'My Sis Will Not Play Any Electoral Role In 2014 Elections'

By Aniket Sharma | INN Live

EXLUSIVE INTERVIEW In his first ever one-on-one exclusive interview to any media house, Congress Vice President, spoke to INN Live on a host of issues including his prime ministerial ambition, sister and friend Priyanka Gandhi and rival BJP etc.

The Congress vice president made it clear that his sister and friend Priyanka Gandhi will not have any electoral role. According to him, she, as an active member of Congress, is just helping him in his political journey.

‘The Verma Panel Report Is A Blueprint For Transforming Society. It Is A Blueprint For Equality’

As a member of the Justice JS Verma Committee, former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam worked non-stop with his colleagues, including Justice Leila Seth, to bring out a landmark report on combating sexual violence against women in India. The committee, appointed by the Union home ministry after the infamous Delhi bus gangrape that led to the death of a 23-year-old girl, scanned over 70,000 suggestions from across the country, before publishing its 600-page report in a record 29 days. In an exclusive interview with HNN Subramaniam explains how the committee arrived at its recommendations, and why the State alone is not responsible for the rise in crimes.

EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW:

Most people have called the Justice JS Verma report pathbreaking. What about the government?
The prime minister has written to Justice Verma, Justice Leila Seth and me, thanking us for our hard work and for presenting the report in a remarkably swift timeframe. From the unmistakable terms in the PM’s letter, it is clear that the government is serious about implementing our recommendations.

Several Bills are pending in Parliament, but none defined sexuality as progressively earlier. How important was it to put it down on paper?
When people talk about sexuality, they often confuse it with gender. Sexuality is more than that; it involves the entire gamut of behaviour, feelings and emotions. Many of our conscious decisions are dictated by our gender. We could see that a clarification had to be made. Hearing the experiences of people from the transgender and transsexual communities, we understood the kind of stigma they are living with. That is a violation of their human rights. The Constitution guarantees due respect for an individual’s sexual orientation — equal protection of the law implies that too. Patriarchal societies stereotype both masculinity and femininity — it’s always body-centric, not centred on sexuality. I see sexuality as the way in which a human being fulfills himself, not necessarily through sex, but through art, music or anything else that appeals to him. Scholars agree that no individual has traits limited solely to his own gender. Also, there should not be any moral judgement on sexuality because it is an evolutionary choice for the individual’s survival.

That brings us to the Bill of Rights. You’ve said that even though the Constitution gives equal rights to all genders and all forms of sexuality, there is a need to state the obvious separately. Why do we need the Bill?
The need to state the obvious arises because it is one thing to have a Constitution, quite another to apply it in society. We don’t mind violating the Constitution in various ways; cultural prejudices often overrule our respect for human beings. We wanted to explain that rape is not just an offence against bodily integrity. The offence germinates in the way you look at women. There is a certain opacity in us, which causes a cross-section of people to fear being perceived in a certain way. We wanted to look at a framework that enables a woman to define herself beyond patriarchy. Sometimes constitutional values, if correctly translated, can perform a kind of therapeutic intervention at the social and cultural level. That is what our report attempts. Even women politicians talk about protection, but rarely about rights. We wanted to say protection is included within rights.

In the report, you have stuck to the age of adulthood as 18 years. But in cases where grievous harm has been done, will there be flexibility to make an exception?
There can be no exception in defining age. We went into this question scientifically and not on the basis of public opinion. We said, let’s not look at a 16- year-old Indian boy. Let’s look at a standard adult male from a normal background, with normal education, and see what his mental condition is. We found scientific evidence of neurological changes that occur between 16 and 18 years of age; the ego state usually crystallises at 18. Some people have faced traumatic events at childhood. I lost my father at 12, so my ability to take decisions grew stronger at 20. 

We realised that the normal age of adulthood is about 18. Then, we looked at Indian boys, not from the elites, and tried to see if they have got the best that society has to offer. The ability to judge does not come naturally. It is a skill that has to be taught by peers at school. Then you find poverty, lack of nutrition and direction — situations in which the adult ego state, which processes value systems, is missing. Few people know that lack of direction can cause depression. Have we as a society done our best for the less privileged so we can say everybody deserves a fair chance and the age of adulthood should be reduced to 16? On the contrary, we are breeding highly distorted young individuals in so-called juvenile homes and protection homes. They are already poor, away from their families, and not even free to take responsible decisions.

