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RIOTING Was it worth it?

FYI Special Debate Page 5

Tribune South Asia

The Legacy See Page 18

Year 1  Issue 5  Thursday, 18.08.11

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Funeral of Birmingham Three will take place on Thursday

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he funeral of the three Birmingham men who died in riots that hit Britain last week will take place on Thursday.

A spokesman for the family said that the public was invited to go along and pay their respects at an event at 3pm, before a private burial at Handsworth Cemetery.

Nazar Ajaib said his cousin, Haroon Jahan, would be buried alongside brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir: “Because they died together, we thought it was fitting they should be buried together We’d welcome everyone along to the service in Summerfield Park, but then it is a private affair at the cemetery.”

Special reports pages 2, 3, 19 >>

‘Pakistan let China see US Helicopter’ US will continue to suspend military aid to key ally

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akistan allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter that US Special Forces left behind when they killed Osama bin Laden.

A report in the The Financial Times claimed: “The US now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI, gave access to the Chinese military to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad.” The report said Chinese engineers were allowed to survey the wreckage and take photographs of it, as well as take samples of the special “stealth” skin that allowed the American team to enter Pakistan undetected by radar. Pakistan has rejected media reports that its spy agency, the ISI, had allowed Chinese engineers to examine the wreckage and the report has also been angrily denied by Chinese officials who have branded

any claims as “preposterous”.

According to the FT, The Seals used a hammer to smash the instruments, then rigged up explosives to detonate it, in an effort to keep classified military technology secret. But the tail section landed outside the compound wall and remained intact.

Pakistani officials, who were livid that the US carried out the raid without informing Islamabad first, hinted that the Chinese were interested in looking at the wreckage.

Photographs of the tail circulated on the internet. People close to the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency have told the FT that the Chinese were in fact given access to the helicopter. “We had explicitly asked the Pakistanis in the immediate aftermath of the raid not to let anyone have access to the damaged remains of the helicopter,” said the Story Continued on page 21 >>

person close to the CIA, as reported by the FT. Mean while on Tuesday in another editorial titled as “Stealthy stand-off in Pakistan,” the FT wrote, “ the news that Pakistan allowed China access to remnants of the top secret US stealth helicopter downed in the raid to kill Osama bin Laden is a sign of the deep mistrust between Islamabad and Washington. While the incident may not mark a definitive breach, it does signal a further downward spiral in relations that both sides need to contain. In the editorial, the FT also wrote, “US-Pakistani relations have been fraying for some time. The most dramatic deterioration occurred after the bin Laden raid, which was a humiliation both for Pakistan’s military and for its civilian leaders. But even before this, ties were strained: the jailing in February of a CIA contractor who killed two armed Pakistanis in Lahore sparked

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

NEWS

Hero’s family vow to tell his unborn child he died protecting others

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HE family of one of three heroes mown down as they ¬protected their riot-torn community have kept news reports of his death to show to his unborn child.

Shahzad Ali, 30 – whose widow is four months pregnant – died alongside his brother Abdul Musavir, 31, and pal Haroon Jahan, 21, after a car mounted the pavement and ploughed into them in the early hours of Wednesday.

The three men had taken to the streets to guard homes, businesses and mosques as riots raged in Birmingham. And Shahzad’s family is determined his unborn child will grow up ¬knowing why its father died.

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Shahzad and Abdul’s sister Sumera, 25, said: “Both my brothers were brave, they were soldiers. We’ve kept all the newspapers and recorded the news programmes for Shahzad’s unborn baby so they can see how brave their father was.”

Sumera told how the family was allowed to visit the men’s bodies, which are undergoing forensic tests.

She said: “Both ¬brothers had a smile on their faces. When we went we were all in tears, but now we all have a smile on our faces knowing they are in a better place.”

Widow Khansa, who wed Shahzad in ¬Pakistan last year, ¬added: “Seeing the smile on my -husband’s face has given me peace. Before that I was just crying and I hurt so much.

“I am happy now. That smile on my ¬husband’s face, I will remember for the rest of my life. The look on him was really ¬beautiful.

“I wish we had seen them earlier – the day after, rather than three days. We had been mourning for those three days but now we have seen him we know he is at peace.

“I can’t believe how sweet that smile was on his face. I will live with that forever and it is comforting.”

Once the bodies are released there are plans for a ceremony at the city’s Handsworth Park with up to 50,000 mourners from across the country expected to attend.

The men’s deaths in the Winson Green area of Birmingham had been expected to further stoke tensions in the city and lead to revenge attacks.

But an impassioned plea for calm

by Haroon’s father Tariq has been credited with helping prevent any escalation of violence.

Tariq, 46, drew praise from police and ¬community leaders when he said: “I have lost my son – if you want to lose yours step forward, otherwise calm down.”

He said: “I’d like to thank the community, especially the young people, for listening to what I had to

Group Editorial Managers Gulzar Khan (India) Abdul Khalique (Pakistan) Editorial Board UK Nayab Chohan (Editor in Chief) Frances Brunner

Art Department UK Ali Ansar (Art Director) Md. Reazul Islam

robbing the student.

Donovan, who police say in his early 20s, will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

The attack prompted widespread anger after footage showed hooded youths initially pretending to help Mr Rosli, before going through his rucksack and stealing his mobile phone and wallet, in Barking, east London.

The student, who has been in Britain for less than a month, was discharged from hospital on Friday and, at a press conference, said he harboured no grudges.

He said: “My family are worried about me and my mother would like me to go home.

But I am determined to stay.

“Britain is great. Before I came here I was very eager and I haven’t got any ill-feelings A Metropolitan Police spokesman has about what happened. “I feel very sorry for confirmed that Reece Donovan from the people who did this. It was really sad Romford, Essex, had been charged with because among them were children.”

Man charged with mugging Malaysian student

Managing Editor & CEO Mohammad Shahid Khan

FYI Tribune team Adrian Fellar Misbah Khan Reema Shah Rohma Khan Keziah-Ann Abakah

say and staying calm.”

Shahzad and Abdul’s older brother Abdul Quddoss said the killings and Tariq’s plea were key in halting violence in Birmingham – but said the authorities should have done more.

Abdul, 33, said: “I believe the deaths and what happened afterwards stopped the riots around here.

Everything stopped.

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man has been charged with robbing a Malaysian student whose ordeal was captured on amateur video.

Asyraf Rosli, 20, was taken to hospital with a broken jaw after being set upon during the London’s riots.

“They were doing the job of the police and have been martyred.”

But he added: “The Army should have been brought in. The police could not control the situation.

“If the Army was on the streets my brothers would still be alive.

“The police protected the city centre, but they weren’t in the multi-cultural areas until it was too late. There was no one here protecting us.

“Why were the police just in the city centre when there was a chance the races were going to clash around here?

“Shahzad’s wife is a widow and is pregnant. She has no husband and there will be no father for the baby.

Deep down I am crying but I have to be strong ¬because I am the only brother left. We are not racists – I have friends who are black, white, Chinese, Hindu and Sikhs.”

Abdul also told how earlier on the night his brothers were killed he had confronted a gang of black men in a car outside a mosque near his home.

Abdul, who has not slept since the tragedy, said: “I saw five black men in a car who were wearing masks and ¬balaclavas. They reversed their car at me while I was outside a mosque. But I confronted them and they got scared and sped off.

“Then shortly afterwards at 1.30am I heard about what happened to my ¬brothers. But they are guaranteed to go to heaven. They died as martyrs ¬protecting their business and the mosque and houses so they are in heaven. And ¬anyone who dies during Ramadan goes straight to heaven.”

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

COMMENT

EDITORIAL

Will British Muslims confrontation of rioters and bigots end their demonisation?

No deception,

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no riots

he British police watchdog has admitted that it may have deceived journalists into believing that officers k illed black man Mark Duggan using live bullets after he fired at the police. Duggan’s death raised public outrage among community members in Tottenham, and hundreds of them gathered outside a police station in the area to “demand justice” and police explanation for his death. The wave of unrest soon reached several areas of London and other cities that witnessed the killing of several people, the burning of more buildings and the torching of vehicles.

Cry for help The rioting follows several outbreaks of violence in London in the past year at political protests against the government’s austerity policies. A 26-year-old black man, who gave his name only as Jason, said the riot was a “cry for help”. “I have no job, no prospects, no anything.

Then they wonder why there’s crime,” he said, adding he had been unemployed since he left school.

A 28-year-old mother of two from nearby Enfield who gave her name as Diana X, said anger had been building among ethnic minorities for a long time because many felt police did not deal with them fairly.

“So many opportunities are being taken away from those who are working class and that tends to affect the ethnic minorities,” she said. Looting was not justified, but people were upset and saw it as a way to vent their frustration on big organizations, she said.

Many people are angry and frightened at the rioting that has caused such damage in cities across England. Some favour harsh punishments. Ideas which have become popular include cutting off welfare benefits to those convicted and evicting their families from social housing. Wandsworth Council has reportedly already applied to the courts to evict a tenant whose son was involved. But, as the ancient Book of Proverbs reminds readers, anger is not the best frame of mind in which to make decisions. The lawfulness of such measures would be questionable, as well as their wisdom.

Robert Lambert

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here is a lively debate taking place in the UK media between left and right wing commentators as to the causes of the English riots, in which hundreds of shops and businesses have been looted. However, both sides agree that the looting has been inexcusable. I hope both sides will also agree with me that Muslims have played an important role in helping to tackle the looting and preserve public safety. This would be an especially important acknowledgment if it came from those Islamophobic commentators who consistently denigrate Muslims.

“When accused of terrorism we are Muslims, when killed by looters, we become Asian”, a Muslim student explained to me. He was commenting on the media reportingof the death of three young Muslims in Birmingham on Tuesday night. Like many other Muslims, they were bravely defending shops and communities as rioters went on a violent rampage of looting.

In recent days Muslim Londoners, Muslims from Birmingham, and Muslims in towns and cities around England have been at the forefront of protecting small businesses and vulnerable communities from looting.

Having worked closely with Muslim Londoners, first as a police officer and more recently as a researcher, for the last ten years this commendable bravery comes as no surprise to me.

But their example of outstanding civic duty in support of neighbours is worth highlighting – especially when sections of the UK media are so quick to print negative headlines about Muslims on the flimsiest of pretexts.

Pro-active response On Monday evening when London suffered its worst looting in living memory I watched as a well marshaled team of volunteers wearing green fluorescent security vests marked ‘East London Mosque‘ took to the streets of Tower Hamlets to help protect shops and communities from gangs of looters.

This was the most visible manifestation of their pro-active response to fast moving and well co-ordinated teams of looters. Less visible was the superb work of Muslim youth workers from Islamic Forum Europewho used the same communication tools as the looters to outwit and pre-empt them on the streets.

While senior Westminster politicians started to pack and rush back to London from foreign holidays I watched Lutfur Rahman, the Muslim mayor of Tower Hamlets, offering calm leadership and support in the street as gangs of looters were intercepted and prevented from stealing goods in his presence.

Most important to emphasise is the

extent to which everyone in Tower Hamlets was a beneficiary of streetwise, smart Muslims acting swiftly to protect shops, businesses and communities against looters. It is often wrongly alleged that Muslims lack any sense of civic duty towards non-Muslims and especially towards the LGBTcommunity.

I wish peddlers of that negative antiMuslim message had been present to see how all citizens in Tower Hamlets were beneficiaries of Muslim civic spirit and bravery on Monday night.

I am not sure if the Telegraph’s Andrew Gilligan was robbed of his bike by looters in Tower Hamlets or in another part of London as he cycled home from Hackney to Greenwich on Monday night, but even his incessant negative reporting of Muslims associated with

skills in action in the same year when volunteers from the Muslim Association of Britain and Muslim Welfare House ousted violent supporters of Abu Hamza from the Finsbury Park Mosque. More recently, Muslim bravery has been seen in Brixton when extremists spouting the latest manifestation of Al Muhajroun hatred were sent packing out of town.

In all these instances, and so many more, the brave Muslims involved have received no praise for their outstanding bravery and good citizenship, and instead faced a never ending barrage of denigration from journalists such as Gilligan, Melanie Phillips, Martin Bright…. sorry I won’t go on, it’s a long list!

Sadly, many of the brave Muslims helping to keep their cities safe have

Centre in Whitechapel to express solidarity with their Muslim neighbours who are the target of another provocative English Defence League demonstration planned for 3 September. It is no coincidence that Anders Breivik found common cause with the EDL. The EDL regards the East London Mosque as the hub of the Muslim extremism it purports to oppose.

Regrettably, EDL’s hate-filled analysis of Muslims is based on the work of mainstream media commentators who should now reflect on the unintended if not unforeseeable consequences of their Islamophobic discourse.

It is also worthy of comment that Muslim bravery during this outbreak of looting has taken place during Ramadan when Muslims are fasting – without food or

the East London Mosque would not have excluded him from their neighbourly support had they been in the immediate vicinity to help him.

Gilligan reports that police were unable to offer him any advice other than to go home when he finally received an answer to his 999 call as a victim of a violent street robbery. London policing on Monday night was stretched as never before and Gilligan was one amongst hundreds of victims who had to fend for themselves as looters ran amok around the capital city. In these unique circumstances the street skills of Muslim youth workers, who are routinely helping police to tackle violent gang crime and anti-social behaviour in Tower Hamlets, Walthamstow, Brixton and in other deprived neighbourhoods, were a key ingredient in filling the vacuum created by insufficient police numbers.

I first saw East London Mosque and Islamic Forum Europe street skills in action in 2005 when they robustly dispatched extremists from Al Muhajiroun who were in Whitechapel attempting to recruit youngsters into their hate filled group. I saw the same

not only grown used to denigration from media pundits but also faced cuts in government funding for their youth outreach work with violent gangs. This is not as a result of widespread economic cuts caused by the recession, but because the government adopts the media view that they are ‘extremist‘. Street in Brixton is a case in point. Yesterday Dr Abdul Haqq Baker director of Street was forced to close a Street youth centre in Brixton as his reduced team of youth of workers struggled to keep pace with the task of tackling gang violence and its role in rioting and looting.

Confronting extremism Significantly, the same potent mixture of Muslim street skills and bravery was evident last summer when the Islamophobic English Defence League (EDL) began to prepare for a violent demonstration in Whitechapel. On that occasion police commended the skills of Muslim youth workers who helped reduce tension and manage anger towards the EDL. Two weeks ago, under the banner United East End neighbours of all faiths and none gathered at the London Muslim

water – from sunrise to sunset. This is a hard enough regime when relaxing, but when taking part in dangerous operations against looters, it is worthy of special reward – no doubt something their religion caters for.

Today, as Muslims in Tower Hamlets and around the country continue to work with their neighbours to repair damaged shops and to restore public safety, it is important I conclude this article by paying special tribute to Haroon Jahan, Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir, the three typically brave Birmingham Muslims who were killed while defending their neighbourhood on Tuesday night. I pray their legacy will be a wider appreciation of good Muslim citizenship, a reduction of media anti-Muslim denigration, and the elimination of EDL anti-Muslim intimidation and violence.

Robert Lambert is the co-director of the European Muslim Research Centre and is a member of the EC Expert Panel on Radicalisation.

