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Salman’s bail plea rejected

MUMBAI, Oct 14: A local court today rejected the bail plea of film actor Salman Khan and remanded him to judicial custody till October 21 in a hit-and-run case.

The bail was rejected by Magistrate S Y Shisode who observed that investigations were still in progress for which Salman’s presence was required.

Salman had allegedly rammed a vehicle into a bakery at Suburban Bandra area on September 28, killing one person and injuring four others.

The Magistrate observed that the chargesheet has not been filed and the investigations are still in progress.

Salman has been charged under section 304 IPC, an offence that can be exclusively tried by a sessions court. Hence this court had no jurisdiction to grant bail, the Magistrate said while rejecting the bail petition.

‘Jurisdiction to grant bail has to be on the basis of a well-settled principle in regard to the circumstances of the case’, the magistrate said.

‘This is not a fit case to grant bail in view of the allegations of the police that Salman was driving the car and was under the influence of liquor at the time of mishap’, he observed.

This is the second time that the actor’s bail had been rejected. The actor had applied afresh for bail today after the local court had turned down his bail plea on October 10 and had remanded him to police custody till October 14.

Salman, who sported a stubble, visibly appeared depressed today.

Public prosecutor M R Raut said interrogation of Salman had concluded and therefore police custody of the actor was not required.

He said the court could use its discretionary powers to grant him bail if necessary.

The police was not opposing his bail and if the court was inclined to grant him liberty, then Salman may be asked to attend the police station regularly, Raut contended.

Outside the court, Salman’s lawyer Abad Ponda said that he would move the session court today for Salman’s bail. (PTI)

Birth of a new super star reverses film fortunes

KOZHIKODE, Oct 14: Film buffs in Kerala are celebrating the birth of a new super star nearly after a decade, in young Dileep whose boy-next-door image is virtually reversing the fortunes of a crisis-hit industry.

Almost all the prints of the Rs 1.5-crore movie titled

"Meesamadhavan," from a young crew with Dileep in lead are still running to packed houses even after 110 days and have reaped in several crores to rewrite the very basics of Showbiz grammar. Close on the success, "Kunhikoonan" with dileep in double role is also into an initial buzz.

If his imposing predecessors mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi (the other three super stars and all Bharat award winners) had some thing very rare in them to win the coveted tag, the mimic artiste-turned-actor reached the spot with no spectacular magic. Unlike the others, he had neither of their macho cult, mannerisms, acting prowess nor the acumen.

Still people, especially family viewers, loved him. His expressive face came in handy in his march to success. He even converted his short stature as a positive factor.

"I have a rough idea of my pulses and the pulse of the viewers. Because of my mimicry experience, I know how and what the common people enjoy. And at the same time, I do not take all the offers come on my way," Dileep evaluates himself. Dileep gives due credit to the team work too behind a cinema acknowledging the efforts of the director and the script-writer. "Perhaps, Dileep is Malayalam’s answer to Bollywood’s Aamir Khan who has mastered in rustic roles that made him so close to the rural folk," says a critic.

"Meesamadhavan", by Lal Jose who had just three films under his belt, came almost as an elixir for the crisis-ridden industry which sank about Rs 225 crore in the last six years. And especially when the astronomical amounts charged by the super stars alone made the industry shell out Rs 90 crore making it almost bankrupt.

In a place like Kerala where one film has a maximum 30-35 prints, ensuring 100 days in all 30 of the 33 centres of release is something beyond imagination at this time and unheard of in the industry, according to a distributor in the field.

The film, telling the story of small-time robin hood, has neither the subtlety of parallel cinema nor the vulgarities of an utterly commercial venture. But it proved to be an entertainer to the core, thanks equally to the skills of lal jose and the ordinary’ performance of Dileep.

According to veteran S Jayachandran Nair, in a recent review, the viewers have been waiting for such a film sans the jumbling dialogues or monologues, vulgarities from sex-bombs or hard macho punches. "It is an experience of joy running as a cool stream in a relaxed mood of mind," he sums up.(PTI)

Chhattisgarh Police to tackle Naxal menace on war footing

RAIPUR, Oct 14: Keeping in view the crisis situation that presented itself following reports of an immense quantity of explosive material being in the possession of Naxals, Chhattisgarh Police has not only strengthened security but also come up with a comprehensive strategy to counter the menace, says a top officer.

Director General of Police Ashok Durbari told UNI today that, in the wake of the landmine blast two days back in Dantewada district of Bastar Division, the anti-Naxal strategy was given final shape at a meeting chaired by Home Minister Nand Kumar Patel yesterday.

