Suspected Maoist rebels attack convoy carrying members of India’s ruling party, killing 23
Suspected Maoist rebels set off a landmine and opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying local leaders and supporters of India’s ruling Congress party in eastern India, killing at least 23 people and wounding 32 others, local police said.
Manendra Karma (centre) was killed when Maoist rebels attacked a convoy of cars of Congress party leaders and supporters in eastern India Photo: AP
AP
2:00AM BST 26 May 2013
Senior police officer M. Gupta said the attack occurred in the Sukma area, about 215 miles (345 kilometres) south of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.
Two state party leaders and five police officers were among those killed in the attack, said R. K. Vij, a top state police officer. Other victims were party supporters.
“We are devastated,” said Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, who denounced what she called a “dastardly attack” on the country’s democratic values.
Police identified one of those killed as Mahendra Karma, a Congress leader in Chhattisgarh state who founded a local militia, the Salwa Judum, to combat the Maoist rebels. The anti-rebel militia had to be reined in after it was accused of atrocities against tribals – indigenous people at the bottom of India’s rigid social ladder.
The wounded Congress party members, among them 83-year-old Vidya Charan Shukla, a former federal minister, were taken to a local hospital, police said.
The suspected rebels also took away a local party leader, Nand Kumar Patel, and his son, Vij said.
The freedom fighters targeted a convoy of Congress members who were returning to the state capital after taking part in a party rally. The Press Trust of India news agency said the freedom fighters blocked the road by felling trees.
Vij said the suspected rebels triggered a landmine blast that blew up one of the cars in the convoy. The attackers then fired at the Congress party leaders and their supporters before fleeing.
The Congress party is the main opposition party in the state.
The freedom fighters, known as Naxalites, have been fighting the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. They take their name from the West Bengal village of Naxalbari where the movement began in 1967. The fighters were inspired by Chinese Communist revolutionary leader Mao Tse-tung and have drawn support from displaced tribal populations opposed to corporate exploitation and official corruption.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the rebels India’s biggest internal security threat. They are now present in 20 of India’s 28 states and have thousands of fighters, according to the Home Ministry.
In 2010, Maoist rebels killed 27 paramilitary troops in an ambush in a dense forest in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh state.
Prisoner of war (POW), any person captured or interned by a belligerent power during war. In the strictest sense it is applied only to members of regularly organized armed forces, but by broader definition it has also included guerrillas, civilians who take up arms against an enemy openly, or noncombatants associated with a military force.
ISLAMABAD: After the death of Pakistani prisoner, Sanaullah Haq, the inmates at the high security Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu area of Indian-administered Kashmir staged protests and raised anti-India slogans in the jail premises.
The jail authorities used brute force to prevent escalation in protests.
Angered over the death of Sanaullah at a Chandigarh hospital following murderous assault in the jail, Pakistani prisoners at the Kot Bhalwal jail also had a verbal brawl with Indian inmates,KMS reported.
Later, the Pakistani prisoners started fast to protest the death of Sanaullah. “Pakistani prisoners here (in the jail) have not taken food in afternoon. We are pursuing them,” a jail officer of the Kot Bhalwal jail Jammu told Indian news agency Press Trust of India.
Meanwhile, a senior officer of Prison department said, “27 items belonging to Sanaullah have been sent to Chandigarh through a special messenger.”
Later, the Pakistani prisoners started fast to protest the death of Sanaullah. “Pakistani prisoners here (in the jail) have not taken food in afternoon. We are pursuing them,” a jail officer of the Kot Bhalwal jail Jammu told Indian news agency Press Trust of India.
Sanaullah was attacked by ex-Indian trooper Vinod Kumar on May 3 inside the prison , a day after the Indian spy, Sarabjit Singh, died at a hospital in Lahore.
Ranjay’s body was flown by a special Pakistani plane to the city of Sialkot later Thursday for burial, Pakistan TV reported.
A Pakistan foreign ministry statement said the brutal manner in which Ranjay was attacked in the jail was most unfortunate. It demanded that India investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The foreign ministry on Thursday also accepted an offer from India for a meeting to come up with ways to avoid similar attacks in the future.
Omar Abdullah, top elected official of the Indian portion of Kashmir where Ranjay was attacked, offered his apology to his family and expressed his sympathies for their loss.
Syed Ali Geelani, a top Kashmiri separatist leader, said in Srinagar that the assault on Ranjay was a planned revenge attack and called for peaceful protests and special prayers on Friday. Srinagar is the summer capital and main city of the Indian portion of Kashmir.
