The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Thursday underwent rigorous medical examination at the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (Nims).
The Chief Minister who arrived at the hospital at 9 am stayed on till 1 pm and an expert team of doctors oversaw his medical examinations. “The Chief Minister is perfectly alright. He will continue to actively discharge his duties for the rest of his term,” the medical education minister, Mr S. Sudarshan Reddy, told mediapersons. After being certified as fit, the Chief Minister went to the Secretariat in the evening and held a review on law and order. Initially it was decided that he would take complete rest at home. Mr Rosaiah will also leave for the national capital on April 8. Besides attending the meeting of high level committee constituted by the Centre to control prices of essential commodities, the Chief Minister will meet UPA chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi on April 9.
Meanwhile, the doctors were said to have heaved a sigh of relief when they found no neurological abnormalities in the Chief Minister. They ruled out the possibility that he frequently reports dizziness due to neurological problems.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Secret devotee gives Rs 4 crore
An anonymous devotee from Hyderabad offered Rs 4 crore to the Brahmarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam of Srisailam in Kurnool district in different phases.
This is one of the biggest donations given by a single devotee to this famous Shiva temple and other temples excluding the Venkateshwara Swamy temple of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.
The GMR group had reportedly donated Rs 1 crore to famous Saraswathi temple at Basar recently.
A highly placed source in the Brahmarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam told this newspaper that the devotee who is from the city is a frequent visitor to the temple and donates large sums of money whenever he
visits.
“So far, he has donated Rs 4 crore. He makes the donation with an explicit condition that his name should not be revealed or publicised. He told us that he doesn’t even reveal the amount donated by his family since it could be leaked out,” a source in the temple said.
The presiding deities of this temple are one of the 12 Jyothirlingas and goddess Brahmaramba Devi is one of the 18 mahasakthis and both are self-manifested.
Meanwhile, the Srisaila Devasthanam has decided to give a last try to get the balance sum of Rs 89 lakhs from actor Amitabh Bachchan before seeking help from another donor for gold plating of Dwaja sthambham.
This is one of the biggest donations given by a single devotee to this famous Shiva temple and other temples excluding the Venkateshwara Swamy temple of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.
The GMR group had reportedly donated Rs 1 crore to famous Saraswathi temple at Basar recently.
A highly placed source in the Brahmarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam told this newspaper that the devotee who is from the city is a frequent visitor to the temple and donates large sums of money whenever he
visits.
“So far, he has donated Rs 4 crore. He makes the donation with an explicit condition that his name should not be revealed or publicised. He told us that he doesn’t even reveal the amount donated by his family since it could be leaked out,” a source in the temple said.
The presiding deities of this temple are one of the 12 Jyothirlingas and goddess Brahmaramba Devi is one of the 18 mahasakthis and both are self-manifested.
Meanwhile, the Srisaila Devasthanam has decided to give a last try to get the balance sum of Rs 89 lakhs from actor Amitabh Bachchan before seeking help from another donor for gold plating of Dwaja sthambham.
Many residents leave old city
Many residents, particularly a large number of youth from Faluknama, Chatrinaka and Shah-Ali-Banda, took advantage of the two-hour curfew relaxation on Thursday and moved out of the old city.
While some of them mo-ved to their relatives’ and friends’ houses in the new city, others migrated to surrounding districts of Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar and Medak.
Some have even gone to the extent of shifting their entire families to other states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat.
Many of them said that they were forced to move out of the old city since there was no clarity as to when curfew would be lifted permanently.
Some said that it was very difficult for them to procure essential commodities within two hours, that too after a gap of two days.
Mr Ikshiyaad, a resident of Chatrinaka, shifted his entire family of 17 members to Banaras. The entire family moved out of the old city in three autorickshaws to the Mahatma Gandhi bus stand in Gowliguda.
Mr B. Srinu, a worker in a bakery at Shah-Ali-Banda migrated to his native place Nizamabad.
“I am a daily wage labourer. I have not eaten anything since the last two days as there was no work due to the curfew. I worked for two hours today and earned Rs 150. I decided
to utilise this amount to move to my native place,” he said.
While some of them mo-ved to their relatives’ and friends’ houses in the new city, others migrated to surrounding districts of Ranga Reddy, Mahbubnagar and Medak.
Some have even gone to the extent of shifting their entire families to other states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat.
Many of them said that they were forced to move out of the old city since there was no clarity as to when curfew would be lifted permanently.
Some said that it was very difficult for them to procure essential commodities within two hours, that too after a gap of two days.
Mr Ikshiyaad, a resident of Chatrinaka, shifted his entire family of 17 members to Banaras. The entire family moved out of the old city in three autorickshaws to the Mahatma Gandhi bus stand in Gowliguda.
Mr B. Srinu, a worker in a bakery at Shah-Ali-Banda migrated to his native place Nizamabad.
“I am a daily wage labourer. I have not eaten anything since the last two days as there was no work due to the curfew. I worked for two hours today and earned Rs 150. I decided
to utilise this amount to move to my native place,” he said.
Riot-hit parts normal as curfew relaxed for 2 hrs
The riot-hit parts of the old city remained incident-free on Thursday as curfew was relaxed for the first time since Monday.
No untoward incident was reported during the two-hour break from curfew.
Residents, however, said that two hours were not enough keeping in mind the long queues at vegetable, medical and general stores.
There was a mad rush at the markets and even the ATMs were soon empty.
The police had to resort to mild lathi charges at some places where the curfew deadline had expired. Many residents could not buy enough stocks as a large number of them were yet to receive salaries as it was the first day of the month.
Traders made a killing as they jacked up the prices of essential commodities des-pite claims by the government of monitoring the same. In some areas a litre of milk was sold for Rs 100 and three-day-old vegetables for Rs 50- a- kilo. Eggs were priced at Rs 50 per dozen, bananas Rs 50 per dozen, grapes at Rs 60 per kg. Even medicines were
being sold for thrice their market price. The home minister, Ms P. Sabita Indra Reddy, said that the police had booked four traders for selling essential commodities in black.
In the morning, confusion reigned high as some residents of Mirchowk and Falaknuma came out from their houses at 8 am, though, curfew relaxation in these areas was from 11 am.
Curfew was relaxed from 8 am to 10 am in nine police station limits and from 11
am to 1 pm in eight police station limits. The police commissioner, Mr A. K. Khan, said there would be no relaxation in the eight police station areas of the new city where curfew had been imposed on Tuesday night after clashes
No untoward incident was reported during the two-hour break from curfew.
Residents, however, said that two hours were not enough keeping in mind the long queues at vegetable, medical and general stores.
There was a mad rush at the markets and even the ATMs were soon empty.
The police had to resort to mild lathi charges at some places where the curfew deadline had expired. Many residents could not buy enough stocks as a large number of them were yet to receive salaries as it was the first day of the month.
Traders made a killing as they jacked up the prices of essential commodities des-pite claims by the government of monitoring the same. In some areas a litre of milk was sold for Rs 100 and three-day-old vegetables for Rs 50- a- kilo. Eggs were priced at Rs 50 per dozen, bananas Rs 50 per dozen, grapes at Rs 60 per kg. Even medicines were
being sold for thrice their market price. The home minister, Ms P. Sabita Indra Reddy, said that the police had booked four traders for selling essential commodities in black.
In the morning, confusion reigned high as some residents of Mirchowk and Falaknuma came out from their houses at 8 am, though, curfew relaxation in these areas was from 11 am.
Curfew was relaxed from 8 am to 10 am in nine police station limits and from 11
am to 1 pm in eight police station limits. The police commissioner, Mr A. K. Khan, said there would be no relaxation in the eight police station areas of the new city where curfew had been imposed on Tuesday night after clashes
Security tightened for prayers
The city police, which is on high alert, has deployed additional 10 companies of paramilitary forces to ensure smooth conduct of Friday prayers in the curfew-bound areas, particularly Macca Masjid.
There was uncertainty on whether any mass gathering would be allowed for prayers in Macca Masjid.
While police wanted prayers to be held in local mosques, the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen, the decisive political force in old city, and other Muslim organisations demanded that the curfew be relaxed during prayer hours.
However, a meeting held by the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Thursday decided not to relax curfew but asked police to make arrangements for prayers in consultation with religious leaders.
Sources said the police would continue to persuade people to hold prayers in their respective local mosques to minimise crowding at Macca Masjid. Cops will also cordon off the area and use fencing to regulate movement near Charminar.
