Vol. LXI, No. 41, New Delhi, April 17, 2011

Dream of a Bold New Bengal By Asim Kumar Mitra THE state of West Bengal is going to polls in the third week of April along with four other states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Assam. Among these states, elections in Left-ruled states Kerala and West Bengal have assumed a special position so far as their implication to the national polity is concerned.    more > Strong presence of BJP in several seats CPM, Congress fronts on neck and neck race By S Chandrasekhar THERE is a popular saying in Malayalam of a mother-in-law who prayed to see her daughter-in-law cry, even if it is due to death of her son. Similar is the situation of Pinarayi-led CPM. It wanted to deny seat to Chief Minister Atchudanandan, even if it leads to rout of the CPM.    more > Thinking Aloud You kill your people your people kill you By Dr Jay Dubashi OUR old friend Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is gasping for life. After lording it over his hapless people for over 40 years, he is wondering why they have let him down. They are not the only ones who have deserted him.    more > Editorial Let’s celebrate the victory but not go overboard THE UPA government is trying to use cricket mania as opium on the masses, attempting to obscure its utter failure in governance and the resultant despair in the society.    more > Raja Deen Dayal: Earliest Indian Photographer Images etched eternal, history flicked in glass plates By Dr Vaidehi Nathan WHEN photography was at its nascent stages, Raja Deen Dayal (1844-1905) was wielding his camera with skill in India, delighting the rulers and recording images of the world around him for posterity. The first permanent photography was made in 1826 by a Frenchman.    more > Swamy Ramdev's campaign against corruption Govindacharya to head anti-corruption front FOC AN Anti-corruption front was created under the patronship of Baba Ramdev in New Delhi on April 2. The convenor of the initiative will be noted Swadeshi thinker and ideologue Shri KN Govindacharya. Prof R Vaidyanathan of IIM Bangalore and Shri Bhure Lal, Shri S Gurumurthy, Shri Ajit Doval, Shri Ved Pratap Vaidik and Shri Bhishm Agnihotri will be co-convenors.    more > Sangh Samachar Chhatra Shakti Bhavan inaugurated in Bhopal Degrees have no meaning unless the students acquire a firm set of values—Mohan Bhagwat - By Adhitya Srinivasan National workshop by DRI on uplift of weaker sections - FOC Indraprastha Sahitya Bharati felicitates literary persons - FOC Annual function of Ganga Sewa Sanstha Refrain from publicity while serving the needy—Dr Bajrang Lal Gupt - FOC 24 X 7 Hindu Helpline launched in Pune - FOC A march for enactment of anti-conversion law in Karnataka From Rajesh Padmar in Bengaluru CITIZENS for Harmony, a forum to create awareness among all walks of social life, demanded the enactment of an anti-conversion law in Karnataka. The forum organised a march from Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue at MG Road to Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on March 25 to press upon this demand.    more > Unaccounted Rs 64 lakh seized in poll-bound TN http://www.rediff.com/news/report/unaccounted-rs-64-lakh-seized-in-poll-bound-tn/20110312.htm UNACCOUNTED cash to the tune of Rs 64 lakh was seized in two different places during intensified vehicle checks in poll-bound Tamil Nadu on March 11, officials said.    more > Bihar leading the way By Shivaji Sarkar BIHAR, not so long ago supposed to be a laggard, most uninnovative, lacking will to take a new initiative, may become leader in setting new trends in agriculture and create food safety for the country that Centre has failed to do.    more > CBI's move to implicate BJP leaders in an encounter case By Lokpal Sethi in Jaipur AFTER witch hunting to implicate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and then Home Minister of State Amit Shah in post-Godhara riots in the state, CBI, on behest of Congress leaders, is trying to do the same thing in Rajasthan.    more > Arriving as pregnant tourists, leaving with American babies By Jennifer Medina SAN GABRIEL, Calif.: The building inspectors and police officers walked into the small row of connected town houses here knowing something was amiss. Neighbours had complained about noise and a lot of pregnant women coming and going.    more > A tribute to Dr Ambedkar on his 120th birth anniversary RSS is successful in bringing social equality and harmony By V Shanmuganathan WE, as a team of karyakartas, went to a village called Madappally in North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu years ago. During that time I was Prant Pracharak of Tamil Nadu. The local Dravida Kazhagam leader was invited to preside over the annual celebration of the shakha.    more > PAC vs JPC What is Chacko protesting? By Shivaji Sarkar IT is an unseemly and undesirable war. Parliament is not a forum to play war over turfs. The Constitution has envisioned Indian Parliament as the apex body and has endowed it with wide powers and wisdom to chart out a course that suits the nation best.    more > Tamil Nadu Politics-II Dravidian! Promoting a divisive agenda By Radha Rajan PERIYAR’ travelled extensively abroad for two years between 1929-1931 through countries as diverse as Russia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, England, France and Germany.    more > Implement Freedom of Religions Act —Pratik Potom FOC SHRI Pratik Potom, president of Arunachal Vikas Parishad, appealed to the State Government to implement the Freedom of Religion Act 1978 to protect the indigenous religions of Arunachal Pradesh in letter and spirit.    more > RR Jayaram wins Southern Naval Command Military Photo Award http://www.thesundayindian.com SRI RR Jayaram, Senior Photographer at the Kochi Unit of Janmabhumi newspaper won the Southern Naval Command Press Photo Award.    more >

