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March 2003
Manoj Agrawal
Monday, March 31, 2003
We had to begin our interview with his Govinda fixation. His third film, 'Humko To Bas Aap Chahiye' is about to commence shooting. Just like his first two films, this one too stars Govinda. "That's because Govinda is a dear friend and I am very comfortable working with him. He gave me my first break and there is NO doubt that he is the finest actor we have in the country," echoes Manoj. But going by the fact that Govinda's past 4-5 films have bombed, will that affect the sale ability of his next film? "Why single out Govinda? Tell me, apart from Hrithik Roshan, which actor's films have done well? Besides, Govinda has given 25 hit films in the past. He is settled as an actor. So 2-3 films of his not doing well, doesn't really matter. Govinda is saleable. Otherwise, why would producers make films with him? In fact, Govinda will have almost 6 releases by the end of this year or early next year. Plus, he is doing 3 more films. So how can somebody do 9 films if he is not saleable?" Considering that in the past two years, hardly any films have done well, how difficult is it for a person who is just two films old to make a film in today's time? "Very difficult. There are directors who have proved themselves and they are the ones who are on the job right now. I still have to prove myself in a bigger way. The small producers are on their way out. It's the corporate companies and the big companies who will make films ultimately. I guess 4-5 hits in a row and things will be fine." People label Manoj as a 'masala' filmmaker "I do admit that both my films are 'masala' films. But for that matter, 97 per cent of the films made are again 'masala' films." But that is not helping Indian cinema grow anyway "That's true. But then, the Indian audience has to grow first." This is a debate that is going on for years where directors blame the audiences and vice-versa for not churning out quality stuff. Had the audiences not grown, they wouldn't have accepted the non-star crime thriller 'Satya' which was one of the few hits of that year. And there is no way that you can term that a 'masala' film. "The point is that our audiences are not educated enough; both in terms of film making as well as academically. If our audiences are better educated, we can put across our idea in a better way. We have no choice but to use the clichéd scenes to put across our ideas." But tell us, until and unless directors break away from the regular song and dance formula films, the audience has no choice but to accept whatever is thrown to them. "For that matter the formula is one everywhere. Except for some films in Europe; and they have died down anyway. French films, Spanish Films, British films - they too follow formulas. Once they have succeeded in an extra-terrestrial film, suddenly there are so many of them, be it Godzilla, Jurassic Park or whatever. They are trying different things once in five years or ten years but they too are following a formula." A person following what is successful is inevitable. But still, when you look at the Oscar nominations, what one gets to see is a wide variety of films that we lack here. "But are those nominated films doing well there?" argues Manoj. At least there is an attempt. Here there are hardly any people attempting even that. "Not at the cost of 10-15 crores (a normal budget of a Hindi films.) Anyway, the attempts have to be very gradual. But then, we are changing ourselves. We are no longer making 'Anarkalis'. We are not making the kind of films we used to make earlier." But earlier, don't you think films were far richer in terms of content? "There were only few makers who would venture out into different kind of subjects those days like B.R.Chopra, V.Shantaram, Bimal Roy. Not to mention, that there was hardly any television exposure those days. When a particular film's music was a hit, people used to go to the theatres to listen to the music if not to see the film. I have met people who have seen 'Anarkali' 50 times to listen to the music because they didn't have a radio. Times have changed now. There is so much of television exposure these days and that in turn is making the filmmakers become more quality conscious." Yes and despite all this, we still have the biggest grosser of this year, 'Kaho NaaPyar Hai' which when viewed thematically, isn't great stuff. It's the Hrithik mania that made the film a phenomenal success. The long and short of it is that even the biggest hit film of the year has a subject that is not any different from any other Hindi film. Filmmakers safeguarding their financial interests and following 'that which runs' by all means is understandable. After all, nobody wants to suffer losses. But when studied from the audience point of view, what surfaces is a statement questioning the future of good quality Hindi cinema. It's become a vicious circle altogether. "With the entry of MNC's and liberalization, we will change. In the next five years, there will be more different kind of films. Haven't you noticed the trend of small budgeted films like Bombay Boys and Hyderabad blues? That's because people have started to realize that we can put across an idea with a small budget. They cannot experiment the same with a 15 crore budget as the risks are high." But then, there always has been an audience for everything. So why not more experimental films? "That's because the ratio of masala films is more." Though few, there are directors who don't bother about any market strategy and make films with a certain amount of distinction. "But they are all successful directors who have already proved themselves." Why? There are some first time directors too who have dared to be different? "Yes, Mahesh Manjrekar who started with an experimental film. Though 'Vaastav' was a commercial film, I wouldn't have attempted it as my first film. Though I appreciate Mahesh Bhatt kind of films, I would always like to make the kind of films Yash Chopra makes." Three hours of romantic bliss. That's it!
SC notice to Advani and others on Ayodhya demolition case
Saturday, March 29, 2003
New Delhi,Sunday, March 28, 1999: The Supreme Court today issued notices to Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, HRD Minister Murli Monohar Joshi, CBI and 33 others on a petition seeking review of the Court's earlier order allowing transfer of the trial proceedings in Ayodhya demolition case from Lucknow to a Rae Bareilly Court. A Bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Arun Kumar issued the notices on a petition filed by Mohd Aslam alias Bhure seeking review of the apex Court's November 29, 2002 order upholding the Uttar Pradesh Government notification for transfer of the trial. The Court also issued notices to Uttar Pradesh Government, VHP top brass Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, UP BJP President Vinay Katiyar, Madhya Pradesh BJP President Uma Bharti, former Faizabad District Magistrate Ravindranath Srivastava and SSP Devendra Bahadur Roy. On November 11, 2002, the Supreme Court said all the cases along with the one against Advani and others should be tried in the Special Court at Rae Bareily finding no fault with the notification to this effect issued by the State Government. The Allahabad High Court had on technical grounds quashed a 1993 Uttar Pradesh Government notification assigning the trial of the case against Advani, Joshi and Bharti to a Special Court at Lucknow, which had framed charges against the accused persons. However, it had said that the State could issue a fresh notification curing the defects. The State, in its fresh notification, had assigned the trial to a Special Court at Rae Bareilly saying similar matters were pending there.
India, Russia call for political settlement to Iraq crisis
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Moscow,Friday, March 28, 2003: India and Russia today called for a political settlement to the Iraq crisis as President Vladimir Putin demanded immediate halt of the US led war, warning that it may spread beyond the ambit of a local conflict and pose a threat to the global stability. "Russia and India have a common stand for a political solution to the Iraq issue," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said as he discussed the consequences of the US led war on the global security system and fragile situation in Afghanistan with visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal here. Ivanov said that Russia appreciated the stand taken by India on Iraq. "We positively assess the steps taken by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with regard to the developments in Iraq," he added. The Russian Minister expressed Moscow's desire to closely work with New Delhi to put an end to bloody war and restore the political process in Iraq. "We are working together with India and a overwhelming majority of the world in searching for ways to stop this bloodshed," Ivanov said. He said "if the war is not stopped in the near future, there is a great threat of the worst possible humanitarian disaster, the worst the world has seen." Putin, addressing leaders of political parties in the state Duma, said "The only means to resolve the Iraq problem is an immediate halt to hostilities and the resumption of efforts to find a peaceful settlement within the UN Security Council".
Necessary measures must to halt cross-border terrorism: Russia
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Moscow,Friday, March 28, 2003: After the U.S and the U.K sent a tough message to Pakistan to end infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, Russia today said all "necessary measures" should be taken to to halt cross-border terrrorism. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov made the call while sharing India's concerns on the need to end cross-border terrorism when he conveyed Russia's condolences to New Delhi over the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits early this week. Ivanov outlined Moscow's position on ways to combat terrorism during a meeting with the visiting Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal when they also discussed the war in Iraq and bilateral issues. "We condemn terrorism in all its manifestations, and we believe that it's necessary to take all the necessary measures to stop cross-border terror attacks," Ivanov told reporters after the talks. Sibal said both India and Russia were victims of international terrrorism and noted that the two countries had identical views on the fight against terror. Without naming anyone, Sibal lashed out at some countries for their "adherence to double standards" concerning international terrorism. India has in the last few days criticised countries for the double standards in the approach to fight terrorism in the context of the ongoing war against Iraq. 21:27 IST
No rethinking on revised basic telecom tariffs: TRAI
Saturday, March 29, 2003
New Delhi,Friday, March 28, 2003: Telecom regulator TRAI today ruled out rethinking on revised basic telecom tariffs announced on January 24 saying the move to "reschedule" the implementation by a month was done so that consumers could be properly informed about the alternate tariff plans. "There is no other reason than this. There is no rethinking on Telecom Tariff Order of January 24 as well Interconnect User Charge (IUC) regime. The implementation date was rescheduled to May 1 keeping in mind interest of cosumers and industry," D P S Seth, member (services) of TRAI told reporters here. The decision to put off implementatation of revised tariffs would have two implications, one that cellular consumers would not be able to avail free incoming calls for another month, while basic telephone consumers would get more time before the revised rental and call charges come into effect. "We have received various alternate tariff plans from five different operators both from PSUs and private sector. One operator has come up with 16 alternate packages. We need time to examine them to ensure that all plans are IUC compliant and non-discriminatory," Seth said. The operators have been given time till April 3 to file alternate tariff packages and TRAI would require a week's time to clear them, Seth said, adding "we would like the operators to educate the consumers about their alternate plans at least 10 days prior to their implementation". 18:03 IST
Japan extends loans of Rs 44.17 billion to India
Saturday, March 29, 2003
New Delhi,Friday, March 28, 2003: Japan today agreed to extend Rs 441.7 billion as soft loans for seven projects in the country including Delhi Metro, Yamuna Action Plan, Simhadri and Bakreswar thermal power stations. The other projects that would get the Japanese Official Development Assistance loans totalling 1,11,239 million yen are Ajanta-Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development project (Phase-II), Punjab Afforestation Project (II) and Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Project. The agreement of the first loan from Japan after lifting of the economic sanctions, imposed on India after it conducted nuclear tests in May 1998, was signed by Japanese Ambassador Akira Hayashi and Additional Secretary in Finance Ministry Adarsh Kishore here today. According to the loan package, Japan would provide 34,012 million yen for Delhi's Mass Rapid Transport system whose 8.3 km stretch Shahdara-Tis Hazari was inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 24, last year. Japan would also extend 13,333 million yen for the second phase of Yamuna Action Plan project covering Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Bakreswar Thermal power station would get 36,771 million yen for construction of 420 MW coal-based power plant being executed by West Bengal Power Development Corporation. NTPC's Simhadri thermal power plant would get 5,684 million yen for construction of 1,000 MW coal-based capacity in Andhra Pradesh. Japan would also extend ODA loans worth 5,054 million yen to Punjab for its afforestation project, 9,054 million yen to Rajasthan's forestry and biodiversity project and 7,331 million yen to Ajanta-Ellora conservation. 18:03 IST
John Wright and others may be retained for Dhaka tourney
