|
India Thinkers Net Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << August05, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]Guest,organic farming,revolt,498a,Mumbai floods... |
August09, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]Dalit news,Saudi advisory,Dalai,India nationhood >> |
|
[6] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Thu Aug 4, 2005 Subject: Hiroshima-Nagasaki Week in Mumbai s Coalition for Nuclear disarmament and Peace (CNDP), India Mumbai Sixtieth Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki No More Nukes! No More Wars!! All We Want Is Peace!!! Sixty years back, by the close of the Second World War, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were made to suffer the indescribable trauma of being incinerated by atomic bombs dropped from the sky by the US air force. Never before in the history of humanity so many died with so much pain. And those who survived their fate was perhaps even worse. The conscience of the humanity was stirred as never before. 'Hiroshima and Nagasaki', since those fateful days of 6th and 9th August 1945, became a byword for a supreme tragedy and a monumental crime. Under the impact of the nuclear blasts a strong wave of public opinion swept across the length and breadth of the globe. A global antinuke peace movement took shape with Japan as one of the major nerve centres. But even after six decades the goal of the global peace movement remains to be realised. Rather the nuclear arsenals have over the years grown far deadlier, and more numerous. Today all the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are legitimate (!) Nuclear Weapons States (NWSs). Possession of nuclear weapons, instead of attaching a deep moral stigma, carries the glow of (super) power! Just over seven years back, reversing the feeble but real trend towards global de-nuclearisation triggered off by the end of the Cold War, two Asian countries, India and Pakistan, gate crashed into the exclusive club of nuclear powers. And this year in May the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in New York at the United Nations headquarter failed even to produce a joint statement at the end of the nearly four week long conclave. This reflects the deeper crisis that the global non-proliferation order is currently faced with. And this predicament is primarily brought about by the unilateralist policies of the US regime led by George Bush in relentless pursuance of the goal of unfettered global dominance espoused by the American neo-con coterie. Consequently the world today faces the prospect of a renewed spurt in both vertical and horizontal proliferations. It is against this disturbing backdrop, the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) - a nationwide coalition of 200 plus civil society organizations, in unison with the global anti-nuke peace movements have given the call to observe August 6-12 as the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Week to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the horrific tragedy. This is meant to pay tribute to the countless innocents who died extremely painful and agonizing deaths, and also to remind ourselves of the grave danger posed by the more than 30,000 nuclear warheads all the world over, either deployed or stockpiled. Not only that, this is also meant to reinforce the huge moral barrier that went up to prevent any further use of this weapon of mindless mass murder in the wake of Hiroshima-Nagasaki. The Mumbai chapter of the CNDP, in collaboration with all like-minded organizations and individuals, has, consequently, come up with the following detailed programme: 1. Observance of one-minute silence on both August 6 and 9 at 11 00 AM exact. (This is a national programme.) 2. Mass rally from Azad Maidan at 3 30 PM to Hutatma Chowk and reading out of peace pledge on August 6. This is being done under the auspices of the Bombay Sarvoday Mandal. 3. Organising debates, discussions, film shows etc. during the Week, particularly in schools and colleges. 4. Cultural event, in collaboration with the MidDay, on August 10 at the Nehru Centre from 7 00-10 00 PM. The event will include staging of an Urdu drama Naqab, authored by famous Pakistani playwright late Rafi Peerzada. The 70-minute play brings out in a powerful manner the futility of war through a love story set against the backdrop of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. It will be enacted by director and producer Syed Saeed Ahmed and the budding Marathi stage actress Manasi Lonkar. Renowned young singer Rabbi Shergill will render his soulful Sufi songs to convey the message of peace and harmony. Ms. Sherry Rehman, a veteran journalist and Member of the National Assembly, Pakistan, will be the Guest of Honour. Famous artiste Rahul Bose will grace the occasion and conduct the programme. Passes for the August 10th event are available with: Varsha Rajan Berry /Sonila Shetty Focus on the Global South - India A-201, Kailash Apartments Juhu Church Road, Juhu , Mumbai - 400049 Tel:91.22.55821141/55821151 Email : focusind@... --------------------- [7] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Fri