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Feb 27, 2007

Minor' hitch in govt's wedding plan

In 2004, the Jharkhand government launched the Mukhyamantri Kanyadaan Yojna, a plan to help poor, tribal families get their daughters married. But like all ambitious plans, this one too backfired — now the government has to deal with allegations that several minor girls were married off to meet 'official targets'.

The allegations are serious. The National Family Health Survey III (NFHS) for 2005-06 put Jharkhand on top of its list of states with a high percentage of child marriages.

The survey said 61% of women in Jharkhand married before 18, the legal age for girls to enter into wedlock, and 27.5 per cent of women between 15 and 19 were mothers or were pregnant.

Tribal organisations, too, alleged that the scheme was without any checks and that families were lured into getting their minor daughters married off.

Under the scheme, which was launched during Arjun Munda's term, tribal families below the poverty line were identified and if they had daughters of marriageable age, the state would not just fund the wedding but provide a grant of Rs 10,000, besides household utensils to each couple.

Over 10,000 poor tribal girls were married off under the scheme in the last two years. The government has been routinely fixing an annual target for each district, failing which the authorities are pulled up. Tribal activists say that for several poor tribal families, the offer was irresistible. With a little bit of prodding, they gladly pushed their underage girls into marriage.

The Adivasi Ho Samaj Mahasabha (AHSM), an organisation of the Ho tribe, claimed they had warned the government about how the Kanyadaan Yojna was leading to marriages of minors.

Chief Minister Madhu Koda is not sure if he should perform any more kanyadaans. "The NFHS figure has put us in an embarrassing position. The NFHS figure is more than enough to prove that all is not well with the yojna. I have to take serious action against the offending officials," Koda told HT.

A government official, who didn't want to be named, said, "The scheme resulted in some forced marriages. I had drawn the then government's attention to the issue, but nothing happened." The officer said that a 15-year-old girl was forced to marry a 65-year-old man in Seraikela Kharswan. "The girl was studying and was against the marriage, but she had no option. A powerful minister was present at the wedding," the secretary said.

Sources in the Silli block office confirmed that on July 7, 2004, a six-year-old boy was married off to a five-year old girl under the scheme.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1939667,000900030009.htm

India's processed uranium selling in Int'l black market

ISLAMABAD: India's Jaduguda uranium mines in Jharkhand are becoming notorious for the smuggling of processed uranium, or 'yellow cake', which is being sold in the international black market, according to 'WMD Insights' – a reputable US-based magazine.

More recent reports dealing with international discussions on the smuggling of nuclear and radioactive materials have said that uranium ores stolen from the Jaduguda mines in India have found their way to Nepal, from where they are sold to international buyers.

An Indian newspaper, Vijay Times, wrote, "In an alarming development, smugglers are sending highly radioactive yellow cake or processed uranium, used in making nuclear weaponry, to Nepal through the clandestine narcotic route via the Jharkhand-Bihar-West Bengal conduit, and it is suspected that the destination might be Al Qaeda."

India is being projected by some as a responsible nuclear-capable state. In fact this has been cited as a prima facie by the US to offer India civilian nuclear cooperation. However, the facts belie any such presumption.

India became a nuclear-capable state by diverting peaceful nuclear technology provided by the US and other countries to achieve its military objectives, and contrary to what the US wants the world to believe, India is one such country where security for nuclear material is far from ideal.

As a result, dangerous nuclear material that could end up in the hands of terrorists continues to be smuggled out of the country through various means.

Just in November, there had been two incidents of theft and reported loss in India. There could be many more incidents that could not come to light or may not even have been discovered by the Indian authorities.

India's lax controls on nuclear materials and technology were further exposed in a recent incident in which highly radioactive Caesium (Cs-137) was stolen from one of its storage facilities.

Similarly, in another incident reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency in November, India reported the loss of another radioactive material, Iradium (Ir-192), from Gujarat.

