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Savarkar
‘fan’ Advani says Gandhi impressed
Indians most
MUMBAI,
Oct 8:
Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda were the two
people born in 19th century who impressed
Indians the most, senior BJP leader L K Advani
today said.
"These
two people wielded the most influence on people
of the country," he said at a book release
function here yesterday. The book ‘Nine
years of RSS in Sindh’, published by the
Bharatiya Sindhi Sabha, is a portrayal of the
activities of the Sangh in pre-partition Sindh
province.
Interestingly,
soon after lavishing his praise on the Mahatma,
Advani revealed that he was also fond of
‘swatantryaveer’ Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar, an accused in the Gandhi assassination
case.
"When I
first came to Mumbai several decades ago, I was
asked if I would like to visit any of the tourist
attractions like the Elephanta caves. Instead, I
expressed my desire to meet Savarkar. I met him
in the Shivaji Park area of central Mumbai,"
Advani said.
"I was
very impressed by Savarkar’s book on the
first war of Indian independence," Advani
said.
Recalling the
work done by RSS in Sindh, Advani said "the
most important event in my life is the day I
joined RSS as a Swayamsevak in 1942."
Builder
Niranjan Hiranandani, who shared stage with
Advani, said a ‘Sindhi Bhasha Bhavan’
would soon come up in Mumbai. Land has been
obtained at the university’s Kalina campus
and work on the building would start soon, he
said. (PTI)
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Bangarappa
demands judicial probe
into communal violence
MANGALORE,
Oct 8:
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Samajwadi
Party State President S Bangarappa today demanded
judicial inquiry into the communal violence in
Dakshina Kannada in which two people were killed
and more than 100 injured.
Talking to newsmen
here, he said that " Judicial inquiry may
take long but it is inevitable and his party
would not suggest departmental inquiry since the
Government remained a mute spectator."
Mr Bangarappa
alleged that the Janata Dal (Secular) and
Bharatiya Janata Party coalition Government in
the State has totally failed to curb communal
violence.
Mr Bangarappa said
" the Government should act with a firm hand
against those who indulged in disturbing
peace." (UNI)
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Bank of
Maharashtra to market Hero
Honda bikes to farmers
PUNE,
Oct 8:
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has tied up with
leading two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda to
market the company’s motorbikes to farmers
in five select states.
The state-run bank
will market the bikes in Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa. For this, a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by
Bank of Maharashtra Executive Director Rajeev
Madhok and Hero Honda’s West Zone Manager
Sanjay Mittal here on Friday, a bank release said
today.
Madhok said BoM,
which is also the convenor for state- level
bankers’ committee, will provide Hero
Honda’s two- wheelers to the farmers holding
the bank’s Kisan Card.
Initially the
scheme is being launched in the five states
through its 1,092 branches. The bank has decided
to cover 15,000 customers in the first phase with
a financial outlay of Rs 75 crore up to March
2007.
Besides, the bank
has an ambitious plan to increase the outstanding
level of agriculture advances by Rs 1,000 crore
during the financial year 2006-07, the release
said.
The bank will be
disburing Rs 2100 crore to farmers throughout the
country and has targeted to bring in about 50,000
new farmers in its fold, the release added. (PTI)
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I’m
proud of playing Sikh in ‘Lage Raho
Munnabhai:Boman Irani
NEW
DELHI, Oct 8: Being part of a venture that has
led the vanguard in setting off resurgence in
Gandhian ideals in India would be a matter of
pride for any actor.
A much-too similar
feeling seems to be going through the mind of
actor Boman Irani as he reminisces about his
experience of working in Rajkumar Hirani’s
‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, which has
renewed focus on the Gandhian philosophy of truth
and non-violence ‘Satyagraha,’ making
them the new anthems of the generation next in
the country.
"I have
always felt that the first and foremost purpose
of cinema is to provide entertainment and if in
the process of entertaining the audience, it also
gives a message, nothing is better like it. In
this context, it makes one feel nice to see that
a film that you have been a part of has brought
home to the audience the relevance of
Gandhiji’s ideals in modern times, Boman
Irani told UNI here.
