|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << July15, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]BHEL,Chomsky ...Joe Raju & Regi P George |
July17, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] 17th July posts (1-5) >> |
|
[4] From: "CHROkeralam" <chro1@rediffmail.com> Date: Fri Jul 15, 2005 The Hindu, July 14, 2005, Thursday Badal asks Blair to protect Punjabis, shrines CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal has formally urged the Tony Blair Government in the U.K. to take immediate and effective steps to prevent recurrence of hate attacks against Sikhs and other Punjabis in retaliation for what the party has described as "terrorist barbarism against innocent civilians in London last week''. A party delegation comprising the leader of the Akali parliamentary party, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, general secretary and MP, Sukhbir Singh Badal, and M.P., Rajmohinder Singh Majitha, called on the officiating British High Commissioner, Rob MacCaire, in New Delhi on Tuesday, urging him to convey to his Government the Sikh community's "concern and acute sense of insecurity'' following reports of hate crime targeting the community and its shrines in that country. Earlier, party president Parkash Singh Badal asked the three leaders to follow developments in the wake of reports of hate crime against Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular to ensure a prompt response to the problems arising out of mistaken identity. Tuesday's meeting was the first in a series of steps that the Akali Dal proposed to take to safeguard the interests of the Punjabi community living abroad. Through a communication here on Wednesday, party secretary Daljit Singh Cheema disclosed that the meeting with the British representative lasted about half an hour during which the Akali leaders emphasised that the community's religious as well as political leaders were among the first to condemn the bomb blasts in London last week. http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/14/stories/2005071410520500.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Newindpress.com/UNI, July 14, 2005, Thursday Kanchi seer denied entry into Rameswaram temple UNI RAMESWARAM: Kanchi Acharya Jayendra Saraswathi was denied entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy temple here by the temple priests. The senior seer, who arrived at the temple between 0400 hrs and 0500 hrs on Thursday morning was accompanied by Ramanathapuram Maharaja Kumaran Sethupathy and Hindu Munnani activists. After bathing in the Agni Theertha sea shore here, the Acharya entered the temple and performed the ritual of bathing in the 22 wells within the premises. Taking his pooja items the Acharya was about to enter the sanctum sanctorum when he was stopped by the temple priest, following which the Acharya left the temple leaving behind the pooja items he carried. Hindu Munnani activists have condemned the action of the temple priests and demanded that the Acharya be allowed inside by raising slogans. Sources said that the senior seer, who is staying in the Shankaracharya Mutt here, would leave later in the evening. The seer who is the main accused in the sensational Sankararaman murder case is presently on bail. http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEL20050714064407&Title=B+R+E+A+K+I+N+G++++N+E+W+S&Topic=0& ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Rediff.com, July 14, 2005, Thursday Coke loses fizz over photographer Shobha Warrier in Chennai Coca Cola is so angry with the internationally acclaimed photographer, Sharad Haksar, that the company has threatened legal action against him. His fault -- he took a picture of a huge Coca Cola hoarding with a dry water pump and colourful empty plastic pots in the foreground. Those familiar with Chennai know this is one of the commonest sights in the water-starved city. What can be described as a piece of art has been interpreted as an insult by the cola giant. Coco Cola has been facing the brunt of the rural population in many parts of the world. In India, especially in Plachimada in Kerala, Coke is possibly the most hated drink. The irony is that Coke is one of Haksar's clients. Also, it is not the first time that Haksar has done a hard-hitting social campaign. "I have been projecting the irony of international brands in India, and this was one of the images I have taken." He is puzzled by Coca-Cola's reaction. "It's just a picture and Chennai is full of such images. Coca Cola plasters walls with such huge posters and empty pots waiting to be filled is a common sight here. I don't know what the issue with Coke is. It's just like a cartoon on an issue. My picture is my way of highlighting the water problem in Chennai," Haksar said. He clarified he had no intention to paint Coke in a bad light. He said he was not even aware of the anti-Coke movement in Plachimada in Kerala. "Coke is my client and why should I bring down my client. It's my bread and butter," Haksar said. He said just three months back when he met some Coke officials, he had shown the same picture to them and none of them objected to it. It was only afterwards that he decided to have the image displayed as his personal hoarding. Perhaps anticipating some trouble, he even had a disclaimer painted on the picture! On July 11, 2005, the law firm Daniel & Gladys, who represent Coca-Cola's Indian subsidiary, sent a letter to Haksar threatening him with legal action if the billboard was not replaced 'unconditionally and immediately'. The letter said Coca-Cola would seek Rs 2 million for 'incalculable damage to the goodwill and reputation' of