In the excerpt and testimony at the back of our report, there’s a moving account of a young girl, who had studied till Class VI and said she didn’t know if she’d get an opportunity to study again. When we said we would help her become a rocket scientist or a mathematician, she quietly said she always loved studies. We were so moved that the committee has undertaken it as an atonement of society towards its underprivileged. We had to reintegrate her with her family, whom she had not seen for five years. Her family had been told she was dead. We requested a psychiatrist to give her therapy so that her wounds are healed and her aptitude tested. We were just trying to say that the society has a major duty towards its underprivileged.

There are two alternatives before the society. One, legally speaking, is the obligation of the State. On account of massive corruption and misuse of funds, the State has failed to alleviate the poor. It has even failed to establish decent primary schools despite the Right to Education Act.

Two, what happens when the State doesn’t do its job? The alternative, according to me, is not a few NGOs and committed individuals, but a conscious society beyond the State, which starts adopting and looking after the underprivileged as part of its system. This is the only way rape and violence against women can disappear.

There is another side to the question regarding juveniles who have committed acts of grievous violence. Since the report has acknowledged that the State has failed to do its job, in the interim, what recourse should we expect for the juveniles who are not looked after and are an imminent threat to themselves and the people around them?
Justice Verma has forwarded a copy of this report to the Supreme Court for taking action from the judicial side. It is necessary, according to me, not just to have protection homes. What is important is to have qualified personnel able to detect characteristics of violence. Let me talk about gangrape in a shelter home. This will not happen if the trends are visible to an assertive worker or a psychologist who can detect it at first sight. There are many such workers in India. I strongly urge the government of India to draw from such people around the world. We have a very large population of youth and they need course correction, and it cannot happen with the ratio that exists now of a counsellor per 100 children. It is just not possible.

We need a little more interaction, a little more imagination. In cases of violence, I agree, that you might not have any option except to take them away for the safety of other children. We have stressed it in our interim measures that the court becomes the legal guardian and actually takes decisions. If the court becomes the guardian, then cases of sexual assault by caretakers would go down. The police would be on guard, and a good police officer would be able to deal with the issue in a proper way. But even judges would have to be sensitive.

When you talk about conflict areas, the other point that is being debated is AFSPA. Rape cannot be committed in the line of duty; so why should exceptions be made? Is this the one recommendation, you think, that is least likely to be accepted even though you have got a letter of assurance?
I think it might be accepted, for the simple reason that the CM of Jammu & Kashmir has welcomed it. We must not forget that assault on and subjugation of women is a common tactic in fighting insurgency. We have heartrending accounts that make it seem like we are at war with our people. Civil society everywhere, from Kashmir to Chhattisgarh, is saying there’s an alternative; people are saying, give us a chance. If one woman is wrongly dealt with, it does not just impact her, but the whole community. It is an assault on the collective consciousness. That is why we decided to go across and say this should be withdrawn. Many people are saying that the army is feeling let down, but it is not about the army at all. We are not talking about the armed forces. I personally think their ability to combat, to undertake military operations, has been severely compromised by asking them to do duties of a very different kind.

If you need to have a cadre, a dedicated lot, you must have a different kind of administrative service. In my view, a secretarylevel officer should not work in the headquarters. He should work in the villages. The younger ones can work in metropolitan towns. In areas of vulnerability, you require people with sensitivity and wisdom.

Many people are happy that the report hasn’t fallen for the clamour demanding death penalty for rapists. You said the committee did think of it as an option, but decided it was not the way to go…
It is not the way to go. It is there in the report.

Would you call the report a blueprint for smashing patriarchy?
I would say that this is a blueprint for the transformation of the society, including, of course, patriarchy. This is a blueprint for equality.

From Weaver To IAS Officer To MP!

Rare are the days when the Indian parliament transacts real business. When it does, this MP Arjun Ram Meghwal is in the thick of the action.

At a time when politics is dominated by money, muscle power and political legacy, Arjun Ram Meghwal’s life presents an interesting contrast. Initially a weaver, he went on to become an IAS officer and then a Member of Parliament.

“I was born in a traditional weaver family of Kismidesar village (Bikaner), where any student of my age hardly goes to school. During my school and college days I used to weave to support my family and my education,” says Meghwal. 

