daily paper January 28, 2013.pdf

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NEW DELHI:Government

sources on Sunday said that

all options were "still open"

on the issue of the Telangana

separate statehood. The

sources said that senior

Congress leaders were likely

to hold a meeting in the

evening on Sunday. The

meeting will be attended by

Home Minister Sushil

Kumar Shinde, Ghulam NabiAzad and Vayalar Ravi, the

said.

The sources added that

Shinde is likely to issue a

written statement after the

meeting. Earlier in the day,

Telangana Rashtra Samithi

leader KT Rama Rao courted

arrest amidst attempts to par-

ticipate in the 'Samara

Deeksha' protest organised

by the Telangana Joint

Action Committee (TJAC) at

Indira Park. Following his

arrest, the TJAC said it will

continue the hunger strike.

After arrests of Telangana

leaders and activists,

Hyderabad police Sunday

granted permission to theTelangana Joint Action

Committee (JAC) to hold

demonstrations in the city.

The police said the JAC can

stage protests at Indira Park

till Monday evening.

The permission came

after legislative council

member and eminent acade-

mician Chukkah Ramaiah,

revolutionary balladeer

Gadar and others held talks

with state Home Minister

Sabita Indra Reddy and

Police Commissioner

Anurag Sharma. Ramaiah

said Telangana supporters in

large numbers would partici-

pate in the protest. He also

demanded release of all lead-ers and activists arrested in

Hyderabad and other parts of

Telangana.

Hyderabad Police had

earlier refused permission

for 36-hour protest called by

the JAC to press the demand

that the centre make an

announcement on Telangana

by Monday. With police

finally giving them permis-

sion, the JAC leaders who

had launched the protest at

JAC office left for Indira

Park. Legislators of

Telangana Rashtra Samithi

(TRS), who sat on a protest

at state assembly, also began

their march for the venue.

TRS leader E. Rajenderappealed to people from all

Telangana districts to reach

Hyderabad.

Telangana MLAs gath-

ered in front of the Gandhi

statue in Andhra Pradesh

Assembly premises and were

holding a dharna condemn-

ing the police for denying

permission. Tension also pre-

vailed on the Osmania

University campus when a

group of pro-Telangana stu-

dents pelted police with

stones when they were pre-

vented from taking out a

rally in support of the protest

towards Raj Bhavan. Police

fired teargas shells on the

campus of OsmaniaUniversity here on January

27 to stop pro-Telangana stu-

dents from taking out a rally,

an official said. Student lead-

ers alleged that a few stu-

dents were injured in police

baton charge. Police sealed

all contd on page 2

STUdenT aGe

R E A D T H E N E E D

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 20138 Pages

Rs: 1.00

Jammu Edition

www.thestudentage.com

JKENG/2012/41612

Vol. 2 No: 25

IN BRIEFIN BRIEFNorth India continuesto shiver under severe

cold conditionsNEW DELHI: The extended

spell of cold wave continued

to affect normal life in parts

of North India. Kashmir

Valley continued to bear the

brunt of cold wave as mercu-

ry plunged by several notch-

es. Srinagar witnessed the

coldest night of this winter

with a low of minus 5.8

degree contd on page 2

Japan launches twointelligence satellitesTOKYO: Japan has

launched two intelligence

satellites into orbit. Officials

say the launch of the domes-

tically produced HII-Arocket

on Sunday went smoothly

and the satellites, an opera-

tional radar satellite and an

experimental optical probe,

appear to have reached orbit.

The radar satellite is

intended to augment a net-

work contd on page 2

Maha Kumbh Mela: Largenumbers of pilgrims taking

holy dip todayALLAHABAD: Lakhs of

devotees on Sunday took a

holy dip at the Sangam on the

auspicious occasion of 'PaushPoornima' during the ongo-

ing Maha Kumbh here, even

as eight injured in Friday's

fire on Kumbh ground were

admitted to Safdarjung hospi-

tal in contd on page 2

Aam Aadmi Party'sUttarakhand unit launched

DEHRADUN: Aam Aadmi

Party convener Arvind

Kejriwal has constituted the

organisation's Uttarakhand

executive committee consist-

ing of 11 members. The

fledgling party's state com-

mittee includes its convener

Harish Arya, Secretary

Rajesh Sharma, Treasurer

Ranbir Chaudhry and chief

spokesman Satish Sharma,

Kejriwal contd on page 2

Naxalites abduct eightlabourers in Bihar

PATNA- In Bihar naxalites

abducted eight persons

engaged in a road bridge con-

struction in a village in Jamui

district late last night. Police

said that a group of naxalites

suddenly swooped on

Badaldiah village and

abducted eight persons

including six labourers and a

village guard.

Dy. Suprintendent of

Police Virender Sahu told our

Jamui contd on page 2

Hundreds Killed in

Brazil nightclub

Gadkari should apologisefor his remarks: I-T

officers body

Advani hits back,

in what a way!

Clashes between activists and police over Telangana issue'TRS leader KTR courts arrest, TJAC to go ahead with strike'

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister

Narendra Modi on Sunday met Bharatiya

Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh on

Sunday. Modi met the newly appointed party

chief in the national capital to congratulate

him for being appointed as the BJP president.After the two-hour long meeting ended

between the two leaders, both Rajnath and

Modi confirmed that they discussed the 2014

elections at length. "We discussed 2014 elec-

tions and state matters," said Rajnath after the

meeting ended.

However, the Gujarat CM didn't divulge

any details. Modi further said that he came

here to the national capital to congratulate

Rajnath Singh and seek his advice regarding

the developmental work in Gujarat. Earlier

today the Gujarat Chief Minister tweeted,

"Leaving for Delhi. Will meet Shri Rajnath

Singh ji & congratulate him on his taking over

as BJPPresident."

Since Modi took over as the Gujarat Chief

Minister for the third time in a row in 2012,

speculations contd on page 2

Modi meets BJP president RajnathSingh, discusses 2014 LS elections

JAMMU: The signs of busi-

ness along the Line of

Control (LoC) between the

two sides of Jammu and

Kashmir have started re-

appearing, and the cross-bor-

der trade and travel would

likely be resumed Monday,

said an official source

Sunday. According to

Custodian of the Cross LoC

Trade , Krishen Lal, the ten-

sion on the LoC have eased

and the routine trade and

travel between the two sides

of Jammu and Kashmir

would resume from tomor-

row.

This dramatic turnaround

came after the Indian and

Pakistani armies exchanged

sweets along the LoC

Saturday as a mark of good-

will gesture on the occasion

of India's 64th Republic Day.

The cross-LoC trade and

travel, which was described

as one of the biggest confi-

dence building measures,

was suspended after the Jan 8

brutal killing of two Indian

soldiers by the Pakistani

troops. Pakistan had refused

to open the gates at Chakan-

da-Bagh along the LoC in

Jammu and Kashmir's

Poonch district.

India contd on page 2

Indo-Pak trade, travel likely to resume Monday: Sources

KOCHI: Chief Justice of

India Altamas Kabir on

Sunday stressed the need to

focus on childcare and reha-

bilitation in the Juvenile jus-

tice system, saying people

should be sensitised to do

something for such children

who have been marginalised.

"We need to focus on this

section. These children need

our prime attention. We need

to sensitise ourselves to see

that we do something for this

part of society which has

been marginalised," he said.

The CJI, who is also

patron in chief of National

Legal Services Authority

(NALSA), said it is high time

society took up their respon-

sibility and corrects what is

going on. He suggested that

such children also be adopted

and provided homes.

He was speaking at a

workshop after inaugurating

the Additional District and

Sessions court for trial of

case contd on page 2

NEW DELHI,JAN 27:

Suggestions of the Congress

party on changing anti-rape

laws were delivered past

midnight to Justice J S Verma

leading to party chief Sonia

Gandhi tendering an apology

to him for the odd timing.

Justice Verma also said

Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh and Finance Minister P

Chidambaram were instru-

mental in forming the com-

mittee which gave far reach-

ing recommendations favour-

ing comprehensive amend-

ments to criminal laws. "Past

mid-night, someone came to

my residence, woke me up

and wanted to hand over per-

sonally (the Congress party's

suggestions). But somehow

the Congress president came

to know of it. She was very

gracious and next day she

rang me up personally and

profusely apologised to my

great embarrassment. I had to

tell her do not do this," he

told Karan Thapar on CNN-

IBN's Devil's Advocate

Programme.