Prior to retiring from the Metropolitan Police in 2007, Robert was co-founder and head of the Muslim Contact Unit.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

What the Tribune Says Riots are result of poverty

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ast Thursday night, in circumstances that remain unclear, police shot dead Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man.

Media watchdogs say that the police led the press to believe shots were exchanged but Duggan was carrying gun that was never used. The next day, a group of 200 protesters gathered outside the police station in London’s Tottenham district, demanding an explanation. In the hours that followed, the peaceful protest somehow disintegrated.

Four days later, after rioting and looting spread first to other poor suburbs but then reached wealthier areas Monday in the worst civil unrest Britain has seen in years, Britons were undertaking a national debate over the pervasive poverty and unemployment that many think have fed the disturbances and what role the country’s austerity drive has played in making matters worse.

When we see people causing mayhem in the streets, it’s easy to blame them for all the ills of society. It’s easy to say that these are just reckless and disaffected youth who have nothing better to do. It’s easy to say that they have no agenda other than chaos, or that they should engage in peaceful means to air their grievances. This is a simplistic assessment which is designed more to get the wealthy and powerful off the hook than it is to find the root of the problem. It’s much easier to scapegoat a group within the society than it is to actually listen to what the people have to say, and find means to provide a solution.

It’s clear that those in power are generally not willing to find a lasting solution. This has much to do with the fact that most politicians have sheltered and privileged lives, and have little understanding about what it might be like to live their lives in poverty. They just can’t relate to it.

The wealthy are also less dependent on the government for services such as education for their children and health care. They tend to blame the economy, or other larger factors, in which no one person has to take the blame, and therefore, the responsibility. It’s generally understood, however, that when people have a stake in their community, when they have jobs that allow them to live with dignity, and they can see that they have a chance to work towards a greater level of prosperity, no matter how modest, then those people will tend not to riot.

However, when they have no jobs or Continued on page 21 >>

NEWS Pakistan is facing economic and security challenges, says Saeeda Warsi

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ritain’s most powerful Muslim woman Wazir Saeeda Warsi has said that Pakistan is facing economic and security challenges and Britain would soon become Pakistan’s largest donor country.

She expressed these views while addressing a ceremony arranged for celebrating the independence day of Pakistan, large number of people attended this ceremony.

She said that Britain would play

every possible role for pulling Pakistan from its current state of crisis. She mentioned the Birmingham incident and said that the Pakistani community in Britain needs more cooperation and protection. She paid tribute to the British residing Pakistani youngsters and said that the whole nation is proud of the way Tariq Jahan Haroon has represented Pakistan and Muslims.

Tackling Gangs ‘New National Priority : Cameron British Prime Minister David Cameron Monday pledged a review of government policies following last week’s riots, to ensure they are bold enough to fix a “broken society”. Speaking at Oxfordshire, the Prime Minister said he would speed up plans to deal with anti-social behavior and improve parenting and education.

He pledged to “turn around the lives of the 120,000 most troubled families” by the next election in 2015 and pledged an “all out war” on gang culture. Cameron described the rioting, looting and arson that spread from London to parts of the East and West Midlands, Merseyside, Bristol, Manchester and Gloucester as “a wake-up call for our country”.

Darcus Howe accused of rioting, BBC apologised

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he BBC has apologised for a live interview in which veteran broadcaster Darcus Howe was accused of taking part in riots.

Mr Howe was interviewed on

the BBC’s News 24 channel on Tuesday about the recent unrest in London, which began at the weekend after a peaceful protest over the shooting of Mark Duggan by police in

Tottenham turned violent.

In a live link-up to Croydon, where the Reeves furniture shop was burnt to the ground during the looting over night, BBC presenter Fiona Armstrong spoke to Howe about the unrest.

The interview took a turn for the worse though when Armstrong accused Howe of taking part in riots himself.

Armstrong asked How during the interview: ‘You are not a stranger to riots yourself I understand, are you? You have taken part in them yourself.’

Howe responded furiously, accusing Armstrong of showing a lack of respect.

‘I have never taken part in a single riot. I’ve been part of demonstrations that ended up

in a conflict,’ he said.

‘Stop accusing me of being a rioter and have some respect for an old West Indian negro, because you wanted for me to get abusive. You just sound idiotic - have some respect.’

The BBC has since apologised for the interview after receiving a number of complaints from viewers.

The corporation said Armstrong had not intended to show Howe any disrespect and the questions were intended to gauge his reaction to the events.

‘We’d like to apologise for any offence that this interview has caused,’ the BBC said, conceding Armstrong’s query had been a ‘poorly-phrased question’.

UK riots: £50,000 fund set Magistrates vent frustrations up for information on looters as courts clog up

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lectrical company Dixons Retail has joined in the launch of a reward fund for details leading to the arrest of looters Dixons Retail, who own Currys and PC World, has helped set up a reward fund to help catch looters. Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Electrical goods company Dixons Retail has joined Crimestoppers in the launch of a £50,000 reward fund for information to help catch people involved in rioting and looting. The

chain, which owns Currys, PC World and Dixons.co.uk, is hoping the fund will lead to the arrest and conviction of those who stole or damaged its property. Information can be provided to police or Crimestoppers anonymously. The company said it was “mostly back to business as normal”. Anyone with any information that could lead to the arrest of offenders is asked to contact the police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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QUESTION mark hung over the courts’ ability to process hundreds of people charged over the riots in London.

As magistrates took the unprecedented step of sitting on a Sunday, tempers became frayed and patience wore thin at the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Long delays meant little work had been done by midday in the two

courts hearing the cases.

There was a bottleneck of defendants coming into the system with not enough people to process the paperwork and liaise with lawyers.

In Court One at Westminster, District Judge Deborah Wright became angry at having to repeatedly rise because papers and defendants were not ready.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

London riots: What it means to young people Frances Burner

The whole world has been watching London burn for the past week. Rioting has been like a disease that has been spread like wildfire throughout the country. What is the part of young people in this, and how is it affecting us?

First of all, there will always be a portion of the population, young and old, who will copy what others are doing.

In the case of rioting, these copycat actions have led to mass destruction and loss of property. But the physical destruction of the infrastructure is only a small indication of the total loss to our people. This mayhem is taking a far larger toll on our society. First of all, the destruction of property means that many people are losing their homes, and everything they have. This means that they will not be able to be productive members of society. How many families will be torn apart by homelessness? Homelessness is much more than having a place to live. It means that children will not have safe and secure environment in which to live, which will impact their ability to study and succeed in life. In families where parents are living from paycheck to paycheck, it may take them years to get their homes and their lives back in order. During this time, they may be unable to provide the home environment, the stability, and even proper nutrition for their families.

In temporary or substandard housing, they may not have proper cooking facilities, or even enough room to provide a quiet place for their children to study. The children may have no safe place to play, leaving them bored, frustrated, and even more likely to fall prey to the lure of gangs, drugs, crime and violence. So in one sense, the victims of rioters are not the property owners or the government.

It’s children and families.

Next, rioting destroys communities. When someone’s home is burned, they may be displaced into other communities, breaking their existing ties and leaving them with no support networks. In the 1960’s and ‘70’s in the United States, many communities were burned and destroyed in riots. These communities took decades to rebuild, and when they did, who came in to rebuild them? Mostly, it was people who had money to invest

in properties and renovate them. So those who feel that they rioted to give a voice to the grievances of the lower classes should know that they have displaced the

lower classes from their homes and their communities, and they will be replaced by more affluent individuals, who in some cases, will be profiting handsomely from the losses inflicted on the poor. In addition, potential investors in the community will be scared away from making investments for some time, which will add to a prolongation of the depression in these areas.

Furthermore, rioting destroys jobs. If people are worried

because they don’t have jobs, why does it make sense to destroy businesses, especially small businesses? Many people get their first jobs in small businesses, working in small shops, or taking part-time jobs while they are still in school. The destruction of businesses means that these jobs will no longer be available in the community.

People will have to travel to get to these jobs, and spend time and money on commuting. A job close to home is affordable in terms of time and transportation costs. If the job is far, and you factor in the cost of transportation, it may no longer be possible for some people to work at all. This further depresses the local economy, as the effect trickles down to a loss of income for local businesses and services.

Recovery is hard after a riot. People see the ruined infrastructure and the burned buildings. They lose pride in their neighborhood. Empty buildings mean more crime, as they provide a safe haven for drug dealers, criminals, and squatters. The police have trouble monitoring an area that is full of transients and empty of good neighbors. A burned-out block is a place where no one can see crimes being committed, and it turns into a place that people avoid. This cancer tends to spread rapidly to adjoining streets, and before you know it, the entire area is unsafe.

When a group of people erupt in rioting, looting, mayhem, and other destructive actions, it’s the individuals who pay the price. Getting excited and caught up in the moment for a cheap thrill, or to discharge some tension or anger can mean getting a criminal record that will follow you for a lifetime.

It is up to young people to serve as role models and mentors to their peers, as well as their younger brothers and sisters. A culture of violence only begets more violence. If we do not condemn these actions, we are only glorifying them. It’s not enough to keep quiet, or to think that this is someone else’s problem. We are all part of this society-we all have a stake in maintaining it, and a responsibility to maintain it. Silence equals complicity.

Are you willing to sit by while others destroy your communities and your future?

Which side are you on?

DEBATE

RIOTING: Was it worth it?

Keziah-Ann Abakah

I am certain, if not completely sure. that some of us are still recovering from the events of this week’s riot. Whilst others will spend hours, days and restless nights trying to figure out what went wrong, how it could have been prevented, what the causes were and what could have been done differently I will simply pose a question.

Was it worth it?

There is no point sugar-coating life. The cost of university fees are increasing, unemployment rates have hit the Zenith and the government are cutting benefits. Life is tough but the hard truth is this. You are the biggest if not the most largely portioned populations of babies if you think life in Britain is hard. In a country that puts a golden spoon in the mouth of each and every teen no matter what their walk of life you can only be classified as a child to complain about it. Cast your eyes to Greece where the economy is being crippled and see how hard life is for teenagers there. Turn your gaze to

the Middle East. where war is waged on a daily basis, and see how hard life is for the teenagers there. Look to Africa where most teens don’t live

to say that such privilege is bestowed on all. I can acknowledge that there are many teens who find themselves in difficult circumstances, but

to the teenage stage of life without contracting a life threatening disease, and see how hard life is for them.

The youth here in England are privileged beyond privileged, but I am not close-minded enough

at the end of the day life is what you make it.

Anyone can come from a difficult situation and rise above it. If you want something in life and you are truly focused on achieving it, nothing and no one can stand in your way.

You talk of getting back at the police because they don’t get it, they don’t understand, and yet you don’t take a minute to think that each and every member of the police force is someone’s child, someone’s sibling or even someone’s parent. You speak of how the government is not aiding the youth and the multitudes of benefits they are cutting, yet you go and destroy shops, communities and homes without grasping the fact that the money for the few benefits that remain are going to be put into repairing all that you have broken down. Lastly, you speak of how most are discriminated against when they apply for jobs, without absorbing the fact that you have increased stereotypes against certain races and given the youth of Britain a platform worse than the one they already stood on.

The bottom line is this-anyone can have anything, but nothing in this world comes easily. No one just wakes up and receives; it takes time, effort, dedication and perseverance.

So I ask again – Was it worth it?

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

STORY

ENTERTAINMENT

THE APPLES MOVED FAR TREACHERY

By Marisa Paulson Anna glared menacingly in wrath once I slapped her, so hard the redness on her cheek was still present. Standing on-edge I anticipated her next move, clenching my hands into fists, eyes intensely, slowly, releasing cries of apologies: I feared her capabilities. Eyes twitched, legs shuddered and teeth gritted as the enraged moment became agonizing. Sweat dripped from my head, “I’m sorry Anna okay! I didn’t...I didn’t mean to, it was an accident...please!

I’m sorry okay?” I pouted solemnly, catching breath preparing to reason with her, suddenly plunging my body into her direction – growling, shrieking – attempting to prevent catastrophe.

Contorting, my brain hammered in, in total fury of what I was too late to save. No, no, I’m too late, I thought, “NO!” My extended plea was not enough for it to reach, I plummeted to the floor as I used my remaining will to catch it, and I closed my eyes: it was an explosion. “NO!” It was the only word I could repeat, the sound of the shatter was incredulous; I knew my death had now been set. My mind replayed the scene of it smashing. Desirably my fingers clawed to empty air delusionary thinking that they could save it. Anna maliciously laughed and exhaled in relieve almost as if what she had done was a

Hilary Duff Pregnant Hilary Duff has revealed that she is pregnant with her first child.

The Lizzie McGuire star celebrated her first wedding anniversary with hockey played Mike Comrie, and confirmed the news on her official site, and said she was ‘extremely happy’.

The 23 year old wrote ‘I can’t believe it has already been a year, time really flies when you’re having fun!’

Duff also added ‘we also want to share the exciting news that... Baby Makes Three!!! We are extremely happy and ready to start this new chapter of our lives.’

By Rohma Khan

good thing. I snarled, “You idiot! You fool! How could you do this to me? Don’t you even care about what you’ve done to us? We’re going to DIE! DIE! DIE! We’re going to...”

The front door slammed as hardened footsteps sauntered its way towards the scene, stopping once it stepped on the broken fragments and grunted. It sounded like they took something from their pockets; I lay silently envisaging what he was doing, gasping in complete trepidation knowing what it was. He was still indifferent, I thought, what’s he up to? Anna screamed; “Who did this?” No response. “I SAID, WHO DID THIS?” Anna and I both cried from a bang, me further screeching as he crushed onto my hands, “SHUT UP!” The pain: excruciating, knowing this nothing compared to the aftermath. “I’ll ask you one more time...WHO...

DID this?” Hush: except I felt presence hooked on me. “SHE DID IT! She-she did it! Dahlia did it, not me!” My heart tore into broken pieces: Anna sold me out for something I didn’t even commit. He grunted again. “NO!” My scream was in time, only the person it reached was in no bargain to accept it.

A blade thrashed down into my vista, I closed my eyes: red...it was all I saw.

Red...

To be continued next week

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Dear Miss R, My parents divorced when I was three. I see him every other weekend. My dad and his girlfriend had a baby, and now I have a baby sister. Well, I haven’t been able to see my dad for 6 months now. I don’t want to loose my dad! I feel like I’ll never see him again. I want to see my dad and I want to be able to have a connection with my new baby sis. My brother thinks I should know what to do because I’m the oldest of four but I’m just as confused.

Jacqueline Dear Jacqueline, Ok so you’re worried you might be losing your dad? Maybe you could try talking to your mum about it; if she doesn’t want to answer you it is most likely because she is upset over the situation herself. Maybe you could try getting in touch with your dad by phone or email and ask him when the next time you can see him is but make sure it’s ok with your mum first. Try and arrange a date for him to come meet you however you have got to realise he also has an extra responsibility but still loves you the same.

Miss R Dear Miss R, I met this girl in the beginning of the year, and we have become close school friends. Two years ago, she had some suicidal issues but now she seems to be fine however she is still always depressed. In school, she seems fine and happy though when I text her or talk to her on Facebook, all she ever does is complain! I feel bad for her because I understand where she’s coming from and every time I give her advice or a positive outlook, she says that that will never happen, and there is absolutely no bright side even when there is. It’s gotten annoying! I can never even talk about my day or anything because she has to talk about her problems all the time! I don’t want to cut ties with her because I do like her as a person, and I also fear her suicidal issues coming back. One of my friends told her she needed to stop talking about her problems all the time and she got even more upset. So how can I help her become more optimistic? Or do anything to make her less annoying?

