“We are organizing a Hindu Sabha on May 20 at 4.30 PM at Mahajan Hall Shalamar, Jammu, in which international VHP President Ashok Singal and Jagad Guru Shankaryacharya Shri Vasudevanand ji Sarswati Jyoti Peeth and Dr Surrinder Jain shall be addressing the Hindu masses regarding Amarnath Yatra. The meet is meant for creating a mass awareness on the yatra, ” said State General Secretary of VHP Dr SL Gupta. He added that VHP will execute all scheduled programmes included in the Amarnath yatra and ensure that they proceed according to the routine. “The announcements for this,” he said, “will be made from time to time.”

“All Shiv devotees, people from all Hindu religious organisations and Hindu samaj are requested to participate in this Hindu Sabha on May 20,” he exhorted. Dr. Gupta said that the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir has been requested to involve in to the matter personally and announce the commencement of the Yatra from Jyestha Purnima on 4 June.

Dr. Gupta reiterated that the 2 month long holy Amarnath yatra will commence on the specified date on Jeshtpunima, adhering to tradition. The day falls on 4 June. The yatra culminates on Sawan Purnima. The VHP has also made it clear that the State Government must refrain from stirring up any controversy regarding the date and duration of the Yatra. “These must be left to Hindu bodies to decide,” he said.

“The Shrine Board has been unnecessarily creating controversy over Amarnath yatra, since Governor NN Vohra took over as Chairman of the SASB. The controversy was thus created on Amarnath yatra. Since then the duration of yatra has been curtailed for the appeasement of separatists,” he alleged, warning that any episode of the use of force against pilgrims will lead to dire consequences and widespread protests all over the country.

“Shah Rukh Khan banned from entering stadium for 5 yrs,” says Vilasrao Deshmukh. Earlier, making a reference to the matter, Deshmukh said, “This is a grave matter. I have called for an urgent committee meeting and we shall discuss the matter following which we will decide future course of action.”

MCA officials rubbished SRK’s version of scuffle, dismissing his statements as baseless. “If that was the case, then why was the complaint lodged. If he was not drunk then what was he inebriated with?” asked MCA treasurer Ravi Savant. “It’s not worth reacting. We had BCCI officials with us. We had police officers with us. We had MCA officials with us. I don’t think I need to react to Shah Rukh’s statement,” clarified Savant.

Following the ugly scuffle, a complaint was lodged with Marine Drive police station against SRK by MCA Joint Secretary Nitin Dalal.   SRK is the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders.

“The way he behaved and the way he abused us, I will definitely propose that he be banned for life. Whatever members were with us on Wednesday there is unanimity that he be dealt with strictly and very strongly. With that perception I think they will be with me. A meeting has been called to decide on the issue on Friday at 11 am,” informed Savant.

“He abused us in such a way that I can’t tell you. The language he used was very bad. His behaviour is not acceptable,” said Nitin Dalal, who also rubbished the Bollywood actor’s version of the fray.

Baba Ramdev has been instrumental in establishing the light of Yoga and Ayurveda in both India and abroad. His trusts are now being reclassified from charitable institutions to commercial property, following the special audit of the Income Tax department. Patanjali Yog Peeth, Divya Yog Mandir Trust and Bharat Swabhiman Trust are now under the category of commercial organisations.

“Since inception we have been doing charity in terms of providing medical relief and other such activities to the needy. We have challenged the I-T department’s notice at the Commissioner of I-T (Appeals) office and we know that we will get justice,” said SK Tijarawala, spokesperson for Baba Ramdev. Also rebutting the allegations of the IT department that no charitable work was involved, he said, “The world knows that we have been running hospitals and educational institutes for long. We will fight against this order and we have nothing to hide,” he stated.

“The amendment will give a woman right to 50% of the residential property owned by her husband even if it is acquired before the marriage. This will ensure that the woman is not left without a roof over her head in case divorce is given through mutual consent. However, division of other property, money, assets will be decided by the courts,” stated sources. For the first time in legal history, a woman’s share in marital property is being made part of the marriage legislation. Until now, a wife’s right to property was given recognition, but the court decided on matters of alimony and compensation. The amendments made are part of the Marriage (Amendment) Bill which seeks to amend the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 and Special Marriage Act  of 1954.

The cabinet has also included the 6-month cooling period as part of the amendment. This is required when it comes to divorce filed under mutual consent. However, the same can be waived off only if both husband and wife consent to the same. The original bill stated that the cooling period could be waived off if either of the parties sought the same. This was opposed by both BJP, the Left and women’s rights activists.

“Government is committed to the earliest implementation of the Protocol and Land Boundary Agreement (between the two countries) that would result in exchange of enclaves,” said the Minister in a letter to Prabodh Panda. The Protocol and the Agreement that was signed when Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Bangladesh in September last year, will be subject to ratification by governments of both countries.

“The ratification, therefore, necessitates an amendment of the Constitution. Necessary preparations to place a draft amendment bill before Parliament are underway,” added Krishna, stating that these would “enter into force on the date of exchange of Instruments of Ratification” and thereby facilitate exchange of enclaves.

Panda had stated that 37,100 Indians lived in these enclaves, with 14,200 Bangladeshis living in New Delhi. This was proved by the latest census that was carried out jointly by both countries. “These large number of people of both countries are deprived of political rights and do not enjoy social facilities that are necessary for development of individuals in a free society,” said Panda.

Bangladesh has Indian enclaves spread over 17,149 acres of land, while India has Bangladeshis located in 7,110 acres of land. According to Panda, the problem existed from the time of independence, with no resolution in sight. It remained unresolved even after the 1974 Indira-Mujib Agreement or during the transfer of Teen Bigha.

