10 killed in China chemical plant blast

Hefei (China), June 17 (Xinhua) At least 10 people were killed and 26 injured in a blast at a chemical plant in east China's Anhui province, reports said Saturday.

The blast occurred at a workshop of Dun'an chemical group Co. Ltd in Dangtu county Friday afternoon. The exact number of workers at the plant at the time of the explosion was not known.

The blast at the plant, which produces explosives for civilian use, was ignited in the emulsification process of the powder.

The two-storey workshop complex has been razed to the ground.

Rescue work was difficult since combustible materials were stored in the plant that could lead to further blasts, police said.

The blast site has been cordoned off. Rescuers are showering water to cool down temperatures at the blast site.

AIIMS director's resignation demanded

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Around 200 students, resident doctors, interns and faculty members of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here requested Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss Saturday to sack its director P. Venugopal.

The signatories to a letter to the health minister alleged that Venugopal was "instigating" students and employees of the prestigious institution to disobey its dean R.C. Deka.

Deka was appointed to the post by the health ministry despite opposition from Venugopal.

In their letter to Ramadoss, they have alleged that Venugopal had instigated residents and students to "harass, dishonour and physically assault the hospital dean".

"Venugopal called a meeting Thursday without formally informing the faculty members. His way of functioning is autocratic and this should be brought to the notice of the health minister who is also the president of AIIMS," a faculty member told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, after a meeting with hundreds of residents doctors, students and faculty members, the director had accused Ramadoss of "eroding the autonomy" of AIIMS and had threatened to resign.

Ramadoss, on his part, has alleged that "some people" have turned the country's leading medical institute into a "political hub" and has warned of action against them.

Akshardham killers’ car tampered with

June 17, Ahmedabad, A new twist to the Akshardham terror tale: The car used by the terrorists to travel from Anantnag to Bareilly has been tampered with, that too in police custody. The number on the licence plate KMT 413, also mentioned in the chargesheet, has been changed to KMT 4131.

The defence lawyer in the Akshardham attack case brought this to the designated POTA court’s notice on Thursday. On Friday, the POTA court directed the registrar of the City Civil Court to draw a ‘‘panchnama’’ of the car. The court also directed ACP (Crime Branch) G.L. Singhal to lodge a complaint regarding tampering of evidence.

On September 24, 2002, two terrorists dressed in army fatigues had stormed the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar. They were armed with AK-47 rifles and entered the premises through gate number 3. They had left 36 people dead and more than 70 injured before they were shot dead by NSG commandos.

According to the prosecution, Chand Khan Sajjad Khan, the alleged mastermind of the attack, had dropped the two terrorists � Mohammad Amjad Bhai from Lahore and Hafiz Yasir from Attock in J-K � at Bareilly in UP in a metallic blue Ambassador car. The car was first seized by J-K Police and was later brought to Gujarat by the Crime Branch. ‘‘The car was used to drop the terrorists. It was also used to carry AK-47 assualt rifles and hand grenades,’’ said Special Public Prosecutor Sudhir Bhrambhatt.

The car was kept in an open plot near a petrol pump at Crime Branch Police Station. On Thursday, it was found that the number plate bore the changed number. The chassis number and engine number were same, but the right rear wheel was missing.

Source: Indian Express

An award to bridge 'digital divide'

Bangalore, June 17 (IANS) A new award has been launched in India to recognise the best practices in e-content and creativity.

The Digital Empowerment Foundation has announced the Manthan-AIF Award, which aims at selecting and promoting innovative websites and cyber projects from India with the best content across a range of categories.

Some estimates put the number of Indian websites at approximately 23,000.

According to Osama Manzar, chairman of the foundation, the organisation is currently in the process of identifying the best practices in e-content in India for 2006.

"(Our goal is to identify) best practices in India and to help improve access to funding for these institutions so that the best initiatives could be replicated for the benefit of the people," Manzar told IANS.

The communications revolution should try to make a difference in the lives of people. This award honours those who have harnessed technology to help people.

After inviting nominations from all over India, the evaluation process is scheduled for early July in New Delhi, said Manzar.

"We received over 250 nominations for the 14 categories defined by the Manthan-AIF Award 2006," he said.

The categories are technology-related projects and ventures in the fields of e-learning, e-business, e-culture, e-entertainment, e-science, e-inclusion and livelihoods, e-localisation, e-education, e-health, e-environment, e-governance, e-news, e-youth and e-content.

The aim of Manthan-AIF is to create an information rich society where everyone is empowered to create, share and utilise information and knowledge for their economic, social, cultural and political development.

The Manthan-AIF Award winners for 2006 will be nominated to the World Summit Award.

Argentina throw down the gauntlet

Berlin, June 17 (DPA) Argentina stamped their mark on the 2006 World Cup with a stunning team performance which destroyed Serbia and Montenegro while the Netherlands did enough in patches to suggest it will need an outstanding team to beat them.

In the Argentina-Serbia and Montenegro match, Maxi Rodriguez scored twice, Esteban Cambiasso rounded off a flowing 24-pass move and after Serbia's Mateja Kezman was sent off for a late lunge, Hernan Crespo made it 4-0 from Lionel Messi's cross.

Carlos Tevez grabbed the fifth and then put Messi through to complete the 6-0 rout.

Even the Argentine players were impressed by their own performance. "What a great match this was," Tevez said. "We produced some great combination play, and we really enjoyed ourselves. So many players were involved."

Argentina's win equalled their best-ever World Cup result - against Peru in 1978 when they hosted and won the tournament.

"We're really happy," said Cambiasso, sent on as an early substitute after Lucho Gonzales took a knock. "But we've still got a lot to do. We we've got a lot of self-confidence, and we intend going a long way in this tournament."

"I'm delighted," said Rodriguez. "We're as good as qualified for the knock-out stage. We tried to control the game throughout - and you saw in the first minutes that it worked well. Now we want to beat Holland."

The Dutch beat Ivory Coast 2-1 with unstoppable strikes by English Premiership players Robin van Persie and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Africans, who had lost by the same score to Argentina in their opening match, refused to buckle and hit the bar before Bakary Kone pulled one back when he smashed home from 20 metres after a powerful run.

It was the first goal in competitive internationals the Manchester United stopper has conceded since October 2004.

But the Africans bowed out of the tournament as Holland held on for their second Group C victory.

The victory stretched Holland's unbeaten run to 14 competitive matches but it needed Van Persie to chest off his own line a Didier Drogba header to clinch all three points.

"We have won two games, but we were pretty lucky," Dutch coach Marco van Basten said. "Now we can start thinking about the next round."

Plucky Angola, down to 10 men for the last 12 minutes after midfielder Andre was sent off for deliberately handling a Rafael Marquez pass, held out for a 0-0 draw with Mexico.

The Mexicans failed to take their chances and Angola's 36-year-old goalkeeper Joao Ricardo pulled off a string of fine saves which gave the World Cup debutants the unlikely possibility of qualifying for the second round if they can beat Iran and other results go their way.

Argentina and Holland joined Germany, Ecuador and England in the knock-out stages. Italy and the Czech Republic should also progress on Saturday. The Italians face the United States while the Czechs take on Ghana in Group E.

Saturday's other match sees Portugal play Iran in Group D.

Bodies of two Saudis from GITMO Arrive in Saudi

RIYADH, June 17, (NNN-SPA) --The bodies of two Saudi citizens who died while in detention in Guantanamo Bay facility arrived in the country today.

The spokesman for security affairs at the Interior Ministry, General Mansour bin Sultan Al-Turki said, the bodies were taken to a hospital for medical examinations and regular procedural measures.

Al-Turki affirmed that the relatives of the two Saudis have been informed about the arrival of their bodies and that they will come to identify the dead bodies and complete the necessary measures.

--NNN-SPA

Chandigarh immigration racket busted

Chandigarh, June 17 (IANS) With the arrest of two people, police here Saturday claimed to have busted an immigration racket that had duped a number of youths from Punjab of millions of rupees by falsely promising them jobs in Dubai.

Ravi and Shelley, police said, were sending the money and passports they collected from Punjab youths to a man named Ali, the Mumbai-based mastermind of the racket.

The duo had recently opened an office in Chandigarh's commercial hub Sector 17 in the name of Dubai Tours And Travels.

The racket came to light after a complaint filed by Nawanshahr resident Sompal and his son Harjinder saying the duo had neither sent Harjinder to Dubai nor refunded the amount charged for the purpose.