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Kolkata,Friday, March 28, 2003: The Indian Cricket Board is planning to extend the contract of coach John Wright and other support staff till the tri-series in Bangladesh scheduled to be held early next month. Board president Jagmohan Dalmiya told today that the final decision on the coach would be taken at a meeting of the Board in the next few days. "Though Wright's contract was till the World Cup, he continues to be the coach of the Indian team until the Board decides otherwise," Dalmiya said. Dalmiya said since there was a long gap after the tri-series next month, the three support staff of the Indian team may be retained as an interim arrangement. Besides Wright, the coach of the side for more than two years, others who helped the team in their World Cup campaign were physio Andrew Leipus and Physical trainer Adrian Le Roux. Dalmiya said the only uncertainty at this stage was Wright who rushed home immediate after the World Cup final as his father was seriously ill. It was to be seen whether he could join in case the Bangladesh tournament came through. The tri-series involving India, South Africa and Bangladesh is scheduled to be held from April 11 and 20. But a question mark hangs over the tournament following South Africa's decision to pull out of the Sharjah Cup in the first week of April due to the Iraq war. The South Africans were to play in the tri-series after the Sharjah Cup. The Indian team for the tri-series is expected to be selected on April 1 or 2 in Mumbai. 18:03 IST
India lodges protest to Dutch over arrest of i-flex CEO
Saturday, March 29, 2003
New Delhi,Friday, March 28, 2003: A war of words broke out today between India and the Netherlands over the arrest of the CEO and some other employees of a well known software company i-Flex Solutions in London and two other cities, with New Delhi lodging a strong protest and the Dutch maintaining that the Indians did not have required work permits. Terming the detention of Senthil Kumar, London-based CEO of i-Flex's Dutch subsidiary and 14 employees in two cities in the Netherlands on alleged visa violations as "grossly unfortunate and patently unwarranted", an External Affairs ministry spokesman said "these acts were beginning to sound like neo-protectionism and a non-tariff barrier". New Delhi's serious concern over the development was conveyed by the Indian Ambassador at The Hague Shymala Kaushi to the Dutch authorities and to the Dutch Ambassador here P F C Koch by the ministry. They had valid visas and were from a highly reputed firm and if they were treated like this and made to feel unwanted then the ultimate victim cooperation between two countries, a ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said here. "Grossly unfortunate, objectionable and patently unwarranted," he said. "They had valid business visas and they are from a highly reputed firm," the spokesman said. "Such treatment was absolutely unwarranted. Most of them have left or are in the process of leaving the Netherlands," he said. 21:27 IST
India accuses Pak of making no efforts to end infiltration
Saturday, March 29, 2003
New Delhi,Friday, March 28, 2003: Accusing Pakistan of not keeping its promise to end infiltration permanently, India has said that on the contrary terrorist violence had "increased significantly" and Islamabad made no efforts to dismantle the infrastructure supporting militant activities. "Despite President Musharraf's public commitments to end infiltration permanently, infiltration from across the border and linked terrorist violence has continued at a significant scale," the External Affairs Ministry said in its Annual Report for 2002-03. It said terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pak-Occupied-Kashmir such as terrorist camps, training centres, launching pads, communication centres and funding of terrorist groups, remain unaffected. Terrorist publications and websites have reappeared and are openly circulating calling for "jehad" in Kashmir and giving bank account numbers for fund-raising, it said adding well-known terrorist figures were released from detention and publicly expressed their intention to continue "jehad" against India. The report said India maintained that should Pakistan operationalise its commitment to eradicate cross-border terrorism, India will respond fully and be prepared to resume the composite dialogue process. "India remains firmly committed to the path of dialogue and reconciliation in keeping with the letter and spirit of the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration," it said. 19:34 IST
War solves no problem: Vajpayee
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Chitrakoot,Sunday, March 28, 1999: In an obvious reference to the Iraq crisis, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today strongly disapproved of war as a means to establish one's domination over others. "War creates destruction but solves no problem," he said after offering prayers at the historic Kamatgiri Temple here. Vajpayee, who is here on a two-day visit to the pilgrim city associated with Lord Ram's "vanvas" (exile in forest), called upon countrymen to promote the ideals of peace, brotherhood and cooperation as "propounded" by Lord Ram. "It is the 'grih kalah' (conflict within the family) which brought the kingdom of Dashrath into trouble, sent Ram into exile and culminated in the war in Lanka," he said. The Prime Minister noted that resisting injustice and aggression was understandable, but use of arms to establish domination was wrong. "Weapons can kill life, but they cannot create life," he added. Vajpayee assured the people of the temple town that the Centre would provide assistance to develop Chitrakoot as an ideal pilgrimage centre. The Prime Minister also saw various rural development projects being implemented by the Deendayal Research Institute, founded by Nanaji Deshmukh, eminent social worker and Rajya Sabha member. 12:47 IST
Indians shares plunge as Iraq war intensifies
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Mumbai, Mar 24 India's blue-chip stock market index finished sharply lower Monday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as jittery investors dumped shares on fears that the military conflict between U.S.-led forces and Iraq may intensify. Dealers said the investors rushed to take profit in shares as soon as the market opened Monday, depressed by signs over the weekend that the U.S. and British forces encountered "pockets of resistance" as they pushed through Iraq towards Baghdad. Mirroring the bearish sentiment, the market barometer 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index or Sensex closed at 3,140.36, a loss of 78.37 points or 2.43 percent from its Friday's close. The market index had risen 115.24 points or 3.73 percent in the last three trading sessions as bruised investors bet on a quick resolution of the imminent U.S.-led military strike on Iraq. "In the last three sessions that market had staged recovery on excessive optimism that the conflict would be over quickly," said Neeraj Deewan, who tracks share market for brokerage firm Prime Securities. "But sentiment has been badly hurt by the weekend developments there. Now it looks like the war may not end as swiftly as earlier expected. It may only get worse in the days ahead as U.S. forces close in on Baghdad," Deewan told . U.S. Marines took casualties in the hardest fighting of the Iraq war in southeastern Iraq, when an army convoy was ambushed -- with some soldiers killed and captured -- as the coalition advanced toward Baghdad. "Shares rallied in the last couple of sessions because of expectations of a short war without much damage to the global economy," said a share broker with the BSE. "But the ongoing intense fighting may serve as a reminder that there are still risks involved and its not going to be easy for the U.S.-led forces to win. And the longer the conflict takes to resolve, the worse it is for the market." Stock markets across Asia rallied last week as U.S.-led troops advanced into southern Iraq, ending months of uncertainty about the prospect of military action against Iraq, which has the world's second-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. Analysts say while India might manage to absorb the impact of a short war with little disruption in oil supplies, a prolonged military campaign would result in soaring oil prices and quashing the economy's attempts to right itself. Selling pressure was observed almost across the board, encompassing new and old economy and defensive sector stocks. In the old economy sector, consumer goods giant Hindustan Lever Ltd. closed with a loss of 4.7 percent at Rs.155.35 and tobacco major ITC ended 1.5 percent lower at Rs.611.20. Reliance Industries Ltd., India's largest refiner and petrochemicals maker, fell 4.2 percent to Rs.282.20 on fears that the rising global oil prices would affect the company's profit margins in the current fiscal year. State Bank of India, the country's largest commercial bank, lost 2.2 percent to touch Rs.278.80 and Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's largest drug maker by sales, ended 0.3 percent lower at Rs.617.15. In the technology sector, Satyam Computer Services, India's fourth largest software exporter, lost 4.4 percent to touch Rs.201.70 on institutional selling pressure. Satyam Computer Services, India's fourth largest software exporter, said its business activities in the Middle East are "normal" despite the ongoing U.S. attack on Iraq. Infosys Technologies, India's largest listed software exporter, fell 1.8 percent to Rs.4,372.15, as investors booked profit on fears that a long drawn war in the Middle East would have an adverse impact on the domestic IT industry.
Iraqi uses Web to chronicle a city under the bombs
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A mysterious Iraqi who calls himself Salam Pax, writing a Web log from the heart of Baghdad, has developed a large Internet following with his wry accounts of daily life in a city under U.S. bombardment. Salam Pax, a pseudonym crafted from the Arabic and Latin words for peace, came back on line on Monday after a two-day break because of interruptions in Internet access. The traffic on his Web site, http://dear_raed.blogspot.com, caused the server to go down and Salam's e-mail folder has filled with inquiries about his true identity. Salam, who writes in English, is the only resident of Iraq known to be filing accounts of the war directly to the Web. He has spoken against the invasion but clearly has no great love for Iraq's Baathist leaders. "Freaks. Hurling abuse at the world is the only thing left for them to do," he said last week after media appearances by Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf and Interior Minister Mahmoud Diyab al-Ahmed. But he does not like seeing his city bombed either. "The only thing I could think of was 'why does this have to happen to Baghdad'. As one of the buildings I really love went up in a huge explosion I was close to tears," he wrote on Saturday. Salam and his family have been out on reconnaissance missions around the city to inspect the damage and they report the bombing has been accurate but dangerous to civilians. "Today before noon I went out with my cousin to take a look at the city. Two things. 1) the attacks are precise. 2) they are attacking targets which are just too close to civilian areas in Baghdad," he wrote on Sunday. On Saturday he reported a rare eyewitness account of Iraqi policemen setting fire to the oil in trenches dug around Baghdad, apparently to confuse the guidance system of bombs. "My cousine (sic) came and told me he saw police cars standing by one and setting it on fire. Now you can see the columns of smoke all over the city," he wrote. Salam reports that the streets of Baghdad are busy but few shops are open. Vegetable prices shot up in the first days of the war but by Sunday they had fallen back to normal. In the first days of the U.S. and British invasion, Salam gave the impression of calm resignation but his tone changed on Sunday when Iraqi resistance surfaced and casualties rose. "If Um Qasar (the port of Umm Qasr in the south) is so difficult to control what will happen when they get to Baghdad? It will turn uglier and this is very worrying," he wrote. "People (and I bet "allied forces") were expecting things to be mush (sic) easier. There are no waving masses of people welcoming the Americans nor are they surrendering by the thousands. People are doing what all of us are, sitting in their homes hoping that a bomb doesn't fall on them and keeping their doors shut." The electricity has gone out in parts of Baghdad and the Bush administration has launched another e-mail blitz on Iraqis, sending him five messages, he reported. "Three of them are to army personnel and two to the general public. In those they gave us the radio frequencies we are supposed to listen to. They are calling it 'Information Radio'," he said.
Paintings of Ravi Verma worth Rs one crore seized
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
New Delhi,Monday, March 24, 2003: In a major haul, CBI has conducted a raid along with officials of the Archaeological Survey of India on the godowns of a capital-based firm allegedly dealing in the sale and purchase of antiquities and seized nine precious paintings of Raja Ravi Verma worth more than Rs One Crore. Acting on a tip-off, sleuths of the agency raided the Sunder Nagar and Defence Colony godowns of the firm in South Delhi and seized Ravi Verma's paintings including 'Mohini and Sita in exile', 'image of Rama after banishment from Ayodhya,' 'Bal Krishan and Yashoda', 'Shankar', 'Vitobha and Rukumayai', a CBI spokesman said here today. The seized paintings also include portraits of 'Nizam of Hyderabad (Mir Mehboob Ali Khan-Asaf Jahi six)', 'Shri Dattatreya', 'Ganesha with Companions', 'Krishna killing his uncle', 'Rama breaking the bow' and also a nude painting by P Gerhardt, the spokesman said. During the raid, it was found that the firm had earlier allegedly sold about 73 precious paintings through auctions in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore without the mandatory licence and permission from ASI, he said. A case has been registered and investigation was in progress the spokesman said adding that no arrest has been made.