Meghwal got married when he was in Class 7. After marriage, he continued his studies and graduated in Arts (BA) & Law (LLB) from Sri Dungar College, Bikaner (Rajasthan). What’s more he managed to do his postgraduation from the same college.

“My father had strictly warned that he would not allow me to continue my studies further if I failed in any of my exams. It was a very tough time for me because there was no environment to study at my place. But I worked hard and managed to complete my studies,” he says. Along with his job, he started preparing for competitive exams to land in a government job. 

Not a path of roses
He got into Indian Post and Telegraph Department as a telephone operator. While working as a telephone operator, he also pursued his LLB degree while helping his father at the same time. He also fought and won the elections for the post of General Secretary of Telephone Traffic. Meghwal puts forth, “This was a great opportunity for me to understand the relation between policies and politics. I attended many State-level meeting which gave me a good exposure.” 

The career journey
In spite of clearing the written examination, he failed in the interview for Rajasthan Administrative Services. He was shocked as he had been confident of clearing the interview. But he did not give up. He gave a second attempt with strong determination to succeed. He cleared it and got selected for State industrial services. Following this, in 1994, he was recruited as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He reached the peak, when he was promoted to the Indian Administrative Services and worked as District Collector of Churu district. 

As he received immense respect from people, he felt that they looked up to him as a role model and expected him to play an even greater role. Politics was just the platform to serve this purpose. He took the final leap in 2009, when the Bharatiya Janata Party offered him a ticket for Lok Sabha from Bikaner region. He won. His ambition is to serve the people to the best of his ability. “I consider this a new beginning and I still have miles to go in the service of people,” he concludes.

Rape Remark: Why Fans Rallied Around Salman Khan And Why Media Equally Culpable?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

While the 'rape remark' controversy was raging on TV studios, #PaidMediaCan'tPullSalmanDown was trending high on Twitter for a considerable amount of time. It suggested that while media was seething in sanctimonious anger over Salman Khan's regressive comment, legion of his fans were solidly behind Bhai, registering their protest through social media and vowing to make his upcoming Eid release 'Sultan' the sultan of all Bollywood movies.

A Father-Son Feud Split 100-Yr-Old Indian Business Empire!

For much of his life, M.A.M. Ramaswamy—former chairman of the $1.8 billion Chettinad group—displayed an uncanny ability to pick the winning horse. Such was his success rate that the 83-year-old patriarch of the Tamil Nadu-based business group—one of the biggest and oldest in south India—was even listed in the Guinness World Records for having won more than 500 classic horse races.

But now, in his old age, the wheelchair-bound widower, is perhaps regretting the biggest bet he ever placed in his life: The choice of his heir.

EDIT: Comment most fowl

Our man in Washington turns chicken

In describing as headless chickens those who oppose the nuclear deal with the USA, Ronen Sen, our man in Washington, has done our collective manhood a disservice. Does not the fact that we want to retain the right to conduct future nuclear tests prove we are roosters, and not mere chickens? When Sen sneered, in his ‘‘off-the-record’’ interview to Rediff, about headless chickens running around, he was probably picturing Yashwant Sinha tripping over his dhoti and plunging headfirst into the Speaker’s well in Parliament (we were tipped off by the fact that the BJP’s former foreign minister was the only MP named in the interview). To Sinha we quote the old joke: Why else did the Indian chicken cross the nuclear threshold, but to get to the other side? Sen must have been irritated by the Left, collectively emulating Chicken Little, shrieking that the sky was falling, when all that was happening was that a US tent was moving into position to cover our heads (or our headlessness).

Perhaps he was worried that opposition to the deal was sweeping the country like an Avian flu epidemic, and the only way to stop it was to cull the poultry - make them headless. After all, both he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have invested so much personally in the deal they are afraid to see it fly the coop. To quote Sen further, ‘‘and there has not been and I don’t think in the near future we will see such a friend and supporter as this President. Absolutely. There is none.’’ Though a bird in the hand is worth two in the Bush, we headless chickens are suspicious about the rush to formalize something that is predicated on the good feelings of one of the most unpopular persons the planet has ever seen.