Sources said the CM spoke with the MIM leaders, Mr Asaduddin Owaisi and Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, and appealed to them to cooperate with the police. They suggested to relax curfew and felt that restrictions will lead to confrontation.
There was uncertainty on whether any mass gathering would be allowed for prayers in Macca Masjid.
While police wanted prayers to be held in local mosques, the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen, the decisive political force in old city, and other Muslim organisations demanded that the curfew be relaxed during prayer hours.
However, a meeting held by the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Thursday decided not to relax curfew but asked police to make arrangements for prayers in consultation with religious leaders.
Sources said the police would continue to persuade people to hold prayers in their respective local mosques to minimise crowding at Macca Masjid. Cops will also cordon off the area and use fencing to regulate movement near Charminar.
Sources said the CM spoke with the MIM leaders, Mr Asaduddin Owaisi and Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, and appealed to them to cooperate with the police. They suggested to relax curfew and felt that restrictions will lead to confrontation.
Priyanka-Lara to star in Don 2
Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta, who made their joint debut together in Raj Kanwar’s Andaaz opposite Akshay Kumar, will now be seen together once again in Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2, the sequel of the super hit starring Shah Rukh Khan. The film will hit the floors in October this year.
“Priyanka was finalised for the sequel right at the planning stages itself. Apart from SRK, Priyanka and Arjun, Lara Dutta too plays a vital part of the film. She has an interesting role,” said a source.
“Priyanka was finalised for the sequel right at the planning stages itself. Apart from SRK, Priyanka and Arjun, Lara Dutta too plays a vital part of the film. She has an interesting role,” said a source.
Asin roped in for Kochi IPL team?
Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, Deepika Padukone, Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif have already been spotted at the IPL matches in their different capacities — as team owners, or endorsing teams or in some cases, simply as spectators. Even our own Chennai team was endorsed by Kollywood stars during the first edition of IPL. This time around, actress Trisha was spotted at Chennai’s Chepauk stadium, supporting the CSK team.
Now the latest news is that actress Asin, who made it big in Bollywood with her debut film Ghajini, will soon be a brand ambassador for the recently formed Kochi IPL cricket team.
The Kochi IPL team is part owned by Venugopal and Shailendra Gaikwad and the man behind the scenes who put it all together was none other than Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, who’s also an MP from Trivandrum. A source said that the organisers are convinced that Asin, who hails from Kerala, would be the right choice and a big star attraction and crowd puller for their team, which will take the field for the next season, in 2011.
When contacted Asin’s father Joseph Thottumkal said, he did not want to comment, except to say that the announcement should come from the team owners.
Now the latest news is that actress Asin, who made it big in Bollywood with her debut film Ghajini, will soon be a brand ambassador for the recently formed Kochi IPL cricket team.
The Kochi IPL team is part owned by Venugopal and Shailendra Gaikwad and the man behind the scenes who put it all together was none other than Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, who’s also an MP from Trivandrum. A source said that the organisers are convinced that Asin, who hails from Kerala, would be the right choice and a big star attraction and crowd puller for their team, which will take the field for the next season, in 2011.
When contacted Asin’s father Joseph Thottumkal said, he did not want to comment, except to say that the announcement should come from the team owners.
Pak wants Sania to play for them
With less than two weeks to go for her wedding with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, it appears, will have more on her mind than her trousseau for the nuptials.
The Indian star may have sparked off a war of words between the Indian and Pakistan tennis federations. Reports that the Pakistan Tennis Federation chief, Mr Dilawar Abbas, was quoted as saying that Sania should represent Pakistan set the cat amongst the pigeons.
“It is great news for our tennis community that Sania Mirza is getting married to Shoaib Malik. We welcome her and hope that she would becomes a Pakistani national and plays for us in future,” Abbas reportedly said.
Enough to prompt a swift reaction from the All India Tennis Federation, who put their foot down saying she was committed to playing for India in global events!
“Sania Mirza and her parents have informed AITA that she will continue to play for India after her marriage. She has confirmed she will be part of the Indian team in the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi, Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, the 2011 Fed Cup and the 2012 Olympics at London,” the AITA secretary general, Mr Anil Khanna, said.
The PTF chief backtracked, saying that he had been misquoted. “How can she play for Pakistan when she is an Indian and wants to remain an Indian national?” Mr Abbas said.
The Indian star may have sparked off a war of words between the Indian and Pakistan tennis federations. Reports that the Pakistan Tennis Federation chief, Mr Dilawar Abbas, was quoted as saying that Sania should represent Pakistan set the cat amongst the pigeons.
“It is great news for our tennis community that Sania Mirza is getting married to Shoaib Malik. We welcome her and hope that she would becomes a Pakistani national and plays for us in future,” Abbas reportedly said.
Enough to prompt a swift reaction from the All India Tennis Federation, who put their foot down saying she was committed to playing for India in global events!
“Sania Mirza and her parents have informed AITA that she will continue to play for India after her marriage. She has confirmed she will be part of the Indian team in the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi, Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, the 2011 Fed Cup and the 2012 Olympics at London,” the AITA secretary general, Mr Anil Khanna, said.
The PTF chief backtracked, saying that he had been misquoted. “How can she play for Pakistan when she is an Indian and wants to remain an Indian national?” Mr Abbas said.
Planet love
Jacqueline Fernandez tells harshikaa udasi that the going is good as she awaits the release of her second film
She may not have any new films on hand, but Jacqueline Fernandez is hardly the sort to let that dampen her spirits. After wowing audiences with her charm but not such a successful debut in Aladin, the Sri Lankan beauty pageant winner is awaiting her second release as an alien in Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai releasing this month. “It's my second film as the lead and I am already in love with it. Moreover I am definitely much more confident than I was during the filming of Aladin. And though it appears that I am doing films only of the fantasy genre, the going's good!” says the ever-cheerful Jacqueline.
Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (JKSAH) focuses on Tara (Jacqueline), a girl from Venus, who lands up in Mumbai to fall in love with earthling Rajesh (Riteish Deshmukh, her co-star in Aladin too). Ironically, in spite of being from Venus, she knows nothing about love. “Forget understanding love, she doesn't even know how to eat food or enjoy herself in a pool! It's a hilarious and heart-warming love story,” says the actor, adding, “During Aladin, I was very nervous because not only was it my first film but also one with Amitabh Bachchan. I was always worried about going wrong. But JKSAH has an under-30 cast and crew and all my co-actors — Riteish, Vishal and Sonal — are absolutely fantastic to work with.”
There has been a lot of buzz about the film and the Internet virals with Jacqueline in a bikini definitely have contributed to it. Quiz her about this and she says, “Well it's not like the first or the last time that anyone's ever going to wear a bikini. Moreover I think seeing skin is fine with audiences now. I had no qualms, I have been to international beauty pageants and I feel it's no big deal really.” As part of a web promotion for the film, the unit has shot for various special scenes including Tara eating ice cream for the first time and learning ABC, besides getting into the pool.
The summer holds a lot of promise for the girl as besides this film, she has been signed up by Pepsi alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt to be part of the advertising concept The Game. Apart from that, there's the high voltage glamorous song in Sajid Khan's Housefull. “I am very excited about it though the release of the song will happen only after my film hits the theatres. It's high on glamour and I think it's going to be a very popular number,” she signs off.
She may not have any new films on hand, but Jacqueline Fernandez is hardly the sort to let that dampen her spirits. After wowing audiences with her charm but not such a successful debut in Aladin, the Sri Lankan beauty pageant winner is awaiting her second release as an alien in Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai releasing this month. “It's my second film as the lead and I am already in love with it. Moreover I am definitely much more confident than I was during the filming of Aladin. And though it appears that I am doing films only of the fantasy genre, the going's good!” says the ever-cheerful Jacqueline.
Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (JKSAH) focuses on Tara (Jacqueline), a girl from Venus, who lands up in Mumbai to fall in love with earthling Rajesh (Riteish Deshmukh, her co-star in Aladin too). Ironically, in spite of being from Venus, she knows nothing about love. “Forget understanding love, she doesn't even know how to eat food or enjoy herself in a pool! It's a hilarious and heart-warming love story,” says the actor, adding, “During Aladin, I was very nervous because not only was it my first film but also one with Amitabh Bachchan. I was always worried about going wrong. But JKSAH has an under-30 cast and crew and all my co-actors — Riteish, Vishal and Sonal — are absolutely fantastic to work with.”
There has been a lot of buzz about the film and the Internet virals with Jacqueline in a bikini definitely have contributed to it. Quiz her about this and she says, “Well it's not like the first or the last time that anyone's ever going to wear a bikini. Moreover I think seeing skin is fine with audiences now. I had no qualms, I have been to international beauty pageants and I feel it's no big deal really.” As part of a web promotion for the film, the unit has shot for various special scenes including Tara eating ice cream for the first time and learning ABC, besides getting into the pool.
