15 out of 19 districts in flood-like situation

Large parts of 15 out of 19 districts in the state were facing flood-like situation.
“Sixteen lakh people have been affected and there have so far been 14 casualties following heavy rain,” the state chief secretary Samar Ghosh said after a high-level meeting at the Writers’ Buildings. Although, the state government claimed that huge volumes of relief materials, including food, were despatched to affected area, many villagers complained of receiving little relief. State tourism minister Rachpal Singh was virtually gheraoed by angry villagers in Khanakul in Hooghly. State irrigation minister Manas Bhuina denied reports of lack of co-ordination among various departments in dealing with the situation.
Significantly, the state government has declared only one block of Howrah-Udaynarayanpur as flood-hit zone. At least 16 lakh people under 171 blocks, 52 municipalities in 15 out of 19 districts have been affected. “Damodar Valley Corporation has released 1.05 lakh cusecs of water from Panchet and Maithon dams till 1 pm. This has created flood-like situation in Khanakul I and II, Goghat, Amta I and II in Howrah and Purshura in Hooghly,” Mr Ghosh added.
There would be uncontrolled discharge of water and it might touch 1.43 lakh cusecs at the Durgapur Barrage and 40,000 cusecs from Kangsabati barrage. One company of National Disaster Response Force had been sent to Udaynarayanpur for relief operations. 100 relief camps in North 24 Pargans, 50 in Hooghly, five in Malda, three in Burdwan, two in Howrah and Murshidabad have been set up.
Meanwhile, Alipore’s Regional Meteorological Centre director G.C. Debnath said, “Friday’s well-marked low pressure area over Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining area now lies over Jharkhand and neighbourhood. Although there may be a let up in rain in South Bengal, very heavy rain is predicted in Malda, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar. The districts of Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura, East and West Midnapore, North 24 Paraganas and South 24 Paraganas, Murshidabad, Nadia, Purulia districts of West Bengal till Sunday noon. Further heavy rain is likely in isolated places over Damodar Valley area during next 48 hours.”
Kolkata and adjoining areas will receive intermittent rain or thundershower with one or two spells of heavy rainfall in some areas.
Meanwhile, breach of embankments of the Brahmani in Birbhum and Ichhamati in North 24 Parganas have been reported. District administrations of Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan , Midnapore (east and West) have been alerted of possible discharge of water from the Durgapur and Kagshabati dam respectively. State ministers visited various affected areas under the instruction of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. State law minister Malay Ghat visited Aushgram and Mangolkot in Burdwan and industry minister Partha Chatterjee parts of Hooghly.

Ethnic Jewelley Trend

Aug 23, 2011 (Calcutta Tube/ IBNS): The popularity of ethnic designs in high end jewellery in gold and silver reflects a new appreciation of the traditional discovers Baishali Mukherjee

Imagine tremulous tendrils of mountainous thymes entwining your neck while a one-horned rhino kisses your earlobes! Sounds spooky! Well, not if they are worn as high fashion jewellery. As the world at large is trying to get back to traditions, the fashionistas in the country too are looking back to  find creative inspiration in its ethnic richness. In jewellery, both fashion and traditional ones, tribal art is coming to the fore.

A number of jewellery brands are taking the initiative to revive the dying arts of indigenous tribes of the country as well as promoting the prevalent ones. Meet Rupak Saha of Adi Kriti, specialising in tribal jewellery tradition in gold. “It was the golden jubilee of our family business in 2009 and we wanted to make the event unique. Coming from Tripura I am well versed with the diversity and richness of the North East and feel that the region has not been promoted properly. Hence Adi Kriti,” reveals  Saha. He claims that Adi Kriti, “promotes the culture and life styles of 200 tribes living in the region.”

After an extensive research on the history of North East and visiting the remote places to learn about  the tribes , the designs of the products were created under the supervision of Arpita Saha,  head of the design team at Adi Kriti.

The World Gold Council accredited the project as a unique design-led idea and provided marketing support to the brand right from its conceptualization stage. Nature and wild life, two inherent aspects of the North East, are extended to other facets of the brand as well- like the interior décor of the store, design of the jewellery boxes and other aspects of the presentation.