-K Govt suspends policemen, orders probe into security lapse
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Nadimarg,Tuesday, March 25, 2003: Jammu and Kashmir Government suspended nine policemen and ordered an inquiry into alleged security lapses following the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits here in Pulwama district on Monday. Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who visited the carnage site, also ordered a review of security arrangements for the minority community throughout the state and asked Director General of Police A K Suri to inquire into the alleged security lapses and report to the government. He said Suri would probe lapses, if any, in giving adequate response to the information given by some locals about the movement of suspicious people in the area to Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag before the massacre. Nine policemen posted at the picket outside the village for the security of the minority community have been suspended pending an inquiry. Sayeed, accompanied by his deputy Mangat Ram Sharma and senior cabinet colleagues and leaders of the coalition partners met the survivors of the massacre and condoled the deaths. The Chief Minister told reporters the militants had indulged in unpardonable act and would be punished. "They have made us hang our heads in shame". Admitting that the incident was a set back to government's peace process and efforts to motivate Pandits to return home, he said those behind the carnage were enemies of peace and people of the state. 09:48 IST
Hurriyat calls for shutdown today
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Srinagar,Tuesday, March 25, 2003: Hurriyat Conference called for a complete shutdown in the Kashmir Valley today to protest the massacre 24 Kashmiri Pandits at Nadimarg village of Pulwama district. In a statement here, Hurriyat demanded an impartial probe into the massacre to "unveil the elements responsible for the massacre" and stern punishment to the culprits. 09:48 IST
US, Britain, Condemn Pulwama Massacre
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
New Delhi,Monday, March 24, 2003: The United States and Britain today strongly condemned the killing of 24 Kashmiri Pundits in Jammu and Kashmir with US Secretary of State Colin Powell describing it as "horrible" and assuring India that he would speak to Pakistan again about cross-border terrorism. Powell telephoned External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and expressed regret and deep condolences at the loss of lives in the "horrible terrorist attack". He also conveyed that he would speak to Pakistan again about cross-border activity, official sources said. "The US condemns the ghastly murders of innocent men, women and chidren at Nadimarg village in Jammu and Kashmir. The Global War on Terrorism will not be won until such atrocities end against all countries," US Ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill said in a statement here. Extending heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families he said "we look forward to the terrorists being brought swiftly to justice". Blackwill was scheduled to meet Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes, but the meetings did not take place. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw telephoned Sinha this morning and expressed shock at the appalling murder and attacks on innocent civilians. "The UK strongly condemns such acts," he said adding "our thoughts and sympathies are with the families of all killed and those injured." He said "these killings, as with earlier terrorist attacks, underline the need for continued action to eliminate the scourge of terrorism". 21:41 IST
Advani to visit J-K massacre site on Tuesday
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
New Delhi,Monday, March 24, 2003: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani will be visiting Nadimarg village, the site of the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Pulwama district, Tuesday for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. This was stated by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security presided by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today. The Prime Minister has expressed his sorrow and grief over the massacre and loss of innocent lives, Sinha said after the 90-minute meeting. "Government of India condemns the incident in strongest possible terms" he said adding that Government would keep this situation under review and take whatever steps necessary to meet it", he said. Army Chief N C Vij and top officials of the intelligence agencies briefed the CCS on the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the massacre. Sinha refused to take questions on who could be behind the massacre. The CCS also reviewed the situation in Iraq, Sinha said. Advani would brief the CCS again Tuesday after his return from the state. The meeting was attended among others by Defence Minister George Fernandes, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Cabinet Secretary Kamal Pande, Home Secretary N Gopalaswamy and top intelligence officials. 14:27 IST
24 Kashmiri Pandits gunned down in Pulawama in J-K
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Srinagar,Monday, March 24, 2003: In a first major strike after Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government came to power, about 15 heavily armed militants gunned down 24 Kashmiri pandits, including 11 women and two children, in a village in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir in wee hours today. The militants dressed in army uniform descended in Nandimarg village, 75 kms from here in Shopian area where Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad militants are active, disarmed the local police saying that they were searching for militants and after assembling the villagers fired indiscriminately killing 24 people on the spot, official sources said. The sources said the dead included 11 women and two children. The massacre came a day after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Abdul Majid Dar and at a time when the Mufti government was trying to persude Kashmir Pandits to return to the Valley. No organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the killings and security forces have launched a massive operation in the area to nab the militants.
Cricket-crazy nation shocked by the defeat
Monday, March 24, 2003
New Delhi,Monday, March 24, 2003: Its hopes of regaining the World Cup after a gap of 20 years raised high by the team's excellent run in the tournament, the cricket-crazy nation was left in a state of shock Sunday night as India crashed to a 125-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the fina. Millions of cricket fans all over the country, who were hoping that the "men in blue" will be able to tame the mighty Australians, were heart-broken after Sourav Ganguly and his team failed to upset the Australian applecart in what turned out to be a rather one-sided summit showdown. A pall of gloom descended soon after Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in the very first over and the mood turned sombre after every Indian dismissal. The entire nation virtually came to a standstill as the match began in the afternoon and roads and markets wore a deserted look in most cities. Hotels and restaurants in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata had installed giant screens for the benefit of cricket fans, many of whom had bought crackers to celebrate a historic Indian victory. But that did not happen. In Kolkata, where cricket fever reached an unprecedented high with the fans painstakingly preparing for the 'D' Day, people were seen discussing the match in street corners, unable to hide their disappointment. Similar scenes were seen in Mumbai and Chennai. Former cricketers and administrators also joined the 'mourning' but praised the team's performance in the World Cup, saying the side had shown character to stage a comeback after an indifferent start. 09:48 IST
Heavy betting leads to huge losses
Monday, March 24, 2003
BANGALORE: The moment Australia set a gigantic target for the Indian cricket team to chase in the World Cup cricket final, a pall of gloom descended on those Bangaloreans who had betted in favour of India. A well-known transport operator from Kalasipalyam area, who had won four luxury buses in the betting during Indo-Pak cricket match, looked worried after Australia set a target of 360 runs. He had bet on four hi-tech buses with his rival. It is a common thing among bus owners in Kalasipalyam and Majestic area to gamble on buses, whether it is a cricket match or an election. The same transport operator, a Congress party sympathiser, had lost two vehicles in the Kanakapura parliamentary by-poll, when former PM Deve Gowda won the poll against Urban Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar. At least 25 autorickshaw owners from K.G. Halli and Tannery Road area have also bet on their vehicles. A cashier of a petrol pump on St Mark’s Road said: I have lost hope, if India loses the match, I will lose Rs 12,000.’’ With India winning match after match and defeating Pakistan easily, our confidence in the Indian team increased and resulted in heavy betting in the city, a bookie of Bangalore Turf Club said. According to conservative estimates, at least Rs 15 crore were placed in bets, he added. Till Australia set a huge target for India to win the final, bookies in the city were collecting 60 paise (against one rupee) for an Indian victory. The moment the Australian score looked heavy, betting money in favour of India dropped to 30 paise. The big losers were those who had bet on Sachin many believed he would score a century. An advocate from Kumara Park area lost his Accent car to his doctor brother when Sachin got out after scoring just four runs.
19 Iranian fishermen detained at Porbandar
Monday, March 24, 2003
Nineteen Iranian fishermen have been detained off the coastal town of Porbandar in South-West Gujarat around 500 km from here by the Indian Coast Guard officials, a senior police official said Sunday. Crew members of fishing trawler "Amber", which strayed into Indian waters between Porbandar and Dwarka, had no documents to justify their presence, Porbandar District Superinterndent of Police S P Rajkumar told. All those detained, including the trawler's captain Balal Karanti, would be handed over to local police for detailed interrogation today, Rajkumar said. The DSP said nearly 500 kg fish, Rs 2,00,000 worth foreign currency, besides Rs 3000 Pakistani currency were found from the trawler. The detained persons would be booked under Maritime Zone Act, Rajkumar said. 09:48 IST
India, Russia express concern over US-led war on Iraq
Monday, March 24, 2003
India, Russia express concern over US-led war on Iraq Moscow,Monday, March 24, 2003: Russia and India have expressed their deep concern at the US-led military action against Iraq and devastating bombardment of the country. In their telephonic conversation Sunday Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha "agreed that continuation of massive bombardment of Iraq would inevitably cause a humanitarian and ecological disaster in the whole region, which cannot be allowed by the international community," a Russian Foreign Office statement said. Expressing deep concern at the war on Iraq, which the US and Great Britain unleashed bypassing the UN Security Council, Ivanov and Sinha called for the return of the Iraqi settlement to the UN Security Council and expressed Moscow and New Delhi's firm will to achieve this, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Both Moscow and New Delhi, which till the last moment had been calling for the peaceful politico-diplomatic solution of the Iraq crisis on the basis of UNSC resolution 1441, however, adopted a cautious stance in the wake of US-led invasion to de-throne Saddam and are avoiding a direct attack on Washington hoping to retain their bilateral relationship with the world's sole super power.
24 Kashmiri Pandits gunned down in Pulawama in J-K
Monday, March 24, 2003
In a first major strike after Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government came to power, about 15 heavily armed militants gunned down 24 Kashmiri pandits, including 11 women and two children, in a village in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir in wee hours today. The militants dressed in army uniform descended in Nandimarg village, 75 kms from here in Shopian area where Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad militants are active, disarmed the local police saying that they were searching for militants and after assembling the villagers fired indiscriminately killing 24 people on the spot, official sources said. The sources said the dead included 11 women and two children. The massacre came a day after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Abdul Majid Dar and at a time when the Mufti government was trying to persude Kashmir Pandits to return to the Valley. No organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the killings and security forces have launched a massive operation in the area to nab the militants. 09:48 IST
Indian developers now under Sun's spotlight
Monday, March 24, 2003
Bangalore, Mar 22 India's IT capital has become the battleground for giants Microsoft and Sun Microsystems to garner support among the developer community. Four months ago, it was the Microsoft chief Bill Gates who paid encomiums to Indian developers and urged them to work on his company's technologies to provide cost effective solutions. Saturday saw Sun Microsystems co-founder and CEO, Scott McNealy, place similar objectives before a 2,000 strong developer community - but with his company's technologies. Bowled over by the attendance at the Sun Tech Days conference on the theme "Survive the test of time", McNealy did not spare the opportunity to drive home his point that Sun's Java platform was independent while the archrival's platform was dependent upon the Microsoft Network platform. Said to be the IT industry's most outspoken CEO, McNealy stated Microsoft was appealing a U.S. court order asking Microsoft to bundle Java with Windows. "They are pleading against it, but they will run out of lawyers. This is mankind versus Microsoft. We are winning," he said to thunderous applause. He added that both platforms were used by multi-million developers and were gaining share among them. Microsoft and Sun are competing to lure software developers in India to use their technologies to develop programmes for the world market. The number of software developers is expected to touch 1.3 million in the next four years from the current 500,000. Gates had told the developers in November that the PC platform was reaching a level where it was building mainframe like capabilities. "Software by being comprehensive can save money by avoiding other add on pieces of software. You can save money in terms of speed of development or run on less expensive hardware," Gates had said. McNealy said : "When your office is on fire, you don't go through your Windows system to reach the fire station. You pick up the telephone." That was his way of presenting of Sun's core strategies of attack cost and complexity, accelerate network service deployment and unleash mobility with security. He wanted developers to work on programmes to provide campus-to-campus roaming for Sun's smart card that could be put into any monitor to access data from anywhere. "We want you to help us build a non-Microsoft desktop with a smart card recorder and give an alternative to Microsoft architecture," McNealy said. The way to bridging the digital divide was not by putting a personal computer on "everybody's desk or everybody's lap. Our vision is everything and everybody connected to the network." "The shelf life of a technology is the same as the shelf life of a banana. We need to get moving," he added. He dispelled doubts about the global economic slowdown having an impact on the company. Sun was on track, he maintained. "Earnings are an opinion, cash is a fact after the new accounting practices have come in." The company has cash reserves of $5.3 billion. McNealy had a closed door meeting with Infosys technologies CEO Nandan Nilekani on the sidelines of the developer conference. He later visited Wipro where he met Chairman Azim Premji. Gates had addressed developers at the Infosys campus as well as at the Wipro campus.