The summer holds a lot of promise for the girl as besides this film, she has been signed up by Pepsi alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt to be part of the advertising concept The Game. Apart from that, there's the high voltage glamorous song in Sajid Khan's Housefull. “I am very excited about it though the release of the song will happen only after my film hits the theatres. It's high on glamour and I think it's going to be a very popular number,” she signs off.
A new level of recognition, legitimacy: Rahman
‘I often meet couples who got married with my music,” says A.R. Rahman. “Or young actresses, who tell me that when they were girls, their mothers would put them to bed by playing my music.”
Rahman is a huge star in India. Huge. His work on scoring more than 100 movies has produced sales of more than 100 million records and over 200 million cassettes, making him the only Asian in the list of the world’s top 25 bestselling recording artists.
Time magazine, who dubbed him “the Mozart of Madras,” placed him in its list of the world’s 100 most influential people last year. He’s won numerous awards, both in India and further afield, but it was last year’s Oscar win, for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, that really changed things.
“Everyone dreams of winning an Oscar,” he says. “It gave my work a new level of recognition and legitimacy.” Rahman’s gongs, for best song and best score, made him only the third Indian to win an Academy award. The success of Slumdog Millionaire brought other advantages — “I had the chance to meet some of my great heroes,” says Rahman. “I got to meet Barbra Streisand and work with Celine Dion, and I was the first Indian to perform at the Hollywood Bowl.”
Today, we’re a long way from Los Angeles, in his north London base, a house near Hampstead Heath. Rahman has been visiting and working in the United Kingdom for the last 15 years, and later this month will attend London’s Southbank Centre’s Alchemy Festival (“exploring the culture of India, its diaspora and its relationship to the U.K. today“), at which the London Philharmonic Orchestra will perform some of his best-known works — from his Oscar-winning soundtrack of course, but also from the likes of Elizabeth: the Golden Age, the hit musical Bollywood Dreams, and some of his landmark Hindi films such as Lagaan and Jaane Tu ... Ya Jaane Na.
Rahman may have only achieved global fame recently, but he has been making music for most of his life. He was born to a Hindu-Tamil family, in which his father was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam movies, considered more serious and realistic than Hindi films.
“I started playing music at the age of five,” he says, “the piano and harmonium, and after my father died when I was nine my mother was determined that I was going to also be a musician.” How did he feel about his mother’s ambition? “It wasn’t as plain to me that I would be a musician,” he says, laughing, “but I also knew that I had a talent for it.” Rahman recalls listening to western music such as Jim Reeves and the Carpenters alongside the work of Indian film composers, including Naushad Ali, Madan Mohan and Roshan (who wrote in Hindi), and Tamil composers such as Viswanathan Ramamurthy and K.V. Mahadevan. He formed a rock band in his teens and went on to study western classical music in London at Trinity College of Music before beginning his musical career back in India writing advertising jingles. His breakthrough came when he scored the 1992 Tamil movie Roja. Rahman’s great innovation for Indian movies was to introduce orchestral melodies to the traditional Hindi film soundtrack’s fondness for violent, slashing violins and dramatic tablas. This earned him comparisons to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney.
“In India, we love melodies in the background of scenes,” he says, “but in the West, there is a sense that soundtracks should not distract so there is a greater preference for more ambient sounds and plain chords.”
The Indian films I watched as a boy featured the songs of such immortals as Lata, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar and they could never be mistaken for anything other than Indian music — that was their appeal and it gave those of us who listened to them a proprietorial pride that this was “our music.” Is there not a danger now that the success of Indian cinema has come at the price of losing its essence? “When something is new it is overdone,” he says.
And, Rahman says, an international composer cannot make music that is purely national in quality — something he is bearing in mind for his forthcoming London concert. “This will be the first time I am playing in London since winning the Oscar,” he says, “so it is important to play music that will be accepted by an international audience but which retains an essential Indian quality.”
Despite his fame, Rahman stresses the virtues of humility, which he attributes to his conversion to Islam at the age of 23 (at which point he changed his name from Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman). “What appealed to me about Islam was that this is a religion based on unconditional love and a belief in one god and one love,” he says.
Next week’s concert is part of a mission, an effort to use music to unite. “At one of my concerts you will see people of all colours and religions together. That is what music can do. A song is more powerful than a thousand rallies.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Rahman is a huge star in India. Huge. His work on scoring more than 100 movies has produced sales of more than 100 million records and over 200 million cassettes, making him the only Asian in the list of the world’s top 25 bestselling recording artists.
Time magazine, who dubbed him “the Mozart of Madras,” placed him in its list of the world’s 100 most influential people last year. He’s won numerous awards, both in India and further afield, but it was last year’s Oscar win, for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, that really changed things.
“Everyone dreams of winning an Oscar,” he says. “It gave my work a new level of recognition and legitimacy.” Rahman’s gongs, for best song and best score, made him only the third Indian to win an Academy award. The success of Slumdog Millionaire brought other advantages — “I had the chance to meet some of my great heroes,” says Rahman. “I got to meet Barbra Streisand and work with Celine Dion, and I was the first Indian to perform at the Hollywood Bowl.”
Today, we’re a long way from Los Angeles, in his north London base, a house near Hampstead Heath. Rahman has been visiting and working in the United Kingdom for the last 15 years, and later this month will attend London’s Southbank Centre’s Alchemy Festival (“exploring the culture of India, its diaspora and its relationship to the U.K. today“), at which the London Philharmonic Orchestra will perform some of his best-known works — from his Oscar-winning soundtrack of course, but also from the likes of Elizabeth: the Golden Age, the hit musical Bollywood Dreams, and some of his landmark Hindi films such as Lagaan and Jaane Tu ... Ya Jaane Na.
Rahman may have only achieved global fame recently, but he has been making music for most of his life. He was born to a Hindu-Tamil family, in which his father was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam movies, considered more serious and realistic than Hindi films.
“I started playing music at the age of five,” he says, “the piano and harmonium, and after my father died when I was nine my mother was determined that I was going to also be a musician.” How did he feel about his mother’s ambition? “It wasn’t as plain to me that I would be a musician,” he says, laughing, “but I also knew that I had a talent for it.” Rahman recalls listening to western music such as Jim Reeves and the Carpenters alongside the work of Indian film composers, including Naushad Ali, Madan Mohan and Roshan (who wrote in Hindi), and Tamil composers such as Viswanathan Ramamurthy and K.V. Mahadevan. He formed a rock band in his teens and went on to study western classical music in London at Trinity College of Music before beginning his musical career back in India writing advertising jingles. His breakthrough came when he scored the 1992 Tamil movie Roja. Rahman’s great innovation for Indian movies was to introduce orchestral melodies to the traditional Hindi film soundtrack’s fondness for violent, slashing violins and dramatic tablas. This earned him comparisons to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney.
“In India, we love melodies in the background of scenes,” he says, “but in the West, there is a sense that soundtracks should not distract so there is a greater preference for more ambient sounds and plain chords.”
The Indian films I watched as a boy featured the songs of such immortals as Lata, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar and they could never be mistaken for anything other than Indian music — that was their appeal and it gave those of us who listened to them a proprietorial pride that this was “our music.” Is there not a danger now that the success of Indian cinema has come at the price of losing its essence? “When something is new it is overdone,” he says.
And, Rahman says, an international composer cannot make music that is purely national in quality — something he is bearing in mind for his forthcoming London concert. “This will be the first time I am playing in London since winning the Oscar,” he says, “so it is important to play music that will be accepted by an international audience but which retains an essential Indian quality.”
Despite his fame, Rahman stresses the virtues of humility, which he attributes to his conversion to Islam at the age of 23 (at which point he changed his name from Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman). “What appealed to me about Islam was that this is a religion based on unconditional love and a belief in one god and one love,” he says.
Next week’s concert is part of a mission, an effort to use music to unite. “At one of my concerts you will see people of all colours and religions together. That is what music can do. A song is more powerful than a thousand rallies.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Vatican lashes out against sex abuse coverage
Cardinals rushed to Pope Benedict XVI’s defence on Holy Thursday amid accusations he played a role in covering up sex abuse scandals, as an increasingly angry Vatican made a stinging attack on the U.S. media for its coverage.