Aug 5, 2005 Subject: Achin Vanaik and Washington Post on US-India Nuke Deal As Insecure As Before The Telegraph (India) August 04, 2005 AS INSECURE AS BEFORE On the eve of another Hiroshima Day, Achin Vanaik exposes the hypocrisy of "responsible" nuclear powers like the US The author is professor of international relations and global politics, Delhi University August 6 and 9 this year will be the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Groups worldwide will be commemorating this tragic event, hoping to remind governments and peoples that they need to pay tribute to the innocent victims, to make sure that those deaths were not completely in vain. What this means is obvious enough -- we have to work towards global nuclear disarmament. While much of global civil society, and many governments, will listen to and respect this simple message, the nuclear weapons powers and their most obsequious allies will not. What the attitude of the Indian government and that of much of our elite might be to this has now been made fairly clear. In the wake of the India-US accord, it is believed in such circles that India has now been accepted as a "responsible nuclear power". Accepted by whom? Why, of course, by the United States of America, to whom India is now beholden and which therefore can no longer be criticized for its nuclear behaviour, past and present. The truth is that there is no such thing as a "responsible nuclear power". The clique that even the Indian pro-bomb lobby once called the club of nuclear apartheid, whose members were dishonest and hypocritical about nuclear proliferation, is now to be repackaged and sold in this country as the club of "responsible powers". All because India is getting de facto entry into it, courtesy the US. The truth is that there isn't and cannot be any such animal as a "responsible nuclear power". The key arguments used to justify acquisition of nuclear weapons are all minor variations on the fundamental theme of deterrence, and as such are applicable to a chain of other countries. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. This is why aspiring or potential nuclear powers, as well as nuclear disarmament proponents, have declared that if existing nuclear powers refuse to move towards disarming themselves then they have no moral right to oppose proliferation or prevent others from acquiring nuclear weapons. Also, every one of the seven declared nuclear powers (the eighth being Israel) have been involved in forms of extra-country linkages tantamount to promoting proliferation - the US and Canadian support to India's nuclear power sector from which it developed the 1974 bomb, the Russia-China and US-Britain collaboration of the Fifties, the French-Israel or US-Israel link, the Israel-South Africa link, the China-Pakistan link. Of course, among this coterie, the irresponsibility is not equally shared. The US is by far the most irresponsible of the lot. It is the only one to use nuclear weapons on a civilian population and has never seen fit to apologize to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki though it got an apology from Japan for Pearl Harbour. It has always been the principal pace-setter in the qualitative development of the nuclear arms race. It has carried out the most nuclear tests, spreading deadly radiation among Marshall Islanders as well as amidst the Nevada population. It has spent more money ($5.5 trillion between 1940-96) on its nuclear weapons programme than the rest of the world put together. Its nuclear weapons budget for 2005 is $6.6 billion, which is higher than its yearly average during the Cold War years. The US's top officials say that high-yield nuclear weapons are self-deterring because their use is more difficult given the public memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And therefore, the US needs to make low-yield and more usable nuclear weapons. This, of course, is what the US is preparing to make. Paul Robinson, chairman of the policy subcommittee of the strategic advisory group for the commanders-in-chief of the US strategic command talks of a "to whom it may concern" nuclear arsenal directed at third world countries and targets. Nor should we forget the current US effort to nuclearize-militarize outer space through its integrated Ballistic Missile Defence and Theatre Missile Defence programme. This is aimed at dominating nuclear rivals like Russia and China and will push them to make more and bigger warheads and delivery systems. This in turn will push India to expand its arsenal to keep pace with say, China, and Pakistan to do the same vis-? -vis India. That the most powerful nuclear country is doing this, thereby guaranteeing future nuclear instability when there already exist enough weapons between itself and Russia to blow up the world several times over, is only a further indication of how insane the search is for nuclear "security" and power through nuclear weapons. Similarly, India's silence (or is it endorsement?) over the BMD/TMDs project is a mark of its own cowardice. At the level of doctrine, it is of course the US that is