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SPOTLIGHT
From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Feb 15: Washington and New Delhi are in the news once again, following a certain kind of movement in official circles in the two capitals. The movement, logically, is the outcome of the arrival in the White House of Mr George W Bush in place of Mr Bill Clinton.....more Vajpayee
Govt. triggers controversy From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Feb 15: A controversy has been kicked up, with the decision of the Vajpayee Government to allow the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to open an office in India....more A
9-year-old goes KHATIMA (UDHAMSINGH NAGAR), Feb 15: Calamities bring out the best in people, goes the old adage. So is the case with Sankalp, a nine-year-old ......more |
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President
to inaugurate MUMBAI, Feb 15: President K R Narayanan will inaugurate here on February 17 the eighth International Fleet Review (IFR-2001), titled ‘building ...more 70
pc in Rajasthan rely JAIPUR, Feb 15: About 70 per cent in rajasthan lack proper child delivery systems.......more WR
to run special trains VADODARA, Feb 15: The Western Railways have decided to run special trains to clear holiday rush during.....more HC
asks Govt to NEW DELHI, Feb 15: The Delhi High Court today asked the Government...more India,
Russia sign NEW DELHI, Feb 15: India and Russia today signed a major defence deal worth ...more |
SPOTLIGHT
From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Feb 15: Washington and New Delhi are in the news once again, following a certain kind of movement in official circles in the two capitals. The movement, logically, is the outcome of the arrival in the White House of Mr George W Bush in place of Mr Bill Clinton. That India will continue to occupy an important place in the US agenda has been borne out by a few clear, categorical signals from Washington. And the most significant signal relates to Mr Bush’s plan to continue effective monitoring of the Indo-Pakistan scenario as well as developing situation in Kashmir. Washington has, in a significant turn of events, let it be known that it has no plans, at present, to abandon its role in Jammu and Kashmir. Indeed, the US President, Mr George Bush, himself has erased doubts, if any, in this regard. The US President is said to have conveyed to the Indian Premier, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Washington’s intention to continue the interventionist role in Kashmir. The message has formed part of Mr Bush’s letter to Mr Vajpayee. The letter was delivered to Mr Vajpayee by the US envoy in New Delhi, Mr Richard Celeste. The letter came from Washington at a time when Mr Vajpayee had reiterated that Pakistan would not succeed in changing the fact of Kashmir being an "integral" part of the Indian Union. For obvious reasons, the entire text of the letter has not been made public by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO’s right to maintain secrecy for the sake of secrecy over Mr Bush’s reference to Kashmir cannot be, and need not be, challenged. But there is no denying that the new President of the United States has left none in doubt about his standpoint on the Kashmir imbroglio. Highly informed sources divulged that while Mr Bush had of course highlighted his desire to strengthen bilateral relations with India, his letter made it plan that his Government would pursue an early settlement of Kashmir as a priority item on its agenda. And while talking about his plan to impress upon Islamabad the need to create a congenial atmosphere for dialogue with New Delhi, Mr Bush wants New Delhi to demonstrate its willingness to "start in right earnest the stalled dialogue process with Pakistan". Mr George Bush has not so far unfolded his policy towards Pakistan. Observers attach much significance to his present unwillingness to speak of cross-border terrorism or the support continuing from Pakistan to terrorist groups. True, Mr Bush has made a reference to his ‘work’ on Pakistan to create a congenial atmosphere. But, for reasons best known to him, the US President has chosen, at least for the time being, not to specifically state what his ‘work’ would entail. Be that as it may, Mr Bush has thrown up a few points which he would like to pursue in the sub-continent. First, there will be no let-up in the pressure being applied on both New Delhi and Islamabad on Kashmir. Second, Mr Bush has confirmed his acceptance of the description by his predecessor, Mr Bill Clinton, of Kashmir as the "hottest trouble spot" in the region. Significant, indeed, is the point raised by Mr George Bush in his letter, namely, the continuance by the US administration of the nudge and push policy on Kashmir. Will Mr Bush, like his predecessor (Mr Clinton), pay heed to the sensitivities of India? Considering the fact that India is not an ordinary country, the US President will have to pursue Mr Clinton’s policy in this regard-that is, pay heed to the sensitivities of India by insisting that there is no question of mediation even as Washington continues giving open directives to both New Delhi and Islamabad to proceed on Kashmir. Mr Bush’s letter was delivered to Mr Vajpayee at a time when the Director of CIA, Mr George J Tenet, said in testimony before the US Senate Select Committee that in central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia, Islamic terrorist organisations were trying to attract new recruits. Mr Tenet told the Committee that relations between India and Pakistan "remain volatile, making the risk of war between the two nuclear-armed adversaries unacceptably high". Their deep-seated rivalry, frequent artillery exchanges in Kashmir, and short flight times for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and aircraft all contributes to an unstable nuclear deterrence, according to Mr Tenet. The CIA Director’s finding: "If any issue has the potential to bring both sides to full-scale war, it is Kashmir. Kashmir is at the center of the dispute between the two countries…. Kashmiri separatist groups opposed to peace could also stoke problems". India, the CIA Director has confirmed, has been trying to engage what he has termed as "selected militants and separatists". But militant groups, he has noted, "have kept up their attacks through India’s most recent cease-fire". |
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Vajpayee Govt.