Boman says it was
the tremendous impact that the film has had not
only in India but also in foreign countries led
those associated with the film to decide on
sending the film to the Oscars as an independent
entry, after it was pipped by ‘Rang De
Basanti’ as India’s nominee to the
prestigious awards in the Best foreign Film
category.
"The writer
of ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ Abhijeet Joshi
happened to meet a professor in the US who told
him that the film had made a tremendous impact on
him. He also revealed that there was a lot of
interest among people in the US for the film.
The tremendous
global response, coupled with the huge fan mail
received for the film, led all of us to sent the
film as an independent entry for the Oscars.
Whether or not the film eventually wins the
Oscar, we felt that we should at least give it a
shot. Let’s see what happens,"said
Boman, who was here for a show ‘Perspectives
on Life in just 59 minutes with Boman Irani’
organized by the ABN-AMRO bank.
For Boman,
however, the experience of working in ‘Lage
Raho Munnabhai’ has been a memorable one for
more reasons that merely its exposition of
Gandhiji’s ideals. For the film he had
played a Sikh for the first time.
Boman plays Lucky
Singh, a ruthless builder with a soft corner
somewhere deep in his heart which the protagonist
Munnabhai manages to tap by using the Gandhian
philosophy of peaceful satyagraha.
A meticulous actor
that he is, Boman met several Sikh transporters
in order to get into the skin of the character.
"Researching
for the character of Lucky Singh gave me an
opportunity to meet people from the Sikh
community. Meeting them was a heart-warming
experience as I found these people extremely
‘jokey’ (with a good sense of humour),
‘sensitive’ and full of warmth. For
example, I had to often drink as many as 50 cups
of tea a day as they would not take no for an
answer,"Boman said.
Boman said most of
the ‘sardars’ he met lamented the fact
that most Sikhs in Bollywood films were just
presented as stereotyped comical characters.
"So I decided
that to give it a more ‘believable’
feel, the character of Lucky Singh would have to
cry, something which the director Raju Hirani
agreed on," he says.
"Looking
back, I’d say I am proud of having played a
Sardar in ‘Lage Raho
Munnabhai’,"he says. Boman said as an
actor, one had to put together all of one’s
experiences with different people and draw
various reference points from them to evolve the
particular character in the film.
"For example,
for 20 minutes of lecture by Dr Asthana in
‘Munnabhai MBBS’, I attended lectures
by several professors to draw the reference
points for the character, "he said.
Boman said as an
actor, he had never charted out a course for his
career.
"If it were
so, I’d not have been where I am right now.
If feel if something has to happen in life, it
will. If one has it in him to be a good actor and
do good work, it will come to him sooner or
later,"he says.
Stating that
acting in films gave him a ‘high’,
Boman said,"for me the industry is a
wonderful place to be in. For, being an actor
allows you to get to know people from all walks
of life in course of your research for the
character."
"As long as I
continue to get new challenges as an actor, I
will keep on doing films. However, the day I
cease to find my job challenging, I will
quit,"he says. (UNI)
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Inactive
directors not accountable for
cheque bouncing: SC
NEW
DELHI, Oct 8: In a major relief to inactive
directors of a company, the Supreme Court has
held that in cases of cheque bouncing, only
directors in control and incharge of day-to-day
affairs of the company could be prosecuted.
The apex court,
while quashing the proceedings against two of the
directors of M/s Karnataka News Net (KNN),
Bangalore, under section 138 of the Negotiable
Instrument Act (NIA), has ruled that specific
allegations must be made in the complaint against
all the accused that they were in control of
day-to-day affairs of the company at that time as
per the provision of section 141 of NIA.
A bench comprising
Justices S B Sinha and Dalveer Bhandari in their
judgement set aside the impugned ruling of the
Karnataka High Court refusing to quash the
proceedings against the appellants Sabitha
Krishnamurthy and others.
KNN had taken a
loan of Rs 2.25 lakhs from R B S
Channabasavaradhya on an interest rate of 24 per
cent per annum and two cheques of Rs 1.24 lakh
each dated June 23 and 30, 2001, were issued
which were later dishonoured for want of
sufficient funds.
The court in its
judgement held, "Section 141 raises a legal
fiction. By reason of the said provision, a
person although is not personally liable of
commission of such an offence would be
vicariously liable. Such vicarious liability can
be inferred so far as a company registered or
incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 is
concerned only if the requisite statements which
are required to be averred in the complaint
petition, are made so as to make the accused
therein vicariously liable. Strict compliance of
the statutory requirements would be
insisted."
