Nepal: Prachanda says that the Maoist party has not given up on revolt

KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Saturday that his party would get hold of the state power with a popular mandate via elections after the promulgation of new constitution. If conspiracies are hatched against the constitution-drafting process, the state power will be captured through revolt, he warned.

Speaking at a function organised to welcome leaders and cadres of three fringe communist parties who defected to the Maoist party, the Maoist chairman stressed on the need for conclusion of the ongoing processes for peace building and constitution-drafting as per the people's aspirations. The programme was organised at the Maoist headquarters in Peris Danda.

Referring to the dissident faction led by Mohan Baidya within the Maoist party, Dahal said that digression from he path of peace and constitution is but a foolish move. He said he is trying to resolve the differences in the party by holding talks between and betwixt the senior leaders.

"Rest assured, party won't split. I am holding discussions with Vice Chairmen Mohan Baidya, Baburam Bhattrai, Narayan Kaji Shrestha and General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa to settle the disputes through discussions by bringing the ongoing debates in one place," he stated.

According to him, the Maoist party has responsibilities to complete the constitution-drafting process as the Constituent Assembly was an upshot of the decade-long "people's war" waged by the party.

He flayed the dissident leaders for their bid to weaken his position in the party. "It is nothing but just stupidity to say that revolution can be launched by weakening the party leadership."

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Maoists+to+grab+state+power+via+votes+or+by+revolt%3A+Dahal&NewsID=311450




Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Saturday said that his party has not given up the strategy of 'people's revolt' and that the party is prepared to capture power either through election or through a revolt.

Speaking at a programme organised at the party headquarters, Peris Danda, to announce the merger of three fringes parties with UCPN (M) Saturday, Dahal warned that the party would be forced to launch revolt if attempts are made to derail the peace process and the constitution-drafting.

He also claimed that the party would be in power through election to be conducted after the successful conclusion of the peace process and the constitution-writing.

However, the Maoist chairman emphasised that the parties need to show serious commitment to peace and constitution at the moment.

Meanwhile, Dahal claimed that national and international power centres were trying to divide his party to create turmoil in the country and that the party was determined to foil such attempts.

Saying that he is in talks with hardliner vice chairman Mohan Baidya and general secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa, Dahal said the internal dispute would be resolved soon.

On the occasion, Dahal announced the merger of the factions of CPN (Maoist), Revolutionary Community Party and United People's Front and welcomed the leaders of these parties.
http://www.nepalnews.com/home/index.php/news/1/15024-dahal-says-his-party-has-not-given-up-revolt-strategy.html

You can jail a Revolutionary, but you can’t jail the Revolution.

Views against Anna Hazare led Anti-Corruption Movement for Strong Lokpal – 

- Read more @ http://www.hitxp.com/articles/politics/anna-hazare-blackmailing-government-parliament-corruption-lokpal/ © hitxp.com

You can jail a Revolutionary, but you can't jail the Revolution.

This is a continuation of the arguments and claims that are being made against the movement led by Sri Anna Hazare and other members of the India Against Corruption movement for the establishment of a strong Lokpal institution in the country.

Claim: In India Parliament is the Supreme Authority

Totally wrong. India is NOT UK. In India Constitution is Supreme and is above Parliament. In India, a new law is first introduced in the parliament in the form of a Bill, and then Parliament will debate, discuss and then vote on the Bill, and if Parliament approves the Bill then the Bill is sent to the President of India to be enacted as a law. Once the President of India gives his/her assent to the Bill, only then it becomes a law.

In UK the Supreme Court does not have the power to strike down a law passed by the Parliament. However, Courts in India have the authority to strike down laws passed by the parliament if the judiciary feels that the law goes against the basic principles of the Constitution of India.