COVER PAGE The Moving Finger Writes A land without leaders ARE we a nation corrupt to the core? Or can we seek some consolation that we are not as bad as many conceive us to be? Prior to the British take-over of India, we had a splendid reputation of people with high moral values, but over the centuries Indian moral standards have continued to fall at an alarming degree.    more > Media Watch Bribing MPs: Old story new packaging WHAT is often not realised are the revelations frequently made by columnists which, sadly, often go unnoticed. Writing in The Times of India (March 20) Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar (SWASAA) reminds us how, former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao survived a confidence vote by acquiring the support of three MPs of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.    more > BOOKMARK Gujral's memoirs make a compelling read By MV Kamath Matters of Discretion: An Autobiography; IK Gujral; Hey House India; Pp 519 (HB); Rs 795.00 Moulding young mind By Manju Gupta Please Mom! It’s My Life, Dr Jaideep Singh Chadha, Diamond Books, Pp 168 (PB), Rs 125.00 Understanding relationships By Tej N Dhar All and Nothing, Raksha Bharadia, Rupa & Co, Pp 223 (PB), Rs 95.00 Many facets of poverty By Jayant Patel Challenging the Injustice of Poverty, Rehman Sobhan, Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, Pp 486 America hopes to win the race with Asian giants By Dr R Balashankar Advantage: How American Innovation can Overcome the Asian Challenge, Adam Segal, WW Norton & Company, Inc. pp 294 (HB), $26.95 The pleasure of reading Bankim Durgeshnandini, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Random House India Pvt Ltd., Pp 190, Rs. 299 Recollecting Kamala Das By Manju Gupta Tonight, This Savage Rite: The Love Poems of Kamala Das and Pritish Nandy, HarperCollins Publishers, Pp 108 (HB) Kids’ Org Parent's love has no match By MV Kolhatkar HARIHARA was a boy of 10 studying in the 5th standard. Once late at night he was solving some examples over a paper with a lead-pencil. He solved many exercises and later on he started feeling dizzy. So Harihara went to his bedroom and he slept there quietly.    more >

News Analysis Irrational demands for banning books must be resisted By Shyam Khosla ONE received with mixed feelings Union Minister for Law and Justice Veerapa Moily’s announcement that the Government of India had no reason to ban Joseph Lelyveld’s book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle with India since the author had clarified that he has not written what had been attributed to the book.    more >

Sports News Dhoni's men end 28-year wait, win World Cup By RBL Nigam GAUTAM Gambhir and MS Dhoni's stellar partnership paved the way for India to end its 28-year wait for a World Cup title even as Mahela Jayawardene's century and Muttiah Muralitharan's swansong ended in hurt and despair.    more >

Readers’ Forum Congress leaders involved in terror (Organiser, 13.3.2011); —ANAND PRAKASH, 72/Sector-8, Panchkula-134 109 The writer has rightly given detailed list of the Congressmen involved in terrorism in various forms. They are faithfully following Mahatma Gandhi, who supported Muslims involved in killing the Hindus and even helped them most shamelessly.    more >

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