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Exhibition on valour, sacrifices in Kargil NEW DELHI, Aug 6: There could not have been a more poignant moment that when the mother of Kargil martyr, Capt...more
CVC to present interim report on defence deals NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Central Vigilance Commission is likely to present its interim report to Defence Minister .....more From B L Kak All India Muslim Majlis-e-Shoora condemns killings NEW DELHI, Aug 6: The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Shoora today condemned the recent killing of Amarnath pilgrims ......more |
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‘Pressure on India, Pak to hold talks on Kashmir’ CHENNAI, Aug 6: Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar today charged the US with pressurising both India and Pakistan to hold talks on Kashmir despite ........more From B L Kak 4 special tourism areas identified in Andhra Pradesh CALCUTTA, Aug 6: Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister E Peddi Reddy has said the State Government had identified four special tourism ......more NHRC issues notice to Bihar Govt on atrocities on women NEW DELHI, Aug 6: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to Bihar Government and Director General of Police to give a report within two weeks on the alleged. ..more |
Exhibition on valour, sacrifices in Kargil NEW DELHI, Aug 6: There could not have been a more poignant moment that when the mother of Kargil martyr, Capt Hanifuddin, inaugurated an exhibition in Delhi of a collection of 200 photographs depicting the valour of the Indian armed forces during the Kargil war. The ten-day exhibition titled ‘A war of unequals’ tells a story of how Indian soldiers reacted overcoming icy terrains and hellfire and pushed back the intruders in a war military history had never known before. Organised by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity, the pictures are supplied by the Ministries of Defence and Information and Broadcasting that were shot during the action. Another section of the exhibition also focuses on brave soldiers and relatives of those killed in action. The photographs at the exhibition takes one on a journey of raw violence culminating with wounded soldiers or relatives of martyrs receiving the highest of nation’s bravery award from the President K R Narayanan after the intrusion was cleared successfully. Pictures of booming canons, especially the scam tainted bofors guns, which partly stood after the scam helicopters evacuating the wounded, chopper gunships on the prowl and soldiers in attack position are some of the highlights of the exhibition. The Kargil war told the people once more the sacrifices of their armed forces personnel, said Wg Commander P Mote. Kargil, indeed, has brought much greater and conscious appreciation of the armed forces by the people than any other previous wars, thanks to modern information technology, the Wg Commander said. It was not for nothing that the country celebrated the Kargil Vijay Diwas or various groups are organising photo and other commemorative exhibitions, mote commented. "They make people aware," he said. "As far as air force is concerned we held a commemoration function last year in which soldiers who were in combat since 1947 or their children were honoured with cash award of Rs one lakh and a memento each,’’ mote recalled. "It is a small gesture considering their sacrifices but a gesture of recognition of their contribution," he said adding that one of the recipients (an offspring of a 1947 combatant) was above the age of sixty. Maj. Gen. (rtd) Ashok Krishna says he appreciates such exhibitions as this help to recognise the heroism and sacrifices of the armed forces personnel in the army, the navy or the air force. Such exhibitions have important role in telling people the capabilities of the country’s armed forces, the general says. He said that though the country was aware of the sacrifices made by soldiers during earlier conflicts the kargil conflict gets more exposure as it has happened in an age of information technology. "I think many more such exhibition should be held in other parts of the country and not only in the capital. There is no harm. In fact it helps in reminding the people of the supreme sacrifices made by these brave sons of the country,’’ said Krishna. Surinder Kumar of DAVP, who is in-charge of the exhibition, said it is attracting good response and it might be extended by four more days. Sources at the DAVP said that encouraged by the success of the exhibition a photo contest on Kargil would also be organised in the near future. (PTI) |
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CVC to present interim report on defence deals NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Central Vigilance Commission is likely to present its interim report to Defence Minister George Fernandes on major defence deals by the month-end. The report which is likely to be the first in a series, has almost been "finalised", sources in the Commission said, adding that the report was being given final touches by Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal and the other Commissioner V S Mathur. Vittal had earlier indicated that he would come out with "specific" pointers on major defence deals since 1989 in the report. "Our findings in the interim report will be substantive", Vittal had said, adding that the Commission planned to maintain the pace of the investigations. He said the Commission had made "progress" in its probe which is to cover each defence procurement deal valued at more than Rs 75 crore, involvement of middle-men in these deals, allegations levelled by former MP Jayant Malhotra of kickbacks in Rs 6,310 crore Sukhoi deal and allegations made by rear Admiral Purohit of exhorbitant rates paid for Russian spares. The CVC said a number of former and retired services and Defence Ministry officials had deposed before the Commission, but no serving officer had responded to the Commission’s request to them to depose before it. The Commission had recently received two key files relating to Government orders of 1989 barring middle-men and Commission agents from major defence deals. (PTI) |
