Common Indian: Born Victim

Indian President APJ Kalam has expressed concerns over the country's rising inflation, saying the government will strive to keep it in check. India's inflation has soared to over 6.5% this year, exceeding the government's annual target. - BBC.co.uk, 23 February 2007. This in the same week where another bomb went off in a train in Panipat, India killing almost 70.

Killer Policies

70 Farmer Suicides in Vidarbha in 2007. In the last three days, nine more farmers have committed suicide in Vidarbha. This brings the number of suicides in six districts of Vidarbha to 1000 – after the visit by the PM and an announcement of a special package of Rs 3750 Crores on July 1st, 2006. Even official data shows that the state of cotton growers in west Vidarbha has worsened with the wrong policies of the state, and free trade policies tied to economic liberalization. - www.thesouthasian.org, 11 February 2007

Blinded By Capitalism

The world sat up and listened when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its report released last week in Paris, said that climate change was real and man-made. The first report said that temperatures in the next century are expected to go up by 2.5 to 4.5 degrees Centigrade. What does this exactly translate for India? Most figures add up to a serious shortage of water and threat to food security. It just might be the wake up call that policy-makers in India need. - Indian Express, 12 February 2007

And The Future Is...

Indibloggies 2006

.pOINT_bLANK has been nominated for the most humorous Indiblog at Indibloggies 2006.

To vote go to www.indibloggies.org. Voting is open till 20th Feb 2007. Some say that the ballot is stronger than bullets. Thank You!

The Nero Of Bengal

Violence rocked Singur again as members of the Singur Save Land Committee who tried to uproot fences at four places around the project area clashed with the police who lathicharged and then lobbed tear gas shells to turn them away. The protesters alleged that the police also fired rubber bullets, but the police refuted the charge. - Indian Express, 8 February 2007

Violence erupted for the second time today since the first outburst on January 3 when people protesting against land acquisition for a proposed SEZ in Bhawanipore near Nandigram murdered a policeman of the district intelligence bureau around noon today. - Indian Express, 8 February 2007

Bail The Rich, Jail The Rest

Relatives of the 1993 blasts convicts reiterated their demand that other convicts too be given bail and discharged from TADA charges, like Sanjay Dutt. "Is Sanjay God that only he is being talked about? Aren't the others human beings?" asked convict Yusuf Kasim Khan's wife Rubina at a press conference organised by Jan Morcha. - Indian Express, 10 February 2007

Communal Violence

Barley 10 days after communal clashes in Bangalore city, Section 144 has again been imposed in the Bidar area of Karnataka. - Moneycontrol, 02 February 2007
As political parties gear for Assembly elections, this town in eastern Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur), finds itself in the grip of communal tension. - Indian Express, 30 January 2007

Communal Violence

Barley 10 days after communal clashes in Bangalore city, Section 144 has again been imposed in the Bidar area of Karnataka. - Moneycontrol, 02 February 2007

As political parties gear for Assembly elections, this town in eastern Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur), finds itself in the grip of communal tension. - Indian Express, 30 January 2007

America Goes Green

In the speech, Bush highlighted a new proposal to cut U.S. gasoline usage by "20% in 10 years," to be accomplished primarily by mandating higher proportions of alternative fuels and increasing the fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks. - Forbes, 2 February 2007

Bailing Out The Rich

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is in Patiala jail, was today granted bail by the Supreme Court which also sought response from the Punjab Government on his plea seeking suspension of his conviction in a road rage case to contest Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll. - The Hindu, 12 January 2007

January Murders

It's been a bad bad start (it's not a typo) to the new year. Hoping that it gets better soon.

Happy Republic Day!

Don't Mine Please

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) wrote to Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf, urging him to abandon immediately the proposal to lay landmines along its border with Afghanistan, announced in late December 2006. "Using antipersonnel mines is not the answer to a country's legitimate security problems," said ICBL's Executive Director Sylvie Brigot. "History has shown that the human cost of using these weapons is far greater than their military utility, as recognised by the overwhelming majority of the world's nations." - Paktribune.com, 16 January 2006

Racism: The Goody The Bad & The Ugly

Maybe it isn't racism, maybe it is only a reality show. But I guess we should give the benefit of doubt to ourselves & make sure we don't tolerate racism in any shape, size or form. Your views welcome.

ULFA Back With A Bang

Violence by the ULFA in Assam continued unabated on as the banned group gunned down two migrant workers, taking the toll in attacks on non-Assamese people to 68, and carried out two bomb blasts even as additional army and paramilitary forces were deployed for counter-insurgency operations. - Times of India, 08 January 2007

Do Hazaar Bigha Zameen

After a week of protests in Nandigram, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has said that the acquisition related notification by the Haldia Development Authority in Nandigram was a mistake. He also admitted, for the first time, that the Haldia Development Authority had issued a notice on land acquisition, something the CPM has consistently denied. - NDTV, 09 January 2007

Nithari: Serial Lethargy

As more skeletons and human remains continued to be unearthed from the house of horrors in Nithari on Thursday, the Supreme Court for the first time commented on the issue and blamed police inaction for the gory massacre of at least 17 women and children. - www.moneycontrol.com, 11 January 2007

Not So Happy New Year

Seeking to allay any security related apprehensions of Non-Resident Indians, Home Minister Shivraj Patil today assured them that India was as safe as any other part of the world. - Indian Express, 09 January 2007

Hide Act

A section by section analysis of the Act passed by the US Congress reveals stipulations that tie India down. Yet the fiction has been purveyed by the government through the media that these provisions have been dropped. The prime minister’s assurances to Parliament may not mean anything. Arun Shourie, Indian Express, 22 December 2006