Fernandes rings terror alert
Monday, March 24, 2003
Bangalore, March 21: In his first definitive statement since America launched its Baghdad blitz, defence minister George Fernandes today warned the war would encourage "terrorism with greater intensity" and ultimately threaten the security of several countries, including the US. Speaking to officials after the inaugural flight of HJT-36, India's intermediate jet trainer, he said: "I don't have to elaborate on this. But one thing we will have to face not only in India but elsewhere, too, is terrorism not experienced so far. "Iraq and the ongoing conflict has raised a number of questions for the future of our planet and for all those who have a differing opinion as a democratic polity." Fernandes, however, declined to elaborate his views at a news conference later. But he made a strong plea to end the war as early as possible. Referring to A.B. Vajpayee's repeated pleas to leaders, including President George W. Bush, to prevent war, he said: "The Prime Minister spoke out clearly to say these issues can be and must be resolved without getting into hostilities." He refused to go along with the stand taken by anti-war campaigners that Delhi had not taken a strong-enough position against Washington. "India's stand was not soft but just and right," he said. "We are readying ourselves for any humanitarian assistance that the people of Iraq would need in the aftermath of the hostilities," he added. Fernandes said one of the biggest casualties of the Iraq war was the UN. "The institution, which came into existence after the Second World War to create a just world, has been undermined by the might of the US," he said. Help for home-bound The Central Board of Excise and Customs is making special arrangements at international airports, including expeditious clearing of baggage, for Indians returning to the country. According to a board circular issued today, the chief commissioners of customs of airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Cochin, Ahemdabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad have been advised to deal with Indians coming back home in a "humanitarian manner". "What we are seeing is the might of the most powerful military and economic power unleashed against a country where the population is just over 20 million. The sanctions (against Iraq) have led to the death of one million children and 700,000 adults for lack of nutrition," he said. "If this is the kind of world that is going to evolve, then security matters will gradually start emerging." Asked if the US was behaving like a 'big bully', he said: "Developments convey their own messages and I don't think one needs to dwell on it. Some helplessness is on display. Nations like Germany, France and Russia could not get the UN Security Council to take a decision to uphold the UN charter." But Fernandes was quick to add that varying views on the war would not affect relations with the US. He said the government was against boycott of US goods to press home the anti-war message. "Those who are talking of boycotting (US goods) have nothing to do with the government," he said.
Gujarat riot victims complain of inadequate compensation
Sunday, March 23, 2003
New Delhi,Sunday, March 23, 2003: A year after communal riots engulfed Gujarat in the aftermath of Godhra carnage, some of the victims still fear to go back to their houses and complain of inadequate compensation doled out by Government, Justice G T Nanavati, heading the panel probing the riots, said today. Recalling the deposition of witnesses at several places recorded at length by the Commission of Inquiry, he said "at few places there are problems relating to rehabilitation. Some are afraid to go back to their houses either because of local opposition or total destruction of their properties." In several cases, the grievances get settled at the threshold once the Commission drew the attention of the concerned authorities, he said adding there was little else the Commission could do at this stage. Justice Nanavati, however, termed as baseless reports about pressure being put on witnesses belonging to any community. "These reports are baseless. The victims and others have been deposing before the Commission without any fear," he told. He said the Commission has completed task of collecting evidence relating to the Godhra carnage in which over 50 people were burnt alive in a train. "We have spoken to a crossection of population, the railway officials and police have completed the inquiry relating to the Godhra incidents," Justice Nanavati, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, said. "Having completed inquiry into the Godhra incident, we are now going to different districts of the State affected by the riots and expect the task to be completed before the onset of Monsoon," Justice Nanavati said. After completing the inquiry relating to other districts, the Commission would start collecting evidence while probing the large number of incidents of riots in Ahmedabad and Baroda, he said. Explaining the manner in which the panel had recorded evidence, Justice Nanavati said the Commission first studies all relevant material including the cases registered by police in various localities of the district, visits the actual place of occurrence and gives adequate public invitation for the people to come and depose. "This has been very successful and large number of people from both communities have come forward to depose before the Commission," he said. 09:39 IST
Indian exports to Iraq may be severely hit
Sunday, March 23, 2003
New Delhi,Sunday, March 23, 2003: Indian exports to Iraq, which were on the rise in the last five years, are likely to be severely hit due to the war. "Exports to Iraq surged by 151 per cent to 206.13 million dollars in 2001-02. During the first three months of 2002-03, exports amounted to 170.36 million dollars," official sources told, pointing to the rising trend in trade with the country. India mainly exports tea, machinery, plastic and linoleum products, electronic goods, fine chemicals, and drugs and pharma products to Iraq. The exports to the Gulf country were rising since 1998-99 when India exported goods worth 35.39 million dollars. It rose to 49.38 million dollars in 1999-2000 and then to 82.58 million dollars in 2000-01. The balance of trade between the two countries stood at 170.34 milllion dollars in favour of India till 2001-02. Official sources said apart from exports, funds flowing from Iraq as per the Deferred Payment Agreement for project exports, are also to be affected. Iraq was the single largest market for India's project exports till 1982 with a total exposure of Rs 2,500 crore by Indian companies, which was insured by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC). Due to the war with Iran, the forex reserves of Iraq depleted and it signed a Deferred Payment Agreement with India covering 55 projects. 09:39 IST
Indian exports to Iraq may be severely hit
Sunday, March 23, 2003
New Delhi,Sunday, March 23, 2003: Indian exports to Iraq, which were on the rise in the last five years, are likely to be severely hit due to the war. "Exports to Iraq surged by 151 per cent to 206.13 million dollars in 2001-02. During the first three months of 2002-03, exports amounted to 170.36 million dollars," official sources told, pointing to the rising trend in trade with the country. India mainly exports tea, machinery, plastic and linoleum products, electronic goods, fine chemicals, and drugs and pharma products to Iraq. The exports to the Gulf country were rising since 1998-99 when India exported goods worth 35.39 million dollars. It rose to 49.38 million dollars in 1999-2000 and then to 82.58 million dollars in 2000-01. The balance of trade between the two countries stood at 170.34 milllion dollars in favour of India till 2001-02. Official sources said apart from exports, funds flowing from Iraq as per the Deferred Payment Agreement for project exports, are also to be affected. Iraq was the single largest market for India's project exports till 1982 with a total exposure of Rs 2,500 crore by Indian companies, which was insured by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC). Due to the war with Iran, the forex reserves of Iraq depleted and it signed a Deferred Payment Agreement with India covering 55 projects. 09:39 IST
Kalam sends greetings to Indian team
Sunday, March 23, 2003
New Delhi,Sunday, March 23, 2003: President A P J Abdul Kalam today sent greetings to the Indian Cricket Team wishing them success in the World Cup final to be played with Australia later today. "The President has sent best wishes to the Indian team and has also expressed his desire to meet the team members and officials associated with the team on their return," S M Khan, Press Secretary to the President told here. India is slated to play Australia at The Wanderers in a day match later this afternoon. 09:39 IST
World Cup win will make Indian players 'crorepati' overnight
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Johannesburg,Saturday, March 22, 2003: Reclaiming the World Cup after a gap of 20 years will not only make Saurav Ganguly and his men superstars back home, it will also leave them richer by a few crores overnight. Indian team members after beating Kenya for a place in the final of the mega event, have already assured themselves of a miminum Rs 50 million besides Rs 37.5 milliom cash award by the Indian Cricket Board for their impressive run in the tournament. If India, who will meet Australia in the final here Sunday, manage to win the title, they will get the winners' cheque of Rs 100 million for their top-place finish. Besides the prize money from the entire tournament which will run into Rs 110 million, the Indian team members are likely to get huge cash incentives and gifts from the national cricket board as well as various corporate houses. BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya has already announced Rs 7.5 crore for the team if India repeat their 1983 performance. Apart from the players, coach John Wright, physio Andrew Leipus and fitness trainer Adrian Le Roux would also benefit from the title triumph with BCCI set to announce suitable reward for them after the World Cup. Indian team sponsor, Amby Valley, an initiative of Sahara Group, has also said it will provide the cricketers and their support staff a seven-star fully furnished deluxe apartment in the 'World Champion Enclave' building at Sahara Lake City. The total cost of the package promised for the team would be in excess of Rs 230 million. 12:23 IST
Sun CEO woos Indian developers to build "alternative" desktop
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Bangalore,Saturday, March 22, 2003: Sun Microsystems Inc Chairman, President and CEO Scott McNealy today exhorted Indian software programmers to build Sun's "desktop computer" aimed to be an alternative system to Microsoft software architecture. "We want you to build the next generation software alternative to the Microsoft architecture," McNealy told over 2,000 software programmers and developers on the second day of "Sun Tech Days 2003" Developer Conference here. He said the desktop with a smart card reader capability would have Mad Hatter, Linux, Gnome, Evolution and Java's star office products. "The world will get a choice," he said on the desktop operating on thin client and invited developers to contribute to its development. The thin client model would be ideal for countries like India. McNealy, Chairman of the USD 13.6 billion Sun, said the company had deployed over 25,000 "Sun Rays" virtual terminals in its campus in the US, which did not have any accessories. "It is not a desktop, but works on a big server platform," he said. Terming it as "unleashing mobility with security," McNealy said access to the workstation through a smart card would be easy from any location and secure. 15:37 IST
India to help Nepal in its fight against Maoist insurgency
Saturday, March 22, 2003
India to help Nepal in its fight against Maoist insurgency New Delhi,Saturday, March 22, 2003: India today assured Nepal of all possible help in its fight to combat growing Maoist insurgency in the Himalayan kingdom. The assurance was conveyed by the Defence Minister George Fernandes when he called on the visiting Nepalese King Gyanendra Bikram Shah at the Rashtrapati Bhavan today. Fernandes was with the visiting monarch for 45 minutes, official sources said. India has supplied at heavily concessional rates warfare equipment to Nepal including helicopters, assault rifles, mortars, jeeps and communication equipment. New Delhi has also trained Nepalese army personnel and officers in its anti-insurgency warfare schools. 16:26 IST
US in a jam in dealing with nuclear India and Pakistan
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Washington,Saturday, March 22, 2003: The United States has admitted it faces a "conundrum" in convincing India and Pakistan to go slow on their nuclear ambitions, but said it was working hard to get them to exercise restraint. "Under the rules of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, India and Pakistan, which are not signatories, cannot be accepted as nuclear weapon states. But they do have nuclear weapons and we see no realistic prospect that they will be getting rid of them any day soon," US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Christina Rocca said Saturday. Testifying before the International Relations Committee's subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Rocca said the Bush administration is working on three key areas to solve the problem. "We are working hard with both nations to get them to exercise restraint. We are asking them not to conduct nuclear tests, to minimise missile tests, to announce their missile tests in order to keep the tensions down, to announce them in advance, to bring an early end to the production of fissile material, which would be in line with their stated policies of having these weapons as a minimum credible deterrent." "We are also asking them not to build sea-launch or Intercontinental Ballistic missiles, not to deploy nuclear-capable waerheads or ballistic missiles, and to keep missiles and warheads at separate locations," she said. The US, she added, was working closely with both countries on stopping proliferation. The third area is one of defusing tensions between them. "The high levels of tension and the lack of dialogue and the cold war that exists increases the risk that the nuclear threshold might be crossed through misperception or inadvertance".