Police raided the agency's office and the hotel room where the duo were staying and recovered 20 passports, Rs.1.1 million in cash and bank drafts worth Rs.2.6 million.

The role of the main agent in Mumbai was being investigated, Jagbir Singh, the station house officer of the Sector 17 police station, told IANS.

He said that the duo had recently inserted advertisements in local newspapers to trap innocent youths from the state luring them with the promise of jobs in Dubai.

Comments on women land Khadim in trouble

Ajmer, June 17, The khadims or servers at the famous dargah of Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer have taken action against a member of their fraternity for creating a controversy by issuing 'wrong statements' about the entry of women to the shrine.

The Anjuman Committee or union of khadims has barred SS Hasan Chishti from guiding visitors to the dargah and stopped the payment of his share of offerings at the shrine for a month, Syed Sarwar Chishti, the secretary of the committee, said.

Hasan Chishti had reportedly said in an interview with a TV news channel that Muslim women are "second category" citizens. He had also written a letter to the dargah's nazim or caretaker, saying women should not be allowed to offer prayers with men at the shrine.

"As he had given misleading interviews and statements, he is banned from bringing guests for ziyarat for a month, and his shares (of the offerings) which are evenly distributed among khadims will also not be given to him," Sarwar Chishti said.

"The controversy related to women performing namaz at Ajmer was created by his statements. So, in a meeting held on Friday, we decided to take action against him," he added.

Hasan Chishti had said in his letter to the nazim that separate arrangements should be made for women to offer prayers in the dargah of the 12th century Sufi saint that is visited by hundreds of people every day.

The move to impose restrictions on women visiting the dargah was the outcome of differences between the shrine's management and the association of khadims.

Source: Hindustan Times/ PTI

Critical support for US-India n-deal

By Arun Kumar, Washington, June 17 (IANS) The US-India nuclear deal has won critical support from two key Congressmen heading foreign relations committees of the two houses of the US Congress days before it comes up for review before the lower house panel.

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Dick Lugar Friday joined his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Henry Hyde, in commending the agreement scheduled for a "Mark-Up" or review of the text of a supporting bill on June 21.

"A Congressional rejection of the agreement - or an open-ended delay - risks wasting a critical opportunity to begin to expand beyond our Cold War alliance structures to include dynamic nations with whom our interests are converging," said Lugar.

Both Houses of Congress are satisfactorily "working through language that would guide our policy toward India, " he said while receiving his 40th honorary degree from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

It was the strongest statement Lugar has made to date regarding the India agreement, which he called "the most important strategic diplomatic initiative undertaken by President George Bush" and a departure "from the crisis management mentality that has dominated foreign policy" in recent years.

In announcing his decision to support the US-India nuclear deal a couple of weeks ago, Lugar's counterpart in the House panel on international relations, Hyde, had expressed confidence that the bill will pass and he is willing to push it through.

Lugar and Hyde's endorsement of the deal indicates that the Bush administration is nearing the process of building a consensus on the deal in the House and Senate in a bid to get Congressional approval by July-end.

"The India agreement represents the most important strategic diplomatic initiative undertaken by President Bush," Lugar told the Naval War College graduates, painting it as "a fundamental departure from the crisis management mentality that has dominated foreign policy in both the executive and legislative branches in recent years."

By concluding this pact and the far-reaching set of cooperative agreements that accompany it, President Bush has embraced a long-term outlook that seeks to enhance the core strength of US foreign policy in a way that will give it new diplomatic options and improve global stability, he said.

"As such, a Congressional rejection of the agreement-or an open-ended delay risks wasting a critical opportunity to begin to expand beyond our Cold War alliance structures to include dynamic nations with whom our interests are converging," Luger said.

The agreement also would be a powerful incentive for India to cooperate closely with the United States in stopping proliferation and to abstain from further nuclear weapons tests. These outcomes could represent important advancements for non-proliferation policy.

Answering critics of the deal, Lugar said he believed that it could help solidify New Delhi's commitments to implement strong export controls, separate its civilian nuclear infrastructure from its weapons programme and place civilian facilities under IAEA safeguards.

The Bush administration's declaration that it would welcome India's advancement as a major economic and political player on the world stage represents a strategic decision to invest political capital in a country with a vibrant democracy, rapidly growing economy and increasing clout, Lugar said.

With a well-educated middle class that is larger than the entire US population, India can be an anchor of stability in Asia and an engine of global economic growth.

It can also be a key partner in countering global extremist trends, he said, as both countries understand the importance of opposing violent movements through the promotion of religious pluralism, tolerance, and democratic freedoms.

As a country with well-entrenched democratic traditions and the world's second largest Muslim population, India can set an example of a multi-religious and multi-cultural democracy in an otherwise volatile region, he said.

India's growing energy demand - likely to double within 20 years - makes global energy security an integral part of their strategic dialogue, said Lugar suggesting that US should elevate its energy dialogue with India and work together to increase the availability of clean energy and help stabilize world energy markets.

The US was already beginning to see strategic benefits from developing closer relations with India, he said, citing India's votes at the IAEA on the Iran issue in September 2005 and February 2006. These demonstrate that New Delhi is able and willing to adjust its traditional foreign policies and play a constructive role on international issues, Lugar said.

While acknowledging that India prizes its strategic autonomy, it will have increasing incentives to use its influence to help sway debates and events in other areas that serve stability and global economic progress, he said.

In Lugar's view some analysts' contention that India's ability to act as a counterweight to China is the primary strategic benefit of the deal oversimplifies global relationships in the 21st Century, and underestimates the broader value of engaging India as a partner in a changing world.

While both India and the United States have reason to be vigilant about the growth of Chinese military power, he wondered how a US-Indian partnership of the type envisioned by the agreement would contain China or why India would participate with the United States in such a containment regime.

The US should not see India as a card to play in balance of power games as alliances based on shared dangers can have a long shelf life if the threat is intense enough, but they are rarely transformational, Lugar said.

The US needed more from India than security cooperation. It needed a partner that sits at the intersection of several strategic regions and that can be a bulwark for stability, democracy, and pluralism.

Seeing India as merely a counterbalance to China also makes the mistake of presuming that China is destined to be an enemy.

Even as the United States must speak forthrightly about its current differences with China over numerous issues, one should not assume that Washington cannot build a foundation of mutual interests with China that will support a positive relationship with that nation over time, Lugar said.

Ghana beat Czechs 2-0

Cologne, June 17 (Xinhua) World Cup debutants Ghana have kept alive their hopes of reaching the last 16 with an astonishing 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in their second Group E clash here Saturday.

Asamoah Gyan netted in the first-ever score for the Black Stars in the finals in just 75 seconds as he chested down a centred ball from captain Stephen Appiah and fired past Petr Cech with an unstoppable low shot after the Czechs failed to clear their lines following a corner.

Sulley Muntari scored the second in the 82nd minute, coolly finishing a cross from Gyan after the latter broke forward down the right, steadied himself and squared the ball to Muntari.

--Xinhua

Indian Army should be gender sensitive: women activists

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Reacting sharply to the Indian Army vice chief's remarks that it can do without women, activists of several women organisations Saturday branded the force as "discriminatory and gender insensitive".

Lt. Gen S. Pattabhiraman was Saturday quoted as saying that "comfort levels with lady officers are low" and that the army "can do without them".

"This is a clear reflection of discrimination on the part of the Indian Army. When a top officer makes such a comment it points to the insensitivity of an institution," said Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).

"We think the army needs to be given a course on gender sensitisation," Raja told IANS.

She said the issue would be taken up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"The comment was uncalled for and needs to be condemned by one and all. Women are no way inferior and they should not be undermined. They are equally efficient and capable of handling any given task," Raja contended.

Pattabhiraman's comments were "filled with prejudice and will not serve any good", according to Abha Choudhry, head of the women's wing of the ruling Congress party's New Delhi unit.

"The institution is male dominated and finds it difficult to accept the contribution of women. Instead of making such comments, the authorities should create favourable conditions for women to work in," said Choudhury, a former member of the Delhi Commission of Women.

Pattabhiraman's comments were reported a day after a woman officer, Lt. Susmita Chakraborthy, committed suicide in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.

The 25-year-old officer, who had been commissioned 10 months ago, ended her life apparently because she was "dissatisfied and unhappy with her job". The army has ordered an enquiry into the incident.

"With statements like this coming from the highest level of army, I can understand the degrading treatment that women army officers must be going through," said Anjali Menon Sen, a leading women activist of the capital.