systematically blurring the distinction between nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. It is the US that is integrating, at the operational military level, the use of nuclear and non-nuclear conventional weapons; it is the US that now declares its willingness to use military power pre-emptively and preventively, in contempt of all existing international laws and norms. It is the US that refuses to give assurances to non-nuclear states that it will never use nuclear weapons against them. Again, it is the US that will defy the UN convention on the Law of the Seas by reserving for itself the right to interdict any ship it suspects of carrying nuclear-related materials by or for any country which it holds as not being a "responsible" nuclear or indeed non-nuclear state. Are these expressions of responsible nuclear behaviour? One of the most striking things about the nuclear weapons lobbies the world over is how the number of defectors from its side to the anti-nuclear side is many times greater than the opposite flow of one-time nuclear disarmers to pro-bomb lobbies. One such defector is Robert McNamara who said in June this year, "I would characterize current US nuclear weapons policy as immoral, illegal, military unnecessary and dreadfully dangerous." But what does he know? Don't we have it on the word of New Delhi and its media acolytes that the smaller but "responsible" nuclear power India has now joined hands with the larger but also "responsible" nuclear power, the US, for the good of India and the world? Mahatma Gandhi, who could not speak for 24 hours after the bombing of Hiroshima, must now be turning in his grave. A-bomb victims -- rest in peace, your Indian and American saviours are at hand. A Bad Deal With India Washington Post August 3, 2005; Page A19 A BAD DEAL WITH INDIA By Lawrence J. Korb and Peter Ogden Many of the people who are made uncomfortable by President Bush's ideologically driven foreign policy have been pleasantly surprised by his recent decision to supply India with nuclear energy technology. This diplomatic agreement, its admirers eagerly point out, is not rooted in "freedom" or "values" but in a strategic calculation: that providing India with such technology will help balance China's power in the region. This does appear to be the case. But what they fail to note is that the administration's inexperience with such strategic, non-ideological calculations has caused it to mishandle the negotiations themselves and, in so doing, to damage one of our country's most strategic, effective and "realistic" agreements: the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). First, the Bush administration made two amateurish mistakes in the way it brought this agreement to the world's attention. One was announcing the agreement just days before the resumption of six-party talks over the fate of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. For the past few years, the United States has struggle to convince China that North Korea, its ally, should be punished for violating the NPT. Yet just before the six-party talks began, the Bush administration declared that our ally India would not be punished for its refusal to join the NPT. This clearly undermines our ability to secure China's much-needed cooperation in denuclearizing North Korea. The Bush administration's second error was announcing its agreement before having secured the necessary congressional approval. The initial reaction from Capitol Hill has not been encouraging: Members of the energy conference committee in the House have already approved a measure that would make it illegal for the United States to export nuclear technology to India, and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) has cautiously remarked, "We're going to have a lot of conversations." Such conversations ought to have taken place before the agreement was made public. The instant we announced our willingness to disregard the NPT, we forever undermined its coercive power. But we will not receive any of the strategic benefits of a strengthened India without congressional approval. Thus, we could end up paying the cost for the agreement without reaping any of its rewards. Most significant, however, is this: The Bush administration is wrong to believe that the agreement with India will serve our strategic interests better than the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it threatens to render all but obsolete. The Bush administration has demonstrated over the past five years that it does not believe the treaty to be worth preserving. In May it expressed its disdain by dispatching a low-level State Department official to the important NPT Review Conference. And last year the administration torpedoed a crucial verification provision of a treaty, one that would have reinforced the NPT by banning production of uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons. The Non-Proliferation Treaty -- which is founded on a simple but powerful agreement that nuclear states will provide access to peaceful nuclear technology to countries that forgo such weapons -- has served the U.S. national