triggers controversy From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Feb 15: A controversy has been kicked up, with the decision of the Vajpayee Government to allow the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to open an office in India. Critics of the decision have warned that the decision is fraught with dangers. Their argument in this regard: The past record of the US body shows that it sets up bases to promote an aggressive agenda which might be totally contrary to the position taken by the host country. Sources in the New Delhi-based Chinese Embassy told a couple of media persons on Wednesday that Beijing cannot be faulted for the expression of its displeasure and concern at the decision of the Government of India to allow the "most controversial" organisation of America, known as National Endowment for Democracy,to open an office, presumably in the Indian capital itself. The Chinese Government, it was pointed out, had strong reasons to be displeased over the role of the US body. The US National Endowment for Democracy, Beijing has calculated, would, after establishing an office in New Delhi, use India as a base for its campaign against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Considering the fact that Tibet continues to be highly emotive and prestigious issue for China, any attempt to question the legitimacy of Chinese administrative and political control over the region of Tibet will meet tough resistance from Beijing. It is, apparently, in this context that the expression of Beijing’s anger has begun to surface, particularly after the spread of reports that the US National Endowment for Democracy used India-based organisations to siphon at least 400,000 dollars in 1999 alone to groups in Tibet and Burma without even a token protest from the Government of India. Even as China and others know the fact that the joint vision statement signed by former US President, Mr Bill Clinton, and Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, provides for the setting up of the NED office in India, some political analysts have let it be known that the Government of India cannot look the other way and disclaim responsibility if the NED uses organisations based in India to siphon off funds to the resistance in Tibet and Burma. China’s intelligence specialists are reported to have gathered evidence to show that the US National Endowment for Democracy, set up by the Reagan administration on the advice of Mr Bill Casey, who went on to become the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has designed its activities to further the strategic objectives of the US Government in the region. The NED, reports insisted, was made full use of by Mr Bill Clinton. The possibility of its further strengthening under the new US President is not ruled out. If these reports are any guide, the NED also made available 20,000 dollars to Tibet Times newspaper, published thrice a month in Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh), and another 30,000 dollars for the Tibet Multimedia Centre producing propaganda material for distribution in India, Nepal and Tibet. The Chinese chancery in New Delhi has take due cognizance of yet another report, which reveals that the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, which is also located at Dharamsala, received 15,000 dollars for distributing 10,000 copies of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, while 20,000 dollars were released for the publication of the Tibetan Review, a monthly journal based in New Delhi. Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee is said to have received a message which states that the NED "is not as benign as its name would suggest, and that it can take very aggressive positions against Governments that do no conform to the US agenda of democracy". The message has sought to caution Mr Vajpayee by revealing that the US body not only supplies funds, but trains people for what a country looking inwards would call subversive activities. And the message has warned that the NED presence in India can be expected to prove detrimental to Indian interests. |
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A 9-year-old goes door-to-door to collect money for Gujarat victims KHATIMA (UDHAMSINGH NAGAR), Feb 15: Calamities bring out the best in people, goes the old adage. So is the case with Sankalp, a nine-year-old boy from Kashipur, who is trying to do his bit for the people in earthquake-savaged Gujarat by collecting money for them. A student of class five, he started the collection on January 27 with Rs 100 which he was given as a reward in a general knowledge contest on the Republic Day. His parents also pitched in with their contribution after which the boy set out on the road to collect money from the residents of the town. After returning from school, he quickly finishes his homework and then goes out door-to-door from 1700 to 1930 hrs daily to ask for money for the quake-hit people. His mother helps him in keeping the accounts. He has so far sent a draft of Rs 4,000 to the Prime Minister’s relief fund for the quake hit. Things, however, have not been all that smooth for Sankalp, says his father Dr S C Sharma. Most of the time, people rebuff and scold him. Even the teachers and the principal of his school told him that since donations were already being collected from students in the school he would not be given anything separately. Despite all the odds, he has pledged to collect as much as he can for the people of the state which had been devastated on January 26. It is not the amount that matters but his feelings and sentiments to work for the welfare of people that matters the most. (UNI) |