"It calls for a public apology from the officer. There are a lot of women in the army's medical corps and they do a commendable job. Such comments will be demoralising," said Sen, chief of SANGAT, a South Asian NGO working among women.

Sen said they were networking with 46 other organisation and would send a protest letter to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of the armed forces, Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and army chief Gen. J.J. Singh.

Indian markets turn positive but mood remains cautious

Mumbai, June 17 (IANS) A major rally on two straight days helped Indian equities end on a positive note during the week ended Friday, but analysts do not foresee major advances in the near term, though they expect the outlook to be positive.

The week began on a gloomy note with the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) falling 334.31 points, or 3.41 percent, at 9,476.15 points Monday wiping out all the gains made in the previous trading session.

Tuesday was worse when the barometer index fell 413 points, or 4.36 percent, at 9,062.65 on fears over the weak global markets and that the interest rate hikes will eat into the profits of companies.

Even though the drop Wednesday was relatively lower - 133.21 points or 1.47 per cent at 8,929.44 points - the significant aspect was that the key closed below the psychologically important 9,000-point mark for the first time in 2006.

Nevertheless, Thursday was a day to cheer for investors as the Sensex posted the steepest ever single day gain - up 615.62 points, or 6.89 percent, at 9545.06 points - amid some frantic buying at lower levels.

The mood was sustained on the last day of the trading week of the week when the bellwether index gained 339.45 points or 3.56 percent at 9,884.51 points - after scaling the crucial 10,000-point mark at 10,118.28 during the day.

The net outcome was that the index managed to end on a positive note with a gain of 74.05 points, or 0.75 percent, over the previous week. In fact, it was after five successive days that the index ended in the positive territory.

Foreign funds were net sellers to the tune of $98 million Wednesday and Thursday and net buyers worth $163.8 million on the other three days of the week, to end with net purchases worth 65.80 million.

"The strong industrial production data released on Monday afternoon had led to a recovery in the Sensex's. But it was cut short as investors turned their eyes on the developments the other emerging markets," said an analyst.

"Looking ahead, the markets performance would depend on Asian and global markets and the focus will be mutual funds and foreign institutional investors," the analyst, who works for a leading brokerage here, added.

Among the main gainers of the week were Bharti Tele, Satyam Computers, Bajaj Auto, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Hindustan Lever, Cipla and HDFC Bank, while Housing Development Finance Corp, Maruti Udyog and Tata Motors lost ground.

Iran writes to UN, UNSC condemning Zionist regime's crimes

New York, June 17, IRNA,Iran's permanent representative to the UN, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, in a letter sent on Friday to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Danish President of the UN Secruity Council Ellen Margrethe Loj, condemned crimes of the Zionist regime and called for UN leadership in confronting these crimes.

The UN Security Council presidency for the month of June is held by Denmark.

In his letter, Zarif rejected remarks of the Zionist regime's representative in the UN alleging Iranian support for terrorism as "unfounded."
The Zionist regime's representative in the UN, in an earlier letter to Annan, briefly discussed recent developments in the Occupied Territories and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, and named Iran and Syria as supporters of terrorism.

"Such allegations of the Zionist regime against other states are but another example of the regime's deliberate moves to divert the attention of the international community from the regime's terrorist measures, war crimes and atrocities in these territories which have endangered regional peace and security.

"It is clear that none of the deceptive measures taken by the Zionist regime can hide the fact that its entire history is a chronicle of terrorist, illegal and inhuman measures it has taken against international law, rules and regulations," Zarif said.

"It is ironical that the Zionist regime, which defies and obstinately refuses to observe the principles of the UN Charter and other international laws, rules and regulations, including UN Security Council resolutions, hypocritically calls on other states to observe these resolutions," Zarif added.

Iron overdose could lead to birth complications

New York, June 17 (IANS) Overdose of iron supplements to pregnant women who are not anaemic could lead to birth complications, says a new study.

Iron deficiency is common among women of childbearing age. Doctors recommend daily supplements of 60 to 120 mg of iron to prevent or correct anaemia and iron deficiency during pregnancy.

But, according to a study that appeared in the May issue of Archives of Medical Research, pregnant women who are not anaemic should take iron supplements weekly rather than daily, reported Newswise wire.

Fernando Viteri, a scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), and other researchers found that women who are anaemic have low levels of healthy red blood cells and need higher doses of iron supplements.

However, in pregnant women who are not anaemic, the recommended daily dosage can lead to iron overload. They could also suffer birth complications.

"What happens is that excess iron in pregnancy can drive the haemoglobin above desirable levels, so that by the end of the second trimester of pregnancy, 27 percent of the non-anaemic women in our study had haemoglobin levels that were undesirably high," Viteri said.

"In these women, the risk of delivering premature babies or newborns with low birth weight quadrupled."

Kashmir solution must for peace in South Asia: Musharraf

Almaty, June 17 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Saturday made it clear that a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute is imperative for sustainable peace in South Asia, reports Online news agency.

Addressing the Second Summit conference of CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia) here, Musharraf said the leadership of both Pakistan and India will have to show more sincerity, flexibility and courage to hammer out a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue.

For this purpose, Pakistan has taken several steps to improve its ties with India under the process of confidence building measures, he said, adding: "We did so because we want peace in the region.

"So far we have made progress on several issues but the settlement of the Kashmir issue is imperative for peace in the region and both sides should move sincerely in this regard."

Commenting the issue of terrorism, the president said not only South Asia but the entire world is affected by the scourge. He added that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism for many years. "But we still need global assistance for handling the situation because it is our collective responsibility to destroy this bane," Musharraf maintained.

Luxury vehicles spell rough ride for Jharkhand government

Ranchi, June 17 (IANS) Controversy has cropped up in Jharkhand over the purchase of 83 luxury vehicles for ministers with funds meant for police modernisation.

Though the luxury vehicles were purchased in 2005 by diverting money from the police modernisation fund, the state home minister now wants his own department to reimburse the money to the fund in the face of criticism.

After the state government drew flak from different quarters over the purchase, Home Minister Sudesh Mahto has said in a note that "the purchase of vehicles like Ford Endeavor and Baleno does not come under the police modernisation fund and hence the money should be reimbursed by the department".

A department official, quoting the minister's note, Saturday said about Rs.15.57 million was diverted to make the purchases apparently aimed at beefing up the security of ministers.

The 83 luxury vehicles that were purchased included 15 Balenos, an equal number of Ford Endeavors, 20 bullet-proof Tata Safaris, five Tata Safaris with jammers and other vehicles.

The home department, which had already made payment for the purchase, is finding itself in a Catch 22 situation. The minister's note to reimburse the payment to the police modernisation fund has put the government in a spot.

The home minister himself enjoyed the smooth ride of the luxury vehicles for a few months before media reports and criticism from other quarters forced him to give that up.

Mexico rue missed chances as plucky Angola hold out

Hanover, June 17 (DPA) World Cup minnows Angola frustrated Mexico by holding the Latin Americans to a 0-0 draw after having a player sent off 12 minutes from time.

Angolan midfielder Andre was sent off for deliberate hand ball to stop a Mexican attack but the Africans battled out a deserved draw.

Mexico hit the post twice, through captain Rafael Marquez from a first-half free-kick and Omar Bravo in the dying minutes, and saw a first-half Carlos Salcida long-range shot hit the roof of the net.

But after their 3-1 win over Iran in the opening match they could not find a way through a hard-working Angolan defence.

"The team gave it everything and in the end we could not convert all the many chances we created. We need to continue working," Marquez said afterwards.

Angola had lost by only a single goal to Portugal and have an outside chance of qualifying if they beat Iran in their last match and Portugal beat Mexico.

But Marquez was quietly confident they would progress.

"In the beginning we were not pushing forward enough, but we are still confident that we can go through. We will give it our everything in our final match," he said.

Mexico goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez lamented their inability to kill off Angola.

"We had all the chances but none of them went in. No-one is happy," he said.

Mexico's Argentine coach Ricardo La Volpe would not be drawn on tactics for the final game against Portugal.

"We have to wait to see how tomorrow's game finishes between Iran and Portugal before deciding our approach," he said.

Angola coach Luis de Oliveira Goncalves was overjoyed with the result.

"It was a very good performance against a strong Mexican team," he said. "We controlled the match for long spells and the result shows that Angola have their place at this level and we are building for the future."

Centre-back Salcido almost opened the score in the first minute when his dipping, long-range effort hit the roof of the Angolan net but the Africans weathered a poor early opening to begin to string some passes together.

However, Mexico captain Marquez then hit the base of the post from a free-kick.

