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No special treatment to Manu: Sheila Dikshit

2009-11-09T02:05:00.001-08:00

D
elhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has said rules were followed in granting parole to Manu Sharma.

Manu Sharma, given the life sentence for murdering model Jessica Lall, is on parole, partly because his mother is ill. However, his mother has been organizing cricket matches, leading to doubts about her illness.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reportedly supported his application for parole.

"All procedure to give parole were followed. Details were taken from the jail superintendent & Delhi Police and detailed inquiries were made," she said.

"Files came to me only after that, which I signed. There was no special treatment given to Manu. This is the right of all convicts. If they have stayed in jail for a few years and have good behaviour, then they can be out on parole. Everyone gives certain reasons, committee looks into these and when if found appropriate, parole is given.

China protest baseless, visit to Tawang is non-political: Dalai Lama

2009-11-09T02:03:00.001-08:00

T
ibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who arrived in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday to a rousing reception by hundreds of monks, rejected Chinese claims that he was spearheading a separatist movement and said his visit to the northeastern state was non-political.

"It is quite usual for China to step up campaign against me wherever I go. It is totally baseless on the part of the Chinese Communist government to say that I am encouraging a separatist movement," the Dalai Lama told journalists at the Tawang monastery after inaugurating a museum.

The spiritual leader of the Tibetans, who has thousands of followers around the world arrived at this picture-pretty town perched at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet, close Chinese border, on a weeklong visit.

"My visit to Tawang is non-political and aimed at promoting universal brotherhood and nothing else," he stressed.

"I am very happy to be here in Tawang as there are lots of emotions involved. When I escaped from China in 1959, I was mentally and physically very weak as I was down with dysentery," he said.

It was through Tawang, a revered seat of Buddhism, that the Dalai Lama escaped the Chinese to enter India where he set up base in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.

Tawang is also spiritually important for the Tibetans as the sixth Dalai Lama was born in the 17th century at the Urgelling Monastery near here.

"The Chinese did not pursue us in 1959 but when I reached India, they started speaking against me. I am always surprised (by Chinese reactions)," the Dalai Lama said.

"Tibetan Buddhism and culture is passing through a very difficult period. But there is a hope of the religion and culture surviving in this free area, particularly in India. So there is lot of responsibility for people here and in south India to keep the flag flying," he added.

Thousands of locals in traditional costumes and monks attired in their maroon robes, waiting on either side of the eight-kilometre road leading from the helipad to the Tawang monastery, waved at a beaming Dalai Lama as his motorcade snaked through the hilly terrain.

The highly revered spiritual leader looked jovial as he was seen waving back at the crowd.

At the monastery, about 800 monks, including scores of child monks, gave the Dalai Lama a religious welcome amid chants of Buddhist hymns as a strong smell of burning incense wafted through the air.

Giant gongs were played by monks, while monastery priests prostrated as the Dalai Lama alighted from the vehicle. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and other high priests then led the spiritual leader inside the monastery.

Indian and Tibetan prayer flags fluttered, while banners and life-size posters of the Dalai Lama adorned the streets of the Tawang, home to about 35,000 people.

"It was a lifetime experience to have seen the Dalai Lama from so close. He waved back at us and I consider this to be a blessing for me and the people here," an excited child monk who identified himself as Sherbu said.

The Dalai Lama will hold a prayer session at a school playground near the monastery Monday. He would then visit the adjoining town of Bomdilla and Dirang November 12, before leaving for state capital Itanagar November 14. The visit ends November 15.

China has raked up a controversy by asking India not to allow the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, as it lays claim on the territory.

India and China fought a border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on Indian troops. China has never recognised the 1914 McMahon Line agreed between the British and the then Tibetan rulers

and claims 90,000 sq km of territory, that includes nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh.

A total of 140,000 Tibetans live in exile -- over 100,000 of them in India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.

Bombs explode near school, no casualty

2009-11-09T02:02:00.005-08:00

T
wo bombs exploded in front of a school in Bilasipara in Assam's Dhubri district today but there was no casualty or injury, police sources said.

The bombs, suspected to be dropped by dacoits while fleeing from the area, were found near Roukhapa Higher Secondary School in Bilasipara town.

The bombs exploded around 10.30 am but there was no casualty or injured as today being a Sunday, the school was closed.

Senior police and civil officials have rushed to the spot and the entire area has been cordoned off, sources added.

