Statesman (India) articles from December 2000

Statesman (India) archives from December 2000

Three Suci men killed.
December 29, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 27. - Three SUCI supporters were murdered at Shyamnagar village of Dhosa-Chandrakona panchayat in Joynagar of South 24-Parganas last night. The victims, Hasem Sardar, Manirul Sardar and Zakir Sardar, were shot and later...

KPP for talks on 'honourable' terms.
December 29, 2000... SILIGURI, Dec. 27. - The Kamtapur People's Party has indicated that it is willing for talks with the state government "on honourable terms". Asked if this meant that the KPP is prepared to surrender its statehood demand, party president...

Trinamul to clarify stand.
December 29, 2000... SILIGURI, Dec. 27. - The Trinamul Congress is likely to make its stand clear on the Kamtapur issue on 7 January. Party leaders said Miss Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to attend a public rally here on that day. Undecided on the "touchy...

Rally ban.
December 29, 2000... DARJEELING, Dec. 27. - The Darjeeling district administration has instructed the BDOs of areas close to Indo-Nepal border not to allow any public rally or programmes without prior consent. The instruction came following reports that GLO...

Rupee loses six paise against US dollar.
December 29, 2000... MUMBAI, Dec. 27. - The rupee weakened considerably today to close at Rs 46.70 to the dollar against yesterday's close of Rs 46.64. Heavy month-end dollar demand from corporates and importers triggered the fall, but it ended off intraday...

SBI board approves VRS, foray into insurance.
December 29, 2000... MUMBAI, Dec. 27. - The State Bank of India's (SBI) central board of directors, today approved the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its staff, which is based on the guidelines issued by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA). The scheme...

Disruption in Parliament delays reforms.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - At least a dozen crucial items of legislation, required to keep the economic reforms agenda on track, should have been passed by Parliament in the winter session that concluded last week. But continuous disruptions...

Suspension of work at Kanoria Jute Mill.
December 29, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 27. - The management of Kanoria Jute Mills today issued a "suspension of work" order. This is the sixth time in about seven years since 1993 that the company has downed shutters. While the management said that this was done...

CURIOUS PRECEDENTS: Parliament On Hold.
December 29, 2000... THE parliamentary score-sheet on its most recent episode of the political confrontation over Ayodhya would read one-all, with the government finding comfort in that its allies hung in and that it passed the test of numbers where it mattered...

LANGUAGE POWER: Navin makes a brave effort.
December 29, 2000... APART from Navin Patnaik's current problems - the aftermath of last year's cyclone from which millions are yet to recover, the death of white tigers at Nandankanan and persistent anxiety over rebels in his own party - there is the problem of...

HISTORY AS FARCE: Bengal tastes Marxist dialectics.
December 29, 2000... Under Communist regimes there is a wide gap between precept and reality, of which history offers ample evidence. Lenin moved into a millionaire's mansion after the Russian Revolution, at the same time that peasants were starving in the...

PATHETIC STATE: Terrorists have GoI on the run.
December 29, 2000... IT is grimly appropriate that terrorists using the Red Fort as a shooting gallery should have delivered a bloody nose to the Indian state around the time of the first anniversary of the Kandahar capitulation, when no less a person than the...

MPs choke on rules for nursing turf.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - MPs and the ministry of statistics and programme implementation share an unusual relationship. The MPs propose and ministry disposes. The bone of contention: projects for MP Local Area Development Scheme. Acceding...

Orissa rushes to fight water crisis.
December 29, 2000... BHUBANESWAR, Dec. 27. - Acute drinking water scarcity in the drought-hit areas has apparently forced the Orissa government to supply water through tankers. It engaged two tankers for each block. The government has also directed the...

Pak playing double game, says Bangaru.
December 29, 2000... HYDERABAD, Dec. 27. - The BJP president, Mr Bangaru Laxman, today said that India cannot trust Pakistan and added that talks could not be held until and unless it stopped encouraging militancy. Mr Laxman, addressing a press conference,...