And Guillermo Franco had the best chance to open the score in a foul-littered first half when he brought a cross down in the 44th minute and turned to shoot only to see Joao Ricardo smother the shot.

Joao Ricardo showed his prowess at the start of the second half when he cut out a cross with one hand with Bravo, who scored twice against Iran, lurking at the far post.

Angola were making progress but an isolated Fabrice Akwa struggled to make an impact in attack.

A muscle tear meant Jared Borgetti was replaced by Brazilian-born Zinha in the Mexican side while Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves kept the same side that pushed Portugal all the way in their opening 1-0 defeat.

And the Angolans refused to lie down and die.

Jose Fonseca flashed a shot wide as Mexico piled on the pressure but the Angolans, with goalkeeper Ricardo pulling off the save of the match from Marquez, weathered the storm.

Mexico: Oswaldo Sanchez - Carlos Salcido, Rafael Marquez, Ricardo
Osorio, Gerardo Torrado - Zinha (52. Jesus Arrellano), Pavel
Pardo, Gonzalo Pineda (78 Ramon Morales), Mario Mendez - Guillermo
Franco (74 Jose Fonseca), Omar Bravo

Angola: Joao Ricardo - Mendonca, Figueiredo (73. Rui Marques),
Mateus (68. Mantorras), Ze Kalanga (83. Miloy) - Andre - Delgado,
Kali, Jamba, Loco - Akwa

Referee: Shamsul Maidin (Singapore) - Spectators 43,000 (sold
out)

Yellow cards: - Pineda / Andre, Ze Kalanga, Delgado, Joao Ricardo

Yellow/Red card: Andre

Best Players: Marquez, Pardo / Jamba, Figueiredo

Minorities under attack in Chhattisgarh: panel

Raipur, June 17 (IANS) Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government should take effective steps to stop atrocities against minorities, who are increasingly being targeted in recent months, the National Commission for Minorities said Saturday.

"Minorities are under attack in Chhattisgarh as well as in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. Atrocities against them have increased sharply in recent months," H.S. Josh, a member of the Commission, told reporters here.

Josh held daylong meetings with various religious organisations here in the wake of reports that Christians were facing serious threats in tribal areas in rural and forested parts of the state.

Official sources said a Christian body told the commission member that minorities were facing harassment in Jashpur district as BJP cadres and sometimes even the district administration targeted them on charges of forceful religious conversion of local tribals.

The commission assured the Christian body that it would submit a report to central government soon about the condition of the minorities in the state and would also take up the issue with the state government.

Mobile operator's ads in Trinidad irk PIO group

Port of Spain, June 17 (IANS) The Trinidad and Tobago chapter of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (Gopio) has charged a leading mobile phone service operator with perpetuating a negative stereotype of the Indo-Trinidadian community.

According to a report in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, Gopio's Trinidad chapter president Devant Maharaj has said that he has got numerous complaints about the advertisement policies of Digicel, the latest entrant in Trinidad's mobile phone service market.

Digicel currently operates in 15 Caribbean countries, covering a total population of 14 million people.

The report quoted Maharaj as saying that Digicel's advertisements tended to sideline the Indo-Trinidadian male, while the women are still being depicted as the "cane field doolahin" (bride).

As an example, he cited a recent newspaper advertisement of the company that showed an Indo-Trinidadian woman standing in the foreground of a cane field talking to a bald-headed man.

In another instance in which an Indo-Trinidadian family is featured, an Indo-Trinidadian female is shown as the wife while the husband is from a different ethnic group.

"Recent Digicel advertisements continue to perpetuate the negative stereotype about the Indo-Trinidadian community," Maharaj told the newspaper. "One particular advertisement shows an Indo-Trinidadian female positioned in a cane field making a call while her Afro-Trinidadian counterpart is in an urban setting."

He said the Indo-Trinidadian community was continuously resisting the image that its members were part of rural Trinidad. This, he said, was the only image promoted in the national stage.

People of Indian origin started arriving in this Caribbean country in the middle of the 19th century as indentured workers in the sugarcane plantations. The process continued till the second decade of the 20th century.

Their descendants today comprise 40 percent of Trinidad and Tobago's population of around one million.

"It is distinctly noticeable that Digicel is woefully under-represented in supporting Indo-Trinidadian culture," Maharaj told the newspaper.

Refuting the allegation, Sandra Welch-Farrell, whose agency handles Digicel's public relations, sent an email to the newspaper stating: "Digicel is an equal opportunity company and does not base its business on race, colour or creed."

She also sent copies of other Digicel advertisements featuring members of the Indo-Trinidadian community.

No room for suspicion in Indo-US N-deal: Mulford

Kolkata, June 17 (IANS) US Ambassador to India David Mulford has brushed aside any doubts on the future of the India-US civilian nuclear deal, saying his country Is working on making some changes in law to implement it.

"There is no need for suspicion regarding the agreement. It remains the same agreed in July 2005 in Washington and concluded formally when President (George W.) Bush visited India in March 2006," Mulford said on a webchat with some reporters in Kolkata Friday night.

"We are now engaged in negotiating certain detailed aspects of the bilateral agreement necessary to implement the deal and to seek the necessary change in law in the US Congress," he said.

"No goalposts are being moved, no bars are being raised. It is just plain steady work to get the job done," he clarified, asking all for patience.

Mulford said the US is looking forward to increased cooperation with India in defence, aeronautics and space.

"Many of the complex problems left over from the period of sanctions have been resolved and with the type of relationship our two countries are now developing, we should be confident of expanding significantly cooperation in these fields," he said.

"Cooperation is already growing and with it confidence is building on both sides which will stand us well into the future," he said, emphasising the departing speech of Bush in March when the US president said, "India is a global leader, as well as a good friend".

Mulford said India is an attractive investment destination like China because it has a strong economy, a large, articulate and well-educated population and democracy.

"It (India) believes in rule of law and it has a sophisticated and well-supervised financial system. It is also a market with a relatively youthful population. These are a few of the attractions and, in some cases, advantages India has over China," he said.

To a question whether the US would support India for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council, Mulford avoided a direct answer, saying the first priority of the US in the UN was to reform the body to make it a more effective organisation.

"Unless this is done there is little point in focusing on expanding the Security Council. Once reform is achieved, hopefully with the support of a large number of countries around the world, including India, it will be appropriate to look at the question of expanding the Security Council," he said.

Asked about his view on Shashi Tharoor as a candidate for the post of UN secretary general, Mulford said, "This is a decision which India is to make, and we respect that decision."

Mulford also made the US stand on Pakistan clear, saying "we support democracy in Pakistan and have made clear our interest in seeing Pakistan move towards democratisation".

"Pakistan has been an important country for the US in its efforts in Afghanistan and against global terrorism. We will continue to work closely," he said.

OBE for Gurinder Chadha

London, June 17 (IANS) Gurinder Chadha, director of "Bride and Prejudice" and "Bend it Like Beckham", is among several British Asians honoured with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours list.

The list, released late Friday, includes several Asians of Indian origin who have distinguished themselves in different walks of life.

The title of the 'Companions of the Order of the Bath' has been bestowed upon Christopher Peter Jayantha Muttukumaru, legal adviser and legal services director of the Department for Transport, Bromley, Kent.

Other awardees of the OBE are: Satnam Singh Gill, principal, Working Men's College, London, Jafar Mirza, chair of governors, Cambridge Regional College, Sabyasachi Bhaumik, consultant psychiatrist, Learning Disability Services, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

For services to refugee doctors and to healthcare in London, the OBE has been awarded to Sheila Ajantha Cheeroth while Saleem Asghar Kidwai, chief executive, Ethnic Business Support Programme Ltd, has been selected for services to diversity and business in Wales.

For services to diversity in London, the OBE has been awarded to Nahid Majid, associate director, Turner and Townsend (Head of Regeneration PM Sector), while Jafar Mirza, chair of governors, Cambridge Regional College, has been selected for services to Further Education.

Other OBE awardees include: Bashir Ahmed, senior regeneration manager, Walsall Housing Regeneration Agency; Aruna Ajitsaria, deputy head teacher, Preston Park Primary School, Brent, London; Mohammad Ali, for services to the community in Derby.

Rashid Ahmed Awan, president of the Pakistan Society of West Yorkshire, has been selected for services to Community Relations in Bradford, while Sudarshan Bhuhi has been awarded for the OBE for services to the Asian community in East London.

