Roshiah last Congress CM of AP.
Nanapaneni Rajakumari and Survey!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana- Achievements and Contributions
Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana.
Constituency : MP, Malkajgiri (Andhra Pradesh )
Party Name : Indian National Congress(INC)
Father's Name Late Shri S. Laxmaiah,Mother's Name Smt. S. Mallamma
Date of Birth 04 Apr 1954,Place of Birth Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
Marital Status: Married ,Date of Marriage: 22 Jun 1981,Spouse's Name Smt. Sunita Sathyanarayana. No. of Sons 1,No.of Daughters 2.
Educational Qualifications B.A, LL.B, LL.M.
Educated at Osmania University, Hyderabad and
Evening College of Law, Tilak Road, Abids, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Profession Advocate.
contact:
Permanent Address
Plot No. 43, T-I , Road No. 4,
Tree Moorty Colony,
Mahendra Hills, East Marredpally,
Secunderabad-500026, Andhra Pradesh
Tel. (040) 27734141, 27732060
09490667778 (M)
Present Address
14, Windsor Place,
New Delhi - 110 001
Tel (011) 23782562
9868180473 (M)
Fax. (011) 23782562
Achievements and Contributions.
Positions Held
1985-89 Member, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
Member, HUDA, Hyderabad
Member, Traffic Board, Andhra Pradesh
Member, Committee on Public Undertaking, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
2004 Elected to 14th Lok Sabha
Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Member, Executive Committee, Congress Parliamentary Party (C.P.P.)
Member, Committee on Industy
Member, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
2009 Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
31 Aug. 2009 Member, Committee on Finance
Member, Consultative Committee Housing, Poverty Allevation & Tourism
23 Sep. 2009 Member, Committee on Petitions
1 Dec. 2009 Member, Joint Committee on Office on Profit
Social And Cultural Activities
Social work, helping the poorest of the poor and down-trodden strata of the society
Special Interests
Reading, listening to music, movies
Favourite Pastime and Recreation
Music and movies
Sports and Clubs
Kabaddi, cricket and football
Countries Visited
Thailand
Other Information
Member, (i) Rehablitation Council of India; (ii) Fatehmaidan Club (iii) Secundrabad Club; rendered about 13 years of Govt. service in various organisations trade union leader.
*ls
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Slaughter Of Sikhs In Pakistan
Slaughter Of Sikhs In Pakistan
By Omer Farooq Khan
Peshawar: 25-2-10
The entrance to Mohallah Jogan Shah inside Peshawar’s walled city is through the ancient Aasia Gate (Aasia Darwaza). Passing through narrow alleys where one comes across old buildings of wooden architecture, it takes at least half an hour on foot to reach Mohallah Jogan Shah in Peshawar’s Dabgari area. At least 380 Sikh families live in Mohallah Jogan Shah, out of the estimated 520 families found in Peshawar. Eighty percent of these families migrated to Peshawar from three tribal regions — Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber. The gradual movement of these families from the tribal areas started in the mid-1980s which tremendously increased with the emergence of Pakistani Taliban in the last decade.
“One of the early reasons for these immigrants was the reopening of ‘Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh’ in 1981. But living for minorities in the volatile region became unbearable when the Taliban dismantled the traditional tribal setup. Hence, they had to leave the region to avoid militants’ wrath”, said 78 year old Charanjit Singh, in a tribal Pashto accent, who migrated to Peshawar from Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency back in 1997.
“More than 10 gurdwaras in Peshawar, under control of the government’s Auqaf department, are still closed. Some of them were turned into schools and colleges while a few are hired by non-Sikh families, paying rent to the government”, he said.
All Sikhs in Peshawar speak local Pashto dialect fluently and treat their womenfolk as tribal Pashtuns do. “They are as illiterate and strong-headed as Afridis and Orakzais, and they are just as dependable in personal loyalty. Their hospitality is proverbial; every household keeps separate utensils for their Muslim friends”, says Farhad Afridi who abodes in Tirah valley of Khyber agency.
Unlike their ancestors, the present young generation seems to bring a change in their life style as they are more inclined towards education. At noon, children of different age groups make their importance felt by shouting and teasing each other in Mohallah Jogan Singh while returning from schools. But it does not stop here. They have to strictly attend religious studies in the evenings in Guru Angadh Devjee Khalsa Tharmak. Five years of religious schooling in Gurmukhi is about all the education most tribal Sikhs have had, and it is promptly discarded when the exigencies of practical life take over.
The lively old Jagat Singh was keen to make one listen to his version of Sikh’s genesis in the tribal belt. “Persecuted by Aurangzeb in the 17th century, several Sikh families came to the tribal areas and joined the Pashtun tribes in these mountain regions. The tribal principle of sanctuary to the Amsaya, or protected one, was what eased them into a region known for its traditional and rigid view of Islam. The Sikhs had an ability to completely integrate into the local culture”, Jagat Singh said. But 9/11 and its fallout was no less than a nightmare for local tribesmen, he added.
The phenomenon “Pakistani Taliban” was unknown before 9/11. However, the significance of Jihadi elements in the tribal belt can be traced back to the early 80’s when the area became a launching pad for the CIA and ISI-driven holy war (jihad) against the former Soviet Union. With the Soviet withdrawal, the US agenda of jihad inside Afghanistan ended. But the strategic importance of the area remained intact for Pakistan which had to use, for many years to come, the tribal area for running training camps for jihadis, pursuing its policy of strategic depth against India as well as to have an upper hand with neighbouring Afghanistan.
Nevertheless, these games did not disturb the traditional tribal way of life and the Sikh families were living a normal life as before. With the rise of Pakistani Taliban in the past few years and their march to take control of the tribal areas, the traditional tribal code of ethics which ensured security for the Sikh community in the area gave way to the extremist ideology of Taliban. After establishing their writ, Taliban offered three options to non-Muslims — “Become Muslims, pay jizya or vacate the area.”
To set an example, Taliban last year demolished 11 houses of the Sikh community in the Orakzai Agency for refusing to pay ‘jizya’. The action was ordered by the then Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) chief for Orakzai Agency, Hakimullah Mehsud, after the deadline given to the Sikh community for payment of jizya passed.
“Sharia had been enforced in the area and every non-Muslim has to pay protection money”, Hakimullah Mehsud had announced. Mehsud, who became the chief of the Pakistani Taliban after Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike last August, was also reportedly killed in a similar US drone attack.
The Sikh community, comprising 30 to 35 families shifted from the Feroze Khel area to the nearby Merozai in Lower Orakzai Agency because they could not arrange the Rs. 150 million (180,000 dollars) demanded by the Taliban.
The Taliban had forcibly occupied shops of Sikh businessmen and houses of several Sikhs compelling them to pay jizya. Later, several Sikh families refused to accept the Taliban demand and preferred to quit Orakzai Agency for safer places. Most of the tribal families belonging to a Khatri cast migrated to Peshawar and different parts of Hangu and Kohat districts due to the fear of Taliban.
The jizya demand highlights how the Taliban onslaught has toppled decades of consistent social harmony between Pashtun tribesmen and religious minorities. An estimated 10,000 Sikhs living in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province have quietly thrived as traders, shopkeepers and farmers often providing a middle-class backbone to poor societies. They are the descendants of families that stayed behind at the time of partition in 1947, protected by communities that valued them. They have become an integrated part of Pashtun society – attending weddings and funerals, even getting involved in hashish and opium smuggling.
When fighting intensified between militants and security forces in the Swat region last May, a Sikh doctor Gian Singh remained at the city hospital after all other staff had fled. “We lived with the people like brothers. I even treated wounded Taliban who were brought to my clinic”, said Singh.
The arrival of the long-haired Taliban fighters in tribal areas and Swat, brandishing AK 47 rifles steamrolled the previous sense of tolerance.
For the Taliban, collection of jizya meant the generation of funds to get arms and ammunition to spread their reign of terror, says Prakash Singh, a college student whose family refused to pay jizya to the Taliban in Orakzai Agency and left the area sometime back.
“Speaking frankly, tribal areas no longer remain places for minority communities. The Taliban have forcibly imposed jizya upon us. How can we live like this? If ordinary Muslims live in fear of the Taliban, then what sort of a future do we have here? We have our own identity and religion and we cannot mix it with theirs”, Prakash Singh emphatically said.
After Hakimullah Mehsud imposed jizya in Orakzai, other militant leaders also followed suit. The next in line was Mangal Bagh, a militant leader of Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) in Khyber Agency who established the practice of paying jizya in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. At least 40 families left the Tirah valley while some 15 families gave into Mangal Bagh’s demand. Even paying jizya could not ensure the security of their lives.
Last month, a TTP commander of the Khyber tribal region, Tariq Afridi, abducted three members of the Sikh community for ransom. Reportedly, a delegation of Sikh elders went to Mangal Bagh two weeks back to help release the abductees from the clutches of the TTP commander. But to no avail. The two Sikhs, Jaspal Singh and Mahal Singh were brutally slaughtered by Afridi when the deadline for paying the ransom expired.
Despite all these realities, the majority of these immigrants are longing for their homeland. “If the situation returns to normal in the tribal areas we will go back. We have our properties there and above all our memories are associated with the area”, says Suraj Prakash Singh, a shopkeeper.
An estimated 10,000 Sikhs live in the NWFP and tribal areas, descendants of those who chose not to move to India during the horrific communal butchery that accompanied the independence and Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/02/28/slaughter-of-sikhs-in-pakistan/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/wor-1.jpg
By Omer Farooq Khan
Peshawar: 25-2-10
The entrance to Mohallah Jogan Shah inside Peshawar’s walled city is through the ancient Aasia Gate (Aasia Darwaza). Passing through narrow alleys where one comes across old buildings of wooden architecture, it takes at least half an hour on foot to reach Mohallah Jogan Shah in Peshawar’s Dabgari area. At least 380 Sikh families live in Mohallah Jogan Shah, out of the estimated 520 families found in Peshawar. Eighty percent of these families migrated to Peshawar from three tribal regions — Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber. The gradual movement of these families from the tribal areas started in the mid-1980s which tremendously increased with the emergence of Pakistani Taliban in the last decade.
“One of the early reasons for these immigrants was the reopening of ‘Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh’ in 1981. But living for minorities in the volatile region became unbearable when the Taliban dismantled the traditional tribal setup. Hence, they had to leave the region to avoid militants’ wrath”, said 78 year old Charanjit Singh, in a tribal Pashto accent, who migrated to Peshawar from Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency back in 1997.
“More than 10 gurdwaras in Peshawar, under control of the government’s Auqaf department, are still closed. Some of them were turned into schools and colleges while a few are hired by non-Sikh families, paying rent to the government”, he said.
All Sikhs in Peshawar speak local Pashto dialect fluently and treat their womenfolk as tribal Pashtuns do. “They are as illiterate and strong-headed as Afridis and Orakzais, and they are just as dependable in personal loyalty. Their hospitality is proverbial; every household keeps separate utensils for their Muslim friends”, says Farhad Afridi who abodes in Tirah valley of Khyber agency.
Unlike their ancestors, the present young generation seems to bring a change in their life style as they are more inclined towards education. At noon, children of different age groups make their importance felt by shouting and teasing each other in Mohallah Jogan Singh while returning from schools. But it does not stop here. They have to strictly attend religious studies in the evenings in Guru Angadh Devjee Khalsa Tharmak. Five years of religious schooling in Gurmukhi is about all the education most tribal Sikhs have had, and it is promptly discarded when the exigencies of practical life take over.
The lively old Jagat Singh was keen to make one listen to his version of Sikh’s genesis in the tribal belt. “Persecuted by Aurangzeb in the 17th century, several Sikh families came to the tribal areas and joined the Pashtun tribes in these mountain regions. The tribal principle of sanctuary to the Amsaya, or protected one, was what eased them into a region known for its traditional and rigid view of Islam. The Sikhs had an ability to completely integrate into the local culture”, Jagat Singh said. But 9/11 and its fallout was no less than a nightmare for local tribesmen, he added.
The phenomenon “Pakistani Taliban” was unknown before 9/11. However, the significance of Jihadi elements in the tribal belt can be traced back to the early 80’s when the area became a launching pad for the CIA and ISI-driven holy war (jihad) against the former Soviet Union. With the Soviet withdrawal, the US agenda of jihad inside Afghanistan ended. But the strategic importance of the area remained intact for Pakistan which had to use, for many years to come, the tribal area for running training camps for jihadis, pursuing its policy of strategic depth against India as well as to have an upper hand with neighbouring Afghanistan.
Nevertheless, these games did not disturb the traditional tribal way of life and the Sikh families were living a normal life as before. With the rise of Pakistani Taliban in the past few years and their march to take control of the tribal areas, the traditional tribal code of ethics which ensured security for the Sikh community in the area gave way to the extremist ideology of Taliban. After establishing their writ, Taliban offered three options to non-Muslims — “Become Muslims, pay jizya or vacate the area.”
To set an example, Taliban last year demolished 11 houses of the Sikh community in the Orakzai Agency for refusing to pay ‘jizya’. The action was ordered by the then Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) chief for Orakzai Agency, Hakimullah Mehsud, after the deadline given to the Sikh community for payment of jizya passed.
“Sharia had been enforced in the area and every non-Muslim has to pay protection money”, Hakimullah Mehsud had announced. Mehsud, who became the chief of the Pakistani Taliban after Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike last August, was also reportedly killed in a similar US drone attack.
The Sikh community, comprising 30 to 35 families shifted from the Feroze Khel area to the nearby Merozai in Lower Orakzai Agency because they could not arrange the Rs. 150 million (180,000 dollars) demanded by the Taliban.
The Taliban had forcibly occupied shops of Sikh businessmen and houses of several Sikhs compelling them to pay jizya. Later, several Sikh families refused to accept the Taliban demand and preferred to quit Orakzai Agency for safer places. Most of the tribal families belonging to a Khatri cast migrated to Peshawar and different parts of Hangu and Kohat districts due to the fear of Taliban.
The jizya demand highlights how the Taliban onslaught has toppled decades of consistent social harmony between Pashtun tribesmen and religious minorities. An estimated 10,000 Sikhs living in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province have quietly thrived as traders, shopkeepers and farmers often providing a middle-class backbone to poor societies. They are the descendants of families that stayed behind at the time of partition in 1947, protected by communities that valued them. They have become an integrated part of Pashtun society – attending weddings and funerals, even getting involved in hashish and opium smuggling.
When fighting intensified between militants and security forces in the Swat region last May, a Sikh doctor Gian Singh remained at the city hospital after all other staff had fled. “We lived with the people like brothers. I even treated wounded Taliban who were brought to my clinic”, said Singh.
The arrival of the long-haired Taliban fighters in tribal areas and Swat, brandishing AK 47 rifles steamrolled the previous sense of tolerance.
For the Taliban, collection of jizya meant the generation of funds to get arms and ammunition to spread their reign of terror, says Prakash Singh, a college student whose family refused to pay jizya to the Taliban in Orakzai Agency and left the area sometime back.