There is no point clucking in disapproval about Sen’s choice of words, but rather, we wonder why he should have done so. If Singh gave Sen the go ahead, then he would have foreseen the consequent hardening of positions by the other parties. The go-ahead logically follows from his ill-advised challenge to the Left to withdraw support to his government; it means he wants out of the UPA-Left marriage. But if he thinks the nuclear deal will enamour him to the electorate, we’d just like to remind him of the sad fate of the slogan ‘‘India Shining’’ in 2004. We would advise him instead to do some damage control; the headless chickens now demand no less than Sen’s head, his qualified clarification/apology notwithstanding.

'Delhi Cops To Train Turkish Police To Use Water Cannons'

By Sandeep Chauhan / Delhi

A crack team of Delhi police is all set to leave for Istanbul to train their Turkish counterparts on the use of water cannons “democratically”. The team is going there on personal request of Turkish PM, Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking exclusively to this reporter,   Erdogan said, “We used tear gas and water cannons once and everyone started calling me a dictator. We have seen Delhi police use tear gas on students and nobody was labeled a dictator. Women protesting for safe Delhi were beaten up with sticks and nobody was called a dictator. They use water cannons for fun every other day and nobody calls Indian PM a dictator. We need to learn from them how they manage to appear democratic even when they are crushing all these protests.”

Protectionism a dirty ASEAN word

By Charles McDermid

Southeast Asian leaders issued an economic rally cry for the region on Sunday, calling for greater coordination to ensure the free flow of goods and taking aim at the protectionist sentiment many of them fear is on the rise in countries such as the United States.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) [1] at its 14th summit also pledged to form a European Union-like economic bloc by 2015 and called for an overhaul of the international finance system to better serve and protect developing nations.

The summit meeting also endorsed a free-trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand and measures to expand a pre-existing emergency foreign exchange pool to bolster regional currencies that come under speculative assault.

"We want to send a strong signal that we are anti-protectionist," Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu told Asia Times Online. "We see what other countries are doing and we want to signal that while other countries are looking out for themselves - in ASEAN we are helping each other out."

"Regional cooperation becomes even more important as we seek to pursue joint approaches and pool our resources to cope with difficulties that we all face," Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda told reporters on Sunday.

But even as ASEAN announced its raft of feel-good policies and delivered its unified mantra of anti-protectionism, economists were scratching their heads as to how the lofty proclamations of togetherness will actually help the fractious region's export-driven economies and shield its 570 million people from rising global economic turbulence.

While ASEAN's anti-protectionism line was clear, mixed messages were rife from individual countries. For instance, it was reported this month that Indonesian civil servants were ordered by the Trade Ministry to buy and use domestic products. Smaller economies such as Cambodia and Laos have long had "buy local" campaigns in place.

It was only a little over two years ago that Thailand imposed capital controls on foreign equity, currency and bond transactions, in a surprise market intervention aimed at curbing the appreciation of the local currency, the baht. In fact, ASEAN's much-touted new charter, ratified in December, includes no mechanisms to stop or punish member countries from implementing protectionist policies.

In an interview with local media last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said it was perfectly normal for countries to protect their domestic industries during an economic slowdown. Abdullah, however, modified his stance in the summit's press finale on Sunday, saying: "All of us are of the same mind: we are anti-protectionist. Countries that are saying 'buy us', countries that are engaging in protectionism - we want to engage with them."

"I think we have to pay a lot of attention, whatever measures we do, we do not give the impression that we are becoming protectionist, that we are turning inwards, because ASEAN depends on this global market," said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The Southeast Asian blitz against protectionism - defined as economic policies restraining trade between nations by way of tariffs and quotas - was seen by some as a thinly veiled challenge to the United States. In an interview with Asia Times Online, US ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel admitted that " ... in the region, there are some people who have put the blame on us".
As the largest importer of Southeast Asian goods, the US's recently approved stimulus package, bent on internal spending and including mandatory American purchases from trade partners, has sent shivers through the region's export-dependent economies.

ASEAN countries have been mired in an economic slowdown that has slashed demand for computer chips, autos and commodities. According to figures released by ASEAN, the region is almost twice as dependent on exports as the rest of the world.

Singapore, Southeast Asia's most trade-reliant economy, is now technically in recession, with two consecutive quarters of negative growth, including a -3.7% year-on-year contraction in the fourth quarter.

Thailand, where exports usually account for over 65% of gross domestic product (GDP), is widely expected to be the region's next recessionary domino. In US dollar terms, Thailand's goods export growth was down 26.5% year-on-year in January. Malaysia recorded its slowest growth in seven years in the fourth quarter while the Philippines saw its goods exports contract over 40% in December.