Country needs a biotech policy: Kalam
Saturday, March 22, 2003
President A P J Abdul Kalam today said the country needed a national biotech policy for tapping the full potential of the science and utilising it for economic development. The policy should integrate various areas like production and marketing biotechnology-related products and should be followed in a national mission like approach, Kalam said here inaugurating a conference, 'Knowledge Millennium III - the Business of Biotechnology'. For this, Kalam said, the country needed a combination of technology and leadership. "There was a need for leaders who facilitate respect rather than demand respect". Kalam said modern biotechnology should look into and integrate with the vast bank of traditional knowledge to get an advantageous position internationally. Such an approach would result in reduction in the number of years needed to invent molecules important in fighting diseases such as cancer, he said, adding there were many herbs being used in the country for various ailmets and there was a need to study them. The President said with the increase in population, there was a need to apply biotechnology into agriculture so that demand for more food could be met using less of land and water resources. Another important area was the stem cell research which has the potential to treat even blindness. Stem cells with their ability to get transformed into different kinds of functioning cells have offered enormous opportunities for curing diseases, he said. 16:26 IST
Night curfew imposed in Poonch
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Jammu,Saturday, March 22, 2003: To keep a check on the increasing militant activities, authorities today imposed night curfew in the sensitive Poonch border district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said here. "Due to increase in the movements of militants during night period, district authorities have put three border tehsils, including Mendhar, Poonch and Surankote under night curfew," the sources told. Six policemen, including a deputy superintendent were among 19 people killed in militant strikes in the district last week, the sources said adding most of the strikes were carried out during night in remote areas of the district. The night curfew will remain in force in Poonch tehsil from 2100 hours in the night to 0400 hours in morning, the sources said adding that in Surankote and Mendhar, it will be imposed from 1900 hours in the evening to 0600 hours in the morning. The authorities have appealed to people to follow the night curfew guidelines strictly for their own safety. "We want support from people to maintain law and order situation and eliminate militants, who have raised their heads again," they said.
All party on Iraq meet fails to adopt joint resolution
Saturday, March 22, 2003
New Delhi,Saturday, March 22, 2003: An all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here today to discuss the Iraq crises failed to agree on a joint resolution even as Government rejected Opposition charge that it was hesitating to directly condemn the US for the military action. "There was no consensus on the formulation" for such a resolution, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters after a two-hour meeting attended among others by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Somnath Chatterjee(CPM), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) and Laloo Prasad Yadav (RJD) at Parliament House. While the Opposition insisted on using the word "condemn" for the military action by United States and its allies, the Government did not not favour it, leaders of various political leaders said. "No, there is no hesitation on the part of the Government to name the US or anyone else", Sinha said adding The Prime Minister, who summed up the discussions, clearly stated that India saw no justification for this military action and that the war was avoidable, Sinha said. Vajpayee felt that if more time was given to UN weapons inspectors, then the objective of disarming Iraq could have been achieved. Vajpayee made it clear that "there was no question of endorsing the military action which has been started against Iraq", Sinha said . "The issue of war being brought to an end and cessation of hostilities was also mentioned during the meeting," he said. "Government of India is not in favour of war. So it is not in favour of continuation of war," Sinha said, adding the huminatarian issue including the suffering of the Iraqi people "is something which has caused deep anguish to us and others". 16:26 IST
Dalmiya says India will win the World Cup
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Dalmiya says India will win the World Cup Johannesburg,Saturday, March 22, 2003: Indian Cricket Board president Jagmohan Dalmiya today billed India to upset defending champions Australia in the World Cup final here on Sunday. Dalmiya said India outscored Australia in almost all departments of the game. "They are nowhere near us in batting. We are equal to them in bowling as our medium-pacers are bowling no less than the Australians. "Also they do not have a good spinner while we have one," the BCCI chief said. Dalmiya reconfirmed that the team will receive Rs 38.4 million for just entering into the final. "The money will actually double if India were to lay their hands on the Cup," he said. "The prize money is all theirs. The board gets nothing. They will also get 60 per cent of the total earnings of logo money. And they deserve every penny of it," an upbeat Dalmiya said. 12:23 IST
CBI conducts nationwide raids; top taxman booked
Friday, March 21, 2003
New Delhi: CBI on March 21 conducted nationwide raids as part of its special drive against corruption and has registered cases including one against a senior Income Tax official for alleged acquisition of assets disproportionate to his income. CBI sources said that the raids were being conducted at various places of the country. They said the "prize catch" so far was the registration of a disproportionate assets case against an Additional Income Tax Commissioner in Mumbai against whom the agency claimed to have evidence that he possessed assets to the tune of Rs four to five crore. His Hyderabad-based residence and office at Mumbai were raided by its sleuths, the sources said. This is the first special drive this year while it is the fifth since P C Sharma took over as the Director of the agency in 2002. CBI first started the nationwide drive in February 2002 and, buoyed by its success, similar exercises were carried out in June, August and November again. In the third special drive, CBI had seized Rs 1.52 crore of cash and detected property worth Rs 6.90 crore besides arresting an official of the rank of Commissioner (Income Tax).
War not to disrupt oil prices in India: Naik
Friday, March 21, 2003
New Delhi: Anticipating that the war on Iraq will not disrupt crude oil supplies to India, government on March 21 said it was prepared for the worst. "We are hoping for the best. But we are prepared even for the worst," Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told reporters while emphasising that the country would not face any shortage of petroleum products for next two months. Crude oil and petroleum products have been stocked to meet country's requirement for next two months. "Even if supplies from Persian Gulf are disrupted, it will not have any bearing on India. Since September 2002, we have stocked supplies and have placed advance contracts with countries beyond the conflict zone," he said. Welcoming the decline in international crude prices, he said, "I would be very happy if they fall to $ 20 a barrel." Petrol and diesel prices in India have gone up by up to Rs five per litre each since January on firming up of global crude oil prices. Naik said the state-owned oil companies would keep consumer interest in mind and insulate them from extreme volatilities. "We are in constant discussion with the Finance Ministry and will see to it that the consumers are not hurt," he added.
Jhankaar Beats
Friday, March 21, 2003
R.D. Burman seems to be the hottest music director, whose music can make a movie sell. First we had 'Dil Vil Pyar Vyar' which had 14 remixed Burmanda hits, and now Jhankaar Beats. The similarities between the two films are more than one. Both the films have R D Burman as the key. Both the films have three couples and their intermingled lives. The target of both the films is to win a music competition. In this film the competition is called 'Jhankaar Beats' and so the title of the film. Earlier movies from Pritish Nandy stable have been well accepted. Sur & Kaante had good music and so does Jhankaar Beats. Rangita Nandy produces the movie, written & directed by Sujoy Ghosh, music is by Vishal & Shekhar and lyrics are by Vishal Dadlani. Deep (Sanjay Suri) and Shanti (Juhi Chawla) is a happily married couple with one kid and awaiting another. Deep works for an advertising agency and is a musician too. The couple is awaiting one more person. Shanti's mother, who is coming to stay over until the baby's birth. Rishi (Rahul Bose) is Deep's colleague in the agency and the duo performs in a nightclub. But Rishi is also facing a severe problem, that of his marriage with Nikkie (Rinkie Khanna). Rishi and Deep are crazy of Burmanda's music and are preparing to win the coveted music competition called 'Jhankaar Beats'. But that is not all; advertising in the day and music by night has more to it. The agency is launching a new product and the duo is asked to get the contract or loose the job. And also they want a guitarist for their competition, which they have been trying to win for two years. In comes Neel (Shayan Munshi) to carry the project along with the other two. Neel is the son of their boss, is a management trainee, and is a guitarist too. Now Neels problem is his love and his dad. First is that he cannot gather enough courage to propose Preetie and another, that he has to marry within two months. 'Jhankaar beats' is a soft romantic comedy with the lives of six people involved. Juhi Chawla will be seen on screen after a long gap. Another film '3 Deewarein' is also ready to be released. Rahul Bose is on cloud nine for his directorial debut 'Everybody say's I'm Fine' winning awards. As for JB one will have to see the film in a theatre and see for themselves what happens to the tree couple. Do they win the coveted competition? Is the marriage of Rishi and Nikkie saved? And does Neel propose and marry Preetie.
3 Deewarein
Friday, March 21, 2003
3 Deewarein is produced by Metalight Productions Pvt. Ltd. and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor; known for his films with unique subjects. This film is an intense look at three men's life in jail. The film also stars Nagesh, who had previously filmed Hyderabad Blues and Bollywood Calling. Juhi Chawla is the only female charater in the film in a very different role. 3 Deewarein has been filmed on a moderate budget bringing to scale the context of the film. Most of the film was shot in a real prison in Hyderabad in the jail cell itself in a dark gloomy sheen. The film has music by Salim-Sulemain. 3 Deewarein, a movie with a unique theme, is far away from the commercial Bollywood movies. In short, 3 Deewarein (Three Walls) is a story of three prisoners on death row. One woman enters their life and changes what was meant to be their destiny. The Characters Ishaan (Naseeruddin Shah) A carefree charmer who believes there is a solution for any situation. Regret is not Ishaan's style and he won't submit to his fate without a fight. Will Ishaan win his biggest challenge yet? Jaggu (Jackie Shroff) A lawyer and poet, who dared to love too much and paid the price. His sensitive soul is incapable of living with betrayal by his wife. Jaggu believes death is deliverance, though while he lives, he is the star chef of the prison! Is death the only redemption? Nagya (Nagesh Kukunoor) A young accountant who believes he is wrongly accused. An optimist who believes at the end truth will prevail. A bumbling charmer, his fingers work the flute magically and he's the only audience for Juggu's poetry! Will the truth prevail before it's too late? Chandrika (Juhi Chawla) A filmmaker interested in prisoners on death row. Intelligent and perceptive with her subjects, Chandrika is imprisoned by personal shackles. With great strength and depth, there is more to her than what meets the eye. Does she have the power to change their fates? The Story The three leads are murderers in jail. As the three become friendly in their prison they realize that they must do something to attain their freedom. Sometimes they think death, others they think murder. However they soon come to realize what prison really is thanks to Mohan (Gulshan Grover), the prison warden. Mohan, believes in reformation and runs a brilliant system where prisoners are independent and have self-respect. He is wary of Ishaan (Naseeruddin Shah) who has frequently availed of the prison's hospitality in the past. Mohan treats prison mates, as they are people not demons. As they are treated with his good affections they are motivated even more to set themselves free. Ishaan believes he can find a 'patli gali' even in hopeless situations and escape. He befriends the optimist-pessimist duo of Nagya (Nagesh Kukunoor) and Jaggu (Jackie Shroff). Nagya insists he is innocent and has an unshakable belief that truth will prevail. Jaggu, on the other hand, is ready to embrace death as his deliverance. Enter Chandrika (Juhi Chawla), who decides to make a documentary about prisoners on death row. Chandrika battles with her personal demons as she sensitively explores the trio's psyche. Chandrika is a filmmaker who chooses to make a documentary on the three men. However, her reasoning for making it is much more than that of simply wanting to make a documentary on them. She knows more about these men and their situation than she lets on. She is able to make the documentary, and undoubtedly she begins to develop a relationship with the three men. Slowly a picture clearly develops on the documentary she is making and the situation these three men are in. Then begins the thriller as to the turnabouts in these relationships that begin surrounded in these three walls. The three friends are unaware that their fate is interlinked. Chandrika pulls the right strings and unravels a shocking, unpredictable truth, in an explosive climax. 3 Deewarein is a bittersweet comedy-thriller about friendship, love, hope and learning to survive in a world within a world.