Dalai Lama arrival rouses sleepy Tawang

2009-11-09T02:02:00.003-08:00

D
awa Tsering, 56, cursed his mother for dragging him out on a freezing February morning in 1959 to see a bright young Tibetan man pass by his house with scores of followers. It didn’t take long for Dawa to know who the man was and why he had come from the land of the Gemi – a derogatory Monpa tribal term for the Chinese.

Dawa reached Tawang, 105 km southwest of his village Shok-Tsan, Saturday evening to catch a glimpse of the same man – the 14th Dalai Lama. He couldn’t, as the spiritual head of Mahayana Buddhism drove past in a silver-gray Toyota Fortuner with tinted glasses.

"My village by the river Ngamjang Chu is half a day’s walk from the Kentse Mani post (on the India-China border) from where he entered India fifty years ago," said Dawa, adding he would now have to stay back another day to see the Dalai Lama.

Tenzin Delek, 30, missed the Dalai Lama the last time he came here in 2003. So he trekked for three days from his village Mago near the border with Bhutan to the west. It didn’t matter for Tenzin that he couldn’t see the Dalai Lama meandering past a sea of humanity from the helipad 8 km downtown. "I know he saw me, and blessed my child from inside the car," said the man who had held his five-year-old son aloft as the SUV approached.

Dawa and Tenzin were among some 11,000 people including 500 Bhutanese who lined up the road from the helipad to the Gaden Namgyal Lhatse or Tawang Monastery. It was quite a spectacle for a 2,085 sq km district that has only 38,924 people.

For the local Monpa and Sherdukpen tribal people, the Dalai Lama's arrival was akin to attaining moksha. But for hundreds of Tibetan refugees living here and elsewhere in the Northeast, it was an emotional issue.

"Whenever we see him, we feel we are closer to the homeland the Chinese drove us away from," said 62-year-old Lhakpa Chokyi, a Tibetan refugee from Nagaland's capital Kohima. "I prayed for him - and our homeland - as he drove past."

As the Dalai Lama’s high-security motorcade comprising 30 vehicles passed through the town en route to the monastery, people chanted "om mani padme hum" – the sacred mantra of the Avaloketesvara. Hours before the civilian chopper landed around 10.30 am at the helipad 8 km downtown, the people lined up the street holding either a khada - traditional silk cloth - or a bunch of incense sticks.

The Dalai Lama drove straight to the 400-year old Tawang Monastery to first inaugurate the new museum building and the school library in the monastery campus. After the monks of the monastery welcomed him to the sacred hoots of the tunching, a five-foot long Monpa trumpet, he offered prayers in the dukhang or main prayer hall of the monastery.

Dalai Lama to push for Himalayan ecology conservation

2009-11-09T02:02:00.001-08:00

T
he choedhar – Buddhist religious flag – sports five colours from the blue symbolizing sky to the yellowish-ochre of earth with white, red and orange in between.

But when the 14th Dalai Lama landed from the sky on this spiritual spot in the eastern Himalayas and drove to the Tawang Monastery past rows of choedhars on Sunday, his emphasis was on another principal Buddhist colour – green representing vegetation.

"His Holiness is deeply concerned about the stress on the Himalayan ecology," former Arunachal Pradesh minister TG Rimpoche told Hindustan Times. "His agenda is to blend spiritualism with conservation using Tawang as the launch pad for his green mission."

Rimpoche, also the abbot of the Lumla Monastery 65 km west of this town, accompanied the Dalai Lama from Guwahati to Tawang in a 24-seater civilian chopper.

The Eastern Himalayas, part of the highly sensitive Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, are unstable and prone to landslips. The central and western Himalayas are more settled, but have been bearing the brunt of global warming.

According to Rimpoche, the Dalai Lama wanted to make a strong green statement ahead of the Copenhagen summit on climate change. "Emotionally attached to the Himalayas, which he feels needs to be saved to save the world, His Holiness insisted on dovetailing an eco-friendly programme with his three-day religious discourse. After all, Budhism is also about the environment people live in."

Accordingly, the Tawang district authorities slated a sapling-planting event before the start of the first session of the Dalai Lama’s sermons at the Yid-Gha-Choezin ground here on Monday. The spiritual head of Mahayana Buddhism would also be distributing to 1,500 lamas and devotees saplings blessed by him.

"We intend to plant these saplings, all indigenous species, on barren patches around this town. We shall also be seeking the help of local heads of the monasteries to expand the green mission to save the Himalayas," said Tawang Deputy Commissioner Gamli Padu.

