71% say they're proud to be Indians
Rashmee Roshan Lall
5 Feb, 2007 TIMES NEWS NETWORK
LONDON: Nearly two-thirds of all Indians are fiercely proud of 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' but more than half of India believes the caste system is a "barrier to social harmony" and is holding the country back, according to a BBC poll to be published on Monday.
India-watchers expressed surprise at the poll's finding, the first for a nationwide 'attitudes' survey conducted by an international agency, that Indians still seem to have caste firmly on their minds in one way or the other, even though leading sociologists have long argued that urbanisation and industrialisation has helped break down caste-barriers.
The survey aims to itemise exactly how Indians view their own country, at a time when much of the world appears to have a view alternately on "emerging India" or "overheating India". The survey was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan.
The survey found that 71% are proud to be an Indian; nearly as many (65%) think it is important that India is an economic superpower; 60% think it's important India should be a political power and the same number believe it should be a military superpower. Just under half of all Indians said India's economic growth over the last 10 years had not benefited them and their families. The survey comes as part of BBC's ongoing 'India Rising' week of special programming that charts changes in different sectors of the Indian economy.
In a special message to the BBC's estimated 163 million listeners in 33 languages, President Kalam called for worldwide engagement with his vision of citizenship, notably a "three-dimensional approach involving education with value system; religion transformed to spirituality and economic development for societal transformation of all the nations." Kalam, who called upon BBC's global audiences to flood his website with suggestions and debate, was speaking on a special edition of the BBC's 'Discovery' programme, to be broadcast on Wednesday.
Monday's BBC survey concentrated on asking more than 1,500 Indians a series of questions focusing on social and political issues. It found that Indians overall, seven in 10 exhibited a positive sense of identity by agreeing to the statement, "I am proud to be an Indian." The survey found the view was uniform across all age, income groups, even though it differed among religious groups with Christians (73%) the proudest; Hindus (71%) close behind and Muslim pride in being Indian languishing at 60%.
The poll found that Indians' positive perceptions about their present also extended to the Indian marketplace. A 55% majority said the justice system "treats poor people as fairly as rich people"; 52% said "being a woman is no barrier to success" and just under half of all Indians (48%) declared they would rather "work for a private company than for the government." Interestingly, six in 10, or 58% said they believed India's security is "more in danger from other Indians than from foreigners" and 55% said the "caste system is a barrier to social harmony." 47% said "corruption is a fact of life which we should accept as the price of doing business." But a cheering 45% of 18- to 24-year-old Indians said they were less tolerant of corruption than the older generation.
On religious belief, 50% said "people don't take their religion seriously"; 40% lamented that "young Indians have lost touch with their heritage."
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Visa papers in US bin, India culprit
Indo-Asian News Service, New York, February 2, 2007
Visa applications and other sensitive documents of top executives and political figures were found lying in an open yard at a San Francisco recycling centre after they were dumped there by the city's Indian consulate, according to media reports.
Security experts said that the documents were a potential treasure trove for identity thieves or terrorists.
Among the papers found lying were visa applications submitted by Byron Pollitt, chief financial officer of San Francisco's Gap Inc, and Anne Gust, wife of California Attorney General Jerry Brown, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Also visa applications of top executives of AT&T Wireless Inc, Oracle Corp, Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp, Qualcomm Inc and Williams-Sonoma Inc were found lying.
Information on the documents includes applicants' names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, professions, employers, passport numbers photos and also accompanying letters detail people's travel plans and reasons for visiting India.
"This is absolutely sensitive information," said Charles Cresson Wood, an information-security consultant. "It needs to be safeguarded," he added.
When contacted, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna said "the San Fransisco consulate is taking all necessary steps to ensure that all papers are shredded before they leave the consulate in future."
BS Prakash, the Indian consul general, said: "As we see it, the documents are not confidential. We would see something as confidential if it has a social security number or a credit card number, not a passport number."
Security experts said it wouldn't be hard to obtain someone's social security number using the information available in the consular documents.
"We have a shortage of space. We keep this material for a year, and then we have to destroy it," Pratik Sircar, deputy consul-general for the Indian consulate, said.