interest since it was signed in 1970. When it came into effect, there were five nuclear weapons states, and it was estimated that the number would grow to 25 by the end of the century. Thanks in large part to the NPT, the actual number of nuclear powers in the year 2005 is just nine. According to Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, more than 40 countries have peaceful nuclear programs that could be retooled to produce weapons. That so many of them have not done so is testimony to the effectiveness of the carrots and sticks in the NPT. If Congress accepts the logic of the Bush administration and allows our government to help build nuclear energy plants in India on the grounds that it is an ally, what is to stop China from offering the same support to its allies? It is only a matter of days before Pakistan -- another country with nuclear weapons that has refused to sign the NPT and thus has been denied certain types of nuclear technology -- demands to receive the same special treatment that India has. The final weakness in these negotiations is that the Bush administration secured so little in return. While we were willing to void the most potent nuclear weapons control treaty of the past three decades, India was not even compelled to stop producing fissile material for further weapons. Apparently, in its concern to balance the power of China, the administration forgot to consider whether putting no limits on India's fissile material production might not prompt Pakistan to continue such production itself. Such a development would certainly increase the risk of nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists. Ultimately, the Bush administration should be commended for its foray into the realm of geopolitical strategy and diplomatic negotiations. But let us hope that next time it manages to strike an agreement more beneficial to the United States. Lawrence J. Korb, an assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration, and Peter Ogden are with the Center for American Progress. ----------------- [8] From: "sanjeev nayyar" <exploreindia@vsnl.net> Date: Thu Aug 4, 2005 Subject: Himachal Pradesh:Heaven on Earth Namaskar Mitra, After having traveled extensively through Himachal Pradesh I believe it is the most beautiful Himalayan state. A possible reason why it has not become as popular as J & K is is because it is not as accessible as Srinagar & Ladakh. For e.g. there is no flight to Spiti Valley (nearly a 12 hour bus drive from Manali) or to Kalpa (about a seven hour bus drive from Simla). A friend's friend gave me these super pics of Raksham & Chittkul in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district. Dr Kaustubh Kulkarni and his wife Dr Sharda Kulkarni are a widely acclaimed team of gynecologists and infertility specialists who have passionately created a state of art infertility center Siddhi Life in Mumbai. You can mail feedback to Kaustubh at siddhilife2002@.... Visit their site www.siddhilife.com. To see 34 pictures. http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_photo.asp?subcatid=170. To read Kaustuk's article see below or click From a tourist perspective the State can be divided into five parts namely Dalhousie/Chamba, Lahual/Spiti Valleys, Kulu/Manali, Kinnaur district ie Kalpa/Sangla and Simla/Narkhanda/Chail. Also read: 1.. Spiti Valley: a Hidden paradise in Himachal Pradesh: http://www.esamskriti.com/html/inside.asp?cat=568&subcat=567&cname=gmanspiti 2.. See the beauty of Himachal through over 125 pictures. Travel to Lahaul & Spiti Valleys, Kalpa & Sangla, Dalhousie, Kangra & Chamba, Manali and Dharamshala.http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_photographs.asp?catid=7 Himachal Pradesh: Heaven on Earth By Dr Kaustubh Kulkarni When you enter Himachal, it is with the promise that you will be two fingerbreadths away from heaven! The promise is more than fulfilled once you step into the magical villages of Chitkul and Raksham, deep inside the Kinnaur district in the valley of the Baspa river. Once upon a time, Ishwar must have decided to build a valley close to his own heart. He made a glacial river flow from the mighty Himalayas (temples of snow) into a plateau which was fertile and made occasional, noble men to live and enjoy in this land. The whole valley of close to 90km of land mass was elevated above the flat plains and because of its inaccessibility, stayed isolated, pure and beautiful. Luckily, we in India get to see this part of heaven in a small area called Kinnaur. Close to the border with Tibet, the district of Kinnaur was isolated from the mainstream of even Himachal Pradesh till as recent as 1993. Even Indian nationals were allowed restricted entry. Therefore, the whole of Kinnaur was caught up in a time wrap, as few could enter and corrupt its pristine beauty. The developmental chronology of Kinnaur has the old Hindoostan - Tibet silk route passing along the high ridges with its share of old centers like Kalpa and Sangla. These were towns for trade and rest. Since mules, horses and yaks were the only mode of transport then the roads went along the high ridges of the mountains making them walk able not motorable. Since 1960, the national highway was built along the lower ridges with Recong Peo as the district headquarter/nodal centre. The present highway is the life line of Kinnaur, and is in itself a magnificent piece of civil engineering know how, put together with lots of Blood and Guts. The roads are long stretches chiseled out of a sheer rock face almost like a tunnel with one wall missing. 