So Parliament is NOT Supreme in India. It is the Constitution of India which is Supreme and judiciary is established to ensure that both executive and legislative function without violating the principles of the Constitution. As one of the country's Top jurist Fali Nariman has said

"WE THE PEOPLE" comes before "PARLIAMENT" in the Constitution of India

Claim: Referendum is not allowed in the Constitution of India

There were some suggestions made that if the government feels that only a handful of people are supporting the movement against corruption and the introduction of Jan Lokpal Bill in the Parliament, then let the government hold a public referendum across the country and see what the people actually want. The government can hold a public referendum and ask the voters if they want Jan Lokpal Bill from Anna's team to be presented in the Parliament or do they want government's version of the Lokpal Bill.

Some experts(?) claim that referendum is not allowed in the Constitution of India?

Really? What about the referendum held in Goa on Jan 16, 1967 where the people of Goa voted about whether they wanted Goa to be an independent union territory or wanted Goa to merge with the state of Maharashtra. Was this referendum Unconstitutional then?

If not, why cannot there be a public referendum today about the Lokpal Bill? It is perfectly legal under the constitution of India. Public referendums are actually an integral part of any real democracy. After all, governments should do only what the people of the country want it to do. This is democracy, not some royal family rule.

Claim: UPA Government has collectively decided to keep Prime Minister out of Lokpal's jurisdiction

At an All India Conference of of Lokayuktas in 2004 at Dehradun, the current prime minister Manmohan Singh had on record stated that he wants the Prime Minister, MPs, Ministers to come within the purview of Lokpal institution. So it is either Mr. Manmohan Singh has changed his stance since OR the decision to keep Prime Minister out of Lokpal's purview is NOT a collective cabinet decision.

Also, please note that the current government's draft on Lokpal Bill keeps the MPs and Ministers out of Lokpal's purview. So if the government's version becomes law, then Lokpal will not be able to prosecute members of the parliament and ministers. Remember the Cash For Votes scam? - the scandal that took place under the present government's rule where MPs were allegedly bribed to vote in favor of the government.

Message to the government - Bring Lokpal if you want our votes

Claim: The anti-corruption movement is supported by the elements like RSS

Are members of RSS not the citizens of India? Will the government decide who can and who cannot support a movement? Is Corruption not affecting the lives of the members of RSS? Are they immune to corruption in this society?

Every Indian has the right to support the anti-corruption movement. Here is a classic quote by Chetan Bhagat on this Whether a Sadhvi supports Anna or an item girl supports him I don't care

Claim: The movement against corruption is ruining the image of India internationally

From when did a movement for a just cause start ruining the image of a society or a country? People who claim this should watch foreign news channels once, and read foreign newspapers.

As if, the multiple multi crore scams being unearthed every month in the country are making the Indian image shine at the international forums.

Claim: The movement against corruption is a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the government and economy in India

This allegation was done by none other than the Congress party itself! The Party spokesperson Rashid Alvi said this said on behalf of his party that, It needs to be considered whether there is any power which is supporting this movement which wants to destabilise not only the government but the country Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the parliament that, There are many forces that would not like to see India realize its true place in the comity of nations. We must not play into their hand.

So Mr. Prime Minister are we going to realize our true place in the comity of nations by NOT raising our voice against corruption in the country? India is already one of the most corrupt nations on this planet. According to Transparency International, India currently stands at position 87 in terms of nations from least corrupt to most corrupt. China at position 78 is less corrupt than India!

While the rampant Corruption in India itself is more than enough to destabilize our economy and growth, do we really need a foreign hand to destabilize it? How on earth can movement against corruption destabilize an economy? Did foreign government agents come and motivate all those millions of people to come out on the streets across the country? Are they the paid and hired crowd of some political party?

Long back the same Congress Party had also accused the JP movement of playing into foreign hands. When Sri Jayaprakash Narayan started a movement against Congress government led by Indira Gandhi, Congress had accused JP of being a CIA agent! So history repeats again.

We have also seen how Congress earlier tried to malign Anna himself as Corrupt. The Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari had earlier said that  Anna himself is involved in several cases of corruption. and that the Team Anna consists of  armchair fascists, overground Maoists, closet anarchists … lurking behind forces of right reaction and funded by invisible donors whose links may go back a long way abroad

Now that the entire country is behind Anna Hazare and hence is Team Anna, will the Congress dare to say that the people of this country are fascists, Maoists and anarchists?