One of initiatives at Adi Kriti has been reviving ‘lipchouk’- a dying art form of Manipur.

“In this tradition, a thin layer of gold is wrapped on a prop and then made into the jewellery. The process is tedious and time taking but the end product is exotic,” says Saha who, apart from four showrooms in his home town, now owns a brand new outlet in Kolkata.

Among the clients of  Adi Kriti are well-known Manipuri dancer Preeti Patel and fashion designer duo Mona Pali.

Saha also showcased his creations at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week- Autumn Winter . Motifs like one-horned rhinos and the Shiva ‘dol’ of Unocoti, (a mountain in Tripura with one less than a crore Shiva idols, which are believed to be engraved by the tribes of the area. Unocoti means one less than a crore) were used in the designs.

While it is motifs and symbols that are characteristic of North East tribal art it is the engraving that makes the jewellery of Bastar one of its kind. The intricate designs of the jewellery is time consuming and involves high production cost, a reason for it to become a dying art. But people like Bhupesh Tiwari are taking an initiative to revive the glory of Bastar jewellery. Using ‘dokra’ as the main ingredient, Tiwari is trying to replicate the traditional heavy silver jewellery, thus making it time and cost effective. 

We are not into commercial production and only cater to the demands of people with taste in fashion jewellery,” he says. Among the products, one painjar (heavy anklets with intricate designs) costs Rs 4,500 in silver and Rs 1,500 in dokra and a Suta (bracelet) is priced between Rs 4,000-4,500. “Our clientele is limited to the classical dancers and those with an eye for exclusivity,” admits Tewari.

Dambaru Bharbehera of Orissa, on the other hand, is into mass production of silver, brass and copper jewellery fashioned on tribal art. Apart from his showroom in Bhubaneswar, his products are also available at the government  emporium of Orissa and Pride stores all over India.

The eye catching designs which are opulent with intricacy and style have taken the fancy of the new generation as well. That brands like Tribal Zone has made its presence felt in most of the shopping malls validates it. Launched in 2003, Tribal Zone is today one of leading fashion jewellery brands in the country.

“It’s a fusion of Indo Western elements which make every piece unique,” claims Vikas Bafna, owner of Tribal Zone. Designs are inspired by ethnic arts of Gujarat, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, etc. 

Encouraged by response to the trial run of the products based on Sikkim the brand was launched. “Our USP is our designs and we also don’t repeat our styles which give a fresh choice to our customers,” explains Bafna. The product range includes necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles, finger rings, anklets, etc. priced between Rs 49 to Rs 2,500 and are available at well-known retailers in shopping malls.

Ruhee Das Chowdhury,  professor, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kolkata, has been following the fashion trends in India sfor some time. She observes that “Tribal jewellery is very much in and reigning the ramps these days.”

“Most of the designers of India are working with the tribal designs improvising them according to their need. The fashionable crowd is also getting attracted because of the delicacy and traditional looks of the designs that makes you look different.”

Not so commercial but equally intriguing are the initiatives taken by some of the tribal and backward communities of West Bengal to promote regional art through jewellery which has also given them some amount of financial security. Monoj Kaji and his wife Phultusi Begum are into jewellery business in their own humble way. Inspired by the age old designs of ‘dokra’, the couple improvises the products by using beads, strings etc and mix and match to create trendy pieces. 

“Come the season of ‘melas’ in Kolkata, our products sell like hot cakes. We also supply our designs to the whole-sellers for marketing  in other cities. The business has proved good for us,” confides a shy Phultusi Begum.

Jewellery designed by tribals out of a typical grass grown in Purulia of West Bengal (‘babui ghas’) are also gaining popularity among the patrons of the la mode.