Jonathon Dear Jonathan, The first thing that you have to do is approach an adult that you trust or a form tutor, or a guidance councillor at school about your friend’s depression. You don’t have to be responsible or always worried about your friend suicidal issues, because then you can become affected by it and not in a good way. You can’t approach the problem by yourself.

You can tell your friend about how you feel, but be quite calm and controlled. Another approach could be to go to the cinema or bowling, something that will cheer her up. Keep talking about the good things in her life and make her realise how lucky she is to have all the important things, like being healthy and having a loving family. Don’t forget to let her family know about your worries and they will help you to support her. And always make sure that she knows that she can confide in you and that you care.

Miss R

FREE

‘Nuclear Weapon is Un-Islamic’ see Page 8

aarc S

international

Thursday, 18.08.11

I resigned for sake of peace, statute, natl unity govt: PM

‘Pakistan, India should develop common interests’

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ddressing a seminar titled ‘Building Bridges Together’ arranged by the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) Sharif said India and Pakistan had a common heritage and culture and he supported talks between the two countries to solve all problems.

Pakistan and India need to resolve bilateral issues and increase trade for the betterment of the people

of the two countries, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has said.

Addressing a seminar titled ‘Building Bridges Together’ arranged by the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) in connection with Independence Day here on Saturday, Sharif said India and Pakistan had a common heritage and culture and he supported talks between the two countries to solve all problems.

SAFMA prays for peace at India-Pakistan border

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outh Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and Hind Pak Dosti Manch organized a candlelight vigil on August 14-15 night at the India-Pakistan border to pay homage to the martyrs of independence and promote peace.

They carried out a candlelight march up to the Wahga-Attari border.

“India and Pakistan should join hands in tackling poverty,

environment, energy and other issues and put together security mechanisms to fight out terrorism,” said Imtiaz Alam. Veteran journalist and president of the Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, Kuldip Nayyar, said the activists would continue their efforts to promote friendship between India and Pakistan. He urged them to stop the arms race and create an atmosphere of mutual trust.

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal on Monday said that there was no alternative to national unity government.

PM Khanal, who had stepped down yesterday, addressed the Legislature-Parliament session today in Naya Baneshwor, Kathmandu.He added that his resignation has further intensified the need for the formation of a national consensus government.

His resignation came at a time when his government has been under heavy criticism for being unable to complete the peace and statute drafting processes.During his address, the caretaker prime minister said that the UCPN (Maoist) and the Nepali Congress (NC) were more responsible for his inability to complete the twin tasks.Khanal said that he tendered his resignation for the sake of peace, statute and as per the five-point deal.

During his addressing, Khanal urged the NC and the Maoist not to go for other alternatives other than the formation of a national consensus government.

Mean while NC, UML hold govt formation talks, Talks regarding formation of a new government has begun in earnest following the President’s call to choose a consensual Prime Minister candidate by Aug 21 Koirala, Mahat and other NC leaders Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Dr Minendra Rijal, UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel and Rawal were in the meeting.

8

Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

SPECIAL FEATURE

Nuclear weapons ‘a waste of money’ Islam says it is prohibited

EXCLUSIVE

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he death anniversary of former President General Muhammad Ziaul-Haq was observed on Wednesday.

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth President of Pakistan, remained in power from July 1977 to his death in August 1988.

According to an investigative writer Dr. John Coleman in his book, Conspirators’ hierarchy:the story of the committee of 300.

Explained how Zia ul haq was killed he writes: “Kissinger also threatened the late Ali Bhutto, President of the sovereign nation of Pakistan. Bhutto’s “crime” was that he favored nuclear weapons for his country. As a Moslem state, Pakistan felt threatened by continued Israeli aggression in the Middle East. Bhutto was judicially murdered in 1979 by the Council on Foreign Relations representative in the country General Zia ul Haq. The Club of Rome, acting on Committee of 300 orders to eliminate General ul Haq, had no compunction in sacrificing the lives of a number of U.S. servicemen on board the flight, including a U.S. Army Defense Intelligence Agency group headed by Brigadier General Herber Wassom. General ul Haq had been warned by the Turkish Secret Service not to travel by plane, as he was targeted for a mid-air bombing. With this in mind, ul Haq took the United States teamwith him as “an insurance policy,” as he commented to his inner circle advisors.

In my 1989 work “Terror’ in the Skies,” I gave the following account of whathappened: “Shortly before ul Haq’s C-130 took off from a Pakistan military base, a suspicious looking truck was seen close to the hangar that had housed the C-130. The control tower warned base security, but by the time action wastaken, the C-130 was already airborne and the truck had gone. A few minuteslater the plane began looping-theloop until it hit the ground and exploded ina ball of fire. There is no explanation for such behavior by the C-130, anaircraft with a marvelously reliable record, and a joint PakistaniUnitedStates board of enquiry Found no pilot error or mechanical or structural failure.

Zia died along with several of his top generals and then-United States Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel in a mysterious aircraft crash near Bahawalpur (Punjab) on 17 August 1988.

The Iranian President has pointed out that the 21st century is about knowledge, while nukes are the means of the past. He also discussed the “Arab Spring” and Iran’s place in international relations.

“Arab Spring”

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peaking of Iran’s stance on the “Arab Spring”, the President of the Islamic Republic believes that these events reflect problems that go far beyond the needs of the people of the region.

“It is not only the people in the region but the entire global community is not satisfied with the current status in the

However, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismisses all criticism.

“There are 35 kinds of democracies in the world. English democracy and German democracy are different; and American democracy and Russian democracy,” he said. “In Europe, the rights of human beings are being violated. There’s also the same situation in the United States, in Asia, in Africa.”

“We have an independent judiciary and we have very transparent legal proceedings,”the Iranian president continued.“We have mass media, we have free press and they criticize the government.”

they win in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Could nuclear weapons help the Israelis to gain victory in Lebanon and Gaza? Could nuclear weapons save the former Soviet Union from collapse?”he said. “Nuclear weapons are the weapons of the previous century. This century is the century of knowledge and thinking, the century of human beings, the century of culture and logic.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pointed out that nuclear weapons are not going to be the determining force in the world in future: “It is about the power of people, not weapons. Our goal in the country and

leader insists that he is not aware of any disagreements.

“I am just hearing this from you. I have only just talked with President Medvedev. He said there is no obstacle for the operation to start on time,” said the Iranian president, adding that the plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.

Russia’s taking part in constructing the nuclear plant in Bushehr not only marks the good relations between the two countries, but also signals to the world community Iran’s intensions to build nothing but a nuclear power plant.

“Iran and Russia are two neighbors.

Geographically we will always remain neighbors, we cannot change that reality because we cannot move our land,” said the Iranian leader. “Earlier, I had very good talks with Mr. Putin and also very useful discussions with President Medvedev. I hope we’ll be able to expand our bilateral relations, especially with regard to the present global economic and political changes. Iran and Russia can offer common solutions to the current international issues.”

President Ahmadinejad – after presidency

Nuclear energy for all and Nuclear weapons for none. world,” he said. “The current situation in the world is not fair. There are class distinctions, there are pressures, there are conflicts, armed conflicts, and a large number of nations in the world are being humiliated all the time.

Today justice and dignity are among the requirements of all human beings.

All nations are seeking to gain justice and nations in our region and North Africa have the same aspirations; and I think that nations in North Africa and our region have the ability to run their own countries and they have the ability to reach their goals and objectives.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes that NATO and the United Nations have made a mistake in “having meddled in Libya.”

“The Security Council has made a mistake,”he said. “Instead of sending bombs and planes to Libya, they should have sent mediation groups in order to prepare for free elections under the auspices of the UN.” Instead, Ahmadinejad continued, the SC “hastily issued the resolution,” which has complicated the situation and led to numerous deaths among the civilian population.

Human rights Iran’s human rights situation has been a long-standing issue for international organizations, including the United Nations.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad admitted that Iran is far from being perfect in terms of freedoms but, he said, his country is “among the best countries in the world in this respect.”

Nuclear energy vs. nukes Recently, Iran has stepped up construction works on a new set of centrifuges to produce highly enriched uranium. The West describes it as a “provocative act.”

However, the Iranian leader insists that his country’s ultimate objective is to develop peaceful nuclear energy, while nuclear weapons are prohibited

by Islam.

Anyway, it is the means of the past century, he added.

“We do not want nuclear weapons. We do not seek nuclear weapons. This is an inhumane weapon. Because of our beliefs we are against that. Firstly, our religion says it is prohibited.

We are a religious people,” Mahmud Ahmadinejad explained. “Nuclear weapons have no capability today. If any country tries to build a nuclear bomb, they in fact waste their money and resources and they create great danger for themselves.”

The President of Iran insists that no country possessing nuclear weapons has benefited from it.

“The Americans have nuclear bombs and nuclear weapons and could

the goal of our people is peace for all.

Nuclear energy for all, and nuclear weapons for none. This is our goal.”

He also pointed out that Iran’s activities in the sphere of nuclear energy are closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA: “There have been no documents against Iran from the agency. It is just a claim by the US that we are after nuclear weapons. But they have no evidence that Iran is diverting resources to that purpose.”

Military campaign against Iran The Iranian leader considers the possibility of the US and Israel launching a military campaign against his country real, but Iran, he says, is prepared.

“They want to do it but they know our power. They know that we would give them a very decisive response,” he said.“We would give them a crushing response. This is a normal reaction – we have a saying: if someone throws a small stone you reply with a bigger one. We will defend ourselves with our full capability.”

NPP in Bushehr and relations with Russia Despite the recent announcement

by Iranian authorities of a financial dispute with the Russian Federation over the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr, the Iranian

With presidential elections coming up in 2013, RT asked President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of his plans, as this is the second, meaning the final, term of presidency for the Iranian leader. President Ahmadinejad replied he is not going to be idle after the elections.

“I am a university professor and I have kept this job and profession, and I will continue to serve the nation anywhere and at the university. There will be no problem,” he said.

On being asked what he will miss most about his presidential job, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, halflaughing, “I will miss myself.”

In his concluding words, the Iranian leader addressed viewers with words of solidarity: “We really love all human beings: language, race, color of skin does not matter. Wherever there is a human being, there is someone that must be respected. We are really sad when we see discrimination and poverty in the world. Hopefully there will come a day when there is no discrimination or poverty. We are very sad that the world is suffering from conflicts and hope that peace will prevail in the world. This is the history of our country – peace, wellbeing, security and friendship for all, respect for all. This is not going to happen unless we all unite, we should all be together to build a better tomorrow – and that day will come.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was speaking to RussiaToday

9

Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS

Many die in assault on governor’s compound

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t least 19 people are dead and many are injured after militants in Afghanistan stormed the provincial governor’s compound in Parwan.

Powerful explosions followed by bursts of gunfire were heard in the provincial capital, Charikar, an hour’s drive north-west of Kabul, witnesses said. The governor, Abdul Basir Salangi, told media from inside the compound that up to six suicide bombers had struck.

The Taliban say they carried out the attack, which lasted at least an hour.

The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville says Parwan is usually relatively peaceful.

However, under-equipped police there have been struggling both to resist Taliban militants and a rising crime level.

Militants attacked the compound just after 06:30 GMT, the Afghan interior ministry said. A suicide car bomb was detonated, after which

five other militants wearing bomb vests broke into the compound, police said. Mr Salangi told the BBC: ‘’A suicide attacker wearing a police

uniform... detonated his explosives outside the northern gate. Then five others attacked my office. “They managed to get inside the compound

Obama, Karzai discuss Afghan security handover

U

S President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday discussed progress

towards a security handover from US to Afghan forces by 2014, the White House said in a statement.

NSC assessed upgrading security foundations

The two leaders, who spoke for 30 minutes via videoconference, also discussed upcoming an upcoming meeting of foreign ministers of Muslim nations in Istanbul to discuss aid to drought- and faminehit Somalia.

They also looked ahead to a December international conference in Bonn on Afghanistan’s future and talked about their “work together to forge a long-term strategic partnership,” the White House said.

Obama and Karzai discussed “progress by coalition and Afghan National Security forces as security responsibility transitions towards a full Afghan lead in 2014,” the statement said.

Afghanistan: 8 Kidnapped security officials found dead

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haired by President Hamid Karzai the National Security Council evaluated upgrading the capacity of the country’s security foundation.

Present at the meeting were ministers of defense, interior, advisor of national Security Council, deputy head of national security department, and some other high ranking government officials, NATO commander in Afghanistan, the US ambassador to Kabul and

some military specialists of NATO. The meeting assessed the present security situation and expansion programs and capacity building of Afghan security foundations. General John Allen the NATO commander said at the meeting that a delegation consisting of military specialists from different spheres are studying the present status of the Afghan security foundations, so they can verify shortcomings, and align their working program in that direction.

n Afghan official says eight kidnapped security officials have been found dead in Wardak province, the area where a fatal helicopter crash last week killed 38 troops, most of them Americans.

Provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the bodies were found late Friday night. The victims – five policemen and three Afghan intelligence officers – were abducted Thursday while traveling along a main road leading to Bamiyan province. Shahid said police have detained three suspected militants in connection with the incident.

Reuters news agency reports a Taliban spokesman says his group carried out the killings.

to the halls. The fighting went on for one hour.”

Police and intelligence sources said the compound had been attacked

from several directions. Fighting was so fierce that government forces were sometimes just a meter from their attackers.

Afghanistan’s former spy chief:

‘Never trust the Taliban’

A

mrullah Saleh, the urbane former head of Afghanistan’s spy agency, tells Ben Farmer why it is wrong to talk to the Taliban.

Since quitting his post last year, he now has even more reason to fear – after forming an influential new opposition group that has denounced the plans of President Hamid Karzai and the West for a political settlement with the Taliban.

“Very simply, the Taliban are our killers, they are not our brothers,” Mr Saleh told The Sunday Telegraph last week.

As head of national directorate of security the until last summer, he ran an apparatus of agents, paramilitaries, secret prisons and informants that was considered one of the few effective, if sometimes brutal, arms of the Kabul government.

It was his job to understand the Taliban and know more about the

shadowy army of ruthless fighters and their fundamentalist conservative creed than anyone else inside the Afghan government – and he did not like what he found.

Now he is using every opportunity to proclaim his view that unless they become a purely political force and lay down their weapons for good, an almost impossibly remote prospect, the Taliban are not to be trusted.

US gave millions to the Taliban

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fter examining hundreds of combat support and reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan, the U.S military estimates $360 million in U.S. tax dollars has ended up in the hands of people the American-led coalition has spent nearly a decade battling: the Taliban, criminals and power brokers with ties to both.

The losses underscore the challenges the U.S. and its international partners face in overcoming corruption in Afghanistan. A central part of the Obama administration’s strategy has been to award U.S.-financed contracts to Afghan businesses to help improve quality of life and stoke the country’s economy. But until a special task force assembled by Gen. David Petraeus began its investigation last year, the coalition had little visibility into the connections many Afghan companies and their vast network of subcontractors had with insurgents and criminals — groups military officials call “malign actors.”

10

Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Arms, ammunition seized in Khagrachhari BCL men clash with Rab, police

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rmy personnel seized firearms and ammunition, raiding a house in Dighinala upazila of Khagrachhari district yesterday afternoon.