What I am really worried about is – these people who don't even have the basic commonsense what to talk about and how to act about, how really are they running this country? In the morning they arrest Anna without any reason, and then send him to 7 days judicial custody, and in the evening they want to backtrack and release him. First they arrest him denying permission to fast, and say it is illegal to go against their orders, and then they break their own orders and give in and give permission to fast. What is all this? Is this how they are running the government too?

Look at the way the party and government spokespersons are handling the PR. Nobody in the government or Congress have said anything that reflects the sentiments of the common man. Everything they have said and done is against the public mood. If they cannot understand the pulse of the people, if they are not smart enough to realize that the people of India are wise enough not to fall to such tactics of making childish allegations and claims – I just pray and hope that this is not how they are dealing with International communications and governance in general.

Or probably a couple of years from now another wikileaks will reveal that too  

Read more @ http://www.hitxp.com/articles/politics/claims-anna-hazare-led-anti-corruption-movement-strong-lokpal/

 

Thanks & Regards,


Sudhir Srinivasan
B.Arch, MSc.CPM, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM

Corruption in India pains me: Dalai Lama

Corruption in India pains me: Dalai Lama

3 December 2011

Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 3 DEC: Describing himself as a "messenger of India", the Dalai Lama today said it caused him "great pain" to witness corruption in the country and expressed hope that graft cases would be dealt with deftly.
"I see myself as a messenger of India. I am her son because when I was in need it was she who helped me, so when I read frequent reports about corruption, it pains me," said the Dalai Lama, addressing students at Delhi Public School here.
Yesterday, the Tibetan spiritual leader had said he "fully" supported anti-graft activist Anna Hazare's movement but declined to go into the merits of his methods.
"Although I am a Tibetan, I see myself as an Indian physically, emotionally and sentimentally. I owe the country a great deal. I am healthy today because of the dal, chawal (rice) and chapati I've fed on here," he said in jest.
The leader said he had two "main commitments" in life ~ to promote happiness and encourage ahimsa (non-violence), both of which he claimed were taught by India.
Praising the educational system in the country, the Dalai Lama called for the inclusion of spiritual teachings which are an "integral part" of the Indian culture. "The education system in India is very good without doubt, but it would be more holistic if spiritual teachings, which are an intricate part of the Indian culture and not affiliated to any religion, are included," he said.
He also urged the students to contribute more to the society and help bridge the chasm between the rich and the poor.
"Education is the key to development of all kinds, including bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. Students are the tools for development and they should do it not by taking arms but through peace and compassion," he said.
When a student asked him if there was any probability of a woman succeeding him, he responded in the affirmative.
"There is no hurdle to a woman succeeding me. In fact, I think a woman would make a better Dalai Lama as there are certain situations only they can handle, but a decision is yet to be finalised," he said.

SEZ rules tweaked to allow real estate stakes for foreigners

SEZ rules tweaked to allow real estate stakes for foreigners

The government recently changed Special Economic Zone rules to allow foreigners to buy stakes in these zones. They look suspiciously like real estate deals. Reuters

Dec 2, 2011

It was quietly done, without any publicity. A group of senior bureaucrats, presumably at the behest of their political masters, recently chose to reinterpret rules governing the sale of assets in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in a manner which will greatly benefit foreign investors by enabling them to acquire real estate.

While the recent decision to allow FDI in retail will allow foreign parties to own urban real estate as part of the business, the SEZ decision will enable further transfers of developed land to foreign parties — in violation of the laws of the land in letter and spirit. In the process, it will also bail out Indian real estate firms like DLF which are heavily in debt.

This reinterpretation of rules relating to the acquisition of land and property in SEZs by foreign firms is being perceived as a major policy turnaround that has taken place through the backdoor. It is tantamount to a significant policy change that has been done through executive fiat without the approval of either the Union Cabinet or an Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM), leave alone the Parliament of India.

http://www.firstpost.com/blogs/sez-rules-tweaked-to-allow-real-estate-stakes-for-foreigners-146248.html

The brew with a socialist flavour

The brew with a socialist flavour
Bageshree S.



