forces. More than three-fourths of the market capitalisation of the Karachi stock exchange is owned by the Army and related groups.

Hence do not try to think of Pakistan without its Army, whoever may be temporarily and nominally ruling that place. Also, significant portion of its GDP is due to Army-controlled entities. This is explained in detail by Ayesha Siddiqa in her book, Military Inc — Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy, and one can easily say that Pakistan’s economy and its Army /ISI are synonymous. Unless this elementary fact is internalised we are not going anywhere.

In the last few years the Indian economy has been growing at a significant rate. It was valued at $ 1.22 trillion during 2008 and that of Pakistan at $ 168 billion in the same year. One can say that India’s GDP will continue to grow around 9-10 per cent per annum. And even assuming a growth rate of six per cent for that of Pakistan, we can estimate that within the next decade the annual additional GDP of India will be that of Pakistan. Individual States in India, particularly the larger ones, will be better off than Pakistan. Already the Pakistani rupee is nearly half the Indian rupee and Pakistan is slowly becoming an international basket case due to its excessive reliance on American, European and Saudi aid.

Pakistan, particularly its elite, has always visualised India to be a competitor, particularly through the India-Pakistan hyphenated relation. They have always wanted to establish ‘equality’ in terms of parity. But due to global developments and India’s growth and Pakistan’s role as the terror crucible of the world — it is now equated with Yemen and Somalia in terms of global threat perceptions and its citizens’ luggage is checked thrice in most airports. Instead of India-Pakistan what is being talked about is AfPak and India-China.

When recently — normally docile — FICCI produced a well-documented study titled National Security and Terrorism to deal with terrorism originating from that country, the Karachi Chambers of Commerce protested against it. Almost all terror attacks in any part of the world in the last decade have had a link with Pakistan.

Given the growth trajectory of the two countries, the Army-controlled country called Pakistan will get into a greater quagmire and will become more aggressive due to anger born out of jealousy. That will encourage the ISI and Army to increase terror attacks inside India. It is important to remember that young Army officers of Bangladesh liberation war vintage have all become senior Generals now and they would like to take revenge for the loss of their territory. Instead of direct war, they have found an excellent weapon in state- encouraged and state-sponsored terrorism by non-state actors like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Harkat-ul-Jihad and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Economically growing India has to deal with this. How?

There are three groups in India which are obsessed with friendship with Pakistan. The first group comprises elderly people born in that part before partition and who are nostalgic about Lahore havelis, halwa and mujra. The second group comprises Bollywood actors, directors and assorted outfits who look at Pakistan as a big market. Dawood Ibrahim’s gang has financed many of these useful idiots. The third group comprises bleeding heart liberals who hold candle light vigils and who cannot imagine India doing well without its ‘younger brother’ taken care of. All three have been proved wrong a hundred times but they unfortunately play an important role in moulding opinion.

If we want the world to treat Pakistan for what it is, then we should start practicing it. We must always recognise it as the ‘Terrorist State of Pakistan’ and never have any illusion that it is going to be any different. We should completely and comprehensively cut off all relations with Pakistan — economic, cultural, sports and all other aspects. Dawood Ibrahim-funded Bollywood may weep. South Africa was shamed and shunned for its policy of apartheid, so should Pakistan for practicing terrorism as a state policy. Unless we start completely boycotting the ‘Terrorist State of Pakistan’ we cannot ask others to do it. If we completely boycott the Pakistanis for a few years we will see the results. Their roots are Indic and not in Saudi Arabia.

If corporate India — including electronic and print media — starts practicing it, then we can see results in a few years. One hopes that India’s elite is listening and will not get carried away by asha for the demons.

- The writer is Professor of Finance at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. The views expressed here do not reflect those of his organisation.

Tsunami-generating quake possible off Indonesia: scientists

http://newsimg. bbc.co.uk/ media/images/ 47128000/ gif/_47128244_ _46495391_ sumatra_concern_ 226-1.gif Tsunami-generating quake possible off Indonesia: scientists

By Richard Ingham (AFP) – Jan 16, 2010

PARIS — A huge wave-generating quake capable of killing as many people as in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could strike off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the city of Padang is in the firing line, a team of seismologists said on Sunday.

The group — led by a prominent scientist who predicted a 2005 Sumatran quake with uncanny accuracy — issued the warning in a letter to the journal Nature Geoscience.

The peril comes from a relentless buildup of pressure over the last two centuries on a section of the Sunda Trench, one of the world’s most notorious earthquake zones, which runs parallel to the western Sumatra coast, they said.

This section, named after the Mentawai islands, “is near failure,” the letter warned bluntly.

“The threat of a great tsunamigenic earthquake with a magnitude of more than 8.5 on the Mentawai patch is unabated. (…) There is potential for loss of life on the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.”

The letter gave no timeframe for this event but warned starkly of the danger for Padang, a city of 850,000 people that lies broadside to the risky segment.

“The threat from such an event is clear and the need for urgent mitigating action remains extremely high,” it said.

