Taslima becomes more important than millions of Muslims

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: India’s Brahminical rulers have proved themselves as the world’s greatest hate-mongers. The number of Dalits and Muslims killed since “independence” and those alive subjected to slow death will run into billions. This is the meaning of the much-publicised “Hindu tolerance and nonviolence”. If ever a person wants to write a true history of India, he can do so only with the ink of his blood.

But once in a way the Hindu heart melts but for wrong reasons. The latest instance is the desperate way they “saved” the life of a Bangladeshi woman sex-writer, Taslima Nasreen, expelled from her own country of Bangladesh.

Killjoy: The Hindus hate their own Muslims but love a foreign Muslim woman hated by the entire Muslims of India. They get a tremendous joy — a vicarious pleasure — in hurting the Muslim sentiment. Such people are called killjoy.

The Union Cabinet itself had an emergency meeting in Delhi on Nov.23, 2007 to save her. This is the first time the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is meeting exclusively to assure security for one single individual who is not even an Indian.

They may say they are doing all this to protect her human rights. But the same Cabinet never bothered when billions of Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits were slaughtered. Then the upper castes drank milk. This is Hindu India.

Hindu opium: The state itself flew her out of Calcutta to Jaipur and from there to Delhi and arranged her secure hiding. She was treated as a state guest. The same state has no money to protect its own citizens.

Look at the priority, the urgency given to the protection of one single individual. This is yet another proof of the misplaced sympathy of the Hindus who hate their own country’s 15% Muslims but love a foreign woman and goes out of the way to assure her protection.

We demand expulsion: No political party except the Hindu terrorist RSS-BJP supports this woman. All those human rightswalas supporting her also have a Brahminical bent of mind.

The ruling Congress and the govt. led by it cannot pretend to be protectors of Muslims and at the same time love this anti-Muslim woman.

The Hindu hate-mongers know the Muslim weakness. That is why they made the hated woman to tender an “apology” so that the Muslim anger cools down. The Bengali Muslims may compromise but the Hindu serpent will never stop biting them.

We demand her immediate expulsion.

Godse statue

Hyderabad: Followers of Gandhi protested against the installation of a statue of Nathuram Godse, his murderer. The statue at Tadepalligudem, West Godavari dt., was later demolished by the protestors. The statue was to be installed by a citizen (Gollapudi Shyam Prasad Mukherjee, a lawyer) in his private land. (Deccan Herald, Nov.16, 2007).

Fed up with RPI, Dalits shift to Mayawati ?

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bombay: Mayawati’s Nov.25, 2007 Sunday rally was very impressive (3 lakhs). I was personally present at Shivaji Park. In fact I was there on Saturday night itself and I can clearly tell you that all the crowds were certainly not rented. Lots of Dalits had made their own travel arrangements and spent their own money — especially those from Vidarbha-Marathwada region. Media reports also bear this out. A positive thing is that Koli fishermen as well as Muslims too extended support. Besides, a Tamil Brahmin friend who is the correspondent of Tribune, another friend who is the bureau chief of IANS — Indo Asian News Service —also said that Mayawati has made an impact despite all efforts to dampen her rally. All the funny Republican factions are extremely scared and some of their cadres have already started joining BSP.

I have my own reservations about Mayawati. Even then I am being objective about the impact of her rally. Crowds were much more than anything Shiv Sena or Congress has mustered so far. Some Dalits even called her “mother”. There are a sizeable number of UP Dalits in Bombay and also a Jatav caste organisation. Dalit and Ambedkarite literature was sold from Saturday itself at Shivaji Park — it was almost exactly like Ambedkar Jayanti.

DV is right: She talked about Sarvajan. To me, of course, Sarvajan is class collaboration and is the anti-thesis of caste-class struggle. Similarly, I am of the opinion that Kanshi Ram’s original slogan of proportional representation, that is, Jitni sankhya, utni hi bhaagidhari, is what has now been distorted into Brahmin-Dalit Bhai Bhai. But again, it is quite possible that all these are merely tactics — part of Mayawati’s grand strategy to capture Delhi.

The point is, even after she captures Delhi, how much change can she bring about? Will the upper castes simply allow her to make laws to implement private sector reservation? Will their toilet papers not bite her at every step? Will not their cross-thread judiciary make her life miserable? Will not the upper caste bureaucracy plot against her? All the banking and financial institutions are controlled by the upper castes. So how much change can she bring about even if she becomes PM? And even to become PM, she will be forced to get into coalition politics. So I am yet to be convinced of what she can do even after she becomes PM. That is where Dalit Voice has been absolutely right all along — capturing mere political power may not be enough.