2. To reach Chitkul and Raksham, one takes the national highway from Shimla to Rampur past Narkanda up to a dusty junction called Karcham. From Karcham, you take a detour to Chitkul and rise almost vertically close to 8000ft. via the Chung Sakhago pass into the Baspa valley. In effect, you have left the Sutlej below to meet its higher tributary the Baspa. Public transport is both reliable and advisable. The moment you enter this 95km. plateau after the adrenaline pumped ascent, you see the huge Baspa valley - hydroelectric project. You will now hit the fairly well populated and commercial town of Sangla. From here on the drive is mostly level driving through some magnificent mountain scapes. The road now continues up to Chitkul occasionally allowing a hill stream to gurgle and cross its path. You keep seeing the snow peaks all along with tall Chinar, Pine and Chilgoza trees. In early spring there is still a white snow carpet with the occasional green shrub pushing through and in late spring there is an absolute riot of colors till your vision reaches the horizon. You will first come across Raksham, which allows the slightly tame Baspa River to play along its borders. The town has a collection of few houses that are built from wood, stone and dried grass. Don't be taken in by this rustic feel for the town works efficiently and boasts of a two-storey hotel cum post office. The hotel has a very helpful manager. For a stressed out city slicker, this place is the perfect antidote. The Conifer trees here effortlessly blend with the snow from the peaks all within walk able distance of your hotel. A good pair of lungs and legs could take you to your own custom made corner of bliss. A lot of adventure treks start from Raksham, the simplest of which would be to Chitkul a mere 14km. away along the banks of the youthful Baspa. The pastel pink of the freshly flowering Chilgoza pine, the azure blue sky dotted with the occasional wisp of white cloud and the mighty In Raksham and Chitkul most local activities revolve around wood. Collecting, cutting, storing and building with wood. Houses function as places to dwell as well as godowns for dry wood and grass. This has led to accidents in the past, where an entire house has burnt down and was promptly rebuilt sometimes more than once in a year. The local Kinnauri's are very fire and environment conscious so do not throw or use plastic bags. On your walks you will find a lot of pine and fir acorns. Since the two towns are in a crucible of the Himalayas, the sunrises not before 9:00am and sets by 5:00pm everyday. Legend has it that the 'Pandav' brothers of the epic Mahabharata spent several years of their exile here. A quaint mix of Hinduism (Shiva temples) co exists with the more recent Buddhism. The kinners of Kinnaur have been labeled halfway between men and God by our ancient texts. Incidentally Tibetan Buddhists worship Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva, with perhaps more fervor than we do. Further, Spiti's Ki Monastery and a monastery on the banks of Mansrovar in Tibet have trishuls adorning their terrace. The bus/ jeep that you take to Chitkul stops at the bus stand and promptly hurries back to Raksham and then Sangla. Chitkul has a PWD Bungalow, but you will be better served befriending the locals, who happily rent out their homes to you. The dwellings are built in a mix of Doric style with functional interiors and high lofts for storing wood and grass. Each room will have continuous water supply outside the room. The tap is kept permanently open or else the water may freeze inside the pipes and damage it. The Chitkul villagers have a council that meets in the temple courtyard once a week or more often if the need arises. The school is slightly further away abutting the riverbank on one side. Since a landslide had destroyed a classroom all classes are held in the four corners of the playground. Solar electricity is available till lights out is announced and for those fond of watching T.V. or listening to the radio there is obviously no coverage. If you like listening to the soothing sound of a mountain stream pass through centuries of old rounded rocks, this is the place for you! The Army keeps a watchful eye on the town without interfering with the day to day working of the town. These places beckon you to partake in its beauty. The sooner you reach there the better! EOM. Share the Wealth, With Prem & Om, Cheers sanjeev |
|
| << August05, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]Guest,organic farming,revolt,498a,Mumbai floods... |
August09, 2005 - [India Thinkers Net]Dalit news,Saudi advisory,Dalai,India nationhood >> |
|
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 |