Lashkar threat to PMO irks BJP.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - The BJP today took exception to the reported threat by the Lashkar-e-Taiyaba that its next target was the Prime Minister's Office. The party held that the government might have to review the ceasefire decision if...

Raider a model son-in-law.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - Even two days ago, Amar Jahan thought she had a model son-in-law. Till police picked him up saying he was a Lashkar-e-Taiyaba agent in Delhi. Amar Jahan had put an insertion in a national daily in October for her...

Tourism in the red, post Red Fort.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - The Red Fort incident has adversely affected tourism, with foreign tourists chucking out the area from their must-sees, say tour operators. "Even other monuments are being ignored and tourists are opting to go to...

Don't send grain any more, Orissa tells Centre.
December 29, 2000... BHUBANESWAR, Dec. 27. - The Orissa government has virtually sent an SOS to the Centre pleading with it to immediately stop any further despatch of foodgrains to the state as the godowns here were 'jampacked' and consequent to it procurement...

Chori chori videos mock I&B warning.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - Video pirates are back in strength in the capital just weeks after the information and broadcasting ministry issued a notification promising stringent action against video piracy. Cable-operators in south Delhi...

How Lok Sabha froze in winter.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - The Lok Sabha, which lost almost a third of its working days in the winter session, failed to entertain as many as 27 government Bills listed for passage. A statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat said, only 16...

Border sources confirm ISI role in arms flood.
December 29, 2000... AGARTALA, Dec. 27. - Border Intelligence sources have confirmed ISI's involvement in smuggling of sophisticated arms into the North-east for militants. The ISI's attempt to ship arms was foiled by the Bangladeshi navy near Coxs Bazar on...

Congress changes tack on Manipur.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - The Congress's change of stance on Manipur has baffled the government, official sources said today. It had assured the government on 17 and 18 December that it will support any decision taken by the Centre to tackle...

Amitabh moves to settle dues.
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - Amitabh Bachchan is not only the biggest filmstar, but also the biggest defaulter. His company, ABCL, owes Prasar Bharati over Rs 20 crore. Tomorrow morning, he will attempt to make a fresh start and deposit a...

Remembering KD Ghose.
December 29, 2000... IT is a pleasure that I have been enabled by some friends to participate in the celebration in Calcutta of the anniversary of the birth of Dr Kshetrapal Das Ghose (1900-1956), better known and acclaimed in his time as KD Ghose. A fine...

Man of the Millennium.
December 29, 2000... At 92, he is still scoring a century! A few months ago Wisden Cricket Almanac invited cricketers - past and present - and eminent cricket writers to pick the Cricketer of the Century. Sir Donald George Bradman got exactly 100 votes and headed...

Perhaps it works this way.
December 29, 2000... BRIAN Lara scored 182 and 39 on a cracked pitch in Adelaide and it was not enough. Far from taking inspiration from the deeds of their leading batsmen the West Indies managed to lose heavily and with almost a day remaining. Despite the...

Redoubtable ruggers.
December 29, 2000... L-M-O-B! L-M'O-B! - C-F-C! C-F-C! - P-O-L-I-C-E! P-O-L-I'C-E! - A-R-M-E-N-I-A-N-S! A-R-M-E-N-I-A-N-S!.... Every year during the monsoons, these frenetic chants can be heard at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club as the Calcutta rugby...

Close encounters in the wild.
December 29, 2000... WE are in the Palamau Tiger Reserve, locally known as the Betla forest, in the South Chotanagpur division of Bihar. It lies at an altitude of 1000 feet above sea level and covers an area of 1026 sq km, of which its core area of 210 sq km has...

On the tiger's trail.
December 29, 2000... IF Madhya Pradesh is known as the "tiger state" of India, Bandhavgarh can well be described as "Tigergarh," if one goes by the concentration of the animals in the area. While Madhya Pradesh reportedly has around 900 tigers according to...