Still, the summit was bullish about its accomplishments. Attending finance ministers agreed to boost a regional foreign currency pool from US$80 billion to $120 billion. The 10 members of ASEAN plus Japan, China and South Korea - or ASEAN+3 - had arranged to pool bilateral currency swap pacts under the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative - providing a multilateral fund that could be tapped in emergencies.

Southeast Asian currencies have slid in recent months, diminishing the ability of countries hit with short-term liquidity shortages to borrow foreign reserves from other countries to absorb selling pressure on their currencies. "We have learned from previous experience that if we work together, the damage is less when we have a currency crisis," said Malaysian Premier Abdullah, referring to a special regional meeting to address the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

ASEAN heads of state, however, warned that any global economic recovery could take years. "The financial crisis is worldwide. Each ASEAN country, each one of us is affected," said Singapore's Lee. "You could easily be in for several more years of quite slow growth worldwide. And I think it's best that we prepare for that, and our people."

Whether committed to protectionism or free trade, ASEAN countries are in for rocky economic times.

INTERVIEW WITH THE FATHER OF THE TALIBAN - MAULANA SAMI UL-HAQ

Maulana Sami ul-Haq is the director and chancellor of one of Pakistan's famous madrassas, Darul uloom Haqqania, Akora Khattak in North West Frontier Province. He has served in this post since the death of his father, Maulana Abdul ul-Haq, the founder of the madrassa, in 1988. Darul uloom Haqqania is where many of the top Taliban leaders, including its fugitive chief, Mullah Omar, attended. It is widely believed that the madrassa was the launching pad for the Taliban movement in the early 1990s, which is why Sami ul-Haq is also called the "Father of the Taliban". Besides running his madrassa, Maulana Sami has a long political history as a religious politician. He was among the founders of Pakistan's Muttahida Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition of six Islamic religious parties.

Imtiaz Ali: During the Russian invasion [1980s], the students from your madrassa were traveling to Afghanistan to fight, after which most of them were eventually inducted as governors and administrators in the Taliban government. Is the same thing continuing today? Are you still sending people to Afghanistan for jihad?
Maulana Sami ul-Haq: No, there were not only Taliban who took part in jihad. This is an incorrect assumption, which needs correction. After the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, people from all walks of life went to Afghanistan for jihad. Students from colleges and universities went more than madrassa students.

The complete excerpts of this interview please clik here to read more....

'Proof' needed to cross Hyderabad US consulate

By Ayaan Khan

Citizens staying near the Paigah Palace, which houses the temporary US Consulate in Hyderabad, will be asked to carry residence proof for their easy commutation. Also, they will have to apply for ‘special residence identity cards’ with police. Once they have the cards, the residents will not be frisked by police while passing through the Chiran Fort Lane. However, their relatives and friends visiting them will have to go through routine checks of their vehicles and also frisking.

With the opening of the US Consulate General in Hyderabad for business on Thursday with the issue of non-immigrant visas, security measures have become so stringent that locals cannot commute on the road with barricades every few yards.

“Police have not approached us for any kind of identity proof. But the security is so stringent on the main lane before the consulate that most of us are taking sublanes while travelling. It will be better if we get the identity cards soon,” B Sirish, a resident of Krish Apartments, Chiran Fort Lane, said. Police sources said they would collect address proof of all families staying in the locality within three days and make a list for verification.

Members of Chiran Fort Club would be allowed without checking if they have their club identity cards.

Meanwhile, the first person to get visa from the American consulate was a businessman from Sainikpuri, Rajendra Kumar Kothakonda. Head of a construction company, Tanvi Constructions, Rajendra Kumar applied for visa to meet his brother, K Shailendra Kumar, in Atlanta.

Ranjendra’s family, including his wife, Saritha and two children—four-year-old, Tanvi and nine-month-old Saanvi—also got visas along with him. They might head for the US in April.

Rajendra’s was the first appointment of the day at 10.30 am and was given the visa by 11.15 am. The consulate had started issuing non-immigrant visas (NIVs) on Thursday from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm.

Though the consulate will interview 100 people per day, not many came seeking visas. Most of those who had turned up included those who wanted visiting visas and student visas.

Fathima Mumtaz got her nonimmigration visa for pursuing studies in the US. She had got admission in the Berkley State University, California and will be leaving shortly.