Ek Aur Ek Gyarah
Friday, March 21, 2003
It seems that the showman Subhash Ghai is al set to set the Box Office on fire with his latest venture with Govinda and Sanjay Dutt. Evidently, the recent past has not been very healthy for neither of them nor Sanjay Dutt or Jackie Shroff. Mukta Art's production 'Ek Aur Ek Gyarah', directed by David Dhavan stars Govinda with Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shrof, Ashish Vidyarthi, Gulshan Grover and two female leads Amrita Arora and Nandini Singh. The teaser song of the film is already in air and catching its share of popularity in the midst of the Cricket World Cup. Govinda's last film with David Dhavan bombed terribly at the box office, though this one is a safe bet for David Dhavan and Govinda too. Govinda and Sanjay Dutt are two notorious street thugs; Tara and Sitar respectively. Both have their ego problems and are always beaten when they are alone. But when they are together they can take over anyone. They are always upon some prank. One fine day as the police chases them, they happen to get stuck with Cobra (Ashish Vidyarthi). Cobra is the ultimate in the crime scene in the nation and is the most wanted criminal. Unknowingly Tara and Sitara hit Cobra to escape from him. As a result the police get a prize catch of Cobra, though Tara and Sitara escape. Cobra cannot take this and vows to take revenge with the duo. The life after that proves to be an uphill task for them, as now they are wanted by both; the police and Cobra. Tara and Sitara after thinking much decide to flee to Nepal. Jackie Shroff is Major Ram Singh, a BSF officer. He has arrested Cobra's brother panther (Gulshan Grover), who has the code to the Gun to destroy the nation. Tara and Sitara believe that only Ram Singh can help them reach Nepal and so they cock up a tale. The duo land up at Maj Ram Singhs place and as usual win the hearts of the family members. And especially that of Ram Singh's Daughter and her friend. Cobra comes to know of this situation and plans to kidnap their mother. Suddenly the table turns and Tara and Sitara are put under pressure to get Cobra's brother free. EAEG has the complete masala mix for a Bollywood flick with action, romance, thrill, melodrama and above all Govinda and David Dhavan. On the face of it, EAEG seems to be the same old stuff. But the point is the treatment by David Dhavan. The film might prove successful with the right kind of treatment even for a old story. Subhash Ghai is so very confident of the venture that he is asking a handsome price for the film per territory. And if not, he will distribute it himself.
Stumped
Friday, March 21, 2003
The cricket fever is all over, and bollywood cannot be far to encash on it. Stumped is Raveena Tandon's first ever movie as a producer. Stumped is co-produced by Raveena, Priti Sinha and Popcorn Motion Pictures. The teams includes Raveena herself as the captain, along with Aly Khan the vice captain, Viju Khote, Mac Mohan Asha Sachdev, Anjan Srivastav and others forming the complete team. There's even a guest appearance by Salman Khan. Synopsis Stumped is a story set during the 1999 cricket world cup and the simultaneous development in Kargil. It traces the life of army major Raghav Seth's (who is fighting the Kargil war) wife Reena (Raveena Tandon) 0as well as the lives of cricket crazy residents of the Happy Home Complex. The most avid cricket lovers among these are Mr. Khetrapal followed by Girish, Gautam and Bhola. However the secretary of the society, Mr. Subramanium, head the anti-cricket campaign along with another resident, Latloo Singh. During the India-Sri Lanka match the two cut the cable wire, to teach everybody a lesson. In the midst of the cricket mania, Baba, a good-man, visits the society and shows Girish and Deshpande how their queries about India's chances of winning the world cup and the fate of the stock market, are insignificant in comparison to Raghav and the war he is fighting for the country. Events reach a turning point when Reena receives the news that her husband Major Raghav (Aly Khan) is missing and presumed dead, while her neighbors celebrate the home team's win. In many ways, 'Stumped' is a coming of age story. It is a story of exuberance and youth, of fear and insecurities. In short, of life as we lead it. 'Stumped' is a story, whose time has come
Roshni
Friday, March 21, 2003
An affluent British National of Indian origin Rohan (played by Bikram Saluja) comes to India to attend his cousin's wedding. He impulsively falls in love with an Indian girl Roshni (Kiren Zaveri) and marries her. The love-smitten couple reaches the foreign shore and here the love starts diminishing as days pass by. Rohan slips into an extra marital affair with Maya (Kashmira Shah). The trusting soul, Roshni, is shattered by her husband's brazen admission of his preference to the London bred Maya and her lifestyle. She adjusts to Rohan's new female fixation. But the relationship develops in a complication of all sorts. The divorce between them becomes inevitable. The vulnerable Indian cultured wife finds herself out on the streets of London all alone. And in these moments of solitude she meets Ajay (Milind Soman), an out of work lawyer who utilizes his legal strength to get her back what she had lost. Roshni emerges as a new woman, who acquires a new look and adopts a new approach, in her search for predicament. Here both Ajay and Roshni get closer to each other. Ajay loves Roshni, but she treats him as his friend only. What triggers off is an edge-of-the-seat climax. The Indian wife sets the screen ablaze in the fiery and soul-searching finale to this emotional thriller.
Sandhya
Friday, March 21, 2003
After Raaz, it has become a trend of making horror films in Bollywood. On the floor are Bhoot of Ram Gopal Varma, Jackie Shroff starrer 88 Antop Hill and now Sandhya again a Jackie Shroff starrer movie. Amongst these Sandhya is set to be the first in line to release. Ayesha Shroff has joined hands with hubby Jackie Shroff under the productin team called 'Quest Films'. 'Sandhya' is produced by Quest Films. 'Quest Films' started off with Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain and now they are set to produce another movie 'Sandhya'. 'Sandhya' is set to create Bollywood's unique horror story. Anand Raj Ananad has given the music for the movie and it has a different sound track from other movies. The starcast of the movie is Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Danny Dezgonzapa, Ashutosh Rana, Jaaved Jafri, Sophiya Haque. 'Sandhya' is a story of Dr. Singhania (Ashutosh Rana) who runs a mental institution. As the film begins, you witness the murder of Dr. Singhania's entire family. Dr. Singhania loses his mind after witnessing the murder of his family. Then he is eventually admitted to his own hospital and he stays there till he recovers. After coming back from the hospital he decides to convert his home to a nursing home and title it "Sandhya", which means twilight. But Dr. Singhania soon realizes that he can't live without his family and he becomes more depressed as the anniversary of his family's death gets closer. It is then that he decides that he must do something about his agony. After a long process of thinking he finally comes to the conclusion that he must end his life, and to do so he hires Jaggu (Jackie Shroff) to kill him on the same date when his family was killed. Soon the day of the murder comes nearer and it seems like everything would go as planned but it turns out to be much different for Jaggu. He is trapped in an unprecedented web of deceit and he soon realises that something very bad is about to happen. Aptly titled 'Sandya', which means twilight. Let's wait and watch what happens next. Is Dr. Singhania killed on the same date when his family was killed? The film is slated to be released in October.
Boom
Friday, March 21, 2003
Boom is where the fashion world meets the underworld and all hell breaks loose. Written & directed by Kaizad Gustad, who first made it big on the big screen with "Bombay Boys" Released under the banner of Quest Films, whose other venture "Sandhya" too is being readied for launch. For the cast, there's a whole bunch of them. There's Big B, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, Javed Jaaferi, Zeenat Aman, Seema Biswas, Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre and Katrina Kaif. Music is composed by Mercury Award winner Talvin Singh. The film centres around three female supermodels played by three real life models (Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre and Katrina Kaif) who live and work together. They belong to the international world of fashion and modelling and are top of their game artistes. Off the ramp, however, they are sexy, yet alone, in a male dominated society. When a regular fashion show goes horribly wrong, they are sucked into the nasty but irresistible underworld of Bombay. The girls have unwittingly botched up a diamond delivery to the Middle East. Their task is now cut out for them: Plan A - get into the fashion extortion business Plan B - stage India's biggest bank robbery to get the diamonds back Plan C - decamp with the loot. The girls plan to take on the Dons instead of buckling under their threats. They do this by planning India's biggest bank heist and then decamping with the loot. The Dons have their own hierarchal manipulations - Chotte Baba, Medium Baba and Bade Baba. Chotte wants to be Medium, while Medium wants to be Bade and Bade has nowhere to go except to hold on. Each tries to outwit and outdo each other. They are under the impression that models have more beauty than brains and are not capable of much more than looking good. This gives the girls a fair chance of pulling the wool over their eyes using their sexiness to poach any last vestige of common sense the Dons might have had. Can the three girls see their planning and plotting bear fruit or is their master plan doomed? Can the three Dons outwit them and not get bluffed by their obvious charms? Or will the whole thing go BOOM?
Ganguly propels India into final
Friday, March 21, 2003
Durban,Friday, March 21, 2003: India rode on skipper Sourav Ganguly's record-equalling century to enter the World Cup final for only the second time in their history, ending the fairytale run of Kenya in a day-night semi-final here on Thursday. Ganguly's unbeaten 111, his fourth World Cup hundred, propelled the 1983 champions to 270 for four while the brave Kenyans could muster only 179 in 46.2 overs in their biggest- ever game. The comprehensive 91-run victory set up a mouth-watering title clash between India and defending champions Australia in Johannesburg on Sunday. Ganguly's third century in this tournament, studded with five fours and an equal number of sixes, put him on par with teammate Sachin Tendulkar and Australian Mark Waugh who too have scored four World Cup tons -- the maximum by any batsman. Tendulkar, who put on 103 runs for the second wicket with Ganguly, played another fine knock before falling on 83 -- the seventh time in 10 innings in this competition that he crossed fifty but failed to register a hundred. Later Tendulkar chipped in with two wickets including that of Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo, who top-scored for his side with 56. The defeat ended a dream run of the Kenyans -- the lowest ranked team among the three co-hosts of the tournament -- who became the first non-Test playing nation to reach the semi- finals of the World Cup.