"In a case
where the court is required to issue summons
which would put the accused to some sort of
harassment, the court must insist strict
compliance of the statutory requirements. In the
event ultimately the prosecution is found to be
frivolous or otherwise malafide, the court may
direct registration of case against the
complainant for malafide prosecution of the
accused. The accused would also be entitled to
file a suit for damages."
The court also
took note of the fact that even the sworn
affidavit of evidence by the son of the
complainant did not contain any statement that
the appellants were in charge of the business of
the company. In fact, the two appellants were not
even the directors of the company at the time.
The Apex court
also quashed the proceedings pending in the court
of judicial magistrate, Bangalore. (UNI)
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No poll
alliance with any party in Punjab:BSP
MUKTSAR,
Oct 8: The
BSP will not enter into electoral alliance with
any political party and it will go to poll in the
coming Vidhan Sabha elections all alone,
party’s National General Secretary Narinder
Kashyap said today.
The BSP had
already announced candidates for 45 Vidhan Sabha
seats and the remaining will be announced very
shortly, he told reporters here.
He, however, said
that the doors of BSP were open to all who were
opposed to policies of Congress, Shiromani Akali
Dal and BJP.
In the allotment
of tickets, people of other communities will also
be accommodated, he said.
Kashyap lashed out
at the Shiromano Akali Dal and the Congress
alleging that both the parties were indulged in
corruption and failed to provide clean
governance.
He claimnd that
the people of the state were now fedup with the
"corrupt leadership" of both Congress
and Akali Dal and exuded confidence that people
would vote the BSP to come into power as the only
third alternative in the February 2007 polls.
(PTI)
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Ban on
child labour from Tuesday
NEW
DELHI, Oct 8: The ban on child labour will come
into force on Tuesday but there is little cheer
for about 13 crore working children as their
future appears uncertain in the absence of a
comprehensive rehabilitation package.
Questions have
been raised on how the government will ensure the
effective implementation of the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act that bars
children under 14 years from working as domestic
help or servants at roadside eateries and other
non-hazardous jobs.
There is a
separate law banning the employment of children
in factories, mines and hazardous work.
The Labour
Ministry, which has already prohibited the
government employees from engaging children as
domestic help, recently issued a notification
warning that anyone employing children would be
liable to prosecution and other penal action,
including fine and a one-year jail term.
The fresh
notification prohibits employment of children as
domestic servants or servants in dhabas (roadside
eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, teashops,
resorts, spas and recreational centres.
While the
government has decided to crack the whip, experts
are of the view that a ban without a proper
rehabilitation plan will backfire.
Shaiju Varghese,
coordinator of "Childline" (child
helpline), said it will be difficult for
implementing agencies to locate domestic workers
unless society is sensitised.
The Labour
Ministry is, however, planning to strengthen and
expand its rehabilitative scheme of National
Child Labour Project, which now covers 250 child
labour endemic districts.
The decision to
ban employment of children as domestic help or as
servants in even non-hazardous jobs has been
taken on the recommendation of the Technical
Advisory Committee on Child Labour headed by the
Director General of the Indian Council of Medical
Research.
The Committee,
while recommending a ban on employing children in
these occupations, had said that they are
subjected to physical violence, psychological
traumas and at times even sexual abuse. It said
such incidents go unnoticed as they take place in
the closed confines of households, dhabas and
restaurants.
The panel
considered the occupations mentioned in the
notification as hazardous for children and
recommended their inclusion in occupations
prohibited for persons below 14 years under the
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986.
It said these
children are made to work for long hours and
undertake various hazardous activities, severely
affecting their health and psyche.
The Committee has
said children employed in roadside eateries and
highway dhabas are the most vulnerable and fall
easy prey to sex and drug abuse as they come in
contact with all kinds of people.
The Supreme Court
had earlier this year issued notices to the
Centre, the states and the Union Territories,
seeking a complete ban on child labour.