“I was initially scared, but the interview was conducted in a very friendly atmosphere. I was relieved to get a visa,” Mumtaz said.

With the visa interviewees coming in, the security is strengthened outside the consulate. Both traffic police and law and order police officers were found outside the consulate in large numbers. Four patrolling vans were stationed outside the consulate and there was high alert in the area.

The Chiran Fort Lane, where the consulate is located, was cordoned off with barricades.

Burgeoning Surrogacy Industry In China Has Legal Issues

China has quietly emerged as one of the most active countries in the world when it comes to surrogacy.

More than four years after sparking a nationwide debate over its ethical and legal propriety, China’s surrogate mother industry seems to have found acceptability — if not respectability. In fact, wombs-for-rent businesses are thriving in the world’s most populous country, where some studies indicate an estimated one in eight couples face fertility problems. Reports of a secretive surrogate pregnancy service, operating in a legal “gray area,” were widespread in early 2006 and intermediary websites were recruiting volunteers despite a government crackdown.

Die Another Day: Rahul Gandhi’s Secret Election Strategy

By Pallavi Verma | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT You’ve got to hand it to RaGa. This probably sounds like an oxymoron right now. With the Modi train running in full steam and the BJP well on its way to gaining a majority in the upcoming elections, any word even faintly in favour of the Congress, especially the Gandhi clan, sounds ludicrous right now.

But, let’s step back a bit from the chaos and have a look at Rahul Gandhi, through a slightly more rational eye. He’s certainly not a born political leader, unlike, say his late grandmother or his father. He makes the most bizarre statements wherever he goes, adding to the repertoire of Indian comedy writers, almost every month. It’s pretty much accepted that the leadership position has been foisted on him; it’s certainly not something which he’s comfortable with.

'Proof' needed to cross Hyderabad US consulate

By Ayaan Khan



Citizens staying near the Paigah Palace, which houses the temporary US Consulate in Hyderabad, will be asked to carry residence proof for their easy commutation. Also, they will have to apply for ‘special residence identity cards’ with police. Once they have the cards, the residents will not be frisked by police while passing through the Chiran Fort Lane. However, their relatives and friends visiting them will have to go through routine checks of their vehicles and also frisking.



With the opening of the US Consulate General in Hyderabad for business on Thursday with the issue of non-immigrant visas, security measures have become so stringent that locals cannot commute on the road with barricades every few yards.



“Police have not approached us for any kind of identity proof. But the security is so stringent on the main lane before the consulate that most of us are taking sublanes while travelling. It will be better if we get the identity cards soon,” B Sirish, a resident of Krish Apartments, Chiran Fort Lane, said. Police sources said they would collect address proof of all families staying in the locality within three days and make a list for verification.



Members of Chiran Fort Club would be allowed without checking if they have their club identity cards.



Meanwhile, the first person to get visa from the American consulate was a businessman from Sainikpuri, Rajendra Kumar Kothakonda. Head of a construction company, Tanvi Constructions, Rajendra Kumar applied for visa to meet his brother, K Shailendra Kumar, in Atlanta.



Ranjendra’s family, including his wife, Saritha and two children—four-year-old, Tanvi and nine-month-old Saanvi—also got visas along with him. They might head for the US in April.



Rajendra’s was the first appointment of the day at 10.30 am and was given the visa by 11.15 am. The consulate had started issuing non-immigrant visas (NIVs) on Thursday from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm.



Though the consulate will interview 100 people per day, not many came seeking visas. Most of those who had turned up included those who wanted visiting visas and student visas.



Fathima Mumtaz got her nonimmigration visa for pursuing studies in the US. She had got admission in the Berkley State University, California and will be leaving shortly.



“I was initially scared, but the interview was conducted in a very friendly atmosphere. I was relieved to get a visa,” Mumtaz said.



With the visa interviewees coming in, the security is strengthened outside the consulate. Both traffic police and law and order police officers were found outside the consulate in large numbers. Four patrolling vans were stationed outside the consulate and there was high alert in the area.



The Chiran Fort Lane, where the consulate is located, was cordoned off with barricades.

Why Jagan Reddy Won’t Try Any Pre-Poll Alliances In AP?

By Saye Sekhar | Hyderabad

Why is YS Jaganmohan Reddy not open to a pre-poll alliance with any political party? Jagan desires to leave the door ajar for a post-poll alliance with the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the hot favourite to occupy the treasury benches in the Parliament.