“Speaking frankly, tribal areas no longer remain places for minority communities. The Taliban have forcibly imposed jizya upon us. How can we live like this? If ordinary Muslims live in fear of the Taliban, then what sort of a future do we have here? We have our own identity and religion and we cannot mix it with theirs”, Prakash Singh emphatically said.
After Hakimullah Mehsud imposed jizya in Orakzai, other militant leaders also followed suit. The next in line was Mangal Bagh, a militant leader of Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) in Khyber Agency who established the practice of paying jizya in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. At least 40 families left the Tirah valley while some 15 families gave into Mangal Bagh’s demand. Even paying jizya could not ensure the security of their lives.
Last month, a TTP commander of the Khyber tribal region, Tariq Afridi, abducted three members of the Sikh community for ransom. Reportedly, a delegation of Sikh elders went to Mangal Bagh two weeks back to help release the abductees from the clutches of the TTP commander. But to no avail. The two Sikhs, Jaspal Singh and Mahal Singh were brutally slaughtered by Afridi when the deadline for paying the ransom expired.
Despite all these realities, the majority of these immigrants are longing for their homeland. “If the situation returns to normal in the tribal areas we will go back. We have our properties there and above all our memories are associated with the area”, says Suraj Prakash Singh, a shopkeeper.
An estimated 10,000 Sikhs live in the NWFP and tribal areas, descendants of those who chose not to move to India during the horrific communal butchery that accompanied the independence and Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/02/28/slaughter-of-sikhs-in-pakistan/
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/wor-1.jpg
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Questionnaire for Muslims seeking U.S. Citizenship
Questionnaire for Muslims seeking U.S. Citizenship
______________________________
Note : Qur'an verses may not have the identical Surah ( chapter ) number in different translations of Muhammad's book. There is no standard numbering system as there is for the Bible. However, all translations include the same verses , and if a passage is not found in one place it exists elsewhere in the text. Surahs are always
numbered exactly the same. Different translations will make use of somewhat different word choice in the English language, but the meaning is always the same or very close to exactly the same.
___________________________________________________________________
( 1 ) The Constitution of the United States requires equal legal rights for men and women. This means that the testimony of one woman counts exactly the same as that for one man in a court of law. There are no possible exceptions to this rule for any American citizen.
Qur'an, Surah 2 : 282 says, in part : "call in to witness from among your men
two witnesses; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women
from among those whom you choose to be witnesses..." This is the basis for Shariah law
which holds that in all cases of law the testimony of two women is necessary
to equal that of one man.
Do you repudiate the principle in the Qur'an which requires that it takes
the testimony of two women to equal the testimony of one man in a law court ?
YES
NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 2 ) US Law does not tolerate wife beating and regards it as a crime.
Qur'an , Surah 4 : 34 says : " Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has
made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property;
the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded.
But as to those women on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and
leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you,
do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great "
Do you repudiate the teaching in the Qur'an which approves wife beating ?
YES
NO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 3 ) Cruel and unusual punishment in illegal by provisions of the US Constitution.
This includes such retribution as physical mutilation and injury to the body.
Quran, Surah 5 : 38 "As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is
the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise."
Surah 5 : 33 "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger,
and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion,
or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: "
Do you repudiate all verses in the Qur'an which demand cruel
and unusual punishment ?
YES
NO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 4 ) The age of marriage varies by state, but in all cases requires that a wife
should be of child bearing age, that is, she should be post-pubescent ,
generally 15 or 16 years of age minimum , 17 or 18 in other jurisdictions.
Qur'an , Surah 65 : 4 "As for your women who have despaired of further menstruating,
if you are in doubt, then their waiting period is three months as well as those who have
not yet menstruated. As for those who are pregnant, their term shall be the time
they deliver their burden. Allah will ease (matters) by His order for whosoever fears Him."
As a Muslim scholar named Maududi has said in his official interpretation of this verse :
"Therefore, making mention of the waiting-period for girls who have not yet menstruated,
clearly proves that it is not only permissible to give away the girl at this age but it is
permissible for the husband to consummate marriage with her. Now, obviously
no Muslim has the right to forbid a thing which the Qur'an has held as permissible."
Do you repudiate this verse in the Qur'an which regards child marriage as approved,
which American law regards as a form of child molestation ?
YES
NO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 5 ) The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly outlaws slavery
in all forms, male or female.
Qur'an , Surah 4 : 92 " And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except
by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave,
and blood-money should be paid, but he who cannot find a slave should fast for
two months successively." As scholars have pointed out, this verse assumes that
Muslims will own slaves, or a significant number will, as did Muhammad, who
owned slaves and bought and sold them. This is just one verse out of dozens
that approve the institution of slavery and present in as
an eternal condition of humanity.
Do you repudiate all verses in the Qur'an which approve slavery ?
YES
NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 6 ) Hate speech is objectionable in American culture, and federal law
regards such language as legally actionable, deserving punishment.
While there are various categories of hate speech, general agreement
is that anti-Semitism is the worst such offense.
Qur'an , Surah 5 : 60 - 65, says in part, speaking specifically of Jews as verse 59
makes clear, "Those whom God has cursed and with whom He has been angry,
he has transformed them into apes and pigs, and those who serve the devil"
This is the source of Muslim demonstrators' signs and chants that Jews are
apes and pigs --the Qur'an itself. There are still other passages in Muhammad's book
which also are anti-Semitic --as the term is generally used in America
to refer to anti-Jewish bigotry.
Do you repudiate all anti-Semitic hate speech in the Qur'an , especially
verse 60 of Surah 5 ?
YES
NO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 7 ) War or any acts of physical violence, or threat of violence, with the intention
of forcing people to convert to a religion is utterly abhorrent to American law and
is explicitly outlawed by the First Amendment.
Qur'an, Surah 8 : 12 "Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you:
give firmness to the Muslims , I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.
Smite them on their necks and cut all their fingers off."
This is one of 164 jihad verses in Muhammad's book. Of this number approximately 100
are commandments to able-bodied Muslim men to physically fight against non-Muslims.
The remaining 64 verses deal with inner struggle, etc, and are not the subject here.
Generations of Muslim authorities leave zero room to doubt that war or other forms
of physical violence on behalf of Islam, with the objective being forced conversion
of non-Muslims, is commanded and is not an option. In most cases the "cover"
--rationalization-- for such aggression is the pretext that these should be defensive campaigns.
Except that, from the outset, while Muhammad was still alive and a leader in jihad,
few if any jihads were defensive at all and were only claimed to be , because Muslims
were offended that other people would not willingly surrender to their armies when invaded.
That is, there is no reasonable doubt that the meaning of the 100 jihad verses in question
all promote violence against people of other faiths. The main objective is conversion
but also important is terrorizing others so that they fear the wrath of Muslims.
Do you repudiate all jihad verses in the Qur'an which command Muslims to
fight against non-Muslims with the objective of converting other people to Islam ?
YES
NO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 8 ) The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion to all US citizens.
No-one may prohibit someone from changing religion, or ceasing to belong
to a religion. No-one may prohibit someone, in any appropriate setting,
from seeking to convince someone else of the rightness of his or her faith
and seeking to win converts. No believers of any faith are exempt
from this provision of the First Amendment.
Qur'an, Surah 4:88-89 "Then what is the matter with you that you are divided
into two parties about the hypocrites? Allah has cast them back ( to disbelief )...
Do you want to guide him whom Allah has made go astray? ... They wish that you
reject ( Islam ), and thus that you all become equal ( like any other faith ). So, take not...
( friends) from them, till they emigrate in the way of Allah ( to Muhammad ).
But if they turn away ( from Islam ), take hold of them and kill them
wherever you find them ." One of several verses which deal with what Muslims
characterize as apostasy. The penalty for what Americans insist is a God-given right,
to free choice in religion, is death in an Islamic context.
Do you repudiate all apostasy verses in the Qur'an and uphold the principle
of free choice in religion ?
YES
NO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 9 ) In America, free speech is sacrosanct and, while a people have the right
to object to criticisms of their beliefs, and while others must obey libel
or slander laws, everyone who so desires is free to make any criticisms
of religion he or she wishes to make. This is considered a moral good
when one's motivation is making the truth widely known. It does not
matter if a truth is popular or unpopular ; honesty is the higher virtue by far,
indeed, there is no real contest.
Qur'an , Surah 4 : 140 "Allah will collect the hypocrites and those who defy faith -
and put them in Hell." This is one verse which is foundational to Shariah law
penalizing all forms of what Muslims characterize as "blasphemy." Depending on
the "offense" and what country such law is enforced in, the punishment may be
anything from jail time or banishment , to death.
What qualifies as blasphemy ? A few examples--
criticizing Islam
making jokes about Muhammad or the Qur'an
criticizing the Qur'an, which is regarded by Muslims as Allah's exact words incarnate on Earth
asserting that the Qur'an was written by Muhammad rather than a transcription of Allah's words,
for example, calling the Qur'an "Muhammad's book."
criticizing Muhammad, especially perceived insults of Muhammad
criticizing such Muslim practices as saying prayers 5 times a day, prostrate on the floor
reporting objective facts that embarrass Muslims, such as the fact that Muhammad
married Aisha, a girl of 6 and consummated the "marriage" when she was 9.
creating an image of Muhammad or portraying him with an actor in a movie or stage play
claiming to be a prophet
The last item makes all Mormons guilty of blasphemy since all male Mormons are
considered prophets by their church and all Mormon women accept this belief.
One or more items make Christian missionaries who express honest opinions about
the Qur'an or Muhammad guilty of the "crime" of blasphemy who, in some countries,
with Pakistan being especially notorious, are killed. Indeed, considering these
types of "blasphemy" alone, each, by American law, is a form of protected speech
to which all US citizens are entitled.
Do you repudiate all anti-blasphemy laws in Shariah , those derived directly
from the Quran as well as those derived from Hadith traditions ?
YES
NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 10 ) The First Amendment guarantees freedom to worship any deity of your choice.
Or freedom to be an Agnostic or Atheist. You may worship 100 Gods or Goddesses,
or just one, or none at all. All US citizens accept this principle but are free to express
their opinions if they think someone else's beliefs are wrong.
Qur'an 4: 116 "Verily Allah does not forgive setting up partners in worship with Him.
But He forgives whom he pleases, sins other than that." To be devoted to a Goddess,
in other words, is, in Islam, the unforgivable sin. Also extremely serious is 2 : 28,
"How do you disbelieve in Allah, seeing that you were dead and he gave you life!
Then he will cause you to die..."
In other words, Goddess worship deserves death according to Islam, and Atheists
also deserve death. In some Muslim lands capital punishment for these "offenses"
are de jure carried out.
Almost all Hindus are devotees of one or more Goddesses, so are most Mahayana Buddhists
in Japan and elsewhere. Taoists venerate a Goddess, as do Zoroastrians ( Anahita ) and
traditional Pagans such as those in the Baltic states and rural Russia. So do Wiccans and
most other neo-Pagans. Islam considers Catholics and the Greek Orthodox as Goddess
worshippers for their devotion to Mary, and the Mormons worship the Heavenly Mother
as well as the Heavenly Father. Plus there are normative Christian groups, like Assyrian
Christians, who adhere formally to usual Church doctrine but who informally venerate the
Goddess Ishtar .Altogether, about 2 billion people in the world can be classified as
Goddess devotees, closer to 3 billion if you add Catholics and the Orthodox.
A reasonable estimate is that , including Mormons, about 15 or 20 million Americans
are Goddess devotees of one kind or another. And all deserve the full protection of
American law as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Do you repudiate all passages in the Qur'an that demand death
or other extreme punishment for Atheists and Goddess devotees ?
YES
NO
==================================================================
There are numerous other morally reprehensible passages in the Qur'an, all of which
contravene American law and the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. These ten examples
are sufficient to make the criminality of Islam crystal clear, however, and to argue the point
that Islam in any orthodox form should be criminalized in the United States. In other words,
Islam should be outlawed in much the same way as Communism and Nazism were
outlawed in the mid 20th century.
There might be exceptions for some Sufi schools or some Ahmadiyya groups,
to speak of people who have already rejected objectionable parts of the Quran,
and as for MINOs, Muslims In Name Only, there is no real objection,
but otherwise Islam should be recognized for what it is, a subversive and criminal
religion that functions in outright defiance of American law and which is based
on principles which are totally incompatible with the US Constitution.
Islam, to discuss people who actually believe in the Qur'an, promotes
physical violence against non-Muslims, it seeks to intimidate others through
threats of violence, it promotes hate speech, and generally can be thought
of as an organized mental illness. As we all know, from daily news stories
in the press and TV, this is a matter of actions that kill people, that threaten
citizens of many countries that simply wish to live in peace, and that incite
outrages against "unbelievers" through hate speech.
To be very sure, Muslims may deny each and every fact about their travesty
of a religion presented here. About which there are two basic rejoinders,
First, anyone familiar with the fact that the Qur'an is really two books in one,
the Mecca Surahs and the Medina Surahs, can tell you, if he or she is honest,
that most of the "good" teachings in the Qur'an date to Muhammad's years
in Mecca, when he preached tolerance and a form of morality which resembled
that of Judaism or Christianity. However, in the Medina years, partly by use
of the doctrine of abrogation, which nullified earlier verses at will, of which
well over a hundred Mecca verses were repudiated as obsolete, what resulted
was a religion that some scholars compare with Bolshevism and
others consider to be an early form of Nazism. Personally the comparison
with Nazism seems most accurate given the fact that the Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem spent the WWII years in the Third Reich and organized regiments
of Bosnian Muslims to fight in the ranks of the SS , and considering the fact that
the Muslim Brotherhood, the "parent" of Al Qaeda and still other terrorist groups,
was funded by the Nazis and was their political inspiration.
Second, there is a "slight detail" called the doctrine of taqiyya -- lying in order to
further the interests of Islam. At least two Qur'an verses are fairly explicit about this,
Surah 3 : 28 and Surah 16 : 106 . The gist of things is that Muslims are free to
tell others falsehoods about Islam if they think it will protect Muslims or their property,
are free to misrepresent Islam, are free to camouflage their actual purposes
behind a cloak of good works, etc. In other words, Muslims simply cannot
be trusted to tell the truth about their religion.
But the truth is there to be seen, and anyone who so desires can study the Qur'an
and read its collection of criminal precepts any time it is convenient to do so.
Not my problem if someone simply can't be bothered to do so, or prefers
cock-and-bull stories manufactured by simpletons like Karen Armstrong.
and purveyed by charlatans like George W Bush or Barack Hussein Obama.
Islam is a criminal religion and it really doesn't matter if someone who is
famous lies about this painful reality. As a criminal religion it has no legitimate place
in the United States of America.
==========================================================
About the Questionnaire :
No-one who answers even one question with a "NO" should be eligible for
US citizenship. For a Muslim to become a citizen all questions should require
a "YES" answer.
Clearly this presents a dilemma for any believing Muslim. He or she cannot
deny the perceived "truth" of even one verse in the Qur'an since all verses,
according to the Qur'an's own words, are the presumed actual words
of Allah, and are inviolate and holy.
For a Muslim to give even one YES answer is to commit apostasy and
condemn himself --or herself-- to death.
