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The
government today rejected an Opposition
demand for a Parliament resolution on Arunachal
Pradesh and gave a clear signal to China
that there was no scope for a debate on
the status of the sensitive border state
which is an integral part of India as parliamentarians
rising above party lines condemned the Chinese
Ambassador's remarks laying a claim to it.
In his reply to an impromptu hour-long discussion
on Arunachal in the Lok Sabha, External
Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said:
"As far as (status of) Arunachal Pradesh
is concerned, it is not a debatable issue
at all.... It is an integral part of India
and is going to be so... The resolution
(in this regard) is already there". The
issue was raised by Leader of Opposition
L.K. Advani in the Lok Sabha and his counterpart
Jaswant Singh in the Rajya Sabha during
zero hour, with both expressing concern
over Chinese envoy Sun Yuxi's claim recently
that "the entire Arunachal is Chinese territory".
Mr Advani observed that the Ambassador's
remarks were surprising as these came on
the eve of President Hu Jintao's visit here.
Members of other parties shared his concern
and dubbed the envoy's comments as "uncalled
for" and "objectionable". The External Affairs
Minister said India had conveyed to the
Chinese authorities that the comments that
"the entire Arunachal Pradesh is Chinese
territory" should not have come from its
envoy, particularly on the eve of President
Hu Jintao's visit to India earlier this
week. It is not for the first time that
a question has been raised by China over
the status of Arunachal Pradesh but this
time "unfortunately" it happened on the
eve of Mr Hu's visit here, Mr Mukherjee
said.
He
said the 1914 Simla Agreement was not acceptable
to China and Beijing's claim of irrelevance
of the McMohan Line was not accepted by
New Delhi. Mr Advani wanted to know from
the government whether the matter had been
taken up with Mr Hu and demanded a parliamentary
resolution, saying that this would be an
appropriate response to the impression created
by the Chinese Ambassador. Both the Lok
Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed uproarious
scenes with members in one voice denouncing
the Chinese Ambassador's statement and demanding
a statement from the government. In the
Rajya Sabha, slogan-shouting BJP members
trooped into the well to demand a parliamentary
resolution as Leader of the Opposition Jaswant
Singh charged the government with "mortgaging"
its foreign policy to CPM. Rejecting the
demand for a resolution, Minister of State
for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri
said after Mr Mukherjee's clarification,
there was no need for a resolution. BJD
member B.K. Tripathy, AGP's Arun Sarma (AGP),
BJP members Kiran Rijiju, Tapir Gao and
V.K. Malhotra, JD(U) member Prabhunath Singh,
RJD's Devendra Prasad Yadav and Congress'
Kirip Chaliha denounced the envoy's remarks.
Mr Chaliha, however, had a dig at the BJP,
saying that no particular party had been
given any monopoly over patriotism and partisan
politics should not be played on such issues.
CPI's Gurudas Dasgupta claimed that the
Ambassador's comments did not reflect the
views of the Chinese Government and described
them as "uncalled for". SP member Mohan
Singh reminded the BJP that when Mr Atal
Bihari Vajpayee was Foreign Minister, India
had accepted Chinese sovereignty over Tibet.
CPM's Mohammad Salim said Arunachal Pradesh
was an integral part of India and the envoy's
remarks were detrimental to the interests
of growing bilateral relations.
Courtesy:
www.tribuneindia.com, November 24, 2006
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Adventure
Sports can Help Positively Channelise Indian
Youth's Energy: Bachendri Pal
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India
has possibly one of the youngest populations
in the world, but strange though it may
seem, India's youth are not living a young
life, either in body or spirit compared
to their counterparts in the Western world.
So what could possibly be the reason? Is
it lethargy on the part of the student or
an education system that demands the student
to focus his cent percent attention to his
studies? Or is it an opposition by the parents
towards anything that diverts their wards'
attention from what else, but education?
If Ms Bachendri Pal, India's first woman
Everest conqueror is to be believed, it
is both. While accompanying a team of 42
executives from Tata Cummins and Tata Chemicals
on the trek from Morsona to Manjhi in the
Garhwal hills, organised by Tata Steel Adventure
Foundation, (TSAF), Jamshedpur, Ms Pal told
this correspondent, who was also a part
of the excursion, that adventure sports
could be help channelise the country' youth's
energy into a positive direction. According
to her, the young don't hesitate to spend
time watching movie stars gyrate on the
screen, and its not a once in a while phenomenon.
The total time spent watching soaps and
movies in a students' three, four or even
two year post graduation nearly equals the
years he or she spends pursuing his education.
Neither do students in India have to undergo
compulsory military training like their
counterparts in the West or many Asian countries.
The
National Cadet Corps (NCC) training that
was made compulsory across under-graduate
educational institutes in the aftermath
of the 1962 and 1965 wars has now been made
optional, and many opt for the National
Service Scheme (NSS) over the NCC. So, in
a country where military training is not
compulsory, adventure sports could well
be the answer to boost up the youth's pent
up energy. As she says, taking part in adventure
activities doesn't mean that one has to
climb Mt. Everest. That is the job of a
mountaineer. But, it certainly imbibes a
spirit of camaraderie, hones up skills of
time management, leadership and above all
the courage to overcome all obstacles and
survive in the face of adversity. An army
is as good as the general who commands it.
While in the army, it the officers of today
who become the generals of tomorrow, in
the corporate world, it is the managers
of today who will one day become the CEO's
of tomorrow. It is then the skills of leadership
and man-management learnt during these outdoor
development programmes that will come in
handy for them, she says. It is for this
very reason that several corporate houses
and management institutes are sending their
executives and the managers of tomorrow
on excursions as part of their management
development programme, she adds. And she
certainly has a point. Prince William and
Harry, heir to the British throne will never
ever fire a bullet in a real battlefield.
But the two still went ahead with their
training at Sandhurst, one of Britain's
oldest military academies. "The Wharton
Business School has made it compulsory for
its students to undertake a trek to the
Everest Base Camp, which is at a height
of 18000 feet. They are not going to be
mountaineers. But the ability to overcome
the challenges will enable them to perform
better in their professional life", says
Ms Pal. "At some places, the knees will
wobble, the feet will ache, and you might
feel breathlessness, but then it will be
your will-power that will push forward to
your goal. And believe me, if you can attain
your goal at this high altitude overcoming
the adversities of weather and terrain,
then there is no reason why you will not
succeed in your professional life. Adventure
sports will only make you more courageous
and confident," she adds. She however, laments
that colleges and universities have not
made any efforts to boost adventure sports.
And the blame, she says lies on the parents
as much as on the institutions. "Indian
parents are overprotective. We don't want
to let our children out of our sight. So
even if the schools take the initiative
to send their children on five day or 10
day camps during their summer holidays,
the parents throw a fit. 'What will happen
if he breaks an arm, or fractures a leg'?
What can done," she says. "Unless, parents
take the initiative and learn to let their
children grow, schools cannot do anything.
Several schools send their students to our
adventure camps specifically organized by
TSAF for school children during their summer
breaks and they always give a good feedback.
The students write back to me saying how
much more confident they have become after
attending this camp," she adds.
Courtesy:
www.yahoo.com, November 23, 2006
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Govt
Appeasing Muslims: BJP
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BJP
quickly seized upon the PM's advocacy for
a "fair share" of opportunities for minorities
to launch a fresh offensive against the
government over the "latest" instance of
Muslim appeasement. The party, which has
lately not been nimble footed, shook off
its lethargy on Friday to call a meeting
of the parliamentary wing. Though the meeting
cleared a plan involving intense protests
in Parliament during the winter session
beginning on November 22 and a 'March to
Parliament' on the attempts to secure clemency
for Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal,
there is a political fit between the two
issues: both tying into the party's long-pending
ideological grudge against "pampering" of
Muslims. The PM's "fair share" pitch for
minorities - a traditional red rag to BJP
- can come handy as an illustration of the
party's "appeasement" argument. The saffron
outfit has moved since the days when it
would question the need for special measures
for minority welfare. It has come around
to accept that minorities, especially Muslims,
can do with some special incentives from
the state. But on religion-based quotas,
its position remains the same, with party
leaders steadfastly sticking to the argument
that they were fraught with the risk of
leading to another partition on religious
lines. On Friday too, BJP mounted an attack
on the government. "PM's stress on giving
religious minorities a fair share in government
and private jobs is nothing less than a
proposal of reservation on religious basis,
which is directly in contravention of the
secular constitutional arrangement and a
preposterous proposal fraught with disastrous
consequences for national unity and integration,"
party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, November
04, 2006
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Advani
Concerned over Neglect of Freedom Fighters
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Former
Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani on Tuesday
expressed dismay over the way the contributions
of great freedom fighters were being bypassed
to give the impression that India got freedom
only because of the sacrifices of one family.
Though Advani, after releasing four books
containing the views of Iron Man Sardar
Vallabhabhai Patel on a slew of issues from
economics to foreign policies on Tuesday
evening, did not name the family, he underlined
the need to correct such misconceptions
effectively. Lauding the extraordinary efforts
of Patel in the integration of India, Advani
said that in a period of three and a half
years what he did was a great service to
the nation. Equating Patel with Aadi Shankaracharya
and Swami Vivekananda, Advani said that
Patel was a down-to-earth person. "He would
have solved the Kashmir problem had he fully
got co-operation from others. It was his
abilities that forced C Rajagopalachari
to mention that it would have been better
had Patel been made the PM and Pandit Nehru
Foreign Minister," he said. President of
Sardar Patel Society KC Pant, presiding
over the function, said that Patel was realistic
in his approach and solved all the problems
in the fashion a visionary could have done.
Courtesy:
www.dailypioneer.com, November 1, 2006
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'Blue-water
Navy is the Aim'
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A
truly blue-water Navy with strategic reach
to operate from Africa's eastern coast right
up to Malacca Straits. A satellite networked-force
with maritime surveillance capabilities
o keep tabs on the entire Indian Ocean Region
(IOR). That, in short, is the mantra of
Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who took over as
the new Navy chief from Admiral Arun Prakash
on Tuesday. "With India's rapid growth,
the Navy has a much bigger role to play
now, much more to contribute to the nation's
strength," said Admiral Mehta. A fighter
pilot like his predecessor, Admiral Mehta
will have almost three years at the helm
to further "transform" the already transforming
Navy into India's most "potent and visible
force" in IOR. It's certainly required with
maritime security now becoming inextricably
entwined with overall strategic policy,
with the fact that both China and Pakistan
are taking rapid strides towards boosting
their naval capabilities. India, of course,
is heavily dependent on sea-borne trade,
with 90% of its total trade by volume being
transported through waterways. It also has
to keep track of its vast Economic Exclusive
Zone, slated to go up to 2.54 million sq
km from the present two million sq km, apart
from off-shore oil and gas assets. sked
about his priorities by TOI, Admiral Mehta
said: "We are certainly looking at improving
our maritime surveillance capabilities.
In the last few years, we have been talking
about a maritime domain awareness."
"But
we have some lacunae and a huge area to
cover. We need to have some more assets,
be it on the ships, be it in the air or
even in space," said Admiral Mehta. The
Navy, for instance, wants to induct eight
long-range maritime patrol aircraft as well
as more UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)
to plug the existing operational gaps in
its surveillance capabilities. The Navy
also seeks to act as a stabilising force
in IOR, seeing itself as a diplomatic instrument
to further India's geostrategic objectives.
"It will be our constant endeavour to operate
in waters far away from home. Our warships
need to have longevity in distant theatres,"
he said. Induction of 16,900-tonne American
amphibious transport vessel USS Trenton
next year and 44,570-tonne Russian aircraft
carrier Admiral Gorshkov in 2008, with its
complement of MiG-29K fighters, will take
Navy's war-fighting capabilities to "a different
dimension" altogether. We will have capabilities
to influence battles on land with these
long-range weapon systems, apart from the
ability to transport troops from one place
to another," he said. sked about last year's
infamous war-room "leak" case as well as
the recent warship accidents at sea, he
said it was "unfortunate" but corrective
action was being taken to prevent reoccurrence.
"A big organisation is already in place
to ensure safety of information and that
of units at sea. We are sure we won't have
such problems in the future," he said.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, November
1, 2006
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South
Australia, Tamil Nadu forge sister-state
Agreement
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South
Australia and Tamil Nadu on Monday forged
a sister-state agreement, which the visiting
South Australian Premier Mike Rann said
will make them part of each other's development.
"Tamil Nadu will be part of our history
and development as South Australia will
be yours," he told presspersons hours after
signing the agreement and meeting Chief
Minister M. Karunanidhi. It is only the
third such agreement that South Australia
has entered into and the first with any
State of India. One of the main reasons
for choosing Tamil Nadu is the enormous
business opportunities and cooperation in
various areas. They include the ability
of Tamil Nadu to meet the demand for skilled
workers, especially in information technology
and engineering. Mr. Rann, who is accompanied
by a 40-member delegation, half of whose
representatives are from trade and industry,
said South Australia was making a major
pitch to secure more migrants. "We need
more skilled workers ... [as we are] on
a cusp of a major mining boom and the economy
is strong," the Premier declared. The Australian
state was embarking on a major expansion
of the mines. It was looking for people
in high-end software engineering and biotechnology.
Mining, he added, was one field in which
the State also expected Indian companies
to evince interest considering the business
potential. Chinese companies in the fields
associated with mining had set up offices
in South Australia, while those from the
U.K. and other countries were evincing interest.
An official release issued by the Government
of South Australia on the sister-state agreement
said education, industry and business, tourism
and sport were among the varied sectors
in which the two States would work together
for mutual economic and cultural benefit.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, November 1, 2006
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