However, the consulate didn't destroy the documents. Instead, it hired a hauling company in December to cart the boxes to the recycling centre.
Visa applications and other sensitive documents of top executives and political figures were found lying in an open yard at a San Francisco recycling centre after they were dumped there by the city's Indian consulate, according to media reports.
Security experts said that the documents were a potential treasure trove for identity thieves or terrorists.
Among the papers found lying were visa applications submitted by Byron Pollitt, chief financial officer of San Francisco's Gap Inc, and Anne Gust, wife of California Attorney General Jerry Brown, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Also visa applications of top executives of AT&T Wireless Inc, Oracle Corp, Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp, Qualcomm Inc and Williams-Sonoma Inc were found lying.
Information on the documents includes applicants' names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, professions, employers, passport numbers photos and also accompanying letters detail people's travel plans and reasons for visiting India.
"This is absolutely sensitive information," said Charles Cresson Wood, an information-security consultant. "It needs to be safeguarded," he added.
When contacted, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna said "the San Fransisco consulate is taking all necessary steps to ensure that all papers are shredded before they leave the consulate in future."
BS Prakash, the Indian consul general, said: "As we see it, the documents are not confidential. We would see something as confidential if it has a social security number or a credit card number, not a passport number."
Security experts said it wouldn't be hard to obtain someone's social security number using the information available in the consular documents.
"We have a shortage of space. We keep this material for a year, and then we have to destroy it," Pratik Sircar, deputy consul-general for the Indian consulate, said.
However, the consulate didn't destroy the documents. Instead, it hired a hauling company in December to cart the boxes to the recycling centre.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Aishwara Rai faces lawsuit after 'marrying' a tree
Thursday, 01 February 2007
By Peter Foster in New Delhi, The Telegraph UK ,
The Indian film star Aishwarya Rai has been accused of promoting a tradition associated with the caste system and "untouchability" following reports that she had "married a tree" in an ancient Hindu ceremony.
Miss Rai, a former Miss World who is engaged to the Bollywood heart-throb Abhishek Bachchan, is said to have undergone the ritual to overcome astrological differences with her fiancé.
Lawyers representing human rights groups have now filed a civil lawsuit demanding that Miss Rai, 33, and her family offer a public apology for entering into "false marriages".
Over the last six months Miss Rai and Mr Bachchan, 30, have been spotted entering temples in the holy cities of Varanasi and Ayodhya to perform "puja" or prayer ceremonies. Astrologers have said that Miss Rai's astrological chart is "manglik", or Mars-bearing, which, according to Hindu tradition, can have negative consequences for their impending marriage.
Traditionally, "manglik" women are required to go through a ceremony marrying them to a peepal tree, a banana tree or a silver or golden idol of the Hindu god Vishnu in a ceremony known as "kumbh vivah".
According to the litigation, filed in Patna, eastern India, such practices are "derogatory" to women and in violation of Article 17 of the Indian constitution which prohibits untouchability.
Caste discrimination has been illegal in India for many decades. However, the power of caste still persists in ordering society in many parts of rural India.
Untouchables, the lowest caste, are still forbidden to share wells in some villages.
Miss Rai, who was once described as the world's most beautiful woman by the actress Julia Roberts, also featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2003 as one of the most powerful women in Asia.
The Bachchan family has refused to comment on the couple's alleged astrological incompatibility or what, precisely, they might be doing to solve the problem.
By Peter Foster in New Delhi, The Telegraph UK ,
The Indian film star Aishwarya Rai has been accused of promoting a tradition associated with the caste system and "untouchability" following reports that she had "married a tree" in an ancient Hindu ceremony.
Miss Rai, a former Miss World who is engaged to the Bollywood heart-throb Abhishek Bachchan, is said to have undergone the ritual to overcome astrological differences with her fiancé.
Lawyers representing human rights groups have now filed a civil lawsuit demanding that Miss Rai, 33, and her family offer a public apology for entering into "false marriages".