A UNICEF report,
"World’s Children 2006", states
that in India, which has the largest number of
working children, 17 per cent are under the age
of 15 and girls aged 12-15 are the preferred
choice of 90 per cent households. (PTI)
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‘India
could have won 1962 war if it had used combat
jets’
NEW
DELHI, Oct 8: India could have defeated China in
the 1962 war had the combat power of its air
force been used, a top serving officer has
asserted, claiming that while the then
political-bureaucratic combine had sought US Air
Force’s help but had not even consulted the
IAF chief on the issue.
"In the final
analysis, the use of combat air power would have
turned the tables on the Chinese and the 1962 war
could well have been a debacle for China,"
Air Vice Marshal A K Tewary said in an article in
‘Indian Defence Review’.
Quoting top
military and bureaucratic leadership of that
time, he said the "costly and catastrophic
omission" of not using the combat air arm of
the IAF was a result of several factors that
"impinged on the decision-making process at
the highest level", including the
"influence" on Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru, of Prof P M S Blackett, the
then Advisor for Defence who was a Britisher, as
well as the counsel of then US Ambassador John K
Galbraith who "over-estimated the capability
of the Chinese air force in the absence of proper
air defence infrastructure in India".
Another factor was
the analysis of then Director of Intelligence
Bureau (DIB) B N Mullick, a close confidant of
Nehru, that Chinese bombers would bomb Indian
cities in response to the use if IAF’s
combat jets, Tewary said.
He pointed out
that "since IB did not have the first hand
knowledge (on Chinese air force capabilities),
they sought help from ‘our good friends
(CIA)" which exaggerated the threat
perception.
Tewary quoted top
defence analyst George Tanham and said that while
the political-bureaucratic combine "pleaded
to US President John F Kennedy for 12 squadrons
of Star fighters (F-104) and four squadrons of
B-47 Bombers as an immediate USAF help to stem
the Chinese advance, they did not deem it fit to
even consult the Indian Air Force chief".
The IAF officer
said the then army commander responsible for
NEFA, Lt Gen B M Kaul, had conceded in his book
that "we made a great mistake in not
employing our air force in a close support role
during these operations".
Tewary also quoted
late National Security Advisor J N Dixit, who was
then Under Secretary in the China Division of the
External Affairs Ministry, as saying that by the
time Nehru was coming round to the suggestion for
use of air power, the Chinese had declared a
unilateral ceasefire.
Dixit, the IAF
officer said, had pointed out that the Chinese
logistical arrangements and supply lines were too
stretched and that it did not have sufficient air
power in Tibet at that point of time.
"India’s
air strikes would stop the Chinese advance and
neutralise the military succeesses which they had
achieved," Dixit had said, adding that this
suggestion was rejected on the grounds that it
had come from officers who were not military
experts.
Making a
comparison between the then Chinese and Indian
air forces and the number and types of their
aircraft fleet, Tewary said the IAF, which was
used only to drop supplies, could have been
"employed for interdiction, battlefield air
interdiction, attack on areas captured by the
Chinese, attack as a retribution on deeper
targets. This definitely was possible."
He also made a
detailed point-by-point rebuttal of the advice
and analysis of the IB at that time regarding the
threat perceptions which led the Government not
to deploy air power.
The issues
included the location of Chinese airfields then,
availability of night interceptors like the
IAF’s Vampire fighter squadron, the quantum
of Chinese air effort and the theory of
escalation of the war.
He concluded that
the IAF could then carry more bomb loads than the
Chinese, could attack major cities like Lhasa,
Chengdu and Kunming as well as Chinese airfields
and that the IAF had more modern and capable
aircraft to carry out all these tasks
successfully. (PTI)
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Demands
of striking mine workers to
be considered: Minister
SRINAGAR,
Oct 8:
Minister of State for Industries Romesh Sharma
today assured striking workers of Kalakote coal
mines that their demands would be taken up with
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The assurance was
given by Sharma to representatives of the workers
during a meeting that was attended by Communist
leader M Y Tarigami, officials said today.
The workers, whose
strike entered the 24th day today, are
demanding continuation of their services, release
of cost of living allowance instalments and early
settlement of compassionate appointments.
There are
1,250 workers, including 450 casual labourers, in
the coal mines.
Sharma said
the government is aware of the problems of the
workers and would find solutions as soon as
possible. All issues concerning them would be
deliberated on to find workable solutions, he
said.