The mood between the church and the media has become increasingly bitter as the scandal buffeting the 1 billion—member church has touched the pontiff himself. On Wednesday, the church singled out the New York Times for criticism in an unusually harsh attack.
Western news organizations, including The Associated Press, have reported extensively on the burgeoning scandal, and new revelations have emerged on an almost daily basis.
Venice’s Cardinal Angelo Scola expressed solidarity with Pope Benedict in his Holy Thursday homily in the lagoon city, describing him as a victim of “deceitful accusations.” He praised the pope as seeking to remove all “dirt” from the priesthood.
Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz said the church should take notice of individual tragedies and treat sex abuse cases very seriously, but at the same time he criticized the media for “targeting the whole church, targeting the pope, and to that we must say `no’ in the name of truth and in the name of justice.”
The church offered its highest—level official response yet to one of the most explosive recent revelations regarding sex abuse - a story the Times broke on the church’s decision in the 1990s not to defrock a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting deaf boys.
It was the latest in a series of attacks on the press. Last week, L’Osservatore Romano, denounced what it said was a “clear and despicable intention” by the media to strike at Pope Benedict “at any cost.”
In the article posted on Wednesday on the Vatican’s Web site, Cardinal William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote: “I am not proud of America’s newspaper of record, the New York Times, as a paragon of fairness.”
Cardinal Levada, an American, said the newspaper wrongly used the case of the Rev. Lawrence Murphy to find fault in Pope Benedict’s handling of abuse cases.
A Times spokeswoman defended the articles and said no one has cast doubt on the reported facts.
“The allegations of abuse within the Catholic church are a serious subject, as the Vatican has acknowledged on many occasions,” said Diane McNulty. “Any role the current pope may have played in responding to those allegations over the years is a significant aspect of this story.”
The mood between the church and the media has become increasingly bitter as the scandal buffeting the 1 billion—member church has touched the pontiff himself. On Wednesday, the church singled out the New York Times for criticism in an unusually harsh attack.
Western news organizations, including The Associated Press, have reported extensively on the burgeoning scandal, and new revelations have emerged on an almost daily basis.
Venice’s Cardinal Angelo Scola expressed solidarity with Pope Benedict in his Holy Thursday homily in the lagoon city, describing him as a victim of “deceitful accusations.” He praised the pope as seeking to remove all “dirt” from the priesthood.
Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz said the church should take notice of individual tragedies and treat sex abuse cases very seriously, but at the same time he criticized the media for “targeting the whole church, targeting the pope, and to that we must say `no’ in the name of truth and in the name of justice.”
The church offered its highest—level official response yet to one of the most explosive recent revelations regarding sex abuse - a story the Times broke on the church’s decision in the 1990s not to defrock a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting deaf boys.
It was the latest in a series of attacks on the press. Last week, L’Osservatore Romano, denounced what it said was a “clear and despicable intention” by the media to strike at Pope Benedict “at any cost.”
In the article posted on Wednesday on the Vatican’s Web site, Cardinal William Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote: “I am not proud of America’s newspaper of record, the New York Times, as a paragon of fairness.”
Cardinal Levada, an American, said the newspaper wrongly used the case of the Rev. Lawrence Murphy to find fault in Pope Benedict’s handling of abuse cases.
A Times spokeswoman defended the articles and said no one has cast doubt on the reported facts.
“The allegations of abuse within the Catholic church are a serious subject, as the Vatican has acknowledged on many occasions,” said Diane McNulty. “Any role the current pope may have played in responding to those allegations over the years is a significant aspect of this story.”
Docomo begins services in Himachal
Tata Docomo on Thursday launched its operations in the hill State.
Addressing a press conference here, Chief Operating Officer for North India Aditya Gupta announced its industry-changing pay-for-what-you-use model in Himachal Pradesh, which included the game-changing per-second pulse and a plethora of innovative applications and services. The company's pan-India service rollout, which was kicked off in June 2009, would be completed this year itself, he said.
‘Buddynet'
Tata Docomo is also launching India's first mobile community in Himachal Pradesh ‘Buddynet' wherein members will enjoy never-before calling rates within the community, one paisa for four seconds for local calls and one paisa for two seconds for STD calls. ‘Buddynet' members will also get free access to social networking sites like Face book, Twitter, Orkut, Linked-In and Nimbus. The company has earmarked an investment of $2 billion on its pan-India GSM network rollout.
Addressing a press conference here, Chief Operating Officer for North India Aditya Gupta announced its industry-changing pay-for-what-you-use model in Himachal Pradesh, which included the game-changing per-second pulse and a plethora of innovative applications and services. The company's pan-India service rollout, which was kicked off in June 2009, would be completed this year itself, he said.
‘Buddynet'
Tata Docomo is also launching India's first mobile community in Himachal Pradesh ‘Buddynet' wherein members will enjoy never-before calling rates within the community, one paisa for four seconds for local calls and one paisa for two seconds for STD calls. ‘Buddynet' members will also get free access to social networking sites like Face book, Twitter, Orkut, Linked-In and Nimbus. The company has earmarked an investment of $2 billion on its pan-India GSM network rollout.
Beanstalk is back from HCL stable
HCL Infosystems on Thursday introduced the new range of its popular Beanstalk desktops to cater to the growing demand for cutting-edge technology on the home computing front.
“With power-packed features and advanced technologies, the all new range will offer convenience of productivity, connectivity and new entertainment experience,” HCL Infosystems Executive Vice-President George Paul said after unveiling the three Beanstalk variants priced between Rs.39,990 and Rs.85,000.
“We have successfully maintained a strong foothold in the desktop category and have believed in high performance, providing a better experience to our customers. We are leveraging our robust eco-system of partners to deliver the performance and set the trend for a smarter computing lifestyle. The return of Beanstalk is a significant step towards expanding our leadership positioning in the high-end desktop space,” Mr. Paul pointed out.
The desktops are equipped with some of the latest processors like Intel Core-i7 processor and power-packed by Microsoft Windows Ultimate 7. These features help consumers experience smart performance for music, gaming, videos, movies, photos, social networking and other demanding mainstream applications. Similarly, these are first desktops in the world designed with one-touch button for customer service.
“With power-packed features and advanced technologies, the all new range will offer convenience of productivity, connectivity and new entertainment experience,” HCL Infosystems Executive Vice-President George Paul said after unveiling the three Beanstalk variants priced between Rs.39,990 and Rs.85,000.
“We have successfully maintained a strong foothold in the desktop category and have believed in high performance, providing a better experience to our customers. We are leveraging our robust eco-system of partners to deliver the performance and set the trend for a smarter computing lifestyle. The return of Beanstalk is a significant step towards expanding our leadership positioning in the high-end desktop space,” Mr. Paul pointed out.
The desktops are equipped with some of the latest processors like Intel Core-i7 processor and power-packed by Microsoft Windows Ultimate 7. These features help consumers experience smart performance for music, gaming, videos, movies, photos, social networking and other demanding mainstream applications. Similarly, these are first desktops in the world designed with one-touch button for customer service.
Judicial inquiry into communal riots demanded
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a judicial inquiry into the circumstances leading to the communal riots in Hyderabad.
CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, said that the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that a curfew had to be imposed in the old city. Though the situation was extremely grave, the police and the State government were playing the role of spectator, he alleged.
It had come out that the attacks were being made in a planned manner with the “conspirators” sending SMSs to different areas, he said.
The CPI (M) leader said no action was taken though there were early indications of trouble during Sriramanavami and Milad-un-nabi. He sought to know what the intelligence wing was doing.
Since there was a failure on the part of the police too, only a judicial inquiry would bring out the truth. It was the responsibility of the State government to make public the names of the conspirators. The Government was taking a ‘meditative and spiritual posture' towards all the problems the people were facing, he alleged.
Mr. Raghavulu made an appeal to the public to participate in large numbers in the picketing and jail bharo programmes of the Left parties and its allies on April 8 to register their protest against the indifference of the State and Central governments towards the issue of continuous rise in the prices of essential commodities.
Quoting figures, he said that the Central government came up with a budget to increase prices putting indirect burden to the tune of Rs. 45,000 crore on the people. On the other hand it reduced the subsidy on food and increased burden on the poor.
It became evident in the re-surveys conducted by the officials that ration cards were being weeded out to reduce the number of cards. A large portion of the cards that were weeded out were genuine.
CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu, addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, said that the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that a curfew had to be imposed in the old city. Though the situation was extremely grave, the police and the State government were playing the role of spectator, he alleged.
It had come out that the attacks were being made in a planned manner with the “conspirators” sending SMSs to different areas, he said.