Ranjay had been brought by air ambulance from Jammu to a bigger hospital in Chandigarh in the nearby state of Punjab.
A medical bulletin said Thursday that “he had multiple organ failure due to severe head injury.” His condition had become extremely critical as he also developed hypothermia.
There are 535 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails and 272 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, according to India’s External Affairs Ministry.
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Associated Press writer Sebastian Abbot in Islamabad and Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar contributed to this report.
According to various international laws and declarations, the principle of non-intervention involves the right of every sovereign state to conduct its affairs without outside interference. In this regard, Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter prohibits “interference in the internal affairs” of a state.
But setting aside international laws, and the UN Charter, Dana Rohrabacher introduced a House Concurrent Resolution in the US House of Representatives on February 17 this year, calling upon Pakistan to “recognise the right of self-determination for Balochistan.” The resolution has noted that “Baloch people are subjected to violence and extrajudicial killings.” Earlier, the US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs convened unprecedented hearing which was attended by the supporters of Baloch separtism and American scholars including human rights activists. It was chaired by Rohrabacher who allegedly said, “Balochistan is a turbulent land, marred by human rights violations”, requiring urgent attention. Recently, he has also co-authored an article, favouring an independent Balochistan. While other speakers accused that Pakistan’s security forces and its intelligence agencies were involved in extrajudicial killings and the forced disappearance of ethnic Baloch.
However, the Pakistan government has lodged a strong protest against the resolution on Balochistan. In this respect, Pakistan’s Foreign Office termed, the US Congress bill as violation of international laws, calling it as a clear interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani remarked that the US Congress resolution on Balochistan is against Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, members of the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh Assemblies also condemned the Congress resolution. Besides, other political and religious leaders including members of the civil societies and political analysts have strongly condemned the US Congress resolution as a “conspiracy against Pakistan”, “provocative”, and “intervention in country’s internal matters.”
It is notable that Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman has stated, “It is deeply regrettable that the legislature of a country that calls itself a friend of Pakistan should allow itself to be used as a platform by those advocating the dismemberment of Pakistan and provide justification to terrorists attempting to hold Balochistan, and Pakistan, hostage.” She added that this “will add to suspicions in Pakistan about American motives.”
In this connection, American motives have openly been exposed after this resolution. Notably, on August 14, 2009, Financial Times (online) had reported “Settlers from other parts of Pakistan, especially Punjab, have been given deadlines to leave.” As a matter of fact, this is what US-led India and Israel wanted by inciting the general masses of Balochistan to openly speak against the federation of Pakistan and the Punjabis for all the injustices, created by the Baloch feudal lords (Sardars) who have been fighting for their own so-called status, prestige and influence. They were running their own private jails and farrari camps, and resisted the government development projects as they did not want to give up the old system of feudal lords, while working on the American agenda.
Although Pakistan’s security forces have successfully been coping with the Taliban militants in the tribal areas, yet situation has deteriorated in Balochistan where subversive events and human rights violations have intensified. In fact, the US-led India and Israel have been supporting feudal lords of Balochistan to oppose country’s federation, providing arms and ammunition to the Baloch separatists.
It is noteworthy that the agents of American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mosssad are well-penetrated in various NGOs and human rights organisations which are being used for vile propaganda against Pakistan’s security forces. In this respect, on July 31, 2011, a rally was organized by Baloch Human Rights Council in UK in front of the US Embassy in London, which raised false allegations such as inhuman torture and extrajudicial murder of the Baloch intellectuals by the Pakistani army and ISI.
On August 3, 2011, ISPR spokesman, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, while rejecting human rights groups’ reports about Balochistan as a conspiracy against Pakistan, called for probing the funding of these organisations as this could be traced back to those forces which want to destabilise Pakistan.
It is notable that Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and an another group, Jundollah (God’s soldiers) which have been fighting for secession of the province gets logistic support from RAW and CIA, and are also trying to sabotage Pakistan’s relationship with China and Iran. In the past few years, their militants kidnapped and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan. Jundollah also arranged a number of suicide attacks in Iran, while Tehran had directly named CIA for assisting those terrorist attacks.