Justice Verma headed the

three-member committee

which was constituted by the

government in the wake of

the December 16 gangrape

incident to suggest amend-

ments to anti-rape laws. On

January 23, the committee

submitted its recommenda-

tions seeking minimum 20

years imprisonment for gan-

grape and life term for rape

and murder but refrained

from prescribing death penal-

ty. It also suggested amend-

ment contd on page 2

Juvenile justice systemneeds focus on children

rehabilitation: CJI

NAC suggestsmeasures to tacklediscrimination in

schoolsNEW DELHI: Concerned

over discrimination against

children in schools on the

basis of caste, religion and

community, Sonia Gandhi-

led National Advisory

Council has suggested meas-

ures to the government to

tackle the issue. Defining as

to what is tantamount to dis-

crimination in schools, train-

ing teachers to tackle the

problem and encouraging

schools to be more sensitive

are some of the suggestions

made by the NAC to the

HRD ministry.

Pointing out the problems

in contd on page 2

Azad hints decision onTelangana can be delayed

NEW DELHI: The roadblocks in the creation of a

separate state of Telangana by diving Andhra

Pradesh are yet to be removed. Union Health

Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on

Wednesday hinted that a deci-

sion on Telangana can be

delayed. Azad hinted that the

Congress could buy more time

to resolve the issue.

Two separate delegations -one supporting Telangana and

the other opposing it - met Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Sushil Kumar

Shinde and other senior Congress leaders on

Tuesday articulating their views on the sensitive

issue but got no assurance from anyone.

On December 28, 2012 after an all-party meeting,

Shinde had announced contd on page 2

BANGALORE: Karnataka's

ruling BJP faces a crucial

week beginning Monday,

hoping that the party's law-

makers will not desert it to

pull down the government

ahead of the budget session

Feb 4.

The BJP, as of now, is set

to lose 13 of its 118 lawmak-

ers in the 225-member

assembly and speculation is

rife that around 10 more may

quit during the week.

The 13 include C.M.

Udasi and Shobha

Karandlaje, who Wednesday

quit Chief Minister Jagadish

Shettar's cabinet. Udasi was

the public works minister

while Karandlaje handled

energy.

The 13 are loyalists of for-

mer chief minister B.S.

Yeddyurappa, who quit the

BJP and the assembly Nov 30

to float his Karnataka Janata

Party (KJP)

Nehru Olekar, one of the

13 legislators who has

emerged as the spokesperson

of the rebel faction, claimed

Saturday that at least 10 more

BJP assembly members,

including some ministers,

would quit the ruling party

ahead of the budget session.

The 13 lawmakers have

been waiting since last

Wednesday for assembly

speaker K.G. Bopaiah to

return to Bangalore from a

foreign trip to submit their

resignation letters.

Bopaiah is expected to

resume work Jan 29. He

returned from what he

described as "a private trip"

to Nepal late Friday.

contd on page 2

Crucial week for BJP govt in KarnatakaShettar to meet Rajnath Singhamidst Karnataka govt crisisBangalore: Jagadish Shettar will meet Bharatiya

Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Saturday

night even as the Karnataka

Chief Minister struggles to

keep his government afloat

with 14 MLAs threatening to

resign. The Karnataka govern-

ment is in danger of falling if

the Assembly Speaker accepts their resignation.

However, reports say the crisis may prolong till

February first week, which contd on page 2

Congress promisesfree/Re.1 kg rice to

Tripura's poor

AGARTALA, JAN 27: The

Congress will provide seven

kg rice free of cost to the

extremely poor people, 35 kg

of rice at the rate of Re.1 to

the poor people, and

allowances to the jobless

youths and farmers in Tripura

if voted to the power in the

Feb 14 assembly polls.

Releasing the 32-page

election manifesto with 321

promises, Congress general

secretary and in-charge of

northeastern states Luizinho

Faleiro contd on page 2

Sonia was apologetic for Cong's midnightsubmission of suggestions: Verma

Extreme coldwave swings

acrossKashmir ValleySRINAGAR: Intense cold

wave continued to sweep

theKashmir Valley Sunday as

the temperature remained

few notches below freezing

point.Residents across Kashmir

Valley and Ladakh region

continued to shiver as the

minimum temperatures hov-

ered several degrees below

the freezing point on Sunday,

with water supply lines and

water bodies, including the

world famous Dal Lake,

freezing under the intense

chill.

Leh town in the cold

desert contd on page 2

JAMMU, JANUARY 27:

Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor,

who is Chancellor of the

Central University of Jammu,

visited Kala Kendra here

today and viewed the models

and conceptual drawings ofthe leading four entries in the

all India Architectural

Competition for selecting the

best design for the Campus of

the upcoming University.

Dr. S. S. Bloeria, Vice

Chancellor, Central

University, Jammu, briefed

the Governor about the

salient features of the first

four models depicting the

master plan and layout of the

Campus, providing details

about the facilities to be put

in place.

The Governor took keen

interest in the models and

drawings and emphasized

that while establishing the

various buildings and struc-

tures of the Campus two

aspects must be given extra

special contd on page 2

Governor views models of upcomingJammu Central University Campus

Governor N. N. Vohra inspecting modell of Central UniversityJammu.

Page 1_Bali_Bali_Jan_14_New.qxd 1/28/2013 10:02 AM Page 1


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Clashes between...the gates of the campus to prevent

students from coming out.

Osmania University students Joint

Action Committee has called for siege

to Raj Bhavan to press the demand for

statehood to Telangana and also to seek

resignation of Governor ESL

Narasimhan for his reported opposition

to separate Telangana state demand.

Police stopped students who were try-

ing to take out a bike rally to Raj

Bhavan, 10 km from the campus. There

was heated argument between student

leaders and police officers.

Another group of students was

arrested near Raj Bhavan. They had

gathered at Khairatabad crossroads and

were heading towards the official resi-

dence of the governor when police took

them into custody. Osmania University

has witnessed many violent demonstra-

tions for separate state during last three

years.

Police have made elaborate securi-

ty arrangements at various places in

Hyderabad and other parts of

Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh as

a precautionary measure. Police has

barricaded the routes toward Indira

Park and diverted traffic at different

places including Assembly.

TJAC chairman M Kodandaramhad on Saturday urged the people of the

region to converge in large numbers at

the protest venue. The Telangana lead-

ers were proposing to organise 'Samara

Deeksha' to take the separate statehood

movement forward. The Telangana

activists were seeking to step up pres-

sure on the Centre through 'Samara

Deeksha' to press for a decision in

favour of Telangana state.

Police had denied permission to

TJAC to hold the protest as they con-

tended possibility of anti-social ele-

ments sneaking into 'Deeksha' camp

and creating a law and order problem.

Police had said they had specific intel-

ligence inputs that the protesters may

resort to "violence" as was done earlier

during the 'Million March' and

'Telangana March' on Necklace Road

here.

Azad hints...

that the government would make an

announcement on Telangana within a

month. According to the sources, gov-

ernment is considering only on two

options out of six options given by the

Srikrishna Committee.

The first option is to divide Andhra

Pradesh into two states namely

Telangana and Seemandhra.

Telangana's capital would be

Hyderabad while Seemandhra will

have a new capital. The other option is

not to divide Andhra Pradesh and

instead constitute a Telangana

Regional Council. A regional council

will help in the social, political and

economic development of the area and

this option was also declared as the

most practical one by the Srikrishna

Committee.

Modi meets...

have been rife that he might be the

BJP's prime ministerial candidate for

2014. While senior party leaders have

always stayed tight-lipped on the issue,

few junior BJP leaders have at times

expressed their wish of seeing Modi

play a larger role in the next elections.

Even the day when Rajnath took over

as the BJP President, he said that Modi

is a popular leader in the party and he

was likely to play a key role in 2014

elections.

Earlier this week, Mr Singh

emerged as a consensus candidate for

the post of BJP president, hours after

the income tax department raided

offices of companies which had done

business with the Purti group, set up by

Nitin Gadkari, who was the party pres-

ident and looked set to get an unprece-

dented second term. According to

sources, the new BJPpresident plans to

make some changes to his core team

soon. Political pundits believe how Mr

Singh will keep the multiple factions

together and balance the interests of the

BJP and its mentor Rashtriya

Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS may

decide the fate of the BJP in 2014.

Extreme cold...

of Ladakh continued to be the cold-

est place in the state with the night tem-

perature registering a low of -18.4

degrees Celsius, a spokesman of Met

department said.

In Kargil, also in the frontier

region of Ladakh, the minimum

night temperature was -14.4 degree

Celsius.

The night temperature in summer

capital Srinagar, which recorded the

coldest night of this winter yesterday at

a low of -5.8 degree Celsius, settled a

notch above at -4.8 degree Celsius.