The seized arms and ammunition include two rifles, four pistols, 228 bullets, three grenades, six walkietalkies, a wireless set and 19 sets of military uniforms, our correspondent

quoting army sources said.

Acting on a tip-off, an army patrol team raided the house of Bidhu Bhushan Chakma at Rupchandra Karbaripara at around 1:30pm and seized the firearms and ammunition, said Major Hassan of Khagrachhari region.

He said no one was arrested during

the raid as the criminals fled the house, sensing the presence of the army personnel.

Our Gopalganj correspondent reported that Police on Saturday night arrested three robbers in Moksudpur area on Dhaka-Khulna highway and recovered a pipe gun, two bullets and a knife from them.

Headline inflation falls to 9.22% in July

Encouraged by moderate fall in inflation in July from 9.44 per cent in June, Finance Minister Pranab

Mukherjee said that the government and the Reserve Bank are working in tandem to check rising prices.

Rab shooting kills 5 13 pro-BNP

lawyers freed on bail

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t least 10 people including a policeman sustained injuries as Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police charged baton on Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists who locked in a clash with the law enforcers’ trying to clear barricade on busy Sylhet-Tamabil Highway yesterday.

The BCL men of Sylhet MC College led by district BCL President Pankaj Purkayostha put the barricade at Tilagarh on Sylhet-Tamabil Highway at 12:30pm in protest against the arrest of a fellow activist

on Saturday night, locals said.

As police asked them to clear the road, the BCL men locked in a clash with them and chase and counter chase took place for about half an hour. When a Rab team reached the scene, the agitators pelted them with bricks.

The Rab and police then resorted to baton charge, chased the agitators to MC College campus and cleared the road.

Ten people sustained injuries and law enforcers picked up three people during the incident.

Buses stay off Dhaka highway for 2nd day B us operators continued keeping their vehicles off the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for the second consecutive day due to bad state of the road.

Abul Kalam, president of Mohakhali Bus Terminal Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity, told The Daily Star that they cannot operate their buses on the road until the situation improved.

suspended following the suspension of bus service. It caused immense sufferings to the weekend home-goers and those who commute between the capital and the five districts regularly.

Cratered, the 120-km highway gets waterlogged and potholes created at many points on the dilapidated highway causing heavy downpour for

Transport owners on Thursday suspended the bus service on the highway for an indefinite period, citing the road has become impassable.

Vehicular movements on 12 routes to Mymensingh, Netrakona, Kishoreganj, Sherpur and Jamalpur remained

the last few days.

This is for the first time that the owners have gone on strike demanding repair maintenance of a highway.

They also vowed that they will not resume the bus service until the condition of the highway is improved.

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ive youths were killed in Rapid Action Battalion firing on Sonargaon Janapath in Uttara in the capital last night.

Rab claimed that the dead were muggers and they were killed during two firefights between Rab personnel and a criminal gang. The “gunfights” took place between 8:30pm and 8:45pm.

One of the dead was identified as Mohammad Hasan of Arichpur in Tongi. Identities of the other four could not be known. The dead were between 20 and 28 years old.

Rab also detained two of the alleged

gang members who were unhurt. They are Saidul Islam, 22, and Mohammad Imran, 16.

Different versions of the incident surfaced when The Daily Star correspondents visited the spot after the shooting. The Daily Star could not verify any of them independently.

“Five of the criminals were shot dead during separate gunfights at two spots near Mascot Plaza,” said Rab Legal and Media Wing Director M Sohail, adding that the gunfights took place within a span of 10 minutes.

hirteen pro-BNP lawyers werefreed on Tuesday on bail from jail in connection with the courtroom chaos casesand an arson attack case.

“We released the lawyers from Dhaka Central Jailat around 6pm after getting all necessary papers regarding their bail in threeseparate cases,” Senior Jail Super of Dhaka Central Jail Partha GopalBanik told BSS. The released 13 lawyers are:Advocate Syeda Ashrafi Papia, MP, Advocate Gazi Touhid, Advocate Abu BakarSiddique Rajon, Kamrul Islam Sajal, Shahiduzzaman, Mirza Al Mahmud, SharifuddinAhmed, Mahmud Arefin Swapon, Abdullah Al Mahmud alias Mahbub, Enamul HossainGaffar, Mohammad Ali, Md Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Golam Nabi.

11

Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS

Bi-lateral talks to enhance free trade

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he bi-lateral trade talks between Bhutan and India on August 18 and 19 in New Delhi, India would remove bottlenecks that are impeding the free flow of trade between the two countries.

Led by the director general of Sonam P Wangdi, the seven member delegation will also seek additional trade routes through India for trade with third countries and ensure that the export bans do not

hamper supplies of essential items to Bhutan.

The last bilateral talk was held in Thimphu in 2007.

Trade between the two countries in 2010 reached Nu 55.34B, an increase of 100 percent in the last five years.

Last year, the total value of imports from India was Nu 29.34B while export to India was Nu 26B. Bhutan’s major imports are mineral fuels, oils, cereals, motor vehicles and parts while it exports electricity, calcium carbide, ferro-silicon and portland cement.

Different Kabney necessary for Mangmis

Only one out Unmarried, most happiest M of three being in Bhutan, shows GNHI entertained O

nly one among the three applicants for a newspaper license with the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority is processing his documents to open a Dzongkha newspaper.

The remaining two did not meet financial or editorial requirements and, to date, have not “appealed” to the authority to follow up with the licensing process, Kuensel has learnt.

One of the interested applicants, who had not “appealed” to reapply for a license, is a former Bhutan Times’s photographer Tenzin Namgyel.

The newspaper, a weekly, which he had planned to open, was to be in based in Trashigang, and cover the six eastern dzongkhags more extensively.

“Most papers we have today are urban centric and the east, which has the maximum number of gewogs, doesn’t make it in the news unless something big happens,” Tenzin Namgyel said.

angmis in Dagana are asking for a different Kabney. The Mangmi is deputy head of the geog administration.

At present, they wear the same white Kabney worn by ordinary citizens.

Dophu, the Mangmi of Laja Geog, said “it will be easier for the people to identify the Mangmis who are playing an increasingly important role in the local government.”

Dorji Tshering, the Mangmi of

Loosening the purse strings U

nmarried Bhutanese, bachelor’s or post-graduate degree holders and monks and nuns are the happiest people in the country, according to the Gross National Happiness Index (GNHI) 2010.

Of the 1.3 percent people who are happy in six of the nine domains, 85 percent are men. Wangdue Dzongkhag has the highest number of happy people in the country.

Although Bhutan’s GNHI has dipped to 0.608 in 2010 as compared to 0.622 in 2008, the president of Centre for Bhutan

Hotel raids lead to 16 arrests

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ollowing a tip off, Phuentsholing police’s Women and Child Protection Unit (WCPU) raided two hotels and arrested 11 women and five men in connection with prostitution.

While three of them were caught in the act in hotel rooms, others were arrested while proceeding towards the hotels.

Of the 11 women, aged between 20 and 35 years, two were Bhutanese while the rest including the men were Indians from nearby villages in Jaigaon.

Four women including two Bhutanese, and two men were released for of lack of enough evidence to keep them under police custody.

Police said the Bhutanese women were found alone in the rooms.

“They were brought in with the others for further interrogation since

Tsangkha, believes that “a different Kabney is necessary in keeping with the important role they play. People cannot recognise us even in the village.”

The Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu (DYT), the district development committee, comprising of elected local leaders, agreed that a different kabney is necessary for them. The Tshogdu decided to raise the issue at the annual Dzongda’s meeting.

they didn’t haven any documents or baggage,” WCPU officials said.

The raid was carried out on August 10.

WCPU officials said that around 6.30pm officials first shadowed the Zangtopelri lhakhang premises in plain clothes where sex workers gathered and then picked their customer, headed to a restaurant to eat and then proceeded to hotels.

The women, WCPU officials said could be working as a group.

Police in plain clothes followed the women and arrested them at the hotels.

Police also said that those who were arrested were uncooperative.

Phuentsholing residents, meanwhile, feel prostitution is not as rampant as before.

Studies, Dasho Karma Ura, said the survey is more accurate than the previous one due to better sampling and coverage.

Dasho Karma Ura presented the GNH Index 2010 at the threeday conference on Happiness and Economic Development in Thimphu yesterday.

The 2010 survey had a sample size of 7,142 as compared to that of 950 in 2008. The 2010 GNHI covered all 20 dzongkhags as compared to 12 dzongkhags during the first survey.

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he government recently decided that the national pension and provident fund, which has been sitting on a huge pile of funds, could invest in private companies to ensure the funds long term sustainability.

At the same time, it cannot invest in risky areas, as it could affect its

constancy in providing old age benefits.

There are limitations on lending out to single largest and ten largest borrowers set by the central bank.

The fund also cannot be invested outside the country, because of the volatile world market, according to the deputy governor of RMA, Eden Dema.

Impact of global warming on Bhutanese crops

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ast month when Nagphay harvested the first crop of maize from his 38 decimal land, it barely filled a basket.

This year’s dry spell in May and June not just engulfed Nagphay’s crop, but hit the entire eastern district of Pemagatshel, leaving acres and acres of dried and wilted corn stalks, and hundreds of farmers worried about their staple crop.

“I haven’t seen this kind of dry spell,” the 70-year old farmer said, adding that, in the past, erratic weather had not been that bad.

The farmers of Nanong, Yurung, Khar and Shumar gewogs also share a similar problem. Shumar gup, Lepo said the first maize crop in his gewog was almost nil, and people

were facing a food crisis. “Even cattle couldn’t chew the dry maize stalks,” Lepo said. “Now farmers are facing a shortage of maize seeds for the next maize crop.”

Yeshi Penjore, an environmentalist, who previously worked with the

National Environment Commission, said no yearly data was available to indicate if climate change was leading to the dry spell. He however said domestic food production is likely to go down with global warming.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL

I

Warriors of Freedom

f India today observes the eve of the 64th year of her independence, it is because a few good men were ready to stake their lives on the ideal of swaraj.

Whether it was through their visionary ideas, force of personality or simply their courage, these men inspired an entire nation to stand up and speak out — indeed, they were the ones who first gave a rather heterogenous mix of people the identity of a “nation”. But what would they have thought of our present state of affairs: a dream twisted beyond recognition, or the possibility of hope?

“He would have preferred to be known as Bapu, not Mahatma” Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Heads the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation and author of Let’s Kill Gandhi Bapu’s methods have found resonance all over the world, but he never claimed that he had invented Gandhian principles.

The principles of peace and harmony, the cornerstones of his method, already existed. That’s one reason why Gandhian methods have transcended geographic boundaries, and have manifested themselves in the Egyptian Revolution and the Arab Spring. The philosophy of ahimsa is not restricted to conflict. Bapu said that you should not violate anything — nature, society, family. He contended that even “waste” is a form of violence — violence against those who cannot have what you are throwing away. When issues like global warming and pollution

are discussed, we place the blame on big industries. We never hold ourselves responsible as we think our waste is insignificant.

Today, there is a wave of Facebook/ Twitter activism sweeping India, but it is just another form of chest thumping. It’s the educated urban elite who have the wherewithal to broadcast their opinion who are engaging in it. The teeming millions do not have access to social networking sites. And it is their activism that counts. Bapu dreamt of casteless, classless society where everyone would be equal. But the “poorna swaraj” that Bapu wanted — ie. freedom from illiteracy, prejudice, hunger, poverty — has not become a reality. We claim to

be one nation, but citizens do not have standardised facilities.

Bapu’s greatest triumph lay in empowering the destitute, giving them proprietorship over their situation and surroundings. His triumph was in standing unflinchingly for what he believed in. Unlike today’s leaders, Bapu was never a hostage to his followers.

He was also an eternal optimist,

believing that change was always possible — provided you changed yourself first. I never think of him as the “Mahatma”, as that makes him seem beyond my reach.

Instead, I think of him as “Bapu”, a father figure. I believe that’s the way he would have preferred people to think of him as well.

“He would have approved of India’s progress” Rohit Deepak Tilak, great-grandson of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Proprietor of Kesri, a newspaper founded by his greatgrandfather Neither Bal Gang-adhar Tilak, nor any of the other nation builder, fought for freedom alone. They had a vision that

went beyond the attaining of freedom.

They envisioned the nation post-freedom and worked towards building a system and society that would exist in a free country. Tilak had conceptualised the ideas of “swaraj” and “swadeshi” long before anyone else did. But for him, swadeshi did not mean merely looking nationalistic or wearing khadi. It meant promoting self-employment, making people self-sufficient and strengthening our economy. Swadeshi to him was not just a gesture. It was a tool that would enable the growth of a nation, an endeavour that would help realise the idea of economic self dependency.

Apart from being a teacher, scholar and freedom fighter, he was also a social reformer. I think it was an intelligent move on his part to transform the Ganesh Utsav into a public festival as it united people. It was important that people rose beyond the constricting ideas of caste and creed and came together under the banner of a common cause. Our economic growth has been spectacular. Baba would have approved of the progress we have made.

All our forefathers would have liked us to be a powerful nation, and we are taking steps in that direction.

“Netaji had an unshakeable faith in India and her destiny” Prof Sugata Bose, Grandnephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, Gardiner Professor of History, Harvard University and author of His Majesty’s Opponent Most Indians know Netaji as a warrior hero, that he suffered and sacrificed his life for the country. Not many know that he was also a forward thinker, a philosopher who wrote prolifically on Indian culture and literature. His greatest achievement, however, lay in fostering unity among different religious communities and groups across India. He did not propagate

secular uniformity, rather he believed we must be willing to accept cultural differences.

Netaji wanted to increase cultural intimacy between groups, as he thought that we don’t know enough about each other even though we live cheek by jowl. He also said that we need to have a sense of respect towards the customs and practices of others. Society today is drifting somewhat towards this position.

I think Netaji would have approved of the new, outward looking vision that India has developed in recent years, and that the Indian economy and culture is making so much of a contribution to the rest of the world. He would have been pleased with the self-confidence that young Indians have today. What would have dismayed him is the inequality and poverty that is rampant across our country. He would have been disappointed that there isn’t a greater spirit of public service. In the pre-Independence era, people thought a lot more about what they could give to the country. Now, we are all more preoccupied with what we can get for ourselves.

In spite of this, I don’t think he would have ever regretted the sacrifice he made for his country. Mainly because he had an

unshakable faith in India and her destiny.

Yes, he would have been disenchanted with the current state of Indian politics and governance. But his message would still have been: “Never lose your faith in India’s destiny”. I think that’s a message we all need to remember.

“Baba believed democracy was the only means to resolve conflict in society” Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar, grandson of Dr B.R. Ambedkar National leader of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh The intention with which we created the Constitution is being ignored and marginalised. We built a temple, but sadly, the temple has been defiled even before we could install the God inside it.” It was Baba who said these words.

But Baba also believed that any system — no matter how bad it is — as long as the intentions governing it are noble and the people’s commitment to it unshakeable, then it can turn into a good system.

Baba said that there is an inherent conflict in society, a conflict between those who believe in brotherhood and those who are individualistic and oppurtunistic.