Arunachal Pradesh, spread across the Eastern Himalayas, is one of the biologically richest regions on earth. A recent WWF report said between 1998 and 2008, at least 353 new species were discovered in this region – an average of 35 new species finds every year for the last 10 years.

I am not encouraging separatist movement in China: Dalai Lama

2009-11-09T02:01:00.005-08:00

T
he Dalai Lama, who arrived in this strategic Indian border state on a much-watched visit on Sunday to a rousing welcome by hundreds of monks, rejected Beijing's charges that he was spearheading a separatist movement. He said he would never return to China until the Tibetans there were treated properly.

"It's quite usual for China to step up campaign against me wherever I go. It's totally baseless on the part of Chinese Communist government to say that I am encouraging a separatist movement," the Tibetan spiritual leader told journalists here after inaugurating a museum at the historic Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh state.

The Dalai Lama, a highly venerated religious figure with thousands of followers around the world, arrived at this picture-perfect town perched at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet, close to the Chinese border, on a weeklong visit.

"My visit to Tawang is non-political and aimed at promoting universal brotherhood and nothing else," the Dalai Lama stressed.

"Unless the Chinese government addresses the basic problems of the Tibetans in Tibet seriously, there is no question of my return (to China)," he said.

Beijing had opposed the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh as it lays claim on the territory.

India and China fought a border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on Indian troops. China has never recognised the 1914 McMahon Line agreed between the British and the then Tibetan rulers and claims 90,000 sq km of territory, that includes nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh.

Asked about his stand on China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh, he said, "everybody knows the position and I have also made my stand very clear several times", implying that the state is an integral part of India that he has reiterated on earlier occasions.

"When I escaped China in 1959, I was mentally and physically very weak as I was down with dysentery," the spiritual leader recalled.

"Now I am very happy to be here in Tawang as there are lots of emotions involved. This is my fifth visit to Tawang."

It was through Tawang, a revered seat of Buddhism, that the Dalai Lama escaped the Chinese to enter India where he set up base in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.

Tawang is also spiritually important for the Tibetans as the sixth Dalai Lama was born in the 17th century at the Urgelling Monastery near here.

"The Chinese didn't pursue us in 1959, but when I reached India they started speaking against me," the Buddhist leader said. "Today China is taking a very hard approach towards me and the people of Tibet."

"Tibetan Buddhism and culture is passing through a very difficult period. But there is hope of the religion and culture surviving in this 'free area' (outside Tibet), particularly in India. So there is lot of responsibilities for people here and in south India to keep the flag flying," he said.

Earlier, thousands of locals in traditional costumes and monks in maroon robes, waiting on either side of the eight-kilometre road leading from the helipad to the Tawang monastery, waved at the Dalai Lama as his motorcade snaked past them.

The spiritual leader looked jovial as he was seen waving back at the crowd.

At the monastery, about 800 monks, including scores of child monks, welcomed their leader amid chants of Buddhist hymns as the smell of burning incense wafted through the air.

Giant gongs were played by monks while monastery priests prostrated as the Dalai Lama alighted from the vehicle. Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and other high priests then led the spiritual leader inside the monastery.

Indian and Tibetan prayer flags fluttered, while life-size posters of the Dalai Lama adorned the streets of Tawang, home to about 35,000 people.

"It was a lifetime experience to have seen the Dalai Lama from so close. He waved back at us and I consider this to be a blessing for me and the people here," an excited child monk who identified himself as Sherbu told this IANS correspondent.

The Dalai Lama will hold a prayer session at a school playground near the monastery Monday. He would then visit the adjoining town of Bomdilla and Dirang Nov 12, before leaving for state capital Itanagar Nov 14. The visit ends Nov 15.

A total of 140,000 Tibetans live in exile -- over 100,000 of them in India. Over six million Tibetans live in Tibet.

Six NLFT insurgents surrender

2009-11-09T02:01:00.003-08:00

W
ith Bangladesh security forces carrying out raids on their hideouts, six insurgents of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura have surrendered before troops in West Tripura district, police said on Monday.

Two of the ultras surrendered yesterday before the commandant of 15 Battalion of Assam Rifles at Hrankhawlpara camp under Teliamura police station and deposited two AK-series rifles, two magazines and cartridges.

The four others surrendered before the Commandant of 1st battalion of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) at Lefunga camp under Sidhai police station and deposited cartridges.

During interrogation, the insurgents revealed that security forces in Bangladesh were making frequent raids on their hideouts, mainly in Chittagong Hill Tracts, police said.

