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Karan Singh calls for NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Maharaja Hari Singh, the former....more
Govt has not intention to NEW DELHI, Oct 28: The Government today.....more
Govt committed to NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Law and Justice Minister....more |
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UN does not reflect nations’
political opinion: Najma From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Ms Najma Heptulla, has called for working together of the United Nations (UN) and the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) as this, she insists, will "definitely be more fruitful".......more Phoolan Devi accuses NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Former ‘Bandit Queen’ Phoolan Devi today accused the BJP-led Government in Uttar Pradesh of clandestinely palming off over 1,800 hand pump sets installed in Mirzapur constituency from where she has been elected for the second time in the recent elections........more NCP ministers boycott MUMBAI, Oct 28: The crisis for Vilasrao Deshmukh Ministry in Maharashtra deepened today with ministers belonging to NCP and its allies boycotting a cabinet meeting to demand pruning of the size of the ministry expanded for a second time yesterday.......more HYDERABAD, Oct 28: A ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) worker was hacked to death and his brother was injured in an attack....more India, Lanka to resume talks to revive free trade treaty COLOMBO, Oct 28: India and Sri Lanka will resume negotiations shortly....more |
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Karan
Singh calls for greater understanding NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Maharaja Hari Singh, the former ruler of Jammu and Kashmir who signed the instrument of accession with India, was also considering joining Pakistan after partition but was "forced by Pakistan’s actions" into acceding to India, Dr Karan Singh, former regent of the state and the Maharaja’s son, said today. Dr Karan Singh who was a witness to the signing of the instrument of accession, refuted the argument that India had forced Maharaja Hari Singh into signing the instrument and blamed Pakistan instead. "My father was considering whether to join either of the two countries—India or Pakistan—or remain an independent entiry having equal relations with both the countries. But the attack by Pakistani raiders comprising of tribals and regulars forced my father into signing the instrument with India.’’ "There would have been a different scenario had my father been indecisive. The invasion was launched and the dye was cast." Speaking at a seminar organised here to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the signing of the instrument of accession Dr Karan Singh called for a greater understanding of the history of Jammu and Kashmir at the time of the state’s accession with Union of India and lamented that his father was misunderstood and had not received fair treatment at the hands of historians. "Some people accuse my father of being indecisive about signing the instrument of accession. But few know about the difficult times that he or the state he ruled were going through at that time. The state was in turmoil of partition and vast number of people could have been eliminated. We were a Hindu family which ruled a Muslim populated state," he added. Lamenting that India had cold-shouldered the people of Kashmir for long Dr Karan Singh said he had requested the Government to bring out a postage stamp on Maharaja Hari Singh. However, his plea had been ignored. Even his request for a postage stamp on Maharaja Gulab Singh, the founder of Kashmir and Maharaja Hari Singh’s grandfather, was ignored. Even when Maharaja Hari Singh died in 1961 in Bombay, flags were not lowered at the Jammu Secretariat by the then Government of Bakshi Gulam Mohammed which otherwise should have been done finally flag was forcibly lowered by two young men who climbed up the pole. One of the two young men was Bhim Singh, presently chief of the Panther’s Party. He however, expressed satisfaction that the Government had finally agreed to bring out a postage stamp on Brigadier Rajender Singh, Maharaja Hari Singh’s Commander-in-Chief who had valiantly fought Pakistani raiders in 1947 and held them back at Uri for 48 hours with a handful of his men till the Indian Army came. "It was in my presence that the Maharaja ordered Brig Rajender Singh to stop the intruders till the Indian Army arrived," he said (UNI) |
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Govt has not intention to ban any ‘thought’: Jaswant NEW DELHI, Oct 28: The Government today assured the Rajya Sabha that it had no intention to close doors of knowledge on any "thought" or "ISM." The assurance came from the leader of the house Mr Jaswant Singh in reply to a short debate on the reported "exclusion of marxism from school text books." Mr Singh said that the Government had not taken any decision in this regard and that he has no personal knowledge of the matter. The matter was raised by the CPI member Mr Gurudas Das Gupta and several others sought associate themselves with the matter. Most of them said that some elements under the patronage of the Government were trying to rewrite history and that attempts were being made to saffronise the entire education system. Mr Singh said that he may not agree with the marxism, but the thought had dominated major part of humanity . He said in unequivocal and umbiguous terms that knowledge cannot be restricted by any Government measure. He assured the House that he would establish the fact about the existence of the circular as mentioned by members in their submissions. Leader of the opposition Dr Manmohan Singh said that marxism in a way reflected human evolution. There was no logic in trying to ban teaching or studying of such thought in the country. Film Director Mrinal Sen said he was not a marxist, but marxism had helped him in chatering course of his life. Eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar said that marxism helped students participating in the freedom struggle to understand the historical perspective of the issues involved. Mr Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) said as a teacher of political science he had taught the various outdated thoughts and there was no reason why any attempt be made to ban teaching of marxism in the country. (UNI) |
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Govt committed to cause of SCs, STs, says Jethmalani NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Law and Justice Minister Ram Jethmalani today said the Government was committed to the cause of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and suggested a three-day convention to discuss their problems. Moving the Constitution Amendment Bill extending reservation of seats in Parliament and State Assemblies for SCs and STs by ten years beyond 2000, Jethmalani urged members to suggest ways for further improving their conditions. We have to break a new path. I am looking forward for a contribution from all members so that we can go ahead and wipe off what must be considered a dark spot on the otherwise fair face of India’s body politic and Indian society, he said. Raising a point of order, Congress member Eduardo Faleiro demanded permanent reservation of members belonging to the Anglo-Indian community in Lok Sabha. He also demanded SC and ST people who had converted to Christanity and Islam should not be denied reservation. If people who have converted to Sikhism and Buddhism can retain reservation why should the people belonging to SCs and STs be denied reservation if they convert to Christanity and Muslim religions? Faleiro asked. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha yesterday. (PTI) |
