MAHANTA CREEPING LIES ON THE SECRET KILLINGS DONE DURING HIS TENURE
The appointment of the one-man KN Saikia panel by the State Government, to probe into the six specific charges of secret killings in Assam, has drawn flak from former Chief Minister and the man in the eye of the storm, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, under whose tenure at Dispur the secret killings took place.
Mahanta said that this was merely an attempt by the dispensation at Dispur to keep alive the issue to draw political mileage ahead of the forthcoming Assembly polls in the State.
Mahanta, while questioning the motive of the government in constituting the one-man panel, said that under the garb of probe, the government, in fact, was trying to placate a major rebel group in the State.
He also called for a thorough analysis of the motive behind the government’s decision of bringing back the six charges probed by the Justice J N Sharma panel under the jurisdiction of the newly-appointed KN Saikia panel.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Petition against "Shariat courts" is miguided
By Zafarul-Islam Khan
New Delhi, Aug 18 (The Milli Gazette): The petition filed by one VL Madan in the apex court seeking ban of "Islamic Courts" is based on utter ignorance. The petitioner claims that Muslims have set up a "parallel judicial" system, which, according to him, is a "challenge" to the country's judicial system. The petitioner, said to be an advocate, has also asked the central and state governments to dissolve all Shariat courts.
The petitioner has further claimed that in the case of Imrana, the village panchayat issued a "fatwa" asking her to treat her father-in-law as her husband. How can a village panchayat issue a "fatwa"? This is based on the misinformation spread at the time by the media which described the village panchayat as "Shariat panchayat." The truth is that the panchayat was a normal village council which had nothing to do with Islam or muftis or Shariat courts.
According to media reports, the petitioner has also claimed that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other Muslim bodies indulge in activities which are "an open, blatant and flagrant affront on [sic] the sovereign concept of the Constitution and deserved to be curbed and trampled, once and for all." In other words, the gentleman wants to abolish the religious and civil freedoms the Muslim community has continuously enjoyed since the advent of the British rule after the fall of the Mughal empire. Such a demand is a clear violation of the Indian Constitution, laws, fundamental and human rights as we understand them.
The petitioner, according to media reports, also claims that by issuing a fatwa on the Imrana issue, the Deoband seminary "hijacked the entire issue and thus prevented the criminal law of the land from taking its natural course." Far from this, there was an outcry against the fatwa within the Muslim community itself, and the fatwa in no way whatsoever thwarted the course of criminal justice as the fatwa was issued on 25 June while the alleged criminal was already arrested and jailed on 16 June, waiting prosecution in a Muzaffarnagar court.
Shariat courts are arbitration councils which have no real or claimed judicial powers or authority whatsoever. Hence these councils cannot not be termed as a "parallel system" by any stretch of imagination. Their verdicts are nothing more than recommendations and advice. It is entirely left up to the two parties to accept the verdict or to reject it. In case of rejection, the so-called "Shariat courts" is powerless and the Muslim community at large enjoys no authority to coerce the rejecting party or to enforce the verdict.
Our judicial and political systems encourage such reconciliation councils and committees where people can get free and speedy justice. Such councils take the burden off normal courts where millions of cases are pending and any case takes a decade or more to be decided. Lok Adalats, panchayats and various arbitration and adjudication councils and committees are playing this very role for the benefit of the ordinary people.
According to my knowledge, only the AIMPLB and Imarat-e Shar'iyah Bihar & Orissa have a few dozens of such "Shariah courts" in some cities and towns. Other "darul qazas" are local and autonomous bodies established by people in various towns and villages. In any case these so-called "courts" deal only with personal law issues, that is marriage, divorce and inheritance and the like in which both parties are Muslim.
The current petition is on the same lines as the one filed by Chandmal Chopra in the Calcutta High Court in June 1985 to ban the Qur'an. It was thrown out with the contempt it deserved. The fate of the current petition should not be different. It will be a test of Indian democracy and secularism: can it be generous enough to let its Muslim citizens continue to follow their personal laws which is a right given by the Constitution and reiterated by all governments since Independence. The image of India as a free, secular and humane democracy hangs with this choice.
By Zafarul-Islam Khan
New Delhi, Aug 18 (The Milli Gazette): The petition filed by one VL Madan in the apex court seeking ban of "Islamic Courts" is based on utter ignorance. The petitioner claims that Muslims have set up a "parallel judicial" system, which, according to him, is a "challenge" to the country's judicial system. The petitioner, said to be an advocate, has also asked the central and state governments to dissolve all Shariat courts.
The petitioner has further claimed that in the case of Imrana, the village panchayat issued a "fatwa" asking her to treat her father-in-law as her husband. How can a village panchayat issue a "fatwa"? This is based on the misinformation spread at the time by the media which described the village panchayat as "Shariat panchayat." The truth is that the panchayat was a normal village council which had nothing to do with Islam or muftis or Shariat courts.