The CPI (M) leader said no action was taken though there were early indications of trouble during Sriramanavami and Milad-un-nabi. He sought to know what the intelligence wing was doing.
Since there was a failure on the part of the police too, only a judicial inquiry would bring out the truth. It was the responsibility of the State government to make public the names of the conspirators. The Government was taking a ‘meditative and spiritual posture' towards all the problems the people were facing, he alleged.
Mr. Raghavulu made an appeal to the public to participate in large numbers in the picketing and jail bharo programmes of the Left parties and its allies on April 8 to register their protest against the indifference of the State and Central governments towards the issue of continuous rise in the prices of essential commodities.
Quoting figures, he said that the Central government came up with a budget to increase prices putting indirect burden to the tune of Rs. 45,000 crore on the people. On the other hand it reduced the subsidy on food and increased burden on the poor.
It became evident in the re-surveys conducted by the officials that ration cards were being weeded out to reduce the number of cards. A large portion of the cards that were weeded out were genuine.
Streets remain deserted in old city
Life, as if by a wave of magic wand, seems to have screeched to a grinding halt in parts of the once walled city of Hyderabad. The usual buzz is sorely missing, streets remain deserted and all pervading is an uncertain calm that stirs memories of a forgotten period when communal violence and curfew came visiting in tandem. On Wednesday, second day of the curfew, citizens in the old city remain nervous and edgy. Small and motley gatherings hang around lane corners, youngsters either vanish into the by-lanes on being spotted or step forward to belligerently enquire the motive of visitors to their areas and women roam around in search of outlets to pick essential commodities. There has been no supply of milk and scarce is the availability of vegetables. “We are in a bad shape, even milk is not available and the drinking water supply was not there yesterday,” bemoans Suresh at Alijah Kotla. Near Purani Haveli, Ramraj Chauhan points out that a milk packet priced at Rs.13 was being sold between Rs.20 and Rs.25. “With no work for last two days and little money on hand, how do we pay so high,” he says.
For most, the threads of communal harmony are not strained due to the recent violence. Neighbouring families of Jehangir and Narsing Rao chat away the curfew blues at Etebar Chowk.
“All is fine here and there is nothing to bother us. We are comfortable as always,” says Jehangir as Rao's mother nods her assent. Some have their woes compounded severely due to curfew restrictions. Md.Raheemuddin, a senior citizen from Falaknuma has acute stomach pain and needs urgent medical attention.
Sweating profusely and frail hands shaking from the pain, he says, “a surgery planned for my ulcer problem got affected and now I am trying to go to curfew free area for it”.
This being the auspicious period for marriages, many having scheduled weddings in family for tomorrow could be seen nervously thronging the police stations for permission of some sorts.
For most, the threads of communal harmony are not strained due to the recent violence. Neighbouring families of Jehangir and Narsing Rao chat away the curfew blues at Etebar Chowk.
“All is fine here and there is nothing to bother us. We are comfortable as always,” says Jehangir as Rao's mother nods her assent. Some have their woes compounded severely due to curfew restrictions. Md.Raheemuddin, a senior citizen from Falaknuma has acute stomach pain and needs urgent medical attention.
Sweating profusely and frail hands shaking from the pain, he says, “a surgery planned for my ulcer problem got affected and now I am trying to go to curfew free area for it”.
This being the auspicious period for marriages, many having scheduled weddings in family for tomorrow could be seen nervously thronging the police stations for permission of some sorts.
Communal aggression, a cumulative effect
The conflict over tying of religious flags might appear to be the flashpoint for the communal clashes that led to enforcement of curfew in the old city, but the sudden outburst of unbridled aggression from both the communities was the cumulative effect of various developments over the past few weeks.
These developments, both political and religious, have led to growing distrust between the communities and the muscle-flexing by political parties to consolidate their bases made the residents nurture a confrontationist attitude.
The flare-up of violence is a direct outcome of this hardened attitude.
A pattern
There is a pattern if one were to examine some seemingly unconnected developments over the past few weeks. The Jamaat e-Islami Hind's public meeting in Hyderabad in which Jamaat leaders had endorsed the demand for the State's bifurcation, contrary to the stand taken by the MIM seemed to have set the ball rolling.
The MIM, despite its complete sway over the minority community, perceived it as a development that could erode its political base and renewed its efforts to further consolidate its base, though these efforts were not directed against any political party.
A series of developments like celebration of Milad-un-Nabi on an unprecedented scale, (where thousands of religious flags were pitched at various places and buntings strung across the streets), a massive rally on account of MIM's 52{+n}{+d} year of revival, the party's agitation demanding reservation for minorities had led to some unease among some sections of the majority community.
Deep suspicion
This section in the majority community had always been nurturing the feeling that the minorities were being given undue importance and that the police always handled them with kid gloves.
Several cite the example of police being extremely accommodative in allowing a minority procession via Assembly building, bypassing the prohibitory orders.
These developments, keenly watched by the other community, were sought to be counter-balanced. Public meetings were addressed by religious leaders like Acharya Dharmendra or VHP leaders where some controversial statements were made. The majority community was exhorted to celebrate Sri Ramanavami and Hanuman Jayanti on a massive scale and the underlying message was that it should surpass the Milad-un-Nabi procession.
Trigger point
In this scenario, the efforts to pitch saffron flags after removing the green flags led to the first conflict in Madannapet, but the issue was localised with timely police intervention.
However, it took an ugly turn on the night of March 27 when groups clashed in Moosabowli over the issue of removing and tying new buntings.
The next day, violence flared up and continued till Tuesday.
The other contributory factor for the current situation is the failure of the law enforcement agencies to put two and two together and initiate security arrangements.
This is the reason why police failed to anticipate that the Bajrang Dal rally on Tuesday would turn violent and allowed it to take out the procession despite the situation being very tense.
The failure was further accentuated with the general sense of apathy among the police ranks at the cutting-edge level as they believed that any stern action could be construed as ‘over action' marking them for departmental harassment at the behest of political parties.
The sum total of all these developments is the situation which the State capital is witnessing now.
It remains to be seen whether the investigating agencies would manage to get any evidence to substantiate the allegations of political conspiracy theories doing the rounds.
These developments, both political and religious, have led to growing distrust between the communities and the muscle-flexing by political parties to consolidate their bases made the residents nurture a confrontationist attitude.
The flare-up of violence is a direct outcome of this hardened attitude.
A pattern
There is a pattern if one were to examine some seemingly unconnected developments over the past few weeks. The Jamaat e-Islami Hind's public meeting in Hyderabad in which Jamaat leaders had endorsed the demand for the State's bifurcation, contrary to the stand taken by the MIM seemed to have set the ball rolling.
The MIM, despite its complete sway over the minority community, perceived it as a development that could erode its political base and renewed its efforts to further consolidate its base, though these efforts were not directed against any political party.
A series of developments like celebration of Milad-un-Nabi on an unprecedented scale, (where thousands of religious flags were pitched at various places and buntings strung across the streets), a massive rally on account of MIM's 52{+n}{+d} year of revival, the party's agitation demanding reservation for minorities had led to some unease among some sections of the majority community.
Deep suspicion
This section in the majority community had always been nurturing the feeling that the minorities were being given undue importance and that the police always handled them with kid gloves.
Several cite the example of police being extremely accommodative in allowing a minority procession via Assembly building, bypassing the prohibitory orders.
These developments, keenly watched by the other community, were sought to be counter-balanced. Public meetings were addressed by religious leaders like Acharya Dharmendra or VHP leaders where some controversial statements were made. The majority community was exhorted to celebrate Sri Ramanavami and Hanuman Jayanti on a massive scale and the underlying message was that it should surpass the Milad-un-Nabi procession.
Trigger point
In this scenario, the efforts to pitch saffron flags after removing the green flags led to the first conflict in Madannapet, but the issue was localised with timely police intervention.
However, it took an ugly turn on the night of March 27 when groups clashed in Moosabowli over the issue of removing and tying new buntings.
The next day, violence flared up and continued till Tuesday.
The other contributory factor for the current situation is the failure of the law enforcement agencies to put two and two together and initiate security arrangements.
This is the reason why police failed to anticipate that the Bajrang Dal rally on Tuesday would turn violent and allowed it to take out the procession despite the situation being very tense.
The failure was further accentuated with the general sense of apathy among the police ranks at the cutting-edge level as they believed that any stern action could be construed as ‘over action' marking them for departmental harassment at the behest of political parties.
The sum total of all these developments is the situation which the State capital is witnessing now.