But, surely, if she becomes PM, it will do miracles to the Dalit morale, self esteem, confidence and caste consciousness. They may at least begin to dream that if they can capture Delhi, then they can do everything else as well. From that angle, Mayawati’s advance is surely a welcome relief.

BSP has started or is in the process of starting a newspaper in Hindi called Maya Yug. Mayawati’s success will also help Dalit media strengthen itself. So there seem to be a few silver linings.

Who caused UP blasts: Top newspaper representatives said the Bombay rally-eve blasts in UP was to stop Mayawati from travelling to Bombay for the rally. Apparently, ammonium nitrate of fertilizer grade was used, which is easily available. There is every possibility that these blasts were organised by the Hindu terrorist party thugs and blamed on Muslims as usual.

Clearly, so-called meritocratic Brahminical security forces, judiciary, journalists, terrorism “experts” etc. are either utterly incompetent or are full of extraordinary Brahminical prejudice or have extremely strong Hindu terrorist sympathies and bias. Catching the real culprit is the last thing on their agenda. Despite all such hurdles, Mayawati not only came to Bombay, but also made the rally a huge success. That itself is a great achievement.

Dirty Dalits: I live close to Shivaji Park. I noticed local Brahminical elements closing their houses and going away just like they did during Ambedkar Jayanti. Some of the comments made by my Brahminical disco-going youth heard at the nearby Barista coffee shoppe included:

“These dirty fuckers (Dalits) will never improve. Wherever they go, they will make it dirty. They know only to ask for reservations. Oh God, what is this country coming to?”

After this, these Brahmins started discussing cricket and how Sachin Tendulkar (Brahmin) should be made captain of the cricket team. Typical Brahmin types of the area did not come out for their evening walk on Saturday. Even on Sunday (Nov.25) they were missing. Many have closed their houses and gone on a short holiday. A debate has broken out in DNA newspaper about how “political rallies” cause “great inconvenience”. Our Brahminical urban elite simply cannot stand anything to do with politics, strength of numbers and democracy. Mayawati can keep on talking about reservations for upper caste poor. But this will never melt Brahminical heart who will remember only private sector reservations. Already private sector reservations have become a hot topic of discussion. Brahminical fellows become extremely upset when such things are even mentioned.

Gadchiroli crowd: A huge group of nearly 5,000 party workers, comprising youngsters in the age group upto 35, had come straight from the remote district of Gadchiroli. Rajesh Lingayat, 34, a graduate, said that the new generation cadre from his district is all for BSP. The youth feel that they were ignored by the other parties.

Ravindra Pawar (28) is the party’s sector president of Ramanagar in Aurangabad and formerly of RPI (Athawale). He said many workers from other parties like Congress, Shiv Sena, Dalit Panther and Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh have joined the BSP recently.

Ramaiah, professor and chair, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion (TISS) said:

I had the opportunity, as part of TISS study, to travel to Maharashtra interior and interact with a large number of Dalit leaders. Local leaders are disappointed with non-BSP parties. Though the RPI still holds a special place among Dalits it is so wracked by infighting that it now stands as a divided house with hardly any political clout.

Congress worried: Meanwhile, the Congress heading the state coalition govt. appeared to have been rattled. Of the total 288 Assembly seats, it has 75 while NCP controls 71. Worried Congress leaders want to retain their traditional vote bank of Dalits (10.5%), Muslims (11%) apart from mending fences with NCP which depends upon the 28% Maratha votes. BSP is expected split the Congress votes helping the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Mayawati formula to untie Dalits and Brahmins (3%) in her party will consolidate the Marathas in favour of NCP giving NCP a lead.

Rahul’s AICC speech & Indian reality

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: An important passage from the speech of Rahul Gandhi, hailed as the future prime minister of India, is reproduced below as reported in the Indian Express (Nov.18, 2007):

“I have my own view of judging a person as an Indian”, he said. He said he sees an individual as an Indian, who is secular and doesn’t believe in caste. He said that a person is poor or rich, depending on the opportunity, he gets. “Bagair mauke ka aamir, garib kahla hai” (A rich person getting no opportunity is known as a poor person”) stated Rahul.