This is the exact intent of the Questionnaire, to show everyone exactly
how unethical and criminal the core text of Islam actually is, how evil the
religion of Islam actually is, and how antithetical to most or close to all
values which Americans regard as absolutely essential --or even
divinely sanctioned.
Exactly what to do about Muslims who already have acquired citizenship status
is an open question at this time, but a simple solution would be to require all
Muslims now resident in the USA to apostasy from Islam. No conversion
to another religion would be required, even if that might be a good idea,
the only necessity would be to abandon Islam entirely and swear a
binding oath of repudiation of the Qur'an and Muhammad.
Muslims unwilling to do this should be stripped of their citizenship and
immediately deported --no exceptions for any reason.
All mosques in the United States should be shuttered and closed.
Fair compensation should be paid to property owners and the buildings converted to other uses or torn down.
This should dispose of the Muslim problem in America.
Billy Rojas
Eugene / Oregon
Former teacher of Comparative Religion, history and social science.
Alice Lloyd College, Phoenix College, Lower Columbia College,
City Colleges of Chicago assigned to the US Navy PACE Program
to provide college course instruction to military personnel on board
the aircraft carrier , USS Enterprise . Also a lecturer at the University
of Oregon, Pacifica Forum, 2008 - early 2010.
______________________________
Note : Qur'an verses may not have the identical Surah ( chapter ) number in different translations of Muhammad's book. There is no standard numbering system as there is for the Bible. However, all translations include the same verses , and if a passage is not found in one place it exists elsewhere in the text. Surahs are always
numbered exactly the same. Different translations will make use of somewhat different word choice in the English language, but the meaning is always the same or very close to exactly the same.
___________________________________________________________________
( 1 ) The Constitution of the United States requires equal legal rights for men and women. This means that the testimony of one woman counts exactly the same as that for one man in a court of law. There are no possible exceptions to this rule for any American citizen.
Qur'an, Surah 2 : 282 says, in part : "call in to witness from among your men
two witnesses; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women
from among those whom you choose to be witnesses..." This is the basis for Shariah law
which holds that in all cases of law the testimony of two women is necessary
to equal that of one man.
Do you repudiate the principle in the Qur'an which requires that it takes
the testimony of two women to equal the testimony of one man in a law court ?
YES
NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 2 ) US Law does not tolerate wife beating and regards it as a crime.
Qur'an , Surah 4 : 34 says : " Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has
made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property;
the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded.
But as to those women on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and
leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you,
do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great "
Do you repudiate the teaching in the Qur'an which approves wife beating ?
YES
NO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 3 ) Cruel and unusual punishment in illegal by provisions of the US Constitution.
This includes such retribution as physical mutilation and injury to the body.
Quran, Surah 5 : 38 "As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands. It is
the reward of their own deeds, an exemplary punishment from Allah. Allah is Mighty, Wise."
Surah 5 : 33 "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger,
and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion,
or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: "
Do you repudiate all verses in the Qur'an which demand cruel
and unusual punishment ?
YES
NO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 4 ) The age of marriage varies by state, but in all cases requires that a wife
should be of child bearing age, that is, she should be post-pubescent ,
generally 15 or 16 years of age minimum , 17 or 18 in other jurisdictions.
Qur'an , Surah 65 : 4 "As for your women who have despaired of further menstruating,
if you are in doubt, then their waiting period is three months as well as those who have
not yet menstruated. As for those who are pregnant, their term shall be the time
they deliver their burden. Allah will ease (matters) by His order for whosoever fears Him."
As a Muslim scholar named Maududi has said in his official interpretation of this verse :
"Therefore, making mention of the waiting-period for girls who have not yet menstruated,
clearly proves that it is not only permissible to give away the girl at this age but it is
permissible for the husband to consummate marriage with her. Now, obviously
no Muslim has the right to forbid a thing which the Qur'an has held as permissible."
Do you repudiate this verse in the Qur'an which regards child marriage as approved,
which American law regards as a form of child molestation ?
YES
NO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 5 ) The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly outlaws slavery
in all forms, male or female.
Qur'an , Surah 4 : 92 " And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except
by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave,
and blood-money should be paid, but he who cannot find a slave should fast for
two months successively." As scholars have pointed out, this verse assumes that
Muslims will own slaves, or a significant number will, as did Muhammad, who
owned slaves and bought and sold them. This is just one verse out of dozens
that approve the institution of slavery and present in as
an eternal condition of humanity.
Do you repudiate all verses in the Qur'an which approve slavery ?
YES
NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 6 ) Hate speech is objectionable in American culture, and federal law
regards such language as legally actionable, deserving punishment.
While there are various categories of hate speech, general agreement
is that anti-Semitism is the worst such offense.
Qur'an , Surah 5 : 60 - 65, says in part, speaking specifically of Jews as verse 59
makes clear, "Those whom God has cursed and with whom He has been angry,
he has transformed them into apes and pigs, and those who serve the devil"
This is the source of Muslim demonstrators' signs and chants that Jews are
apes and pigs --the Qur'an itself. There are still other passages in Muhammad's book
which also are anti-Semitic --as the term is generally used in America
to refer to anti-Jewish bigotry.
Do you repudiate all anti-Semitic hate speech in the Qur'an , especially
verse 60 of Surah 5 ?
YES
NO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 7 ) War or any acts of physical violence, or threat of violence, with the intention
of forcing people to convert to a religion is utterly abhorrent to American law and
is explicitly outlawed by the First Amendment.
Qur'an, Surah 8 : 12 "Thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you:
give firmness to the Muslims , I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.
Smite them on their necks and cut all their fingers off."
This is one of 164 jihad verses in Muhammad's book. Of this number approximately 100
are commandments to able-bodied Muslim men to physically fight against non-Muslims.
The remaining 64 verses deal with inner struggle, etc, and are not the subject here.
Generations of Muslim authorities leave zero room to doubt that war or other forms
of physical violence on behalf of Islam, with the objective being forced conversion
of non-Muslims, is commanded and is not an option. In most cases the "cover"
--rationalization-- for such aggression is the pretext that these should be defensive campaigns.
Except that, from the outset, while Muhammad was still alive and a leader in jihad,
few if any jihads were defensive at all and were only claimed to be , because Muslims
were offended that other people would not willingly surrender to their armies when invaded.
That is, there is no reasonable doubt that the meaning of the 100 jihad verses in question
all promote violence against people of other faiths. The main objective is conversion
but also important is terrorizing others so that they fear the wrath of Muslims.
Do you repudiate all jihad verses in the Qur'an which command Muslims to
fight against non-Muslims with the objective of converting other people to Islam ?
YES
NO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 8 ) The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion to all US citizens.
No-one may prohibit someone from changing religion, or ceasing to belong
to a religion. No-one may prohibit someone, in any appropriate setting,
from seeking to convince someone else of the rightness of his or her faith
and seeking to win converts. No believers of any faith are exempt
from this provision of the First Amendment.
Qur'an, Surah 4:88-89 "Then what is the matter with you that you are divided
into two parties about the hypocrites? Allah has cast them back ( to disbelief )...
Do you want to guide him whom Allah has made go astray? ... They wish that you
reject ( Islam ), and thus that you all become equal ( like any other faith ). So, take not...
( friends) from them, till they emigrate in the way of Allah ( to Muhammad ).
But if they turn away ( from Islam ), take hold of them and kill them
wherever you find them ." One of several verses which deal with what Muslims
characterize as apostasy. The penalty for what Americans insist is a God-given right,
to free choice in religion, is death in an Islamic context.
Do you repudiate all apostasy verses in the Qur'an and uphold the principle
of free choice in religion ?
YES
NO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 9 ) In America, free speech is sacrosanct and, while a people have the right
to object to criticisms of their beliefs, and while others must obey libel
or slander laws, everyone who so desires is free to make any criticisms
of religion he or she wishes to make. This is considered a moral good
when one's motivation is making the truth widely known. It does not
matter if a truth is popular or unpopular ; honesty is the higher virtue by far,
indeed, there is no real contest.
Qur'an , Surah 4 : 140 "Allah will collect the hypocrites and those who defy faith -
and put them in Hell." This is one verse which is foundational to Shariah law
penalizing all forms of what Muslims characterize as "blasphemy." Depending on
the "offense" and what country such law is enforced in, the punishment may be
anything from jail time or banishment , to death.
What qualifies as blasphemy ? A few examples--
criticizing Islam
making jokes about Muhammad or the Qur'an
criticizing the Qur'an, which is regarded by Muslims as Allah's exact words incarnate on Earth
asserting that the Qur'an was written by Muhammad rather than a transcription of Allah's words,
for example, calling the Qur'an "Muhammad's book."
criticizing Muhammad, especially perceived insults of Muhammad
criticizing such Muslim practices as saying prayers 5 times a day, prostrate on the floor
reporting objective facts that embarrass Muslims, such as the fact that Muhammad
married Aisha, a girl of 6 and consummated the "marriage" when she was 9.
creating an image of Muhammad or portraying him with an actor in a movie or stage play
claiming to be a prophet
The last item makes all Mormons guilty of blasphemy since all male Mormons are
considered prophets by their church and all Mormon women accept this belief.
One or more items make Christian missionaries who express honest opinions about
the Qur'an or Muhammad guilty of the "crime" of blasphemy who, in some countries,
with Pakistan being especially notorious, are killed. Indeed, considering these
types of "blasphemy" alone, each, by American law, is a form of protected speech
to which all US citizens are entitled.
Do you repudiate all anti-blasphemy laws in Shariah , those derived directly
from the Quran as well as those derived from Hadith traditions ?
YES
NO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( 10 ) The First Amendment guarantees freedom to worship any deity of your choice.
Or freedom to be an Agnostic or Atheist. You may worship 100 Gods or Goddesses,
or just one, or none at all. All US citizens accept this principle but are free to express
their opinions if they think someone else's beliefs are wrong.
Qur'an 4: 116 "Verily Allah does not forgive setting up partners in worship with Him.
But He forgives whom he pleases, sins other than that." To be devoted to a Goddess,
in other words, is, in Islam, the unforgivable sin. Also extremely serious is 2 : 28,
"How do you disbelieve in Allah, seeing that you were dead and he gave you life!
Then he will cause you to die..."
In other words, Goddess worship deserves death according to Islam, and Atheists
also deserve death. In some Muslim lands capital punishment for these "offenses"
are de jure carried out.
Almost all Hindus are devotees of one or more Goddesses, so are most Mahayana Buddhists
in Japan and elsewhere. Taoists venerate a Goddess, as do Zoroastrians ( Anahita ) and
traditional Pagans such as those in the Baltic states and rural Russia. So do Wiccans and
most other neo-Pagans. Islam considers Catholics and the Greek Orthodox as Goddess
worshippers for their devotion to Mary, and the Mormons worship the Heavenly Mother
as well as the Heavenly Father. Plus there are normative Christian groups, like Assyrian
Christians, who adhere formally to usual Church doctrine but who informally venerate the
Goddess Ishtar .Altogether, about 2 billion people in the world can be classified as
Goddess devotees, closer to 3 billion if you add Catholics and the Orthodox.
A reasonable estimate is that , including Mormons, about 15 or 20 million Americans
are Goddess devotees of one kind or another. And all deserve the full protection of
American law as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Do you repudiate all passages in the Qur'an that demand death
or other extreme punishment for Atheists and Goddess devotees ?
YES
NO
==================================================================
There are numerous other morally reprehensible passages in the Qur'an, all of which
contravene American law and the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. These ten examples
are sufficient to make the criminality of Islam crystal clear, however, and to argue the point
that Islam in any orthodox form should be criminalized in the United States. In other words,
Islam should be outlawed in much the same way as Communism and Nazism were
outlawed in the mid 20th century.
There might be exceptions for some Sufi schools or some Ahmadiyya groups,
to speak of people who have already rejected objectionable parts of the Quran,
and as for MINOs, Muslims In Name Only, there is no real objection,
but otherwise Islam should be recognized for what it is, a subversive and criminal
religion that functions in outright defiance of American law and which is based
on principles which are totally incompatible with the US Constitution.
Islam, to discuss people who actually believe in the Qur'an, promotes
physical violence against non-Muslims, it seeks to intimidate others through
threats of violence, it promotes hate speech, and generally can be thought
of as an organized mental illness. As we all know, from daily news stories
in the press and TV, this is a matter of actions that kill people, that threaten
citizens of many countries that simply wish to live in peace, and that incite
outrages against "unbelievers" through hate speech.
To be very sure, Muslims may deny each and every fact about their travesty
of a religion presented here. About which there are two basic rejoinders,
First, anyone familiar with the fact that the Qur'an is really two books in one,
the Mecca Surahs and the Medina Surahs, can tell you, if he or she is honest,
that most of the "good" teachings in the Qur'an date to Muhammad's years
in Mecca, when he preached tolerance and a form of morality which resembled
that of Judaism or Christianity. However, in the Medina years, partly by use
of the doctrine of abrogation, which nullified earlier verses at will, of which
well over a hundred Mecca verses were repudiated as obsolete, what resulted
was a religion that some scholars compare with Bolshevism and
others consider to be an early form of Nazism. Personally the comparison
with Nazism seems most accurate given the fact that the Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem spent the WWII years in the Third Reich and organized regiments
of Bosnian Muslims to fight in the ranks of the SS , and considering the fact that
the Muslim Brotherhood, the "parent" of Al Qaeda and still other terrorist groups,
was funded by the Nazis and was their political inspiration.
Second, there is a "slight detail" called the doctrine of taqiyya -- lying in order to
further the interests of Islam. At least two Qur'an verses are fairly explicit about this,
Surah 3 : 28 and Surah 16 : 106 . The gist of things is that Muslims are free to
tell others falsehoods about Islam if they think it will protect Muslims or their property,
are free to misrepresent Islam, are free to camouflage their actual purposes
behind a cloak of good works, etc. In other words, Muslims simply cannot
be trusted to tell the truth about their religion.
But the truth is there to be seen, and anyone who so desires can study the Qur'an
and read its collection of criminal precepts any time it is convenient to do so.
Not my problem if someone simply can't be bothered to do so, or prefers
cock-and-bull stories manufactured by simpletons like Karen Armstrong.
and purveyed by charlatans like George W Bush or Barack Hussein Obama.
Islam is a criminal religion and it really doesn't matter if someone who is
famous lies about this painful reality. As a criminal religion it has no legitimate place
in the United States of America.
==========================================================
About the Questionnaire :
No-one who answers even one question with a "NO" should be eligible for
US citizenship. For a Muslim to become a citizen all questions should require
a "YES" answer.
Clearly this presents a dilemma for any believing Muslim. He or she cannot
deny the perceived "truth" of even one verse in the Qur'an since all verses,
according to the Qur'an's own words, are the presumed actual words
of Allah, and are inviolate and holy.
For a Muslim to give even one YES answer is to commit apostasy and
condemn himself --or herself-- to death.
This is the exact intent of the Questionnaire, to show everyone exactly
how unethical and criminal the core text of Islam actually is, how evil the
religion of Islam actually is, and how antithetical to most or close to all
values which Americans regard as absolutely essential --or even
divinely sanctioned.
