Vol. LXI, No. 25, New Delhi, December 27, 2009

Unbridled hot money inflows trigger FM-RBI tug-of-war By Naresh Minocha THE UPA government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are singing different tunes on hot money inflows from abroad. And the discordant notes are being struck when the relevant policy is under review and dubious investments including Koda-type laundered money continue to creep in the Indian economy.    more > In Focus The roots of Christian-Islamic conflict in Europe By OP Gupta IFS [Retd] SWISS people in a referendum held in November 2009 voted to ban in Switzerland construction of minarets traditionally appended to mosques. An opinion poll conducted by the French Institute for Public Opinion after this Swiss vote showed that 46 per cent French are in favour of banning construction of minarets in France, another 40 per cent support the idea and 14 per cent remain undecided.    more > Thinking Aloud We are all farmers. It is a noble profession By Dr Jay Dubashi WE have all become experts on farming. Gandhiji used to say that farming was the noblest of professions and always advised young men and women to take to farming. He himself grew carrots and cauliflowers and fed them to his unwilling guests who quietly put them in their pockets and got rid of them as soon as they left the ashram.    more > Editorial Think of governance and growth. Not emotion and petty politics for new states HOW many more states can India afford? The manner in which cynical politicians in their greed for power and pelf demand the division of existing states and the knee-jerk response of the Congress at the centre make a macabre spectre challenging the unity of the country and its economic profile.    more > Seva Bharati adopts 15 flood-affected villages of North Karnataka to build 2371 houses By R Guru Prasad SEVA Bharati, the service wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is doing a remarkable job by providing houses to North Karnataka people who lost their dwellings in the recent floods.    more > Salute the heroes who foiled attack on Parliament By Amba Charan Vashishth ON December 13 the top leadership of the country – Vice-President of India Mr Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Smt Meira Kumar, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, ...    more > Union Minister of State E Ahmed’s anti-Hindu tirade By S Chandrasekhar UNION Minister of State for Railways E Ahmed is the Muslim League MP from Ponnani, Kerala. Muslim League, which is a partner in Congress led UDF, has a history of communal bias.    more > 24 per cent Americans believe in reincarnation Pew Research ROUGHLY 24 per cent American adults believe in reincarnation and a similar number believe in yoga as a spiritual practice, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.    more > Real capitalism at work Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor DRUGS and crime chief says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutions.    more > Portrait sculpture of Krishnadeva Raya found at Kancheepuram temple By TS Subramanian CHENNAI: With the interest in the reign of Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadeva Raya reviving in the context of 2009 being the 500th year of his coronation, a small, beautiful portrait sculpture of Krishnadeva Raya (1509-1529) has come to light in the Varadaraja Swamy temple at Kancheepuram.    more > Air accident investigators have not managed to find out why Air France flight 447 came down Air accident investigators are to resume the search for the flight data recorders from an Air France airliner that mysteriously crashed off Brazil six months ago.    more > Small states result of poor governance By Shivaji Sarkar SMALL states touted as the panacea for development only reflects poor governance.    more > Two million US dollar verdict against Bayer confirms company’s liability for an uncontrollable technology FOC THE United States federal jury ruling on December 4, 2009 that Bayer CropScience LP must pay two million US dollars to two Missouri farmers after their rice crop was contaminated with an experimental variety of rice that the company was testing in 2006.    more > Temple existed, Temple exists Simple facts of Ayodhya issue By OP Gupta, IFS (Retd) THE Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan Commission was set-up on December 16, 1992 by the PV Narasimha Rao government to enquire the December 6, 1992 demolition in Ayodhya.    more > Strong India is a must for the survival of civilised world—Mohan Bhagwat By Ashok Malik “THE twin tasks of strengthening the country and integrating Indian society are essential for survival of civilised world and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is committed to these tasks,” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat at a function in Chandigarh on December 6.    more > Shri Ashok Singhal and Dr Subramanian Swamy call on Environment Minister Dr Jairam Ramesh assures positive steps for Ganga protection FOC VHP president Shri Ashok Singhal and Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy together called on the Union Minister of Environment and Forests Dr Jairam Ramesh in New Delhi on December 9 and discussed the state of the Ganga.    more > All round developmentpossible only through unity—KS Sudarshan By Lok Nath FORMER RSS Sarsangha-chalak Shri KS Sudarshan said united efforts are necessary for achieving all round development of the country and education with economic empowerment of women is must to achieve this goal.    more > Anerood Jugnauth inaugurates Sahayog Parishad Pravasi Bhavan FOC PRAVASI Bhavan, the long cherished project of Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad (ARSP), was inaugurated by Sir Anerood Jugnauth, President of the Republic of Mauritius, in the presence of foreign diplomats and High Commissioners of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and Mauritius in New Delhi on December 1.    more > BMS vice president to attend WTO meet FOC Shri K Saji Narayanan, vice president of Bharatiya Mazadoor Sangh (BMS), is one of the 42 people who have been selected from non-governmental organisations to attend the WTO Ministerial Meet in Geneva beginning from December 30 this year.    more > The declining image of the media WHAT on earth is happening to our profession and our professionals? Time was when journalists were held in very high regard as men who were above corruption, men who stood for values and were willing to pay any price.    more > Economics and development should be the rationale for new states—Mohan Bhagwat FOC "THE constitution of new states should facilitate administration only.    more > International conference on Saraswati River in Kurukshetra FOC A three-day international conference on Saraswati River was organised at Dr Radhakrishnan Sadan in Kurukshetra from November 20 to 22.    more >