On October 11, a report spoke about nine tonnes of explosives being looted by a band of about 50 Naxals in Balaghat. The explosives were being transported by truck from Uttar Pradesh’s Lalitpur to a copper project situated at Malajkhand. The blast, on the Bijapur-Bhopalpatnam road in Dantewada, claimed the lives of three police officials including an Assistant Platoon Commander and also an employee of the Border Roads Organisation while yet another was battling for life at the Raipur Medical College Hospital.

Mr Durbari suspected that the explosives used belonged to the consignment looted in the Balaghat district. The possibility of more such blasts could not be ruled out as the consignment was rather large, the officer added.

On being asked about the strategy, Mr Durbari cited security reasons for not disclosing details but added that his officers and men would face the situation firmly.

He said that the Naxals, who earlier found it difficult to gather even 1 kg of blast material, now had 9 tonnes of explosives and this was a challenge not only for Chhattisgarh but also for Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The officer admitted that the sole anti-mine vehicle in his department’s possession was not being used as it needed repair and also had some technical drawbacks. The company that made the vehicle had been informed of these faults.

To evolve a combined strategy with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh Police, a meeting at Godiya in Maharashtra came up with several decisions yesterday.

Chhattisgarh was represented by Additional Director General of Police Rajeev Mathur. (UNI)

Folklore still alive as it reflects contemporary concerns

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: The tradition of folklore that entertained and intrigued numerous generations has survived the test of time because of its ability to reinvent itself to reflect the changing aspirations and thoughts of the contemporary society, scholars here have opined.

In a five-day seminar on ‘folklore, public space and civic society’ that concluded here last week, eminent scholars and intellectuals had congregated to discuss the relevance of folklore in the modern civil society where public space is shrinking.

One of the panellists Ms Anjali Capilla presented a paper on "women’s voices: vehicles of social change in Garhwal," wherein she brought out how the female population of the Garhwal region had been steadily bringing about social changes.

She elaborated how these women sing along as they go about performing their daily chores to lighten the burden and the monotony of the task. These are hardy women who uncomplainingly do all the mens’ jobs, besides the household ones, left upon them by an alchoholic and migrant male population.

"When a pitcher is full to the brim, it overflows. This overflow of emotions is our songs. They may be sad, they may be joyful. But they reflect our thoughts and feelings," is how one of these women explained the meaning of their songs to Ms Capilla.

Ms Capilla, who is an associate professor at Lady Irwin College said these women, although illiterate, are very conscious of their surroundings and make their songs a medium of communication to highlight their concerns.

"Each woman in Garhwal is an eco-philosopher," she added saying they know very well what part of a tree shall be used by them and at what time of the year so that the ecological balance is not disturbed. Ms Capilla also shared her experience of watching around 300 women tie ‘Mauli’ thread around trees of the forest on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan vowing to protect the trees from indiscriminate felling by the timber mafia, illustrating how even their protest is registered through an apt usage of the rituals.

Interestingly, whatever is close to their heart comes out in the form of songs, touching upon the themes of bonding, status of the girl child and the vice of alcoholism among others, Ms Capilla said.

The folklore tradition had also been used by these women to bring about mobilisation and social transformation for the cause of a separate hill state of Uttarakhand, she added.

Yet another aspect of these oral-centric customs was brought out in a case study of ‘Dhola,’ a folk genre performed in Western Uttar pradesh and Rajasthan by Ms Susan Wadley from Syracuse University, where she had examined the shift in its presentation before local patrons to district festivals to print an then to the cassette culture.

Ms Wadley emphasised upon the development of the genre in its performative styles as it moved forward from being localised to the arena of mass media.

Following her presentation an animated discussion emerged on whether an art form suffers as the artist tries to weave-in elements of contemporary interest to enhance his appeal with the audience as the ‘dhola’ performer did by roping in references to the latest hindi movies and jokes on topical issues.

Eventually a consensus seemed to evolve among the learned panellists that a folklore tradition is one "by the people, of the people and for the people" and that it would cease to exist if it were not relevant to the times.

However, the core story projected in a folklore hardly changes even when it is padded up with the concerns plaguing the civic society, was the conclusion of the seminar, which was organised by Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) in collaboration with National Folklore Support Centre (NFSC) Chennai. (UNI)

Amrit norm for heading Gurdwara challenged

WASHINGTON, Oct 14: In a rare litigation of its kind, a Sikh group has filed a lawsuit in a US court, demanding that anyone should be able to be elected to the management of a Gurdwara in Fremont, California, and not just those who have undergone baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru Gobind Singh.

The fremont Gurdwara, one of the largest in the country, has been a hotbed of litigious activity, with rival factions suing one another over who should head the congregation, the Mercury News reported.

A judge settled one legal dispute between two camps over Gurdwara elections in July, it said.

The latest lawsuit, according to the report, is the fourth since 1996 seeking a judge’s ruling on leadership at the fremont Gurdwara.