It remains to be seen whether the investigating agencies would manage to get any evidence to substantiate the allegations of political conspiracy theories doing the rounds.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
US to accept H1B visa applications from today
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would from Thursday accept receiving petitions for H-1B visa applications - the most sought after US work visa by Indian IT professionals - for the fiscal 2011 beginning October 1, 2010.
As mandated by the US Congress, the fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for 2011 is 65,000.
Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a US master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.
The USCIS has not announced any cut off date for accepting the visa petitions; as was the practice till the year before when the US agency used to receive applications several times the number mandated by the Congress and had to resort to computerized draw of lots to identify successful applicants.
“USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap,” an official media release said.
Even as there is signs of revival of US economy, but the continued high unemployment rate is likely to result in much longer time to fill up the pool of 65,000 H-1B visas for 2011 could, similar to last year’s scenario in which the number of petitions for 2010 H-1Bs didn’t get near the cap until December 2009.
“If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date,” it said.
The USCIS said petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated non-profit entities, non-profit research organisations or governmental research organisations.
Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands are exempt from the cap until December 31, 2014.
As mandated by the US Congress, the fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for 2011 is 65,000.
Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a US master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.
The USCIS has not announced any cut off date for accepting the visa petitions; as was the practice till the year before when the US agency used to receive applications several times the number mandated by the Congress and had to resort to computerized draw of lots to identify successful applicants.
“USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap,” an official media release said.
Even as there is signs of revival of US economy, but the continued high unemployment rate is likely to result in much longer time to fill up the pool of 65,000 H-1B visas for 2011 could, similar to last year’s scenario in which the number of petitions for 2010 H-1Bs didn’t get near the cap until December 2009.
“If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date,” it said.
The USCIS said petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated non-profit entities, non-profit research organisations or governmental research organisations.
Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands are exempt from the cap until December 31, 2014.
26/11 trial ends, verdict on May 3
Marking an end to the year-long 26/11 trial, the special sessions court here on Wednesday announced May 3, 2010, as “the day of judgment.” Judge M.L. Tahaliyani announced the date after the defence lawyer for the third and last accused, Sabahuddin Ahmed, concluded his final arguments.
On May 3, the court will give its verdict on the various charges against Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, and co-accused Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin. The recording of the judgment will be done in April.
“May 3 ko faisla hoga aapka [Verdict will be pronounced for you on May 3],” Mr. Tahaliyani informed Kasab, who appeared unmoved by the announcement. He did not interact with his lawyer K.P. Pawar on Wednesday and has not done so in a long time.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone, Mr. Pawar said, “I have tried to put my case successfully. I have submitted my arguments in writing. So, there is no fear of leaving anything out. My work was to show the improbability of evidence, which I have done. I am satisfied with my arguments on all accounts. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on my expectations at this point.”
A total of 86 charges have been framed in the case. The three accused face charges of waging war, criminal conspiracy and those under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act among others.
The trial which began on April 15 last year had 191 hearings during which 653 witnesses were examined by the prosecution. The final arguments began on March 9 and lasted through the month with the prosecution laying out its case over a span of 11 days.
Sabahuddin's lawyer Ejaz Naqvi said his client was “innocent” and should be given the benefit of doubt. He said the prosecution had not brought anything on record to prove that Nuruddin Mehboob Shaikh, the only eyewitness against his client, had ever been to Kathmandu, in Nepal. He termed the witness “bogus.”
He blamed the prosecution for remaining silent on the role of American terror operative David Coleman Headley. “The prosecution spoke about the historic depositions by the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigations], but there is nothing on what the FBI has investigated about Headley.”
The court said that since Headley was in the FBI custody, he was not its lookout. “At present we can't discuss these things. The Home Ministry is doing what it wants to do,” Mr. Tahaliyani said.
As for the map, which Sabahuddin allegedly conveyed to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mr. Naqvi said Kasab and his partner Abu Ismail's movements in the city are not as per the directions of the handmade sketch. Referring to Kasab's confession where he names Sabahuddin, Mr. Naqvi said since all the trainees were assigned different aliases, Sabahuddin could be anybody, other than his client.
The court expressed its displeasure over Mr. Naqvi's seemingly tenuous arguments, which had the courtroom in splits on certain occasions. When they were concluded, Mr. Tahaliyani told Mr. Naqvi, “I thought you would present serious arguments. I am disappointed.”
Mr. Tahaliyani posed four queries to the prosecution. It emerged from Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's replies to them that the investigators had not taken any steps to verify Nuruddin Shaikh's visit to Kathmandu. The map which was recovered from Ismail's pocket was not examined for bloodstains and for traces of Ismail's DNA.
Asked if the handmade sketch would have served the purpose of navigation better than what was already available, Mr. Nikam answered it was difficult to establish what went on in the minds of the Lashkar handlers.
On May 3, the court will give its verdict on the various charges against Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, and co-accused Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin. The recording of the judgment will be done in April.
“May 3 ko faisla hoga aapka [Verdict will be pronounced for you on May 3],” Mr. Tahaliyani informed Kasab, who appeared unmoved by the announcement. He did not interact with his lawyer K.P. Pawar on Wednesday and has not done so in a long time.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone, Mr. Pawar said, “I have tried to put my case successfully. I have submitted my arguments in writing. So, there is no fear of leaving anything out. My work was to show the improbability of evidence, which I have done. I am satisfied with my arguments on all accounts. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on my expectations at this point.”
A total of 86 charges have been framed in the case. The three accused face charges of waging war, criminal conspiracy and those under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act among others.
The trial which began on April 15 last year had 191 hearings during which 653 witnesses were examined by the prosecution. The final arguments began on March 9 and lasted through the month with the prosecution laying out its case over a span of 11 days.
Sabahuddin's lawyer Ejaz Naqvi said his client was “innocent” and should be given the benefit of doubt. He said the prosecution had not brought anything on record to prove that Nuruddin Mehboob Shaikh, the only eyewitness against his client, had ever been to Kathmandu, in Nepal. He termed the witness “bogus.”
He blamed the prosecution for remaining silent on the role of American terror operative David Coleman Headley. “The prosecution spoke about the historic depositions by the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigations], but there is nothing on what the FBI has investigated about Headley.”
The court said that since Headley was in the FBI custody, he was not its lookout. “At present we can't discuss these things. The Home Ministry is doing what it wants to do,” Mr. Tahaliyani said.
As for the map, which Sabahuddin allegedly conveyed to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mr. Naqvi said Kasab and his partner Abu Ismail's movements in the city are not as per the directions of the handmade sketch. Referring to Kasab's confession where he names Sabahuddin, Mr. Naqvi said since all the trainees were assigned different aliases, Sabahuddin could be anybody, other than his client.
The court expressed its displeasure over Mr. Naqvi's seemingly tenuous arguments, which had the courtroom in splits on certain occasions. When they were concluded, Mr. Tahaliyani told Mr. Naqvi, “I thought you would present serious arguments. I am disappointed.”
Mr. Tahaliyani posed four queries to the prosecution. It emerged from Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's replies to them that the investigators had not taken any steps to verify Nuruddin Shaikh's visit to Kathmandu. The map which was recovered from Ismail's pocket was not examined for bloodstains and for traces of Ismail's DNA.
Asked if the handmade sketch would have served the purpose of navigation better than what was already available, Mr. Nikam answered it was difficult to establish what went on in the minds of the Lashkar handlers.
All children should have access to education: Manmohan
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the government was committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category have access to education and fund constraints would not be allowed to hamper implementation of the Right to Education Act.
Addressing the nation as the Right to Education Act went into force on Thursday, he said, “the government is committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category, have access to education.”
“Our government, in partnership with state governments, will ensure that financial constraints do not hamper the implementation of the Right to Education Act” he said.
Adding a personal touch to the importance of education, the Prime Minister recalled his own childhood days as someone born in a family of modest means who had to walk a long distance to go to school. “I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am today because of education,” he said.
“I want every Indian child, girl and boy, to be so touched by the light of education. I want every Indian to dream of a better future and live that dream”, Dr. Singh said.
Recalling the desire of Gopal Krishna Gokhale about 100 years ago when he had urged the Imperial Assembly to confer on the Indian people the Right to Education, Dr. Singh said about 90 years later the Constitution was amended to enshrine the Right to Education as a fundamental right.
“Today, our government comes before you to redeem the pledge of giving all our children the right to elementary education,” Dr. Singh said adding “this demonstrates our national commitment to the education of our children and to the future of India “.
Pointing out that India is a country of young people, he said “it is the belief of our government that if we nurture our children and young people with the right education, India’s future as a strong and prosperous country is secure.”