Around 330 insurgents of two banned outfits - NLFT and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have surrendered before security forces this year.

Dalai Lama stresses on peace as 30,000 attend Tawang discourse

2009-11-09T02:01:00.001-08:00

T
ibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday called for universal brotherhood and peace among all communities as he addressed more than 30,000 devotees in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Compassion and peace are the two words that should be remembered by all," the Dalai Lama said at the opening day of the three-day religious discourse at the Polo Ground in Tawang.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who arrived on a weeklong visit to this strategic Indian border state on Sunday, had raked up a controversy by hitting out at China during two separate interactions with journalists on the first day of his trip.

The Dalai Lama said Chinese opposition to his visit to Arunachal Pradesh was "totally baseless" and was on expected lines and nothing "unusual".

He also charged Beijing of unnecessarily trying to accuse him of encouraging a "separatist movement" in Tibet.

Beijing had opposed the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh as it lays claim on the territory.

India and China fought a border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on Indian troops. China has never recognised the 1914 McMahon Line agreed between the British and the then Tibetan rulers and claims 90,000 sq km of territory, that includes nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh.

Thousands of followers, including monks donning maroon robes and some foreign devotees, listened to the Dalai Lama's preachings sitting on the ground under a clear sky.

"The congregation was huge and it should be around 30,000 to 35,000 people already inside the ground," said T.G. Rinpoche, a local Buddhist spiritual leader.

Earlier, the Dala Lama inaugurated a multi-speciality hospital in Tawang. He had contributed Rs.2 million towards its construction.

"The hospital would go a long way in meeting the healthcare needs of the local people," the Dalai Lama said.

The religious discourse at Tawang would continue till Wednesday.

The Tibetan leader would then visit the adjoining towns of Bomdilla and Dirang Nov 12, before leaving for state capital Itanagar Nov 14. The visit ends Nov 15.

On Sunday, the Dalai Lama had stressed that his visit to Tawang was "non-political".

It was through Tawang, a revered seat of Buddhism, that the Dalai Lama escaped the Chinese to enter India where he set up base in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.

Tawang is also spiritually important for the Tibetans as the sixth Dalai Lama was born in the 17th century at the Urgelling Monastery near here.

Dalai Lama donates Rs 20 lakh for Tawang hospital building

2009-11-09T02:00:00.003-08:00

T
ibetan Spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama on Monday inaugurated a district hospital in Tawang and donated Rs 20 lakh for its building on the second day of his visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Dalai Lama inaugurated the Kahndo-Dowa Songma Tawang district hospital and consecrated a Buddhist statue at its entrance.

Later he visited the Yid-Ta-G-Choezin ground where he planted saplings and also distributed some of them among the thousands of devotees assembled there.

Addressing the devotees, the 74-year-old Tibetan monk asked the younger generation to join monasteries to carry forward Buddha's message of peace.

"Buddhist culture and tradition have to be preserved at every cost," he said. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dorjee Kandu urged the people to preserve the Buddhist culture in this part of the country.

The Dalai Lama, who arrived here on Sunday on a four-day visit, had rebuffed China for objecting to his trip to Arunachal Pradesh and expressed surprise over its claims to Tawang, a revered seat of Buddhism.

In Tawang, Dalai Lama slams China

2009-11-09T02:00:00.001-08:00

I
t is the future of Tibetans that matters, not mine, the Dalai Lama (74) declared on Sunday, revisiting Tawang after six years.

“The issue is not my going back (to Tibet). It is the well-being of six million Tibetans,” he said soon after his arrival.

The four-day visit drew international attention after China objected to it. It is also steeped in symbolism. Tawang — 550 km northeast of Guwahati, at a height of 8,750 feet — houses the world’s biggest Buddhist monastery outside Lhasa in Tibet. It is located in Arunachal Pradesh, a region China has always claimed as it own.

This monastery was the first spot where the Dalai Lama paused for a few days while fleeing Tibet after the Chinese army overran it in March 1959.

The Dalai Lama said China first established direct contact with him in 1980, outlining five conditions if he wished to return to Tibet. “They offered to send an envoy to Delhi to take me back, but I turned them down.”

Beijing re-established contact in 1993, and again in 2002. “They made me a fresh offer to return,” the Dalai Lama said. “But my reply was the same.”

Thousands lined the streets of the town as the Dalai Lama’s motorcade passed. For locals, all Buddhists, the sight of him was akin to attaining moksha (salvation).