The minimum night temperature in

the highway town of Qazigund in south

Kashmir was -8.2 degree Celsius as

against yesterday's -8 degree Celsius.

The night temperature in Kokernag

settled at a low of -8.3 degree Celsius,

up by almost 2 degrees compared to

yesterday's 10.2 degree Celsius, he

said.

In north Kashmir's Kupwara town,

where the previous night's minimum

was -4.8 degree Celsius, the minimum

temperature settled at a low of -5.3

degree Celsius during the night.

The minimum night temperature in

Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir

was slightly up at -11.4 degree Celsius

from the previous night's minus -12.4

degree Celsius, he said, adding, the ski-

resort of Gulmarg shivered at a low of

-8 degree Celsius.

The Met office has said the weather

will remain dry till the end of this

month, with no major respite in cold

wave conditions, indicating a drop in

the night as well as day temperatures.Governor views...

attention - full exploitation of solar

energy resources and systematic con-

servation of water resources which are

scarce in the area. He also stressed the

importance of the entire forest area,

which shall not be built upon, being

effectively protected and fresh planta-

tions done every year to compensate

for the loss of 17% area under forests,

which shall be built upon.

Mr. Navin K. Choudhary, Principal

Secretary to the Governor; Mr. Pradeep

Gupta, Divisional Commissioner,

Jammu; Mr. Sanjeev Verma, Deputy

Commissioner, Jammu; Mr. Soujanya

Sharma, Director, Mubarak Mandi

Heritage Society and senior functionar-

ies of the Central University, Jammu

were present on this occasion.

Congresss promises...

told reporters Sunday that the party

is confident of coming to power,

defeating the ruling Left Front.

"Supply of seven kg free rice to the

extremely poor people, 35 kg of rice at

the rate of Re.1 to the poor people is

aimed to alleviate the poverty of the

people," said Faleiro, who was accom-

panied by the top state Congress lead-

ers.

The manifesto also promises free

laptops to meritorious college students

and bicycles to poor school students

from Class 10 onwards, waiving of

agricultural loans up to Rs.30,000 and

allowances to all needy categories of

people.

The Congress in alliance with the

two tribal based parties -- the

Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura

and the National Conference of Tripura

-- has fielded candidates in all the 60

assembly constituencies to fight the

polls against the Left Front led by the

Communist Party of India-Marxist

(CPI-M).

It said that the 51-page charge sheet,

released earlier, against the Left's "mis-

rule" would also be highlighted during

the election campaign.

"We have presented a 22-point

charge sheet in the people's court," said

Faleiro, who came here Sunday and left

for New Delhi soon after the release of

the poll manifesto.

"In the 20 years of uninterrupted

rule of Left Front government in

Tripura, percentage of poor people,

proportion of crimes, underdevelop-

ment and corruptions have increased to

a record extent," he claimed, calling it

a "classic example" of misrule.

"The Tripura government has got

thousands of crores of rupees under the

16 flagship programmes of the UPA

(United Progressive Alliance) govern-

ment, but the people did not get any

benefit from these schemes," said

Faleiro, a former Goa chief minister.

He also claimed that 67.78 percent

of Tripura's population was living

below the poverty line, against the

national average of 27 percent.

The Congress leader said that clean,

transparent and corruption free gover-

nance would be the priority of the

Congress-led government if comes to

power in the state.

Sonia was...of criminal laws to provide for

higher punishment to rapists, including

those belonging to police and public

servants. New offences have been cre-

ated and stiffer punishment has been

suggested for those committing rape

and leaving the victim in a vegetative

state. These include disrobing a

woman, voyeurism, stalking and traf-

ficking. Justice Verma said he took the

chairmanship of the committee after

Chidambaram called him up at the

behest of Prime Minister Singh and he

had not talked to Home Minister

Sushilkumar Shinde even once till now.

NAC suggests...

school premises and classes, NAC

said it has received complaints of dis-

crimination in providing seats, water

and even in the mid-day meal, while

reviewing the implementation of the

Right to Education Act.

The Council said discrimination

against children on the basis of their

caste, religion, community, gender,

family occupation, physical disability

and even giving preference to few may

affect their overall growth and devel-

opment. The Council has suggested to

have a discussion with state govern-

ments on the issue and requested for

suggestions from experts and teachers

in this regard by January 28.Juvenile justice...

s relating to sexual violence towards

women and children here. The CJI said

he had requested Chief Justices of var-

ious High Courts to set up a court in

every district where these kind of cases

can be taken up, so the child can get a

home and adopted parents would get a

child. It works two ways, he said.

There is need to create in them a

mindset that they are part of society

and have a responsible role as well, he

said, adding they also need to be

brought to the mainstream. Chief

Minister Oommen Chandy said gov-

ernment had decided to introduce the

'Kerala Privacy and dignity of women

bill 2013' to protect the dignity of

women. This would be tabled in the

coming session of the assembly, he

informed.Admitting that conditions and facil-

ities in juvenile homes and correction

centres were not satisfactory, he said

steps would be taken for their improve-

ment. The country had seen lot of pub-

lic protest after the Delhi gang-rape

incident. "We must realise that we can-

not sit idle till women and children feel

secure", he said. "Kerala has a positive

female population and we want the

state to be known as a model state

where women and children are safe",

he said.

Steps are also being taken to reha-

bilitate victims of such cases, he said.

Minister for Social Welfare

Department MK Muneer said govern-

ment had plans to revamp the juvenile

homes in the state within a year. There

were also plans to set up a child rights

commission for protection of children.

Government was also going to lay

down the framework for caretakers and

NGOs, he added. Justice KM Joseph

and Dr Prabha Sagar psychologist also

spoke on the occasion.

North India...

Celsius early yesterday.

Cold conditions prevailed in Punjab

and Haryana as mercury remained a

few notches below normal in both the

states. Amritsar was the coldest place

in the region as it recorded a minimum

at 3.2 deg C, two notches below nor-

mal. Chandigarh experienced cold at

5.5 deg C, one degree below normal. In

Haryana, Narnaul shivered at 3.5 deg

C, three notches below normal.

In national capital, the minimum

temperature settled two notches below

normal at 6.4 degree Celsius, while the

maximum was recorded at 21.4 deg C.

Several parts of Uttar Pradesh contin-

ued to reel under cold wave conditions

with temperature remaining seven to 11

deg C below normal at several places.

State capital Lucknow recorded 1.4 deg

C and remained the coldest place in the

state.

Japan launches...

of several probes that Japan uses to

collect intelligence on hotspots around

the world, while the optical probe will

be used to test future technology.

Japan began the intelligence satel-

lite programme after North Korea fired

a long-range missile over Japan's main

island in 1998. North Korea conducted

a launch last month that it says carried

a satellite into orbit but has been con-

demned by the US and others as a

cover for its development of missile

technology.

Maha Kumbh Mela...

Delhi. 'Paush Poornima' also marks the

beginning of a month-long 'Kalpvaas' -

penance by devotees at the banks of the

Ganga.

Braving cold weather, devotees

started pouring in since early morning,

walking several miles to reach the con-

fluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythi-

cal Saraswati in view of restrictions on

vehicular traffic.

Eight of the 19 persons injured in

the fire that had erupted in a tent at the

Kumbh Mela ground on Friday, were

last night sent to Delhi for treatment at

the Safdarjung hospital. Two children,

as many men and four women, hailing

from Madhya Pradesh, have been

admitted to the hospital.

Bathing on 'Paush Poornima' is not

a 'Shahi Snan' which means this festi-

val is without the razzmatazz witnessed

here during grand processions of vari-

ous akharas. Nevertheless, the steady

stream of devotees including women

and children despite chilly conditions

presented an impressive spectacle.

'Kalpavasis', will stay on the banksof the Ganga not far from the holy con-

fluence, and take holy dips thrice a day

but meals only once. They will be

sleeping on bare earth with plain-look-

ing and often shabby tents over their

heads, and their austerity presents a

remarkable contrast to the grandeur

with which the akharas and other reli-

gious leaders conduct their affairs.

Aam Aadmi Party's...

announced on Friday.

Other members of the committee

are Umesh Tiwari, Jagdish Joshi,

Asharani Kapoor, Harendra Bisht, Tika

Prasad Uniyal, Sunil Sharma and

Dinesh Petwal, he said.

The party has also set up executive

committees in 10 out of 13 districts of

the state, he said, adding the organisa-

tion will soon be expanded at block and

village levels. Earlier, addressing themembers of the committee, Kejriwal

said people want to get rid of corrup-

tion and their single point agenda

should be elimination of the evil.

Naxalites abduct...

correspondent that naxalites set fire

to their shanty huts after abduction. He

said that combing operations have been

launched to nab the culprits.