Playing Hide & Seek With Peace

Mamata Banerjee has offered talks to the Maoists and set up mediators. Tusha Mittal interviews a top Maoist leader to find out if peace is possible

Boots on the ground The new declaration has no mention of suspension of combat operations Photos: Pintu Pradhan

IN AUGUST 2010, Mamata Banerjee’s rally in the heart of a Maoist stronghold in West Bengal created an uproar. As the Congress ally shared the dais in Lalgarh with ‘Maoist sympathisers’, there were cries of treason. Mamata’s detractors saw her as an opportunistic neta compromising with the enemy. For her supporters, she was a possible bridge to peace.

In power now, things are knottier. Since becoming CM, Mamata has appointed a group of interlocutors to initiate peace talks with “all armed groups in Junglemahal”. In a seven-point joint declaration, the government offered a rehabilitation package for those who surrender arms, and appealed to all to join the development process. However, the declaration makes no mention of the withdrawal of joint forces or the suspension of combat operations, both of which were pre-election rallying points for the Trinamool Congress.

Mamata also appointed a committee headed by former Chief Justice Malay Sengupta to review cases of “political prisoners”. Derived from the West Bengal Correctional Act, 1992, this phrase is significant to the peace process. It distinguishes a political offence from others and allows the offender the status of a political prisoner. “Any public agitation by a political party or a group for securing any political objective,” or for “furtherance of any political ideology” to obtain “common good, or remedy any injustice of political nature, shall be interpreted as a political movement,” says the Act.

Among the Maoists jailed in Bengal, at least eight, including former state secretaries Himadri Sen Roy and Sudip Chondgar alias Kanchan, have political prisoner status. More applications are in the process. So far, the government has been tight-lipped about their release. Last month, the review committee recommended the release of 78 prisoners. The government gave its nod for 52. In what was seen as a move to test the waters, the list included former Maoist state secretary Chandi Sarkar and member Pradip Chatterjee.

However, the Union home ministry has put a spanner in the works. In a letter to state Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh, the Union home secretary indicated the ministry’s disapproval of the decision to free the two Maoists, sources told TEHELKA. The letter advises releasing political prisoners at random. “There is political pressure from the Centre,” admits a TMC source.

There is also a view at the Centre that peace talks in West Bengal could allow the Maoists a safe haven to operate through the Red Corridor. The current status of the peace process remains unclear. Sources say the Maoists have asked for a copy of the declaration. The mediators have met with Patitapaban Haldar, the first state secretary of the Maoists, to deliver it. “The jailed leaders are positive about the possibility of talks,” a mediator told TEHELKA.

But the public response of the Maoists has been fractured so far; it has been hard to really gauge their official stand. Last month, TEHELKA sent 20 questions to CPI(Maoist) state secretary Asim Mondal alias Akash. This week, written responses to some questions were delivered through established channels. The answers reveal a party open to dialogue and more flexible on what was earlier a rigid pre-condition. Akash insists that further troop build-up and combing operations be stalled, but does not demand a complete withdrawal.

Q & A: Akash, CPI(Maoist) State Committee Secretary

‘Mamata must understand peace is not a commodity in the local market’

By Tusha Mittal

Mamata has appealed for peace in Junglemahal. She has appointed mediators to begin a dialogue process. What is your response to her offer for talks?
Mamata Banerjee has appealed for peace in Junglemahal but has not referred to our party. She has not directly offered to talk to us. This is the major problem in her peace process. Earlier, the CPM had also announced development policies from time to time and their leaders had visited Midnapore to renew the peace project.

But all of this broke down because their intentions were not genuine. The CPM used the development money to maintain their goons while accusing the Maoists of restricting development. We condemn any such allegation. The new government can talk to us directly about development, about where development projects should be undertaken. Mamata is sticking to the same point as the CPM, that the government will not spare anybody who hampers the development process. If there is any evidence that we are hampering development projects, Mamata should announce it publicly through the media. We will solve the problem in 15 days. The government is spreading confusion that we are not allowing roads to be built. We are not anti-development.

The actual question regarding Junglemahal is peace. How can peace be restored? Not a single Harmad camp has been stopped by the government. Tactically, the Harmads are not staying together. They are scattered in the villages but they are protected by the police.