He believed that a collective way of living would resolve the conflict, and that democracy was the only means to achieve it. In the absence of this collective way, anarchy would be the consequence, and we would be once again subjected to foreign rule. We are increasingly becoming a leaderless nation, as we do not have someone in whom we can trust.

We are moving towards a situation where political parties are becoming irrelevant, leaders are becoming irrelevant.

Why was the system allowed to degenarate so much that people lost all faith in it?

In such a situation, I believe elections are the only way forward. Let there be 10 elections, as long as they throw up leaders and activists who can win the confidence of the common man. It is a principle of Sociology that people want to be ruled.

Jaisa raja, waisi praja. If you have a corrupt king, the subjects are bound to be corrupt.

Do we have anyone in the country with even half the charisma, stature and magnetism of Baba, Gandhi and their contemporaries?

Do we have anyone who can inspire the masses and propel nation building once again?

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL

Pakistan ... a Nation in Waiting

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here was a time when August 14 was a moment of optimistic assessment. One set aside the hurly-burly of political discord to focus on the objectives of the state and dwell on the prospects of selfcorrection and progress. All that is now, at the very least, quite hard to do for most of us. By and large, it must be said that the Pakistani mind has submitted to a pessimistic view of the state of Pakistan. Even editorials in the Urdu press have begun to praise India for holding on to democracy while Pakistan stumbles. Today the state has dwindled and the Pakistani mind is as subject to disorder as society itself. So where does one even begin to think of progress?

One runs the risk of joining this orgy of pessimism unless one thinks within the Third World paradigm and outside the box of pan-Islamic alarmism about what the world is doing to Muslims. Pakistan was never rated a least developed country (LDC) and was better placed to hit the ‘takeoff’ stage than many countries in Africa and Latin America and even in the non-oil-producing Islamic world.

And now in 2011, it seems to be close to a failing post-colonial state, the kind that seems to be abundant in parts of sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East.

What irks one even more is that South Asia, like Southeast Asia, is no longer the post-colonial debacle it used to be when India was the big producer of poverty with low growth rates and Pakistan the shining success with an average GDP growth rate of six percent. Today, India is a successful state despite its other Third World ailments and is taking along two other states — Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — out of the postcolonial trough. Pakistan has chosen to isolate itself ideologically from the world and is busy fighting its intrastate wars while blaming the outside world for all its ills.

The disease of misdiagnosis is within us too. We go on blaming the USIndia-Israel ‘cabal’ for our — mostly homegrown — terrorism. Yes, America was involved in funding and supplying the mujahideen with weapons of all kinds to fight the Soviets and yes America left us in the

lurch, but what did we do after that?

Did we not carry on with the same policy and did we not try and use

these warriors for our own fanciful dreams of ‘strategic depth’ beyond our western border? Did we not send many of them eastward, across the Line of Control, in accordance with another fanciful — and most

dangerously flawed — idea, that of making a thousand cuts on India to bleed it dry?

And we did not learn. When Osama bin Laden, the world’s deadliest terrorist, with the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands, was caught in a heavily militarised city near the federal capital, we didn’t even bother asking the right questions.

Yes, American helicopters flew in from across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, almost 200 kilometres, apparently undetected, to land in Abbottabad, But instead of asking why and how Osama could have been hiding in that city for so many years, we instead started beating our chests at our lost sovereignty. Clearly, we don’t understand that in many parts of Fata, our sovereignty has been reduced to the main road, and that the US or any other foreign power has little to do with this.

Now, with the Americans about to yet again leave the region, we think that the Taliban will become our friends and everything will be hunky-dory once the Yankees are gone. We think this even as evidence,

economy is a mere distraction and that if we were to rid ourselves of foreign influence, all our troubles, economic included, would go away.

Of late, this argument has also expanded to include alignment with China, as if we aren’t already allied with Beijing. Also, this ignores the reality that China is not about to get into a war with the US on any account, and that even with its archrival, India, it has a rapidly-growing trade and economic relationship.

Coming on to India, which is obviously the centrepiece of our foreign policy, many people consider themselves experts on it, and most of these can be seen on our television channels. Their advice is that Pakistan must not rest till its flag is hoisted on Delhi’s Red Fort. Of course, they don’t understand that the world has moved on and that those who were arch-enemies in the past are now solid trading partners.

For these people, and one must say that they exist in India as well, the massive mutual benefits of increased trade and greater people-to-people exchanges are not worth moving

post-PNS Mehran, suggests that our military institutions have elements with sympathies to al Qaeda and the Taliban and that they seem to be helping the militants in their attacks on the government and on military installations. The world is offering good advice but we will not listen, creating myths that are believed only in Pakistan, like that of dozens of Indian consulates operating in Afghanistan.

It is not only America we rail against. We also rail against the IMF, though we seem to have no qualms about taking billions in loans from it, or from other multilateral lending institutions or states, including America. Of course, the simple logic that if we were all to pay our share of taxes, the state perhaps might not need so much money from donors or lenders, is clearly lost on us. So, it seems, most of us think that the

an inch from the inflexible official position.

As for domestic politics, so not used to democracy have we become that a government about to complete its full term seems to be an aberration to many of us. Perhaps this is why there have been statements by public figures inviting the military to take over and restore order. For such people, one big source of concern seems to be that the ‘pain’ of democracy is not being cured by a military takeover this time around. And perhaps here lies the silver lining — an elected government is going to complete its full term in office, without being thrown out by the military.

Sixty-four years is a long enough time for a state to mature or at least for it to solidly place a footing on the road to progress. It’s a pity that we qualify on neither of these two fronts.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2011.

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Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

Hunger strikes will not solve corruption problems: Singh P

rime Minister Manmohan Singh promises a strong Lokpal to end corruption in high places and asserted that hunger strikes will not help address the problem, in an apparent reference to Anna Hazare’s agitation.

With government facing attack over multiple scams, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promises a strong Lokpal to end corruption in high places and asserted that hunger strikes will not help address the problem, in an apparent reference to Anna Hazare’s agitation.

A day before Mr. Hazare was to embark on an indefinite fast demanding a strong Lokpal, he made it clear that only Parliament can decide what type of Lokpal legislation can be enacted.

“I am aware of the differences of opinion on some aspects of the bill. Those who don’t agree with this bill can put forward their views to Parliament, political parties and even the press.

Acknowledging that corruption is a big obstacle in national transformation, he said the menace should be discussed in

a manner that should not create an atmosphere in which country’s progress comes into question.

He also admitted that funds meant for welfare of common man end up in the pockets of government officials.

Gujarat Hazare rejects police curbs, chargesheets to go ahead with fast

IPS officer for “misconduct”

Objecting to the police restrictions on him and his associates, Mr. Hazare accused Dr. Singh of creating an Emergency-like

Air India will not be privatised : Govt Crying foul, Opposition on Friday alleged in Lok Sabha that there was a deliberate design to make State carrier

situation and politicising the Delhi Police.

Spurning the conditions imposed by the Delhi Police on his proposed fast here from August 16, social activist Anna Hazare on Saturday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He underlined his determination to go ahead with the agitation on the Lokpal issue, defying the government.

Mr. Hazare said his demand was that the government come up with the right Lokpal Bill and allow Parliament to decide on that. “I’ll accept whatever they say,” he said, underlining his faith in the parliamentary process.

Mr. Sharma confirmed that he received the copy. He was chargesheeted after his notice period ended on Friday.

Mr. Sharma had been served the first notice on January 27. He was served the final notice on July 28 and was asked to file a reply within 15 days.

The Gujarat government on Saturday chargesheeted IPS officer Rahul Sharma for alleged misconduct in not submitting the original compact discs containing mobile phone call records related to the 2002 communal riots.

Speaking from a bullet-proof enclosure amid rains, the Prime Minister touched on a variety of subjects including the sensitive land acquisition issue, naxalism, terrorism, economy and inflation.

Unlike in the past, foreign policy issues found no mention in his 40-minute speech on the 65th Independence Day . Dr. Singh, who devoted a major part of the speech on corruption, admitted the scourge was a “big obstacle” in the way of transformation of the country as a major economic power globally.

Dr. Singh said, “if our system delivers justice in an effective manner, government officials would think twice before committing a wrong act out of greed or under political pressure.”

Dr. Singh expressed confidence that this Bill will be passed soon.

But he did not touch upon the question of whether the Prime Minister should come under Lokpal, a consistent demand

by Team Anna and some political parties.

SC panel torn between law and faith

Purported signs of bad omen combined with issues of faith have put the Kerala government and the Supreme Courtappointed panel in a quandary as

of the presiding deity), which concluded on Thursday, warned of serious consequences if it was opened.

The vault is supposedly lying closed

to whether they should open the Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple’s sixth chamber.

The elaborate ‘deva prasnam’ (an astrological ritual to “gauge the mood”

for 136 years. What emerged out of the ‘deva prasnam’ was that since the vault is situated just below the presiding deity, any harm or displacement to it will amount to disrespect for Lord Padmanabha Swamy.

Chief minister Oommen Chandy has assured devotees their sentiments would be given priority while taking any decision. “The government will inform the court about the prevailing sentiments of devotees,” he said.

The theory of supernatural intervention was strengthened when carvings of black serpents, which according to some religious traditions bring bad luck, were found on the doors of the cellar.

The Travancore royal family, which manages the temple, is equally worried because it has been warned that if “rectification” measures are not taken, it will be left without a heir.

Madhur Narayana Rangabhattu, the chief astrologer, has given the details of the ritual to the royal family, which was always opposed to the opening of the vaults.

Govt takes tough line on Anna Air India bankrupt in order to privatise it, prompting the government to rule out privatisation and promise administrative and monetary steps to turn it around.

CPI and BJP members slammed the government saying it was doing nothing to help the bleeding ‘Maharaja’, which used to be a symbol of prestige, and is now on death bed. Specifically targeting Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director for the mess and attacking the Prime Minister’s Office for his appointment, they demanded an overhaul of the entire management followed by full financial infusion, contending that the recent Rs 1,200 crore package was not at all enough.

Four days ahead of a re-run of social activist Anna Hazare’s hunger strike on the Lokpal issue, the Union government on Friday expressed its strong disapproval of such an “extreme” form of protest at a time when the draft of the Bill is being deliberated on by a Standing Committee of Parliament on which members of all political parties are represented. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayansamy, who is also

a member of the GoM, pointed out that parliamentary practice allowed people from different sections of society to give their views to the Standing Committee either in person or in writing. However, “The Bill is now the property of Parliament – it is for Parliament to decide [on the final shape of the Bill].” Asked why the government was delaying giving permission to Mr. Hazare to hold a fast, Mr. Chidambaram said it was for the Delhi Police Commissioner, who was examining the request, to take a decision.

To another query how the government would “tackle” the fast, Mr. Chidambaram said that as it was not a game of football, the government had no intention of “tackling or pushing anyone.”

On Team Anna’s claim of 90 per cent support in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Amethi, for the Jan Lokpal Bill, he said he only wanted to repeat what Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said, “We are surprised it is not 100 per cent.”

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Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

Seven convicted for GHQ attack

Gilani greets Manmohan on India’s Independence day, hopes for stronger ties

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he field general court martial convicted seven accused for the 2009 GHQ attack, including two army personnel and five civilians.

In a verdict delivered Thursday evening, army sepoy Aqeel alias Dr Usman was sentenced to death, while another personnel Imran Siddiq was

given life imprisonment. A fine of Rs 200,000 and Rs100,000 has been imposed on the two, respectively.

The convicted civilians include Khaliqur Rehman, Muhammad Usman, Wajid Ali, Muhammad Adnan and Tahir Shafiq. The first three have been sentenced to life

imprisonment, while the other two have been given jail terms of 10 and seven years, respectively The civilians have been convicted for assisting the attackers, helping them find their targets and inciting servicemen to wage war against the army.

Major changes made in FCR : IMF programme: Fata people get political rights ‘We tried, we

resident signed on Friday amendments made to the century-old Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) which will

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political parties can operate freely and present their socio-economic programmes.

Under the FCR, the government

give the people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) for the first time the right of appeal against decisions of the political agent.

President Asif Ali Zardari also signed the Extension of the Political Parties Order 2002 to the tribal areas where, after appropriate regulations to be framed later,

had the powers to raze the houses of criminals and their relatives to ground as a punishment.

Extension of Political Parties Order The government believes that the permission to political parties to sell their programmes in tribal areas will counter the pernicious one-sided campaign of militants to impose their ideological agenda on

he White House has started conditioning the award of billions of dollars in security assistance to Pakistan on whether Islamabad shows progress on a secret scorecard of U.S. objectives to combat al Qaeda and its militant allies.

The U.S. also is asking Pakistan to

take specific steps to ease bilateral tensions.

The classified system, put in place after the U.S. raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his Pakistani hideout, signals a shift by the White House toward a payfor-performance relationship with

rime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani greeted his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on India’s Independence Day on Monday.

Gilani expressed hope that the dialogue between Pakistan and India will help in resolving bilateral issues.

In his message he reiterated the desire to have cooperative and friendly ties between the two countries.

Gilani emphasized that cordial relations between the two countries are needed to achieve the mutual goal

of regional peace, socio-economic progress and prosperity.

Striving for a peaceful region In a serious bid to minimise enmity and promote friendly ties with Pakistan, a candlelight vigil was observed at the Wahga border in India’s city of Amritsar.

The vigil, lead by Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar and film maker Mahesh Bhatt, was joined by locals and other members of the civil society.

They carried out a candlelight march up to the border.

failed, we give up SAFMA teams in exchange to celebrate

India, Pakistan independence

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aving failed to honour yet another agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan has abandoned its efforts to seek a restoration of the $11.3 billion bailout programme, which had been suspended last year A key government official said that Islamabad would no longer request the IMF to send a review mission, a preliminary step that could ultimately have led to the revival of the programme, after recognising “harsh ground realities.

However, there are still some officials in the finance ministry who believe that Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh should use his personal relationship with David Lipton – former advisor to US President Barack Obama and newly appointed deputy managing director at the IMF – to seek such a

United States links Pakistani aid to performance

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Pakistan, as doubts grow that the two countries can for now forge a broader alliance based on shared interests.

A senior military official called the unusual new approach “a hardknuckled reflection of where we are right now” in relations.

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he South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) has arranged seminars, a candlelight vigil and exchange visits of peace delegations from Pakistan and India to pay homage to the martyrs of the independence movement.

A 29-member delegation comprising journalists, artists, farmers and politicians led by eminent journalist Nusrat Javed is leaving for India under the platform of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) to participate in various events regarding the Independence Days of Pakistan and India, SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, he said: “We have been celebrating the Independence Days of both countries for several years.” A cultural show

would also be held in Amritsar in which artists of both countries would perform, he added. He said that an Indian delegation will come to Pakistan and a seminar titled ‘Building Bridges in the Subcontinent’ would be held in Lahore and Amritsar today. Lights of peace would be ignited at Wahga border on the night of 14th and 15th August to spread the message of harmony.

Alam urged the governments of both countries to solve their issues on the table. He also suggested a peace park be built at Wahga Border. He said that improved relations between both countries could boost growth in the region. He also said that both countries were facing common problems such as energy crises and terrorism.

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Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

Committee approves Rf20,000 allowance policy for MPs Maldives reviewed on racial T

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arliamentary Finance Committee has finalised the policy on distributing the controversial Rf20,000 committee allowance allocated for MPs. Deputy Parliament Speaker Ahmed Nazim said members of the committee unanimously approved the policy on last Tuesday.