More than 220,000 people lost their lives in the killer wave of December 26 2004 when a 9.3-magnitude earthquake, occurring farther north on the Sunda Trench, ruptured the boundary where the Australian plate of Earth’s crust plunges beneath the Eurasian plate.

The authors of the letter are led by John McCloskey, a professor of the Environmental Sciences Research Institute at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland.

In March 2005, McCloskey warned that the December 26 2004 quake had built up major stress in an adjoining part of the fault to the south. He declared a temblor in the region of 8.5 magnitude with the capacity to generate a tsunami was imminent and urged the authorities to beef up preparations.

Such predictions are extraordinarily rare in the world of seismology. Knowledge of where earthquakes strike is extensive but the ability to say when they will occur remains elusive.

But McCloskey was proven right within two weeks. On March 28 2005, a quake measuring 8.6 erupted at Simeulue island, generating a three-metre (10-feet) tsunami.

In the letter to Nature Geoscience, his team explained their calculations for the vulnerable Mentawai segment in the aftermath of a 7.6-magnitude quake that occurred 60 kilometers (37 miles) near Padang on September 30 last year, killing more than 1,000 people.

Despite its size, this event did not ease the pressure on the Mentawai section, especially under the island of Siberut. Stresses there have been accumulating since an 8.7-magnitude quake in 1797 that caused fault slippage of 10 metres (32.5 feet) and unleashed a tsunami that inundated Padang and neighbouring areas.

Under Siberut, the largest of the Mentawai islands, “the megathrust strain-energy budget remains substantially unchanged” after the 2009 quake, McCloskey’s team said.

“It is imperative that the Indonesian authorities, with the assistance of the international community and non-governmental organisations, ensure that they complete the relief effort and earthquake-resistan t reconstruction following this earthquake, and work with the people in Padang to help prepare them for the next one.”

http://www.google. com/hostednews/ afp/article/ ALeqM5jvVvnTP5Pc -k6H5pC56LazEYVw 0A

Quake preparations ‘a disgrace’

The lack of earthquake planning by the international community is a “disgrace”, a leading seismologist has said.

Professor John McCloskey said that governments must prepare for quakes, rather than act after the event.

The University of Ulster expert led the analysis of the quake that started the Indian Ocean 2004 tsunami.

“It is an international disgrace that we appear not to have made the smallest progress in preparation,” he said.

“The ‘international community’ is very good at preparing for war but has failed completely to prepare to help the poor, who are always the ones to suffer in these events.

“If we want to claim to be civilised we need to ensure that we never see these scenes again.”

In a letter to the journal Nature Geoscience he and his team warn that a huge wave-generating quake capable of killing as many people as in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could strike off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, with the city of Padang in the path of destruction.

The danger comes from a relentless increase in pressure over the last 200 years on a section of the Sunda Trench, one of the world’s most notorious earthquake zones, which runs parallel to the western Sumatra coast.

This section, named after the Mentawai islands, “is near failure,” the letter warned.

Professor McCloskey said that governments were “refusing the accept the inevitable”.

“Earthquakes happen, they kill people, they will kill more and more people if we don’t organise ourselves properly,” he said.

He said the earthquake which rocked Padang, western Sumatra in September last year killing more than 1,000 people was not the “great earthquake” scientists were waiting for but it may have made the next massive earthquake more likely.

Professor McCloskey is the head of the Geophysics Research Group at the UoU’s Environmental Sciences Research Institute.

He said that while earthquake prediction was “as far off as ever” all the indicators are pointed to western Sumatra as a massive quake location.

“Scientists cannot forecast the exact size of the earthquake but in this case there is complete agreement that it will be very strong, probably bigger than magnitude 8.5, dwarfing the energy release in the Haitian quake,” he said.

“We also cannot say for sure what size the tsunami will be but it has the potential to be very destructive – maybe even worse than 2004.

“But the future need not look like Haiti. We know this earthquake is coming and we might have years or even decades to prepare.

“Given the unfolding scenes of carnage following the Haiti earthquake and the completely inadequate speed of the international response, the responsibility on the Indonesian government, the international community and the international NGOs is enormous.

“We must work urgently to prepare for this earthquake if we are not to witness again the awful scenes of children dying for want of a few stitches or a cast for a broken leg. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/ -/2/hi/uk_ news/northern_ ireland/8464512. stm

Indonesia will face a far more devastating earthquake, seismologists warn

‘We don’t think this was the big one,’ says a scientist in the region. In Padang, rescue workers give up the search for more survivors and concentrate on recovering bodies and clearing rubble.

October 06, 2009|Charles McDermid

PADANG, INDONESIA — Expect a far more powerful earthquake than last week’s magnitude 7.6 temblor to hit Indonesia’s devastated Padang area in the next few decades.

That’s the word from a team of leading seismologists, who said the worst is yet to come, although they cautioned that predicting the timing of earthquakes is an inexact science at best.

After a three-day review of seismic evidence using global-positioning equipment, scientists with the Earth Observatory of Singapore, or EOS, found that the earthquake that hit the Indonesian city of Padang did little to relieve the stored tension at the juncture of two tectonic plates.