Exactly what to do about Muslims who already have acquired citizenship status
is an open question at this time, but a simple solution would be to require all
Muslims now resident in the USA to apostasy from Islam. No conversion
to another religion would be required, even if that might be a good idea,
the only necessity would be to abandon Islam entirely and swear a
binding oath of repudiation of the Qur'an and Muhammad.
Muslims unwilling to do this should be stripped of their citizenship and
immediately deported --no exceptions for any reason.
All mosques in the United States should be shuttered and closed.
Fair compensation should be paid to property owners and the buildings converted to other uses or torn down.
This should dispose of the Muslim problem in America.
Billy Rojas
Eugene / Oregon
Former teacher of Comparative Religion, history and social science.
Alice Lloyd College, Phoenix College, Lower Columbia College,
City Colleges of Chicago assigned to the US Navy PACE Program
to provide college course instruction to military personnel on board
the aircraft carrier , USS Enterprise . Also a lecturer at the University
of Oregon, Pacifica Forum, 2008 - early 2010.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Term Limits for Prime Minister and President of India
Term Limits for Prime Minister and President of India
* Proposed Constitutional Amendment.
*Prime Minister elect and President elect shall serve no more than one term or 5 years as Prime Minister and President.
*They shall not take the oath of office for the second time for either of these offices.
Check out How different Countries have Term Limits.
-------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan
President - Two five-year terms
Armenia
President - Two five-year terms
Bangladesh
President - Two five-year terms
People's Republic of China
President and Vice President - 2 terms of National People's Congress session (10 years)
Hong Kong
Chief Executive - Two consecutive five-year terms
Georgia
President - Two five-year terms
India
Prime Minister of India - No term limits
Indonesia
President and Vice President - Two five-year terms
Iran
President - Two consecutive and one non-consecutive five-year terms
Israel
President - One seven-year term
Kazakhstan
President - No term limits; a constitutional amendment passed in 2007 will establish a two five-year term limit after the incumbent president dies or leaves office
Lebanon
President - Unlimited non-consecutive six-year terms
Macau
Chief Executive - Two consecutive five-year terms
Philippines
President and Vice President - One six-year term
Senators - Two six-year terms
Representatives - Three three-year terms
All other local government officials (governors to vice-mayors) - Three three-year terms
Barangay Captain - Three five-year terms
Barangay Kagawad - Three five-year terms
South Korea
President - One five-year term
Sri Lanka
President - Two consecutive six-year terms
Taiwan (Republic of China)
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Tajikistan
President - One seven year term
Timor-Leste
President - Two five-year terms
Uzbekistan
President - Two seven-year terms
Yemen
President - No term limits
Europe
Albania
President - Two five-year terms
Austria
President - Two six-year terms
Chancellor - No term limits
Belarus
President - No term limits
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Presidency members - Two consecutive four-year terms
Bulgaria
President - Two five-year terms
Croatia
President - Two five-year terms
Cyprus
President - Two five-year terms
Czech Republic
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
Estonia
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
European Union
President of the European Commission - Renewable five year term
President of the European Council - two-and-a-half years, renewable once.
MEPs - Renewable five year term
President of the European Central Bank - Eight years, unrenewable.
Finland
President - Two consecutive six-year terms
France
President - Two five-year terms [2]
Germany
President - Two five-year terms
Chancellor - no term limits
Greece
President - Two five-year terms
Hungary
President - Two five-year terms
Iceland
President - No term limits
Ireland
President - Two seven-year terms
Italy
President - No term limits
Latvia
President - Two five-year terms
Lithuania
President - Two five-year terms
Macedonia
President - Two five-year terms
Malta
President - Two five-year terms
Moldova
President - Two four-year terms
Montenegro
President - Two five-year terms
Poland
President - Two five-year terms
Portugal
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
Presidents of local authorities (concelho and freguesia) - Three consecutive four-year terms
Romania
President - Two five-year terms
Russia
President - Two consecutive four-year terms; in 2008, the constitution was amended to allow presidents to serve two consecutive six-year terms, to be effective from 2012 [3]
San Marino
Captains-Regent - Unlimited non-consecutive six-month terms
Serbia
President - Two five-year terms
Slovakia
President - Two five-year terms
Slovenia
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
Switzerland
President of the Confederation - Unlimited non-consecutive one-year terms
Federal Councilors - No term limits
United Kingdom
Lord Speaker Elected by five year terms. Can only be re-elected once [4] This is currently the only term limited office in the United Kingdom.
Ukraine
President - Two five-year terms
Oceania
Australia
Governor-General - No term limits, but traditionally serve for one five year term or at the 'pleasure' of the Queen of Australia.
Prime Minister - No term limits
Federated States of Micronesia
President - Two four-year terms
Fiji
President - Two five-year terms
Kiribati
President - Three four-year terms
Marshall Islands
President - Two four-year terms
Nauru
President of Nauru - Two three-year terms
Palau
President - Two four-year terms
Samoa
Chief of State - Two five-year terms
Vanuatu
President - One five-year term
The Americas
Argentina
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Bolivia
President and Vice President - Two five-year terms
Brazil
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Canada
Governor General - Five-year term, although the length of the term may be extended by the Queen of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister - No term limits
Chile
President - Unlimited non-consecutive four-year terms
Colombia
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Costa Rica
President - One four-year term. No limit on total number of terms.
Cuba
President - No term limits
Dominica
President - Two five-year terms
Dominican Republic
President - Two four-year terms
Ecuador
President and Vice President - Two non-consecutive four-year terms
El Salvador
President - One five-year term
Guatemala
President and Vice President - Two non-consecutive four-year terms
Guyana
President - Two five-year terms
Haiti
President - Two non-consecutive five-year terms
Honduras
President - One four-year term
Mexico
President - One six-year term (sexenio)
Nicaragua
President and Vice President - Two non-consecutive five-year terms
Paraguay
President and Vice President - One five-year term
Panama
President - Two non-consecutive five-year terms
Peru
President - Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms
Congress members - No term limits
Suriname
President - No term limits
United States
Main article: Term limits in the United States
President - May be elected to at most two four-year terms, except that a President who serves more than two years of an unexpired term to which he succeeded may only be elected in his own right to a single four-year term (theoretically, one may succeed to the Presidency an unlimited number of times)
Vice President - No term limits- but no person ineligible to be President on the basis of term limits is eligible to be Vice-President.
Senators and Representatives - No term limits
Uruguay
President and Vice President - Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms
* Proposed Constitutional Amendment.
*Prime Minister elect and President elect shall serve no more than one term or 5 years as Prime Minister and President.
*They shall not take the oath of office for the second time for either of these offices.
Check out How different Countries have Term Limits.
-------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan
President - Two five-year terms
Armenia
President - Two five-year terms
Bangladesh
President - Two five-year terms
People's Republic of China
President and Vice President - 2 terms of National People's Congress session (10 years)
Hong Kong
Chief Executive - Two consecutive five-year terms
Georgia
President - Two five-year terms
India
Prime Minister of India - No term limits
Indonesia
President and Vice President - Two five-year terms
Iran
President - Two consecutive and one non-consecutive five-year terms
Israel
President - One seven-year term
Kazakhstan
President - No term limits; a constitutional amendment passed in 2007 will establish a two five-year term limit after the incumbent president dies or leaves office
Lebanon
President - Unlimited non-consecutive six-year terms
Macau
Chief Executive - Two consecutive five-year terms
Philippines
President and Vice President - One six-year term
Senators - Two six-year terms
Representatives - Three three-year terms
All other local government officials (governors to vice-mayors) - Three three-year terms
Barangay Captain - Three five-year terms
Barangay Kagawad - Three five-year terms
South Korea
President - One five-year term
Sri Lanka
President - Two consecutive six-year terms
Taiwan (Republic of China)
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Tajikistan
President - One seven year term
Timor-Leste
President - Two five-year terms
Uzbekistan
President - Two seven-year terms
Yemen
President - No term limits
Europe
Albania
President - Two five-year terms
Austria
President - Two six-year terms
Chancellor - No term limits
Belarus
President - No term limits
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Presidency members - Two consecutive four-year terms
Bulgaria
President - Two five-year terms
Croatia
President - Two five-year terms
Cyprus
President - Two five-year terms
Czech Republic
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
Estonia
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
European Union
President of the European Commission - Renewable five year term
President of the European Council - two-and-a-half years, renewable once.
MEPs - Renewable five year term
President of the European Central Bank - Eight years, unrenewable.
Finland
President - Two consecutive six-year terms
France
President - Two five-year terms [2]
Germany
President - Two five-year terms
Chancellor - no term limits
Greece
President - Two five-year terms
Hungary
President - Two five-year terms
Iceland
President - No term limits
Ireland
President - Two seven-year terms
Italy
President - No term limits
Latvia
President - Two five-year terms
Lithuania
President - Two five-year terms
Macedonia
President - Two five-year terms
Malta
President - Two five-year terms
Moldova
President - Two four-year terms
Montenegro
President - Two five-year terms
Poland
President - Two five-year terms
Portugal
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
Presidents of local authorities (concelho and freguesia) - Three consecutive four-year terms
Romania
President - Two five-year terms
Russia
President - Two consecutive four-year terms; in 2008, the constitution was amended to allow presidents to serve two consecutive six-year terms, to be effective from 2012 [3]
San Marino
Captains-Regent - Unlimited non-consecutive six-month terms
Serbia
President - Two five-year terms
Slovakia
President - Two five-year terms
Slovenia
President - Two consecutive five-year terms
Switzerland
President of the Confederation - Unlimited non-consecutive one-year terms
Federal Councilors - No term limits
United Kingdom
Lord Speaker Elected by five year terms. Can only be re-elected once [4] This is currently the only term limited office in the United Kingdom.
Ukraine
President - Two five-year terms
Oceania
Australia
Governor-General - No term limits, but traditionally serve for one five year term or at the 'pleasure' of the Queen of Australia.
Prime Minister - No term limits
Federated States of Micronesia
President - Two four-year terms
Fiji
President - Two five-year terms
Kiribati
President - Three four-year terms
Marshall Islands
President - Two four-year terms
Nauru
President of Nauru - Two three-year terms
Palau
President - Two four-year terms
Samoa
Chief of State - Two five-year terms
Vanuatu
President - One five-year term
The Americas
Argentina
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Bolivia
President and Vice President - Two five-year terms
Brazil
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Canada
Governor General - Five-year term, although the length of the term may be extended by the Queen of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister
Prime Minister - No term limits
Chile
President - Unlimited non-consecutive four-year terms
Colombia
President and Vice President - Two four-year terms
Costa Rica
President - One four-year term. No limit on total number of terms.
Cuba
President - No term limits
Dominica
President - Two five-year terms
Dominican Republic
President - Two four-year terms
Ecuador
President and Vice President - Two non-consecutive four-year terms
El Salvador
President - One five-year term
Guatemala
President and Vice President - Two non-consecutive four-year terms
Guyana
President - Two five-year terms
Haiti
President - Two non-consecutive five-year terms
Honduras
President - One four-year term
Mexico
President - One six-year term (sexenio)
Nicaragua
President and Vice President - Two non-consecutive five-year terms
Paraguay
President and Vice President - One five-year term
Panama
President - Two non-consecutive five-year terms
Peru
President - Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms
Congress members - No term limits
Suriname
President - No term limits
United States
Main article: Term limits in the United States
President - May be elected to at most two four-year terms, except that a President who serves more than two years of an unexpired term to which he succeeded may only be elected in his own right to a single four-year term (theoretically, one may succeed to the Presidency an unlimited number of times)
Vice President - No term limits- but no person ineligible to be President on the basis of term limits is eligible to be Vice-President.
Senators and Representatives - No term limits
Uruguay
President and Vice President - Unlimited non-consecutive five-year terms
Friday, July 30, 2010
Jehadi Muslims attacked Hindu market twice in 3 days
Jehadi Muslims attacked Hindu market twice in 3 days. Last time on 27th. That time 3 H-shops looted. This time 6 H-shops looted. 2 H women molested. Not a single Jehadi Muslim culprit arrested. 1 H boy (Bhusan) arrested. Case slapped on 5 H boys.
Just half hr. back, again a H boy, name Jayanta Sardar arrested.
S.D.P.O. is present at spot.
Hindus are angry. I apprehend they may take law in their own hand.
South 24 Pargana District Mr. L.N. Meena not able to help Hindus. To protect the the poor Hindus of Joynagar P.S.
Hindus and their shops have been attacked by the Fanatic Muslims at Jiban Mandoler Haat under Joynagar P.S. Shops of (1) Khokan Halder, (2) Haren Halder and (3) Balai Debnath have been looted, destroyed totally.
Khokan Halder;s wife Krishna Halder has been molested.
Ransacking is going on. Police taking no action. Police allowed the Muslims to take law in their own hand. They are stopping the vehicles and checking them.
Pretext is : allegedly yesterday evening a Hindu teen age boy abused one Muslim passer by.
Hindus are helpless. Please call Laxminarayan Meena ( not anti Hindu) to take immediate step to protect the Hindus and arrest the culprits.
Tapan Ghosh
* edited
* edited
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Just who is this Sohrabuddin Shaikh?
Just who is this Sohrabuddin Shaikh?
Author: Sudarshan
Publication:
Date:
There are, really, three compelling issues that emerge from the drama of the past week. First, just who was this Sohrabuddin Shaikh and why are we being subjected to intimate photographs of him every evening on television? Second, are "police encounters", in Gujarat or elsewhere, necessary, evil or merely a necessary evil? Third, what impact, if any, will this have on the political fortunes of everybody's favourite bogeyman, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi?
To answer the first question, a bit of context is called for. In the late 1980s, well before Indian public discourse came to be dominated by me-too-Oprah Winfreys, Abdul Latif was the underworld king of Gujarat. Based in Ahmedabad, politically well networked, he made a fortune in the bootlegging industry.
Later, he became Dawood Ibrahim's business manager in the State and was one of the criminal dons to make what now seems to be the seamless transition from organised crime to terrorism. Latif was a suspect in the Mumbai blasts case of 1993; the RDX and other explosive devices for that operation landed, remember, on the Gujarat coast.
In November 1997, Latif was killed in an encounter with the Ahmedabad police. He was under arrest and had allegedly tried to escape while using the toilet. A Congress-backed Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) Government was then running Gujarat. The Chief Minister was Mr Dilip Parikh but the power behind the throne was the RJP president, Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela. Today, of course, Mr Vaghela is a Congress MP and Union Minister for Textiles.
Whatever he may say now, 10 years ago, Mr Vaghela's supporters saw the elimination of Latif as an "achievement" and a sample of their leader's courage and resolve. The importance of Latif's departure from the State terror matrix was important enough for that redoubtable magazine, Frontline, to recall it in its April 29-May 12, 2000, issue. [.] Many of Latif's cohorts were put under watch. One of them was his driver, apparently responsible for, in one daring move, hiding a huge cache of weapons meant for terrorist groups. This was part of the consignment that had arrived before the Mumbai blasts of 1993. Latif was under surveillance so his driver had hidden the arms in a well in his (the driver's) native village near Ujjain.