International community, especially the Nuclear Supplier Group, are expected to take notice of India's irresponsible behaviour. app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C02%5C27%5Cstory_27-2-2007_pg7_31

Gold exploration nod on cards

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 23: After the scurry for steel and aluminium, it could well be time for a gold rush in Orissa.

While Posco, Arcelor-Mital, Sterlite and Tata Steel have lined up for a stake in the bauxite and iron ore reserves of Orissa, a Jharkhand-based mining company has received the Centre's nod for prospecting gold in the state.

Rungta Mines Ltd, a part of the SR Rungta group, which has been in the mining business for the six decades, is expected to get the state government's nod for gold and diamond exploration soon.

S.N. Sarangi, additional secretary in the steel and mines department, today told The Telegraph that his department received the Centre's approval last week to grant reconnaissance permit to Rungta Mines for undertaking exploration of gold and diamond deposits.

So far, reconnaissance permits have been granted to 14 mining companies for exploration of precious minerals like gold, diamond, copper, lead and nickel, said mines director R.N. Sahoo. Prominent among the companies are De Beers and BHP Billiton.

Under the existing rules, the Centre's approval is needed for grant of the permit by a state government.

According to official sources, Rungta Mines is likely to be allowed to carry out exploration of gold and diamond deposits over 2,824 sq km in mineral-rich Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts.

During the exploration exercise, aerial, geo-physical and geo-chemical surveys are likely to be undertaken.

Managing director of the company L.N. Rungta said: "The state government had forwarded our application to the Centre and recommended grant of reconnaissance permit. We would start the exploration work as soon as we receive the order."

The senior official said they would undertake airborne surveys and other studies during the exploration period, which is likely to last three years.

A recent survey conducted by the state directorate of geology suggested that traces of gold have been found in Telkoi, Saleikana, Siriabahal, Dubulapal, Gopur, Gajipur, Odal, Taramakenta, Kalima, Kadangi and Samakuda areas of Keonjhar district, Suruda, Jashipur, Suriaguda, Kadeikucha and Gorumahisani in Mayurbhanj and Govindpalli area of Koraput.

Similarly, diamond deposits were found in Kalahandi, Nuapara and Keonjhar districts of Orissa.

A survey, conducted by Geological Survey of India in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Nowrangpur, also revealed traces of gold.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070224/asp/frontpage/story_7433517.asp

A crowded, intelligent tale

If Harry Potter had been born a Chamar somewhere in Bihar, turned into a Communist and then a Naxalite, had been fired upon by the police and had a chance to describe his life and the society he had lived in, this would have been the book he would have written.

The book is named after a paradox. One cannot see through stones, but if one could, what would one see? Opacity? Or a fuzzy depiction of reality? The author, one of India's most incisive and intelligent chroniclers of the growth and development of the Indian Communist movement, seeks to describe life in Puraina, a semi-mythical village somewhere in Bihar-Jharkhand through real-life incidents that have occurred in this region. Semi-mythical because you might not find Puraina on a map of India. But those who are familiar with the region know that there are hundreds of Purainas all over northern India where feudal upper castes rule society and politics through their own caste-based armies and through judicious interventions on their behalf by the State.

Mahendra Chamar, born a Dusadh, does not become a Communist overnight. His being is overlaid by decades of history beginning from the freedom movement, a time when lower castes and tribals in this region conducted their own parallel struggles—both against the British and against caste. The story of the decaying economy of feudalism and the degeneration of the ruling castes is told through Hari Pratap and his uncle-father, Chote Thakur. The lives of Hari Pratap or Harry and Mahendra Chamar and their families intersect throughout the book—sometimes through Ashok Sharma, the police officer posted in the region enjoined upon with hunting down Maoists, sometimes through Rani, the doctor wife of Sharma, whom Chamar knew as a little girl. The central point in the book is the confrontation between the upper castes and the Chamars in a historic encounter in which the haveli of Chote Thakur is attacked and male descendants killed. This is the catalytic event that transforms benevolent feudalism into a lifelong struggle of lower castes against upper castes.