Dr. Singh said the government at the Centre, in states and union territories and authorities at district and village levels must work together as part of a common national endeavour to realise the Right to Education and asked the states to join in this national effort with “full resolve and determination“.
Noting that success of any educational endeavour was based on the ability and motivation of teachers and the implementation of the Right to Education is no exception, he asked the teachers across the country to become partners in this effort.
At the same time, Dr. Singh said it was also incumbent upon all to work together to improve the working conditions of teachers and enable them to teach with dignity, giving full expression to their talent and creativity.
Parents and guardians too have a critical role to play having been assigned school management responsibilities under the Act, he said adding “the needs of every disadvantaged section of our society, particularly girls, Dalits, adivasis and minorities must be of particular focus as we implement this Act.”
Addressing the nation as the Right to Education Act went into force on Thursday, he said, “the government is committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category, have access to education.”
“Our government, in partnership with state governments, will ensure that financial constraints do not hamper the implementation of the Right to Education Act” he said.
Adding a personal touch to the importance of education, the Prime Minister recalled his own childhood days as someone born in a family of modest means who had to walk a long distance to go to school. “I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am today because of education,” he said.
“I want every Indian child, girl and boy, to be so touched by the light of education. I want every Indian to dream of a better future and live that dream”, Dr. Singh said.
Recalling the desire of Gopal Krishna Gokhale about 100 years ago when he had urged the Imperial Assembly to confer on the Indian people the Right to Education, Dr. Singh said about 90 years later the Constitution was amended to enshrine the Right to Education as a fundamental right.
“Today, our government comes before you to redeem the pledge of giving all our children the right to elementary education,” Dr. Singh said adding “this demonstrates our national commitment to the education of our children and to the future of India “.
Pointing out that India is a country of young people, he said “it is the belief of our government that if we nurture our children and young people with the right education, India’s future as a strong and prosperous country is secure.”
Dr. Singh said the government at the Centre, in states and union territories and authorities at district and village levels must work together as part of a common national endeavour to realise the Right to Education and asked the states to join in this national effort with “full resolve and determination“.
Noting that success of any educational endeavour was based on the ability and motivation of teachers and the implementation of the Right to Education is no exception, he asked the teachers across the country to become partners in this effort.
At the same time, Dr. Singh said it was also incumbent upon all to work together to improve the working conditions of teachers and enable them to teach with dignity, giving full expression to their talent and creativity.
Parents and guardians too have a critical role to play having been assigned school management responsibilities under the Act, he said adding “the needs of every disadvantaged section of our society, particularly girls, Dalits, adivasis and minorities must be of particular focus as we implement this Act.”
No change to Women’s Bill: PM
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday dismissed as “too premature” the possibility of any dilution in the Women’s Reservation Bill ahead of a meeting of leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha. The meeting has been convened here on April 5 for wider consultations with political party leaders to try and evolve at a consensus.
The Congress has rejected suggestions of any dilution in the bill during its official briefing held on Wednesday afternoon, while the law minister, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, had on Tuesday said the government would be going ahead with the bill in its present form in the Lok Sabha in the second phase of the Budget Session beginning April 15.
“It is too premature” was Dr Singh’s cryptic response when asked whether the bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies, could see any dilution in view of the opposition by some political parties.
He said the matter was under discussion. “We will discuss with political parties how best to proceed. We are committed to discussing the issue”.
The current mood in the Congress and the government is not for dilution in this historic piece of legislation after realising that the party stands to gain and the BJP, Left will have no option but to support it.
The Mandalite parties — SP, JD(U) and the RJD — which are confined to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, cannot stop the historic process, initiated by the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, even at the stake of the government at the Centre, insiders viewed.
The Congress has rejected suggestions of any dilution in the bill during its official briefing held on Wednesday afternoon, while the law minister, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, had on Tuesday said the government would be going ahead with the bill in its present form in the Lok Sabha in the second phase of the Budget Session beginning April 15.
“It is too premature” was Dr Singh’s cryptic response when asked whether the bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies, could see any dilution in view of the opposition by some political parties.
He said the matter was under discussion. “We will discuss with political parties how best to proceed. We are committed to discussing the issue”.
The current mood in the Congress and the government is not for dilution in this historic piece of legislation after realising that the party stands to gain and the BJP, Left will have no option but to support it.
The Mandalite parties — SP, JD(U) and the RJD — which are confined to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, cannot stop the historic process, initiated by the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, even at the stake of the government at the Centre, insiders viewed.
Prices of essential goods zoom in curfew-hit areas
The supply-demand principle manifested itself in practical terms in the riot-hit Old City here on Wednesday. For instance, shortage of milk sent the price of the essential ingredient in an average Hyderabadi’s favourite beverage, Chai, sky-rocket.
With curfew enforcement entering the second day, residents of Old City had to go without groceries, vegetables, and other essential goods.
Milk was sold at Rs 80 per litre as police prevented milk vans from entering the curfew-imposed areas, despite curfew passes being issued to the vehicles.
Children and infants were the worst hit as milk supplies were badly affected and a few vendors who had stocked milk packets in advance, made a killing.
Abdulla Bin Masqati, owner of Masqati Dairy and TD MLC, told this correspondent that police stopped all their 12 vehicles that supply milk in Old City. “Our vehicles had curfew passes issued by the DCP.”
The denizens bore the brunt as they suffered without ration and essential commodities. As residents in Shalibanda ventured out of their houses to express their grievances to the media, police shooed them away.
“I live along with my friends in a rented portion. We usually bring vegetables on a daily basis and cook ourselves. Because of curfew we are going to bed empty stomachs,” said Mr Yella Mahesh, an MBA student from Moosabowli.
Women who ventured out in search of kirana stores, had to return empty handed as most of the provision stores in the neighbourhood ran out of stocks by Tuesday. Except for the pharmacies attached to private hospitals and clinics, the medical stores were closed. Residents in need of emergency medication could not venture out.
With curfew enforcement entering the second day, residents of Old City had to go without groceries, vegetables, and other essential goods.
Milk was sold at Rs 80 per litre as police prevented milk vans from entering the curfew-imposed areas, despite curfew passes being issued to the vehicles.
Children and infants were the worst hit as milk supplies were badly affected and a few vendors who had stocked milk packets in advance, made a killing.
Abdulla Bin Masqati, owner of Masqati Dairy and TD MLC, told this correspondent that police stopped all their 12 vehicles that supply milk in Old City. “Our vehicles had curfew passes issued by the DCP.”
The denizens bore the brunt as they suffered without ration and essential commodities. As residents in Shalibanda ventured out of their houses to express their grievances to the media, police shooed them away.
“I live along with my friends in a rented portion. We usually bring vegetables on a daily basis and cook ourselves. Because of curfew we are going to bed empty stomachs,” said Mr Yella Mahesh, an MBA student from Moosabowli.
Women who ventured out in search of kirana stores, had to return empty handed as most of the provision stores in the neighbourhood ran out of stocks by Tuesday. Except for the pharmacies attached to private hospitals and clinics, the medical stores were closed. Residents in need of emergency medication could not venture out.
Naidu fumes over TD, Congress bonhomie
The Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, is unhappy with his partymen for hobnobbing with Congress leaders by attending parties hosted by them and even having joint business ventures.
Mr Naidu expressed his displeasure when some party leaders from Guntur and other districts complained that while they were fighting the Congress at the grassroots level and facing lathi blows, some TD leaders were attending parties thrown by Congress ministers and leaders.
“You need to take action against such leaders. It’s painful that while we are fighting against the Congress, some of our leaders are enjoying their hospitality. What is the message sent,” asked a party activist.
Sources said some TD leaders referred to the parties hosted by the panchayat raj minister, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana, and others and a meeting addressed by the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, where senior party leader and MLC, Ms Nanapaneni Rajkumari, attended.
Mr Naidu reportedly disapproved such a behavior from party leaders and asked them not to act in a manner which could affect the image of Telugu Desam and weaken the party.
It is learnt that some party leaders also pointed to growing business joint ventures between the Congress and the Telugu Desam leaders in various districts. “It has come to my notice. This is not correct. How can the party take on the ruling party when our own partymen have business tie ups with them,” he asked.
As the complaints began pouring in, Mr Naidu said he would send a fact-finding team from Hyderabad to the district from where he had received complaints.
Mr Naidu expressed his displeasure when some party leaders from Guntur and other districts complained that while they were fighting the Congress at the grassroots level and facing lathi blows, some TD leaders were attending parties thrown by Congress ministers and leaders.