Indo-Pak trade...

-Pakistan relations took a hit after

New Delhi accused Pakistani troops of

brutally killing two Indian soldiers

close to the LoC Dec 8 and beheading

one of them. The chopped head was

carried away. Pakistan accused Indian

troops of killing two Pakistani soldiers

on two separate days. In retaliation to

the beheading and the mutilation of the

other soldier, Prime Ministers

Manmohan Singh declared that there

can be no business as usual with

Pakistan. The Indian and Pakistani

armies have been traditionally greeting

each other on the winding LoC, which

divides Jammu and Kashmir between

the two countries, ever since a ceasefire

came into effect in 2003.

Crucial week...

Yeddyurappa himself has said that

in addition to the 13 ready with their

resignation letters, several BJP law

makers, including ministers, would

leave the ruling party soon.

The resignations are intended to

prevent Shettar from presenting the

budget for 2013-14 as that could help

the BJP in the assembly elections due

in May.

Shettar remained unfazed.

He asserted: "I am confident of pre-

senting the budget. We will face the

budget session."

Asked whether he has any contin-

gency or alternative plan if his govern-

ment lost majority, the chief minister

said: "We have numbers. There are no

resignations yet. We will see. Let the

speaker return to Bangalore."

The effective strength of the assem-

bly now is 223 as two seats are vacant.

The BJP government has the sup-

port of one of the seven independent

members, who is a cabinet minister.

The Congress has 71 members and

the Janata Dal-Secular has 26. One is a

nominated member.

Shettar to meet ...

is when the Governor HR

Bhardwaj has asked the Chief Minister

to prove his majority at a special ses-

sion of the Assembly. Shettar and

Rajnath are likely to discuss the strate-

gy the BJP needs to follow in

Saturday's meeting.

Asked about any threat to the gov-

ernment there, Rajnath said, "I am con-

fident, there is no threat to our govern-

ment in Karnataka. There is no crisis

there." The BJP has accused Governor

Bhardwaj of acting as a "Congress

agent" after he said the Chief Minister

could be asked to prove majority when

the assembly meets on February 4.

STUDENT AGE

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 20132

Contd. from page 1... Mufti welcomes

Justice Verma's

recommendationsJAMMU, JAN 27: Reiterating his call for

strengthening institutional democracy and a

strong justice delivery system in the state the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has welcomed the

recommendations of Justice J S Verma about

securing the dignity of women in conflict

areas.

Addressing an impressive public meeting

at Phinder village in RS Pura today he said

the amendments proposed by Justice Verma

in AFSPA represent the minimum that is

needed to establish the rule of law in the state

of J&K that has witnessed a serious deficit in

governance, civil liberties and democratic

process.

Mufti said it was unfortunate that a state

that acceded to India for its democratic sys-

tem is reduced to fight even for basic demo-

cratic rights of legal remedies that are avail-

able to rest of the country and guaranteed by

its constitution. It is true, he said that for

some time the security forces needed the

cover of special laws but it cannot be said that

those laws could become a permanent feature

of our legal system. He said the PDPdemand-

ed revocation of the AFSPA that takes away

the jurisdiction of civil courts in view of thevastly changed situation that will need return

to normal application of laws. He said though

Justice Verma's recommendations have been

made in the context of the dignity of women

only, these add a prestigious and highly

respected judicial view to the discourse on the

need to restore full civil liberties in J&K.

Mufti said the people of J&K have always

given full support to democratic system but

unfortunately it has not met with adequate

response from the powers that be. "In spite of

having repeatedly participated in various

elections after 2002 there has been no relief

for the people in terms of a return to a full

democratic system", he said, cautioned,

"Unless that is done the state cannot enjoy

full normalcy, neither can the alienation be

addressed". He said that the removal of

AFSPAshould not be reduced to a slogan like

autonomy but serious efforts must be made to

bring the state at par with rest of the country

on democratic scale.Coming down heavily on ruling National

Conference for eroding sanctity of democrat-

ic institutions in the State, Mufti regretted that

it was a historical fact that this party

(National Conference) never allowed democ-

racy to flourish in Jammu and Kashmir. "It is

result of the deceit tactics of National

Conference that unlike other parts of the

country, people of Jammu and Kashmir never

enjoyed real taste of democracy and democra-

cy institutions", he said and mentioned that

except sloganeering National Conference has

nothing to maintain democratic character of

democratic institutions.

"With its assiduous efforts the PDP had

restored peoples' faith in the democracy but

the present government headed by NC is

brazenly trying to undermine the democratic

institutions", Mr Sayeed and cautioned that

such authoritarian attitude adopted by the

coalition regime would be proved disastrous

for the State. He reminded that infamous

1987 rigged Assembly elections had badly

shattered peoples' faith in the democratic sys-

tem but it all due to the efforts of PDP that

peoples' faith was again restored in democra-

cy. Mufti reminded that civic bodies elec-

tions, which were due in the month of

February 2010, has been delayed with one or

other excuse which reflected that this govern-

ment was not interested to strengthen demo-

cratic institutions at grass root level. He

added that during the last four years this

regime has eroded and undermined all presti-

gious democratic institutions be it Assembly,

local bodies or Panchayati Raj Institutions.

He reminded the people of border belt that

PDP has pioneered a political and economic

agenda to establish sustainable peace in the

subcontinent. "Establishing lasting peace and

to consolidate the reconciliation process is on

the top of the agenda of PDP ", Sayeed said,

adding, "Our party, through its pro-peace

policies, has consolidated reconciliatio n

process and facilitated the efforts of establish-

ing peace in this region. Observing that PDP

is the real voice of the people of Jammu and

Kashmir, he said that regional parties were

emerging all over the country and pointed

towards emergence of strong regional politi-

cal powers which dominating political

scenes. He said that PDP has successfully

connected itself with the people.

Sardar Rangil Singh, Trilok Singh Bajwa,

Thakur Balbir Singh, Hussain Ali Wafa,

Falail Singh, R K Bali, Ashok Jogi, Bhushan

Dogra, Chatter Saini, Sukhvinder Singh, Som

Nath, Bhupinder Singh, Capt Hazara Singh,

Santokh Singh, Mukesh, Goldy and others

also spoke on the occasion.

Notorious narcotic

dealer arrested at

Nowhatta

SRINAGAR, JAN 27: Police

claimed to have arrested a notori-

ous narcotic dealer at Malkah

Nowhatta in Shaher-e-Khaas.

Superintendent of north City

Tahir Saleem Khan said Nowhatta

police received information that a

drug dealer is scheduled to collect

a consignment of suspectedDiacetyl Morphine which is known

as Brown Sugar in common parl-

ance.

"Acting on the information,

SHO (Dy. SP on probation)

Nowhatta Nehar Ranjan arrested a

suspected person during at a check-

ing point near Malkah Nowhatta.

During search, 80 small pockets

weighing about 70 grams of sus-

pected Brown Sugar was recovered

from his possession," the SP said.

A case vide FIR No. 6/ 2013

under section 2/21 NDPS has been

registered against the accused at

Nowhatta police station.

"The accused is a notorious

drug dealer and is involved in drug

deals for a long time. He was earli-

er arrested many times. However

as small quantity of narcotic sub-

stances was recovered from him,he got released quickly every

time," the SP said.

"This time he has been arrested

with good quantity of narcotics. By

virtue of evidence, we will press

for stringent punishment to him.

Sheikh colony Nowhatta and

adjacent areas have become a cen-

tral point for drug addicts. For last

one month, we have raided many

places there," the SP said.

Pertinently, a couple was arrest-

ed with narcotics from the same

colony last week.

Er Rashid Ridicules

Talks Offers

SRINAGAR,JAN 27:

Independent MLASheikh Rasheed

has strongly reacted to the so

called talks offers made by various

ministers at district headquarters

on the Republic day to separatists.

"These ministers have said

nothing new and in fact who so

ever has remained in the power in

the ill fated state, has been deliver-

ing these traditional speeches on

January 26 and August 15,"

Engineer said in a statement. "If

Omar led government is not in a

position to revoke Public Safety

Act, Armed Forces Special Powers

Act or even lift the ban on SMS

services it should not add salt to

the injuries by building castles in

the air."

Engineer accused New Delhi of

being insincere and unwilling to

"compromise even an inch from its

unrealistic, unjustified, illogical

and arrogant stand" and wants to

run J&K "through agencies at bar-

rel of gun irrespective of fact who

is in power in New Delhi." Under

such circumstances, Sheikh said, it

seems nothing more than a joke

and mockery that state ministers

are talking something much more

beyond their competence.