There are lots and lots of characters in the book: Baguna Oraon, the tribal villager who becomes Chamar's lieutenant; Bhola, the informer who causes Chamar to be captured and almost killed during a shootout; Chamar's escape from hospital, where Rani Sharma is treating him; and Mohan Ram, the Dusadh, who turns Communist in the belief that this would liberate him of caste but finds history and society a bigger shackle than ideology. There is also Sister Lilian, a nun radicalised by her association with Naxalites, and Mahendra Karma, through whom is told the story of the factional struggles in the Naxalite movement. The novel skirts the reasons for the rise and decline of Naxalism in the more rarefied environs like St Stephens College (where lecture room blackboards carried slogans like "Reactionary Teachers, We will Have Your Skin for Shoes for the Poor"). There are repeated allusions to "Spring Thunder", the 1967 split in the CPI (M) by Charu Majumdar, and the launching of the Naxalbari movement against Communist revisionism, the power struggle between Jyoti Basu and Pramode Dasgupta and the Communist view of the Congress.

But interspersed with these 'real' events are magical encounters of the protagonists: through visions, half-remembered dreams at dawn and oral history of battles won and lost by tribesmen told by their kinsmen around campfires to 'Komrets'—which is how the tribals refer to Naxalites. The life of Mahendra Chamar and his associates is laid out against events in recent history: the rise and decline of leaders like Jagjivan Ram, the Emergency, the assassination of Mrs Gandhi, the electoral rise of the OBCs, and the restoration of the primacy of the village. But the social attitudes of the protagonists do not change. Towards the end of his life, Mahendra Chamar, a half-crazed Lear-like old man, watches assaults by descendants of the upper castes in Puraina on a statue of himself. He dimly perceives that for his sacrifices, the villagers have elevated him to the status of a God. But for the upper castes, he remains a symbol of all that is dirty, an eyesore, a dangerous thing that might talk back.

The only flaw in the book is that there are probably too many characters. Names pop up from all over the place, making it confusing to follow the lives of all of them. It is also sometimes confounding to leap from event to historical event unless you can read the author's mind and follow the invisible logical progression that ties these events together. But this is recent history from below, humbling for those who think they know Indian politics.

http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu4&subLeft=6&autono=273221&tab=r

Court told that quota for backward students not illegal

The government Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the law providing for 27 percent reservation for students from socially and educationally backward classes in higher educational institutions does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

On the contrary, it said, 'not providing for reservation for schedule caste and tribe as well as socially and educationally backward classes will be a violation of the basic structure of the constitution.'

The government made the assertion in its affidavit to the court adjudicating on a bunch of petitions, challenging the legality and constitutionality of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admission) Act, 2006.

In its affidavit, the government said, 'Reservation, whether in employment or in education, is not violative of the basic structure or equality code' prescribed in the constitution.

It argued that there was nothing unconstitutional to specify in terms of units or castes those identified as Socially and Educationally Backward Classes on social and educational criteria.

The government said implementation of the legislation to accommodate students in the reserved categories would be done by increasing the number of seats and would not reduce the number of seats in the non-reserved seats.

'The 93rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act, in no way alter the basic structure of the constitution or that Parliament has overreached its powers under Article 368 of the constitution in the said case', it told the court.

'The amendment is not only a valid and justified exercise of the amending power of Parliament, but also does not, in any manner, violate the basic structure of the Constitution,' the government said.

http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20070227/41258.htm

20% madrasa students are 'backward' Hindus not able to afford 'regular' school

Kolkata, February 24: More than two in every 10 students studying in the state's recognised madrasas are not Muslims. They are Hindus from backward classes.