This portion of the speech, so carefully watched and studied by India’s Brahminical rulers, was greeted with great joy.

Upper caste happiness: After hearing the speech they have completely revised their opinion and now say they have full hope in him.

It is said he delivered a written speech and the IE put the above passage within quotes. That means the reporting is accurate.

Editorials and other comments by the upper castes expressed supreme happiness on one single remark that Rahul “does not believe in caste”. But the constitution of India believes in caste and has made innumerable provisions to support the demands of different castes.

The Govt. of India’s report titled People’s of India says: “Indian society continues to be a collection of castes and communities”. Election tickets are given on the basis of caste.

Rahul says he “sees an individual as an Indian”. But the constitution makes special provisions for different castes and communities like the Muslim, Tribes, OBCs etc.

Worshipping rising sun: Then he speaks of opportunity and says “a rich person getting no opportunity is known as a poor person”. But what about a poor person who remains poor because he never gets any opportunity?

Even after 61 years of “independence”, why millions of people are denied any “opportunity”? Who is denying them opportunity?

Indians, particularly those who call themselves Hindu, are great hero worshippers. Idol worshippers. Hinduism also tells you to worship the rising sun — not the setting sun. Since Rahul is the rising sun, the ruling class may manipulate his mind and groom him to greater heights.

People get the leader they deserve. People get the govt. they deserve.

But Rahul went to UP with the same philosophy in the last Assembly election and brought disaster.

KARNATAKA SCENE

Siddaramaiah alone can kick casteists & cause Congress victory

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Karnataka Assembly is dissolved and is back under President’s rule as none of the political permutation and combination could form the govt. (DV Nov.1, 2007, p.20: “Siddaramaiah must quit Congress, revive Ahinda & start own party”). The “caste war” that we talked about will be waged with full fury when the Assembly election is ordered.

But what has happened is only two powerful and numerically stronger landed castes are engaged in this war. Together they form just 27% of the population using the rest of 73% of the SC/ST/BCs and Muslims as their slaves. The two castes have been not only ruling the state but not allowing the rest of the 73% population to organise themselves.

That is why we asked Siddaramaiah, the only leader who can lead this 73%, to use his Kuruba jati (8%) to rally round rest of the deprived lot and become Karnataka’s second Devaraj Urs. But the upper castes in the Congress are not allowing him to go ahead with the Ahinda movement and he too is not interested in quitting politics to lead a socio-cultural movement which alone can wakeup the sleeping slaves.

“Caste identity” the only route: In the neighbouring AP also two landed castes — Reddy and Khamma — are ruling and also fighting. The rest of the population is tailing the two.

The two castes that are ruling in Karnataka and AP have gone up through the one and the only route available and that is “caste identity”. There is no other route.

If the deprived destitutes want to come up, they can do so only if they take this route. But the process of “caste identity” is a socio-cultural process and not a political process though it will contribute at a later stage.

Kanshi Ram work in UP: Kanshi Ram, a Chamar, consolidated his jati in UP by taking the only route of “caste identity”.

This is what Brother S.P. Ashok argued in his article “Consolidation of oppressed possible only by strengthening caste” (DV Dec.1, 2007 p.6). All the castes that went up the ladder took the only route available — that is by strengthening the “caste identity”.

Brahmins taught us this lesson on “caste identity”. But the deprived destitutes are not ready to learn the lesson from the Brahmins. They are not willing to learn because once again they are under the Brahminical mind control. And confused.

In Karnataka, it is difficult for the oppressed 73% to come up. The Brahmins who control both Lingayats and Vokkaligas will not allow it. Vokkaligas are comparitively confined to Old Mysore and that too concentrated in 2-3 districts. But the Lingayats have almost a state-wide sway.

How to break up Lingyats: We have given the formula to break this artificially formed group called Lingayats. Only four or five castes control the Lingayat community which in fact is not a caste but a conglomeration of several castes. The controlling castes are Banajigas, Sadars, Jangamas, etc.

The rest of the deprived castes which embraced Veerashaivism continue to remain deprived. Both the Mandal and Havanur Commission reports say this. These deprived castes are more angry with the Banajiga and other ruling castes. If such individual deprived castes are organised through “caste identity”, the Lingayat banyan tree will simply collapse.