We are committed to initiate circumstances needed to restore peace in Junglemahal. The government should also try to do the same. So far, the peace committee has not approached us with any formal invitation for talks. But we are in touch with them. We have never closed our door.

Mamata has asked all parties to abandon arms and offered a rehabilitation package. While some are reading her offer as call to stop using arms, others perceive it as a call to surrender arms. How do you read her offer? If surrendering arms was not a pre-condition, would your response be different?
Mamata has given a call to surrender arms. But most of the arms are in the hands of the CPM and the TMC. Second is the Congress. In our case, the point is not the arms but our ideology. We believe in armed struggle. But quantitatively, we hardly have 1 percent of the arms the CPM possesses. It is true that after the formation of the new government, 2,000-3,000 arms were recovered from the CPM. But 50-60 percent of them are rejected and outdated weapons. This is less than 2 percent of the arms the CPM possesses. In Gwaltore, where locals attempted to take away arms from the CPM, the police restricted people from doing so. No arms have been recovered in Purulia and Bankura districts either. In Taldagiri, a CPM leader was beaten to death by TMC workers and it was portrayed as a mass agitation. So who is Mamata actually addressing when she says surrender arms? Has the TMC ever agitated without arms? The TMCwas armed during the Garbeta, Keshpur incident in 2000. In Nandigram, apart from the Maoists, both the TMC and the pseudo-Left were well armed. In Junglemahal, the party goons are carrying AK-47 and Insas rifles supplied by the police. This talk of surrendering arms is only meant to intentionally combat our revolutionary struggle. There is no question of surrendering arms. The government should first take the initiative to create a conducive atmosphere for talks.

Initial press statements from the party indicate that you have rejected Mamata’s offer because two demands have not been met — the unconditional withdrawal of troops and the release of all political prisoners. Are these not issues to be resolved during talks? Post-polls, Junglemahal is seen as more peaceful. There have been no reports of arbitrary arrests by the joint forces. Is this not a changed atmosphere conducive for talks?
The statement that there is peace in Junglemahal is absurd. All CPM leaders who terrorised Junglemahal are still active in the villages. The administration has not taken any steps against them. P Chidambaram had himself admitted that the joint forces cannot act without the help of the CPM cadres. Now, Opposition leader Suryakanta Misra has said that they will cooperate with the government in every way to combat Maoists. The joint forces are assisted by the Harmad, secondly by their own network, and thirdly by a section of the TMC. The TMC-dominated villages are forming their own information network to assist the forces. Villagers who come forward against State repression through rallies and mass meetings are facing the same blockade from TMC as they did from the CPM. The TMC is attacking villages in the same way as the CPM.

‘Make a monitoring committee with participation from both sides. We have not closed our doors’

For example, last month, a group of TMC cadres under Ardhendhu Patra’s leadership ransacked 13 houses near Thoria village. The joint forces did not stop them. To protest the incident, the Bandi Mukti Committee (BMC) of Junglemahal organised a public meeting on 6 July in Belpahari. The public meeting had police permission. The BMC is not banned in this state. It upholds the issue of unconditional release of political prisoners, which this government had also considered a political agenda before elections. On 6 July, 13 buses were coming from Berakakno village of Nayagram to attend the meeting. The buses were stopped by the TMC leaders. Patra’s team defaced posters and hardly left any democratic space for the people to raise their voices. But later, they alleged that the Maoists had beaten up the TMC leaders.

Fear factor The Maoist leader claims that the joint forces are being helped by Harmad cadres

If the intellectuals (without party affiliation) agree, the Maoist party and people of Junglemahal are ready for a public hearing on the incident. If Sujato Bhadro and Deboproto Bandopadhyay (IAS officer and TMC Rajya Sabha member) want to come here for a probe, we have no objection.

On 11 July, the tractor of CPM leader Haridwar Singh was set on fire by the villagers. He was a police informer who had left the village and was being protected by the joint forces. The next day, the forces entered Simulpal and beat up the villagers. The injured had to be hospitalised.