Other awardees are: Mohindra Dhall, founder, Scottish Indian Arts Forum; Sheila Gupta, director of Human Resources, City University; Rubina-Ishrat Hussain, for services to the community in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire; Sittika Nazim conference organiser, Institute of Education, University of London; Davinder Pangli, head, Consumer Advice Unit, Trading Standards, Warwickshire County Council; Faizal Patel, Blackburn, Lancashire; Mahmoud Mohammed Patel, Gloucester; Ghulam Rabbani, Reigate, Surrey; Yasmin Shakur, Preston, Lancashire; Dev Rattan Sharma, director, North West Kent Racial Equality Council; Amarjit Somal, head, School of English for Speakers of other Languages, East Berkshire College; Babulal Sudra, London; Syed Aftabuz Zaman, consultant, Accident and Emergency and associate clinical director, Sherwood Hospitals NHS Trust, Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire.

Pesticide use may raise Parkinson's disease

New York, June 17 (IANS) Use of pesticides, particularly to kill bugs or weeds at work or at home, may raise the risk of Parkinson's disease in men, says a study.

Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the brain that affects the control of muscles and so may affect movement, speech and posture.

Mayo Clinic researchers Roberta Frigerio and others studied 149 patients who developed Parkinson's disease between 1976 and 1995.

Men who use pesticides to kill bugs or weeds - either at work or at home - may have doubled the risk of getting Parkinson's disease, the researchers said in a study in the June issue of the journal Movement Disorders.

However, women exposed to pesticides do not face such risk, reported the online edition of health magazine WebMD.

"There is something biologically different between men and women when exposed to pesticides," a researcher said.

"The risk was 2.4-fold more than a doubling of the risk in unexposed men," the researcher said.

But when the researchers looked only at men with occupational exposures such as farmers, they did not find a link to Parkinson's disease.

But when they included men exposed to pesticides via hobbies such as gardening, the link became apparent.

Portugal beat Iran 2-0; in knockout stage

Frankfurt, June 17 (Xinhua) Portugal qualified for the World Cup knockout stage after defeating Iran 2-0 in their second Group D tie Saturday.

Midfielder Deco scored the opener with a powerful drive.

Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the win from the spot after Luis Figo was brought down in the box.

Portugal, who beat Angola 1-0 in their opening match Sunday, squandered a lot of chances in the first half, with striker Pauleta being the main culprit.

Iran's defence shook in the second half. In the 63rd minute, Portugal finally seized their chance as Figo laid off the ball to Deco, who sent a curling right-footed shot straight into the corner of the net from 20 yards out.

Figo created another chance in the 78th minute when Yahya Golmohammadi tripped him on the edge of the box.

French referee Eric Poulat immediately awarded Portugal a penalty.

Ronaldo coolly stepped up for the penalty and drove it cleanly home to stretch Portugal's lead.

Rasoul Khatibi wasted a great chance to level for Iran just minutes after coming on to the field. With the Portugal defence in disarray, he received a long ball in the box but his shot glanced across the face of the goal.

--Xinhua

Post sedition charge, BJP backs Katiyar

June 17, NEW DELHI, A week after making general secretary Vinay Katiyar retract from his bounty offer for killing terrorists, the BJP today came out in defence of the former Bajrang Dal chief. Reason: The sedition charge slapped on him by the Jammu and Kashmir government.

BJP president Rajnath Singh, who issued a written statement in favour of Katiyar and vice-president Sahib Singh Verma, is learnt to have consulted Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and other senior party colleagues before embarking on the new strategy.

Sources said even though the leadership did not endorse the bounty offer, it was convinced that the Ghulam Nabi Azad government was over-reacting to their speeches. Whatever the two leaders had said in their speeches at Jammu surely did not merit the charge of sedition. The leadership felt that after having restrained them, the party could not let them down. It was time the party stepped in to prevent the J-K government from misusing its powers.

Asked to explain the delay in the BJP response, Katiyar said, ‘‘We did not wish to divert public attention from our satyagrah. We chose to speak today after our agitation in Jammu concluded,’’ he added.

Demanding immediate withdrawal of the sedition charges against Katiyar and Verma, the BJP chief said it was a ‘‘matter of serious concern’’ for him that two national leaders of his party had been charged with the most heinous offences (under Section 124 of the Ranbir Penal Code) punishable with life sentence. Singh said it was the constitutional right of the BJP to protest against ‘‘mishandling of terrorism’’ by the government. “The Azad government action smacked of a dictatorial mindset.’’

The BJP president said the comments expressing disapproval of an administrative or other action of the government did not amount to sedition. Nor does a call to the government to take action against terrorists mean a promotion of enmity between different communities.

Katiyar pointed out that senior Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi had stated in a television programme that he was prepared to offer Rs 10 lakh for killing a terrorist. ‘‘Will Azad slap the sedition charge on him too?’’ asked Katiyar. Asked about his next step, Katiyar said, ‘‘We will first see what Azad does.’’

Source: Indian Express

Salt substitute could cut heart disease risk

London, June 17 (IANS) Use of potassium-enriched salt in place of regular salt in everyday diet could cut the risk of several diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, a study has found.

Hsing-Yi Chang of the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan and fellow researchers studied nearly 2,000 elderly at a retirement home in northern Taiwan.

The researchers asked cooks at the retirement home to tinker with their recipes a bit. Specifically they told two of the five kitchens to replace regular salt with potassium-enriched salt.

A total of 768 veterans ate from the kitchens using potassium-enriched salt. Another 1,213 veterans got their food from kitchens using regular salt.

When the study started, most veterans were at least 65 years old. Their age, weight and blood pressure were similar, with about 40 percent having high blood pressure.

Those who used potassium-enriched salt were found having reduced risk of diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, they said.

However, the researchers say people with kidney problems should not take extra potassium in order to avoid problems such as abnormal heart rhythms.

While modest amounts of salt may be fine, high-sodium diets may lead to high blood pressure, a major heart disease risk factor. Potassium has been shown to lower blood pressure, Chang's team noted.

Secular Aristocracy and an Elitist Imagination of Muslim Image: A Reply to Praful Bidwai

By H. A. Atif

In a recent article (Indian Muslim Image is Transforming, Milli Gazette, http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2005/16-28feb05-Print-Edition/162802200544.htm) published in the Milli Gazette online, noted journalist Praful Bidwai passionately argued that the ‘modernization and secularization are sweeping through the Indian Muslim community to a far greater extent than is recognized’. Bidwai gives us a few interesting examples of successful Muslims like Sania Mirza, Irfan Pathan, Azim Premji, Azharuddin and Khans of Bolloywood to substantiate his claim. He is particularly interested in Sania Mirza and her family. According to him ‘she embodies a number of aspects of modernity, freedom and rationality � the very opposite of the stereotypes that most Indian Muslims are straitjacketed into, perhaps not just in India, but also in Pakistan. Within the stereotype, they are irredeemably backward, illiterate, overly religious, bigoted and resistant to change, especially as regards to dress, customs, personal laws, and family planning; they are incapable of breaking the stranglehold of the mullah and coming out of the burqa’. He further notes, ‘Sania's family is deeply religious, although both her parents are graduates. Sania's father, Imran, says: 'We pray five times a day, read the Qur'aan and observe rozas (fast) during Ramzan. My wife and I went to the Hajj recently.' These are not individuals detached from their community’.

As a peace activist and secular intellectual, Bidwai’s prime objective in this article is to evaluate the given stereotypical image of Indian Muslim community. Rejecting these established Muslim images, he claims that the Indian Muslims are making progress in almost all walks of life. In order to offer a broader view of this ‘progress’, Bidwai concludes, ‘India, like all South Asia, still has a long way to go in becoming a society that's truly tolerant of, and comfortable with, differences. But the forces of modernization and secularization at work in all communities should make the journey a lot easier’.

No one can ignore the political significance of these observations. But, there are some intrinsic problems in this article, which actually weaken Bidwai’s own arguments and formulations. My purpose in this small rejoinder is to pinpoint the problematic areas of such kind of thinking and initiate a discussion on a few issues, which most of the time are undervalued or taken for granted. I want to question the conceptual basis and fundamental assumptions of the ‘secularists’, who have been establishing as well as propagating a few ‘secular stereotypes’ about Indian religious communities. In fact, the objective is to invite people like Bidwai for a meaningful discussion so that we can go beyond this ‘Hindutva/Islamic terrorism/communalism versus secularism’ debate and talk about more fundamental and serious grassroots issues of Indian people more energetically and systematically.