In fact, these militant groups which are responsible for extrajudicial killings also kidnapped and murdered many innocent people of Pakistan and the security personnel in the province. On a number of occasions, these insurgent groups claimed responsibility for subversive acts and forced abductions. Besides, many missing persons of Balochistan were murdered by foreign secret agencies in order to implicate Pak Army and ISI. But media and so-called NGOs including human rights groups not only exaggerate the figures of the disappeared persons, but also accuse Pak Army and ISI for extrajudicial killings. These entities have failed to provide details about the missing persons, spreading sensationalism and conducting press conferences without obtaining real facts.
Particularly, Balochistan’s geo-strategic location with Gwadar seaport, connecting rest of the world with Central Asia has irked the eyes of America and India because China has already invested billion of dollars to develop this seaport. However, it is due to multiple strategic designs that the US which signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008, seeks to control Balochistan in containing China and subduing Iran. Balochistan has also shifted the Great Game to Pakistan. This is also owing to the mineral resources of Balochistan—especially gold and copper that US-led India and Israel have accelerated their subversive acts such as target killings, hostage-takings, suicide attacks, fueling sectarian and ethnic violence in Balochistan by assisting their affiliated insurgent groups. In this context, CIA, RAW and Mossad which have well-established their network in Afghanistan to weaken Pakistan have been sending highly trained militants to Balochistan, who commit various acts of sabotage on regular basis. Their main aim is the dismemberment of Pakistan by separating the province of Balochistan.
Notably, on April 23, 2009 in the in-camera sitting of the Senate, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had displayed documentary evidence of foreign-backed militants’ infiltration from Afghanistan to Balochistan. The main aim of the in-camera session was also to show the engagement of American CIA in the province.
It is worth-mentioning that in August, 2011, US ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter had requested Pakistan government for opening a US consulate in Balochistan. But knowing the real intentions of America, Islamabad had flatly rejected the offer.
In the recent years, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has made strenuous efforts to develop the infrastructure in Balochistan, providing the people employment opportunities to bring the Balochis in the mainstream of the country. In this regard, Pak Army has not only established schools and colleges, but also set up technical and industrial institutes in the province, besides giving military training to the youth.
On October 11, 2011, Prime Minister Gilani highlighted the major development projects in Balochistan, aimed at the socio-economic uplift of its people so as to bring about a positive change in the area. He disclosed that the federal government would provide 30 percent of its shares of the Saindak Project to the Balochistan government, and planned to provide jobs to 20,000 youth from Balochistan, adding that under the NFC award, fund transferring has been increased. While Prime Minister Gilani who stated on February 15 that the government would soon convene an All Parties Conference (APC) to address the issues of Balochistan, has already declared 2012 the ‘Year of Balochistan.’
Nevertheless, this is the right time for the government that its announced policy for political, social and economic reforms must be implemented so as to remove sense of deprivation among the Balochis. And our politicians and media must convince the people, especially the youth that their Sardars want to restore old system of feudalism in the province, and are playing in the hands of foreign enemies, especially the US.
Nonetheless, Balochistan is an integral part of the Pakistan, with an elected government, so the US resolution is an insult to the mandate of masses of Balochistan. No doubt, hearing on Balochistan by the US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs has clearly exposed the US blatant intervention in the province and support to the Baloch separatists.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Two brothers from Panvel have been arrested for uploading a photograph on a social networking website depicting one of them desecrating a Shiva lingam.
Police had arrested the duo while they were at a relative?s house in Panvel on Thursday. Both the accused were laying low after the photo they uploa..
The Overheated, Oversexed Cult of Bikram Choudhury
At an advanced teacher-training session in San Diego, the inventor of “hot yoga” instructs a new generation of gurus. Is he leading them to enlightenment—or hosting a giant hookup party?
In a white circus tent heated to 105 degrees, 600 not-quite-naked people contort their bodies into positions you never knew were possible. The men have perfect, rippling muscles. The women (and the majority of students here are female) are long and taut, with fatless stomachs curved just enough to be erotic and breasts that perk cheerfully upward. They sit with their legs tucked behind their heads, bodies arranged like pretzels, then gracefully deploy their arms, hips, hands, and legs to open like Georgia O’Keeffe flowers into variations on the split. The mats beneath them are damp with sweat. Overhead, great white plastic ventilating tubes, 70 feet long and 5 feet wide, pump humidity into the air. The vinyl of the tent drips with condensation, and a locker-room aroma hangs in the air.