In the seat-sharing talks between the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP too, there seems to be a deadlock -- a natural part of any negotiation process -- but it's not all over yet with the state unit of the BJP stating that the central party leadership will make the final decision. 

Opinion: If Salman Khan Is Not On Public Trial – Is It Our Framework Of Judgement?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Are we a society that will pardon manslaughter and animal killing but condemn a man for an idiotic error?

Salman Khan is not new to controversy. He looks like a kid with his hand perpetually in a cookie jar of trouble. In fact, his controversies seem more memorable than his movies. There is something endearing about the man – there is an innocence, an adolescence, a ham-handedness. It is as if he is perpetually goofing his lines. One is forced to conclude that he has a bad script-writer or that he has a touch of a bumbler. Even the bumbling image works as he come out as a vulnerable man.

'Saudi Women Will Become Pride Of Men', Saudi Princess

By Maira Sultan Al Aziz | Riyadh

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud is the granddaughter of the Late King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Queen Effat, daughter of Prince Bandar bin Sultan (former Saudi ambassador to the United States and currently Director General of Saudi Intelligence Agency). She is the CEO of ALFA International and Al Hama LLC, that manages brands Donna Karan and operates the Harvey Nichols Department Store in Riyadh.

Some of her exemplary achievements include a place in the Top 20 Arab Businesswomen in  2008 for her success with Yibreen (an exclusive women’s day spa) in 2008 and a Guinness World Record in 2010 for the World’s Largest Human Awareness chain in a campaign  to raise awareness for breast cancer.  

In this exclusive interview with INN Live, we learn how Princess Reema breaks the mould of the traditional Arab woman of Royal lineage and comes across to us as an inspiring symbol of humility, dignity and compassion.

How BJP Duped EC With White Lotus, Varanasi On Polling?

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

EYE OPENER When the Election Commission finally filed an FIR against Narendra Modi on 30 April for waving a white lotus around while addressing a press conference, it wasn't like the BJP, its prime ministerial candidate and pretty much every party hadn't already been making the most of loopholes in its model code of conduct. 

The case that was finally lodged against Modi was under sections 126- 1(a) 126- 1(b) of the Representatives of People's Act for holding up the party symbol while addressing a press conference. He now faces a maximum punishment of up to 2 years in jail or could be let off with a rap on the knuckles and a fine. 

Where Hitler meets Thackeray

By V Sudarshan

A cople of years ago stand up comedian Albert Brooks made a film he called ‘Looking for humor in the Muslim world.’ It was almost entirely shot in India. In the film Albert Brooks, playing himself - a Jewish stand up comedian - is sent on a fact-finding mission, based on the premise that even though George Bush has a great sense of humour, his administration had difficulty understanding very many groups of people: Chinese, Africans, but mainly the Muslims. The American president wanted to develop a secret weapon that would work on the sense of humour in the Muslim world. But what made them laugh? It was a mystery to Bush. It is for Brooks to find out what makes Muslims laugh and he has to produce a 500-page report based on the findings. Brooks wonders: Why India, a Hindu country? The man heading the committee that sends him on the mission responds: ‘‘There are 150 million Muslims there. Is that enough for you? Anyway we’ll consider the job half done if you can tell us what makes the Hindus laugh.’’

Funnily enough, the truth manages to elude the comedian. But Albert Brooks would have got much closer to the truth had he stopped over in Mumbai and met the Shiv Sena chieftain Bal Thackeray, who started out life as a cartoonist but has got to that stage in life where others draw cartoons of him and caricature him in novels where Thackeray is transformed into characters with nicknames like Mainduck, which means frog in Hindi. Salman Rushdie did it in Moor’s Last Sigh, and his book got banned, which is not a bad thing for sales. But sometimes it doesn’t even take a book to stir his followers. The weekly magazine Outlook was targeted by Sainiks last Tuesday for featuring the Sena chieftain under the categorisation of ‘villains’ in an issue that took stock of India at sixty. It was the third time that copies of the magazine were being burnt by Shiv Sainiks.

About ten men burst into the weekly’s Mumbai office broke, among other things, a fax machine, a photocopier and burnt copies of the magazine. It is a Shiv Sena ritual and a way of getting their point of view through as well as an accomplishment, like climbing Everest and sticking a flag there. Outlook got a taste of it in its very first issue in October 1995 when the cover story suggested the majority of the people of the Srinagar valley wanted independence.