Intense legal, and even bloody, battles have broken out in many places where Sikhs have established a Gurdwara, from Northern California to British Columbia, Bakersfield to New York, the report said.

Jesse Singh, who is allied with a group of fremont Gurdwara leaders who desire a baptized supreme council, reportedly said the problem is that many Sikhs have become "too westernized," which is why they go to the courts instead of taking their problems to religious leaders in Punjab.

Amrit Nectar, water mixed with sugar and stirred with a sword while prayers are being said is used to initiate new members into the Khalsa order created by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. The mercury times quoted Harpreet Singh, director of the Sikh coalition in New York, where Gurdwara control issues also exist, as saying: "We’re still a very young community. And the level of sophistication reflects that, especially for those who migrated from rural areas. It will take time, but those Gurdwaras that involve youth and second-generation immigrants are doing much better."

The report also quoted Jim Richardson, a judicial studies professor at the University of Nevada and author of "law and minority religion: positive and negative uses of the legal system.", as saying that it was rare for a judge to rule on how a religious group should organize itself unless there were fears that without a ruling, violence would erupt.

It’s precisely this fear of violence that draws fremont police officers to observe each of Alameda county superior court judge Julia Spain’s hearings on the current leadership struggle at the city’s gurdwara.

Fremont police sent in dozens of officers clad in riot-gear to quell a 1996 melee that prompted a court-ordered election later that same year.

Those elections were never properly held, Spain ruled in July, and she reordered yearly elections to the Supreme Council, rejecting arguments that the council should be appointed for life, the report said.

On September six, a lawsuit was filed alleging Spain’s election decision was based on incorrect information.

Lead plaintiff Hardev Singh Grewal of union city, a retired electrical engineer and current Punjabi court interpreter, says Spain made her ruling based on 1987 bylaws, which state the Supreme Council must be baptized. (UNI)

No talks with Pak till violence continues; India tells US

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: India has firmly told the United States that there was no question of resumption of dialogue with Pakistan in the forseeable future as it continues to perpetrate violence in Jammu and Kashmir, raising doubts on whether Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will travel to Islamabad in January for the SAARC Summit.

This was conveyed to us national security adviser Condolezza Rice when she spoke to her Indian counterpart Brajesh Mishra over telephone in Copenhagen earlier this week, highly placed sources said.

The us has been nudging India to resume dialogue with Pakistan and statements in this respect have been coming from Washington more frequently after the satisfactory conduct of the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

How could the us expect India to start the dialogue if perpetrators of violence in J and K, aided and abetted from across the borders, continued with their terrorists acts, Mishra told Rice while informing her that over 800 lives lost ever since the democratic process was initiated in the valley.

When asked if Vajpayee would be visiting Pakistan for the SAARC Summit three months from now, the sources said it was "premature" to talk about this since dates for it have not yet been finalised.

Asked how long the Indian forces would remain mobilised on the borders since there was no sign of early end to the protracted Indo-Pak standoff, the sources shot back "as long as necessary."

Specially asked whether the successful conclusion of J and K elections and simultaneous statements from us and key countries for resumption of dialogue would have an impact on India, sources said "no, there is no possibility of a dialogue in the forseeable future."

India’s serious concerns over cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan were now being accepted by more and more countries, they said adding both British premier Tony Blair and Danish Prime Minister and president of the European Council Anders Fogh Ramussen had emphasised that Islamabad had to stop this scourge to de-escalate tensions.

Asked how India would respond to a newly-elected Pakistani Prime Minister, the sources said "if there is a new Prime Minister, we will certainly send a message of congratulations."

About India’s strong remarks terming Pakistan elections as "pre-determined" and "flawed", the sources said the rise of fundamentalist and extremist elements particularly in Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) adjoining Afghanistan "is a cause of concern to us."

India also felt that the success of extremist elements had the full backing of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and that it would have an impact on Afghanistan because of its proximity to Baluchistan and NWFP.

The growing influence of such elements would also have a fallout on Musharraf’s policies as well as the Government he has in place in Islamabad.

According to intelligence and other inputs received here, about three months back Musharraf, under increasing domestic pressure, had sought some accommodation with fundamentalist parties.

On its part, New Delhi, has conveyed its concern on this score to its us and other interlocutors, cautioning them on the need to keep an eye on what was happening in Pakistan, the sources said.

It was recognised that even before the April referendum they provide legitimacy to continuation in office as President, Musharraf had lost support from the political class as also from moderate sections in Pakistan.

Even the Pakistani media, particularly the urdu segment, was becoming increasingly critical of Musharraf’s functioning though he continued to enjoy the support of the powerful army.

But whether his understanding with fundamentalist forces would subsequently prove to be a problem for him or give him a good excuse to pass on the buck on all terrorists and other dubious acts, was something one had to wait and watch, they said. (PTI)