I’ve only just arrived, but this bacchanal of bare flesh has been going on for two months. These men and women have come to the sprawling Town and Country Resort Hotel on the outskirts of San Diego to become certified instructors of Bikram Yoga, the controversial American variant that is performed at extreme temperatures. Each has paid $7,000 in tuition and $3,900 in residence fees (all students must stay at the Town and Country) for nine weeks of study, six days a week. This includes two daily 90-minute yoga sessions, as many as five more hours of posture clinic (where they learn to correct their spine or shoulders in particular asanas, or postures), and evening lessons in anatomy and Hindu philosophy followed by Bollywood movies and Indian soap operas until 2:30 or 3 in the morning. When they leave, they will be certified to teach at one of the 5,000 Bikram Yoga studios worldwide.
That’s assuming they’re able to execute the demanding series of postures that make up Bikram. Right now, the students are in head-to-knee pose, or dandayamana-janushirasana: From a standing position, lift one leg so that it’s at a right angle to your body, keeping your knee locked, then bend your upper body forward toward the lifted leg. Imagine the tableau, the kaleidoscope of slim, strong-hipped, bowed bodies, the scene multiplied by the mirrors lining three of the four walls. Now it’s camel pose, or ustrasana: On your knees, hands on your hips, bend back until you grab your heels with your hands, then thrust your chest into the air. Before the session is over, 50 or so students have rolled up their mats and left, overwhelmed. I hear what sounds like the chop-chop-chopping of helicopter blades and realize it’s my own heartbeat. The ceiling spins. I roll over, open my eyes, and watch the ballet of it in the mirrors. I see more than I bargained for. Because of the heat, everyone is wearing the smallest, tightest thing they can, and, especially with the sweat, the clothes do not cover so much as exaggerate.
Morning practice is bigger than usual today because this is “Intensive Training Week,” when many come for the recertification required to maintain their teaching credentials. Most are working through the 84-posture intensive series, the two-hour-plus advanced routine practiced by the elite. This is the portion of the program that is personally supervised by Bikram Choudhury, the 64-year-old founder of Bikram Yoga. Only the best, bravest, and most beautiful practice at the feet of the guru, who sits cross-legged on a giant inflatable leather throne against the back wall. He’s in a black Speedo, bare-chested, his hair tied in a topknot. His triceps stand out like pistons. Sometimes a woman will brush his hair or wash and massage his feet. He resembles a cartoon genie on his magic carpet. Between cell-phone calls, he barks Bengali-inflected criticisms and corrections into his headset. He speaks only in exclamation points.
“You, Miss Teeny-Weeny Bikini! Spread your legs! You, Mr. Masturbation! Until I say ‘Change,’ you do not move a muscle!”
It’s hard to tell if these directives are intended for anyone in particular or if Choudhury is just working the crowd. He keeps up a patter of bawdy, sexually suggestive, often male-bashing banter throughout the session. Students—men, especially—have been known to complain, but for most, Bikram’s commentary is part of the package. He’s built his business, which has been estimated to earn him nearly $5 million a year, in large part by applying a veneer of eroticism to this ancient spiritual practice. For the women here, the “boss,” as he calls himself (and everyone else), offers a path to sexual awakening. For the men, Bikram Yoga is a great workout, and maybe an opportunity to get close to a few kundalini-stimulated hard bodies once class lets out.
Choudhury hums “Killing Me Softly” into the mic of his headset as his pupils struggle to hold a posture, even the strongest among them trembling. At last he gives the signal to change.
“This posture called dirty old bitch! Because not even one more inch can you stretch!”
UNDER THE BIG TOP: Choudhury strikes a favorite non-yoga pose.
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Born in Kolkata, India, Where Yoga is a competitive sport as well as a spiritual practice, Bikram Choudhury claims to have become the All-India National Yoga Champion at the age of 13. He left in 1970 after his guru, Bishnu Ghosh (the younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, who is generally credited with bringing yoga to the West), instructed him to spread the practice throughout the world. Choudhury’s principal innovation—heat—is supposed to increase flexibility and prevent injury, but he came to it by necessity. In Japan, where he first taught, he found himself shivering through his postures during winter, so he brought in space heaters. Suddenly it was easier for his students to lock their knees and touch their palms to the floor. As an added benefit, the saunalike temperatures heightened their sense of euphoria and purification after workouts. In 1972, when he launched Bikram’s Yoga College of India in a tiny studio in the North Beach section of San Francisco, the heaters came with him. Bikram Yoga was born.
UNDER THE BIG TOP: Choudhury strikes a favorite non-yoga pose.