The outspokesn lawmaker stat-

ed that ideally NC should have

sought sincere support from PDP

and other pro Kashmiri forces to

help in forcing New Delhi to to

change its illogical stand on the

political problem of J&K.

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3/7

STATESTUDENT AGE


NEWS IN BOX

Academy holds All India UrduMushaira today

JAMMU, JANUARY 27: As part of the Republic Day cel-

ebrations, J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages is

holding an All India Urdu Mushaira here on January 28.

Prominent Urdu poets of the country, besides J&K, are par-

ticipating in the mega literary event and will enthral the audi-

ence with their latest verses.

The Academy has a tradition of hosting this annual event

at Jammu every year.

The Mushaira will start at 5 P.M. at the Police

Auditorium, Gulshan Grounds. Poets who have already

arrived in Jammu or have confirmed their participation

include Abdul Ahad Saaz, Ibrahim Ashk, Shahpar Rasool,

Rauf Khair, Krishan Kumar Toor, Farhat Ehsaas, Sardar

Panchi, Manazir Aashiq, Arsh Sehbai, Rafiq Raaz, Shafaq

Sopori, Rukhsana Jabeen, Liaqat Jafri, Balraj Bakhshi, Ayaz

Rasool Nazki, Syed Raza, Khalid Karaar, Nazir Azad, Zahid

Mukhtar, Sham Talib and Sagar Sehrai.

Jammu is known for hosting successful Urdu mushairas

where audience relishes good verses. The organisers expect

a large turnout at the venue with free entry.

Kichloo available at WinterSecretariat at Srinagar

JAMMU, JANUARY 27, 2012: In order to redress the

grievances of people and interact with them, Minister of

State for I&C, Home, R&B, MED, H&UDD & Tourism, Mr.

Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo will be available in the Winter

Secretariat, Srinagar, from January 28 to January 31, 2013.

During his stay in the winter capital, the Minister willtake several meetings in important sectors like PHE, Power,

CA&PD and Drainage sectors so that demands pertaining to

general public are pushed for redressal expeditiously. He will

also interact with industrial and tourism-related associations

like FCIK, KCCI, KHARA, KHAROF, TAAI & TASK.

J&K Tableau artists

call on President

NEW DELHI, JANUARY27: Day after the Republic Day

Parade at the Janpath where they received applause from the

audience, J&K Tableau artists called on President, Pranab

Mukherji here today and presented a cultural programme.

The group comprised 25 artists from the three regions of

the State who formed the part of the Tableau presented by the

State at Saturday's RD parade. The artists, in traditional cos-

tumes presented a traditional song and dance sequence relat-

ed with festivity and celebration.

The President appreciated the performance of the artists

who later had a group photograph with him.

J&K was one of the only four states, out of 14 that pre-

sented their tableaux at the RD parade on Saturday, chosenfor a cultural programme presentation at the Rashtarpati

Bhawan this year. Others include Odisha, UP, Jarkhand and

Chhatisgarh.

The artists of J&K will call on Vice President, Hamid

Ansari, on Monday. Earlier, they had called on Prime

Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

GHS School Vijaypurcelebrates Republic Day

JAMMU, JANUARY 27: Former Minister and MLA,

Vijaypur, Mr. S. S. Slathia today unfurled the tricolor at a

function organized at GHS School Vijaypur in connection

with Republic Day celebrations. He took salute at the march

past by school children of various schools of Vijaypur con-

stituency.

Speaking at the R-Day function organized in the premis-

es of the School, Mr. Slathia enjoined upon youth and school

children to imbibe spirit of patriotism and nationality and

work hard to bring laurels to the state and the country in their

fields of interest.

On the occasion Mr Slathia was briefed about various

issues concerning school infrastructure. He assured the peo-

ple that the new building adjacent to the school will be ready

by the end of this financial year. He also assured assistance

for an Examination Hall in the school.

Regarding introduction of Commerce Faculty in the

school, Mr. Slathia assured that he will take up the matter

with the concerned authorities.

Later Mr Slathia inaugurated Government Primary

School Bari bad in Vijaypur completed at a cost of Rs 9.45

Lakhs.

Sheikh Nasir condoles demiseof G.A.Tak

KISHTWAR: Advocate Sheikh Nasir Hussain former pres-

ident District Youth Congress Committee Kishtwar has con-

doled demise of a vetern legal luminary and retired Session

Judge Kh. Ghulam Ahmad Tak. In a condolence statement

issued here Sheikh Nasir has expressed sorrow over the

death of Tak. He has prayed for peace of departed soul and

has expressed sympathy with the breaved family.

Third year results of Kashmirvarsity declared in 20 days

SRINAGAR: Kashmir University on Sunday declared the

results of the final year under graduate courses in a record

time of just 20 days. "Kashmir University has declared the

results of BA, BSc and B.Com 3rd Year (annual examina-

tions) held during November 2012-January 2013 in a record

time of 20 days," a spokesman of the varsity said.

"Declaring the results in time will go a long way in fol-

lowing the academic calendar in letter and spirit," Controller

of Examinations Abdul Salam Bhat said.

More than 66 per cent of the nearly 30,000 candidates,

who had appeared in the examinations, have been declared

successful.

NEW DELHI, JANUARY

27: Jammu & Kashmir State

Tableau, forming part of the

Republic Day Parade at the

Raj Path on Saturday, was the

centre of interest of a large

audience on either side of the

Parade route that greeted it

with cheers as it drove past.

The Tableau was among the

14 selected in a tough com-

pletion for this year.

The theme of the Tableau

was 'Blending Tradition with

Technology'. It depicted the

processes of Pashmina mak-

ing with special focus on the

technological breakthrough

achieved by the scientists at

Sher-i-Kashmir University of

Agricultural Sciences &

Technology, Kashmir by

cloning the world's first

Pashmina goat, Noori. The

breakthrough has created

exciting opportunities that

combine tradition and tech-

nology. The Press Trust of

India in its news report hailed

the Tableau as "One of the

interesting concepts...which

showcased a unique blend oftradition and technology with

world's first cloned pashmina

goat 'Noori' and the pashmi-

na-making process."

A contingent of about two

dozen artists from the three

regions of the State - Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh -

dressed in colourful tradition-

al costumes walked with the

Tableau down the Raj Path

while some of them per-

formed on the 45-feet long

Tableau.The Tableau-front dis-

played a massive embroi-

dered Pashmina shawl passed

through a ring. The middle

portion showed scientists

working in laboratory to

clone Noori and artisans per-forming different processes

of shearing, de-haring, spin-

ning yarn on traditional spin-

ning wheels and producing

exquisite Pashmina shawls on

handlooms. The rear of the

Tableau presented a colourfuldisplay of finished shawls

and buyer-seller activity.

The theme of the Tableau

is selected by the State

Tableaux Committee headed

by the Chief Secretary. Other

members of the Committee

include Financial

Commissioner, Finance,

Principal Secretaries,

Planning and Home,

Commissioner/Secretary,

Tourism & Culture,

Secretary, General

Administration Department

and Secretary, J&K Academy

of Art, Culture & Languages.

The Tableaux designs sub-

mitted by different states are

evaluated and approved by an

Expert Committee at Delhi

which includes persons of

repute from different fields of

art, history, music and theatre.

The Committee holds series

of meetings over a period of

several months during which

states make presentation of

their themes with models.

The Committee shortlists

states on the basis of merit of

their themes and designs for

participation in the RepublicDay Parade.

J&K Tableau at RD parade receives big applause

Jammu & Kashmir State Tableau, forming part of the Republic Day Parade at the Raj Path, New Delhi.

BANIHAL, JANUARY 27 :

Reiterating government com-

mitment for ensuring overall

development of the state, the

Minister of State for

Technical Education,

Information, RDD and Law,

Mr. Viqar Rasool has said that

special thrust has been given

to rural and far-flung areas

with several major welfare

schemes introduced for bring-

ing marked improvement in

the the socio-economic pro-

file of these areas.

The Minister was address-

ing a huge public gathering at

Banihal after assuming

charge. Mr. Viqar said that the

present government believes

in sustained action rather than

rhetoric and in this regard

several developmental pro-

grammes and schemes have

been launched for ensuring

that people get better living

facilities and the same can be

felt on the ground. He said

that government has also

ensured proper monitoring of

these schemes so that they are

completed within the stipulat-

ed time frame.