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From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Minister for Home Affairs, Mr LK Advani, has received information from Hyderabad police authorities, divulging that investigations into "wide-spread total conversions" in villages in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh suggested that about 1,000 Hindu families had been converted to Islam. And investigations by the police had revealed the hand of Deendar Anjuman behind the conversions. Deendar Anjuman, the outfit now under a cloud for alleged subversive activities in southern parts of the country, has already been charged with receiving "clandestine" financial and moral aid from Pakistan. Mr Advani has, for obvious reasons, chosen not to openly speak on the modus operandi of Deendar Anjuman. In fact, Mr Advani’s job in this regard was done by his junior Minister in the North Block, Mr ID Swami. Mr Swami has let it be known that after "sustained" investigations, it has been established that the activists of Deendar Anjuman are "involved" in a series of recent bomb blasts in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa. If the findings of Andhra police authorities are any guide, Borvancha in Andhra Pradesh was rechristened "Hujurnagar" by Deendar Anjuman activists for "operational convenience" after they successfully converted the village population of about 5,000 to Islam over a period of five years. The village is surrounded by a cluster of smaller villages, and is located just 2 km from Nuzvid town in Krishna district. Sleuths from the Andhra Pradesh intelligence department and other police agencies, presently camping in "Hujurnagar" to elicit more information on the activities of subversive elements operating from the village, believe that Deendar would have spread its tentacles in and around Nuzvid. In fact, both Mr LK Advani and Andhra Chief Minister, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu, have been informed that the conversions were directly supervised by the Deendar Anjuman’s Pakistan-based leader, Zi-ul-Hassan, who is the son of the organisation’s founder president, Syed Siddique Hussain Deendar Chanbasveshwar. If the assessment of the Andhra police and intelligence specialists is any indication, the conversions were "meticulously planned and carried out" by the organisation with "apparent support" from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). And reports from Hyderabad said that most of the converts belonged to the vulnerable Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and "huge" sums of money were used to lure them into the Islamic fold. Apart from monetary considerations, activists of the Pakistan-based Jamait Hizbul Mujahideen (JHM) were also actively involved in brainwashing the locals into changing their religion by explaining the "supremacy" of Islam over all other religions of the world. Interrogation of suspects in the serial bomb blasts cases had revealed that Zia-ul-Hassan had visited Hyderabad in the least week of June this year. He reportedly held secret confabulations with several Deendar activists including Zakir who perished in the van blast at Bangalore and also Ibrahim who survived the attack. The Union Home Ministry has been informed that it was only after Zia-ul-Hassan’s visit that the attacks on the places of worship intensified. A number of Muslim converts from the Andhra village are said to have managed to secure jobs in both Pakistan and in the Gulf countries. "We are still in the process of establishing identities of persons who obtained employment in these countries with the assistance of fundamentalist elements", an official message from Hyderabad has revealed. Investigating officials, it is learnt, also suspect that the ISI had been using "hawala" mode to transfer money from Pakistan to Krishna district. The money, officials suspect, had been used for converting villagers and also carrying out subversive activities. |
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All India Muslim Majlis-e-Shoora condemns killings NEW DELHI, Aug 6: The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Shoora today condemned the recent killing of Amarnath pilgrims and said it was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the peace talks initiated by the Government. "The gruesome manner in which 100 innocent people and pilgrims bound for Amarnath were killed by extremist militant outfits operating in Jammu and Kashmir was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the peace process initiated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee," Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmed, president of the organisation, said in a statement. Assuring the Government of full cooperation, the Shoora, a consultative body of Indian Muslims, requested the public to maintain peace and communal harmony in the country. "Shoora calls upon all political parties, NGOs and other associations to extend unconditional support and cooperation to the Government in tackling cross-border terrorism, militancy and extremism unleashed on us by forces inimical to the internationally accepted principle of peaceful co-existence," it said. (PTI) |
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NHRC issues notice to Bihar Govt on atrocities on women NEW DELHI, Aug 6: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to Bihar Government and Director General of Police to give a report within two weeks on the alleged atrocities by police on the women of Senari village in Jehanabad district. NHRC, which took up the matter in Full Commission in view of "its urgency and significance", has also asked the state DG to send a team to the area headed by Senior Superintendent of Police. The team, headed by SSP P S Kallur, has already left for the spot on Friday, NHRC sources told PTI. "Contact the concerned local authorities for such action as may be necessary to ensure identification and apprehension of the culprits and for action against them in accordance with law," the Commission, which asked the State Government for a prompt reply, said in its order. The incident was reported by women of Senari village, who accused some policemen of subjecting them to assault and torture when a group of cops went there to arrest some of the accused in the Miapur killing last month. The State Government has already instituted a case against the suspected policemen and the Deputy Police Superintendent in the connection. The Patna High Court had also ordered the Jehanabad District Judge to set up a team of judicial officers to probe the complaints and submit a report on or before August seven. (PTI) |
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