This exposes the actual nature of the TMC. Their motive is to capture Junglemahal. As people are becoming aware of this hypocrisy, the TMC is appointing bodyguards and police forces to protect their leaders. We urge intellectuals to come forward and see the role of the Maoist party in Junglemahal. If we are proved guilty, we will accept the punishment given by the people. Will the TMC accept their faults if they are found to be guilty?

It is not true that there are no arrests. Post-polls, PCPA leader Manoj Mahato was arrested and falsely charged with murder cases. He was merely moving among the people to organise them for rallies. He has the constitutional right to do so. Many others are charged under false murder cases and portrayed as Maoists. Are we to believe that Mamata is unaware of these facts? Even when people complained about the arrests, she is taking no action. What does it show? Read between the lines.

Yes, there are changes in the atmosphere after the elections. But they are not sufficient. More changes are needed. To your question of whether talks can proceed unless our conditions are met, this can also be a process among many other processes. We also have to see what Mamata and other leaders are saying openly during their visit to Junglemahal.

Is it a realistic pre-condition to demand unconditional withdrawal of troops even before there is a declaration of ceasefire? Is not the first natural step a temporary suspension of operations on both sides?
In one way, we agree with your proposal. At first, the government can take steps for suspension of troop movement and secondly it can withdraw. But the government is misinforming the whole world by saying that there is no troop movement over here. We agree that the situation is different from the period when the CPMwas in power. In June and July, we did not notice any night ambush. But the troops are very much present and moving all around Junglemahal. Secondly, the forces include new counter-insurgency troops. This force is small and comprises 10-15 members. Along with the Cobra commandos, they are undertaking combing operations. Wherever they find information about us, they barricade the place within two hours. After 10 July, several police camps have been set up. In the name of patrolling, they enter villages and threaten people. They are restricting mass rallies by saying the new government wants peace, not such agitations. The forces also mention that they are quiet now as there has been a change in government, but they won’t tolerate it for long. Hence the propaganda of suspension of troop movement in Junglemahal is false. The troops are collecting information from enemy camps and acting accordingly. There are several villages that help us by giving food and shelter. The troops ransack those villages.

There may be a question of temporary troop suspension but unless and until the government approaches us specifically, it is not possible to respond. All factors for suspension of troops and ceasefire are not in the hands of the Maoists. The government has failed to make a favourable condition for ceasefire. This is the ground reality. Considering this, if Mamata still wants peace talks with the Maoists directly, or wants to send us any message, we have no problem. But at the same time, she must understand that peace is not a daily commodity available in the local market. Long lectures from the CM are not enough to address the question. Peace talks are a long process, Mamata should respect this. If the government is really honest in its effort for peace talks, we have no objection.

At what point will the Maoist party be willing to declare ceasefire and accept a mutual ‘cessation of hostilities’? Define exactly what you want the West Bengal government to state.
Mamata’s appointed committee led by Sujatro Bhadro can talk to us or meet us directly. But prior to that, the joint forces should stop harassing people. They should stop their illegal activities in the name of routine patrolling. The movement of counter-insurgency forces should be stopped. False cases against political prisoners should be withdrawn. If Mamata wants to do this through her review committee, we will wait. We are not supporting or boycotting this committee. Our demand is that Mamata unconditionally release all political prisoners and her network buildup should be stopped unconditionally. Only then can we think of peace talks.

There can be no unilateral ceasefire. We have never demanded it. If there is ceasefire, there should be a monitoring committee. It should have participation from both sides.

Keep it green Forest tracts in Salboni should be made no-go areas for industries, says Akash

Let both parties sit together. Before that, the mediators and interlocutors have to sit and discuss modalities. From the side of the government and the Maoists, we have to give power to the team to supervise the activities of the government, its forces and the ruling party. At the same time, from our side, we will cooperate with the supervising committee in all aspects to continue the peace, and any of the government’s so-called development activities.

The talks between our party and the government are not in the hands of just the West Bengal government. This is dealt with by Chidambaram. He is the most trusted member of the Manmohan government and the most trusted agent of the World Bank and Pentagon. Chidambaram says the state government has the power to deal with law and order issues. But the reality is different.