“Whenever we see him, we feel closer to the homeland the Chinese drove us away from,” said 62-year-old Tibetan refugee Lhakpa Chokyi.

Madhu Koda to be questioned by IT department from Tuesday

2009-11-08T21:32:00.001-08:00

New Delhi, Nov 8(ANI): Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who was discharged from a city hospital here today, will be questioned by the Income Tax (IT) Department at his Ranchi residence from Tuesday over an alleged Rs 2,000 hawala transaction case.

“Now that he (Koda) has been discharged from hospital, we have recorded his statement. He said that he is still not feeling well and wants some time before being questioned. So, we have decided to question him from Tuesday,” an IT official said.

The official also informed that Koda has been put on a prohibitory order, which does not restrict his movement, but he would not be allowed to remove any object from his residence.

According to reports, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been informed about the IT department''s move to question Koda and they would be closely following it.

Earlier in the day, Koda was discharged from Apollo Hospital in Ranchi, where he was admitted after he complained of a pain in his abdomen, giddiness and vomiting on November 3.

The department has also asked its officers in Ranchi to bring a list of the seizures and records of statements of his associates, which will be put across to Koda during the questioning.

On October 9, the ED had charged Madhu Koda and his former Cabinet colleagues under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly amassing assets worth several hundred crores.

Koda, an independent member of Lok Sabha and a UPA supporter, has been charged with having business interests of diverse kinds - cement, steel, auto, power, agro and tourism. (ANI)

Assam: Ulfa calls for 12-hour bandh

2009-11-08T21:31:00.001-08:00

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he Ulfa has called for a 12-hour bandh on Monday demanding the release of their two top leaders - Sasadhar Chowdhury and Chitrabon Hazarika, who were picked up in Bangladesh and handed over to India.

The outfit wants these two leaders to be produced in front of the media. The Ulfa leaders, who fled Bangladesh after a security crackdown there, surrendered to the Border Security Force in Tripura.

The leaders were produced in a Guwahati court. They are being interrogated by a special branch of the Assam Police who will be joined by central intelligence agencies soon.

Fifty-year-old Chitrabon Hazarika who belongs to Nowong district of Assam, had escaped to Bangladesh before the crackdown on militants in Bhutan.

Hazarika was one of the central committee leaders of Ulfa who was trained in early eighties along with NSCN cadres.

Sasadhar Chowdhury who hails from Nalbari district, is known as Hasan Ali in Bangladesh and holds a diploma in civil engineering
.

Chowdhury even tried to take the cause of Ulfa in interational forums too.

Burmese army targets India rebels

2009-11-08T00:37:00.001-08:00

B
urmese troops have surrounded a base of Naga separatists in the country's northwest and begun bombing it, Indian military officials said.

They said Indian troops have fanned out in the hills opposite this base in Sagaing to arrest any rebels who may try to flee into Indian territory.

The base is operated by the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).

There are around 300 rebels at the base, Indian intelligence agencies say.

Most of them are NSCN guerrillas, but around 50 of them belong to the separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa).

Two Burmese light infantry regiments are involved in the attack, they said.

But Burmese military officials or diplomats were unwilling to provide details.

Villagers around Maniakshaw in Sagaing said they could see the Burmese troops firing mortars, targeting the camp.

Diplomatic pressure

Indian troops confirmed heavy shelling of the Naga rebel base since late on Thursday but were not sure whether the Burmese had launched an infantry assault.

Burma's military junta has been under Indian diplomatic pressure to launch assaults against northeast Indian rebel bases in its territory for some time now.

But the junta has cited counter-insurgency commitments elsewhere in the country for not starting an offensive against these bases located mostly in Sagaing division in the hilly northwest of the country.
The Bhutanese army demolished the north-eastern Indian rebel bases in the southern part of the kingdom in December 2003 in an operation.

The success of that operation has prompted India to push its other neighbours in the east to initiate similar military action against the rebels from the northeast.

Bangladesh's new Awami League led government has also started a crackdown against north-eastern rebel hideouts on their hideout.

The separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has alleged that Bangladesh police has picked up two of the senior leaders from Dhaka this week and expressed apprehensions that they may be handed over to India.

Farmer recalls Dalai Lama's gruelling trek to freedom

2009-11-08T00:09:00.001-08:00

F
ifty years ago, Auja Lama was among the thousands who received the Dalai Lama as he reached the frontier Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh while fleeing Chinese suppression.

Auja was just 10 years old when in 1959, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, disguised as a soldier and with a small escort of 80-odd followers, reached Tawang after he undertook a gruelling trek to freedom.