Shiv Sena found the article, based on a survey, offensive and anti-national. So they burned copies of the magazine. The second time the magazine was burnt by Shiv Sainiks, there was a debate on what triggered it off: the cartoon, a gentle caricature, drawn by a Muslim cartoonist, Irfan Hussain, who later was to die, stabbed over two dozen times, in mysterious circumstances, or the biting article, which recorded the chieftain’s slide from ‘terror to tamasha’.

This time the offending article was not a lengthy one full of anecdotes to illustrate the point or anything like that. It was just a little snippet, barely a hundred words. It was accompanied by a small caricature of the chieftain where Bal Thackeray wielded a paint brush dressed up as Hitler with a painted toothbrush moustache staring out of an empty photo-frame.The xenophobic German who sent Jews to their death in thousands holds a strange fascination for Bal Thackeray. He is on record as having told the Navakal: ‘‘Yes, I am a dictator. It is a Hitler that is needed in India today.’’ He was once asked in a television programme whether he wanted to be Hitler of Bombay? ‘‘Do not underestimate me,’’ he is reported to have retorted. ‘‘I am (the Hitler) of the whole of Maharashtra and want to be of whole of India.’’ The Hitler question was put to him twelve years ago in September 1996 by the Outlook magazine as well during an interview. ‘‘Once you’d expressed admiration for certain facets of Hitler.’’ ‘Comparison was inevitable,’ the interviewer prompted.

Thackaray said: ‘‘I have not sent anybody to the gas chamber. If I’d been like that, you wouldn’t have dared to come and interview me.’’Thackeray may not have sent thousands of people to the gas chamber to die, but here is an observation Justice Sri Krishna makes in his report which goes back to January 8, 1993, when a reporter Yuvraj Mohite was taken to Matoshri, Bal Thackeray’s residence, during the thick of the Mumbai riots and Mohite makes notes as he listens to the Shiv Sena chieftain: ‘‘From the conversation which could be heard by Mohite, which he has reproduced in extenso in his affidavit, it was clear that Thackeray was directing the Shiv Sainiks, shakha pramukhs and other activists of Shiv Sena to attack the Muslims, to ensure that they give tit-for-tat and ensure that ’’not a single landya would survive to give oral evidence‘‘.(Landya is a derogatory expression).

This is in effect what the magazine highlighted as having contributed to his being featured in its altogether too modest list in the rogues’ gallery - his Hitler fascination, his hatred for Muslims, his reducing of democratic politics to a ‘poor caricature.’ Thackeray did not even head the list; he made an appearance way down after Nathuram Ghodse and Sanjay Gandhi, jostling for space between Dawood Ibrahim and Mohammed Azharuddin.Coming back to Brooks, if he had met Thackeray, he would not have missed the humour lurking in the Shiv Sena supremo proudly letting it be known to the Mumbai chatterati that Michael Jackson used the toilet in Matoshri and Shiv Sena organised a chaddi morcha outside Dilip Kumar’s house for his support to Deepa Mehta’s film Fire. Think of it, a bunch of guys in their underwear, followers of a man who admires Hitler and Whacko Jacko (Would you let your kid sleep over in Neverland?) protesting outside the house of an Indian film icon who received the Nishan-e-Pakistan because he supports a film with a lesbian scene in it. He would also have squeezed some improvisational humour out of the fact that Bal Thackeray is on record as declaring he is ‘not against patriotic Muslims like Mohammed Azharuddin’ and both should land up in a weekly magazine’s random list of ‘villains’, side by side, like two peas in a pod.

The funny thing about drawing up villains’ lists is that somebody’s villain is always some one else’s hero. It is a humourless task, but it has its moments.The simple thing for Brooks to have done would have been to get Bush down to Iraq - unescorted - to find out what makes Muslims laugh. That would have been funny. But picture this: Albert Brooks (a Jew) interviewing Bal Thackeray, a self-confessed Hitler admirer on what makes him laugh? If you can picture that, you can picture Albert Brooks in say Iran, or better yet, in Saudi Arabia doing research on the elusive funny bone. In the film, when Brooks finally turns in his report, he falls 494 pages short. How many pages would he have got had he met Bal Thackeray?

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