Take the example of Chhattisgarh where our party recently ambushed a Congress minister. Informing the Chhattisgarh CM, Chidambaram directly suspended the SP of the district. He has also directly suspended five IPS officers of Jharkhand. It shows that at any moment, at any cost, the Union home ministry will act. Hence the talks are not only in Mamata’s hands.

You have mentioned cessation of hostilities. We do not notice this in her approach. Since the elections, we have not administered any extreme punishment in the people’s court. Though the public has demanded extreme punishment for culprits, we convinced them against it. Why? We want to expose the character of the State in front of the people. Whoever is in power, whether it’s the TMC or the CPM, they murder whoever goes against them to suppress democratic voices. This differs from our ideology. You will not find a single instance in the past 11 years in Junglemahal where we have beaten someone to death. Both the police and administration let it pass as criminal activities of local goons. The scenario is the same in the reign of TMC as it was during CPM rule. These brutal hostilities among political parties actually expose what kind of democracy they want to preach. Our motive is to stop this hypocrisy. Has Chidambaram ever uttered a word against the brutality between TMC and CPM? He won’t because he has to strike a balance. Without it, he cannot carry on his war against the people.

What is your assessment of Mamata’s government so far? Do you see this as a pro-people government?
Mamata is a propagandist who is keen to establish her pro-people credentials. After coming to power, she announced a twomember committee headed by Rajya Sabha member Deboproto Bandhopadhyay. He has recommended that forest land be made no-go area for industries. Mamata should enact this. Instead of giving 1,000 acres in Salboni forests to the Jindal group, the government should announce forest land as non-industry zone.

But what is the TMC actually doing? It has formed the Kharagpur-Midnapore Development Authority with TMC district leader Mrigen Maity as the chairperson. He is continuously pursuing the Jindal group for industry in Salboni. Regarding Mamata’s land policy, we will comment after the parliamentary session.

There is a sense that inclusive and propeople development policies could make the Maoist party irrelevant in Junglemahal. What will be the key issues of your armed struggle?
This is propaganda. As the political, economic and social crises are getting deeper, the state is compelled to take pro-people stances, like the Congress in UP. The people of Junglemahal have consolidated themselves under our leadership for the past 11 years. This took place against the social fascism of the CPM and this is what resulted in the decline of the CPM raj. They key issue of our struggle is also development. For the past four years, we have been undertaking parallel development. We will continue this. Secondly, we want to resist State terrorism. Third, our agenda is to establish a democratic autonomous functioning of the panchayat. Next, our focus will be to resist oppression and the antipeople activities of the TMC.

India freezes up bilateral co-op with Denmark

COPENHAGEN - Denmark's foreign minister confirmed Tuesday that India has decided to freeze all cooperation with Denmark following a weapons smuggling case involving a Danish national.

"The Danish ambassador in New Delhi has been told that all cooperation with Denmark is frozen, " Lene Espersen told Danish news agency Ritzau.

A report carried Tuesday by Indian daily the Indian Express said India's Ministry of Finance has said that all projects and discussions with Denmark will now require "prior consultation" with its foreign ministry, Ritzau added.

Espersen confirmed to Ritzau that the boycott stems from Denmark's failure to secure the extradition of Niels Holck, a Danish national, who is responsible for airlifting weapons to a rebel group in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, in 1995.

India had asked Denmark to extradite 49-year-old Holck, who is also known to Indian authorities by the name Kim Davy, to face trial in India.

However, the plea was overturned first by a Danish city court and then by the High Court in June 2011.

The case was dismissed on the grounds that Holck would risk torture or other inhumane treatment in an Indian prison.

Denmark's public prosecutor subsequently decided that it would be futile to refer the case to the country's Supreme Court.

"It is a clearly negative development where the Indians have signalled they have no interest in going forward together," Espersen told Ritzau.

Espersen was particularly concerned as India is "an extremely important partner" for Denmark.

In fact, India is an important export market for Danish goods, especially in the fields of green technology, treatment of waste water, equipment for airports and agriculture, she said.