Referring to the trans-

parency and accountability in

the government, the Minister

said several legislations like

Public Services Guarantee

Act, Right to Information and

other related Acts have been

introduced through which

people can get the requisite

information about the day-to-

day functioning of the gov-

ernment besides getting

essential services within the

prescribed time frame. He

said that people should also

come forward and provide

feedback about the various

schemes and programmes

maintaining that by doing so

they would be involving

themselves in the day-to-day

functioning of the govern-

ment thereby strengthening

the democratic setup.

Mr. Viqar said that the

people should come forward

and avail maximum benefit of

various flagship schemes of

the Rural Development

Department maintaining that

these have been instrumental

in changing the socio-eco-

nomic profile of various rural

areas by providing them the

much needed employment at

their doorsteps besides ensur-

ing the development of the

area. He said that the special

instructions have been passed

down for ensuring early pay-

ment of wages under MGN-

REGA besides benefits of

other schemes.

The Minister while refer-

ring to the power scenario of

the state said that special

thrust would be given to aug-

ment the same so that people

of the state don't face any

inconvenience with regard to

the power. He said that sever-

al new initiatives would be

taken to improve power sce-

nario besides strict instruc-

tions have been passed to the

officials to ensure that power

pilferage is stopped.

Earlier, the Minister was

given a rousing reception at

different places of the district

and people thanked Chief

Minister for inducting Mr.

Viqar to his Ministry.

Special thrust on development ofrural and far-flung areas: Viqar

Minister of State for Technical Education, Information, RDD and Law, Mr. Viqar Rasool addressing a huge public gathering at Banihal.

JAMMU, JANUARY 27:

Minister for PHE, Irrigation

and Flood Control, Mr. Sham

Lal Sharma today called

upon the youth to be equally

conscious about their duties

along with their rights and

become shining examples of

discipline, good conduct and

moral values. He stressed

that everyone must duly dis-

charge his duty as a good cit-

izens of this country.

The Minister was speak-ing at an Annual-cum-

Republic Day functions held

at Government Higher

Secondary school, Jourian,

Tehsil Akhnoor here today,

the Minister also hoisted the

national flag and took salute

on the march past by various

contingents.

Speaking on the occasion,

the Minister said Annual-

cum-Republic Day not only

provides students a platform

to exhibit their hidden talent,

but also introduces them with

the culture and heritage of the

state. He urged upon the stu-

dents to take part in co-cur-

ricular activities side by side

their academic curriculum for

their overall personality

development.

Mr. Sham added that

while he was sure that the

students of the school would

do well in whatever careers

they choose to pursue, it

would be beneficial if as

responsible citizens, they

contribute actively towards

the harmonious functioning

of the society in which they

live.

He also called upon the

teaching fraternity to give

their best to the students who

are the future builders of the

nation. He stressed the needto introduce moral and agri-

culture science subjects in

every school and highlighted

the role of a teacher in craft-

ing the personality of student.

The Minister said that

under education sector both

Centre and State govern-

ments have provided liberal

funding for providing various

infrastructural facilities to the

students. He said government

has opened scores of new

schools in far-off areas of the

state.

On the occasion, Mr.

Sharma announced Rs. 15

lakh for construction of addi-

tional second floor examina-

tion hall for the student com-

munity. He also announced

800 note books for the needy

students of the various

schools.

Sports essential componentfor a balanced personality

development: Sham

GUREZ, JANUARY 27:

Minister of State for Animal

and Sheep Husbandry, PHE,

Irrigation and Flood

Control, Agriculture and

Floriculture Mr. Nazir

Ahmed Gurezi today under-

took an extensive tour to

various areas of remote and

far-flung border areas of

Tehsil Gurez and took stock

of supply and distribution of

food grains, firewood and

snow clearance.

On his first visit after

taking over the new assign-

ment, hundreds of people at

different places gave Nazir

rousing reception amidst

drum beating and slogans.

The people thanked the

Chief Minister Omar

Abdullah for inducting Mr.

Gurezi in the council of

Ministers.

The Minister addressed

large gatherings at Dawer,

Markote, Wonpora,

Khandyal and Mastan vil-

lages and other adjoining

areas. He highlighted the

policies and programmes of

the government.

The Minister said that

the government was com-

mitted to provide basic

facilities to the people.

During his tour, the

Minister also attended the

function organized by the

Sub Divisional Magistrate

(SDM) Gurez in connection

with National Voters Day in

the Tehsil Office Complex

at Gurez. On the occasion,

SDM Gurez Mr.

Mohammad Ashraf Hakak

briefed the Minister regard-

ing measures taken for dis-

tribution of food grains,

fire-wood, snow clearance

and other activities.

Nazir takes stock ofsupply position ofessentials at Gurez

JAMMU, JANUARY

27:The construction work on

50 bed Hospital building

Bishnah is apace at an esti-

mated cost of Rs. 14.42

crore. The government for

the purpose has already

released Rs. 3.25 crore under

NRHM and State plan,

which have been utilized in

full and plinth level besides

frame structure work of first

floor have been completed.

The 3 storey hospital

building would house all

modern patient care facili-

ties including outdoor and

indoor blocks besides diag-

nostic units and Operation

Theater.

This information was

given today to the Minister

of State for Health Mr.

Shabir Ahmed Khan by the

concerned authorities during

his visit to the project site,

where he took stock of the

execution of work on the

hospital building besides

inspecting the patient care

facilities in Sub District

Hospital Bishnah.

The Health Minister

inspected different works of

the project. He said there

would be no paucity of funds

in completion of the hospital

complex. He said that Rs 30

lakh more have been

released for the project and

directed Director NRHM to

forward the necessary sanc-

tion to the concerned author-

ities well in time to ensure

project is not delayed at any

cost.

The Minister directed

Managing Director Housing

Corporation to speed up the

work on the project for

ensuring its time bound

completion. He also instruct-

ed Director Health Services,

Jammu to make frequent vis-

its to the project sites for

ensuring the use of quality

material and judicious uti-

lization of government

funds.

The Health Minister also

visited Sub District Hospital,

Bishnah and took stock of

the functioning of the hospi-

tal. He went round each sec-

tion of the hospital, met the

admitted patients and

enquired about their welfare

and treatment facilities pro-

vided to them by the hospi-

tal. He directed concerned

Block Medical Officer for

maintaining proper cleanli-

ness in and around the

Hospital.

He also took stock of the

facilities being provided to

the patients under centrally

sponsored Schemes like

RKS and JSS. He directed

the concerned for utilization

of funds meant for hospital

welfare through close con-

sultation with concerned

Legislators.

The Minister called upon

the hospital staff to work

with missionary spirit and

provide hassle free Medicare

facilities. Any negligence in

this regard would not be tol-

erated and stringent action

should be taken against the

negligent officials, he

stressed.

The minister also inter-

acted with several deputa-

tion of the area. He assured

them that all necessary steps

would be taken to upgrade

the treatment facilities. He

directed Director Health for

detaching medical officer

PHC Rehal from SDH

Bishnah with immediate

effect, warning that govern-

ment has already issued

strict orders for detachment

of attached staff, which

should be implemented in

letter and spirit.

Director Health Services,

Jammu, Dr. Modhu Kollar,

Director NRHM, DR.

Yashpal Sharma, Managing

Director JK Project

Construction Corporation,

Mr.Kiran Wattal and Chief

Medical Officer, Samba

accompanied the Minister

during the visit.

Shabir inspects under execution 50bed hospital complex at Bishnah

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4/7

EDITORIALSTUDENT AGE


Headley deserved deathJail sentence dishonours memory of 26/11 victims

Sentenced to 35 years in prison and another five years of supervised

release for his role in planning the 26/11 attack, David Coleman

Headley has been let off lightly. The 52-year-old Pakistani-

American whose meticulous groundwork helped make the as sault by 1 0

gunmen on multiple targets in Mumbai particularly deadly, deserved noth-

ing less than the death penalty. a fact acknowledged even by the judge

who handed Headley his sentence. The judge was obviously reluctant to

impose a lesser sentence but it was the US prosecutors who had request-

ed leniency for Headley as he had cooperated with American law enforce-ment agencies almost immediately after he was arrested in 2009.

Headley has reportedly provided crucial intelligence about terror net-

works including the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba which mounted the attack on

Mumbai as well as regarding his contacts within the ISI. Additionally, he

also testified against his friend and co-conspirator Tahawwur Rana. For

giving all of this information as well as for pleading guilty to all 12 counts

on which he was charged, US prosecutors chose to 'reward' Headley with

the hope of at least a few years of freedom and the promise that he will not

be extradited to India (or Pakistan). If all goes well, Headley may quite pos-

sibly walk out of prison a free man before his 80th birthday.

On their part, the prosecutors have argued that such deals serve as an

incentive for other terrorists and future suspects to also spill the beans.