Over the last six months Miss Rai and Mr Bachchan, 30, have been spotted entering temples in the holy cities of Varanasi and Ayodhya to perform "puja" or prayer ceremonies. Astrologers have said that Miss Rai's astrological chart is "manglik", or Mars-bearing, which, according to Hindu tradition, can have negative consequences for their impending marriage.
Traditionally, "manglik" women are required to go through a ceremony marrying them to a peepal tree, a banana tree or a silver or golden idol of the Hindu god Vishnu in a ceremony known as "kumbh vivah".
According to the litigation, filed in Patna, eastern India, such practices are "derogatory" to women and in violation of Article 17 of the Indian constitution which prohibits untouchability.
Caste discrimination has been illegal in India for many decades. However, the power of caste still persists in ordering society in many parts of rural India.
Untouchables, the lowest caste, are still forbidden to share wells in some villages.
Miss Rai, who was once described as the world's most beautiful woman by the actress Julia Roberts, also featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2003 as one of the most powerful women in Asia.
The Bachchan family has refused to comment on the couple's alleged astrological incompatibility or what, precisely, they might be doing to solve the problem.
"Incestuous" lovers beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh
Thu Feb 1, 2007
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Two young lovers were bludgeoned to death and their bodies sliced into pieces and burnt in a village in Uttar Pradesh because the community believed their relationship was incestuous, police said on Thursday.
Mahesh, 20, and Guriya, his 19-year-old girlfriend and distant cousin, had fled their village near Agra in Uttar Pradesh after realising their secret relationship had been exposed.
But their relatives managed to trace them, and dragged them before the village council early on Tuesday. The couple refused to end their relationship, and were killed and mutilated on the spot, police said.
Arranged marriages between cousins are common in India and are not usually considered incestuous.
However, young people in large parts of rural India often face dire consequences, such as losing family inheritances, if they insist on choosing their own lover instead of deferring to their family's wishes.
Police began investigating after the Mahesh's grandfather reported the crime. No arrests have been made.
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Two young lovers were bludgeoned to death and their bodies sliced into pieces and burnt in a village in Uttar Pradesh because the community believed their relationship was incestuous, police said on Thursday.
Mahesh, 20, and Guriya, his 19-year-old girlfriend and distant cousin, had fled their village near Agra in Uttar Pradesh after realising their secret relationship had been exposed.
But their relatives managed to trace them, and dragged them before the village council early on Tuesday. The couple refused to end their relationship, and were killed and mutilated on the spot, police said.
Arranged marriages between cousins are common in India and are not usually considered incestuous.
However, young people in large parts of rural India often face dire consequences, such as losing family inheritances, if they insist on choosing their own lover instead of deferring to their family's wishes.
Police began investigating after the Mahesh's grandfather reported the crime. No arrests have been made.
300 Hindu chanters would 'reorganize the chaos' in Israel
By SHELLY PAZ, Jerusalem Post, Feb. 1, 2007
Three hundred Hindu scholars from India are waiting for visas to come to Israel to "reorganize the Israeli chaos" by chanting and practicing transcendental meditation.
Yoga and chanting are the new technologies for defeating terror, solving national problems and promoting prosperity, peace and invincibility, according to Dr. Alex Kutai of the Institute for the Science of Creative Intelligence, the Hosen Center in Israel. Hosen means strength in Hebrew.
The center wants to bring the 300 Vedic Pandits, who live according to Vedas - the main scriptural texts of Hinduism, also known as the Sanatana Dharma - to chant choruses and practice meditation in order to improve the "collective consciousness."
Kutai, 61, is a 31-year-practitioner of the Veda, a doctor of the Maharishi Research European University in Britain and an expert in the science and technology of natural law.
He said he planned to achieve "national invincibility" for Israel within a few weeks, if given the opportunity, by bringing the 300 Vedic Indians who specialize in a unique way of chanting that "has the power to rearrange the local mayhem."
"The chanting has to be performed with a certain mass of people who are the root square of one percent of the number of the country's population," he said. "In Israel this number is 300," said Kutai, asserting that the resultant positivism and harmony would "help prevent future dangers and intensify the good fortune of the nation."