However, there seems not much that the Danish government can do in the matter. "But I neither can nor will involve myself in the Danish courts'decision, which we must accept," Espersen told Ritzau.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's intelligence services agency, has told Indian media that it is willing to cross-examine Holck via video-link from Copenhagen, capital of Denmark.

However, Denmark hasn't received a formal request to re-open the case using video-link, according to Ritzau.

Holck is wanted by the CBI in connection with the weapons smuggling case, where an AN-26 cargo plane dropped a cache of arms and ammunition in West Bengal's Purulia district on December 17, 1995.

The consignment included hundreds of AK-47 assault rifles, anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers, pistols and some 25,000 rounds of ammunition.

The crew of the aircraft, which included five Latvians and one British national named Peter Bleach, were arrested, while Holck managed to escape.

The Latvians were released in 2000 following a request by Russian authorities. Bleach was granted a presidential pardon in 2004 following requests by the British government.

According to Bleach, Holck had led the operation. The cargo plane took off from Gatwick Airport near London with four tons of weapons.

 

Maoists hoist black flag in a West Bengal government school on Independence Day

Baghmundi, Aug 16 (ANI): Amid Independence Day celebrations across the country, Maoists hoisted black flags at a government owned primary education school at Baghmundi in West Bengal.

The rebels left behind threatening posters on the walls of the Chirugoda Primary school under Purulia district.

The main contents of the posters were demand for withdrawal of security and paramilitary forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The security personnel soon arrived on the spot and removed the posters .

Teachers at the school felt this act by the rebels would discourage the villagers to educate their children in government establishments .

“The situation here has been very problematic; last year too it was the same and we were concerned. Everyday we have to come to school as we have a commitment; well this has been going on,” said Rajat Mandi.

Security forces have launched a search operation in and around the area to nab the Maoists involved in anti-social activities. (ANI)

Mamata unfurls tri-colour, sends sweets to prisoners

By IANS,

Kolkata : Mamata Banerjee Monday became West Bengal's first woman chief minister to unfurl the national flag as the state joined the rest of the nation in celebrating the 65th Independence Day amid stringent security.

Banerjee inspected a guard of honour near the secretariat, offered floral tributes at the martyrs' column, garlanded Netaji's portrait and then rushed to the Central Correctional Home here to greet inmates. Later, acting on her instruction, city mayor Sovan Chatterjee distributed sweets among the undertrials and those serving sentences.

The chief minister also paid her respects at the gallows where revolutionary Khudiram Bose was hanged Aug 11, 1908.

Governor M.K. Narayanan took part in a prayer meeting and offered flowers at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial column in Gandhighat of North 24 Parganas district's Barrackpore, about 25 km from here. A large number of school children were present at the function which ended with the rendering of 'Ramdhun'.

Later, Narayanan paid respects at Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Maidan.

Talking to reporters, the governor said: "I think the biggest challenge is development to ensure the poor rise above the poverty line."

As in earlier years, the Trinamool Congress raised the national flag at a midnight function near the busy Hazra crossing of south Kolkata. Hundreds of enthusiastic party activists sang patriotic songs. Banerjee, however, could not be present due to protocol issues.

To prevent untoward incidents, vigil was stepped up at 27 exit and entry points to the metropolis. Additional 3,000 police personnel were deployed and security beefed up at vital installations like the NSC Bose Airport, government buildings, metro railway stations, Howrah and Sealdah stations, bus terminus and shopping malls.

Several quick response teams were on duty across the city, special task force personnel were on intense mobile patrolling, while police pickets were set up in various areas.

Special security arrangements were made in villages along the state's borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan and also across the Junglemahal - the Maoist-dominated forested areas of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura - in view of the leftwing ultras' call for boycotting Independence Day celebrations.

Hvorfor er Indien utilfreds med Danmark?

Hvorfor er Indien utilfreds med Danmark?