We can simply identify three very basic arguments in this article. (a) The process of modernization and secularization are universally accepted norms which will eventually help South Asian societies to become truly tolerant to accept ‘differences’. (b) The Muslim community in India is progressing because the members of this community have clearly understood the significance of modernization and secularization. (c) A modern secular Muslim intelligentsia has been emerging among the Muslims, which is qualitatively different from old Muslim aristocracy and which is actually providing the much-needed democratic space to the community.

Let me begin with a theoretical issue. In this article, the terms like ‘secularization’ and ‘modernization’ are used quite frequently and interchangeably in order to denounce the backwardness or the inward looking fundamentalism. Yet, Bidwai does not clarify his own understanding of these terms. We are told that modernization and secularization is ‘something’, which is very different from highly ‘intolerant’ south Asian societies. Bidwai seems to believe that the modernity and secularism are decisive and crucial processes, which could ensure tolerance, development and progress of any society. It is true that Bidwai does not directly equate modernity and secularism with the hegemony of the western world, but a simple re-reading of this line of reasoning points toward a profound underlying assumption in favor of western modernity. In this sense, a monolithic and almost singular meaning of modernity and secularization is offered.

Bidwai does not understand the historical specificity of modernity and secularism in postcolonial societies. We all know that ‘modernity’ and ‘secularism’ as generic concepts emerged in the West at a particular historical juncture, but these concepts as living processes have actually been taking multiple forms in the non-western and postcolonial societies such as India. Therefore, we need not to spoil our intellectual energies in evaluating the ‘modernization/secularization’ of a particular society or community on the bases of age-old, conventional and quite conservative understanding of modernization. Instead, we have to understand that the Indian version of modernity and secularism pose very specific kinds of challenges, which can not be tackled simply by taking a politically correct intellectual position. It is quite interesting that the western philosophers such as Charles Taylor, who has written extensively on western modernity, are talking about multiple modernities these days, while ‘progressive’ people like Bidwai are not ready to accept that our modernity and secularism are very different from the western experiences.

Bidwai’s perception of Muslim identity in India is very problematic and highly confusing. He seems to believe that there is only one-fixed ‘Muslim identity’ in India, which could be understood merely by making simple differentiation between the progressive and inward looking aristocratic Muslim elites. He does not understand the fact that the Muslim identity in India oscillates between ‘Muslim homogeneity’ and ‘Muslim plurality’. For instances, Muslim plurality can be identified on the basis of caste differences, religious sects, regional variations and uneven employment structure. Yet, these differences can not be underlined to claim that there is no space for ‘Muslim homogeneity’ in India. In fact, a commitment in the supremacy of one God Allah and centrality of the Quran as a source for religious and social knowledge, faith in the prophet-hood of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and a profound imagination of a universal community can easily be found among all the Indian Muslim communities. The actual conducts of Indian Muslim communities are based on a highly textual Islam. In this sense, the Muslim identity could be interpreted as an outcome of what historian Richard Eaton calls a simultaneous ‘double movement’. It generates context specific explanations of basic Islamic principles and at the same time gets connected to the centres of Islam and transforms itself into a worldwide religious identity. Thus, we find a synchronized existence of a double movement: the localization of Islamic principles and the Islamization of local cultures. Unfortunately, Indian secularists/progressive intellectuals as well as communalists could not understand this specific Muslim identity formation and its various social and political manifestations. As a result, Muslims are either seen only as Muslims or alternately, their collective identity is ignored in order to make them nationalists/secular. That is the reason why the Muslim related studies have always been producing fashionable and politically correct analysis. The vast literature on ‘Muslim problem’, ‘Muslim elite’, ‘Muslim mind’, ‘Muslim vote-bank’, ‘Congress Muslims’, ‘nationalist Muslims’, ‘Muslim separatism’, and even on ‘Muslim terrorism’ and ‘Muslim Dalits’ could be a good example in this regard.

We now move on to Bidwai’s second argument. He says that the backwardness as well as progress of the single Muslim community in India can be/should be assessed by highlighting the achievements of a few successful Muslim individuals. The article glamorises the successful Indian Muslim elites as the representative of common Muslims. To elaborate this point, Bidwai mentions a survey, which, according to him, shows the modernization of Muslim women. However, he does not bother to let us know about the details, objectives and findings of this survey. Instead, we are told about Sania Mirza’s family, her dress and above all her sponsors to demonstrate the openness, rationality, modernity and progress of Indian Muslims!

This elitist view of Muslim progress can not understand the plight of common Muslims, who live in small towns and rural areas. Let us consider some interesting figures to further clarify this point. According to the India Human Development Report (1999), the average annual income of a Muslim household is Rs. 22807, and the per capita annual income of an Indian Muslim is Rs. 3678 per annum. If these figures are compared with all Indian level figures, a real difference can be elucidated to the national average. According to the report, the average annual income of an Indian household is Rs. 25653, and the per capita income of an Indian is Rs. 4485 per annum. These statistics clearly reveal that the common Muslims are still far behind from the national living standards in India. And of course, these figures are not based on the annual income of Mr. Shah Rukh Khan or Mr. Azim Premji.

The third argument about the rise of a secular Muslim intelligentsia is again very superficial and vague. Firstly, all the Muslim intellectuals can not be put in a single category. For instance, Mushirul Hasan and Muzaffar Alam are known historians who work on Indian Muslims and south Asian Islam. However, their position and approach to Indo- Islamic traditions can not be compared because of different conceptual and/or methodological priorities. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the comparison between the Muslim secular intelligentsia and the Muslim aristocracy should also be examined carefully. It is understandable that the term Muslims aristocracy is described here for those upper caste/upper class Muslims who used to enjoy special privileges and titles in the past. But, this definition can also be linked to these secular Muslim intellectuals. Most of them belong to upper caste, they are very well placed at top academic and/or cultural institutions and centres in the country and above all being the ‘secular Muslims’, they enjoy a special cultural and political privileges in contemporary India. In fact, these so-called elite secularists are the members of a privileged class. Is it not a new kind of aristocracy? Of course, we can not generalize this point like Bidwai does in this article because of two very simple reasons. First, the Muslim caste and class analysis should not be based on the economic conditions and caste background of a few individuals. Particularly in the case of caste, we can not oversimplify the working of caste system among Muslims on the bases of Hindu caste system. Secondly, no one can question the academic credibility and political commitment of a few gifted Muslim intellectuals such as Shahid Amin, Mohammed Habib or Muzaffar Alam or Asghar Ali Engineer. But, even in this sense, Muslim progress can not be judged by the growth of a few successful people.

These oversimplified formulations and claims are not compatible with Bidwai’s known political position as a secularists and peace activist. In fact, he can not defend his political position with such vague arguments. For example, his contention that the contemporary South Asian societies are intolerant and do not accept differences, stems from a mechanical and hierarchical understanding of the world, which can easily be found either in the writings of British colonial officials of 19th century or American behaviourists of 1950s or 1960s. Bidwai seems to emphasis the superiority of western modernity (not the western dominance, of course) over the custom-centric South Asian societies. He imagines that modernity and secularism are unquestionable, universal and acceptable. If this is the case, he can not criticise Iraq war or US dominated globalization simply because these developments are somewhere linked to the idea of global expansion of modernity, secularism and above all, peace. Quite similarly, his overemphasis on the success of a few Muslims can not legitimately be taken to establish that the Muslim image is transforming. We can not ignore the Hindutva’s position on the progress of Indian Muslim community. In fact, RSS think tanks use these examples to show the openness and tolerance of Hindutva that has produced such types of Muslims in post-1947 India!

The public image of the Muslim community in India is often characterized in two different ways. In ‘normal’ circumstance Muslims are regarded as poor, traditional and submissive bearers of a historic past. They are accused of being inward looking and anti-modern. On the contrary, the communal riots are often considered as the most popular expression of Muslim grievances and resentments. Bidwai’s article is a good attempt to question these established images. However, at the same time, Bidwai’s poor understanding of Indian modernity, secularism and Muslim issues and above all his own elite background do not allow him to do justice with his broader objective.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Mr. H. A. Atif is a PhD student at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He can be reached by email at h_atif1971@yahoo.co.uk.

Shahabuddin threatens to kill jail official

Patna, June 17 (IANS) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin has threatened to kill the superintendent of the Siwan jail where he is lodged, according to a police complaint filed Saturday.

"A police complaint has been lodged after he threatened to kill the jail superintendent," Siwan District Magistrate S.K. Mall said.

Shahabuddin made the threat after a dispute during which there was a heated exchange of words, jail officials said.