“The policy was devised in such a way that the allowance would help to improve the attendance of members

and their performance,” he said.

Dhiggaru MP Nazim did not disclose the policy but said the allowance will be given to the MPs soon.

The decision to give the Rf20,000 committee allowance to the MPs was met by vehement criticism from the public and several organisations.

Galolhu-South MP Ahmed Mahloof, from chief opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, and former ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)

Chairperson Maria Ahmed Didi, who represents Machangolhi-North constituency, submitted separate resolutions to cut the allowance but failed to secure enough votes in favour of their proposals.

Protestors including activists from the MDP, civil servants, and members of NGOs gathered outside the Parliament building on December 30, 2010, to express their disapproval over the revised salary framework, which gives MPs a committee allowance and increases the salaries and allowances of the judiciary.

discrimination by UN

he Maldives was yesterday reviewed by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination established under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

The Maldives review by the Committee was based on its combined fifth to twelfth periodic report, the Core Document and the shadow report submitted by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives. The Government report detailed the measures undertaken in advancing the implementation of the stipulations under the UN Convention and highlighted where

more work needed to be done.

The Maldives became a party to the ICERD in 1984.

The Maldives was represented by the Attorney General, Minister of Human Resources, Youth & Sports Hassan Latheef and the Ambassador of Maldives to the UN Offices in Geneva Iruthisham Adam.

Tourism Ministry asks to sell defaulters asset

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inistry of Tourism has requested Ministry of Finance to sell the investments of the four parties who failed to pay the necessary payments to the state during the period allocated by the Ministry of Tourism for the payment.

Speaking to Miadhu Daily, Minister

of Tourism, Dr. MariyamZulfa said that four parties failed to make the 25 percent of the payment during the 90 days period that the ministry granted them. She said that the ministry has sent a letter to ministry of finance to sell the investments of these parties.

Economic reform bills will merely benefit the nation Maldives inks $40 million agreement with Exim Bank

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resident Mohamed Nasheed has said that the economic reform bills that have been submitted to the parliament will merely benefit the people of the Maldives, bring about further development to the state, and provide means for growth to the country.

In his weekly radio address given today, the President highlighted on the concern shown towards these bills, by some members of the parliament and a number of business associations. He also assured that there was no need for any concern about the bills, despite the unfavourable consequences being predicted by a few business associations.

Special Envoy invites PM of Nepal to SAARC Summit

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Speaking of the launching ceremony of the government’s economic reform programmes to be held Monday evening, President Nasheed noted that the government’s entire economic programme will be publicised completely at the ceremony.

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he government of Maldives has signed a line of credit agreement worth of US$ 40million with the ExportImport Bank (Exim Bank) of neighbouring India.According to the High Commission of

Maldives in New Dheli, India, the line of credit agreement was signed between the government and Exim Bank for the 500 housing unit to be built with the assistance of the Indian government.

Astronomical calculations, valid method for Ramadan affirmation - Gayoom

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ormer President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said that astronomical calculations are a valid method to affirm the month of Ramadan and Shawwal. He said that astronomical calculations can alone be used to determine both the months.

Speaking at last evening’s session of the programme to revive the

nights of Ramadan organized by the Maumoon Foundation, the Chairman of the foundation, Gayoom said that the astronomical calculations about the birth of new moon are so accurate that astronomers can determine moon birth dates years in advance. He said that the actual moon sighting is a mean to determine Ramadan

pecial Envoy of the President Ibrahim Hussain Zaki has called on the Prime Minister of Nepal Jhala Nath Khanal at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar.

According to The Himalayan Times, “during the meeting, Prime Minister Khanal expressed happiness over the organisation of the Summit south of Equator for the first time in the history of SAARC and hoped that this will give much needed impetus to a more active and dynamic SAARC in the days to come, the prime minister’s advisor on foreign affairs Milan Raj Tuladhar said in a statement.”

Court orders police to pay MP Yameen Rf 244,000 The civil court has ordered police to pay Rf 244,000 (US$$15,823) in compensation to the former President’s half-brother and People’s Alliance (PA) leader Abdulla Yameen for unlawful detention on the Presidential Retreat of Aarah.

17

Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

Maoist backing for Bhattarai Nepal’s parties disagree on new prime minister

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aoists reinforce their earlier decision to field party ViceChairman Baburam Bhattarai for the post of prime minister for a national consensus government.

A meeting of central office bearers of the party today unanimously endorsed the earlier decision to this effect.

With Jhala Nath Khanal’s resignation as the prime minister on Sunday, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav yesterday set a deadline for the parties till August 21 to form a consensus government, pursuant to Article 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution.

After today’s meeting of the central office bearers at party headquarters Paris Danda, Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel said the party would now

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take initiatives to form a national consensus government under

the leadership of Vice-chairman Bhattarai.

Congress chooses Deuba

op Nepali Congress party leaders agree to field senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the prime ministerial candidate.

The agreement prompted the Deuba faction to drop its plan to file a noconfidence motion against Parliamentary Party leader Ramchandra Paudel. The Deuba faction today was all set to bring the no-trust motion against Paudel in a bid to remove Paudel from PP leadership

and elect Deuba in his place.

However, the Congress has yet to take

a formal decision regarding who to field as the prime ministerial candidate from the party if attempts to form a consensus government fail and exercise to set up a majority government begins.

President Dr Ram Baran Yadav has given the parties till August 21 to form a consensus government, and parties’ failure to do so will force the President to call parliament to elect a prime minister on the basis of majority.

Party boss Cracks cut deeper through under pressure Maoist splinter folds

epal’s major political parties disagreed Monday on who should replace the prime minister who resigned a day earlier, pushing the country back into the yearslong political crisis that has left it without a constitution or a stable government.

It took 17 votes in parliament over seven months to get Jhalnath Khanal elected prime minister in February because of the fierce

infighting among the parties.

Khanal resigned Sunday after failing to make progress toward adopting a constitution or bringing reconciliation to this politically tumultuous South Asia nation.

The three major parties said Monday that they planned to hold talks on naming a new prime minister, but each insisted it should be the one to lead any new coalition government.

Top guns meeting underway

Nepal Army gets 109 military vehicles from India

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meeting of major three political parties is underway at the prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar on Saturday morning.

The meeting is dwelling on Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal’s resignation , sources confirmed.

The Prime Minister had announced to step down on August 13, if no progress was made in the peace process within the deadline.

Top leaders of UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are present at the meeting.

Emerging from the meeting, NC Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel said the top guns will also be holding meeting will the leaders of Madhes-based parties today.

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epal Army (NA) has brought in 109 military utility vehicles from the Sunauli border point of Rupandehi district. NA spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri confirmed the shipment.

He said 30 trucks of 7 tonne capacity, 20 trucks of 2.5 tonne capacity, 24 mine protected vehicles and 35 military jeeps were imported as part of an Indian assistance package to NA. The vehicles entered Nepal on Thursday and Friday nights amid tight security provided by the Indian Army. The vehicles were handed over to the Butwal-based 22 number brigade of the NA.

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he intra-party rift in the Maoist party takes a nasty turn in the district as both factions, one led by Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the other headed by Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya, blame each other for bypassing the party policy.

The antagonism between two factions has resurfaced regarding cultural shows. The Baidya faction is hell-bent to organise cultural programmes while the Dahal

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camp strongly opposes the move.

The party activists close to Baidya have decided to stage cultural shows in Dharan on Monday and in Inaruwa on Tuesday by the party’s sister organisation, Akhil Nepal Janasanskritik Mahasangh (ANJM).

Meanwhile, ANJM team successfully held cultural programmes in Biratnagar on Saturday amid protests from the Dahal supporters.

epali Congress President Sushil Koirala is under immense pressure to pick senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba as the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

Not only the Deuba camp but his own supporters are now piling pressure on Koirala to field Deuba-instead of Parliamentary Party (PP) leader Ram Chandra Poudel-- as the PM candidate. Over a dozen Central Working Committee members including those from the Koirala camp on Saturday evening decided to pile pressure on the president to take a win-win option at the earliest.

Hooligan launches brutal attack on journalist

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hooligan, whom police described as a history sheeter, and his accomplice launched a brutal attack on Sankhuwasabhabased journalist of The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post Friday night, leaving him seriously injured.

According to police, Bikas Rai of Khandbari and his accomplice Rupak Rai had attacked Budhathoki with sharp weapons at around 9 pm Friday.

Budhathoki has got bruises all over his body and his arm dislocated.

He is undergoing treatment at

Biratnagar-based Nobel Medical College. Doctors at Nobel Medical College described Budhathoki’s condition as critical.

According to police, the prime assaulter Bikas is a ‘professional criminal’ who had served jail terms several times in the past.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

Shammi Kapoor

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ne of the most celebrated and influential screen icons of Hindi cinema, Shammi Kapoor typified the indomitable spirit of the sixties. As an ardent lover on screen, as a man of action, and as a comedian, he paved the way for a unique expression of masculinity in cinema. He was modern, cosmopolitan and somehow always on the move.

His energy and charm remain unforgettable. The son of Prithviraj Kapoor and brother of Shashi and Raj Kapoor, he breathed his last at the Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai on Saturday, aged 79.

When any film star of this stature dies, their celluloid moments are inevitably recalled by the present in a desperate rush to keep the legend alive. Recalling memory is subjective and fans and admirers will remember the actor for many things. But Shammi Kapoor

will always remain significant for the way he brought about a fundamental change in the pulse of song picturisation. Kapoor’s ability to handle western instruments on screen and his remarkably funny and unselfconscious facial gestures, only added to the affective universe of the songs. It is this combination that made him the icon of the sixties as he flamboyantly breezed his way across prime locations in India and the world. Romance with Shammi Kapoor was a kinetic event that was orchestrated with the best possible music.

The mad sound of yahoo in Subodh Mukherjee’s Junglee(1961) in some ways embodied what was unique in the star’s screen biography: Kapoor was constantly on the move, using virtually all means of transportation. In Kashmir Ki Kali he was on a boat energetically singing “Yun to humne lakh haseen

dekhen hai, tumsa nahin dekha” while he swayed gently to “Deewana hua badal”, also in the same film. In Lekh Tandon’s Professor (1962), Kapoor danced his way on a train with actress Kalpana through lush valleys with snow capped mountains displayed all around.

In Shakti Samanta’s An Evening in Paris (1967) Kapoor opened the film with a bevy of women on both sides as he looked straight at the camera and sang “Aao tumko dikhlata hum Paris ki ek rangeen shyam, dekho dekho dekho, dekho, dekho an evening in Paris”. We are literally introduced to the French capital by night with the actor moving through its streets with his quintessential swaying walk. In the same film he hung from a helicopter to woo his leading lady, Sharmila Tagore.

Shammi Kapoor could devour space with his brisk, speedy and choreographed movements. He was physically agile and tall and could make the screen explode with his energy.

Kapoor entered the film industry towards the end of the black and white era and literally danced through its heady transition to colour. If he was not jumping around in some outdoor location, then Bombay cinema’s quintessential ‘60s nightclub just drew the actor into its fold. In this invented space designed to evoke

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the erotic charge of the decade, Shammi Kapoor played the band and the saxophone in Nazir Hussain’s Teesri Manzil (1966) and Dil Deke Dekho (1959); the piano and the accordion in Bhapie Sonie’s Brahmchari (1968); the guitar in Chinatown (1962).

Kapoor’s easy handling of these instruments along with his hyperenergetic dancing style made him the Elvis Presley of India. Even in his choice of shimmering jackets, Kapoor was inspired by Presley’s persona. Kapoor could twist, skip, shake and sway to music. Though heavy set by the end of the decade, he was light footed and literally sprang into action with music.

Kapoor’s style was at once playful

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s legacy remains World-renowned Pakistani musician Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 14th death anniversary was observed with a Quran Khawani in his native Faisalabad, reported the Daily Express. Various events — to be attended by personalities from different fields of art — were also scheduled to be held in Britain, as well as his hometown.

The soultouching singer was an icon whose music resonates in qawwali evenings and in any discussion about Pakistani music.

Even after so many years of his passing, his music continues to inspire audiences around the world.

Born in Faisalabad on October 13, 1948, he was Ustad Fateh Ali Khan’s fifth child. With qawwali

ingrained in the family — a 600year-old tradition — there was little surprise that Khan also mastered the skill. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a qawwali artist.

Mostly singing in Punjabi and Urdu, Khan also sang in Hindi, Braj Bhasha — a dialect of Hindi — and Persian. One of his best performances was “Haq Ali Ali” which infused folk style and traditional instruments.

According to nusrat.org, the versatile musician not only sang for Pakistani films but also contributed to Bollywood in the films Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya and Kachche Dhaage as well as the title song for the film

Dhadkan.

Reaching great heights of success, his artistic influence made its way to the western world. He reached out to western audiences through his work with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ in 1985. His work has also featured in the song “The Long Road” — a track in last year’s film Eat Pray Love.

Having been ill with kidney and liver failure, Khan passed away on August 16, 1997 in London at the age of 48.

Some of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s top hits “Afreen Afreen” “Sun Charkhe Di Mithi Mithi

Ghook” “Tere Bin Nahin Lagda Dil Mera Dholna” “Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai” “Mae Ni Mae Mere Geetan” “Haq Ali Ali”

and sensual. Mohammad Rafi sang virtually all of Shammi Kapoor’s songs adding to his lively performance.

The 1960s exploded all over the word through music, fashion and youth culture and Shammi Kapoor emerged as a star marked by this time. His work with director Nazir Hussain was critical to his stardom because it was this partnership that made him get rid of his mustache and also shed the serious image with which he had made his debut.

Hussain’s breezy, light approach to filmmaking and his love for music and locations was just what the actor needed. Together they made several major hits that finally established the Shammi Kapoor persona for generations of film goers.

Kapoor got to act with all the leading ladies of the decade – Asha Parekh, Sharmila Tagore, Saira Banu and Rajashri. He was wild, flamboyant, erotic and with a touch of madness.

Films do date and so do actors. But Shammi Kapoor can never go out of style for he was Hindi cinema’s first poster boy.

(The author is Associate Professor of Cinema Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics Jawaharlal Nehru University author of Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City)

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

SPECIAL NEWS FEATURE

UNITED IN GRIEF The Funerals of the three men who died will take place this Thursday in Summerfield Park

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he public is invited to go along and pay their respects at the event at 3pm, before a private burial at Handsworth Cemetery at which only family and friends are invited.

Nazar Ajaib said his cousin, Haroon Jahan, would be buried alongside brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir: “Because they died together, we thought it was fitting they should be buried together We’d welcome everyone along to the service in Summerfield Park, but then it is a private affair at the cemetery.”

AROUND 2,000 people packed into a peace rally in a Birmingham park to show the world that the city was beginning to put last week’s riots behind it.

The event in yesterday’s warm sunshine was organised by a coalition of faith groups under the banner “United Birmingham One City One Voice for Peace” and the city council.

Politicians, faith leaders, community groups and police all took to the stage to speak of how devastating the riots were, but how

the city was now moving forward.

The rally was held in Summerfield Park, Winson Green, close to where three friends died during the riots as they tried to protect shops from looters.

At the rally were the families of the three men: Haroon Jahan, aged 20, and brother Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, who died in the early hours of Wednesday in Dudley Road.