Dato: d. 17.08.11, 04:12
Af: Mrutyuanjai Mishra
Emner:

159 kommentarer

Man kan hævde, at skænderier om, hvem der skal tage opvasken, er årsag til en skilsmisse. Men de fleste af os vil nok mene, at man i stedet bør lede efter dybereliggende konflikter i parforholdet. Måske var det i virkeligheden også dybereliggende uenigheder mellem Danmark og Indien, der førte til den indiske regerings nylige boykot af Danmark. Den udløsende årsag er, at den danske statsborger Niels Holck ikke er blevet udleveret til retsforfølgelse i Indien, men grundlæggende har Indien længe været utilfreds med Danmark.

Fra indisk side lyder den officielle forklaring således:

“We have been greatly disappointed on being informed that the Danish authorities cannot comply with India’s request for the extradition of Neils Holck @ Kim Davy to India to stand trial for his role in the Purulia arms drop case. Government of Denmark had decided on 9 April 2010, to extradite Kim Davy to India but the Danish authorities failed to successfully defend their decision in the Danish courts and it is regrettable that they have decided not to appeal the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court. In our view, the judgement has grave and far-reaching implications and can only serve as an encouragement to terrorists and criminals. We also completely reject the grounds cited by the Danish court as the basis for its decision.

Our demand for the extradition of Kim Davy to India stands. He must face the law in India for his actions.”

Et parforhold vil ikke vare ved, hvis den eneste motivation er penge. Og lige som i et ægte kærlighedsforhold bygger relationer mellem lande også på langt mere end handel. Danmark vil udnytte Indiens økonomiske potentiale, mens Indien vil belønne lande, som ikke kun er der for pengenes skyld. Hvem gider egentlig at have et forhold med en, som kun er ude på at udnytte ens økonomiske situation.

Når andre lande har besøgt Indien, har de forberedt sig godt. Når Barack Obama under sit besøg i Indien bl.a. overnattede på det berømte Taj Hotel, signalerede han derved sympati for Indien. Og når hans kone danser Bollywood-dans, ved inderne også, at hun har lært det af nogle af de millioner af indere, som trives godt i USA. Inderne er også klar over, at Barack Obama spurgte den indisk/amerikanske læge, Sanjay Gupta, om han ville stå i spidsen for den amerikanske sundhedsreform. Gupta takkede imidlertid nej til tilbuddet, idet han hellere ville fortsætte som CNNs ledende medicinske journalist samt praktisere hjernekirurgi. Han ønskede at bruge sin ekspertise frem for at drukne i bureaukratisk arbejde. USAs engagement rækker over kultur, uddannelse, civil samfund, forskning og erhvervlivet.

Indien er gennem de seneste år begyndt at kæmpe for sine mærkesager. Det har de fleste andre lande opdaget. Bortset fra Danmark. Sidste år stod repræsentanter for alle de fem lande, som er permanente medlemmer af FNs Sikkerhedsråd, i kø for at besøge Indien. Alle pralede af at have dygtige indere på fremtrædende poster. Disse velintegrerede indvandrere af indisk oprindelse var nu mønsterborgere i USA, England, Frankrig osv. Hvilke historier har Danmark fortalt?

Hvad Danmark har signaleret er, at man lige har opdaget, at Indien er ved at blive en økonomisk supermagt. Man har signaleret, at man er interesseret i eksport men ikke i ret meget andet. Derfor skal man heller ikke forvente nogen særlig interesse fra indisk side. For Danmark fremstår langt mere interesseret i Afrika, Mellemøsten og Pakistan, hvor der til gengæld ofres mange ressourcer.

De danske medier rapporterer nu, at Indien har lagt Danmark på is. Sagen er, at Danmark skal tage sig sammen. Danmark har ikke udvist ægte interesse for Indien. Det korte af det lange er, at Danmark i almindelighed og danske medier i særdeleshed simpelthen ikke har prioriteret Indien, og det betaler man prisen for nu. Sagen vedrørende udleveringen af Niels Holck er måske nok den udløsende faktor, men de tilgrundliggende årsager er langt flere.

Uffe Ellemann Jensen har ret, når han siger, at Indien godt kan undvære Danmark, men at Danmark ikke kan undvære Indien.