"The Dalai Lama was on muleback and he waved at a large crowd that lined the road to see him. My father broke a security cordon and managed to touch his feet...the crowd was kept at a distance with soldiers escorting the spiritual leader," Auja, now 60 years old, told IANS.

Today Auja's excitement is palpable as he is eagerly waiting to get a glimpse of the Dalai Lama when the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists arrives here Sunday on a weeklong visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

"He is our God and even a glimpse of him from a distance would be like atoning my sins. I am blessed as I was among those who saw him from close in 1959," Auja, a farmer in a village close to the border with China, said.

Auja is the elder brother of Tashi Lama whose album "Tibetan Master Chants" was nominated in the Best Traditional World Music category for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006.

"The Dalai Lama spent a night at a government rest house before undertaking his onward journey from Tawang," Auja recalled.

"After nearly three weeks of gruelling trekking on foot and on muleback, the entourage managed to reach Tawang from where he was escorted to Bomdilla, a township,"

T. Dhondhup, the newly elected Congress party legislator from Tawang, told IANS.

"I was told that the Dalai Lama's entourage took more than a week to cross the Tawang district as there were no roads that time."

Dhondup heard the stories of the Dalai Lama's escape from China from his parents as he was just two years old in 1959.

The then 24-year-old Dalai Lama's formal request letter to the Indian government for asylum reached the hands of a local journalist by mistake in Shillong, the former headquarters of the northeastern region.

"The messenger who carried the letter written in English by the Dalai Lama requesting the Indian government to grant them asylum in India reached me instead of the police chief who was residing adjacent to my residence," Naresh Rajkhowa, a former correspondent of Assam Tribune, said.

"I first copied the entire letter before sealing it once again to be handed over to the police chief," 86-year-old Rajkhowa said.

The trek to freedom for Tibetans fleeing the Chinese was a daunting 1,000-km journey through the Himalayas, shadowed by the constant danger of frostbite and avalanches.

In order to avoid Chinese troops and border guards, most crossings were attempted during the harsh winter months, and precious few of those making the journey had the right clothing or equipment to combat the high altitude, sub-zero temperatures and hazardous conditions.

Even today hordes of Tibetan refugees enter India for asylum.

Top ULFA leaders flee Bangladesh

2009-11-08T00:08:00.005-08:00

I
n a setback to ULFA, Bangladeshi security agencies have launched a crackdown on their leaders there, forcing them to flee.

In another development, two leaders of the banned outfit have surrendered to the BSF.

Self-styled ULFA foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury and self-styled finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika surrendered at Gokulnagar along the Indo-Bangla border in Tripura, a BSF official told PTI.

The two were reportedly trying to enter India when they were spotted by the troops and made to surrender, he said.

Intelligence agencies said Bangladesh security agencies have raided some hideouts of the leaders of the outfit this week, prompting the cadres to flee.

ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa was said to be absconding as he slipped away hours before the raid in three different locations, according to intelligence inputs.

ULFA 'commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua is currently camping somewhere in China, the inputs said, adding some of the cadres might have been detained by the Bangladesh security agencies.

Stage set for polls in two Assam assembly seats on Saturday

2009-11-08T00:08:00.003-08:00

T
wo Assam assembly constituencies go to polls on Saturday amid tight security, officials said.

An Election Commission official said voting for the Dhekiajuli and South Salmara seats would begin at 7 a.m.

The by-elections were necessitated after incumbent legislators Joseph Toppo from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Badruddin Ajmal of the Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) were elected to the Lok Sabha in May.

Around 161,959 voters will decide the electoral fate of seven candidates in Dhekiajuli with the fight for political supremacy expected between the AGP and the Congress.

Dhekiajuli is in north Assam's Sonitpur district, about 160 km from here.

Three independent candidates contesting the polls in Dhekiajuli late on Thursday announced their support to the Congress.

"We are confident of winning the seat," Congress candidate Bhimananda Tanti told IANS.

In the South Salmara seat, the contest is expected to be a direct one between the AUDF and the Congress party.

The AUDF has fielded Abdur Rahman Ajmal, son of party chief Badruddin Ajmal, while former minister Wajed Ali Choudhury is the Congress candidate.

This is the first time Ajmal's son, a 28-year-old Islamic cleric from Deoband, has entered the electoral fray.

A total of 131, 836 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in South Salmara with five candidates in the running.

South Salmara is in west Assam's Dhubri district, about 300 km from here.