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UN does not reflect nations’ political opinion: Najma From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Ms Najma Heptulla, has called for working together of the United Nations (UN) and the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) as this, she insists, will "definitely be more fruitful". Ms Najma Heptulla, who was the other day unanimously elected President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council, the policy-making organ of the International Parliamentary Union, said in an interview: "The IPU has been giving its views on various issues on which the UN held special conferences – like the Beijing conference on women". She also insisted: "IPU’s work is more constructive than that of the UN. There are so many UN resolutions that remain unimplemented because the parliaments of the concerned nations do not ratify them. Look at what has happened to the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty). It has fallen by the wayside with even the US Senate negating it". What is the underlying reason for this ? Ms Najma Heptulla’s reply: "I would not want to go into this specific instance of CTBT alone. But generally, the problem lies in the very nature of UN membership. It is a body of Governments and not of political opinion in any country. The Government may commit itself to a particular resolution at the UN, but this view may not prevail with the parliament of that country. The IPU, on the other hand, has representation of the majority and minority political opinion of every member and, therefore, its resolutions are more reflective of the ground reality, of the opinion of the people, of the concerned countries on any given issue". What made the election of Ms Najma Heptulla to this prestigious position particularly significant is the fact that she is the first woman to hold this office in the IPU’s 110-year-long history. While the elevation of the Deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is in itself a great tribute to India, it is no less a personal achievement for the 59-year-old parliamentarian. With a university first in M Sc (zoology) and a doctoral degree in cardiac anatomy, this mother of three daughters has worked hard to empower women. How is the IPU different from the UN, which is also a world body with similar aims ? Ms Najma’s reply: "The IPU is very different from all other similar organisations – be it the UN or the League of Nations. These two bodies , which are better known among the people, were born out of strife. The IPU was a positive step to promote peace. The IPU, which started with just nine members, has grown to have 138 members now". What are the challenges that face the IPU ? Pat came her reply: "The major issue is how to strengthen democracy, particularly in countries that are converting into the electoral form of democracy. These countries have a variety of problems that hamper the process, like fragile economy, debt burden and so on. Then, there are questions of gender parity, water resources, ecology, and so on, that affect national life". What would be her priority as the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council ? Replying to this question, she said: "My priority would basically be prevention of conflict rather than conflict resolution. Do you know that more lives have been lost in recent years even though no war was fought ? This has happened because of the ongoing processes of ethnic cleansing in different countries". Ms Najma Heptulla added: "Then, there is the issue of cross-border terrorism that is claiming many lives. The IPU will deal with these and other issues through its committees. The challenge before us today is to restore the true spirit of democracy. The issue of gender parity is high on the agenda of every civilised society. This is an issue that transcends national boundaries". |
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HYDERABAD, Oct 28: A ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) worker was hacked to death and his brother was injured in an attack by workers of the Congress at Medaram village in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, late last night, police said today. Police here said E Narasimha Reddy and his brother Venkat Reddy were returning from Kodad, when they were attacked by four Congress workers. Narasimha Reddy died on the spot. (UNI) |
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India, Lanka to resume talks to revive free trade treaty COLOMBO, Oct 28: India and Sri Lanka will resume negotiations shortly on the landmark’ free trade treaty —virtually shelved following differences over a negative list of items, official sources here said. A high level delegation of Sri Lankan trade officials would shortly visit New Delhi to resume negotiations, the sources told PTI here adding, talks could resume as early as next week following the installation of a new Ministry in India. The talks will resume at a time when Sri Lanka is poised for mid-term Presidential elections expected to take place between December, ’99 and January, 2000. The treaty was signed by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in December last. Initially, the talks are aimed at understanding each others positions in the light of the changed political climate in both countries. Sri Lanka, the officials said, would like to apprise itself of new perceptions’ of the Commerce Ministry headed by Murasoli Maran of DMK. The talks are being resumed at a sensitive stage after Sri Lanka objected to DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s recent remarks extending his support to Eelam being advocated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Karunanidhi also expressed his reservation on carrying out the death sentence awarded to four people in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Officials here see these political developments as aberrations which could be overcome with the strong will displayed by Vajpayee and Kumartunga in signing the treaty. The two leaders had signed the treaty dismissing the objections raised by officials in both the countries. India, maintains the prime aim of the treaty was to help Sri Lanka reduce its mounting deficit with it. The Indian exports to Sri Lanka touched 560 million dollars last year with Sri Lankan exports to India stagnating around 45 million dollars. The free trade treaty was aimed at India providing access to Sri Lankan products either through a duty free or concessionaire regime. The treaty ran into difficulties after India succumbed to pressures mounted by domestic tea producer lobbies and included tea in the negative list of items. Though under the agreement India offered duty free and concessionaire duty access to 3,300 items of trade at the six-digit level, Sri Lanka expressed strong reservations over the exclusion of tea from duty free list as it was the mainstay of its exports. Besides tea, important items like rubber and garments too were barred from getting duty free access to Indian markets. India scaled down its stand on the tea issue and offered to provide quota based tea imports to the tune of 10 million dollars. It also offered to permit specific qauntities of Sri Lankan garments. The talks are expected to centre around India’s offers. Sri Lanka has agreed to give duty free concession to India on 300 items for Indian exports and 50 per cent duty free concession on 600 items which would be completely free in three years. (PTI) |
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