A thousand pities.
December 29, 2000... THE West Indians have only themselves to blame. Complacency played a part in their downfall. Cricket still matters in the West Indies. In 1995, a major political party issued a decree totally repudiating the decision to retain Stuart Williams...

After Kolkata it's now "Shiliguri".
December 29, 2000... SILIGURI, Dec. 27. - An unbridled enthusiasm for renaming seems to have afflicted the state government. Calcutta is 'Kolkata' now. The tourism department of the government has decided to 'correctly' spell Siliguri as '"Shiligur"'. All...

"Shamal killed in cold blood".
December 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, Dec. 27. - Residents of the Batla House area allege that Abu Shamal was shot dead in cold blood by a Delhi Police team, a charge that police shrug off. A lawyer from the area, Mr SU Khan, said: "Around half-a-dozen policemen...

Leopard hacked to pieces.
December 29, 2000... BHOPAL, Dec. 27. - A leopard was hacked to death by poachers in the Sihora forest range in Katni district a few days ago. The leopard's legs were chopped off and its face was badly cut. The poachers took away its claws and teeth, sources...

Funding agency to act tough on flyover delay.
December 29, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 27. - The Japan Banking International Cooperation, funding agency of the flyovers in the city, will take stringent measures against the state transport department if the flyover at Gariahat is not completed on time. The...

Life blood spills on Taki Road.
December 29, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 27. - They were in a hurry to save a man's life. They didn't know death was waiting for them on the road. Five men had come to Calcutta yesterday to get blood for one of the victim's brother, to be operated on Friday. They...

PM turned hawkish to buy time.
December 29, 2000... THE Ayodhya controversy that rocked Parlia-ment's winter session also sullied the Prime Min-ister's image as a secular leader. It blurred the distinction between him and the hardliners in his party like Home Minister L K Advani and Human...

A to Z of Year 2000.
December 29, 2000... A year of ups and down, victories and losses but overall, a great success. Books - Harry Potter, the bespectacled youth who left the Dursley family to join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry, stole the hearts of Calcuttans with JK...

The big wish.
December 29, 2000... ONE little boy wants cake. His friend wants alu chaat. Another little girl asks for pineapples. That's it? That's all? Is that the big New Year wish? you feel like asking. My four-year-old kid brother wants a truck and all this little kid...

Adventures of babysitting.
December 29, 2000... BABYSITTING? Yeah, seemed like an extremely easy way to handle kids and earn extra pocket money in the process. I mean, summer holidays were on and I was broke. I needed the money. But that was before I realised the consequences. I still...

The Q Files: Events 2K.
December 29, 2000... 1. She was a graduate student in biology in Ivy League College, Vassax and was once voted as the worst dressed celebrity. She received the best actress award this year from the Screen Actors Guild. Who is she? 2. What is common to "The...

Nurturing the scientific mind.
December 29, 2000... "Education is not the filling of a vessel, but the kindling of a flame" - Socrates With this motto in mind, Intel organised the second Science Talent Discovery Fair in India. The programme encourages students to probe deeper into the...

In School: Spreading smiles.
December 29, 2000... The social wing of Young Writers' organised a special Christmas treat for the children of Cini Asha on 16 December. Calcutta's very own Magician, Joy, brought much cheer to the children with his puzzles, games, jokes, magic tricks and gifts....

In School: Sports meet.
December 29, 2000... Students and teachers of Bhavan's Gungabux Kanoria Vidyamandir (better known as Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan), had the annual sports meet on 16 December. Mr HP Roy (IAS), Chairman of Calcutta Port Trust, graced the occasion with his presence. A...

In School: Concerts galore.
December 29, 2000... ST TERESA'S school hall has been a very happening place recently. It now sports an "aqua" look, decorated in blue with pictures of marine life and beautiful mermaids.Over two weekends this hall was packed for the annual school concerts of St....