Kutai said he turned to the Prime Minister's Office and the Interior Ministry to get the necessary approvals for the visitors, "but they are troubled with too many things and corruption scandals so they didn't understand what we wanted."
Three hundred Hindu scholars from India are waiting for visas to come to Israel to "reorganize the Israeli chaos" by chanting and practicing transcendental meditation.
Yoga and chanting are the new technologies for defeating terror, solving national problems and promoting prosperity, peace and invincibility, according to Dr. Alex Kutai of the Institute for the Science of Creative Intelligence, the Hosen Center in Israel. Hosen means strength in Hebrew.
The center wants to bring the 300 Vedic Pandits, who live according to Vedas - the main scriptural texts of Hinduism, also known as the Sanatana Dharma - to chant choruses and practice meditation in order to improve the "collective consciousness."
Kutai, 61, is a 31-year-practitioner of the Veda, a doctor of the Maharishi Research European University in Britain and an expert in the science and technology of natural law.
He said he planned to achieve "national invincibility" for Israel within a few weeks, if given the opportunity, by bringing the 300 Vedic Indians who specialize in a unique way of chanting that "has the power to rearrange the local mayhem."
"The chanting has to be performed with a certain mass of people who are the root square of one percent of the number of the country's population," he said. "In Israel this number is 300," said Kutai, asserting that the resultant positivism and harmony would "help prevent future dangers and intensify the good fortune of the nation."
Kutai said he turned to the Prime Minister's Office and the Interior Ministry to get the necessary approvals for the visitors, "but they are troubled with too many things and corruption scandals so they didn't understand what we wanted."
Thursday, February 1, 2007
He Ram! Sethu canal in trouble
Arun Ram, DNAINDIA.COM , January 31, 2007
CHENNAI: Hindu religious groups have jumped onto the anti-Sethusamudram project bandwagon, and they have raised the mightiest of shields around their argument. Lord Ram himself.
The believers are saying that the bridge was built by Lord Ram’s Vanara Sena (army of monkeys) in his quest to reach Lanka to rescue Sita from the clutches of King Ravana and say dredging in the region will destroy the legendary bridge.
Fishermen and environmentalists are already protesting against the Rs2400-crore Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP), which will allow ships to pass through the narrow strip between the peninsular tip of India and Sri Lanka between the east and west coasts of India.
Now, the Hindu groups have also voiced their opposition to the project, substantiating their protest with “scientific ammunition” — satellite pictures provided by NASA that show an almost continuous bridge from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka. The epic-angle gained significance recently with a civil suit coming up in a Ramanathapuram court and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa joining the Ram-chorus.
“When efforts are on to protect historical monuments the world over, demolition of Ramar Sethu cannot be accepted,” Jayalalithaa said, threatening to move the Supreme Court. Swami Omkarananda of an ashram in Theni and a local RSS leader Kuppu Ramu have moved a sub-court in Ramanthapuram saying that destruction of the bridge hurts religious sentiments of Hindus. That shipping minister TR Baalu belongs to the “atheist” DMK has added to the controversy. While the shipping ministry has not reacted to the concern, Ocean scientists caution against “indiscriminate dredging.”
Says S Badrinarayanan, retired director of Geological Survey of India: “Whether the reasons are religious or scientific, you cannot destroy the bridge. The project should ideally look at the gaps (there are many) in the bridge to route the canal through, thereby causing minimum damage.”
Badrinarayanan, who was also an advisor to the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), adds: “Ramayana is believed to have happened about 7,000 years ago. Scientific studies in the region show that there was a civilization around the region then and the structure of the ‘bridge’ suggests it could be man-made, when the ocean level was much lower than it is today.”
Another scientist, who has done microfossil studies along Adam’s bridge advocates more thorough investigations. “We have found that some parts of the bridge are made of solid rocks dating back to the last ice age, 18,000 years ago. And there is an apparent continuity of the bridge, as the satellite images confirm.”
When contacted, SSCP chairman NK Raghupathi promised to “get back,” while the shipping minister was not available for comment.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1077282
CHENNAI: Hindu religious groups have jumped onto the anti-Sethusamudram project bandwagon, and they have raised the mightiest of shields around their argument. Lord Ram himself.