This is not the first time the controversial MP is being accused of misbehaviour.

He reportedly manhandled the same jail official last month when he had objected to the presence of six under-trials in his cell. No police complaint, however, was lodged then - apparently due to political pressure, officials said.

Shahabuddin, a Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, is charged in over 40 criminal cases, including sedition, murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms.

On Friday, for the second consecutive day, Shahabuddin failed to appear before a special court set up in the jail for a speedy trial of eight of the cases against him.

Shashi Tharoor's village celebrates

Elavancherry (Kerala), June 17 (IANS) The villagers are already celebrating, hoping and praying that Shashi Tharoor, whom they consider one of their own, may soon be presiding over the United Nations.

The noted author, now the UN undersecretary general for communications and public information, has been picked by India as its candidate in the race for the post of UN secretary general.

He may or may not win. But the people of Elavancherry in Kerala's Palakkad district are already in a celebratory mood.

"Ours is a small village and everyone here hopes he will be elected to the top post," said Narayanan Unni, Tharoor's maternal uncle.

"I am very hopeful that he will become the secretary general," Unni added. "And if he is elected, I want him to visit us because my mother, with whom he is very close, will be overjoyed."

Ever since news of Tharoor's candidature broke out, the village, 350 km from Thiruvananthapuram, is bustling with crowds of people queuing up to the home of the 54-year-old Unni.

"He called us three days back. Though there was no official news I asked him about the rumours. He did not say anything," said Unni, adding that villagers viewed his nephew as one of their own although he was born in London and got educated outside India.

An agriculturist by profession, Unni is the younger brother of Tharoor's mother Lily.

"He is a pure vegetarian, and whenever he is here he wears the traditional dhoti," Unni went on.

"He is a man with no airs. It is his humility that we all adore. He does not differentiate between the rich or the poor, everyone to him is the same."

Tharoor has authored several books, including the acclaimed "India: From Midnight to the Millennium", besides a biography of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

But Unni is sad that Tharoor may not visit Elavancherry in July, as he had promised.

"He was here in 2004. He promised to return to Elavancherry for 10 days to write a story far away from the busy world of his. Now I don't think it will happen," Unni said.

Tharoor's mother, now in the US with her daughter, is expected to arrive in the village next month.

"She has a flat in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). She would stay in my home," Unni said.

But Unni is hopeful that Tharoor can still write the story that he had promised some time ago.

"But with all this news and publicity, it is going to be difficult for him to spend 10 days here. Anyway, we will wait and see."

Sikh charges BBC with misrepresentation

London, June 17 (IANS) A Birmingham-based Sikh video game creator has accused the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) of misrepresenting a Sikh history-based game he has developed as anti-Muslim.

According to a report in Eastern Eye, an ethnic Indian newspaper in Britain, Taranjit Singh has claimed that BBC's Asian Network, in a show, manipulated and took out of context the content of his game and made it look like one of the "Sikhs killing Muslims".

Singh, who also works as a web researcher in the Museum and Art Gallery at Birmingham, has lodged a complaint with the Office of Communications (Ofcom), Britain's official media watchdog.

"I created this game because books were not enough to educate the youth on the complicated history of Sikh-Muslim tension," he told the newspaper. "Instead of trying to create discussion and offer a balanced platform for dialogue, they tried to make trouble between two communities."

The game's website describes Sarbloh Warriors as a pioneering Sikh computer game, combining the latest 3D action technology with the historical setting of 18th-century northern India.

Based on true events of the period, a story has been created to take the player back in time and experience how bands of Sikhs were forced to fight back from the brink of extinction, using typical weaponry of the time against the imperial Mughals, who ruled India then.

The game, still under development, is to be released at the end of next year.

Singh, a 27-year-old father, also told the newspaper how he has not been able to sleep for days or eat properly after the programme was broadcast.

"This has brought me to tears because I felt as if I was branded a racist," he said, demanding an apology from BBC. In the website, he describes the creation of this game as his goal in life.

BBC's head of communications, Andrew Bate, meanwhile, told the newspaper: "The BBC Asian Network always aims to cover stories responsibly and with great care. We believe that in this case we did just that so don't believe that an apology is warranted."

Bate was quoted as saying that the story was covered after extensive message board activity discussed the game.

"We tried to explain why it was seen by some to be offensive and always put the game into its historical context."

He also added that Singh was given extensive opportunity to comment on the issue including on Sonia Deol's programme and the network's new daily lunchtime show 'The Wrap'.

"He also called up Anita Rani's phone-in and was allowed on air for some 40 minutes. After the show Singh said it was a 'good debate' and asked for audio footage of the full interviews to put on his website," Bate told the newspaper.

Singh, however, claimed that the 40-minute interview was "edited and taken out of context".

Sonia evasive about Rahul's future role

Rae Bareli, June 17 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi Saturday evaded queries about the future role of her son Rahul amid speculation he would soon be given a prominent position in the party.

Rahul Gandhi accompanied his mother as she paid her first visit Saturday to the constituency that last month re-elected her to the Lok Sabha with a record margin.

Both mother and son parried questions from reporters over the young MP's political future.

The elder Gandhi shrugged off the question, saying: "Ask Rahul about it, he is sitting in the car."

Rahul Gandhi, who represents the neighbouring constituency of Amethi, had earlier eluded reporters. He later said: "Today is her show, please talk to her."

Meanwhile, both Sonia Gandhi and her son obliquely rapped Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for a severe power crisis in the region.

As Gandhi, attired in an off-white and grey printed sari, met the people, they poured their hearts out with complaints mostly related to the poor and erratic power supply.

"You can see that the main problem in Rae Bareli is long power cuts and we must do something about it," Gandhi told reporters during a brief chat.

While she chose not to blame anyone by name for the crisis, her displeasure was clearly directed at Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party props up the Congress-led coalition government in New Delhi but which, nevertheless, remains highly critical of the central government.

Sonia Gandhi drove through each of the five assembly segments of this parliamentary constituency, thanking her supporters for re-electing her.

People turned out in large numbers, cheering her along the winding rural roads across Rae Bareli.

She will meet party workers individually and in groups Sunday and will return to New Delhi later in the evening.

Rahul Gandhi commented: "Things were already bad on the power and water front. Now these were turning worse by the day and we are going to do something about it."

The congress president's two-day visit here was preceded by a hurried tour by Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who has openly blamed the state government for the deteriorating power scene in Uttar Pradesh in general and Rae Bareli in particular.

Two acting directors at controversy-ridden AIIMS

By Prashant K. Nanda,
New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) now has two acting directors, thanks to the ongoing feud between Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and its director P. Venugopal.

Venugopal, while proceeding on leave Thursday, appointed forensic science department head T.D. Dogra as acting director even as Ramadoss chose AIIMS dean R.C. Deka for the job.

Ramadoss, who is also the institute's president, has alleged that "some people" have turned the country's leading medical institute into a "political hub" and has warned of action against them, even as Venugopal has accused the minister of curtailing the institute's autonomy.

Many faculty members allege the government was targeting the AIIMS for being at the centre of the protest by resident doctors and medical students against the government's move to increase caste-based quotas in central institutions of higher education.

Each of the two senior faculty members asserted that he was the acting director, even as they refused to comment on the other's "appointment".

"Yes, I am the acting director. Since our director has asked me to officiate, I will do the duty till his return," Dogra told IANS.

When asked about the controversy and the alleged erosion of autonomy of AIIMS, Dogra refused to comment "as I am discharging the additional responsibility of acting director".

Deka, too, asserted his authority. "I am the dean and the minister has appointed me as acting director. I will hold this office till the regular director returns from leave," he said.

Denying allegations of erosion of autonomy, Deka said: "There is no threat to the autonomy of the institution. The current confusion will be sort out within a few days."

Meanwhile, the autonomy controversy was further dividing the AIIMS faculty members. While one group said Venugopal, being a Brahmin, was finding it difficult to take orders from the minister who was a non-Brahmin, the other group alleged the minister was interfering in day-to-day matters of the institute.

"Differences between the health minister and the director started when Venugopal wanted to appoint K.S. Reddy as dean but the health ministry chose Deka," said a senior faculty member.

"There were 10 probable names for the post of dean. While Dogra topped the list, Deka stood at No. 10. The director wanted to choose Reddy, ranked seventh in the list, which did not materialise," said the faculty requesting anonymity.

"If the director was ready to appoint as dean the candidate ranked seventh, he could not oppose the choice of the candidate No. 10 on grounds of merit," said another faculty member.