According to media reports, the petitioner has also claimed that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other Muslim bodies indulge in activities which are "an open, blatant and flagrant affront on [sic] the sovereign concept of the Constitution and deserved to be curbed and trampled, once and for all." In other words, the gentleman wants to abolish the religious and civil freedoms the Muslim community has continuously enjoyed since the advent of the British rule after the fall of the Mughal empire. Such a demand is a clear violation of the Indian Constitution, laws, fundamental and human rights as we understand them.
The petitioner, according to media reports, also claims that by issuing a fatwa on the Imrana issue, the Deoband seminary "hijacked the entire issue and thus prevented the criminal law of the land from taking its natural course." Far from this, there was an outcry against the fatwa within the Muslim community itself, and the fatwa in no way whatsoever thwarted the course of criminal justice as the fatwa was issued on 25 June while the alleged criminal was already arrested and jailed on 16 June, waiting prosecution in a Muzaffarnagar court.
Shariat courts are arbitration councils which have no real or claimed judicial powers or authority whatsoever. Hence these councils cannot not be termed as a "parallel system" by any stretch of imagination. Their verdicts are nothing more than recommendations and advice. It is entirely left up to the two parties to accept the verdict or to reject it. In case of rejection, the so-called "Shariat courts" is powerless and the Muslim community at large enjoys no authority to coerce the rejecting party or to enforce the verdict.
Our judicial and political systems encourage such reconciliation councils and committees where people can get free and speedy justice. Such councils take the burden off normal courts where millions of cases are pending and any case takes a decade or more to be decided. Lok Adalats, panchayats and various arbitration and adjudication councils and committees are playing this very role for the benefit of the ordinary people.
According to my knowledge, only the AIMPLB and Imarat-e Shar'iyah Bihar & Orissa have a few dozens of such "Shariah courts" in some cities and towns. Other "darul qazas" are local and autonomous bodies established by people in various towns and villages. In any case these so-called "courts" deal only with personal law issues, that is marriage, divorce and inheritance and the like in which both parties are Muslim.
The current petition is on the same lines as the one filed by Chandmal Chopra in the Calcutta High Court in June 1985 to ban the Qur'an. It was thrown out with the contempt it deserved. The fate of the current petition should not be different. It will be a test of Indian democracy and secularism: can it be generous enough to let its Muslim citizens continue to follow their personal laws which is a right given by the Constitution and reiterated by all governments since Independence. The image of India as a free, secular and humane democracy hangs with this choice.
Malaysia Grooms Astronauts for Moon Mission
KUALA LUMPUR ,27/08/ 2005 – Malaysia said on Saturday, August 27, it is planning to send its first astronaut to the Moon by 2020.
"We must show to the world Malaysia can send its first astronaut to the International Outer Space Station," Science and Technology Minister Jamaludin Jarjis was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s Bernama news agency.
"We must look at our capabilities."
The minister said he believed Malaysians would want to see a fellow Malaysian setting foot on the Moon in line with the "Malaysia Boleh" (Malaysia Can) spirit.
He said a proposal on a lunar mission by 2020 would be forwarded to the cabinet soon.
Russia and Malaysia signed a deal in August 2003 to send the first Malaysian cosmonaut into space onboard Russia 's Soyuz spacecraft by 2007 as part of a scientific mission aboard the International Space Station.
Nearly 900 candidates are undergoing a series of rigorous tests to be selected in Malaysia 's 25-million-dollar space program.
Thirty-one candidates took part Saturday in the Astronaut Run at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in a selection process to pick the country's first astronaut.
They completed a 3.5km run in 20 minutes.
The first man-made object to land on the Moon was the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 2 in 1959. In 1968, the American crew of Apollo 8 became the first human beings to see the far side of the Moon.
Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo program landed twelve men on the Moon, the first of whom were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Since that time, the Moon has been the target of numerous landing and orbiting space probes.
KUALA LUMPUR ,27/08/ 2005 – Malaysia said on Saturday, August 27, it is planning to send its first astronaut to the Moon by 2020.
"We must show to the world Malaysia can send its first astronaut to the International Outer Space Station," Science and Technology Minister Jamaludin Jarjis was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s Bernama news agency.
"We must look at our capabilities."
The minister said he believed Malaysians would want to see a fellow Malaysian setting foot on the Moon in line with the "Malaysia Boleh" (Malaysia Can) spirit.
He said a proposal on a lunar mission by 2020 would be forwarded to the cabinet soon.
Russia and Malaysia signed a deal in August 2003 to send the first Malaysian cosmonaut into space onboard Russia 's Soyuz spacecraft by 2007 as part of a scientific mission aboard the International Space Station.
Nearly 900 candidates are undergoing a series of rigorous tests to be selected in Malaysia 's 25-million-dollar space program.
Thirty-one candidates took part Saturday in the Astronaut Run at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in a selection process to pick the country's first astronaut.
They completed a 3.5km run in 20 minutes.