The EOS team believes that the eventual energy release could result in an earthquake close to the scale of the magnitude 9 monster that triggered the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, killing more than 200,000 in a dozen countries.

“We don’t think this was the big one,” said Paramesh Banerjee, technical director of EOS, a $700-million government-funded institute for the study of tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes and climate. “It can happen any time — now, in 20 years or more.”

On Monday, rescue workers ended their search for life beneath the rubble, shifting their focus instead to helping survivors in the area around Padang, a port city of 900,000 on Sumatra island. But their efforts were hampered by torrential rain.

The government’s official death toll stood at 603, although the United Nations said 1,100 people died and other disaster specialists said the number will probably climb to several thousand after more corpses are unearthed.

Gagah Prakoso, a spokesman for the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters that chances of anyone surviving this long without food and water were slim, prompting the decision to concentrate on finding bodies and cleaning up the rubble.

Indonesia faces a huge rebuilding task. More than 88,000 houses and 285 schools were destroyed in 10 districts, according to the U.N. and Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency, with an additional 100,000 public buildings and 20 miles of road damaged.

Seismologists said the earthquake occurred in the collision zone where the Indo-Australian Plate dives beneath the Sunda Plate, which is below Padang and the Indonesian province of Aceh, which was battered by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.

“When one plate goes beneath another it’s called ’subduction,’ ” Banerjee said. “But it doesn’t go smoothly. It gets stuck and then it slips. This slip is an earthquake.”

http://articles. latimes.com/ 2009/oct/ 06/world/ fg-indonesia- quake6

Letter

Nature 449, 75-78 (6 September 2007) |  doi :10.1038/nature0608 8; Received 27 February 2007; Accepted 10 July 2007

The potential for giant tsunamigenic earthquakes in the northern Bay of Bengal

Phil R. Cummins¹

1.    Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

Correspondence to: Phil R. Cummins¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to P.R.C. (Email: phil.cummins@ ga.gov.au).

VIPs and their flights of fancy

B. Raman, Monday, February 8, 2010, Pioneer

Our politicians love to believe they are safe without security cover but that’s not true, writes B Raman

As I watched on television channels visuals of Mr Rahul Gandhi traveling by a suburban train in Mumbai last Friday, my mind went back to the initial days of VP Singh as Prime Minister in 1989.

Those were the days of Khalistani terrorism. Terrorists trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence were running amok in Punjab and Delhi, killing dozens of innocent civilians and security forces personnel. One of the promises made by VP Singh during the election campaign was to bring a healing touch to the Sikh community. Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, a former IPS officer who had resigned from the service in protest against the way the Congress was handling the problem, had emerged as a valued adviser of VP Singh both before and after he became Prime Minister.

Shortly after taking over as Prime Minister, VP Singh, on the advice of Mr Mann, decided to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar without security. Mr Mann assured him that there would be no threats to his security. VP Singh ordered that apart from the bodyguards in plain clothes no other security arrangements should be made for him.

The security agencies responsible for his security did not want to take chances. They deployed a large number of security personnel in plain clothes in the Temple itself and outside to ensure that nothing went wrong, without telling VP Singh anything about it.

From VP Singh’s perspective, it was a highly emotional and successful visit. After worshiping in the temple he travelled round the town in an open vehicle. There were thousands of Sikhs and others, who mobbed him and greeted him. Highly pleased by the reception that he got, he said that his security was safe in the hands of the people, who loved him so much. Where was the need for official security at the expense of the tax-payer? he asked.

He was not aware that hundreds of those, who mobbed him and hailed him, were not members of the public, but security forces personnel who had been asked to mingle with the crowds to protect him.

Subsequently, highly gratified by media accounts of his successful visit to Amritsar and mingling with the crowds, VP Singh decided to travel by train from Delhi to Jaipur. He rejected the advice of the security agencies not to do so.

He went to the Delhi railway station and got into the train. He was mobbed by large cheering crowds on the station platform. He took his place inside the compartment with what he thought were other members of the travelling public. He returned from Jaipur by train.

He was highly gratified by the warmth shown by the travelling public to him and decided to undertake more trips by train. He was not aware that many of those who cheered him at the railway station and that all those who were in the compartment with him were actually security forces personnel in mufti.

After he returned to Delhi, senior officers in charge of the Prime Minister’s security told him the truth and explained that since it was their responsibility to protect him, they could not have taken chances. They also pointed out that such forays by him seemingly without security cost the tax-payer more than the usual security and weakened their capability to protect him.

Thereafter, he stopped indulging in such gimmicks in order to embarrass Rajiv Gandhi. The Congress was raising a hue and cry about the downgrading of security for Rajiv Gandhi. He wanted to embarrass Rajiv Gandhi and his party by showing that while Rajiv Gandhi needed elaborate security because he, according to V.P.Singh, was not liked by the people, whereas he the Prime Minister did not need that kind of security because he was loved by the people. Wiser advice prevailed and he stopped doing this.

The writer, an expert on security affairs, is a former top official of the Research & Analysis Wing.

http://dailypioneer .com/234408/ VIPs-and- their-flights- of-fancy. html