Talking about Venugopal's veiled resignation threat, the faculty member said: "He was scheduled to retire July 31, 2004, though he was appointed to the post for five years in 2003 by the previous government. He should resign to save his dignity.

"AIIMS is too big and no one is indispensable here. There are over a dozen deserving candidates for the post of the director," the faculty member added.

US awaiting formal response from Iran on proposal

Washington, June 17 (DPA) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Iran's initial responses to an international proposal offering incentives for Tehran to end its nuclear programme appeared to be "positive".

"Certainly we have heard some positive (news) from the Iranians," Rice said Friday during a press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in Shanghai Friday that his government would seriously consider the package put together by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany.

The proposal also contains penalties Iran could face if it does not comply with international demands to come clean on its nuclear activities.

"There is a very positive proposal on the table for Iran, and I certainly hope that Iran is going to choose the path of cooperation," Rice said.

"The international community needs an answer so that we know if in fact the negotiating track is indeed one that is going to bear fruit," Rice said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US expects Iran to formally respond to the proposal presented to them earlier this month by foreign policy chief Javier Solana within "weeks, not months".

D'Alema urged the Iranians to regain the trust of the international community.

"We must have a position of trust toward the partners that we are speaking to, but of course we expect that when there are such significant signs of openness, we expect very clear answers and answers that are just as significant," he said.

Ahmadinejad was in Shanghai for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who has resisted tough measures against Iran for failing to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.

"Generally speaking, the offering of the package is a step forward," he told reporters.

The US and its allies suspect Iran is using a civilian energy programme to develop nuclear weapons, allegations Iran steadfastly denies.

US to push Europe on farm barriers with India, China's help

Washington, June 17 (IANS) The United States hopes to enlist the support of India, Brazil, China and other fast-developing countries as a strategy to pressure the Europeans to lower their barriers on farm imports at the upcoming Doha round of WTO trade talks.

From the American point of view, the main roadblock to progress in the multi lateral trade talks is not the so-called emerging markets like China, India or Brazil, but the European barriers, the new US trade representative, Susan Schwab, has indicated.

Without a deal on agriculture, the progress that has been made on opening doors to American services, particularly financial, would go for naught, as would what little progress had been achieved in manufactured goods, she said in an interview with the New York Times.

President George Bush has signalled that US was willing to cut subsidies on agriculture and services and manufacturing provided Europeans take a similar 'tough decision' on farming and the G20 developing countries, including Brazil and India scale back tariffs on industrial goods.

While Schwab was going to carry that message to the upcoming Doha round, Bush himself would give the same message at the EU summit next week, he told the Initiative for Global Development's 2006 National Summit in Washington Thursday.

Rejecting the American argument that the poor and developing countries of the world will side with the United States, European negotiators claim that the cuts sought by Washington in European farm products would actually hurt the poorest countries of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean by wiping out the advantages of their trade preferences in Europe.

Ministers from key WTO countries are due to meet in Geneva late June to try to negotiate a deal to free up trade in farm and industrial goods, two pillars of the WTO's Doha round, called so as they began there in 2001. Negotiations have subsequently continued in Cancún, Mexico, Geneva, Switzerland, Paris, France, and Hong Kong.

We value women officers: Indian Army

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The Indian Army Saturday sought to dispel the impression that it could "do without" women officers, saying it "greatly valued" their services, even as women organisations branded the force as "discriminatory" for the "gender insensitive" remarks of its vice chief.

"We are very proud of our lady officers, whose contribution is greatly valued. We would, in fact, like to further optimise their role," army spokesman Maj. Gen. Raj Sujlana said at a press conference.

"We would very much like them to become totally involved in the army," Sujlana added.

He was reacting to a media report Saturday quoting army vice chief Lt. Gen S. Pattabhiraman as saying "comfort levels with lady officers are low" and that the army "can do without them".

Not unexpectedly, Sujlana said Pattabhiraman had been quoted out of context.

"The vice chief made the statement when asked a question about the possibility of lady officers serving in fighting arms like the infantry and the armoured corps," Sujlana maintained.

He, however, evaded a question on whether women would some day perform combat duties.

Rather surprisingly, the press conference was called not so much to clarify Pattabhiraman's remarks but to present "proof" that the death of Captain Sumit Kohli, a highly decorated officer, on April 30 was a case of suicide - a fact his family contests.

The alleged suicide Friday by a 25-year-old woman officer, Lt. Susmita Chakraborthy, also figured during the press conference, but more in passing, as Sujlana said the incident was being investigated.

Women's groups have taken Pattabhiraman to task for his remarks.

"This is a clear reflection of discrimination on the part of the Indian Army. When a top officer makes such a comment it points to the insensitivity of an institution," said Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).

"We think the army needs to be given a course on gender sensitisation," Raja told IANS.

She said the issue would be taken up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"The comment was uncalled for and needs to be condemned by one and all. Women are no way inferior and they should not be undermined. They are equally efficient and capable of handling any given task," Raja contended.

Pattabhiraman's comments were "filled with prejudice and will not serve any good", according to Abha Choudhry, head of the women's wing of the ruling Congress party's New Delhi unit.

"The institution is male dominated and finds it difficult to accept the contribution of women. Instead of making such comments, the authorities should create favourable conditions for women to work in," said Choudhury, a former member of the Delhi Commission of Women.

"With statements like this coming from the highest level of army, I can understand the degrading treatment that women army officers must be going through," said Anjali Menon Sen, a leading women activist of the capital.

"It calls for a public apology from the officer. There are a lot of women in the army's medical corps and they do a commendable job. Such comments will be demoralising," said Sen, chief of SANGAT, a South Asian NGO working among women.

Sen said they were networking with 46 other organisation and would send a protest letter to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of the armed forces, Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and army chief Gen. J.J. Singh.

World has fewer refugees, more internally displaced

GENEVA, June 11 (NNN-Xinhua) -- While the number of refugees worldwide reached a 26-year low in 2005, the global number of internally displaced people rose remarkably, the UN refugee agency said in an annual report on Friday.

The total number of refugees dropped from 9.5 million in 2004 to 8.4 million last year, the lowest since 1980, according to the "2005 Global Refugee Trends" report issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

However, the overall number of conflict-generated internally displaced people increased to 6.6 million in 16 countries, compared to 5.4 million in 13 countries at the end of 2004, said the report, which was issued ahead of the World Refugee Day on June 20.

"The bad news is that the international community still has a long way to go in resolving the plight of millions of internally displaced people in places like Darfur, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.

"While we have helped hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people go home in Liberia, the Russian Federation, the Balkans and elsewhere, millions more are still living like refugees within their own borders," he said.

"They need much more help than they currently get, and UNHCR intends to do its share," he added.

According to the report, the 6.6 million internally displaced people represent 32 percent of the total population of concern to UNHCR, second only to refugees at 40 percent.

The total population of concern to the UN agency stands at 20.8 million in 2005, which also includes returned refugees and returned displaced, asylum seekers, stateless people, etc.

The vast majority of the world's uprooted people remain in developing nations.

The 2005 statistics show five nationalities accounting for nearly half of the total population of concern to UNHCR: Afghans (2.9 million), Colombians (2.5 million), Iraqis (1.8 million), Sudanese (1.6 million) and Somalis (839,000). --- NNN-Xinhua

Picture source: Jason Miller

World's youngest CEO to open office in Pakistan

Bangalore, June 17 (NNN-PTI) -- India's Suhash Gopinath, who
shot to fame as the world's youngest CEO at the age of 14, on
Friday said he would avail of Pakistan's offer of land to set up an office of his Globals Inc firm there despite threats from some Islamic organisations warning him not to do so.

"Pakistan PM Shaukat Aziz invited us to expand. We are opening our office in Karachi which will be sponsored by the Pakistan government," the 19-year-old said.

Gopinath was recognised as the youngest CEO when he founded his company as a teenager in the US because the law did not permit him to do so in India.

While being happy at Pakistan's response, Gopinath said some Islamic organisations sent emails and hacked his company's website warning him not to open an office in Pakistan.

He was speaking to reporters here after meeting H D Kumaraswamy and said the chief minister assured him the government would provide him a building here to shift his company headquarters from California to Bangalore.

Gopinath said his company would also be hosting a Young Leaders conference in Bangalore in September at which Aziz would address the gathering through videoconferencing.

The teenager said he had been invited by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to set up an Entrepreneurship Cell in Britain so that his "success story" could inspire youngsters there.

Globals Inc employs 600 persons across 13 countries including 25 in Global ITES Pvt Ltd in India.