The first man-made object to land on the Moon was the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 2 in 1959. In 1968, the American crew of Apollo 8 became the first human beings to see the far side of the Moon.
Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo program landed twelve men on the Moon, the first of whom were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Since that time, the Moon has been the target of numerous landing and orbiting space probes.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
BRAHMIN BRINDABON GOSWAMI FORGED APCC LETTER
ULFA demands prompt apology as Brindabon denies charge
GUWAHATI, Aug 20: The ULFA today charged AGP president Brindabon Goswami of masterminding the missive, supposedly written by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee secretary MH Choudhury, to the outfit stating that three Congress ministers — Gautam Roy, Anjan Dutta and Himanta Biswa Sarma — have agreed to pay Rs 5 lakh each to the outfit per month besides the payment of Rs 30 lakh made earlier to it.
The ULFA also demanded a public apology from Goswami saying that if it was not forthcoming Goswami’s political career would go the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta(another BRAHMIN) way.
In an e-mail missive to media houses, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said that a ULFA probe has proved that it was Goswami who had forged the letter written on the APCC letter head. The ULFA said that the letter was meant to discredit the ULFA chairman and his unequivocal patriotism.
The ULFA chairman also accused Brahmin Goswami of carrying out casteist politics in the State and casting aspersion on the revolutionary ethics of the ULFA leader.
The ULFA, in a reiteration, said that the way former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s political career has been sent for a toss for masterminding the secret killings in the State, Goswami, too, would face the ULFA music if a public apology does not come through.
It is worth mentioning here that the letter had created a furore in the Assam Assembly with the AGP and BJP even staging a walk-out. The Congress, on its part, had said in the floor of the Assembly that the letter was fake and should not be entertained, failing which a bad precedent would be established in the State. For the record, the Congress had also issued a show-cause notice to MH Choudhury to which the latter had replied. Even Transport Minister Anjan Dutta had asked the city SSP for a thorough probe into the affair.
Reacting on the development, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the ULFA letter had vindicated the Congress’ stand.
On the other hand, State observers have termed the ULFA allegation as the biggest political challenge for AGP leader Brindabon Goswami. The party has, of late, been weakened by splits at all levels. With elections round the corner, Goswami needs to prove his political mettle, they said.
Meanwhile, Brindabon Goswami, who is in New Delhi, said when contacted that neither he nor his party was involved in the episode.
He said that the party had raised the issue in the Assembly session based on media reports and wanted the Congress to clarify on the authenticity of the letter.
On being asked as to why the ULFA has singled him out, he said that upon his arrival in Guwahati on August 24 he would be in a position to comment in details.
ULFA demands prompt apology as Brindabon denies charge
GUWAHATI, Aug 20: The ULFA today charged AGP president Brindabon Goswami of masterminding the missive, supposedly written by Assam Pradesh Congress Committee secretary MH Choudhury, to the outfit stating that three Congress ministers — Gautam Roy, Anjan Dutta and Himanta Biswa Sarma — have agreed to pay Rs 5 lakh each to the outfit per month besides the payment of Rs 30 lakh made earlier to it.
The ULFA also demanded a public apology from Goswami saying that if it was not forthcoming Goswami’s political career would go the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta(another BRAHMIN) way.
In an e-mail missive to media houses, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said that a ULFA probe has proved that it was Goswami who had forged the letter written on the APCC letter head. The ULFA said that the letter was meant to discredit the ULFA chairman and his unequivocal patriotism.
The ULFA chairman also accused Brahmin Goswami of carrying out casteist politics in the State and casting aspersion on the revolutionary ethics of the ULFA leader.
The ULFA, in a reiteration, said that the way former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s political career has been sent for a toss for masterminding the secret killings in the State, Goswami, too, would face the ULFA music if a public apology does not come through.
It is worth mentioning here that the letter had created a furore in the Assam Assembly with the AGP and BJP even staging a walk-out. The Congress, on its part, had said in the floor of the Assembly that the letter was fake and should not be entertained, failing which a bad precedent would be established in the State. For the record, the Congress had also issued a show-cause notice to MH Choudhury to which the latter had replied. Even Transport Minister Anjan Dutta had asked the city SSP for a thorough probe into the affair.
Reacting on the development, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the ULFA letter had vindicated the Congress’ stand.
On the other hand, State observers have termed the ULFA allegation as the biggest political challenge for AGP leader Brindabon Goswami. The party has, of late, been weakened by splits at all levels. With elections round the corner, Goswami needs to prove his political mettle, they said.
Meanwhile, Brindabon Goswami, who is in New Delhi, said when contacted that neither he nor his party was involved in the episode.
He said that the party had raised the issue in the Assembly session based on media reports and wanted the Congress to clarify on the authenticity of the letter.
On being asked as to why the ULFA has singled him out, he said that upon his arrival in Guwahati on August 24 he would be in a position to comment in details.
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