Sukhoi in NE skies from next week

2009-11-08T00:08:00.001-08:00

S
ukhoi fighter jets will start flying in the skies of the northeastern region from next week.

According to defence officials, around six aircraft of the warplane's MKI variant have reached Tezpur air base in Assam a few days ago and a full complement of the warplanes is expected to arrive by the year end.

Flight training and operational sorties of the aircraft are likely to begin early next week and preparations were on in this regard, they said, adding that besides Tezpur, a full squadron of Sukhoi fighter jets would also be deployed at Chabua base in eastern Assam subsequently.

The IAF was also contemplating to deploy another squadron at Bagdogra air base in West Bengal, the officials said.

The Su-30s had operated from Tezpur air base when they were formally inducted in the base on June 15. Since then, the air base which has been upgraded to house the jets was also opened for civil aviation.

Tawang ready to welcome Dalai Lama

2009-11-08T00:07:00.005-08:00

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estled among the snow-capped mountains and perched at a height of 10,000 feet, picturesque Tawang is all set to welcome the Dalai Lama on his sixth visit to Arunachal Pradesh starting from Tamang.

Colourful posters with pictures of the Tibetan spiritual leader and flags welcome visitors to the place, where the Dalai Lama had landed in 1959 after his escape from Tibet.

A security blanket has been thrown around the area, strategically located between - China and Myanmar, with the Tawang district administration making all efforts to ensure a peaceful visit of the leader whose visit has been resented by China which has laid claim to the sensitive border state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Lama Tashi, director of the Himalayan Studies and Research Centre, who was nominated for the Grammy award for his songs based on Tibetan master chants, says the visit would give a strong signal to China that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country.

"People regard him as god and, therefore, no objection should be raised from any quarter for his visit to the state," Tashi says.

IAF glider makes 'precautionary landing'

2009-11-08T00:07:00.003-08:00

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n Indian Air Force (IAF) power hand-glider made a 'precautionary landing' in Assam's Barpeta district on Saturday while it was flying from Hasimara in North Bengal to Guwahati.

IAF sources here said "inclement weather" forced the pilots to land the glider on the banks of the Brahmaputra near Bohori.

There was no injury to the two IAF personnel in the glider, they said adding it will later fly to Guwahati.

Assam Police takes custody of ULFA leaders; starts questioning

2009-11-08T00:07:00.001-08:00

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he BSF has handed over the two top ULFA leaders, who were picked up from the Indo-Bangla border in Tripura, to Assam Police which started their interrogation.

Self-styled ULFA foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika, who were pushed into Indian territory by the Bangladeshi authorities, were flown into Guwahati on Friday night in a special aircraft by a team of Assam Police officials.

"We have taken over the custody of the two ULFA leaders and they will be produced in a court here today for further custody," Additional Director General of Assam Police Khagen Sarma told PTI.

The special branch of the Assam Police has started their interrogation and they will be joined by sleuths of central intelligence agencies soon.

The banned group reacted quickly calling an Assam bandh on Monday protesting the "military action" and demanding unconditional release of Choudhury and Hazarika.

Claiming that the two top leaders were picked by some camouflage men on November 1, a statement issued by the banned group's chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said, "Instead of pursuing a peaceful political solution to the issue, Indian colonial forces are trying to settle it using military power."

Bangladesh has launched a major crackdown on ULFA militants operating from its soil by apprehending the two leaders and subsequently pushing them into Indian territory from where BSF took the duo into custody.

BSF officials, however, insisted the ULFA leaders have surrendered before them after fleeing Dhaka following an "internal clash" among the cadres.

IPS officer shoots self, family alleges harassment

2009-11-08T00:06:00.001-08:00

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senior IPS officer in Shimla committed suicide on Sunday morning.

Jagjeet Kumar, Inspector General for rail and traffic in Himachal Pradesh, shot himself at home.

His family allege that he was being harassed by his seniors, and that was the reason behind his death.

Mental disorder cases pile up in Manipur

2009-11-05T03:06:00.001-08:00

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fter simmering in militancy for a quarter of a century, Manipur is a wreck.

There are at least three dozen separatist militias operating in the state. The fall-out: an average of two psychiatric cases are reported everyday, each of them stemming from conflict-related disorders, and that's just at one government mental health centre in Imphal. The state has only 13 psychiatrists. It needs at least thrice the number to attend to the growing number of patients

Virtually every family in Manipur has at least one member who had been -or remains - abducted by militants. Every second family has lost a member or more to militancy.