In School: A great victory.
December 29, 2000... ON 15 December the Computer Society of India organised an interschool debate and quiz competition at Madhusudan Mancha. The debate was on the topic "Should computer education be made compulsory in schools". Don Bosco, Park Circus, and...

In School: Jamboree 2000.
December 29, 2000... Child Care Nursery and KG School recently organised an interschool cultural meet, Jamboree 2000, for children from KG to Class VI. Events included nursery rhymes, fancy dress, elocution and singing. The judges had a tough time deciding...

The child in 2001.
December 29, 2000... DO you know that approximately 129 million children were born last year? About 177 million children are stunted mainly because of malnutrition in pregnant women? That about 15 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth every year? Do you know a...

Read a Book: BOOKWORM'S CORNER.
December 29, 2000... Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte AFTER going through a remarkable book, we often sit back and wonder at the contribution of these brilliant men and women, many of whom are often no less colourful than their creations. Some of us may even like...

And life goes on.
December 29, 2000... 29 December 1998 Dear Diary, 365 of them just went by. Shouldn't say "just", though because some had the tendency of dragging on... I fought with my long-time friend and it hurt bad. What I realised is you tend to take things,...

[0] /net.news/.
December 28, 2000... Madonna's site Madonna probably relinquished all rights to privacy when she published a book called Sex, which is why we now get to see the baptism of her child and her wedding through the use of a Webcam. The biggest celebrity wedding...

New light on Olive Ridleys.
December 28, 2000... CUTTACK, Nov. 26. - In a new study on Olive Ridleys, based on DNA analysis, experts have shown that the particular species of turtles are of the most ancient lineage, and most of them do not return to the beach they hatched. Thus...

JM Morgan Stanley opens office in Calcutta.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 7. - JM Morgan Stanley, a joint venture between JM Financial and Morgan Stanley, opened its office in Calcutta today. JM Morgan Stanley Direct, the retail financial services brand of JM Morgan Stanley Retail Services Ltd will...

Dhaka not yet ready to export natural gas.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 7. - The Bangladesh minister for industry, Mr Tofayel Ahmed, today reiterated his government's stand not to export natural gas to India. Bangladesh is yet to estimate the extent of her natural gas reserves. Once this was...

Privatise management, not airlines: Mody.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec 7. - Mr Russi Mody, former Chairman of Air-India and Indian Airlines, said that the Aeronautical Society of India as a professional body should suggest crucial aviation policy to the government which could not run airlines. ...

Three of postal employees' demands met: Paswan.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, Dec. 7. - The Union communications minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, said today that three of the five major demands of the postal workers had been met. The postal strike entered the third day today with the unions claiming it to...

Gopalpur Tisco plant project not shelved: minister.
December 28, 2000... BHUBANESWAR, July 5. - Allaying fears of shifting or shelving Tisco's proposed shore-based steel plant at Gopalpur, the steel and mines minister admitted before the Assembly here yesterday that there had been a delay in setting up the plant....

Deputy CM under BJP fire.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 5. - State BJP leaders today criticised the deputy chief minister for his comments on Shyamaprasad Mookerjee and refusal to participate in the Jan Sangh founder's centenary celebrations. Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharya had said...

Buddha to attend US Independence celebration.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 5. - Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharya will tomorrow attend a US Consulate party in connection with the 4th July (American Independence Day) celebrations. This will be the first time in many years that a CPI-M minister will attend...

COLUMN ONE: Tata Steel may form JV with Sail.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - The Steel Authority of India Ltd (Sail) has shortlisted rival Tata Steel and UK-based Avesta Sheffield as joint venture partner for its wholly-owned Salem Steel Plant. Tata Steel-Usinor combine and Avesta have been...

