RESEARCH

_______________ Surajit Dasgupta _______________ C PI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat has surprised nobody by stating he does not rule out the possibility of the Marxists' joining a coalition government post-2009 elections that is not led by the Indian National Congress but where the latter plays a participatory role. In their recent interviews, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, among the UPA Government's prominent functionaries, have spoken cautiously, avoiding direct criticism of the communists, despite the bitterness over the Left's withdrawal of support to the government last year on the issue of India-US civilian nuclear agreement. Any truck with the BJP, however, has been ruled out by Karat, again, not unexpectedly. And no Congressman worth his salt has ever endorsed the idea of a 'national government' comprising all political parties including the RSS's political wing. The post-poll alliance scenario couldn...

... that freed India in 1947 _______________ Surajit Dasgupta _______________ Today, the attention of this writer was drawn to an article written by Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar on the occasion of India's Independence Day in 2003 (though it appeared in print two days later as that was the closest Sunday, the day when Swami's column appears in The Times of India ). The article insists the British left India, forced more by the indigenous uprising than by its weak economy post-World War II. And the person who brought the article to my notice through Orkut calls the waning of British power as a reason for India's independence an ill-researched theory floated, he guesses, by the Sangh Parivar (why?). The juxtaposition of Swami's Independence Day article with this blog-post, coincidentally penned right after the Republic Day, should help the readers reach their own judgement Another Independence Day has come and gone. Right through history, imperial powers have clung to the...

... to Islamic extremism in India ______________ Surajit Dasgupta ______________ This article is not to suggest that the only security problem India is facing at the moment owes to the intolerant part or interpretation of Islam. For sure, the Hindutwa movement, increasingly turning violent in several parts of India, is a cause for concern. And so is the Christian evangelical zeal that entails abusing Hindu beliefs, which is being practised largely in southern India, providing ample provocation to those who would have us believe that Hinduism is facing the threat of extinction. But there is no dearth of counsellors teaching lessons of restraint to Hindu extremists. As for Christian extremism, which has stayed away from bombing the country so far, mercifully, it is a subject matter of a separate article. Let us first look for solutions within the religion that has produced most of the terrorists and for the longest period of time. For, sane voices from Muslim moderates are not being able...

The return of an old terror strategy will ultimately lead to public defiance of law in India A terrorist in action Here he is joined by an accomplice (snaps from a television footage) Fire engulfs the Taj Palace Hotel Employees and guests of the Taj Palace Hotel being rescued by a fire crew Policemen taking position at the site of attack in the Colaba area All photos above: AFP A policeman supports an elderly man after assailants opened fire at a Mumbai railway station Photo: Reuters Scenes of scare and chaos such as this one were all over the blood-splattered streets of Mumbai last night Photo: AP Some victims of the terror strike inside a local hospital Photo: AFP ______________ Surajit Dasgupta ______________ T he shooting spree that the terrorists got into last night in Mumbai, killing more than a hundred citizens and tourists, indicates a possible return of the bloodcurdling days of the modus operandi of Sikh terrorists in the Punjab-Delhi belt of the 1980s. After years of blasti...

It's time the Hindu right wing owned up the black sheep in its herd and the administration stopped hounding innocent Muslims ______________ N Jamal Ansari ______________ S ome of the recent revelations on the 30 September Malegaon incident of bombing indicate that some fanatics from the Hindu community are indulging in terrorist activities and they are sure that the blame will go on to the Muslims. It is because whenever any blast takes place anywhere, the media and security agencies name culprits within minutes, which is impossible in such circumstances. Highly communalised police investigate the incident in their own way. Innocent Muslims become their target. In the process, real culprits go scot-free. Earlier, despite some incriminating evidence, investigating agencies and the media never tried to question violence-driven Hindu outfits. But of late, reality is coming on the surface. Voice of America was the first to report the involvement of sundry Hindu outfits in terrorist act...

Inside Chandrayaan I : Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft undergoing pre-launch tests Moon Impact Probe integration with Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft Readying Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft for Thermovac test Fully integrated Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft (left) and loading it to Thermovac Chamber (right) PSLV-C11 Third and Fourth Stages : PSLV-C11 fourth stage PSLV-C11 Vehicle stacked up to fourth stage Hoisting of third and fourth stages of PSLV-C11 PSLV-C11 Second Stage : Hoisting of PSLV-C11 Second Stage PSLV-C11 Second Stage with its VIKAS engine PSLV-C11 First Stage : Loading of PSLV-C11 First Stage Nozzle End Segment PSLV-C11 First Stage Nozzle End Segment on its way to Vehicle Assembly Building Positioning of PSLV-C11 First Stage Nozzle End Segment over launch pedestal PSLV-C11 Strap-on : Unloading a PSLV-C11 strap-on from transporter at Vehicle Assembly Building Fully Assembled First Stage surrounded by strap-ons of PSLV-C11 PSLV-C11 On Launch Pad : PSLV-C11 comming out from Vehicle A...

The VHP, Bajrang Dal and their supporters in the RSS are blots on Hindu society; it's time the community's visible, educated faces disowned them openly _______________ Surajit Dasgupta _______________ I n the aftermath of the Union Government's gentle threat to the Orissa and Karnataka Governments and the mild censure of the militant Hindu outfits by BJP leader LK Advani, some apologists of the Sangh Parivar have now started a wild goose hunt for justifications. Never mind that when Muslims talk of their 'grievances', these very apologists say terrorism cannot be thus justified. This article is not to equate the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal with terrorists. It is to equate how both Hindu and Muslim thought leaders try to justify the violent outlet of frustration and anger by some fellows from their respective communities. One of the several excuses for hounding Christians in Karnataka, which the Parivar's defenders are forwarding, is the publication...