Bhaswati Bhattacharya is in the country on a coffee trail

A lot does indeed happen and has happened over coffee. While an entire colonial history hangs by the brew, it has also inspired great literature and some of the most heated debates on culture and politics.

Bhaswati Bhattacharya, a senior researcher at Georg August University of Gottengen, Germany, was a little perplexed as she studied the history of cash crops in India to find that coffee consumption here had escaped serious scholarly attention.

She decided to take up a project focussing on public consumption of coffee in India in the 20th Century, with the phenomenon of the Indian Coffee House forming an important component of it.

Co-op movement
Her project looks at how the coffee houses started in several cities around India as a workers' cooperative, inspired by the legendary Communist leader A.K. Gopalan in 1958, and shaped public consumption of coffee.

It also looks at how the humble Coffee House cuppa that comes at Rs. 8 in Kolkata and at Rs. 12 in Bangalore is faring in times dominated by cappuccino and latte designed for people with deep pockets.

Not much info
Documentation nearly absent, there are several areas of darkness in the history of coffee houses, says Ms. Bhattacharya. It is unclear why the colonial government started coffee houses through the Coffee Board in the late 1930s and the historical and economic forces that led to them being disbanded in 1958.

Once they became cooperatives, the Indian Coffee House outlets came to have different boards in different States, which makes documentation post-1958 very scattered. So, Ms. Bhattacharya is probing these questions through memoires, newspaper archives and oral histories as narrated by patrons and workers.

Ms. Bhattacharya, who has already been to Kolkata to study its celebrated Coffee House, is now in Bangalore to study the famed hangout which some years ago shifted from M.G. Road to Church Street.

Speaking to older patrons has invariably meant a nostalgia trip. "They miss the times when beans were roasted and ground in the coffee house and one smelled the coffee 50 yards away," says Ms. Bhattacharya. The older workers go into raptures over the then inviolable code on coffee making: 1.25 kg of coffee powder infused with five litres of water for 20 minutes.

However, Ms. Bhattacharya believes that the young are indeed attached to the Coffee House. "It is a comfort zone for people of different age groups and classes," she says. A young man in Bangalore donated Rs. 30,000 to help the workers rent new premises in Bangalore after they had to shift from M.G. Road.

Prime address
In Kolkata, the Coffee House continues to be the address for the most heated political debates just as it was in the 1960s. In fact, when real estate prices threatened to push Coffee House out of its prime location in Kolkata, its patrons — which included the who's who of the city — ensured that the Government came to its rescue.

Code of hospitality
The odds may be against good old Indian Coffee House, with the affordability factor often in conflict with escalating costs, but there is something to be said for the culture it stands for.

"A socialist ideology guides the notion of offering a good cup of coffee at a reasonable price. It came with a certain code of hospitality as well. You get a glass of water free in Coffee House, but you have to buy your water at a private chain," says Ms. Bhattacharya.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/article2680468.ece

A tribute to Dev Anand (1923-2011)

A tribute to Dev Anand (1923-2011)




We lost Dev Anand today and I am writing brief tribute to him with a Shraddhanjali of songs. Tomorrow, I may add a few more memories. Dev was born Dharam Dev Pishori Anand on 26 September 1923 in Shakargarh Tehsil of Gurdaspur district in undivided Punjab, British India in an advocate family.

..

The three giants of Indian Cinema from 1940's to 1970 are Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor among male actors. Being the first, they set the standards for acting and every one since then follows on e or the other and they will continue to be the legends of India.

“Legendary Bollywood actor-director Dev Anand has died in London of a heart attack, aged 88, family members say. Anand, who produced and acted in dozens of films, was unwell and had gone to London for a checkup. In his 65-year career, which began in 1946, Anand became one of India's iconic actor-directors. “ BBC News.



Dev Anand visited Dallas in 1994-95 to give a key note speech at the Asian American Hotel Owners Association at Loews Anatole. One of the Dallas Board Members of AAHOA asked me to bring out a special issue of Asian News Magazine that I published from 1993-2000.