Those teaching in madrasas say that a strong population from the Hindu mainstream opt for education in madrasas because they cannot afford other schools. Most of them belong to the Schedule Castes and Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The state government has under its wing 506 madrasas which are affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education. The state-run madrasas impart secondary education through two modes of instruction. The High Madrasas (where Advanced Arabic and Arabic are the only theological subjects), and the Senior Madrasas (called Alim courses which have a strong theological content).

Data available with Newsline, shows that every fourth student appearing for Class-X in the High Madrasa system, is from the Schedule Castes and Tribes or Other Backward Classes. In 2005, such candidates formed 31 per cent of all students. Last year, it was 28 per cent. This year too, 25 per cent of students appearing for the High Madrasa examination are from the SC, ST and OBC families.

"There are no Muslim candidates in the SC, ST categories. In OBC category, the Muslims presence is negligible. These are mostly Hindu candidates from backward sections. Besides them, we also find Hindus from the general category studying in madrasas. Since we keep no count on the basis of religion, we do not know the exact number of general Hindu students. But they form a large part of the madrasa community," said Soharab Hossain, Board president.

Interestingly, the theology content in High Madrasa syllabus has not deterred Hindu students. "There are two papers — Advanced Arabic and Arabic language, besides other commonly-taught subjects. Students have an option to choose between the two. The Advanced Arabic covers basic facts about Islam. So it's not tough to get through, and most students thus opt for this paper," said a madrasa teacher.

As the madrasas cater to the most underprivileged sections of society, this trend highlights the plight of general Hindus, when it comes to availing secondary education. The Board feels the presence of Hindu students in madrasas could have been even higher. "The Senior Madrasa syllabus (Class-X, Alim course) has strong theology content. This is the only reason why Hindu students are absent in this stream," said an official.

Having found itself guarding the interests of minorities, the Board is now equally concerned about its Hindu students. "We will assess the number of Hindus from the general category too. Earlier, they have been missed in figures, as no data has been collected on the basis of religion," said Hossain.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=223942

Lalu lives upto expectations of Bihar people

The Railway Minister Lalu Prasad has lived up to the expectation of people of Bihar and joined the race for development in state by announcing six new trains from the state in the rail budget of 2007-08. Besides, he has also tried to match the state government's development initiative in Madhepura by announcing setting up of a locomotive factory at an estimated cost of Rs 1300 crore. The rail minister had already announced setting up of a sleeper factory at Madhepura in the rail budget of 2006-07.

Of the 40 new trains announced by the railway minister, Bihar has once again got a rich haul of six new trains including a weekly Patna-Kolkata Garib Rath. This is in contrast to Jharkhand, which has just been given only one new train, the Bhubhaneshwar-Ranchi tri-weekly Garib Rath.

This would be the third Garib Rath from the state, the others two being between Saharsa and Amritsar and Patna and New Delhi.

The other new trains announced in this year's rail budget are daily Intercity Express train between Patna and Dehri-on-Sone, Bhagalpur-Banka passenger, weekly Bhagalpur-New Delhi Express, tri-weekly Bapudham Motihari-Varanasi Exprress and weekly Chapra-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Jansadharan Express via Siwan and Gorakhpur.

Acceding to long a long pending demands of MPs and different representatives, the frequency of Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani Express has been increased from two days a week to six days a week. Similarly Patna-Pune Express would now run four days a week instead of two days and Patna-Yashwantpur Express would run twice a week.

The state capital has also been provided with a direct link to Udaipur. The budget proposes to extends the services of 2315 Sealdah-Ajmer Ananya Express upto Udaipur. Besides, four Darbhanga-bound trains have also been extended up to Jaynagar. They are – Saryu-Yamunaaa Express, Saheed Express, Sealdah-Darbhanga Express and Gangasagar Express.

The Railway Minister has also tried to bring in new areas under rail network by announcing the survey of Gaya-Nateshwar and Chakia-Bargaia-Madhubani (Champaran)-Senhara-Piprahi rail line. Already, the gauge conversion work is on in all the parts of the state. He also mentioned about the establishment of a high axel load wagon / bogie factory under the public-private partnership.