“You need to take action against such leaders. It’s painful that while we are fighting against the Congress, some of our leaders are enjoying their hospitality. What is the message sent,” asked a party activist.
Sources said some TD leaders referred to the parties hosted by the panchayat raj minister, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana, and others and a meeting addressed by the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, where senior party leader and MLC, Ms Nanapaneni Rajkumari, attended.
Mr Naidu reportedly disapproved such a behavior from party leaders and asked them not to act in a manner which could affect the image of Telugu Desam and weaken the party.
It is learnt that some party leaders also pointed to growing business joint ventures between the Congress and the Telugu Desam leaders in various districts. “It has come to my notice. This is not correct. How can the party take on the ruling party when our own partymen have business tie ups with them,” he asked.
As the complaints began pouring in, Mr Naidu said he would send a fact-finding team from Hyderabad to the district from where he had received complaints.
Jesus! It’s from Shroud of Turin
For the first time, computer artists claim to have recreated the face of Jesus Christ from the Shroud of Turin, using cutting-age digital technology.
The image was created by taking information and blood encoded on the Shroud of Turin — the bloodstained linen that many believe was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ — and transforming it into a 3D image, say the artists.
The image was recreated for the History Channel special programme The Real Face of Jesus, which will be aired this week. “We ‘lifted’ the blood and isolated it (on a computer) so that it would sit ‘in air’ (on a transparent background),” the Daily Mail quoted computer artist Ray Downing, president of Studio Macbeth, the group that created the image, as saying.
He explained that because the Turin Shroud was wrapped around, rather than being draped on the body, the blood was transferred to the cloth as it was wound. Therefore it did not align with the places on the face from which it originated.
“I have a lot of information about that face and my estimation is we’re pretty darn close to what this man looked like,” Mr Downing said. He claimed his technique of computer imaging created the image on the shroud and enabled him to see for the first time the actual face of Jesus.
The image was created by taking information and blood encoded on the Shroud of Turin — the bloodstained linen that many believe was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ — and transforming it into a 3D image, say the artists.
The image was recreated for the History Channel special programme The Real Face of Jesus, which will be aired this week. “We ‘lifted’ the blood and isolated it (on a computer) so that it would sit ‘in air’ (on a transparent background),” the Daily Mail quoted computer artist Ray Downing, president of Studio Macbeth, the group that created the image, as saying.
He explained that because the Turin Shroud was wrapped around, rather than being draped on the body, the blood was transferred to the cloth as it was wound. Therefore it did not align with the places on the face from which it originated.
“I have a lot of information about that face and my estimation is we’re pretty darn close to what this man looked like,” Mr Downing said. He claimed his technique of computer imaging created the image on the shroud and enabled him to see for the first time the actual face of Jesus.
Curfew will be lifted in phases
The city police commissioner, Mr A.K. Khan, said curfew would be relaxed in a phased manner on Thursday morning and males above 50 and women will be allowed to move on the streets.
“We are talking to other departments regarding the supply of essential commodities and running of markets during the curfew relaxation,” he said. “We will keep tabs on the prices of commodities, vegetables and medicines.”
“After two days of violence the situation is stabilising,” the commissioner said. “No fresh clashes have been reported in 17 police stations of South Zone and eight police stations of other zones.”
Mr Khan said additional forces were being deployed and appealed to people to stock up for a few more days, hinting that curfew may continue.
Around 200 video cameras will be monitoring and recording the movements of the people during curfew relaxation.
In phase I, from 8 am to 10 am, curfew will be relaxed in Santosh Nagar, Madannapet, Bhavani Nagar, Kanchanbagh, Charminar, Kamatipura, Kalapather, Bahadurpura and Hussainialam. In the second phase from 11am to 1 pm, people can move out in Mirchowk, Dabeerpura, Reinbazar, Mangalhat, Falaknuma, Chandrayangutta, Chatrikanaka and Shahalibhanda.
When asked about the marriages scheduled on Thursday, Mr Khan replied, “Jab miya biwi raazi, to kya karega commissioner?”
Ten companies of BSF, CRPF, RAF and CISF that arrived in the city have been deployed in the riot-hit areas. About 12 senior IPS officers are monitoring the situation and police from unaffected areas have also been deployed.
Meanwhile, police also began an intense drive with the help of GHMC to remove the flags and banners of religious and political groups in the sensitive areas and in other parts of the city. “Tying of flags and banners in public places will be viewed very seriously,” he said. “Processions and dharnas are also banned in the city till the situation comes under control.”
The commissioner said that permission was granted for a procession on Tuesday after discussing with all leaders and weighing the pros and cons.
“We have not allowed the procession in the affected areas,” he said. “The procession and clashes were recorded with 75 cameras, and we are identifying the miscreants based on the evidence.”
“We are talking to other departments regarding the supply of essential commodities and running of markets during the curfew relaxation,” he said. “We will keep tabs on the prices of commodities, vegetables and medicines.”
“After two days of violence the situation is stabilising,” the commissioner said. “No fresh clashes have been reported in 17 police stations of South Zone and eight police stations of other zones.”
Mr Khan said additional forces were being deployed and appealed to people to stock up for a few more days, hinting that curfew may continue.
Around 200 video cameras will be monitoring and recording the movements of the people during curfew relaxation.
In phase I, from 8 am to 10 am, curfew will be relaxed in Santosh Nagar, Madannapet, Bhavani Nagar, Kanchanbagh, Charminar, Kamatipura, Kalapather, Bahadurpura and Hussainialam. In the second phase from 11am to 1 pm, people can move out in Mirchowk, Dabeerpura, Reinbazar, Mangalhat, Falaknuma, Chandrayangutta, Chatrikanaka and Shahalibhanda.
When asked about the marriages scheduled on Thursday, Mr Khan replied, “Jab miya biwi raazi, to kya karega commissioner?”
Ten companies of BSF, CRPF, RAF and CISF that arrived in the city have been deployed in the riot-hit areas. About 12 senior IPS officers are monitoring the situation and police from unaffected areas have also been deployed.
Meanwhile, police also began an intense drive with the help of GHMC to remove the flags and banners of religious and political groups in the sensitive areas and in other parts of the city. “Tying of flags and banners in public places will be viewed very seriously,” he said. “Processions and dharnas are also banned in the city till the situation comes under control.”
The commissioner said that permission was granted for a procession on Tuesday after discussing with all leaders and weighing the pros and cons.
“We have not allowed the procession in the affected areas,” he said. “The procession and clashes were recorded with 75 cameras, and we are identifying the miscreants based on the evidence.”
Old city arsonists are from Karnataka: Cops
The conspiracy behind the sudden clashes in Old City started unravelling with police discovering that outsiders from Bidar area of Karnataka and Maharashtra and had been brought in to stir up violence in the past three days. Sleuths are also hunting for the Telugu Desam corporator of Mangalhat, Mr Raju Singh, who is alleged to have deliberately whipped up communal tensions in the area.
Senior police officers have informed the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on the involvement of outsiders in the clashes during the briefing on law and order on Wednesday evening.
The home minister, Mrs P. Sabita Reddy, also hinted at the involvement of outsiders in the riots, but she refused to elaborate further.
"As outsiders are indulging in violence the locals are not able to identify the culprits," she pointed out. “In all the places where violence broke out people of different religions have been living cordially.”
The Chief Minister asked the director general of police, Mr R.R.Girish Kumar, to speedily identify culprits and arrest them as early as possible.
He asked the district collector, Mr Navin Mittal, and the civil supplies commissioner, Mr Sanjay Jaju, to ensure that milk and other essential commodities were made available in adequate quantities during the relaxation of curfew on Thursday.
The Chief Minister also directed officials to urge religious leaders to appeal for peace and harmony, particularly on Friday.
The Central Crime Station Special Investigation Team has taken up 67 criminal cases registered in various police stations in connection with the clashes and also took into custody 186 persons arrested while resorting to violence.
Meanwhile, corporator Raju Singh, who is in hiding, told a TV channel that he was in no way connected with the clashes.
“MIM is responsible for the clashes,” he said. “I am only working for strengthening of Hindu Vahini. All the political parties are playing a double game on this,"
The corporator was an accused in the murder of a pastor and is now involved in cable network business.
“We will arrest all who participated in the communal riots and will also unearth conspiracies behind it,” said the commissioner of police, Mr A.K. Khan. “We will not spare anyone whether he is a corporator or not.”
He added that special teams have been formed to look into all facets of the riots including the conspiracy angle.