Siddaramaiah as next CM: When the election takes place voting will be naturally on caste-basis. As the Brahmins control the god and the media they will brainwash the unthinking to vote for BJP. The urban voters are already BJP-minded. Deve Gowda’s JD(S) has his Vokkaliga captive votes. With the two caste groups fully polarised, the Congress will get sandwiched— unless Siddaramaiah is made the Congress president anointing him as the next CM. Such a step will work miracles and enthuse the deprived to make Congress the winning party.

But will the upper caste-dominated Congress allow a BC strongman to head Karnataka?

On the whole the situation is bleak in Karnataka. And such a bleak situation is there in all the states of India. No party will be able to form the govt. and the contending powerful castes will make the country ungovernable. We will not be surprised if the Karnataka deadlock strikes the Centre also.

As long as you allow only a couple of castes to eat, drink, dance and be merry, the rest of the castes will continue to be exploited.

Govt. forgets Adivasis

Mysore: Has the govt. failed to implement its laws enacted to protect the interests of the tribal people? The answer is “yes”, according to anthropologists attending a seminar on policies and issues in the bio-cultural development of Scheduled Tribes.

Prof. P.K. Mishra noted that international and national bodies have conceded that indigenous people have the right to control their land, territories and natural resources to maintain their traditional way of life. However, these acceptances, including the many rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and the various other Acts of parliament have remained on paper or have not been implemented.

(Hindu Nov.27, 2007).

Adivasis (Tribal) constitute over 10% of the Indian population — totally pauperised and forgotten — EDITOR

IT hype causes chaos & slow death of Bangalore city

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Bangalore city is facing a serious—perhaps an incurable crisis. The most serious is the completely jammed roads with ever-increasing vehicles running bumper to bumper caused by the total collapse of its infrastructure.

If the first one is so prominently visible what is not so visible is the crisis facing the IT industry in the city famously called India’s silicon valley.

Old-timers in the city, once known as the pensioner’s paradise, say Bangalore city is bursting, if not dying. All the roads are choked, not merely the main roads. And the traffic police say they are helpless because the “highly educated” and the rich who own big and bigger cars refuse to obey the basic traffic rules.

BRAHMINICAL MONOPOLY

What caused this sudden crisis? The short answer is IT?

The IT boom triggered the burst of Bangalore.

Bangalore started attracting world attention from the 1990s with the IT industry getting big publicity in the media.

Anything in which the upper caste (Brahminical) people are interested gets magnified and artifically boosted up.

A survey conducted by an IT consultant has revealed that IT industry is a monopoly of Brahminical people.

It is true the IT bosses — all upper castes — talk of open recruitment but a majority of the senior managers are upper castes, mainly Brahmins. To restrict “lower castes”, they use the “merit” mechanism as an entry factor. Even if a person has 20 years of experience, he has to go through this hurdle.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CRISIS

Having recruited their jatwals, they offered them big fat salaries. This created an exodus of upper castes from all over the country. The city got jammed. Students rushed to IT engineering and all other engineering courses were neglected. So much so civil, mechanical, electrical and such other courses were simply abandoned.

Not only the city is jammed, IT created a terrible socio-economic crisis. Those drawing fat salaries triggered a big hike in house rent and when the rent started soaring it attracted real estate sharks causing massive building boom. Bangalore city today has not even an inch of open space — thanks to the chaotic IT explosion.

CHAOTIC SCENE

The “techies”, as they are fondly called in the Brahminical media, started purchasing bigger and costlier cars, bigger and better houses, all because of the cheap bank loans. The two-day weekend made them go on reckless shopping — creating yet another boom in malls. Easy money flowing like a flood atracted fraudsters of all kinds leading to all sorts of crimes.

It is simply chaotic in Bangalore— now bursting with a population of over 1.15 crores. Not only no place on the roads and no room for parking. And we will not surprised that the fraying tempers may soon give way to free street fights due to ego clashes.

In Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, Kannada is dead. The language is English with American accent — plus Hindi with thousands of starving people migrating from decaying cowbelt.

All these IT walas have great praise for the “discipline” they observed in trips to US, UK, Europe, Singapore etc. but back in Bangalore they behave as if they are not amenable to any discipline. So much so anywhere the English-speaking elites gather in Bangalore the main subject of discussion is the “chaos on the road” — which they only created.

STARVING PEOPLE POURING IN

IT is the principal cause. Because their spending spree gave a big push to the city’s uncontrollable expansion which in turn attracted thousands and thousands of starving people from Bihar, Orissa, Assam, UP, Rajasthan. The native Kannada-speakers, having not been able to compete with the outsiders, have simply vanished.