The following are the main points highlighted in the report:

• Land acquisitions to be made by Central/ State governments for the purpose of social welfare projects and strictly not for any matter of profit.
• Non-usage of fertile land currently used/ being used for agriculture, to be used for Public Private Partnership projects.
• Land acquired for any purpose must meet prescribed conditions prescribed of current legislation- this includes doing away with exemptions granted to land acquisition under 16 Acts earlier listed in Fourth schedule.
• No exemption should be allowed (with most of land acquisitions taking place in sectors of mining, power and other infrastructure sectors) for acquisitions that have taken place so far under any of these 16 legislations.
• Private industries can come up on land acquired with the consent of 80% of the locals. Compensation will involve four times the cost of registered land value in rural areas and twice the value in urban areas as compensation to the landowner.

“There was fear among the farmers that their land could be acquired against their will for commercial purposes. The land acquisition bill will provide protection to the farmers,” said  Minister of State for Agriculture, Harish Rawat, adding that the government is hoping to protect farmers through amendments of the bill.

The recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee are likely to evoke criticism from the industry, which has seen favouring expansion of ‘public purpose’. This could put a halt to acquiring of land for industrial, commercial or institutional purposes, creating wealth and employment. According to the report submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, the definition of ‘public purpose’ was to be made more stringent, where land could not be acquired for making profit.

Anonymous

A tweet came from the Twitter handle of Anonymous:

Namaste #India, your time has come to trash the current government and install a new one. Good luck. | #SaveTPB #Anonymous #Censorship

— Anonymous Operations (@Anon_Central) May 17, 2012

A video has also been posted on the video sharing website Youtube.com, with a message that reads thus:

Hello, Citizens of India and the world.

We are anonymous.

The Department Of Telecom has ordered all Internet Service providers in India to block access to all file sharing websites, legal or illegal.

We cannot let any censorship happen.
This is just like what the high court in the UK have done, ordering to block all access to ThePirateBay.

We will not let this go.

We are anonymous.
We are legion.
United as one.
Divided by zero.
Ideas are bulletproof.
Expect revolution, Expect us!

Operation India, Engaged.

Currently the websites of Supreme Court and Congress Party have temporarily been taken off.

According to Khurshid, a special commission set up by the government has identified 1382 redundant laws. But the Ministry of Finance has conveyed that 700 laws out of these were related to the different Appropriation Acts and hence must be retained. Khurshid also said that there were 9 Acts that were being considered following which they would be repealed or amended.

“11 laws that were enacted during the British Rule were in use till recently and 8 have been repealed. 3 such vintage Acts were under examination of the Ministry for repeal or suitable amendments,” he added. Khurshid also said in a written statement that 199 Central Acts enacted up to 1912 continued to be in existence. He said that the central government enacted the British Statutes (Repeal) Act of 2004, to repeal definite laws.

The new policy has been worked out in association with the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund. The latest policy allows Sikh officers to wear turbans which are of the same colour as their uniform. Prior to this, they had to wear the same along with the department badge which was on hats pinned to the front of their turban. Male officers of the Sikh faith will also be allowed to sport their traditional beard, on condition that it is neatly maintained.

According to Lanier the more difficult aspect was getting qualified police officers. Hence the department felt it would be sensible to have capacity for candidates who are otherwise competent for the post. “This is a common-sense decision,” she said.

Washington’s police clan which has around 3,800 officers does not have Sikhs serving on their team. The new policy has been formulated so that Sikhs from the US will serve the US Police force. Also a Sikh who will soon graduate from the US Police academy in August will apply for the post of a reserve officer. “He has also made a request for the same,” Lanier said.

“This first of a kind guidance by one of the nation’s premier law enforcement agencies serves as a model for other agencies across the country.” said Jasjit Singh, Executive Director of SALDEF. “In other parts of the country, Sikhs have had to fight for religious accommodations. 9 years ago members of the Sikh community sued New York City to become traffic enforcement officers.”

Sikhs are allowed to serve in the reserves of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on a part time basis.

“Samsritham kevalam upanayana samskaravathaam pandithaanaam thatha devasambandhaanaam stothranaam eva bhasha ithi ya vadathi sa doore thishtathu,” said Lal as he did the dubbing in his own Vismaya Studio. Mohanlal who donned the pivotal role in ‘Karnabharam’ was gracious to find time for the project in spite of his busy schedule while shooting for the movie ‘Run Baby Run, a Joshi venture. “It is better to stand while speaking in Samskritham,” he said, which indicated his reverence towards the language that continues to live on.

The album consists of 7 songs, where Lal’s prologue is an extensive introduction. The seemingly intricate and ardous sentences were handled by him with ease. Anyone listening to the versatile artist could easily fathom that the rendition of the dialogue came after a careful study of each word and its inner meaning. The soul of the introduction was never lost.

Surprised with Lal’s performance, both music director BR Shankaranarayanan and General Secretary of Samskritha Bharathi Dr P Nandakumar said in unison, “No one will believe if you say you have not learnt Samskritham.”

‘It was his performance in Karnabhaaram and the words he spoke after receiving the doctorate in literature from the Samskritham University that brought us to Mohanlal,’ they added later.

“Aren’t we glad and content when we do feats never attempted before?” says Mohanlal when asked about his tryst with the Samskritham programme. He surprised the album’s backstage workers during the dubbing session by remembering long dialogues of Karnabhaaram which he had acted long back.