Cover Page Debate The case of smaller states Growth can be a criterion not language or religion By Virag Pachpore WITH the Centre conceding to the demand of a separate Telangana State, similar demands from various regions of India have started emerging fast in a stately procession. The Centre has received demands for at least 10 new states including separate Mithilanchal, Saurashtra, and Coorg.    more > The Moving Finger Writes Keeping up Indo-Russian relations By MV Kamath INDIA has to reckon with three powers in today’s context. They are the United States, Russia and China. Of the three, Russia has produced the least trouble for India. China in recent times has been behaving like a bull-in-China shop, creating needless hastles to India.    more > Rejoinder GM Brinjals will destroy Indian farmers By Umendra Dutt IT was hackneyed, to say the least, the way Malthusian arguments were being thrown around for bringing Bt Brinjal into India. We need GM technology to feed the growing billions, they said in editorials and media statements.    more > Kids’ Org The most precious gift By Manju Gupta KING Krishnadeva Raya returned to Vijayanagar after conquering Orissa, thrilled at his victory. That night the entire kingdom was decorated with streamers, banners and lights. The city of Vijayanagar glittered in the darkness of the night.    more > Extract Lahuji Vastaad The pioneer of armed revolution Lahuji Vastaad : The pioneer of armed revolution, authored by Lt. Anant Ghode, translated by Smt Swati Kiran Patwardhan, Bharatiya Vichar Sadhana Pune Prakashan, Pp 110, (pb), Rs. 80.00 An erudite commentary on Rig Veda By MV Kamath Rig Veda: A Study of Forty Hymns, Nagesh D Sonde, Pp 226, Rs 500.00 (PB) Digital way to corporate communication By Manju Gupta Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications, Paul A Argenti & Courtney M Barnes, Tata McGraw Hill, Pp 290, Rs 495.00 (PB) A study of inclusiveness in Indian polity By Jayant Patel Politics of Inclusion: Castes, Minorities and Affirmative Action, Zoya Hasan, Oxford University Press, Pp 302, Rs 675.00 (HB) The fascinating saga of Sri Krishna as the man and the messiah By MV Kamath Krishna: The God Who Lived as Man: Originally written by Kaajal Oza-Vaidya in Gujarati and translated into English by Bhawana Somaaya, Pustak Mahal, Pp 308, Rs 350.00 (HB) An interesting reportage on the limits of US meddling in Kashmir By MV Kamath The Limits of Influence: America’s Role in Kashmir, Howard B Schaffer, Penguin Viking, Pp 272, Rs 499.00 (HB). Open Forum A forgotten chapter of ancient India Aryan tribes and Dramila societies coexisted and interacted for mutual benefit By MR Mallya ANCIENT India has often been pictured as Dravidians occupying the Indus civilisation, while the Aryans were supposed to have come later, displacing them southwards. The history of North India was given prominence, with the Rig Veda, Mahabharata, the Buddha, Alexander and the Mauryan empire.    more > TogadiaSpeak Inspiration is within you; Philanthropy is within you By Dr Pravin Togadia CRORES of Hindus in Bharat and in the world wish to do “something” for the nation, for nation-building, for character-building and for Hindutva. With compassionate hearts, with pure inspiration in their minds and with a giving power in their hands, they want to do “something” philanthropic.    more >

Open Forum Save nature to save jobs By Arya S Das THE economic growth vision is so much infested with greed that all these climate conferences are reduced to mere drama. The forth coming World Climate Summit in Copenhagen is all set for all kinds of dramatics and no real action.    more >

Report The Liberhan Commission FOC It ends up supporting Sri Ramjanmabhoomi case BY accident or design, the Commission seems to have made some inadvertent observations which cannot be contradicted or controverted. It has ended up supporting the Ramjanmabhoomi case.    more >

Readers’ Forum Dangers of terrorism and a Talibanised Pakistan (Organiser, 15-11-2009) —Dr BABU SUSEELAN, 4204 Nantucket Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, USA Pakistan has never made a secret of its hostility and antagonism against India. The 26/11 Mumbai terror attack,    more >

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