Haroon’s father, Tariq Jahan, took to the stage greeted by loud cheers and applause and addressed the crowds wearing a T-shirt with the names of the three victims on it.

He said he had been overwhelmed with letters, emails and phone calls from not just Britain, but all over the world.

“I haven’t had a chance to respond to all of them. I don’t know how to because I’m nobody special.”

He went on: “To see the community together like this gives me strength during my hurt.”

“To me it’s the month of Ramadan, as a Muslim I believe that this is a very special month.

“For us Muslims we believe the

gates of heaven are open and the gates of hell are shut this month, so that gives me the strength to believe that the three boys did not die in vain, they died for this community and I hope that this community will remember them.”

An estimated 300 Muslim and

decided not to hold a march, which could have led to further violence.

Instead, the father and other members of the community led an ethnically-mixed candlelight vigil for the three young men killed.

Khalili says the vigil was calm and that those who assembled reflected

the deaths were a tragic crime and that they should not be considered “sectarian or religious” incidents.

Sikh men gathered near the site of the killings, according to Guardian News. Some of the men were seeking revenge. As the crowd considered their options, Tariq Jahan, whose son was among those dead, appealed to the crowd not to avenge the crime.

Mustafa Khalili, a Guardian editor, said the deaths had “heightened” tensions, and people began calling for revenge. The father appealed for calm several times since.

The crowd of Muslims and Sikhs

in their grief.

Basharat Nazir, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the United Kingdom, said the father’s response was in “the true spirit of Islam.” He said the father’s calm demeanor let “common sense” prevail. He added Islam teaches in “the face of atrocity” and “excesses done against us, we should respond back in a thoughtful manner and should rely on the authorities to take the

necessary measures.”

Police said they have a suspect in custody and have begun an investigation of possible murder charges.

Nasser Khan, vice president of the Ahmadiyya Association in the United Kingdom, stressed that the deaths were a tragic crime and that they should not be considered “sectarian or religious” incidents.

“They were purely defending their communities and their country, which is what Islam teaches you.”

Khan said a handful of Muslim extremists might sometimes catch the media spotlight, but incidents like this prayer vigil should be publicly recognized.

Nazir said, “Responsible people within all the communities should stand up and hold hands and stand up against the extremists.” He said that those who bring violence to society should know that no community will tolerate people that create disorder in this world.

“It goes against all religious teachings.

And the Muslim community should be no different to any other”.

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Saarc international I Thursday 18 August 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

Crisis in major opposition due President receives ‘Sannasa’ of Kandy to Colombo Municipal Council

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ources close to Sri Lanka’s major opposition United National Party (UNP) say that a crucial meeting of the UNP working committee will be held on August 17. Party sources say that so

far all the efforts of the UNP seniors to resolve the crisis of the party have been unsuccessful. Internal sources of the UNP say that the rebel group led by party Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa

is not giving up the fight to topple the leader since UNP has great prospects of winning several crucial local government bodies like Colombo Municipal Council in the election scheduled for October.

Meanwhile, Premadasa said the majority of UNP Provincial Council members willing to accept Karu Jayasuriya as the party leader. The proreforms group of the opposition party urges the leader Ranil Wickremasinghe to step down as the party leader but remain as the opposition leader in the Sri Lankan government.

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ri Dalada Maligawa, Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela Bndara, along with the Basnayake Nilames of the four Hindu Temples (Dewales), officially presented the ‘Sannasa’ to President President Mahinda Rajapaksa. According to the traditional customs Custodian of the sacred Sri Dalada Maligawa,

Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela Bndara, along with the Basnayake Nilames of the four Hindu Temples (Dewales), officially presented the ‘Sannasa’, the traditional communication of successful conclusion of the Kandy Esala Perahera, to the Head of State, President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Kandy today.

Tense situations in Lanka: one dead, curfew imposed

normalcy returned to the Eastern town of UNP Provincial Councillors AsValachchenai, tensions erupted in some other towns in the Eastern and Northern Provinces of Sri Lanka.

Pottuvil Police fired tear gas to contain a volatile situation want Ranil to quit erupted following a demonstration in Pottuvil town in Ampara district today.

One person was shot dead during the melee and a curfew has been imposed until 6am Saturday due to the tense situation, police spokesman SP Prishantha Jayakody said.

A demonstration was held today in the town demanding the release of four persons arrested by police by the security forces in connection with an incident where two police officers were assaulted and a jeep was damaged.

The tense situation developed after this demonstration, reports from the town said.

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resolution by 40 of the 105 UNP Provincial Councillors calling on Ranil Wickremesinghe to relinquish the party leadership, while continuing as Opposition Leader was adopted at a meeting chaired by Sajith Premadasa in Colombo today.

A resolution by 40 of the 105 UNP Provincial Councillors calling on Ranil Wickremesinghe to relinquish the party leadership, while

continuing as Opposition Leader was adopted at a meeting chaired

by Sajith Premadasa in Colombo yesterday.

Informed sources told “The Island” that Premadasa in his address to the provincial legislators had said that they were respectfully asking Wickremesinghe to quit as head of the party, in favour of Karu Jayasuriya.

President meets Chinese President

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ri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is on a four-day Official visit to China met Chinese President Hu Jintao today (12) at a luncheon organized at the Shenzhen Intercontinental Hotel.

President Rajapaksa and the

delegation arrived in city of Shenzhen yesterday. He is scheduled to take part in the inauguration ceremony of the 26th World University Games known as Summer Universiade this evening as a special guest.

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RAMADAN SPECIAL Famous Iftari Buffet £15 19

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

Ramadan: Watch what you eat? digestive problems including heartburn and stomach upsets. This does not mean that one should avoid these

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amadhaan is the time when families and friends get together to break the fast; it is a time for traditional cuisine, invitations to banquets and Iftaar parties laden with sumptuous food and desserts. Most of us know that these foods, when eaten in excess, cause unwanted weight gain and may exacerbate health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Fried and calorierich foods remain undigested because fat is the last nutrient to be digested and cause a number of

foods at all costs. Instead, one should opt to eat dates and drink plenty of water, milk and fresh fruit juice and salads, consider fried foods and rich sweets as occasional indulgences.

Dr. Peter Toth, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, in his book Lipidology, has demonstrated that during Ramadhaan, the ‘bad’ blood cholesterol level in fasting Muslims lowers automatically. The normal recommended guideline for fat intake is 30 percent or less of the total energy

intake.

During Ramadhaan increased gastric acidity is often noticed, with symptoms such as a burning feeling in the stomach, heaviness in the stomach and a sour taste in the mouth. Whole wheat bread, vegetables, hummus, beans, and fruits are all excellent sources of dietary fiber and trigger muscular action in the digestive system, churning and mixing food, breaking food into small particles, binding bile acids, opening the area between the stomach and the duodenum-jejunum and moving the digested material in the small intestine. Thus, dietary fiber helps reduce gastric acidity and excess bile acids and prevents constipation.

Patients suffering from peptic ulcers are strongly advised to avoid spicy foods and consult a

doctor for appropriate medicine and diet. Patients suffering from diabetes, particularly severe type I (insulin dependent) or Type II (non-insulin dependent), must consult their doctor for the type and dosage of medicine, and diet and precautions to be taken during the month. Generally, diabetes mellitus, Type II, is manageable through proper diet during Ramadhaan.

Incredibly, many people report a weight gain during Ramadhaan, in spite of fasting throughout the month. This can only be attributed to overindulgence calorie-rich food and lack of physical activity during the month.

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {“O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.”} [Quran 2: 183]

‘Pakistan let China see US Helicopter’ a tit-for-tat between the countries’.

“The White House has responded to the bilateral chill by making security aid contingent on Pakistani co-operation with American efforts in the region against al-Qaeda and its ilk. This frustration is understandable.

Since 2001, the US has given Islamabad more than $20bn in aid, yet Pakistan’s security services have neither cut their links to jihadi groups such as Lashkare-Taiba and the Haqqani network in north Waziristan, nor ceased to meddle in Afghanistan.

Yet despite the frustrations, the US is condemned to work with Pakistan. The fragile, nuclear-armed state remains

opportunities, and they see that their money is taken from their communities by wealthier individuals who own businesses that take advantage of them, when they see that they have no hope for the future, then they have nothing to protect because they have nothing to lose.

Let’s take a closer look at rioting in recent decades, as well as the situation as it exists today.

The heavy policing operation blamed for the 1985 riots was also said to be the cause of serious disorder in the Brixton inner city area of London in 1981.

The Broadwater Farm riots in 1985 were triggered by the death of Cynthia Jarrett, who suffered a stroke after police officers searched her home. Within twenty-four hours, riot police were clashing with local youths and the area was up in flames.

Historian David Starkey sparked outrage by claiming that Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ speech had been right and blaming ‘black culture’ for the riots. David Starkey

crucial to a number of US strategic interests, ranging from ensuring some form of stability in Afghanistan after foreign troops leave in 2014, to preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

In this context, the US must do what it can to bolster the parts of the Pakistani state – its civilian leadership – with which it has the best chance of doing business. That means acknowledging Pakistan’s concerns about Indian activities in Afghanistan; and pushing for a resolution to the festering conflict in Kashmir that keeps India and Pakistan at each other’s throats, and the securocrats in control in Islamabad. In

<< Continued from page 1 the meantime, the US will have to get used to a proud Pakistan using China to tweak its nose.”

Last May, ABC news reported that The U.S. had already asked the Pakistanis to return the helicopter wreckage, but one Pakistani official told ABC News that the Chinese were also “very interested” in seeing the remains. Another official said, “We might let them [the Chinese] take a look.”

A U.S. official said he did not know if the Pakistanis had offered a peek to the Chinese, but said he would be “shocked” if the Chinese hadn’t already been given access to the damaged aircraft.

The chopper, which aviation experts believe to be a highly classified modified version of a Blackhawk helicopter, clipped a wall during the operation that took down the al Qaeda leader, the White House said. The U.S. Navy SEALs that rode in on the bird attempted to destroy it after abandoning it on the ground, but a significant portion of the tail section survived the explosion. In the days after the raid, the tail section and other pieces of debris -- including a mysterious cloth-like covering that the local children found entertaining to play with -- were photographed being hauled away from the crash site by tractor.

In another report published Monday

Riots are result of poverty

has provoked a storm of criticism after claiming during a televised discussion about the riots that “the problem is that the whites have become black”.

George Osborne says the riots are about “deep-seated” cultural changes and not just about money. Ed Miliband has blamed the riots that swept English cities on a “me first” culture - and accepted Labour must share the blame for creating it. The Labour leader said his party had failed to tackle inequality and not paid enough attention to morality. He linked the riots to a wider collapse in social responsibility exemplified by the banking crisis and MPs expenses scandal.

David Cameron, Ed Miliband and the entire British political class came together to denounce the rioters.

They were of course right to say that the actions of these looters, arsonists and muggers were abhorrent and criminal, and that the police should be given more support.

<< Continued from page 4

The deeper issues But there was also something very phony and hypocritical about all the shock and outrage expressed in parliament. MPs spoke about the week’s dreadful events as if they were nothing to do with them.

The criminality in our streets cannot be dissociated from the moral disintegration in the highest ranks of modern British society. The last two decades have seen a terrifying decline in standards among the British governing elite. It has become acceptable for our politicians to lie and to cheat. An almost universal culture of selfishness and greed has grown up.

It is not just the feral youth of Tottenham who have forgotten they have duties as well as rights. So have the feral rich of Chelsea and Kensington.

People in the upscale neighbourhoods of London are also deracinated and cut off from the rest of Britain. It’s not just the

young, unemployed men and women who have caused such terrible damage over the last few days. The rich have luxuries that the poor can’t afford. They can use their money to distance themselves from the harsh realities of the lives of the poor.

They can find ways to avoid paying taxes, and it seems as if they avoid it as much as they can. It seems that few feel the sense of obligation to society that only a few decades ago came naturally to the wealthy and better off.

It’s hard to understand a climate in which a man who has a knighthood and is widely acclaimed would want to cause such a loss to the country where he got his start, and which has bestowed such an honour on him. You would think such a move would be a blow to him and his reputation, which he wouldn’t even consider. The same is true of the brilliant retailer Sir Philip Green. Sir Philip’s businesses could never survive but for Britain’s famous social and political

, The New York Times said China had “probably” examined the wreckage but cited American officials who said they “did not have definitive proof that the Chinese were allowed to visit Abbottabad.”

A Pakistani military spokesperson told ABC News the assertion the Chinese were granted access to the wreckage was not true and called such reports “kite flying” by the media. Representatives for the White House and CIA declined to comment for this report. The United States (US) has made it clear it will not lift the hold on its USD 800 million military aid to Pakistan, reiterating that Islamabad needs to takes steps in the war against terrorism.

stability, our transport system to shift his goods and our schools to educate his workers.

Our politicians – standing sanctimoniously on their hind legs in the Commons yesterday – are just as bad.

They have shown themselves prepared to ignore common decency and, in some cases, to break the law.

These double standards from Downing Street are symptomatic of widespread double standards at the very top of our society. It should be stressed that most people continue to believe in honesty, decency, hard work, and putting back into society at least as much as they take out.

Something has gone horribly wrong in Britain. If we are ever to confront the problems which have been exposed in the past week, it is essential to bear in mind that they do not only exist in innercity housing estates.

22

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

The Qur’an, Secularism and Crime Who decides what is right and what is wrong? The society? Religion?

The Government? I myself?

And now we see a shift, in contemporary society, from principles of right and wrong to choices, decisions and risks, and therefore to subjective personal decisions, with little regard for wider consequences. No longer is “man the measure of all things” - I am the measure of all things. We need to carefully examine this shift because it constitutes one of the main underlying causes of crime.

One of the obvious solutions to crime would therefore be the concerted effort to reverse this shift.

SECULARISM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Underpinning the prevailing culture in the world today is the philosophy of secularism, aimed, among other things, at the “loosing of the world from religious and quasi-religious understandings of itself.”

Secularism is based on a tentative faith in the evolution of conscious, willing, rational man and of the other living creatures and of the rest of the universe out of Godless, causeless, completely non-rational, inert matter, on the basis of accident and chance. In this false faith, Man is thus only an ephemeral speck of mechanical activity in a chance-order in a universe that is a mere accident.

Let us examine the unmistakable implications of this false faith.

• there is no God ; • there is no spiritual dimension to the human personality; • there is no purpose to human life; • this life is the be-all and end-all of human life, i.e. death is the total annihilation of life; • there are no objective moral values - values are relative and changing as society or man decides.

WHAT DOES RELIGION TEACH? As opposed to these implications, at a seminar held in Cambridge, UK in 1990, representatives of Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam spelt out the following four common beliefs, in spite of doctrinal differences: • Belief in a Transcendent Reality, God, who is worthy of worship.

• Belief in the existence of a spiritual dimension in every human being.

• Belief in the innate love for eternal values, such as Truth, Justice, Righteousness, Love, compassion and care towards all creation,

which the spiritual self of each individual is innately endowed with by God. • Belief in need for Transcendental Guidance.”