While this may be the case - plea bargains are common in the American

criminal justice system - the lesser sentence adds to the deep disappoint-

ment both in India and in the US where the victims' families have labelled

the sentence an "appalling dishonour".

It is also particularly disturbing when viewed in consonance with the

fact that earlier this month, Tahawwur Rana, the Chicago-based business-

man convicted of providing material support to the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, was

sentenced to only 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervisedrelease. Incidentally, Rana was not even found guilty of plotting the 2008

attack by the jury which only convicted him of the lesser crimes of planning

to attack a Danish newspaper and supporting the LeT.

The verdicts and the sentences handed down to both Headley and

Rana not only insult the memory of the victims of 26/11 but also bring under

cloud the US authorities' determination to effectively punish those who per-

petrate terror. By letting off Headley and Rana so easily, the message that

America is sending out to the rest of the world is that it is soft on terror. This

is a dangerous trend that will only embolden terrorist across the world.

By Rajesh Singh

Those who have been writ-

ing the political obituary

of LK Advani received

the shock of their lives on

Tuesday. Hours after the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

had plotted to the last detail the

re-election of Nitin Gadkari as

the president of the Bharatiya

Janata Party, the veteran politi-

cian and mentor of the so-called

Right-wing party put his foot

down and engineered a revolt

against the decision. This time,

we did not see a sulking Advani

that we have been used to.

Instead, the former Deputy Prime

Minister and the man the

Congress disparagingly refers to

as the "perennial Prime Minister

in waiting" struck decisively. On

the very day when Gadkari was

supposed to seal a second term

for himself, senior party leader

Yashwant Sinha out of the blue

called for the nomination papers

so that he could file his claim and

contest against the incumbent

president. You did not have to be

a wise political commentator to

guess whose blessing Sinha had.It is true that the sudden

action by Income Tax authorities

against the Purti Group of com-

panies which Gadkari operates

(or operated) on that eventful day

had queered the pitch. It is said

that those raids were the prover-

bial straw which broke the

camel's back. Embarrassing as

that development was for the BJP

and for Gadkari, it did not in

itself lead to the latter's resigna-

tion. After all, Gadkari had been

under a cloud for close to three

months, and nothing - not the

barbs from the Congress; not the

open (and not so open) show of

annoyance by party leaders like

Ram Jethmalani, Jaswant Singh,

Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant

Sinha; not the taint that the BJP

was battling as a result of his

obstinence - had convinced

Gadkari that he should gracefully

go. He was not the only one

unconvinced; his mentor the RSS

too stood by him solidly.

That makes Advani's defiance

all the more stellar. On that

eventful day, the veteran parlia-

mentarian, therefore, not just

took on Gadkari, who is small fry

when compared to the former's

stature. He challenged the organ-

isation he owes his rise and his

many recent woes to. He cocked

a snook at the mighty RSS.

Perhaps at this stage of his life

and career he can afford to. That

he has got away, is the real take

of the story.

Or has he? There is talk thatthe furious swayamsevaks are

biding their time and that they

will do their best to sabotage the

chance of Advani getting a ticket

in the coming Lok Sabha elec-

tion. But that is still in the realm

of speculation. For now, the BJP

veteran has put the Sangh in its

place, for good or for bad.

Advani has had to wait a long

time to get back at the organisa-

tion. Remember, he had to quit as

party presi dent in some disgrace

after the RSS had turned the heat

on him following his praise of

MA Jinnah during his visit to

Pakistan in 2005. The RSS there-

after virtually disowned him and

relented only much later, after

which he appeared to regain

some prominence in the party. It

is since those days that Advani

and the RSS have shared an

uneasy relationship.

A counter-a rgument to

Advani's assertion can be that the

RSS has still got its way. New

incumbent Rajnath Singh is a

hardcore Sanghi and handpicked

by the headquarters in Nagpur.

Reports have it that he shares an

"indifferent" relationship with

Advani. Moreover, the senior

BJP leader could not get his can-

didate - either Sushma Swaraj or

Yashwant Sinha - into the party's

top slot. All that is true, but this

'failure' is eclipsed by the success

of his eventual one-point agenda:

'Anybody but Gadkari'. That the

RSS had to relent is a huge victo-

ry for Advani, because the Sanghhad gone to truly great extents to

ensure a second term for

Gadkari, cajoling and coercing

the BJP into even amending the

party's constituti on to provide

two consecutive terms for a pres-

ident. And, it's not as if Advani

and Rajnath Singh dislike each

other. The so-called indifferent

ties can transform into a robust

working relationship as the party

approaches the general election.

Remember, Advani was Rajnath

Singh's first port of call after the

latter was elected the president

after Gadkari threw in the towel.

It cannot be denied that for

long, Advani had ceased to truly

assert himself. Over the last

many months, the party lurched

from one embarrassment to

another - in Karnataka where

then Chief Minister and then BJP

leader BS Yeddyurappa hung on

to the post before being eventual-

ly booted out; in Jharkhand

where questionable individuals

secured the BJP ticket for the

Rajya Sabha before being forced

to surrender it; in UPwhere taint-

ed leaders thrown out from one

party were first happily absorbed

into the BJP on the eve of the

Assembly election and then

asked to wait for a while. The

party lost in Uttarakhand and in

Himachal. Yet, no one seriously

questioned Gadkari on these set-

backs, al though he had played a

key role in those disasters. The

bright s pots were Punjab (where

the Akali Dal saved the day) andGujarat (where Narendra Modi

held sway).

Yet, all that Advani could do

throughout these crises was to

wring his hands in despair like

the helpless Bhishma Pitamah in

Mahabharat. The media informed

us at regular intervals all through

those months that he was deeply

upset over the developments and

had shared his anguish with sen-

ior party leaders who had begun

calling the shots. That he could

do nothing beyond expressing

dismay provided more material

to his detractors within the BJP

and outside to further ridicule

him. It was sad to see how this

once-powerful leader, who has

been rightly credited for bringing

the party from obscurity to power

at the Centre, was being treated.

The Gadkari episode has served

to restore some part of that lost

personal glory.

It is immaterial whether

Advani contests the next Lok

Sabha election or not. He is one

of those leaders who have risen

above such benchmarks. Perhaps

the RSS has not been able to

digest the fact that he is no

longer the average karyakarta

who can be bullied and brain-

washed. He may have willfully

or otherwise subjected himself to

the Sangh's diktats in the past. He

need not any more. Of course, it

does not also mean that Advani

will break his links with the RSS.

Those ties go deep down several

decades. They are almost as pro-found as his relations with Atal

Bihari Vajpayee are. Some things

do not, and must not, change.

Meanwhile, the RSS must

introspect on why it is ending up

alienating its one-time poster-

boys like Advani - and Narendra

Modi. The Sangh groomed these

leaders; it mustn't now humiliate

them.

By Sandeep Dogra

In our eyes, nose and mouth, we have sen-

sors for light, odours and flavours. Within

the body, cells have similar sensors for

hormones and signalling substances, such as

adrenalin, serotonin, histamine and dopamine.

As life evolved, cells have repeatedly used the

same basic mechanism for reading their envi-ronment: G-protein- coupled receptors. But

they remained hidden from researchers for a

long time. In a human, tens of thousands of

billions of cells interact. Most of them have

developed distinct roles. Some store fat; oth-

ers register visual impressions, produce hor-

mones or build up muscle tissue. In order for

us to function, it is crucial that our cells work

in unison, that they can sense their environ-

ment and know what is going on around them.

For this, they need sensors. Sensors on the cell

surface are called receptors. Robert J.

Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka are awarded

the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for having

mapped how a family of receptors called

Gprotein- coupled receptors (GPCRs) work.

In this family, we find receptors for adrenalin

(also known as epinephrine), dopamine, sero-

tonin, light, flavour and odour. Most physio-

logical processes depend on GPCRs. Around

half of all medications act through these

receptors, among them beta blockers, antihist-

amines and various kinds of psychiatric med-

ications. Knowledge about GPCRs is thus of

the greatest benefit to mankind. However,

these receptors eluded scientists for a long

time.

AN ELUSIVE ENIGMA

At the end of the 19th Century, scientists

began experimenting with adrenalin's effects

on the body. They soon realised that it does

not work via nerves in the body and they con-

cluded that cells must have some kind of

receptor that enables them to sense chemical

substances - hormones, poisons and drugs - in

their environment. But when researchers

attempted to find these receptors, they hit a

wall. They wanted to understand what the

receptors look like and how they convey sig-

nals to the cell. The adrenalin was adminis-

tered to the outside of the cell, and this led to

changes in its metabolism that they could

measure inside the cell. Each cell has a wall: a

membrane of fat molecules that separates it

from its environment. How did the signal get

through the wall? How could the inside of the

cell know what was happening on the outside?