The driver eventually faced over 50 cases, including some under the National Security Act. He was arrested, at various stages, by the Gujarat and the Madhya Pradesh police, but avoided conviction. When not facilitating terror networks, he was engaged in extortion rackets in Rajasthan, acting almost certainly on behalf of others. His principals, the police believe, may be linked to terror-funding groups.
The name of Latif's driver was Sohrabuddin Shaikh. In most countries, there would have been relief at his death - though a legal sentence would have been preferred. In India he has become the tragic hero of a news television soap opera.
Author: Sudarshan
Publication:
Date:
There are, really, three compelling issues that emerge from the drama of the past week. First, just who was this Sohrabuddin Shaikh and why are we being subjected to intimate photographs of him every evening on television? Second, are "police encounters", in Gujarat or elsewhere, necessary, evil or merely a necessary evil? Third, what impact, if any, will this have on the political fortunes of everybody's favourite bogeyman, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi?
To answer the first question, a bit of context is called for. In the late 1980s, well before Indian public discourse came to be dominated by me-too-Oprah Winfreys, Abdul Latif was the underworld king of Gujarat. Based in Ahmedabad, politically well networked, he made a fortune in the bootlegging industry.
Later, he became Dawood Ibrahim's business manager in the State and was one of the criminal dons to make what now seems to be the seamless transition from organised crime to terrorism. Latif was a suspect in the Mumbai blasts case of 1993; the RDX and other explosive devices for that operation landed, remember, on the Gujarat coast.
In November 1997, Latif was killed in an encounter with the Ahmedabad police. He was under arrest and had allegedly tried to escape while using the toilet. A Congress-backed Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) Government was then running Gujarat. The Chief Minister was Mr Dilip Parikh but the power behind the throne was the RJP president, Mr Shankarsinh Vaghela. Today, of course, Mr Vaghela is a Congress MP and Union Minister for Textiles.
Whatever he may say now, 10 years ago, Mr Vaghela's supporters saw the elimination of Latif as an "achievement" and a sample of their leader's courage and resolve. The importance of Latif's departure from the State terror matrix was important enough for that redoubtable magazine, Frontline, to recall it in its April 29-May 12, 2000, issue. [.] Many of Latif's cohorts were put under watch. One of them was his driver, apparently responsible for, in one daring move, hiding a huge cache of weapons meant for terrorist groups. This was part of the consignment that had arrived before the Mumbai blasts of 1993. Latif was under surveillance so his driver had hidden the arms in a well in his (the driver's) native village near Ujjain.
The driver eventually faced over 50 cases, including some under the National Security Act. He was arrested, at various stages, by the Gujarat and the Madhya Pradesh police, but avoided conviction. When not facilitating terror networks, he was engaged in extortion rackets in Rajasthan, acting almost certainly on behalf of others. His principals, the police believe, may be linked to terror-funding groups.
The name of Latif's driver was Sohrabuddin Shaikh. In most countries, there would have been relief at his death - though a legal sentence would have been preferred. In India he has become the tragic hero of a news television soap opera.
Prices soar, 61,000 tonnes of foodgrain rot
Prices soar, 61,000 tonnes of foodgrain rot
Nitin Sethi, TNN, Jul 27, 2010, 04.59am IST
NEW DELHI: The government admitted to the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on food and prices that 61,000 tonnes of foodgrain had rotted in its granaries as it was kept with poor protection for too long. The EGoM headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was ascertaining the status of overflowing stocks in Food Corporation of India godowns.
Sources said Haryana and Punjab were unable to protect or sell the 15.5 million tonnes of wheat lying in the open under tarpaulins.
While Punjab, which is seeing emergence of Adani as a private player in the grain storage business, admitted that 49,000 tonnnes of wheat had gone waste, the Union government warned that 1.36 lakh tonnes of wheat that it procured in 2008-09 and 27.38 lakh tonnes of wheat procured in 2009-10 had exceeded the one-year period grains can ideally be stored without rotting.
The government may be hard pressed to take care of the grain considering its attempts to release grains in the open market have failed with few bulk buyers showing interest and merely 0.27 lakh tonnes of grain being sold after April.
Introduction of the National Food Security Act is only going to compound the problems for the government. While UPA would find it hard to reduce the allocations (and therefore procurement and storage) of grains in southern states such as Tamil Nadu which have a strong historical record of picking up grains under both the APL and BPL quota, the Centre would have to procure yet more to supply the poorer states or districts. The storage situation is bound to only get worse as government increases its procurement for the additional allocations.
In the meeting on Monday, a proposal to increase allocation to the poorer states or districts in wake of overflowing granaries as a build-up to the Sonia Gandhi-led NAC's idea of universalisation of PDS in 150 districts was discarded. Instead, the EGoM decided to sell additional 3 million tonnes of grain to APL across the country.
Nitin Sethi, TNN, Jul 27, 2010, 04.59am IST
NEW DELHI: The government admitted to the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on food and prices that 61,000 tonnes of foodgrain had rotted in its granaries as it was kept with poor protection for too long. The EGoM headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was ascertaining the status of overflowing stocks in Food Corporation of India godowns.
Sources said Haryana and Punjab were unable to protect or sell the 15.5 million tonnes of wheat lying in the open under tarpaulins.
While Punjab, which is seeing emergence of Adani as a private player in the grain storage business, admitted that 49,000 tonnnes of wheat had gone waste, the Union government warned that 1.36 lakh tonnes of wheat that it procured in 2008-09 and 27.38 lakh tonnes of wheat procured in 2009-10 had exceeded the one-year period grains can ideally be stored without rotting.
The government may be hard pressed to take care of the grain considering its attempts to release grains in the open market have failed with few bulk buyers showing interest and merely 0.27 lakh tonnes of grain being sold after April.
Introduction of the National Food Security Act is only going to compound the problems for the government. While UPA would find it hard to reduce the allocations (and therefore procurement and storage) of grains in southern states such as Tamil Nadu which have a strong historical record of picking up grains under both the APL and BPL quota, the Centre would have to procure yet more to supply the poorer states or districts. The storage situation is bound to only get worse as government increases its procurement for the additional allocations.
In the meeting on Monday, a proposal to increase allocation to the poorer states or districts in wake of overflowing granaries as a build-up to the Sonia Gandhi-led NAC's idea of universalisation of PDS in 150 districts was discarded. Instead, the EGoM decided to sell additional 3 million tonnes of grain to APL across the country.
S.Y. Quraishi is new chief election commissioner
S.Y. Quraishi is new chief election commissioner
2010-07-27
Shahbuddin Yaqoob Quraishi was Tuesday appointed by President Pratibha Patil as the new Chief Election Commissioner, officials said.
Quraishi, who is currently working as one of the two election commissioners, will succeed Navin Chawla, who retires Thursday.
'The president is pleased to appoint the senior-most election commissioner as the Chief Election Commissioner,' said a statement issued here.
The 63-year-old Quraishi is a 1971 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer.
He has held various key positions, including working as sports secretary. He was special secretary in the health ministry, director general of National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and director general of Doordarshan.
He was appointed election commissioner June 30, 2006 after 35 years in the civil services. V.S. Sampath is the other election commissioner.
Quraishi will assume charge with effect from Thursday, the statement said. Quraishi, who will be heading the three-member election commission, will have less than two years till he turns 65 years.
The election commissioner demits office either when he reaches the age of 65 years or after a tenure of six years - whichever is earlier.
His immediate job will be conducting assembly elections in Bihar later this year and also polls in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam next year
2010-07-27
Shahbuddin Yaqoob Quraishi was Tuesday appointed by President Pratibha Patil as the new Chief Election Commissioner, officials said.
Quraishi, who is currently working as one of the two election commissioners, will succeed Navin Chawla, who retires Thursday.
'The president is pleased to appoint the senior-most election commissioner as the Chief Election Commissioner,' said a statement issued here.
The 63-year-old Quraishi is a 1971 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer.
He has held various key positions, including working as sports secretary. He was special secretary in the health ministry, director general of National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and director general of Doordarshan.
He was appointed election commissioner June 30, 2006 after 35 years in the civil services. V.S. Sampath is the other election commissioner.
Quraishi will assume charge with effect from Thursday, the statement said. Quraishi, who will be heading the three-member election commission, will have less than two years till he turns 65 years.
The election commissioner demits office either when he reaches the age of 65 years or after a tenure of six years - whichever is earlier.
His immediate job will be conducting assembly elections in Bihar later this year and also polls in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Assam next year
RBI tightens monetary policy more than expected
RBI tightens monetary policy more than expected
RBI hikes repo by 25 bps, reverse repo by 50 bps; FY11 GDP growth projection up to 8.5% from 8%
Anup Roy
Mumbai: Concerned about ‘high inflation’, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday hiked its key policy rates by 0.25% and 0.50% respectively even as it said that inflation, by the end of the fiscal, will be more than what it expected earlier.
RBI hiked the repo rate, or the rate at which it injects liquidity in the system, by 0.25% to 5.75% and reverse repo rate, or the rate at which it drains liquidity from the system, by 0.50% to 4.50% with immediate effect. All other rates remained unchanged. The deposit, credit and money supply growth projections also remained unchanged.
The bond market was a bit surprised by this move. The yield on the 10-year paper rose to 7.70% from 7.67% just before the policy announcement at 11.30 am.
According to bond dealers, the market was expecting a 0.25% rise in both policy rates.
“The tone is more hawkish, with this policy statement, the downside pace of yields will slow down,” said S. Raghavan, head of treasury at IDBI Gilts Ltd.
Raghavan expects 10-year bond yield to remain within the range of 7.62-7.72% this week.
The stance of the policy, according to RBI, is intended to contain inflation and anchor inflationary expectations, maintain an interest rate regime consistent with price, output and financial stability and actively manage liquidity to ensure that it remains broadly in balance so that excess liquidity does not dilute the effectiveness of policy rate actions, according to the policy remark by RBI governor D. Subbarao.
Subbarao justified the narrowing of the policy rate corridor by saying while there is no unique way to determine the appropriate width of the policy interest rate corridor, but it should be broad enough not to unduly incentivise market participants to place their surplus funds with the central bank or it should not be so broad that it gives scope for greater interest rate volatility to distort the policy signal.
“The challenge, therefore, is to strike the right balance.”
Indian banks that used to park more than Rs1 trilion of the surplus fund with the central bank in January, now borrows a daily average of more than Rs40,000 crore from RBI due to a liquidity crunch caused by advanced tax outflow and payments towards telecommunication licenses.
“The success of the policy depends on how banks responds to sector specific rate adjustments,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at public sector lender Bank of Baroda.
“I expect lending rates to go up but banks should make sure they adjust the spread in such a way that cost of borrowing rises in sectors that are showing some signs of overheating at the same time, genuine credit needy sectors like SMEs, labour-intensive, export-oriented sector continue to get cheap credit,” said Nitsure.
Bankers were not available for comments by the time of filing this story.
In the first quarter policy statement, the RBI governor said the economy is expected to grow at 8.5% in 2010-11 against the previous expectation of 8% and said he expected headline inflation to rise to 6% from 5.5% for the same period.
“The dominant concern that has shaped the monetary policy stance in this review is high inflation,” Subbarao said in his first quarter policy statement.
“… with growth taking firm hold, the balance of policy stance has to shift decisively to containing inflation and anchoring inflationary expectations,” he said.
“Inflationary pressures have exacerbated and become generalized, with demand-side pressures clearly evident.
“Inflationary expectations also remain at an elevated level. Given the spread and persistence of inflation, demand-side inflationary pressures need to be contained.”
In sync with other global central banks, from now onwards, RBI will be conducting mid-quarter policy reviews, that is review every one-and-a half month after each quarterly review.
“As per schedule, mid-quarter reviews will be in June, September, December and March. They will be by way of a press release, which will provide a rationale for either action or maintenance of the status quo,” Subbarao said.
In the policy statement, the governor said that the recovery has consolidated and is becoming increasingly broad-based and there are some concerns about capacity constraints being reached over a wide range of sectors. Monsoon so far, too, has been “significantly better than during last year.”
The double-digit growth in the index of industrial production, or IIP, continued during the current financial year with April and May recording a year-on-year growth of 14% with as many as fifteen out of the seventeen industry groups showing positive growth.
However, the current inflation scenario remains “worrisome”. While the wholesale price based index has been in double digits since February 2010, inflation, as measured by year-on-year variation in WPI, rose to 10.6% in June from 10.2% a month ago and a revised estimate for March and April pegs the inflation at 11% and 11.2% respectively.
RBI said deregulation in prices of petroleum is welcome for the long run but will have an inflationary impact in the short term. If the global crude oil prices remain stable, the immediate impact on inflation will be about 1% “with second round effects coming through in the months ahead.”
RBI pointed out that a potential slowdown in capital inflows is a significant risk as India’s rapid recovery has resulted in a widening of the current account deficit, as imports have grown faster than exports, in this scenario, if there is a slowdown in capital flow, “apart from narrowing the comfortable buffer between the current account deficit and net capital inflows, this may constrain domestic investment, which is critical to achieving and sustaining high growth rates.”
anup.r@livemint.com
RBI hikes repo by 25 bps, reverse repo by 50 bps; FY11 GDP growth projection up to 8.5% from 8%
Anup Roy
Mumbai: Concerned about ‘high inflation’, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday hiked its key policy rates by 0.25% and 0.50% respectively even as it said that inflation, by the end of the fiscal, will be more than what it expected earlier.
RBI hiked the repo rate, or the rate at which it injects liquidity in the system, by 0.25% to 5.75% and reverse repo rate, or the rate at which it drains liquidity from the system, by 0.50% to 4.50% with immediate effect. All other rates remained unchanged. The deposit, credit and money supply growth projections also remained unchanged.
The bond market was a bit surprised by this move. The yield on the 10-year paper rose to 7.70% from 7.67% just before the policy announcement at 11.30 am.
According to bond dealers, the market was expecting a 0.25% rise in both policy rates.
“The tone is more hawkish, with this policy statement, the downside pace of yields will slow down,” said S. Raghavan, head of treasury at IDBI Gilts Ltd.
Raghavan expects 10-year bond yield to remain within the range of 7.62-7.72% this week.
The stance of the policy, according to RBI, is intended to contain inflation and anchor inflationary expectations, maintain an interest rate regime consistent with price, output and financial stability and actively manage liquidity to ensure that it remains broadly in balance so that excess liquidity does not dilute the effectiveness of policy rate actions, according to the policy remark by RBI governor D. Subbarao.
Subbarao justified the narrowing of the policy rate corridor by saying while there is no unique way to determine the appropriate width of the policy interest rate corridor, but it should be broad enough not to unduly incentivise market participants to place their surplus funds with the central bank or it should not be so broad that it gives scope for greater interest rate volatility to distort the policy signal.
“The challenge, therefore, is to strike the right balance.”
Indian banks that used to park more than Rs1 trilion of the surplus fund with the central bank in January, now borrows a daily average of more than Rs40,000 crore from RBI due to a liquidity crunch caused by advanced tax outflow and payments towards telecommunication licenses.
“The success of the policy depends on how banks responds to sector specific rate adjustments,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at public sector lender Bank of Baroda.