We choose a house at random to find a state government officer who managed to return to safety. ''I had to escape, otherwise they would shoot me or beat me. It's because of my driver I could escape," he says on the condition that his name is not revealed.

It's also an open secret that every single family pays a monthly fee to militants. Reportedly, even the police and politicians are not exempt. Any attempt to avoid the extortion, or abandon the negotiations for how much, leads to kidnapping.

So often in Imphal, people live in half-constructed houses; a finished house would suggest a higher income, leading to a bigger amount demanded by the militants.

So Manipur tries to live quietly, hoping to not catch the attention of either the separatist groups, or the armed forces, which locals say, are often a bigger terror.

More than anyone else, they blame New Delhi for an indifference to their problems, which are now affecting not just their physical but also their mental safety.

New Delhi's indifference... and terror tactics by at least three dozen separatist militias operating in the state.

Assam rebels 'arrested in Dhaka'

2009-11-05T01:20:00.001-08:00

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separatist group in India's troubled north-east says that Bangladeshi police have arrested two of their top leaders.

The United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) said armed men in civilian dress entered their safe house in Dhaka and took away the two men at gunpoint.

Dhaka has arrested Ulfa leaders in the past. Separatist commander Anup Chetia served almost 12 years in jail there.

The group was founded on 7 April 1979. The rebels are fighting for a separate homeland for the Assamese people.

There has been no comment from the Bangladeshi authorities as yet.

Safety plea

Chitrabon Hazarika and Sasha Chaoudhary were taken from a house in Dhaka just past midnight on 2 November, senior Ulfa leader Raju Barua said in an e-mailed statement.

Mr Barua said the two leaders were told they were being taken for questioning.

He appealed to Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to ensure their safety.

"We are living in Bangladesh as law-abiding citizens, so why should we be harmed in their country," Mr Barua said in the statement.

Ever since the Awami League party came to power in Bangladesh in January, the Ulfa and other north-eastern rebel groups have been under pressure to leave the country or face action.

Some rebels have been arrested and sent back to India on charges of illegal entry into Bangladesh, while others have been held for questioning to secure information on rebel hideouts.

NC hills may again erupt in violence courtesy NSCN-IM

2009-11-05T00:49:00.001-08:00

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ven after the en-masse surrender of DHD(J) rebels North Cachar hills may again erupt in violence. A section Hmar people in the hills district are receving extortion notices from NSCN(IM) who have asked them to leave their places if they fail meet the demand. NSCN(IM)'s falcone eye this falls on the Hmar people who have been living in North Cachar hills over the decades. According to information available with NETV, the Naga insurgent group operating in Nagaland is serving extortion notices in the Hmar dominated areas in the hils district. The Naga insurgent further have asked the Hmar people to vacate the vilages if they fail to meet the demands. This was was Hmar Peoples' Convention Democratic spokesman Sewm Hmar told NETV. Needless to say, it is a clear indication of yet another unrest in the hills distirct after the DHD(J) rebels have joined the national mainstream. The HPC(D) leader says the extortion notices are spreading panic among the Hmar people in the distirct. He further urged the NSCN(IM) to withdraw the extortion notices. The situation may turn violent if the authorities fail to deal with these right now. It, however, remains to be seen how the government takes up it.

No resolution against Vande Mataram passed before me: PC

2009-11-05T00:48:00.003-08:00

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inding himself in the midst of controversy on the Vande Mataram Fatwa issued by the Jamiat Ulama e Hind in a function in Deoband, which he had also attended, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today clarified that he was not present when the Fatwa was pronounced. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday contended that he was not present when the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind adopted a resolution at its 30th general session in Deoband on Tuesday asking Muslims not to recite 'Vande Mataram'. "Home Minister P Chidambaram was at the JUH conference at Deoband on November 3 between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon. No resolution was passed during that period. When he spoke, he was not aware of any resolution relating to Vande Mataram or women's reservation and television," a statement issued by his aide said. Besides, the Home Minister was reading from a prepared text and there was no occasion to depart from that text, the statement said reacting to a statement of BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Through its resolution, Jamiat has asked members of the community not to recite 'Vande Mataram' on the grounds that some verses of the national song are against the tenets of Islam. The Jamiat's opposition to the recitation of the song came when it supported seminary Darul Uloom's 'fatwa' (edict) which opposes any prayer involving the song. Naqvi had on Tuesday said the presence of Chidambaram at the programme "gave legitimacy to the resolution...it is a matter of concern."