The receptors remained unidentified for

decades. Despite this, scientists managed to

develop drugs that specifically have their

effect through one of these receptors. In the

1940s, the American scientist Raymond

Ahlquist examined how different organs reactto various adrenalin-like substances. His work

led him to conclude that there must be two dif-

ferent types of receptors for adrenalin. He

called the receptors alpha a n d beta. Such

drugs undoubtedly produced effects in the

cells, but how they did so remained a mystery.

We now know why the receptors were so dif-

ficult to find: they are relatively few in num-

ber and they also are mostly encapsulated

within the wall of the cell. It was only at the

end of the 1960s that Robert Lefkowitz enters

the history of these receptors.

LURING RECEPTORS

The young top student has his mind set on

becoming a cardiologist. However, he gradu-

ates at the height of the Vietnam War, and he

does his military service in the US Public

Health Service at a federal research institu-

tion, the National Institutes of Health. There

he is presented with a grand challenge: finding

the receptors. Lefkowitz's supervisor already

has a plan. He proposes attaching radioactive

iodine to a hormone. Then, as the hormone

binds to the surface of a cell, the radiation

from the iodine should make it possible to

track the receptor. Lefkowitz would also have

to show that the hormone's coupling to the

cell's outside actually triggers a process

known to take place on the inside of the cell.

Lefkowitz begins working with adrenocorti-

cotropic hormone, which stimulates the pro-

duction of adrenalin in the adrenal gland. As

the project enters its second year, Lefkowitz

finally makes some progress. In 1970, he pub-

lishes articles in two prestigious journals

where he outlines the discovery of an active

receptor. He is recruited to Duke University in

North Carolina where he begins working on

adrenalin and noradrenalin, so-called adrener-

gic receptors. Using radioactively tagged sub-

stances, including beta blockers, his research

group examines how these receptors work.

And after fine-tuning their toolkits, they man-

age with great skill to extract a series of recep-

tors from biological tissue. Meanwhile, the

knowledge about what happens inside cells

has been growing. Researchers have found

what they call G-proteins (Nobel Prize in

Physiology or Medicine 1994) that are activat-

ed by a signal from the receptor. The G-pro-

tein, in turn, triggers a chain of reactions that

alters the metabolism of the cell. By the begin-

ning of the 1980s, scientists are starting togain an understanding of the process by which

signals are transmitted from the outside of the

cell to its inside.

NEWINSIGHTS

In the 1980s, Lefkowitz decides that his

research group should try to find the gene that

codes for the beta receptor. This decision

would prove to be crucial to this year's Nobel

Prize. The idea was that if the researchgroup

could isolate the gene and read the blueprint

for the beta receptor, they could get clues as to

how the receptor works. At about the same

time, Lefkowitz hires a young doctor, Brian

Kobilka. Kobilka wanted to study the power

of epinephrine in its smallest molecular detail.

Kobilka engages in the hunt for the gene.

However, during the 1980s, trying to find a

particular gene in the body's enormous

genome is a bit like trying to find a needle in

a haystack. However, Kobilka has an ingen-

ious idea that makes it possible to isolate the

gene. With great anticipation, the researchers

begin to analyze its code; it reveals that the

receptor consists of seven long and fatty

(hydrophobic) spiral strings - so-called

helices. This tells the scientists that the recep-

tor probably winds its way back and forth

through the cell wall seven times. This was the

same number of strings and same spiral shape

as a different receptor that already had been

found elsewhere in the body: the light receptor

rhodopsin in the retina of the eye. An idea is

born: could these two receptors be related,

even though they have completely different

functions? Robert Lefkowitz later described

this as a "real eureka moment". He knew that

both adrenergic receptors and rhodopsin inter-

act with G-proteins on the inside of the cell.

He also knew of about 30 other receptors that

work via G-proteins.

ADRENALIN EFFECTS

After successfully having isolated the

gene, Brian Kobilka transferred to Stanford

University School of Medicine in California.

There he set out to create an image of the

receptor - an unattainable goal in the opinion

of most of the scientific community - and for

Kobilka, it would become a long journey.

Imaging a protein is a process involving many

complicated steps. Scientists use a method

called X-ray crystallography. The first image

of a crystal structure of a protein was pro-duced in the 1950s. Since then, scientists have

Xrayed and imaged thousands of proteins.

However, a majority of them have been water-

soluble, which facilitates the crystallization

process. Fewer researchers have managed to

image proteins located in the fatty membrane

of the cell. In water, such proteins dissolve just

as poorly as oil, and they are prone to form

fatty lumps. Furthermore, GPCRs are by

nature very mobile (they transmit signals by

moving), but inside a crystal they have to

remain almost completely still. Getting them

to crystallize is therefore a considerable chal-

lenge. It took Kobilka over two decades to

find a solution to all these problems. But

thanks to determination, creativity and molec-

ular biology sleight of hand, Kobilka and his

research group finally achieved their ultimate

goal in 2011: they got an image of the recep-

tor at the very moment when it transfers the

signal from the hormone on the outside of the

cell to the G-protein on the inside of the cell.

LIFE NEEDS FLEXIBILITY

The mapping of the over one hundred

human receptors still presents challenges to

scientists, as their purposes have yet to be fig-

ured out. Researchers have also found that

they are multifunctional; a single receptor can

recognize several different hormones on the

outside of the cell. The receptors' number and

flexibility enable the fine-tuned regulation of

cells that life requires.

THE CONCLUSION

There has to be a complete family of recep-

tors that look alike and function in the same

manner! Since this groundbreaking discovery,

the puzzle has been assembled bit by bit, and

scientists now have detailed knowledge about

GPCRs - how they work and how they are

regulated at the molecular level. Lefkowitz

and Kobilka have been at the forefront of this

entire scientific journey, and last year, in 2011,

Kobilka and his team of researchers reported a

finding that put the crown atop their work.

Advani hits back, in what a way!

Codes for the beta receptor: A Noble Performance

By Debashis Chatterjee

When nearly one half

of India still lives

in fear of rape and

physical abuse, you get a

democracy that is not justdented but also badly painted

for the world to see. On a visit

to Saudi Arabia, Bill Gates

was asked how the Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia could become

one of the top three informa-

tion technology powers in the

world. Bill Gates responded

with his characteristic can-

dour that it was not possible

as long as half of Saudi

Arabia's population lived per-

petually under cover.

In Bill Gates' own world,

6% more women than men

turned out to vote for the US

presidential elections. Barack

Obama got 11% more votes

from the women of America

than his Republican counter-

part Mitt Romney did.

Arguably, one factor that

sealed Romney's fate was his

views on abortion laws that

threaten to take away a

woman's power over her own

body. There will be a decisive

power shift in the way democ-

racies around the world will

function in the 21st century.

The Indian democracy will be

no exception. For one, there

will be a clear shift from cen-

tral power to what can be

called 'peripheral people

power'.

The texture and colours of

Indian democracy are fast

changing. As a whole, the new

generation of India begins to

bring democratic processes to

fierce flashpoints through

tweets and text messages, the

political class seems clearly

out of step with the vigour and

vibrancy of democracy in the

fizzy 20-20 format. Through

enabling technology, the spirit

of democratisation will affect

more people in much less

time. Increasingly, social net-

working will change democ-racy when it is not working.

Unfortunately, the mental

maps of the leading minds in

our country, especially in the

established national political

parties, are trapped in the feu-

dal past. This map reflects the

large territories of feudal

India in villages that still toe

the lines of caste, community

and cash-for-votes. Truth,

transparency and trust will

become the basis of vote share

when feudal India begins to

think on its feet. It is not just

that voters will have to trust

the politicians, the politicians

too will have to trust the vot-

ers' ability to think for them-

selves.

Sometimes, good econom-

ics can be bad politics. This is

particularly so when the econ-

omy is decoupled from its

larger ecology. Just think of

the dismal political fallout of

BJP's India Shining cam-

paign. Chanakya, the astute

political scientist and a deep

observer of human nature,

said long ago, "In the happi-

ness and well-being of the

subjects lies the benefit of the

king and in what is beneficial

to the subjects is in his own

benefit" (Arthash astra,

1.19.34). Very often, the

brightest of economists con-

fuse well being with GDP or

per-capit a growth. Well-

being has to do with a host of

other issues such as better

governance, safer roads, less

corruption, quality education,

transparency of systems, jus-

tice and adequate lei

Documents

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