I spent days digging up listing his films – 105 in all with basic information about the heroine, music director, year released and the key songs. We presented a few copies for him to sign, he looked up the list, indeed he was engrossed in it and patted on my back “Shabash” and said he did not have list himself and he was going to carry that paper with him. Remember Internet did not exist then.



When you watched Dev Anand Movie, you always came out with vigor, there was always something enthusiastic about him. A lot of us thought he literally mimicked Gregory Peck and ironically the woman was in love with him; Surayya also chased Gregory Peck. I remember stories about of Gregory Peck visiting Bangalore for the Silver Jubilee celebrations of his movie McKenna’s Gold in Lido Theater.



Dev Anand’s biggest movies were Guide and Hare Rama Hare Krishna.


Om Shanti, Om Shanti!


Mike Ghouse, a life time fan.http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Dev Anand and Mike Ghouse, someone was holding the Special edition of Asian News for Dev Anand.


1. Mera Man tera Pyaasa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foJNOtb4OPU&list=PL96E95F0AC5655ED5&index=13&feature=plpp_video






2. Ek but banaoonga tera - http://www.blogger.com/goog_775211424





3. My Zindagi ka saath nibhata chalagaya - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sagi0o-d7XU&feature=relmfu





4. Hai apna dil to awaara - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8TH8LBs-w&feature=related





5. Tere mere Sapne ab ek rang hain - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9zjhg7BJXY&list=PL96E95F0AC5655ED5&index=6&feature=plpp_video





6. Din dhal jaye hai - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_002K49S10





7. Tere ghar ke saamne - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgFMp50UrMU





8. Khoya khoya chaand - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5neEc7PjHg





9. Ai dil na hota bechara - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5OXj62qJUQ





10. Kya say kay hogaya - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMMHDuaJls4&list=PL96E95F0AC5655ED5&index=5&feature=plpp_video





11. Abhi Na Jaao chod kar - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAa9XqBw7ag&feature=relmfu





12. Phoolon ke rang say - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4iYbxFBZKQ





13. Tujhe Jivan ki door say bandh liya hai - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amRMVEXb-xI





14. Dekho o deewano - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB8RwuRQySg





15. Dum Maro Dum - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUqEPS6Mq8I&feature=relmfu





16. Dil Pukare Aaray Aaray - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lquTatrN_9Y

Saudi report: Women driving spurs premarital sex

AP – 8 hrs ago

• 

• FILE - In this Friday, June 17, 2011 file image made from video released by Change.org, …

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A report given to a high-level advisory group in Saudi Arabia claims that allowing women in the kingdom to drive could encourage premarital sex, a rights activist said Saturday.

The ultraconservative stance suggests increasing pressure on King Abdullah to retain the kingdom's male-only driving rules despite international criticism.

 

Rights activist Waleed Abu Alkhair said the document by a well-known academic was sent to the all-male Shura Council, which advises the monarchy. The report by Kamal Subhi claims that allowing women to drive will threaten the country's traditions of virgin brides, he said. The suggestion is that driving will allow greater mixing of genders and could promote sex.

Saudi women have staged several protests defying the driving ban. The king has already promised some reforms, including allowing women to vote in municipal elections in 2015.

 

There was no official criticism or commentary on the scholar's views, and it was unclear whether they were solicited by the Shura Council or submitted independently. But social media sites were flooded with speculation that Saudi's traditional-minded clerics and others will fight hard against social changes suggested by the 87-year-old Abdullah.

 

Saudi's ruling family, which oversees Islam's holiest sites, draws its legitimacy from the backing of the kingdom's religious establishment, which follows a strict brand of Islam known as Wahhabism. While Abdullah has pushed for some changes on women's rights, he is cautious not to push too hard against the clerics.

 

In October, Saudi Arabia named a new heir to the throne, Prince Nayef, who is a former interior minister and considered to hold traditionalist views, although he had led crackdowns against suspected Islamic extremists. His selection appeared to embolden the ultraconservative clerics to challenge any sweeping social reforms.

Prince Nayef was picked following the death of Crown Prince Sultan.