[Muslim Education Quarterly Cambridge, The Islamic Academy,

Shiekh Imran Hossein

Tribune Comment Vol. 15, No. 4, 1998] WHAT AM I? The prevailing culture powerfully re-inforces the above-mentioned implications of secularism through popular music, literature, movies, TV and through the glamourised lifestyle that it projects. However where does this leave me? As Bertrand Russell put it, in “Free Man’s Worship” (in his book, Mysticism and Logic): “ Man is the product of the causes which had no pre-vision of the end they were achieving, that his origin, his growth, his hopes and his fears, his loves and his beliefs are but the outcome of accidental collection of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feelings can preserve an individual life beyond the grave, that all the labours of ages, all the devotions, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system and the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried under a debris of ruins . . .”

So here I am --- alive, but with no purpose to life --- alive, but doomed to total extinction at death (engendering in me hopelessness and despair) --- alive, but with no accountability after death --alive, but with me being the final arbiter of what is “good” and “bad” for me, regardless of what the rest of mankind thinks --- alive in a hostile world, one that doesn’t care what happens to me, one that forces me to make the best of this bad bargain by utilizing my cunningness to acquire maximum physical happiness for myself --alive, but with values being what I decide.

In the secularism-based prevailing culture, Man thus believes that life has no purpose, that there is no

accountability after death, so that if he gets away with anything here in this world he has gotten away. Yet getting away doesn’t really matter, for he believes he is heading for extinction --- if not today, then tomorrow. And if he doesn’t get away with doing that which gives him any sense of thrill or pleasure, but which society holds to be an offence - it still doesn’t matter, as pitiless and dark extinction is still staring him in the face. So what, if it comes sooner rather than later?

I AM THE FRUIT When I have been brainwashed by the prevailing culture into believing that I and I alone, have the right to choose what is “right” for me and I have decided that whatever gives me pleasure is “right”, why then would society object when I have chosen a life of crime and violence?

I am only the fruit of the trees, the seeds of which the prevailing culture carefully planted in the well-prepared soil and the plants of which, it painstakingly nurtured and pruned. And tragically, while society continues to decry the type of fruit like me, it still continues preparing the same soil and planting the self-same seeds and nurturing the identical plants, through its projected lifestyle and through the entertainment media.

SUGGESTED SOLUTION If society is really serious about addressing the problem of crime, it has to stop focusing on dealing with only the symptoms, while ignoring their underlying causes.

It really needs to address how to stop producing fruits like the “me” just mentioned. The false beliefs created by the secularism-based prevailing culture are certainly among the fundamental causes of crime. The remedy is obvious - helping man to eradicate these false beliefs and to espouse the Truth. While this is easier said than done, let us not be guilty of only twiddling our thumbs and pontificating, while the situation gets worse and worse.

THE HOLY QUR’AN --- GOD’S FINAL REVELATION The One True God, the AllKnowing, the All-Loving, the AllWise sent guidance to every people in this world through the agency of selected human beings - the Prophets (peace be upon them all) . To some of them He revealed His Words. The Holy Qur’an is God’s Final Revelation and it is the only one about which He has given the assurance that He will guard and protect (and which He has guarded

and protected in two ways, each of which would have been sufficient by itself - in writing, and by endowing it with the miraculous quality of easy memorisability so that it has been memorized completely by countless thousands, generation after generation).

The correct beliefs, that we need to espouse, which the Qur’an clearly informs us of, include: 1. The universe was created by the Absolute, Infinite, One True God for a serious purpose and it certainly did not originate by chance.

2. Life here in this world, even though fleeting, is but only a small part of Man’s lifespan. It is, however, a preparation for the abiding phase of life in the Hereafter.

3. Death, far from being the total annihilation of life, is only a gateway to the next level of existence, through which we must all pass.

4. Life in this world, far from being purposeless, is the opportunity for us to strive to fulfil the purpose for which we were created, i.e. the manifestation, in every sphere of our lives, of the relationship between the created being and the Creator, between the servant and the Master. Thus it is God’s Guidance that would take precedence and not our own individual whims and fancies and inclinations.

5. The Ever-Loving Creator endowed man with a nature ( in Arabic, Fitrah) and guided him to a way of life that is in harmony with his Divinely-endowed nature.

Thus when man follows God’s Guidance he is in harmony with his own nature and when he disobeys that Guidance he is in conflict with his own nature.

6. A human being is comprised of five dimensions - the physical, the rational or intellectual, the aesthetical, the moral and the spiritual. God’s Guidance constitutes that way of life which leads to the balanced and harmonious development of all

five dimensions - with none being neglected.

7. The One True God is the Possessor of all the dimensions of Highest Excellence to an Infinite degree. And it is His Attributes that constitute the Fountainhead of all Values. Thus Values are objective and not subjective and changing, and certainly not decided on by ME. 8. There is the Day of Judgment, when all human beings will be resurrected and made to stand before the All-Loving Creator to give an account of their lives here in this world. So that even if human beings were to succeed in evading detection by man here in this world, they will still have to account for their actions in the Court of the Almighty, in which Court even the things which were hidden in the world would not remain hidden.

9. Each human being has been allotted a period of time here in this world, the length of which is not known to us. When that allotted period ends, the human being is transferred to the next level of existence, i.e., Death occurs.

Because we live in a world of causality, there is a cause of death-sickness, accident, drowning, fire, etc. - but the underlying reality is that the allotted period had ended.

CONCERTED ACTION --- THE CRYING NEED A hungry person cannot sate his hunger by only extolling the virtues of the food before him - a sick person cannot get healing from only describing the properties of the prescribed medicine. Similarly a society beset by problems, including crime, cannot see any improvement from only knowing suggested solutions. A concerted, conscientious, co-operative effort is needed on the part of parents, teachers, religious leaders, the media and the Government.

Procrastination, lethargy and inertia have to be left in the past.

NOW is the time for effort and striving, putting our trust in the One True God.

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SOUTH ASIA TRIBUNE

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

Independence sans Liberation Dr Tahir Saeed

Tribune Comment

1

4th and 15th of August, are days of jubilation and celebration for many of the inhabitants of the subcontinent as these are the historic days when Jewel of the Crown was divided and two independent countries surfaced on the world map; Pakistan and India. Religion was ostensibly the main motivating factor as we were told, however, other vital multifactors such as political, economic and social, remained the dominant forces in this ‘great’ division.

However, common people knew very little about these other factors as the elite class consider this as only their prerogative to have access to these information. Blood shed, killings, rape, mutilation and other inhuman acts were unleashed on the opposite groups showing no mercy whatsoever.

Sixty four years have passed since however, the animosity and rivalry between the two countries have never subsided. The leaders of these countries would go to any extent for political/military scoring against each other. Three major

wars, not to mention Siachin and Kargil, were fought between the two countries since 1947 incurring colossal loss on each other both materially and physically. And nothing substantial is or was achieved of them, except for the birth of another country, in the name of Bangladesh. Although, both countries have claimed victories on every front, with literally no sense of realisation of squandering the exchequer that could have been materialized towards the improvement of human life. A very unfortunate scenario which is tantamount to committing a crime for which our generation is equally responsible for staying silent spectators. We all should come forward and raise our voice against investment in developing mass murder weapons and forcing our rulers in redirecting the resources to human development.

It is high time to set our priorities right as this will be to the benefit of the entire generation of not only for this part of the world but for the entire world. This will ultimately pave way for bringing peace not only to the region but also ultimately to the world. As we all know that both countries are infested with serious and complex problems. Poverty in both countries is widespread and at extreme. The gap between have and have-nots is multiplied manifold. And poverty if not managed becomes major source

of problems as it is considered to be the mother of all crimes. I wish we could have paid heed to these words of Mahatma Gandhi “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread” and if these people are provided with food they would have more time in developing their spiritual being and would help in looking at things from a different perspective. It also reminds me of the Maslow

could not find anywhere reliable figures to present here for Pakistan but I am sure the picture would be much gloomier if not equal to this figure. These figures are very alarming especially if the hypothesis of relating poverty to crimes is taken into perspective.

Although, one can say that poverty is not the only explanation of all the crimes especially keeping in mind the white collar crimes which is so rampant and prevalent in

hierarchical theory, that claims that unless we as humans meet our basic needs we could not move up the ladder to acquire higher needs which ultimately end up in self-actualization. Although there are some exceptions to Maslow’s theory, but it is still very relevant to the psyche of humankind in general.

According to a World Bank survey (2005) 42% of the Indian population lives below the International poverty lines. I

the modern society. And when the rulers themselves indulge in high profile white collar crimes and corruption, as is witnessed in the recent past across the border, then this not only becomes a major reinforcing agent for those who are unable to make a decent living but also the rulers lose a moral authority to lead their masses by presenting to be good role models.

Poverty makes one commit to things that one would despise in ordinary normal life. Poverty can

be such a powerful factor that feeds into crime.

Besides poverty can have other damaging consequences to various sections of life in terms of ‘ripple effect’. This effect especially has huge repercussions on provision of education, which is considered to be the major determinant of modifying attitude and perspectives of people towards life. However, education is, somehow, a luxury for parents who struggle to provide even the basic needs to their family. Hence they would prefer their children to work and earn money at a very young age rather than becoming another source of liability.

Hence, I take this point once again that it is pertinent for both the countries to resolve their outstanding conflicts amicably and learn from the experiences of Europe where despite their hostility and rivalry, they have learned the art to co-exist and have mutual respect for each other. No nuclear power can protect us from the ultimate disaster in face of human uprising as is witnessed in the case of erstwhile USSR. So if we do not change our priorities and start investing in human resources by working towards eliminating poverty and providing education to our people. We still have long way to go to liberate our people in true sense. This will demand a very focused attitude from our leaders towards eliminating poverty, and providing access to quality of free education without discrimination.

‘I am proud South Asians were bulwarks of defence in London’ Kabir Bedi

Tribune Comment London was burning the night I arrived on Aug 8. Police sirens blared through the darkness, racing towards rioters ransacking shops and torching buildings in Croydon, Clapham and Peckham.

The sheer number of vandals overwhelmed the police, brazenly pushing them back with stones, chairs and even firecrackers. BBC TV was a montage of red, yellow and orange flames that burned away London’s faith in its safety.

Those vivid images brought back wrenching memories of traumatic

scenes I’d seen. Mumbai’s historic Taj Hotel engulfed in smoke and fire on Nov 26, 2008. The carnage of the London Underground bombings on July 7, 2005, when a double-decker bus was also destroyed in Tavistock Square, near the West End theatre where I was performing in “The Far Pavilions”.

Then again, I was in Madrid in March 2004, for the Spanish DVD release of my “Sandokan” series, when hundreds were killed with train bombings barely a mile from my hotel. But those were savage acts of terrorism; London this night seemed more like an uprising. Dark thoughts crossed my mind. Were the uprisings of the Arab Spring giving way to an English Summer? Something was seriously amiss. What the hell had happened?

Mark Duggan, a black man with links to gangsters, had been followed and shot by the police in suspicious circumstances.

A peaceful vigil by his family erupted into violence that led to a chain reaction of rioting, looting and vandalism that spread like wildfire across London, and then to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds, cities with huge immigrant populations from South Asia. I wondered whether

forward if you are willing to lose your sons. End this now. Please.”

In this crisis, these immigrants showed they were worthy citizens of their adopted country.

Sikhs in Southall stood guard even at mosques as Muslims prayed during Ramzan. In all the burning cities, they organised groups to

“this is what happens when people don’t have anything… these immigrants were going to join the rioters in the free-forall plunder of goods and shops that was shocking the world.

Amazingly, despite the obvious temptations, they did not. In fact, they became bulwarks in the defence of order.

Tariq Jahan, a Pakistani Muslim who had lost his son, appealed to rioters to end the madness. “Step

protect their neighbourhoods.

On television they spoke out loudly against the chaos that had descended on their country As Prime Minister David Cameron raced back from his holiday abroad and deployed 16,000 policemen on London streets, order returned in some measure. And the angry questioning began. What caused such a violent conflagration?

Race, said The Independent, “simmering resentments in the black community at being treated like criminals by the police”. But then, not all the vandals were black. Deprivation, said The Guardian, “this is what happens when people don’t have anything… have their noses constantly rubbed in stuff they can’t afford”.

Then again, many with good jobs and professions were among the looters. What became clear was that many had joined the rampage seeing an opportunity to rob without the fear of being caught among the thousands that had run amok. Whatever the causes, it made me proud that very few of the vandals had originated from the Indian subcontinent.

(Kabir Bedi is an internationally renowned Indian actor and columnist. His career has spanned Bollywood, Hollywood, England and Europe. He lives in Mumbai, India.

24

Sports

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 18 August 2011

CRICKET

Things could get worse for India: Chappell

F

ormer Australian skipper Ian Chappell led the chorus of international criticism against the Indian cricket team, saying its performance in the ongoing Test series against England has been “abysmal” and things could get “worse before they get better”.

India is down 0-3 in the four-match series which has cost it the top spot in the ICC Test rankings with the rampaging Englishmen overtaking the visitors.

“This disastrous tour has been a while in the making. The selectors’ failure to address issues like an ageing batting line-up, a declining offspinner, and substandard fielding in the five-day

game, has finally come home to roost,” Chappell said.

“The shrewdness of M.S. Dhoni’s captaincy, the potency of Virender Sehwag’s strokeplay, and the bowling of Zaheer Khan have all done a better job than spackle in covering up the Indian cracks.

But like firemen on their sliding pole, the descent for India will be much quicker than their steady climb up the rankings was,” he added.

Chappell blamed the selectors for what seems to be lack of bench strength in Indian cricket.

“In all likelihood, India will be ranked No. 3 by the time they tour Australia. Following three heavy losses to England in the last Ashes series,

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Australia, it was assumed, would be easy pickings for India. I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said in his column.

“With all Australia’s problems — and there are many, with two reviews into poor performance running concurrently — they do have fast-bowling potential. If they get the bulk of their young fast bowlers fit for selection, Australia should field a decent pace attack. If they do, the Indian selectors, who have been negligent in their duty, could face their worst nightmare,” Chappell added.

England’s cricketer-turned-commentator Tony Greig took a dig at the BCCI for the team’s poor show.

Test cricket returns to Sharjah Hussey expects Sri Lanka fightback

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“Who will the BCCI blame for this fiasco? Who do Indian cricket supporters blame?

“Is this Eng series victory as good as when we beat them 3-1 back in 76-77 in India. Now that was sweet!!!” Greig tweeted.

Australian spin legend Shane Warne said the Indians have lacked the stomach to fight.

“Feel for India — but also feel they have let themselves down — have not played with any desire or fight Hopefully they learn from this series,” tweeted Warne.

“England deserve to be number 1 team in the world — they have a hunger, passion and play with an intensity — nice to watch them play!”

S

harjah will host its first Test in nine years this November, after Pakistan and Sri Lanka reached an agreement to play the last of their three Tests in the UAE at the venue.

The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium has hosted more ODIs than any other ground but has not had any international cricket between top teams since 2003.

ichael Hussey, the Australia batsman, expects Sri Lanka to bounce back strongly from their opening ODI loss to the visitors. Sri Lanka had won the two Twenty20 games but were at the wrong end of a seven-wicket defeat at Pallekele on August 10. ‘’It was very important to get off to a good start, particularly after losing both Twenty20s.’’ ‘’I think the Sri Lankan confidence was sky high, so it was important for us to start the series well. We’ve got to make sure that we are right on our game again because I’m sure the Sri Lankans will be coming back at us very hard.’’

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