The city’s single biggest activity today is the building construction. Pulling down old buildings and constructing new ones which in turn has caused yet another crisis — defening noise and dust. But none complains because of the love of property.

Yet there is no serious thinking in any quarter though all the controlling people are “highly educated” upper castes who are past-masters in giving free advice without following any ethical principle.

Adding to the confusion is the market-driven media headed by the madest Times of India which is packed with entertainment, petty politics, sex and other time-passwala issues. There is not one single intellectual stuff in the media because there is no money in it.

Intellectuals also being upper castes are all mum because they don’t want to block the rush of their jatwalas.

DV April 1, 2006 p. 8: “Menace of IT”.

DV June 1, 2004 p.8: “2 high-tech chief ministers bite dust”.

DV April 1, 2004 p.6: “IT promoting rich-poor divide”.

DV Edit Dec.1, 2000: “Beware of IT: Computers can’t replace food, clothing, shelter — warns software Jagadugur Bill Gates”.

DV Aug.16, 2000 p.21: “How IT is used to enslave India”.

Fall of IT begins: Decade-long upper caste bliss ends

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Only eight years back we predicted the fall of IT industry (DV Edit Dec.1, 2000: “Beware of IT: Computers can’t replace food, clothing, shelter”). As the year 2008 opened IT is down — though not fully out. But once the dollar collapses it will eat dust.

A Hindustan Times (Nov.12, 2007) report said, “IT sector is getting out of fashion”. Not a single IT company figures in the list of top 10 Indian companies in terms of market value. Infosys is down to No.14 rank followed by TCS of the Tatas.

Extraordinary conspiracy: Software and telecom are replaced by infrastructure, finance and capital goods. Even govt. companies like ONGC, NTPC, BHEL have surpassed it. Investors have realised that IT is totally bogus.

Meanwhile, the IT companies have started reducing their staff and recruitment. The annual increments are being drastically cut. Pay hike is down from 20-25% to 12 to 15%. New recruitments are delayed. Some companies are going in for part-time workers, longer working hours, cut in foreign travel and even contract employment. All this because the fall of dollar has seriously affected IT.

But the upper castes had almost a decade of heavenily bliss.

An upper caste Professor of Economics at JNU, Delhi, confirms all that we have said. Writing in India’s premier Brahminical daily, the Hindu (Sept.25, 2006), he says the rulers of India (15%) used computers not only to push other 85% enslaved Bahujans into more slavery but earn enormous money by pushing their computer hardware to the famished countryside.

A decision was taken at the highest level to open 100,000 Common Service Centres (CSCs) — broadband-enabled computer kiosks in rural India. By dumping such a useless hardware, its upper caste manufacturers will be earning crores and crores of rupees. A conspiracy of extraordinary magnitude by which the upper caste big business will be killing two birds with one stone: earning millions of dollars and keeping the poor, ignorant villagers fooled. The hungry villagers asked for bread, they are given cake.

Highway robbery: Servicing the 600,000 villages the CSCs will cost a staggering Rs. 5,742 crores.

The upper caste rulers are simply looting the country as if this country belongs to somebody else. They are right. The Aryans do not belong to India. They are not its indigenous people and hence they have no love for its people.

What is the use of these computers to the illiterate, starving villagers? High sounding phrases are weaved to promote IT which is presented as the sole solution to its backwardness. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his American cronies are behind this highway robbery that is going on in the name of CSCs.

PM & FM blessing stock market robbers

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: Markets have become the barometer of our ruling upper castes. They say the govt. and the Planning Commission must gradually withdraw and allow the market to decide the country’s future.

Their argument is that 3/4 of the country’s gross domestic produce (GDP) is contributed by the private sector.

The private sector lobby, which is 100% upper caste, is not only powerful but has its favourite father in our Khatri Sikh PM himself and his Finance Minister Chidambaram Chettiar.

Free road for looting: They want the govt. and Planing Commission to remain merely as an advisory body so that the upper castes can have a free road to loot the country.

Look at the expertise of our market in looting the country. Here is a report which was deliberately suppressed about a Gujarat Bania “big bull”:

Bombay: The Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has barred lead bull player Ketan V. Parekh and his 10 associates from participating — directly or indirectly — in the securities market for a period of 14 years for master-minding an equities scam during 1999-2001.