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HC asks Govt to approach
local office of NEW DELHI, Feb 15: The Delhi High Court today asked the Government to make inquiries with local representative of Airbus Industrie for probing the mid-1980 controversial contract of 31 Airbus-320 planes worth Rs 2,400 crore for Indian Airlines. A division bench of Chief Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice D K Jain also castigated the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a tardy probe. "For so many years, you have not been able to do anything. By this pace, the probe will go on for another 10 years," the judges told Additional Solicitor General K K Sud. They said the court is not interested in seeing reminders sent to concerned authorities but some concrete action to unravel the controversy. "You have been acting like a post office. We notice that your bills for use of stationery and telephones have gone up. But no progress." The case will now come up for hearing on March 20. According to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate B L Wadehra, the Airbus 320 deal is one of the five great scandals of the Rajiv Gandhi era. Nothing concrete has so far emerged from the CBI investigation which began on March 23, 1990. Among those named in the FIR are former Civil Aviation Secretary S S Sidhu, former Indian Airlines Managing Director K Chadha, former Planning Director and Economic Adviser to Indian Airlines Managing Director R Prasad and Deputy Managing Director B K Bhasin. Indian Airlines had paid a sum of nine lakh dollars to boeing after signing a letter of intent to acquire 12 Boeing-757 aircraft. This was done after June 13, 1984 meeting of the Indian Airlines Board which considered a report of the subcommittee headed by Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh. But four months later, Airbus Industrie — a consortium of European plane manufacturers based at Toulouse in France — made a suo moto offer. A techno-economic analysis of A-320 aircraft offer was carried out. Eventually, a decision was taken to purchase 19 A-320 aircraft for delivery in 1989-90 with an option for additional 12 aircraft for delivery in 1990-91. (UNI) |
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India, Russia sign deal for purchase of 310 T-90 tanks NEW DELHI, Feb 15: India and Russia today signed a major defence deal worth 650 million US dollars for outright purchase of 310 frontline T-90 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) armed with ‘reflecks’ guided missiles that would give the Army the capability to engage targets 5 kms away. The deal signed after over 90 minutes of one-to-one talks between the visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Illya Klebanov and Defence Minister George Fernandes also provides for licence production of the Russian MBT at Avadi heavy vehicles plant near Chennai and also its critical sub-systems in India. Describing the deal as "significant", Fernandes told newsmen after the signing ceremony that "we want to manufacture many more of these tanks in India". He did not specify their numbers. Fernandes said that the two sides also discussed other major defence deals besides holding talks on the situation in the south and central Asian regions. The T-90 tanks have a range of 500 kms and besides the 5000 metre range reflecks guided missiles, are also armed with six laser guided tandem warhead missiles to pierce tanks fitted with reactive armour. Defence Ministry officials said Russia will deliver 124 tanks in fully assembled state and the remaining in semi-knocked down conditions. Fernandes hinted that the first batch of the Russian MBT’s was likely to be inducted into the Indian Army later this year. Three prototypes of the tanks have already undergone exhaustive battlefield trials in the Thar desert and in tank ranges at Ahmednagar. The acquisition of the T-90 tanks armed with high-powered V-92 diesel engines developing 1,100 hp thrust will give the Indian Army strike formations an edge over Pakistan, which has recently inducted 300 Ukranian T-80u tanks. The main armaments of the T-90 tanks are 125 mm mounted guns with automatic loaders which can fire special high explosive fragmentation projectiles over targets and the latest generation of Kontakt-5 era providing it protection against Apfsds and heat seeking projectiles. The tanks, unlike the T-72 tanks, are equipped with night visions and for improved battlefield survivability are fitted with Tshup-7 shotra counter measures which the Pakistani T-80 also have. On either of the tank a battery of six electrically operated 81mm smoke grenade launchers are mounted to give it smokescreen in high speed battle operations. The first of the three agreements was signed on behalf of the Russian Federation by Sergei Chemisov, first Deputy Director General of the Armament Bureau and Ranjit Isar, Joint Secretary (Ordinance) in the Ministry of Defence. The second was signed by Om Prakash, another Joint Secretary in the Ministry, and the third by C R Mahapatra Joint Secretary (Supplies). When asked what were the other topics which figured during the talks, Defence Minister George Fernandes said "we discussed what we have to." Fernandes said that the second meeting of the recently set up Indo-Russian joint military and technical commission would be held in St Petersburg in March. The meeting is likely to finalise details about other major acquisitions like carrier Admiral Groshkov, Naval versions of MiG-29 jet fighters and delivery schedule of upgraded SU-30MKI versions. (PTI) |
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