The believers are saying that the bridge was built by Lord Ram’s Vanara Sena (army of monkeys) in his quest to reach Lanka to rescue Sita from the clutches of King Ravana and say dredging in the region will destroy the legendary bridge.
Fishermen and environmentalists are already protesting against the Rs2400-crore Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP), which will allow ships to pass through the narrow strip between the peninsular tip of India and Sri Lanka between the east and west coasts of India.
Now, the Hindu groups have also voiced their opposition to the project, substantiating their protest with “scientific ammunition” — satellite pictures provided by NASA that show an almost continuous bridge from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka. The epic-angle gained significance recently with a civil suit coming up in a Ramanathapuram court and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa joining the Ram-chorus.
“When efforts are on to protect historical monuments the world over, demolition of Ramar Sethu cannot be accepted,” Jayalalithaa said, threatening to move the Supreme Court. Swami Omkarananda of an ashram in Theni and a local RSS leader Kuppu Ramu have moved a sub-court in Ramanthapuram saying that destruction of the bridge hurts religious sentiments of Hindus. That shipping minister TR Baalu belongs to the “atheist” DMK has added to the controversy. While the shipping ministry has not reacted to the concern, Ocean scientists caution against “indiscriminate dredging.”
Says S Badrinarayanan, retired director of Geological Survey of India: “Whether the reasons are religious or scientific, you cannot destroy the bridge. The project should ideally look at the gaps (there are many) in the bridge to route the canal through, thereby causing minimum damage.”
Badrinarayanan, who was also an advisor to the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), adds: “Ramayana is believed to have happened about 7,000 years ago. Scientific studies in the region show that there was a civilization around the region then and the structure of the ‘bridge’ suggests it could be man-made, when the ocean level was much lower than it is today.”
Another scientist, who has done microfossil studies along Adam’s bridge advocates more thorough investigations. “We have found that some parts of the bridge are made of solid rocks dating back to the last ice age, 18,000 years ago. And there is an apparent continuity of the bridge, as the satellite images confirm.”
When contacted, SSCP chairman NK Raghupathi promised to “get back,” while the shipping minister was not available for comment.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1077282
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
FBI agents arrest Indian for trying to lure teen for sex
Monday, 29 January 2007
Authorities said he was trying to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex
By Charlie White,The Courier-Journal
A Lyndon man was arrested by federal agents inside Mall St. Matthews Monday afternoon after authorities said he tried to meet a 14-year-old girl there for sex.
Kishor Patel, 39, of the 8200 block of Coppercreek Drive, was taken into custody and will be arraigned in federal court Tuesday, said David Beyer, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Louisville.
Beyer said Patel had a “look of surprise on his face” as FBI agents handcuffed him and walked him out of the mall about 2:30 p.m.
Otherwise, the arrest took place without incident, Beyer said.
Tracy Reinhold, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Kentucky office, said Patel had been communicating online with an undercover agent whom Patel believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
In online discussions initiated by Patel, he made plans to meet his correspondent at the mall, then take her somewhere fox sex, authorities said.
Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (502) 582-4653.
Authorities said he was trying to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex
By Charlie White,The Courier-Journal
A Lyndon man was arrested by federal agents inside Mall St. Matthews Monday afternoon after authorities said he tried to meet a 14-year-old girl there for sex.
Kishor Patel, 39, of the 8200 block of Coppercreek Drive, was taken into custody and will be arraigned in federal court Tuesday, said David Beyer, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Louisville.
Beyer said Patel had a “look of surprise on his face” as FBI agents handcuffed him and walked him out of the mall about 2:30 p.m.
Otherwise, the arrest took place without incident, Beyer said.
Tracy Reinhold, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Kentucky office, said Patel had been communicating online with an undercover agent whom Patel believed to be a 14-year-old girl.
In online discussions initiated by Patel, he made plans to meet his correspondent at the mall, then take her somewhere fox sex, authorities said.
Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (502) 582-4653.
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