Parekh and 17 other entities directly or indirectly associated or related to him were found to be involved in market manipulation of as many as nine stocks, Sebi said in its order.

Purchase probe: This was revealed after a Sebi probe into purchase, sale and dealings in the shares of many companies between October 1999 to March 2001.

Issuing an order to this effect on Nov.12, the stock market regulator said it has passed an order restraining Ketan V. Parekh and his 10 associates namely his brother Kartik K. Parekh from accessing securities market. (Deccan Herald, Nov.14, 2007).

Such a big criminal is allowed to go scot free with a mere vanavas.

Harshad Mehta looting: In the previous stock market scam, Harshad Mehta, another Gujarati Bania, swallowed thousands of crores and ruined the lives of many depositors and finally died a hero.

Ketan Parekh is also a hero for the market manipulators who are paraded as heroes.

Advocates of market want to create more Harshad Mehtas and Ketan Parekhs to further impoverish the already pauperised country. We will not allow them to tamper with the constitution of India — even if the PM and his cronies are conspiring to do it.

“Zionist holocaust” will excel “nazi holocaust”

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bangalore: The just concluded (Nov.27, 2007) American-sponsored Palestine-Israel “peace talks” as expected was a failure because the zionist-controlled American President George W. Bush wanted the use of the “summit” as a Sunni front against Shia Iran. A henpecked US President on his way out, a Palestinian (West Bank) President Mahmud Abbas as stooge of the West and a spineless Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert simply met to deceive the innocent Muslims.

Zionists forcibly occupying the Arab lands in Palestine since decades will not give up until they drive out the entire Palestinians from West Bank and the tiny Gaza strip by resorting to ethnic cleansing. The Palestinians will not allow it but fight back and those who fight will be simply butchered by the zionists. That will be the bloodiest war in the history of the world. How many Palestinians have been killed so far there is no count.

America, the entire West and all the stooges among Muslim countries will simply support such a zionist holocaust that will simply surpass the “nazi holocaust”.

This appears to be the only solution to the world’s longest lasting international dispute which the United Nations and the entire West and even Muslim countries failed to solve peacefully. If you have tears you can shed them now.

INDIA SHINING

Anti-woman country

New Delhi: India came on a poor 114th position in the Gender Gap Index report of the World Economic Forum. The four Nordic countries, Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3) and Iceland (4) once again top the latest Gender Gap Index released by the World Economic Forum. Bangladesh (100), India (114), Iran (118) and Pakistan (126) continue to hold some of the lowest positions among the Asian countries. While Bangladesh, India and Pakistan perform very poorly on the economic, education and health subindexes.

—(Asian Age, Nov.10, 2007)

*****

World’s largest illiterate country

New Delhi: India has the largest number of illiterates in the world and the country ranks a poor 126th in the Human Development Index prepared by the UNDP, Government told the Rajya Saba on Nov.20, 2007. As per the Human Development Report 2006, India ranks 126th out of 177 countries covered in the report, Minister of State for HRD, D. Purendareswari, told the upper house. Adult literacy is only one of the several variables on the basis of which the Index is calculated, she said. In the year 2001, the total number of illiterates came down to 304.11 million from 328.88 million in 1991.

—(Deccan Herald, Nov.21, 2007)

*****

No interest in Research

New Delhi: The Planning Commission has admitted that India’s investment in R&D remains far below the level required for a country aspiring to emerge as an economic and knowledge superpower. The draft of the 11th Plan, likely to be put for National Development Council’s approval early next month, also stresses upon the promotion of basic research in science, engineering and medicine as a “critical input” for development.

—(Times of India, Nov.12, 2007)

*****

Agriculture in distress

New Delhi: Although National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data confirm an appalling 1.5 lakh farm suicides between 1997 and 2005, the figure is probably much higher. Worse, the farmers’ suicide rate (FSR) — number of suicides per 100,000 farmers — is also likely to be much higher than the disturbing 12.9 thrown up in the 2001 census. In the five years from 1997 to 2001, there were 78,737 farm suicides recorded in the country. On average, around 15,747 each year. But in just the next four years 2002-05, there were 70,507. Or a yearly average of 17,627 farm suicides. That is a rise of nearly 1,900 in the yearly averages of the two periods. Simply put, farm suicides have shot up after 2001.

—(Hindu, Nov.13, 2007)