AI cancels scheduled flight to Kuwait
Friday, March 21, 2003
Mumbai,Friday, March 21, 2003: Air-India today cancelled its scheduled flight (AI 859) to Kuwait due to closure of airport in the wake of US bombing of Iraq. The flight, originally scheduled to depart from here at 7am, was rescheduled to leave at 8.30 am in anticipation that the airport would be opened for commercial operations, an airlines spokesman said. Subsequently, the flight was cancelled, he added. Early today, IA operated a special A320 flight from Kuwait, bringing in 138 passengers and nine infants. Yesterday, AI operated four flights, bringing in 1235 Indians from Kuwait. 09:39 IST
US calls for ending infiltration in Kashmir
Friday, March 21, 2003
Washington,Friday, March 21, 2003: Viewing Indo-Pak tensions as "one of the greatest challenges" in South Asia, the US has said ending cross-border infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir "remains a key goal" and advocated dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad on the issue. "Ending infiltration into Kashmir remains a key goal," Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca, who was testifying on South Asia before the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific chaired by Congressman James A Leach, said. Rocca said she viewed the continuing tensions between India and Pakistan, primarily over Kashmir, as "one of the greatest challenges to advancing our goals of moderation, stability and development in South Asia" and advocated dialogue between the two neighbours on Kashmir. She also said that the appointment of Indian government's interlocutor on Kashmir, N N Vohra, is "a welcome development". About the "Common Minimum Programme" of reforms announced by the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government, she said "we would like to see the State Government move forward on this initiative and for the Central Government in Delhi to support its efforts." Last summer's election, she said, made it clear that the people of Kashmir want to pursue the path of peace. On Indo-US relations, Rocca recalled that soon after taking office, President George W Bush outlined the vision of a transformed and deepened US-India partnership, one that reflects India's emergence as a major regional power and the shared values of the world's two largest democratic countries. 10:48 IST
CMG reviews aviation scenario in view of Iraq situation
Friday, March 21, 2003
New Delhi,Friday, March 21, 2003: A Crisis Management Group meeting was chaired by Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain here Thursday to review the aviation scenario in view of the security situation in West Asia following the U S attack on Iraq. Top officials of Directorate General of Civil Avaition, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Airports Authority of India and the Ministry officials reviewed the situation following the air raids and missile attacks by US-led forces on Iraq. The sources said that the meeting also took note of the stand taken by Internatinal Air Transport Association and International Civil Avaition Organisation to put in place an alternative route structure to allow aircraft to circumvent the conflict zone. Earlier, Hussain had told reporters that Air India and Indian Airlines were still operating its normal schedule to Gulf countries, especially to Kuwait, Dammam and Bahrain as the airspace had not yet been closed due to the war, which began early Thursday. "So long as the airspace over Gulf is open to traffic, they will continue to operate their normal schedule to these places," he said, stressing that there had been no suspension of flights to Gulf stations as yet. IATA and IACO have decided that the diversion due to the ongoing war would have to be from further west of Iran and avoiding Turkey, which would mean a shift of about 200 nautical miles and an additional flying time of 70 minutes. Due to this, the additional fuel consumption was estimated to be worth Rs 1.5 million per aircraft per flight. 09:39 IST
Deewaar Heroine Finalised
Thursday, March 20, 2003
After Gaurang Doshi announced the principal cast of his mega venture DEEWAAR LET'S BRING OUR HEROES HOME at a lavish launch in Mumbai, one kept guessing the name of the heroine who would be signed for the solo female lead. At least three leading ladies could be spotted at the launch party Shilpa Shetty, Lara Dutta and Preeti Jhangiani and that set the tongues wagging. Would it be one of them? Or someone else? Well, the suspense is finally over! Amrita Rao, who made her debut with Arya Babbar in AB KE BARAS and was later cast opposite Ajay Devgan in THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH, has been signed for the female lead in DEEWAAR. "We needed a face that would pair off well with Akshaye and Amrita looks perfect for the part," Gaurang tells me. Incidentally, Amrita has been cast opposite new-find Shahid in Tips' forthcoming film ISHQ VISHK, directed by Ken Ghosh and Farah Khan's directorial debut MAIN HOON NA opposite Zayed Khan. While on DEEWAAR, Gaurang has insured the film for Rs. 30 crores, while the cheque of the one-time premium of Rs. 22 lacs will be paid by the producer to the insurance company in a couple of days. "There could be mishaps on the sets, but I don't want to take chances. That's why I decided to insure the film," the producers states.
Street battle, air & ground attacks on Delhi radar
Thursday, March 20, 2003
New Delhi, March 19: A study carried out within the Indian security establishment has projected four possible options for attack by US-led forces on Iraq. The study is the result of a close professional watch by the Indian military on the build-up around Iraq. The Indian military has also drawn lessons from its own experience of military-to-military contacts with Iraq that have since all but ceased and from the presence of Indian military contingents in UN peacekeeping missions in the Gulf. Earlier this month, the political leadership, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and including deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, defence minister George Fernandes and national security adviser Brajesh Mishra, was given a briefing by the chief of army staff, General N.C. Vij, in the operations room of the defence ministry in South Block. Officers from the Directorate General of Military Operations, the Directorate General of Military Intelligence, the air force and the navy were also present. The briefing preceded a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security. It dwelt on the possible consequences for India in the event of a war in the Gulf with emphasis on the security of oil supplies. The briefing was also largely the Indian military’s educated assessment of the situation in West Asia and the possible course of a war on Iraq. It could be little else for India is not part of the US-led war effort. Nor does India have a lively military relationship in the region. Data compiled within the security establishment confirm that there is a huge asymmetry of forces in the US-Iraq standoff. That is the jargon for a conventional war that is predicted to be one-sided. The Iraqi defence is likely to be organised on three tiers: the outer tier that will be manned by the regular army, a middle tier of the Republican Guards and an inner tier of the Special Republican Guards. The defences of the Republican Guards and the Special Republican Guards would be mostly in and around towns and cities and population centres. Decades of fighting war or coping with a failing economy and a sanctions regime have degraded the Iraqi military machine so much that all divisions apart from the Republican Guards are not expected to be more than 50 per cent fighting fit. Only a third of its weaponry is comparable to western standards of quality. The US-led forces, on the other hand, have the best of equipment and an arsenal that is the best that money can buy. In the event of a war, the US-led forces will be commanded by the US Central Command, which is understood to have moved to its forward headquarters at Camp As Saliyah near Doha, Qatar, from Tampa, Florida. The US army nerve centre in the region would be at its headquarters, the Army Central Command (Arcent) in Kuwait, the navy would be commanded from Manama, Bahrain, and the air force from Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. But the US-led land forces will be operating from Turkey and Kuwait with possible special operations out of Jordan. In the event of an invasion, the marines will be tasked to secure bridgeheads. That would mean Iraq’s small coastline of 58 km in the Persian Gulf. Common to all four possible options of attack is an air assault by combat fighters and bombers and also from ship-launched missiles such as Tomahawks. Iraq’s air defences are already degraded with successive US-led strikes to impose the no-fly zones in Iraq’s north and south. In a sense, the conflict is already into its first stage, the study suggests. This is the stage of psy ops and includes pressure by building up of forces, secret contacts with Iraqi divisional commanders to engineer surrenders and defections. In any conventional war, the first phase of air assault is primarily aimed at moving from air parity to air supremacy. In Iraq, air parity almost does not exist. The scenarios for attack envisage assaults by land forces from the north and the south and also a possible use of Kurdish and Shia rebels. The Kurdish rebels are mostly to the north of Baghdad and the Shia to the south. The use of Kurdish and Shia rebels is most likely in a scenario that envisages Saddam Hussein’s forces attempting to draw in US-led forces into street-to-street battles in towns and villages. The air assault will then soften up targets to allow for the rebels to attack before targets recuperate. In a second scenario, tentatively termed the light force option: inside-out approach, an air assault is followed by the dropping of an air-borne division in and around Baghdad. These forces will then seek to expand their area of influence by waging battles while progressively expanding in concentric circles with Baghdad in the centre. A third scenario of attack sees ground offensives by land forces from Kuwait and Turkey steadily closing in on Baghdad from the north and the south. In a fourth scenario the combination approach ground forces and rebels capture areas in a steady march towards Baghdad to link up with air-borne divisions. In Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the air campaign was followed by US-led forces assisting the Northern Alliance to reach Kabul and oust the Taliban. In fact, Operation Enduring Freedom actually did not have a battlefield climax because the Taliban fled and the Northern Alliance advance to Kabul in the final stages did not see bloody battles. The study indicates an air campaign in Iraq could last 15 to 30 days. Military experts do not hazard a guess on how long it would actually take for the US-led forces to overrun Iraq. Anything between three to 30 days, one said. The US-led forces will be particularly concerned with economic targets mainly oilfields and a desperate use of chemical weapons. In the 1991 war, as the Iraqi forces withdrew from Kuwait, they set several oilfields on fire. Another concern will be possible terrorist attacks in the rear. In the countries around Iraq, where US-led forces are at staging posts, drills are being carried out for emergencies involving chemical weapons.
Ganguly wants to open Indian innings
Thursday, March 20, 2003
DURBAN: Captain Sourav Ganguly said he wanted to open the Indian innings. He told the BBC on the eve of the cricket World Cup semi-final with Kenya that he felt better as an opener. "Only Sachin Tendulkar has been better than me as an opener, I have scored about 9,000 runs with 20 centuries." Ganguly denied allegations that he was not willing to come down in the batting order despite being in bad form. "I did leave the opening slot not because I had difficulty in scoring runs. I had to come down because Virender Sehwag was not doing well in the middle order." He clarified that decisions were made based on the needs of the team and not on personal grounds. The Indian skipper also felt the sacking of South Africa's captain Shaun Pollock was not fair. "The captain alone should not be blamed for the defeat. The South African cricket board should have looked into the reasons of the bad performance of the whole team before sacking him."
Esha, Zayed pin hopes on Chura Liya Hai Tumne
Thursday, March 20, 2003
The much awaited film Chura Liya Hai Tumne hits the cinema halls this Friday. The film stars Esha Deol and newcomer Zayed Khan. The producers of the film organised a press meet in Mumbai to promote the film. " We work well together and I hope this film will do well at the box office," said Esha. Playing a spy in this thriller is Sanjay Khan's son, Zayed Khan - a film which has given the brawny actor ample scope to flex his muscles as well as flaunt his acting cum dancing talents. "We have done our best in this film. It is a good entertainer and the rest I leave up to the whole world," maintained Zayed Khan. Fascinated by the who dunnit genre is director Sangeeth Sivan. Still waiting for his first film to release, Jackie Shroff's home production, Sandhya, Chura Liya Hai Tumne is a story that is based in Bangkok. "Sandhya is a very dark thriller wheras this film is different. This is a fun film. It has got something for everybody," said Sivan. The film was slated for a January release. Delayed by two months, the film benefited as the music continued to top the charts. This Friday will be the acid test for the duo to woo an audience still in the throes of a World Cup fever.
India/Kenya match may be a washout
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Rain in Durban threatens to see tomorrow morning's day night World Cup Cricket semi final between India and Kenya abandoned. It has been raining for most of the past 24 hours, with more rain forecast tonight and for the reserve day. South African correspondent Andy Capostagno doubts whether the match will be played at all, and India as second highest qualifier, would advance to Sunday's final against Australia.
Special flights bring Indians from the Gulf
Thursday, March 20, 2003
NDTV Correspondent Indians have begun returning from the various Gulf countries. In fact, four special Air India flights have been arranged to bring back over 1,200 Indians from Kuwait. Anxious family members have been waiting at Mumbai's international airport to receive their loved ones from the Gulf. There's a sigh of relief each time a relative arrives. People like Suresh Shangar, back from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, are lucky to have got a ticket home. "In places like Jeddah and Kuwait, Indians have been flocking at the airports waiting to leave as soon as they can," said Suresh Shangar. Nadeem Ahmed Khan who is back from the United Arab Emirates admits there is tension and fear among Indians of being left behind. "Everyone is scared and people are thinking of what to do if they don't get flights back home," claimed Nadeem Ahmed Khan. Though scores of Indians have returned from the various countries in the Gulf, there are many whose loved ones still wait in hope.
Dossa, another key Mumbai blast accused, brought to Delhi
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Dossa, another key Mumbai blast accused, brought to Delhi New Delhi,Thursday, March 20, 2003: India Wednesday succeeded in securing the deportation of Mustaffa Dossa alias Majnoom, a key associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and one of the main accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast, who was brought here late Wednesday from Dubai. Dossa, accused of bringing explosives used in the serial blasts and arranging youth for training in Pakistan, was brought to Delhi by a team of intelligence officials. Minister of State for Home I D Swami told that Dossa's deportartion was a big success for the Indian investigative agencies. Dossa is the fifth person accused in crimes in India to be deported from UAE over the last few months. His name figured in India's Most Wanted List which was handed over to UAE last month. 09:26 IST
India to make vigorous bid to boost defence exports: minister
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
India is committed to raising its defence exports to Rs 1000 crore from the current Rs 200 crore to further increase its foreign exchange reserves, Minister of State for Defence Production O Rajagopal said here today. "Till now we have been exporting only to countries who have approached us for defence products like arms and ammunition as well as technology. But henceforth we will make concerted efforts to boost our exports in the sector as we have excess production capacity in our defence units," Rajagopal, who is here to attend the Sixth International Defence Exposition and Conferences (IDEX 2003), said. This year Indian defence companies have made a strong presence at the Idex 2003 here as the Middle East accounted for 40 per cent of the world's armaments trade, he told here. Brahmos missile which is a joint venture between India and Russia has been showcased at the UAE Pavilion. Rajagopal will attend a reception later in the evening aboard the INS Mumbai at the Mina Zayed Port here. The Indian warship is the third ship of the Delhi class of destroyers boasting the state of the art sensors and prolonged sustenance at sea. The destroyer is here to take part in a naval show held as part of the IDEX 2003. Other Indian participants include the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) comprising 39 factories, Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Earth Movers Limited. More than 800 global armament firms, including several American firms are taking part in the show. 15:13 IST
Flights to Gulf stations to be suspended if Iraq war begins
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Government has decided to suspend Air India and Indian Airlines flights to Bahrain, Dammam and Kuwait as soon as the war breaks out in Iraq, which would lead the two carriers to suffer an aggregate loss of about Rs 1.4 billion per month. Stating this, Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters today that there was also a possibility of raising the fares of the two carriers by about ten per cent due to the hike in prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by about 44 per cent since December last. Stating that the two carriers would suffer from a "two- pronged attack" if the war breaks out, he said while the ATF prices would rise substantially, AI and IA would have to make a detour of over 90 minutes to circumvent the war zone. While AI was estimated to suffer a loss of about Rs 700 million, IA's loss would be about Rs 400 million. "As it is, we are suffering a loss of Rs 400 million a year due to restrictions on flying over Pakistani airspace, while the flying time has increased due to this by at least one hour," Hussain said. On top of it, the Travel Industry has estimated that about 30 per cent of tourists coming into India would cancel their visits, he said, adding that flights to Europe and the US would be the most affected. 18:28 IST
Holi celebrated amidst confusion on date
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Amidst confusion on official date for Holi, the festival of riotous colours and revelry was today celebrated in parts of the country providing a chance for an extended holiday for many but affecting businesses. Although the Central government declared the Holi holiday tomorrow, the celebrations in the national capital showed no signs of dampening today as Delhi government announced a 'restricted' holiday for the day and a full break from work Wednesday. Taking advantage of the conflicting dates, mnay officegoers, claiming to follow the dictates of priests and almanac, stayed back home for performing 'puja' and students had a gala time as schools in Delhi were closed for two days from today. Several traders bodies also shut their businesses for three days starting Monday, which is a regular weekly holiday. Rainbow of colours enveloped several cities as people from all walks of life joined the celebrations distributing sweets and applied "gulal" on each other. In Mumbai, people thronged the beaches after bathing in a bout of colours while in Thane and Ulahasnagar satellite cities, it was celebrated with enthusiasm. Patrolling was stepped up in sensitive areas and security tightened all over the city in view of the celebrations. The festival of colours was celebrated with fun and frolic in Gujarat after two years. Earthquake in 2001 and post-Godhra communal violence had marred the festivities. In Vadodara which bore the brunt of communal clashes recently, the festival was celebrated with gaiety by people of different communities. 18:28 IST
Cabinet approves open voting for Rajya Sabha polls
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
In a major move to curb cross- voting and use of money power in Rajya Sabha polls, the Union Cabinet tonight decided to amend the electoral law to provide for open voting instead of secret ballot for the Upper House. It also decided to allow a person from anywhere in the country to contest Upper House elections, doing away with the present clause that a candidate has to be a resident of a particular state to seek elections. A new bill, incorporating these provisions by amending the Representation of People Act, will be introduced in the the second half of the budget session of Parliament resuming on April seven, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the cabinet meeting. "The Bill will substitute open ballot system in place of existing secret ballot system for elections to the Rajya Sabha," she said adding there had been unanimity among political parties on the issue of curbing money power in polls to the Upper House. This amendment would also help check cross-voting by MLAs, an issue that has been agitating the political parties, Swaraj said. "The Bill will do away with the requirement of residence of a particular state to contest elections to the Rajya Sabha," she said. 21:59 IST
Govt fixes 26% cap on foreign investment in TV News Channels
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Govt fixes 26% cap on foreign investment in TV News Channels New Delhi,Tuesday, March 18, 2003: In a setback to Star TV's proposed 24-hour news channel, Government tonight fixed a cap of 26 per cent on foreign investment in Television news channels seeking to uplink from India. It asked existing news channels having foreign equity like ZEE News to disinvest within a year to fit into the foreign investment limit of 26 per cent. Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Union cabinet which fixed the cap, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said foreign investment in news channels includes Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Institutional Investment, External Commercial Borrowings and investment by NRIs. However, for entertaiment channels there will be no cap as they could have 100 per cent foreign investment under the existing policy, Swaraj said. At the same time, entertainment channels having news bulletins or current affairs programmes would fall under the 26 per cent cap, she said. Star TV, which was the first wholly-owned foreign channel to request for uplinking from India for a news channel, will now have to apply afresh. After Star TV, which is to launch its news channel on April one, similar requests were made by BBC and CNBC. 21:59 IST
Arjun Munda sworn in as Chief Minister of Jharkhand
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Arjun Munda sworn in as Chief Minister of Jharkhand Ranchi,Tuesday, March 18, 2003: Arjun Munda, a newcomer to politics and BJP, was today sworn in as Chief Minister of Jharkhand heading a six-member Cabinet that included two rebel Ministers who had played a key role in the ouster of Babulal Marandi government. Munda, 35, the Welfare Minister in the cabinet of Babulal Marandi, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor M Rama Jois at the Raj Bhavan this morning. He heads the second NDA government in the state since its formation over two years back. Munda has not been asked to prove his majority on the floor of the state assembly as Governor M Rama Jois was satisfied that he commanded majority in the state assembly at the time of staking claim to form government last night, the Raj Bhawan said today. A Bhawan release termed as "absolutely wrong" reports put out by television news channels that Arjun Munda had been given seven days time to seek a confidence vote by the Governor.
Don't take a place in the final as a right, says Wright
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Don't take a place in the final as a right, says Wright Durban,Tuesday, March 18, 2003: India coach John Wright today cautioned his side not to take Kenya lightly in the World Cup semifinal, saying they should not expect that a place in the final is "their right". "If we achieve our game plan and play well, the results will take care of themselves. But it isn't a case where we should expect it (a place in finals) by right," he said. Calling Thursday's match as the biggest game of their career, Wright said it is a great stage for the senior Indian cricketers to come good. "This surely is the biggest game of our career. We were in the ICC finals not so very long ago, the semi-final against South Africa there was a big game. But this is huge." "Sachin, Srinath, Dravid and Kumble, they still have some good cricket in them. It is a great stage for all of us and we really want to do well," he said. He also said "It doesn't matter who is the player of the tournament and who isn't. As long as the country gets the result it wants, it's okay." The New Zealander gave credit to the national selectors for persisting with the youngsters and gave an insight on how this team came together in the last one year. "We have a relatively settled side and selectors can take credit from that point of view. "After that tight series against Zimbabwe at home last year, all these youngsters - Kaif, Yuvraj and Mongia - made their mark. Even then we were talking about the World Cup. We realised if we keep winning we will stay together". 21:08 IST
Vajpayee completes five years in office
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose first government collapsed in 13 days, completes five years in office on Wednesday, leading the first non-Congress dispensation to complete its term through coalition challenges and pitch-forking Hindutva in the forefront of political agenda. Vajpayee's stay at the top as the country's chief political executive comes after years of instability of non-Congress governments and almost four decades of uninterrupted Congress rule The earlier non-Congress Prime Ministers, who all had Congress upbringing, fell like nine-pins with only the late Morarji Desai remaining at the helm for two and a half years as the head of the first Janata experiment in 1977. While V P Singh, H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujaral lasted for around 11 months each, Chandra Shekhar was around for four months and Charan Singh for three months without even facing Parliament. Once dubbed as a "Mukhauta" (mask) by BJP ideologue Govindacharya, Vajpayee wove a motley combination of political parties, many of them regional, to keep the Congress at bay. And he has been successful at this after the failure during his tenure between 1998 and 1999, but that was due to a petulant Jayalalitha deciding to pull the rug. By cobbling up the National Democratic Alliance, Vajpayee ended the "untouchability" syndrome for the BJP, which had turned his first Government in 1996 to be a 13 day affair devoid of friends barring parties like the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal. 09:17 IST
Portugal seeks details of Salem from CBI
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
In an apparent forward movement in extraditing underworld don Abu Salem, the Portuguese Government on Monday requested India to provide "certain details" of the 1993 Mumbai blast main accused and moved a Lisbon Court to extend his judicial remand which expires tomorrow. The CBI received a Letters Rogatory from Portugal asking for details about some of the documents procured by Salem from India to facilitate him in obtaining a fake passport on forged documents in that country, highly-placed CBI sources told here. Salem, who was arrested on September 18 last year, had managed to marry a Portuguese lady on the basis of this forged passport and also procure a work permit. He is facing forgery charges. The sources said that CBI would respond to the Letters Rogatory from Portugal on top priority. In a related development, Lisbon authorities had reportedly moved a court there for further remand of Salem. The sources said the agency had learnt that a request for extension of judicial custody of Salem had been made to facilitate his stay in the jail pending disposal of the extradition request from India. 09:20 IST
Nine killed in fire near Red Fort in Delhi
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Nine people, including five children and a woman, were killed and three injured in a major fire that devastated a slum cluster near the Red Fort here early this morning. The blaze, which erupted from a jhuggi at around 0245 hours IST, spread fast engulfing 500 hutments in Sanjay Amar Colony, police sources said. The five children, who perished in their sleep were identified as Parvati (nine months), Guriya (8 yrs), Qurban Ali (10), Jumna (10) and Tinto (12) while the others were Hamila Beevi (55), Ram Kishan (25) Mehmood (25) and Ulfat (35), they said. More than 30 fire tenders were pressed into service to put out the blaze, the sources said. The cause of the fire, which could be brought under control only after 0500 hrs IST, is not yet known. 09:52 IST
Munda to be sworn in as Jharkhand CM today, Marandi quits
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Arjun Munda will be sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister today after Babulal Marandi quit on Monday without facing a trial of strength in the Assembly in a change of leadership capping nearly a month of dissidence among NDA allies of ruling BJP. Forty-year-old Munda met Governor M Rama Jois at Raj Bhawan staking claim to form government and later told reporters that he would be sworn in as Chief Minister at 1030 am IST. Munda, who was Welfare minister in Babulal Marandi cabinet, said he had submitted to Jois a list of 40 MLAS in his support in a state assembly with an effective strength of 79. He said he expected two more legislators, including rebel Tourism minister Joba Manjhi of AJSU-UGDP, to come out in his support tomorrow. Munda staked the claim came after his crucial meeting with four rebel ministers belonging to Samata Party and JD-U, who had played a key role in oust-Marandi campaign, during which he succeeded in wooing them back into the NDA fold. 09:20 IST
India will not allow US planes refuelling facility in case of Iraq war
Monday, March 17, 2003
Defence Minister George Fernandes has said India will not allow refuelling facility to American war planes in case of a war with Iraq. Fernandes said that no request for refuelling facility had so |