Meanwhile,
the managing director of Jammu and Kashmir
Minerals apprised Sharma that the department
earned a profit of Rs 7.44 crore last year. (PTI)
HC irked
by cops bunking court duties, seeks explanation
NEW
DELHI, Oct 8: The Delhi High Court has deplored
the tendency of police officials investigating
crime matters abstaining from attending court
hearings on account of which the accused have to
be detained indefinitely in custody.
Justice B D Ahmed
directed senior police officials to emphasise to
investigating officers that their absence from
courts could amount to obstructing the course of
justice for which serious action may be taken.
The court was
irked into passing such directions after
government counsel Pawan Sharma sought
adjournment in a bail application matter on the
plea that he did not have the file pertaining to
the case as the investigating officer was not
present.
Sharma said that
though the investigating officer was intimated
about the hearing of the bail application by the
accused, he abstained from attending the hearing.
The counsel’s
submission irked Justice Ahmed, who noted that of
late, investigating officers are not present in
the court.
As a result, the
standing counsel for the state have to cut a very
sorry figure and are left with no other
alternative but to ask for an adjournment even in
bail matters.
"This kind of
attitude on the part of the investigating
officers displays a complete lack of sensitivity,
in as much people who are in custody approach
this court with applications of bail and they
have to be retained in custody because of the
callousness of the investigating officers,"
the court said.
The court directed
the DCP, south-west Delhi, to file a reply as to
why investigating officers are not present in
court when the matters are called up and posted
the matter for further hearing on October 9.
(PTI)
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Wealthy
storekeeper arrested
SRINAGAR,
Oct 8: The
Jammu and Kashmir Vigilance Organisation has
arrested an ex-storekeeper of the Urban
Environment Engineering Department (UEED) who had
spent on Rs 51 lakh on the education of his four
children.
A Vigilance
spokesman said a disproportionate assets case has
been registered against Showkat Ali Chalak, the
then senior Assistant-cum-storekeeper in the
UEED.
His residential
premises at Bonibagh and Baghwanpora were raided
by the vigilance sleuths today, he added.
During
investigations, the spokesman said the accused
was found to be in possession of a double-storied
house at Bonibagh, three kanals and eight marlas
of land at Baghwanpora, four kanals and 8 marlas
of land at Gangbagh in Srinagar, 2 kanals and 3
marlas at Pazalpora in Shalimar area and one
kanal and 17 marlas of land at Karipora in Badgam
district.
He said an amount
of Rs 51 lakh was found to have incurred by the
accused on educational expenses of his four
children.
While his two
children were pursuing MBBS course in Romania and
Bangladesh, another doing engineering at London
and the fourth was studying in Bangalore.
During searches,
the spokesman said some incriminating documents
besides cash and golden ornaments worth lakhs of
rupees were seized.
The documents
pertaining to the purchase of movable and
immovable property were also seized, he added.
(UNI)
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Dalai
Lama appeals for elimination
of ‘destructive’ emotions
NEW
DELHI, Oct 8: Exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai
Lama today appealed to the followers of Buddhism
to eliminate their "destructive
emotions" by practising the teachings of
Buddha.
Addressing a
three-day festival of Buddhist music and rituals
here, he said the teachings of Buddha have a lot
of relevance in the present time, when the level
of violence in society has gone up significantly.
"There has
been a lot of development in science and
technology. At the sametime, the level of
violence has increased because the destructive
emotions are very active among the people.
"The
teachings of Buddha have a lot of relevance now
which can help to eliminate the destructive or
negetive emotions," he said.
"Buddha means
elimination of negatives. It means all positives
potentials should develop in life," he said.
The Dalai Lama
favoured on implementing the teaching of Buddha
in everyday life. "The followers of Buddhism
should be sincere to their faith and implement
the teachings in practice. Otherwise religion
will become a fashion," he said.
By leading an
"ethical" life, one can eliminate the
negetives, he said. He expalined the stages and
paths for achieving Buddhism.
"Correct
livelihood and ethical life can help everybody to
get rid of the destructive emotions," he
felt.
The festival is
being organised by Tibet House in association
with Ministry of Culture to commemorate the 2550th
year of Mahanirvans of Buddha. (PTI)
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