the brand if Haksar did not comply with the notice. "I am not going to tender an apology because I have not done anything against Coke. I have not asked anyone not to drink Coke or anything like that. It could have been Pepsi or any other drink in the background, but it happened to be Coke, that's all. It is really stupid of them to send a legal notice to me," he said. After Coca-Cola ignored Haksar's request to withdraw the notice, he decided to send them a reply through his lawyer. "I have to fight for my rights as an artist. I feel they should not have sent a legal notice to me at all," he said. Haksar, winner of the 2005 Cannes Silver Lion, laughed at the way Coke handled the whole issue. If they had not started this legal notice business, he said, nobody would have noticed the picture at all. Among the other pictures taken by Haksar are that of a beggar carrying a begging bowl with an image of MasterCard on it and a beggar in front of a Mercedes car. "Does that mean Mercedes will tomorrow file a suit against me saying I have brought down their image," he asked. http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jul/14coke.htm ---------------------------------------------------------- [8] New Indian Express, July 14, 2005, Thursday Hundred years of persecution TRIPUNITHURA: As per records available, the infamous smartha vicharam (prosecution of a Namboothiri prostitute) took place on 14th July, 1905, in a traditional naalukettu near the Hill Palace. ???According to my grandmother, it took place in a remote naalukettu, outside the Hill Palace complex,??? said 85-year-old Elamana Hari. ???Though I was born 15 years after the incident, I have heard much about it, especially during my teenage days, he recalled. The thunderous revelations by Kuriyedathu Thaathri (the accused woman), reverberated in the society for decades, Hari said. Hari recalled his grandma??™s explanations regarding the eventful prosecution, which send shock waves throughout Kochi, Travancore and Malabar. The Kochi kings enjoyed the right to conduct smartha vicharam whenever a Namboothiri woman was caught leading an immoral life. Thus in the Malayalam era 1080 (1905) Maharaja Rama Varma of Kochi ordered for the smartha vicharam of Kuriyedathu Thaathri. The prosecution was presided over by a representative the Kochi king. A smarthan (prosecutor) and three Namboothiri scholars questioned Thaathri, who revealed the names of well-known scholars, musicians, kathakali artists and many other prominent people of that time, not only of the Kochi state but also the entire Malabar belt, who had slept with her. She also presented strong evidence to substantiate her charges. Kuriyedathu Thaathri was a multifaceted personality who had in-depth knowledge of literature and was also an ardent adorer of Kathakali. The long list of victims of smartha vicharam had a disastrous effect on the cultural scene in Kerala. Celebrated kathakali artists like Kavungal Sankara Panikkar, Kaattalathu Madhavan Nair, Panangavil Govindan Nambiar, Achytha Poduval and many others had to leave the field. Even three decades after the event, in 1935, when Kavungal Sankara Panikkar tried to participate in a kathakali in connection with the silver jubilee celebrations of the Palakkad Government College, his companions were not ready to accompany him. Twelve years after the event, Tripunithura witnessed another prosecution, in 1917, in which the members of Nedumparambathu Illam were ousted from the Namboothiri society. The male members of Nedumparambathu Illam were degraded as chakyars. In his autobiography, retired Kerala University registrar A M N Chakyar, who died last year, has given an account of the mental torture he had undergone at the age of 10 when he was forced to present chakyar koothu at Muthukulangara Sree Krishnaswami Temple. Interestingly, in the hundredth year of the infamous smartha vicharam Tripunithura witnessed ???persecution of ideas???. The Purogamana Kala Sathithya Sangham (Pukasa), to commemorate the 100th year of the event, decided to conduct a series of lectures on the problems faced by women even 100 years after smartha vicharam, and litterateur Sara Joseph was to have delivered the first lecture. But, ironically, a revolutionary political party intervened and ???ordered??? Pukasa to cancel Sara??™s speech. ???It was really shocking to hear such an order from a political party which once stood against everything fascist, said an enthusiastic young activist of Pukasa, on condition of anonymity. Hundred years after smartha vicharam, the condition of Kerala Society has become worse, he added. PS: Just a day before the 100th year of smartha vicharam, Annyonyam, an organization of Namboothiri families, opened a modern naalukettu in Tripunithura to restart ancient customs like upanayanam, samaavarthanam, sraadham and annapraasham. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20050714005503&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0& ------------------------------------------------------------ New Indian Expresss, July 14, 2005, Thursday Anyonyam Nalukettu inaugurated TRIPUNITHURA: The youngsters of the Namboothiri community should inculcate the upanayana samskaram along with other shodassa samskaram to mould a reputed a personality, said Bhagavathahamsam Brahmasree Malliyoor Sankaran Namboothiripad. He was delivering the blessing speech after the formal inauguration of the Anyonyam Nalukettu. Malliyoor also underscored the relevance of vedic hymns and rituals in human life. ???Gayathri is the invaluable wealth passed on to us by our ancestors,??? he said. Gayathri is expected to protect the persons who render it. In Puraanas and Upanishads the means for salvation suggested for Kaliyuga Brahmins is nothing but the chanting of Gayathri, he said. The newly opened Anyonyam Nalukettu was constructed by 250 Namboothiri families in and around Tripunithura and it is situated near Kannankulangara. The president of Palace Administration Board Rama Varma Kunjappan Thampuran was also present during inauguration. The service of this Nalukettu is available for the members of Namboothiri families and Kshathriya families residing in Tripunithura. ???Since the rituals related to day-to-day life of Namboothiris and Kshathriyas demand a pond, the Nalukettu is constructed near a pond,??? said Appu Namboothiri, one of the architects of Nalukettu. There will be a priest and a supporter in the Nalukettu for conducting religious rituals. http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20050714010941&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0& -------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] Indiatimes.com, July 13, 2005, Wednesday CRPF, PAC divided over Ayodhya credit BISHESHWAR MISHRA NEW DELHI: After being partners in the brave action that beat back the terrorist assault on Ramjanmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) are at loggerheads, as to who to take the credit. Smarting from UP government??™s largesse for the 10 PAC men involved in the operation ??” completely ignoring the others, CRPF on Monday went public with embarrassing details about how a posse of PAC jawans had actually run away from their positions when the shooting began. CRPF sources claimed that four rifles, four pairs of boots and four ???bandoleers??™ (cloth pouches for keeping cartridges tied to the belt) were found by their men in the combing operation launched soon after all the terrorists were gunned down at Ayodhya on Tuesday. Nothing surprising ??” except that these belonged to the PAC, which too guards the Ram Janmabhoomi complex. These items belonged to four PAC jawans. Unlike the CRPF men who stuck to their task and succeeded in gunning down the terrorists, they had run away from the area. Highly placed government sources told TOI on Sunday when senior PAC officers carried out a routine accounting of arms and ammunition with PAC jawans, they found there was a shortfall. An inquiry was quickly conducted and all the jawans were asked to account for their equipment. Four PAC jawans, who had been trying to dodge their superiors, were soon identified and found without their equipment. They first tried to pass it off as a theft, but soon admitted that they had run away from the spot, abandoning their rifles, cartridge pouches and boots. Sources said though these PAC jawans were on duty close to the makeshift temple, they were playing cards in a nearby house. The 33rd battalion of the CRPF was also on duty there. It was the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the CRPF, resting inside the large generator room, which promptly responded to the attack by terrorists. The sources said that soon after the first IED planted in the jeep exploded near the fencing, providing an opening to the terrorists who ran towards the Sita Ki Rasoi, the four card-playing PAC jawans took to their heels, leaving behind their rifles, ammunition pouches and boots, which they had taken off. However, when the CRPF recovered these items during the combing operation, they thought these belonged to the slain terrorists. When senior PAC functionaries along with the four PAC jawans came looking for the equipment, the CRPF men refused to give them back saying they had been recovered from the encounter site and could have some vital connection with the probe. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1170309.cms ------------------------------------------------------------ The Hindu, July 14, 2005, Thursday U.P. wants equal honour for PAC LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government is likely to raise the issue of giving ``due credit'' to Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel in protecting the Ram Janmabhoomi during the July 5 attack by terrorists, at tomorrow's meeting with Union Home ministry in New Delhi. State police officials have expressed annoyance at the ``repeated appreciation'' of only Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans involved in the operation, claiming that while central leaders and bureaucrats had been appreciating the CRPF, there had been no pat for PAC jawans or the state police. A senior police official said the delegation of state officials would again raise this issue at tomorrow's meeting with MHA officials in the national Capital. UP government had informally lodged its complaint with Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil during his visit to Ayodhya. But CRPF officials posted in the state claim while 10 PAC men got out-of-turn promotions, they were given only monetary rewards. CRP also cites reports that some of the PAC jawans had even failed to react to the attack at initial stage. Hours after the attack was repulsed, CM Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi announced awards of Rs 25 lakhs and Rs 10 lakh, respectively, for the jawans. UNI http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/14/stories/2005071413830300.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
| << July15, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]BHEL,Chomsky ...Joe Raju & Regi P George |
July17, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net] 17th July posts (1-5) >> |
|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on India Thinkers Net |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |