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States Alerted Again:TERROR STRIKES IN FESTIVE SEASON ?, by Insaf,24 October 2007 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 24 October 2007

States Alerted Again

TERROR STRIKES IN FESTIVE SEASON ?

                                                                  By Insaf

All the States have been put on a red alert by the Centre once again, following unprecedented terrorist violence and turmoil in Pakistan. The Punjab Police have strongly cautioned their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir that the militants are reportedly planning attacks on the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and Jammu Railway Station. The self-styled Commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Karim Ansari is stated to have been directed to launch attacks not only on the sacred shrine and the Jammu station but also on cinema halls in Jammu as in the recent case of Ludhiana. Reports from Punjab also indicate that Kashmiri terrorists in league with Punjab rebels may trigger blasts in various towns of Punjab, including Ferozepur, Patiala, Bhatinda and Phagwara. Punjab terrorists, backed by Pakistan, are clearly trying to revive old links with the Kashmiri rebels.

Meanwhile, New Delhi has got all the States to join a virtual nationwide hunt for tracing  unauthorized and suspicious purchase of SIM cards because of their crucial links with the Ajmer and the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad. The Harkat-ul-Jehadi-i-Islami (HUJI) is said to have zeroed in on the mobile phone trigger mechanism to carry out such explosions in preference to using the common alarm clock. In fact, this mechanism was used in the Mecca Masjid blasts and now in Ajmer Sharif. What is more, the two accused in the twin blasts have disclosed in their narco-analysis that they had helped obtain 50 to100 SIM cards over a period of time. These SIM cards have yet to be located by the Hyderabad Police. Hence the Centre’s plea to the States to take the disclosures “very seriously” and somehow trace the lethal SIM cards.

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Army’s Olive Branch To ULFA

The Army has extended an olive towards the militant ULFA in Assam if it agrees to come to the negotiating table without preconditions. Significantly, this is the first time that the Army itself has not set any precondition.  Stated the Army Chief: “The Army is willing to go back to the barracks.” Adding that if the Bodoland Liberation Tigers and the National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NDFB) could come to the negotiating table “then why not the ULFA”. At the same time, he has warned that Pakistan’s ISI under the directions of the Muslim fundamentalists is becoming increasingly active in the State. Reportedly the ISI had a hand in the recent bomb blasts in Guwahati and other places in the State. No matter that the ULFA continues to keep the police and security forces on their toes.

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TN Reservation For Minorities

Post Ram Setu controversy, Tamil Nadu is back to the politics of reservation. The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday last passed a Bill, to replace an ordinance, providing for 7 per cent reservation for minorities --- 3.5 per cent reservation each to backward Muslims and Christians in government jobs and in all educational institutions in the State. The new separate quota will be within the 30 per cent reservation already being provided to the backward castes in Tamil Nadu, where there is a high percentage of reservation of 69 per cent including 20 per cent for the Most Backward Class (MBC); and 19 per cent for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. It is another matter that a petition challenging the inclusion of the 69 per cent reservation in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution is still pending before the Supreme Court.

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BJP Taking On Mayawati

The BJP is finally getting its act together in UP for taking on Mayawati and regaining its hold on the upper caste Hindus. As a first measure, the Saffron Sangh is preparing to lash out against the Chief Minister for glorifying Periyar, the Southern Dalit reformer known for his highly objectionable statements and abuse against the Hindu Gods and hatred for Hindi. In his book Sachchi Ramayana, Periyar presents a diabolically distorted view of the epic, including extremely offensive references to Lord Ram and Sita. This book is not only being freely doled out by the BSP offices across the State, but Mayawati is also installing a number of Periyar statues. To stall her bid and wean back the upper caste Hindus, specially Brahmins, to the Party fold, the BJP is preparing to awaken and ignite the electorate with many of Periyar’s “inflammatory” statements. Will Lord Ram oblige the BJP once more?

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EC Makes Modi Wary

Elections are no cakewalk but a bed of thorns, as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is slowly but surely finding out. What with the Election Commission busy breathing down his neck with a long list of dos’ and donts’. In its concerted bid to conduct free and fair elections in the State, the EC has decided to send three Special Observers to supervise the observance of the model code of conduct by the political parties. Another three teams of officials are set to oversee poll readiness in Baroda, Surat and Ahmedabad. Coming on the heels of the transfer of senior Police and IAS officials by the EC, Modi is busy ensuring that he does as he is directed, lest he earn the wrath of the EC. As matters stand, the rebellion within his flock is already giving him sleepless nights along with renewed carping by the TV channels about Godhra and its bloody aftermath.

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Dussehra in Kashmir

Kashmir once again resounded to the burst of fireworks on Sunday last, though with a crucial difference. This time it was the effigy of ‘God of Evil’ Ravana which went up in flames. After a gap of 19 long years, Dussehra was celebrated with gay abandon in Srinagar. What made the exercise most nouvelle, memorable and important was that hundreds of Muslims joined their Kashmiri Pandit brethren and others at the Mata Shiva Bhagwati shrine for the traditional havan. The last havan was performed in 1988. Pertinently, this is the tenth religious place to be reopened in the strife-torn State. Clearly, winds of peace and brotherhood are blowing across the Valley. Dussehra. Remarked a Kashmir watcher: “It remains to be seen whether Dussehra and its spirit, which signifies the victory of good over evil, will pervade all over the State.”

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Sanyas Lessons For Kerala Clergy

Winds of change are also sweeping across the Syrian Christian clergy in Kerala. Where the Syro-Malabar Church --- regarded as the oldest in the country --- has reportedly decided to embrace the Hindu tradition of sanyas. This and other cultural aspects like bhajans are becoming a part of the new curriculum for training the Christian clergy in the Church. Explained the Church Spokesman: “As priests have to work in the Indian milieu, it is necessary that they learn about India’s strong spiritual foundations like the Gurukul system, Sanyas, and Varnashram”. The curriculum called the ‘Charter for priestly formation in the Syro-Malabar Church’ includes an introduction to Hinduism and lessons preparing students for an ascetic life with the help of Sanyasis. Moreover, the priests are said to be most impressed by other good ideas in the Indian way of life and are busy imbibing the rich Indian traditions. The Church calls it “Indianisation”! ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

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