Incidentally, during the last rail budget, Prasad had announced altogether 55 new trains, of which 15 were from Bihar.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1938719,000900030002.htm

Videocon Gives A Facelift To Kanchan

Videocon revamped the sick food processing unit, 'Kanchan' into a CTV and computer production factory in Siliguri, a North Bengal town.

Monday, February 26, 2007: Kolkata: Recently, Videocon revamped the sick food processing unit, 'Kanchan' into a swanky CTV and computer production factory in Siliguri, a North Bengal town. This is probably for the first time that such an industrial endeavour has been taken up by a company in the North Bengal region.
Videocon had taken over the sick unit of 'Kanchan' just a year back. Speaking on the occasion, Asok Bhattacharya, MIC urban development and municipal affairs department, government of West Bengal, said, "Videocon has set an example by opening the factory. The company for the last one year had rendered training to the workers of 'Kanchan' and turned the sick unit to a new factory. A year back, when CM laid the foundation stone, many criticised it as an eyewash before the elections. But, now everything is crystal clear." He added that presently 40 employees have been recruited. "With time when there will be an investment of 100 crores by the company, more people will get jobs."

According to the Videocon sources, in the next two years, if everything falls into place, 500 people will get jobs. Right now, Module I has started. Later on, Module II and III will be taken up. The unit targets to produce 5000 CTVs. This will serve as a gateway to the entire north-eastern region and Bangladesh market.

Gautam Sengupta, VP, Videocon said, "Not a single employee of Kanchan has lost job. They have been trained by us who will make CTVs and computers. But, we have also recruited a few technical people to help them. Further, we have also started campus interviews at the local engineering colleges to recruit more fresh technical heads."

He added, "Videocon also plans to set up a bio-technological park and an IT hardware factory at Fulwari, Siliguri."

Meanwhile, The Videocon group has also submitted a bid to the West Bengal government among other companies to become a joint venture partner for Webel Consumer Electronics (WCEL), the television manufacturing company under Webel. The Videocon group's proposal involves setting up of a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing unit and a finishing school for IT engineers. It will be the fourth major investment of the group in consumer electronics in the state.

http://www.efytimes.com/efytimes/fullnewsp.asp?edid=17483

Auto park to be developed in West Bengal's Uttarpara

Hindustan Motors Limited (HML) will develop an Integrated IT Township and Auto Park in West Bengal's Uttarpara town over the next seven years.

The automakers Tuesday finalised an arrangement with Shriram Properties of Bangalore for development of a township in line with its plan for modernisation of existing facilities at Uttarpara in Hooghly district into an automotive forging, casting and stamping facility as well as expansion of its product range.

The plan was accepted in 2006 under the West Bengal Industrial Renewal Scheme 2001.

The proposed world-class township and auto park, to be completed in the next 5-7 years, would create both direct and indirect employment

http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20070227/41226.htm

Maoists 'kill four Indian police'

Maoist rebels have shot dead four policemen and wounded another four in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, police say.
A police spokesman quoting local eyewitnesses said the officers were killed just after midnight when up to 600 rebels attacked a police camp.

Police say the attack took place at Khaira village in Lakhisarai district.

They say that the rebels ordered the police to give up their arms but they refused to do so, and fought back.

Bloody history

Police said the rebels also blew up railway tracks at two places nearby.

The Maoists say they are fighting to defend the rights of the poor and indigenous tribes.

Maoists are active in several Indian states

Correspondents say that of Bihar's 38 districts, 18 are badly affected by the Maoist insurgency. Central Bihar in particular has a long bloody history of killings.

In November 2005, Maoist rebels raided a jail in Jehanabad district and freed more than 300 inmates.

The rebels are pressing for the creation of a communist state comprising tribal areas in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6400859.stm

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