“I expect lending rates to go up but banks should make sure they adjust the spread in such a way that cost of borrowing rises in sectors that are showing some signs of overheating at the same time, genuine credit needy sectors like SMEs, labour-intensive, export-oriented sector continue to get cheap credit,” said Nitsure.
Bankers were not available for comments by the time of filing this story.
In the first quarter policy statement, the RBI governor said the economy is expected to grow at 8.5% in 2010-11 against the previous expectation of 8% and said he expected headline inflation to rise to 6% from 5.5% for the same period.
“The dominant concern that has shaped the monetary policy stance in this review is high inflation,” Subbarao said in his first quarter policy statement.
“… with growth taking firm hold, the balance of policy stance has to shift decisively to containing inflation and anchoring inflationary expectations,” he said.
“Inflationary pressures have exacerbated and become generalized, with demand-side pressures clearly evident.
“Inflationary expectations also remain at an elevated level. Given the spread and persistence of inflation, demand-side inflationary pressures need to be contained.”
In sync with other global central banks, from now onwards, RBI will be conducting mid-quarter policy reviews, that is review every one-and-a half month after each quarterly review.
“As per schedule, mid-quarter reviews will be in June, September, December and March. They will be by way of a press release, which will provide a rationale for either action or maintenance of the status quo,” Subbarao said.
In the policy statement, the governor said that the recovery has consolidated and is becoming increasingly broad-based and there are some concerns about capacity constraints being reached over a wide range of sectors. Monsoon so far, too, has been “significantly better than during last year.”
The double-digit growth in the index of industrial production, or IIP, continued during the current financial year with April and May recording a year-on-year growth of 14% with as many as fifteen out of the seventeen industry groups showing positive growth.
However, the current inflation scenario remains “worrisome”. While the wholesale price based index has been in double digits since February 2010, inflation, as measured by year-on-year variation in WPI, rose to 10.6% in June from 10.2% a month ago and a revised estimate for March and April pegs the inflation at 11% and 11.2% respectively.
RBI said deregulation in prices of petroleum is welcome for the long run but will have an inflationary impact in the short term. If the global crude oil prices remain stable, the immediate impact on inflation will be about 1% “with second round effects coming through in the months ahead.”
RBI pointed out that a potential slowdown in capital inflows is a significant risk as India’s rapid recovery has resulted in a widening of the current account deficit, as imports have grown faster than exports, in this scenario, if there is a slowdown in capital flow, “apart from narrowing the comfortable buffer between the current account deficit and net capital inflows, this may constrain domestic investment, which is critical to achieving and sustaining high growth rates.”
anup.r@livemint.com
Sri Jayendra Saraswati as a “great son of the soil”:Somnath Chatterjee
Sri Jayendra Saraswati as a “great son of the soil”:Somnath Chatterjee
Describing Sri Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi, as a “great son of the soil”, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today asked him to guide the country towards the “right path”.
“His holiness is among the greatest sons of India. He has spent his entire life for the sake of humanity. I appeal to him to guide the country so that people are on the right path,” Chatterjee said while accepting the Sri Chandrasekharandra Saraswati National Eminence Award.
Saying the country was “losing direction”, Chatterjee, who was expelled from the CPI(M) last year added, “I often wonder where the country is going. Even after 60 years of Independence we hear of farmers’ suicides. This is a national shame.”
Chatterjee, who received Rs 2.50 lakh as part of the award, said he would utilise it to set up a girl’s college in his former constituency Bolpur
Describing Sri Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchi, as a “great son of the soil”, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today asked him to guide the country towards the “right path”.
“His holiness is among the greatest sons of India. He has spent his entire life for the sake of humanity. I appeal to him to guide the country so that people are on the right path,” Chatterjee said while accepting the Sri Chandrasekharandra Saraswati National Eminence Award.
Saying the country was “losing direction”, Chatterjee, who was expelled from the CPI(M) last year added, “I often wonder where the country is going. Even after 60 years of Independence we hear of farmers’ suicides. This is a national shame.”
Chatterjee, who received Rs 2.50 lakh as part of the award, said he would utilise it to set up a girl’s college in his former constituency Bolpur
Hindu-Muslim just like Ram & Laxman, says Shankaracharya
Especially, when both sides join hands for the society, unlike politicians who bring Sants or Ulema for political mileage.
The Shankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati, said that Hindus and Muslims in India have always been like Lord Rama and Laxman and the distance that came up between the communities in the last couple of decades must be bridged back again.
"The mothers of Ram and Laxman were different [Kaushalya and Sumitra], yet the love among Dashrath's sons was unparalleled while Bali and Sugriv were born to the same mother but were enemies", he said referring to Hindu epic Ramayana.
Muftis, Qazis and other Ulema honoured Shankaracharya. Imam Organisation office-bearers said that all issues can be sorted out if religious leaders and community members come together for discussion rather than letting politicians take charge. Sanskrit mantras were chanted along with echos of Allah-O-Akbar in the same function.
All this may be dismissed as rhetoric but the truth is that the mainstream Hindu leaders like Shankaracharyas never got swayed by the right-wing political movements including the Hindutva wave. Else the frenzy created in the 80s-90s may have acquired another level.
It is to their credit, just like some of the major Islamic seminaries who remained calm during the movement. The speakers urged the gathering to revive the ganga-jumni culture and celebrate each others' festivals. The era when Hindus made tazias and Muslims helped in making the Dol, should be recreated.
One of the Shankaracharya's trust in Ayodhya is working for the benefit of Muslims also. He announced that another trust would be soon established to help unemployed Muslim youths through vocational training and assistance for entrepreneurship.
Even cynics must accept that such events do send a message to members of both communities. Jayendra Saraswati is the head of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Tamil Nadu. The event was organised to mark his 75th birthday.
Sankararaman murder case adjourned to August
Sankararaman murder case adjourned to August
PTI First Published : 09 Jul 2010 09:05:47 PM ISTLast Updated : 09 Jul 2010 09:14:46 PM IST
PUDUCHERRY: Hearing in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi are the main accused, was today adjourned to August 13.
Only five of the 24 accused were present and the absentees included the two seers when the case came up before Family court judge T Ramaswamy, who is holding Additional charge of the post of Principal District and Sessions Judge following retirement of the previous incumbent D.Krishnaraja recently.
Court sources told PTI that the bail plea of Ravi Subramanian, who was present, would be taken up on July 14.
He turned hostile during examination of witnesses on January 21 this year contradicting his statements made before the court in Chengalpattu and before police.
The prosecution had moved a petition seeking to declare Ravi Subramanian, an approver and the only witness who was declared hostile, as one of the accused in the case.
Sankararaman, manager of Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram, was allegedly murdered on the premises of the temple on September 3, 2004. The two seers have been charged with criminal conspiracy and murder.
So far 95 witnesses have been examined since commencement of the trial here after the Supreme Court shifted the case from Chengalpattu district court on a petition filed by Jayendra Saraswathi in October 2005. Fifty-two witnesses have turned hostile.
http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/sankararaman-murder-case-adjourned-to-august/188432.html
PTI First Published : 09 Jul 2010 09:05:47 PM ISTLast Updated : 09 Jul 2010 09:14:46 PM IST
PUDUCHERRY: Hearing in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi are the main accused, was today adjourned to August 13.
Only five of the 24 accused were present and the absentees included the two seers when the case came up before Family court judge T Ramaswamy, who is holding Additional charge of the post of Principal District and Sessions Judge following retirement of the previous incumbent D.Krishnaraja recently.
Court sources told PTI that the bail plea of Ravi Subramanian, who was present, would be taken up on July 14.
He turned hostile during examination of witnesses on January 21 this year contradicting his statements made before the court in Chengalpattu and before police.
The prosecution had moved a petition seeking to declare Ravi Subramanian, an approver and the only witness who was declared hostile, as one of the accused in the case.
Sankararaman, manager of Varadarajaperumal temple in Kancheepuram, was allegedly murdered on the premises of the temple on September 3, 2004. The two seers have been charged with criminal conspiracy and murder.
So far 95 witnesses have been examined since commencement of the trial here after the Supreme Court shifted the case from Chengalpattu district court on a petition filed by Jayendra Saraswathi in October 2005. Fifty-two witnesses have turned hostile.
http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/sankararaman-murder-case-adjourned-to-august/188432.html
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
"Jagan Can't Win Without Cong Name"
"Jagan Can't Win Without Cong Name"
MLA Shankar Rao challenged Jagan to resign from his seat and contest again without invoking the Congress party's name.
14th Jul, 2010: Senior Congress leader and MLA Shankar Rao on Tuesday challenged Jagan to resign from his seat and contest again without invoking the Congress party's name or the Nehru-Gandhi family's name.
Talking to media persons, the senior MLA said that not only Jagan, but also all the Congress leaders in the country won because of their affiliation to the Congress party. He said that he was willing to resign from his seat if Jagan wins without the backing of the party.
Shankar Rao also raised the issue of the involvement in illegal mining activities by the YSR family members.
He alleged that the son-in-law of former chief minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Brother Anil, was earning hundreds of crores of rupees from illegal mining activities in Telangana region.
Shankar Rao said that he will soon present proof of Brother Anil's involvement.
Brother Anil is the owner of Rakshana Steels Limited, a company which gained rights to mine for ore in Telangana.
Courtesy: INN News
MLA Shankar Rao challenged Jagan to resign from his seat and contest again without invoking the Congress party's name.
14th Jul, 2010: Senior Congress leader and MLA Shankar Rao on Tuesday challenged Jagan to resign from his seat and contest again without invoking the Congress party's name or the Nehru-Gandhi family's name.
Talking to media persons, the senior MLA said that not only Jagan, but also all the Congress leaders in the country won because of their affiliation to the Congress party. He said that he was willing to resign from his seat if Jagan wins without the backing of the party.
Shankar Rao also raised the issue of the involvement in illegal mining activities by the YSR family members.
He alleged that the son-in-law of former chief minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Brother Anil, was earning hundreds of crores of rupees from illegal mining activities in Telangana region.
Shankar Rao said that he will soon present proof of Brother Anil's involvement.
Brother Anil is the owner of Rakshana Steels Limited, a company which gained rights to mine for ore in Telangana.
Courtesy: INN News
TRS win rests solely on high poll turnout
TRS win rests solely on high poll turnout B. KRISHNA PRASAD, DC | KARIMNAGAR
With just hours left for polling in the 12 Assembly segments in the Telangana region, the Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) is desperately trying to increase its poll percentage.
Past experience has shown that only a high poll percentage can boost the chances of the TRS. Any drop in the voter turnout will be disastrous for the party that has literally forced this byelection.
Thousands of vehicles have been reserved in Korutla, Dharmapuri, Sircilla and Vemulawada constituencies to ferry people to polling booths. But with the agricultural season at its busiest, farm workers are not willing to lose a day’s wage, which amounts to Rs 200 per day now given the acute shortage of labour.
“The TRS has already made it clear that it will not pay for the votes. How can we miss our work waiting in queues to vote?” asks Mr Narsimhulu, a farm labour in Sircilla.
Moreover, with the return of the ballot paper, polling in the five Assembly constituencies will take up a lot of time. There are more than
64 candidates in the fray and the polling agent for each candidate has to be satisfied that each voter is genuine. In the last elections, Huzurabad recorded a polling percentage of 71.34, followed by 66.96 per cent in Korutla, 65.90 per cent in Vemulawada, 65.71 per cent in Dharmapuri, and 64.49 per cent in Sircilla.
The TRS candidates won in all five segments. The polling percentage was only 39.8 in Nizamabad Urban from where the BJP candidate won.
The Congress and Telugu Desam too have a strong voter base in the region with nearly 30 per cent of the traditional vote bank.
Meanwhile, the district superintendent of police, Mr N. Sivasankar Reddy, has announced that the police will take stern action against political parties that transport voters.
*DC
With just hours left for polling in the 12 Assembly segments in the Telangana region, the Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) is desperately trying to increase its poll percentage.
Past experience has shown that only a high poll percentage can boost the chances of the TRS. Any drop in the voter turnout will be disastrous for the party that has literally forced this byelection.
Thousands of vehicles have been reserved in Korutla, Dharmapuri, Sircilla and Vemulawada constituencies to ferry people to polling booths. But with the agricultural season at its busiest, farm workers are not willing to lose a day’s wage, which amounts to Rs 200 per day now given the acute shortage of labour.
“The TRS has already made it clear that it will not pay for the votes. How can we miss our work waiting in queues to vote?” asks Mr Narsimhulu, a farm labour in Sircilla.
Moreover, with the return of the ballot paper, polling in the five Assembly constituencies will take up a lot of time. There are more than
64 candidates in the fray and the polling agent for each candidate has to be satisfied that each voter is genuine. In the last elections, Huzurabad recorded a polling percentage of 71.34, followed by 66.96 per cent in Korutla, 65.90 per cent in Vemulawada, 65.71 per cent in Dharmapuri, and 64.49 per cent in Sircilla.
The TRS candidates won in all five segments. The polling percentage was only 39.8 in Nizamabad Urban from where the BJP candidate won.
The Congress and Telugu Desam too have a strong voter base in the region with nearly 30 per cent of the traditional vote bank.
Meanwhile, the district superintendent of police, Mr N. Sivasankar Reddy, has announced that the police will take stern action against political parties that transport voters.
*DC
POLL BONANZA Money attached to T-voters slips
POLL BONANZA Money attached to T-voters slips
C.R. GOWRI SHANKER and NARENDER PULLOOR DC | NIZAMABAD
Bypolls to 12 seats in Telangana will be held from 8 am today. No party has complained about the cash gifts since they don't want to displease voters.
: Throwing all rule to the winds and subverting the model code of conduct, a prominent political party distributed copious amounts of cash among poor voters to ‘buy’ their mandate in the bypolls scheduled for Tuesday.
Slum-dwellers who came home after their day’s work were thrilled to find a Rs 1,000 note attached to the voter slips dropped through their doors and windows.
The constituency is witnessing a prestigious battle between the APCC president, Mr D. Srinivas, the BJP's Mr E. Lakshminarayana and the Telugu Desam candidate, Mr Narsa Reddy.
Interestingly, none of the political parties have bothered to complain about the cash gifts given by their rivals since they don't want to earn the ire of povertystricken voters who are happy at the windfall.
Not only that, heavy betting worth lakhs of rupees is also on among bookies on who will be the winner, with most plumping in favour of Mr Srinivas.
Betting is also on in Mancherial and Sirpur constituencies.
The `free cash gift' is the animated topic of discussion in every locality, roadside tea stalls, hotels and offices on election eve.
Some poor families have used the cash to clear their petty debts while others made essential purchases.
Free liquor has also reached most `eligible' voters.
"They have distributed Rs 1,000 per household along with voters slip," said Mr Ramulu, a labourer with family of six, while talking to this correspondent. Distribution of cash and liquor is unabated despite `strict' police supervision in the entire town. In fact, there have even been complaints about `bias' in the distribution of cash with some `beneficiaries' saying that it was not fair to give Rs 1,000 to a family of two as well as a family of six.
It is learnt that leaders had also paid each self-help group Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 depending on their strength. Some political leaders have gifted amounts ranging up to Rs 5 lakh to caste organisations in the run up to the bypolls.
In some areas, SHGs got up to Rs 20,000. Mr Sattaiah, who lives in a weaker section colony, was heard complaining to a party leader that 150 households had been missed in cash distribution. “They are our pucca voters and we will lose them if you don’t provide cash,” he said openly.
The cash distribution has been done carefully through trusted local leaders and family members.
Different brands of liquor were sent to caste organisations, youth clubs and trade unions.
“Our youth club got Rs 20,000 from a candidate,” said Mr Narasimlu of Ambedkar Colony. “We distributed the amount to all the members proportionately.” Those members of the youth club who took part in the campaign got Rs 200 per day, apart from biriyani and beer.
Ms Sulochana, a housewife of Kotagally, said, “Such bypolls will give us some relief from financial difficulties... But money will not have any impact on our vote. We will vote as we wish.”
*dc
C.R. GOWRI SHANKER and NARENDER PULLOOR DC | NIZAMABAD
Bypolls to 12 seats in Telangana will be held from 8 am today. No party has complained about the cash gifts since they don't want to displease voters.
: Throwing all rule to the winds and subverting the model code of conduct, a prominent political party distributed copious amounts of cash among poor voters to ‘buy’ their mandate in the bypolls scheduled for Tuesday.
Slum-dwellers who came home after their day’s work were thrilled to find a Rs 1,000 note attached to the voter slips dropped through their doors and windows.
The constituency is witnessing a prestigious battle between the APCC president, Mr D. Srinivas, the BJP's Mr E. Lakshminarayana and the Telugu Desam candidate, Mr Narsa Reddy.
Interestingly, none of the political parties have bothered to complain about the cash gifts given by their rivals since they don't want to earn the ire of povertystricken voters who are happy at the windfall.
Not only that, heavy betting worth lakhs of rupees is also on among bookies on who will be the winner, with most plumping in favour of Mr Srinivas.
Betting is also on in Mancherial and Sirpur constituencies.
The `free cash gift' is the animated topic of discussion in every locality, roadside tea stalls, hotels and offices on election eve.
Some poor families have used the cash to clear their petty debts while others made essential purchases.
Free liquor has also reached most `eligible' voters.
"They have distributed Rs 1,000 per household along with voters slip," said Mr Ramulu, a labourer with family of six, while talking to this correspondent. Distribution of cash and liquor is unabated despite `strict' police supervision in the entire town. In fact, there have even been complaints about `bias' in the distribution of cash with some `beneficiaries' saying that it was not fair to give Rs 1,000 to a family of two as well as a family of six.
It is learnt that leaders had also paid each self-help group Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 depending on their strength. Some political leaders have gifted amounts ranging up to Rs 5 lakh to caste organisations in the run up to the bypolls.
In some areas, SHGs got up to Rs 20,000. Mr Sattaiah, who lives in a weaker section colony, was heard complaining to a party leader that 150 households had been missed in cash distribution. “They are our pucca voters and we will lose them if you don’t provide cash,” he said openly.
The cash distribution has been done carefully through trusted local leaders and family members.
Different brands of liquor were sent to caste organisations, youth clubs and trade unions.
“Our youth club got Rs 20,000 from a candidate,” said Mr Narasimlu of Ambedkar Colony. “We distributed the amount to all the members proportionately.” Those members of the youth club who took part in the campaign got Rs 200 per day, apart from biriyani and beer.
Ms Sulochana, a housewife of Kotagally, said, “Such bypolls will give us some relief from financial difficulties... But money will not have any impact on our vote. We will vote as we wish.”
*dc
Monday, July 26, 2010
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
 |
Maha singer makes all forget Babli
Nizamabad, July 25: Music knows no boundaries, and this was recently reaffirmed when a young Maharashtrian singer, Laxmi, and her troupe, enthralled the Nizamabad voters with her lilting songs.
Even though Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are fighting over the Babli project, Laxmi and her troupe from Parbhani in Maharashtra made the youth at a Congress election rally at Shradhanand Gunj dance to her racy numbers with a mix of both Hindi and Marathi songs; a large Marathi-speaking populace resides in this area.
The Congress hired the troupe for the election rally of the APCC president, Mr D. Srinivas. “We hail from Parbhani in Maharashtra and have been campaigning in Nizamabad for the past 10 days, and the response is good,” said Laxmi.
Dressed in a typical Maharashtrian sari with ghungroos like the ones worn by the Telangana folk singers, the troupe played on the T-sentiment with perfection.
Laxmi even created a song in praise of Mr Srinivas with both Marathi and Hindi lyrics. It went something like, “Netha pyra hai, sab ka hamara hai. Srinivas la vote dala (the leader is lovely and belongs to all of us; vote for Srinivas).” In addition to the performers, the presence of actor Srihari lit up the environs even more.
Several parties are hiring entertainers to help their campaigns. This is perhaps the first time that the Congress, the TD, the BJP and the TRS have utilised their services to keep the audiences in good humour.
In fact, the TRS hired folk singers to sing songs in praise of Telangana and her martyrs. It even lead a Telangana Bonalu procession under the leadership of Ms Kavita from Telangana Jagruthi.
However, except the Congress, no other party roped in actors for campaigning. But, the actor/comedian, Babu Mohan, is contesting the elections from Siddipet.
While the TRS organised huge public meetings in all the constituencies and conducted padayatras, the Congress and the TD preferred to focus on door-to-door campaigns, rallies and padayatras.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/maha-singer-makes-all-forget-babli-749
Even though Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are fighting over the Babli project, Laxmi and her troupe from Parbhani in Maharashtra made the youth at a Congress election rally at Shradhanand Gunj dance to her racy numbers with a mix of both Hindi and Marathi songs; a large Marathi-speaking populace resides in this area.
The Congress hired the troupe for the election rally of the APCC president, Mr D. Srinivas. “We hail from Parbhani in Maharashtra and have been campaigning in Nizamabad for the past 10 days, and the response is good,” said Laxmi.
Dressed in a typical Maharashtrian sari with ghungroos like the ones worn by the Telangana folk singers, the troupe played on the T-sentiment with perfection.
Laxmi even created a song in praise of Mr Srinivas with both Marathi and Hindi lyrics. It went something like, “Netha pyra hai, sab ka hamara hai. Srinivas la vote dala (the leader is lovely and belongs to all of us; vote for Srinivas).” In addition to the performers, the presence of actor Srihari lit up the environs even more.
Several parties are hiring entertainers to help their campaigns. This is perhaps the first time that the Congress, the TD, the BJP and the TRS have utilised their services to keep the audiences in good humour.
In fact, the TRS hired folk singers to sing songs in praise of Telangana and her martyrs. It even lead a Telangana Bonalu procession under the leadership of Ms Kavita from Telangana Jagruthi.
However, except the Congress, no other party roped in actors for campaigning. But, the actor/comedian, Babu Mohan, is contesting the elections from Siddipet.
While the TRS organised huge public meetings in all the constituencies and conducted padayatras, the Congress and the TD preferred to focus on door-to-door campaigns, rallies and padayatras.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/maha-singer-makes-all-forget-babli-749
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Gun Control And Self-Defense Against Terrorism In India
Gun Control And Self-Defense Against Terrorism In India
WRITTEN BY ABHIJEET SINGH
SATURDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2005 19:00
I live in India and I am a proud firearm owner -- but I am the exception not the norm, an odd situation in a country with a proud martial heritage and a long history of firearm innovation. This is not because the people of India are averse to gun ownership, but instead due to Draconian anti-gun legislation going back to colonial times.
To trace the roots of India's anti-gun legislation we need to step back to the latter half of the 19th century. The British had recently fought off a major Indian rebellion (the mutiny of 1857) and were busy putting in place measures to ensure that the events of 1857 were never repeated. These measures included a major restructuring of administration and the colonial British Indian Army along with improvements in communications and transportation. Meanwhile the Indian masses were systematically being disarmed and the means of local firearm production destroyed, to ensure that they (the Indian masses) would never again have the means to rise in rebellion against their colonial masters. Towards this end the colonial government, under Lord Lytton as Viceroy (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878); an act which, exempted Europeans and ensured that no Indian could possess a weapon of any description unless the British masters considered him a "loyal" subject of the British Empire.
An example of British thinking in colonial times:
"No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He, who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose property he is, and needs no arms. But he, who thinks he is his own master, and has what he can call his own, ought to have arms to defend himself, and what he possesses; else he lives precariously, and at discretion." --James Burgh (Political Disquisitions: Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses) [London, 1774-1775]
And thoughts (on this subject) of the man who wanted to rule the world:
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty." -- Adolf Hitler (H.R. Trevor-Roper, Hitler's Table Talks 1941-1944)
The leaders of our freedom struggle recognised this, even Gandhi the foremost practitioner of passive resistance and non-violence had this to say about the British policy of gun-control in India:
"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." -- Mahatma Gandhi (An Autobiography OR The story of my experiments with truth, by M.K. Gandhi, p.238)
Post Independence
India became independent in 1947, but it still took 12 years before this act was finally repealed. In 1959 the British era Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878.) was finally consigned to history and a new act, the Arms Act, 1959 was enacted. This was later supplemented by the Arms Rules, 1962. Unfortunately this new legislation was also formulated based on the Indian Government's innate distrust its own citizens. Though somewhat better than the British act, this legislation gave vast arbitrary powers to the "Licensing Authorities", in effect ensuring that it is often difficult and sometimes impossible for an ordinary law abiding Indian citizen to procure an arms license.
"A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie." -- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Also the policy of throttling private arms manufacturing was continued even after independence. Limits on the quantity and type of arms that could be produced by private manufacturers were placed -- ensuring that the industry could never hope to be globally competitive and was instead consigned to producing cheap shotguns, of mostly indifferent quality, in small quantities. A citizen wishing to purchase a decent firearm depended solely on imports, which were a bit more expensive but vastly superior in quality.
More Recently
This changed towards the mid to late 1980s, when the Government, citing domestic insurgency as the reason, put a complete stop to all small arms imports. The fact that there is no documented evidence of any terrorists ever having used licensed weapons to commit an act of terror on Indian soil seems to be of no consequence to our Government. The prices of (legal & licensed) imported weapons have been on an upward spiral ever since -- beating the share market and gold in terms of pure return on investment. Even the shoddy domestically produced guns suddenly seem to have found a market. Also since the Government now had a near monopoly on (even half-way decent) arms & ammunition for the civilian market, they started turning the screws by pricing their crude public sector products (ammunition, rifles, shotguns & small quantities of handguns) at ridiculously high rates -- products that frankly, given a choice no one would ever purchase.
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." -- George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm and 1984, himself a socialist
Why Citizens Need to be Armed
Curtailing gun ownership, to curb violent crime, through denying licenses or making legal arms & ammunition ridiculously expensive is based on flawed reasoning. The fact is that licensed firearms are found to be used in a statistically insignificant number of violent crimes, motorcycles & cars are far more dangerous. The certainty that a potential victim is unarmed is an encouragement to armed criminals. Less guns, more crime. Most violent crimes involving firearms are committed using untraceable illegal guns. Terrorists or the mafia are not going to be deterred by gun-control laws, they will be willing and able to procure arms of their choice and use them to commit crimes irrespective of any laws. Ironically in India it is cheaper (by several times) to buy the same gun in the black market than it is to buy it legally!
"Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You'll pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins." -- Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Mafia hit man
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside.... Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them...." -- Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War in 1775
And from the world's gentlest human being:
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." -- The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times) speaking at the "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, Oregon, when asked by a girl how to react when a shooter takes aim at a classmate
It is, of course, no coincidence that the right to have guns is one of the earlier freedoms outlined in U.S.A.'s Bill of Rights. Without guns in the hands of the people, all the other freedoms are easily negated by the State. If you disagree with that statement, ask yourself if the Nazis could have gassed millions of Jews, had the Jews been armed with rifles and pistols -- there weren't enough SS troops to do the job. Lest we forget, in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1944, a couple of hundred Jews armed with rifles and homemade explosive devices held off two fully-equipped German divisions (actually about 8,000 men) for nearly two months.
Closer home take the case of the Godhra carnage and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Would wanton mobs have slaughtered so many innocent people with such disregard to consequences if their potential victims had been armed and ready to defend themselves? A serious consideration should be given to an armed civilian population as a solution to religious and racial riots as well as other crimes. Since all criminals are instinctively driven by self-preservation allowing legal ownership of firearms by law abiding citizens would act as a serious deterrent. This will make sure that if the Govt. fails to do its duty to protect the life and liberty of its citizens (as it has so often done in India's recent past), citizens will be able to protect themselves. I'll take some potential objections and try to answer them:
Arguments & Counter-Arguments
Q1. Won't legal owners of arms use the firearms to kill and murder others?
Ans. When a man holds a rifle, he becomes almost godlike: suddenly, he has the ability to deal death and injury to another over a considerable distance -- to send, as it were, a thunderbolt of Zeus. For some men, unquestionably, this power is going to be abused, just as some men will always drive a fast car at reckless speeds. For the vast majority of men, however, this power produces precisely the opposite effect: they are humbled by the power they hold, and they become more responsible in its use. That is why, in a nation like the United States with well over seventy million gun owners, only a tiny fraction, less than half a tenth of one percent, use a gun to commit a crime each year. Also since the firearms would be registered with the Govt. along with the owners address, the type of the firearm, its serial number etc. Those (the criminals) who want to commit crimes will not and DO NOT bother to purchase firearms legally and register them. They can and do buy them from the black market (at a fraction of the cost of a legal firearm, I might add). Legal ownership will allow law abiding citizens to protect their and others life and property.
Q2. Won't there be a free for all during riots?
Ans. By definition riots ARE free for all. However, very few people will participate in riots knowing that a large number of law abiding citizens own firearms in the area. This will actually prevent riots. Riots are mostly started by miscreants (unscrupulous politicians?) who want to benefit from the chaos of riots. However, the risk (loss of life or limb) for the miscreant in starting and/ or participating in such riots, when a large number of the general civilian population owns legal firearms, is significant. Therefore in most cases miscreants will not dare to start riots in the first place.
Q3.What about domestic violence and firearms?
Ans. Domestic violence has nothing to do with firearm ownership. Firearms are merely a tool -- not the cause of violence, to quote a famous NRA slogan "Guns don't kill people, people kill people". Women in India face domestic violence even today with very limited legal gun ownership. If anything, legal firearms in the hands of women might help even the odds -- by removing the physical weakness of women from the equation.
Q4. What about accidents?
Ans. More people in India get killed in automobile accidents than firearm accidents. In countries where gun ownership rates are high like the United States (which has a firearm to population ratio of approx 96:100, i.e., almost 1 firearm for every man woman & child), Switzerland, New Zealand etc. several times more people die in road accidents than from firearm accidents. Firearm accidents can be further minimised by making a gun-safety course mandatory before a permit is issued -- so long as this is not used as another excuse to delay or deny permits.
Q5. What about firearm assisted suicides?
Ans. A suicidal person has many different available ways to end his/ her life. Firearms are just another means for him/ her. Statistically suicide rates have little correlation with firearm ownership patterns. Many countries with strict anti-gun legislation have high suicide rates and vice versa.
Q6. Are there any working systems and what are the results?
Ans. Yes, for example in U.S.A., Switzerland, New Zealand. One must note here that different states in US have different degrees of gun ownership and firearm restrictions. Interestingly the states with more restrictions on gun ownerships have a higher crime rate than those that are less restrictive.
I do not condone violence or a violent solution to problems, but there can be no justification for not letting people be prepared to defend their own and their families' lives and property. When one is surrounded by mobs bent on setting you on fire and the like, in a country where policing is non-existent, owning firearms by people will have a great deterrent effect on mobs. Of course, if I could sue the police for not giving me complete protection, then I might feel differently (but don't count on it). But by law the State cannot be at fault for not protecting its citizens -- so if the cops take 25 minutes (or several hours) to respond to your call, and in those 25 minutes a criminal kicks open your door, shoots you and your wife, rapes your 11-year-old daughter, and beats your baby to death, that's just tough luck. What about incidents like 1984 and Godhra, where the local administration and police wilfully neglected their duty to protect the citizens of this country?
Please also read the entertaining Parable of the Sheep for an explanation so simple that even a child can understand it.
As the Indian Law stands today a citizen of this country cannot even own a stick without inviting a penalty of 7 years in prison. We live in a country where we have still not cast off the yoke of antiquated laws made by our colonial masters to keep us oppressed and at the mercy of the government, notwithstanding the lofty vision of the first page of our constitution.
Harping on the few who unfortunately misuse firearms unfairly ignores those millions of us spread all over the world who own and use them responsibly. Dreaming romantically about a world where everything has been made perfectly safe "for the children" is just that, dreaming. I've tried visualising world peace until I'm about ready to have an out of body experience, but as soon as I open my eyes, they're bombing civilians in the North East or gunning down innocents in Kashmir. Welcome to the real world.
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."-- George Mason
WRITTEN BY ABHIJEET SINGH
SATURDAY, 15 OCTOBER 2005 19:00
I live in India and I am a proud firearm owner -- but I am the exception not the norm, an odd situation in a country with a proud martial heritage and a long history of firearm innovation. This is not because the people of India are averse to gun ownership, but instead due to Draconian anti-gun legislation going back to colonial times.
To trace the roots of India's anti-gun legislation we need to step back to the latter half of the 19th century. The British had recently fought off a major Indian rebellion (the mutiny of 1857) and were busy putting in place measures to ensure that the events of 1857 were never repeated. These measures included a major restructuring of administration and the colonial British Indian Army along with improvements in communications and transportation. Meanwhile the Indian masses were systematically being disarmed and the means of local firearm production destroyed, to ensure that they (the Indian masses) would never again have the means to rise in rebellion against their colonial masters. Towards this end the colonial government, under Lord Lytton as Viceroy (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878); an act which, exempted Europeans and ensured that no Indian could possess a weapon of any description unless the British masters considered him a "loyal" subject of the British Empire.
An example of British thinking in colonial times:
"No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He, who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose property he is, and needs no arms. But he, who thinks he is his own master, and has what he can call his own, ought to have arms to defend himself, and what he possesses; else he lives precariously, and at discretion." --James Burgh (Political Disquisitions: Or, an Enquiry into Public Errors, Defects, and Abuses) [London, 1774-1775]
And thoughts (on this subject) of the man who wanted to rule the world:
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed the subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty." -- Adolf Hitler (H.R. Trevor-Roper, Hitler's Table Talks 1941-1944)
The leaders of our freedom struggle recognised this, even Gandhi the foremost practitioner of passive resistance and non-violence had this to say about the British policy of gun-control in India:
"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." -- Mahatma Gandhi (An Autobiography OR The story of my experiments with truth, by M.K. Gandhi, p.238)
Post Independence
India became independent in 1947, but it still took 12 years before this act was finally repealed. In 1959 the British era Indian Arms Act, 1878 (11 of 1878.) was finally consigned to history and a new act, the Arms Act, 1959 was enacted. This was later supplemented by the Arms Rules, 1962. Unfortunately this new legislation was also formulated based on the Indian Government's innate distrust its own citizens. Though somewhat better than the British act, this legislation gave vast arbitrary powers to the "Licensing Authorities", in effect ensuring that it is often difficult and sometimes impossible for an ordinary law abiding Indian citizen to procure an arms license.
"A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie." -- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Also the policy of throttling private arms manufacturing was continued even after independence. Limits on the quantity and type of arms that could be produced by private manufacturers were placed -- ensuring that the industry could never hope to be globally competitive and was instead consigned to producing cheap shotguns, of mostly indifferent quality, in small quantities. A citizen wishing to purchase a decent firearm depended solely on imports, which were a bit more expensive but vastly superior in quality.
More Recently
This changed towards the mid to late 1980s, when the Government, citing domestic insurgency as the reason, put a complete stop to all small arms imports. The fact that there is no documented evidence of any terrorists ever having used licensed weapons to commit an act of terror on Indian soil seems to be of no consequence to our Government. The prices of (legal & licensed) imported weapons have been on an upward spiral ever since -- beating the share market and gold in terms of pure return on investment. Even the shoddy domestically produced guns suddenly seem to have found a market. Also since the Government now had a near monopoly on (even half-way decent) arms & ammunition for the civilian market, they started turning the screws by pricing their crude public sector products (ammunition, rifles, shotguns & small quantities of handguns) at ridiculously high rates -- products that frankly, given a choice no one would ever purchase.
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." -- George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm and 1984, himself a socialist
Why Citizens Need to be Armed
Curtailing gun ownership, to curb violent crime, through denying licenses or making legal arms & ammunition ridiculously expensive is based on flawed reasoning. The fact is that licensed firearms are found to be used in a statistically insignificant number of violent crimes, motorcycles & cars are far more dangerous. The certainty that a potential victim is unarmed is an encouragement to armed criminals. Less guns, more crime. Most violent crimes involving firearms are committed using untraceable illegal guns. Terrorists or the mafia are not going to be deterred by gun-control laws, they will be willing and able to procure arms of their choice and use them to commit crimes irrespective of any laws. Ironically in India it is cheaper (by several times) to buy the same gun in the black market than it is to buy it legally!
"Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You'll pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins." -- Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Mafia hit man
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside.... Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them...." -- Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War in 1775
And from the world's gentlest human being:
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." -- The Dalai Lama, (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times) speaking at the "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, Oregon, when asked by a girl how to react when a shooter takes aim at a classmate
It is, of course, no coincidence that the right to have guns is one of the earlier freedoms outlined in U.S.A.'s Bill of Rights. Without guns in the hands of the people, all the other freedoms are easily negated by the State. If you disagree with that statement, ask yourself if the Nazis could have gassed millions of Jews, had the Jews been armed with rifles and pistols -- there weren't enough SS troops to do the job. Lest we forget, in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1944, a couple of hundred Jews armed with rifles and homemade explosive devices held off two fully-equipped German divisions (actually about 8,000 men) for nearly two months.
Closer home take the case of the Godhra carnage and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Would wanton mobs have slaughtered so many innocent people with such disregard to consequences if their potential victims had been armed and ready to defend themselves? A serious consideration should be given to an armed civilian population as a solution to religious and racial riots as well as other crimes. Since all criminals are instinctively driven by self-preservation allowing legal ownership of firearms by law abiding citizens would act as a serious deterrent. This will make sure that if the Govt. fails to do its duty to protect the life and liberty of its citizens (as it has so often done in India's recent past), citizens will be able to protect themselves. I'll take some potential objections and try to answer them:
Arguments & Counter-Arguments
Q1. Won't legal owners of arms use the firearms to kill and murder others?
Ans. When a man holds a rifle, he becomes almost godlike: suddenly, he has the ability to deal death and injury to another over a considerable distance -- to send, as it were, a thunderbolt of Zeus. For some men, unquestionably, this power is going to be abused, just as some men will always drive a fast car at reckless speeds. For the vast majority of men, however, this power produces precisely the opposite effect: they are humbled by the power they hold, and they become more responsible in its use. That is why, in a nation like the United States with well over seventy million gun owners, only a tiny fraction, less than half a tenth of one percent, use a gun to commit a crime each year. Also since the firearms would be registered with the Govt. along with the owners address, the type of the firearm, its serial number etc. Those (the criminals) who want to commit crimes will not and DO NOT bother to purchase firearms legally and register them. They can and do buy them from the black market (at a fraction of the cost of a legal firearm, I might add). Legal ownership will allow law abiding citizens to protect their and others life and property.
Q2. Won't there be a free for all during riots?
Ans. By definition riots ARE free for all. However, very few people will participate in riots knowing that a large number of law abiding citizens own firearms in the area. This will actually prevent riots. Riots are mostly started by miscreants (unscrupulous politicians?) who want to benefit from the chaos of riots. However, the risk (loss of life or limb) for the miscreant in starting and/ or participating in such riots, when a large number of the general civilian population owns legal firearms, is significant. Therefore in most cases miscreants will not dare to start riots in the first place.
Q3.What about domestic violence and firearms?
Ans. Domestic violence has nothing to do with firearm ownership. Firearms are merely a tool -- not the cause of violence, to quote a famous NRA slogan "Guns don't kill people, people kill people". Women in India face domestic violence even today with very limited legal gun ownership. If anything, legal firearms in the hands of women might help even the odds -- by removing the physical weakness of women from the equation.
Q4. What about accidents?
Ans. More people in India get killed in automobile accidents than firearm accidents. In countries where gun ownership rates are high like the United States (which has a firearm to population ratio of approx 96:100, i.e., almost 1 firearm for every man woman & child), Switzerland, New Zealand etc. several times more people die in road accidents than from firearm accidents. Firearm accidents can be further minimised by making a gun-safety course mandatory before a permit is issued -- so long as this is not used as another excuse to delay or deny permits.
Q5. What about firearm assisted suicides?
Ans. A suicidal person has many different available ways to end his/ her life. Firearms are just another means for him/ her. Statistically suicide rates have little correlation with firearm ownership patterns. Many countries with strict anti-gun legislation have high suicide rates and vice versa.
Q6. Are there any working systems and what are the results?
Ans. Yes, for example in U.S.A., Switzerland, New Zealand. One must note here that different states in US have different degrees of gun ownership and firearm restrictions. Interestingly the states with more restrictions on gun ownerships have a higher crime rate than those that are less restrictive.
I do not condone violence or a violent solution to problems, but there can be no justification for not letting people be prepared to defend their own and their families' lives and property. When one is surrounded by mobs bent on setting you on fire and the like, in a country where policing is non-existent, owning firearms by people will have a great deterrent effect on mobs. Of course, if I could sue the police for not giving me complete protection, then I might feel differently (but don't count on it). But by law the State cannot be at fault for not protecting its citizens -- so if the cops take 25 minutes (or several hours) to respond to your call, and in those 25 minutes a criminal kicks open your door, shoots you and your wife, rapes your 11-year-old daughter, and beats your baby to death, that's just tough luck. What about incidents like 1984 and Godhra, where the local administration and police wilfully neglected their duty to protect the citizens of this country?
Please also read the entertaining Parable of the Sheep for an explanation so simple that even a child can understand it.
As the Indian Law stands today a citizen of this country cannot even own a stick without inviting a penalty of 7 years in prison. We live in a country where we have still not cast off the yoke of antiquated laws made by our colonial masters to keep us oppressed and at the mercy of the government, notwithstanding the lofty vision of the first page of our constitution.
Harping on the few who unfortunately misuse firearms unfairly ignores those millions of us spread all over the world who own and use them responsibly. Dreaming romantically about a world where everything has been made perfectly safe "for the children" is just that, dreaming. I've tried visualising world peace until I'm about ready to have an out of body experience, but as soon as I open my eyes, they're bombing civilians in the North East or gunning down innocents in Kashmir. Welcome to the real world.
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."-- George Mason
Give scholarship to all students
July 20, 2010: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman has said the education scholarship given to students of minority communities should be extended to deserving students from all communities.
Speaking to journalists, she said Tamil Nadu, which is the State of Kamaraj, who ensured universal free education, could not follow such a discriminatory policy (of providing scholarships to students from minority communities alone).
It is to be noted that the BJP has organised an agitation against the education policy of the State government “discriminating” other students including Hindu Dalits.
Speaking to journalists, she said Tamil Nadu, which is the State of Kamaraj, who ensured universal free education, could not follow such a discriminatory policy (of providing scholarships to students from minority communities alone).
It is to be noted that the BJP has organised an agitation against the education policy of the State government “discriminating” other students including Hindu Dalits.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Malkajgiri MP Profile
Members Bioprofile
Shri Survey Sathyanarayana
Constituency : Malkajgiri (Andhra Pradesh )
Party Name : Indian National Congress(INC)
Father's Name Late Shri S. Laxmaiah
Mother's Name Smt. S. Mallamma
Date of Birth 04 Apr 1954
Place of Birth Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
Marital Status Married
Date of Marriage 22 Jun 1981
Spouse's Name Smt. Sunita Sathyanarayana
No. of Sons 1No.of Daughters 2
Educational Qualifications :B.A, LL.B, LL.M.
Educated at Osmania University, Hyderabad and
Evening College of Law, Thilak Road, Abids, Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh
Profession Advocate
Permanent Address
Plot No. 43, T-I , Road No. 4,
Tree Moorty Colony,
Mahendra Hills, East Marredpally,
Secunderabad-500026, Andhra Pradesh
Tel. (040) 27734141, 27732060
09490667778 (M)
EMAIL ID: NOT GIVEN.
WEBSITE : NOT FOUND.
DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES: NOT KNOWN/NOT FOUND.
Present Address
14, Windsor Place,
New Delhi - 110 001
Tel (011) 23782562
9868180473 (M)
Fax. (011) 23782562
Positions Held
- 1985-89 Member, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
- Member, HUDA, Hyderabad
- Member, Traffic Board, Andhra Pradesh
- Member, Committee on Public Undertakings, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
- 2004 Elected to 14th Lok Sabha
- Member, Committee on Industry
- Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- Member, Rehabillitation Council of India
- Member, Executive Committee, Congress Parliamentary Party (C.P.P.)
- 5 Aug. 2007 onwards Member, Committee on Industy
- 2009 Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
- 31 August 2009 Member, Committee on Finance
- Member, Consultative Committee Housing, Poverty Allevation & Tourism
- Member, Joint Committee on Office on Profit
- 23 September 2009 Member, Committee on Petitions
Social work, helping the poorest of the poor and down-trodden strata of the society.
Special Interests
- Reading, listening to music, movies
- Favourite Pastime and Recreation
- Music and movies
- Sports and Clubs
- Kabaddi, cricket and football
Countries Visited
- Thailand
Other Information
- Student union leader, Law college;
- rendered about 13 years of Govt. service in various organisations;
- was a trade union leader for about 10,000 employees in SAIL , spread over 42 branches all over the country; worked in (i) SBH Compilation, 1972-77; (ii) HMT, Hyderabad, 1972-78; and (iii) SAIL, Hyderabad, 1978-1985;
- Member, (i) Fatehmaidan Club and (ii)Secundrabad Club
*http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/Biography.aspx?mpsno=4027
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