HDFC in pact with UK firm for mutual fund launch.
December 28, 2000... MUMBAI, July 5. - The Housing Development Finance Corporation today announced launch of its mutual fund in association with UK's Standard Life. The HDFC chairman, Mr Deepak Parekh, said the Mutual Fund with a paid-up capital of Rs 20...

Oil PSUs must not be privatised: Naik.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - No public sector undertaking in the oil sector should be privatised in view of their strategic importance, the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, said today. Arguing that the country could ill-afford to depend on...

WIDEN OUR OPTIONS: Talking to the Hurriyat is an option.
December 28, 2000... FAROOQ Abdullah seems to have had at least two objectives in mind when he set in motion the debate in the Kashmir assembly on harking back to the past and seeking the degree of autonomy which prevailed in 1953, that is to say, Kashmir is on...

POE OMISSIONS.
December 28, 2000... Sir, - The article in "Impres-sions" (18 June) on Edgar Allan Poe's life and literary career was incomplete, failing to mention some enormously important works of the wayward genius. The story "MS found in a bottle" (1833) was not...

Ahmed Patel resigns as AICC treasurer.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - The Congress treasurer, Mr Ahmed Patel, today resigned from his post, giving a new twist to the ongoing factional feud in the Gujarat Congress over the demand for the expulsion of former chief minister Mr Madhavsinh...

Act fast to rectify situation, Cong leaders tell Sonia.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - Realising that the Congress is failing miserably in playing its expected role as the main Opposition party in national politics, a section of leaders are trying desperately to get the party president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to...

Mamata drops demand to placate PMO.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - Used to adopting a hard stand on various issues, Miss Mamata Banerjee has decided to avoid any confrontation with the Prime Minister on posting of senior officials in her ministry. The railway minister had reportedly...

Golden Lotus for Shaji's Vanaprastham.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - The South has done it again despite a flurry of good Bengali films. Shaji Karun's Malayalam film will get the Golden Lotus. Three Calcutta directors, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh may be in for major...

'Negligence not ruled out in saline tragedy'.
December 28, 2000... CUTTACK, July 5. - Adding credence to the suspicion that the tragic deaths of three pregnant women at the SCB Medical College and Hospital here on 1 and 2 July may have been because of negligence or human failure rather than spurious saline,...

summon to Shastri?
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - The CBI may summon Ravi Shastri in the match-fixing case. The agency is waiting for Shastri to return from Sri Lanka, where he's on an assignment. CBI officials said since most players have denied knowledge of Kapil Dev's...

COLUMN ONE: Ahmed Patel quits.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - The Congress treasurer, Mr Ahmed Patel, today resigned his post giving a new twist to the ongoing factional feud in the Gujarat Congress over the demand for the expulsion of former chief minister, Mr Madhavsinh Solanki.

PM leaves it to Farooq to decide on NDA ties: Vajpayee rules out pre-1953 status for J&K.
December 28, 2000... CHENNAI, July 5. - The Prime Minister today said there was no question of going back to the pre-1953 status for Jammu and Kashmir and left it to Dr Farooq Abdullah to decide whether to remain in the National Democratic Alliance. "When...

Gupta gets a reprieve.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 5. - The Uttar Pradesh chief minister has managed to stay at the helm of affairs. What tilted the balance in Mr Ram Prakash Gupta's favour was the support he got from BJP's state leaders and their opposition to the...

For India, Israel is now a different ball game.
December 28, 2000... JERUSALEM, July 5. - When I worked in New Delhi as a foreign correspondent in the mid-Eighties after a stint in Jerusalem, one of Rajiv Gandhi's senior advisers hissed at me over a dinner table: "Israel is an aberration." Extreme that...

Congress twist to mayoral race.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 5. - Congress councillor, Mr Iqbal Ahmed, today added an interesting twist to the CMC mayoral race by collecting a nomination form for Saturday's election. But the party received a jolt when its CMC ward 135 councillor, Mr...

Adventure fancied for Commuter Cup.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 5. - Three cup events in a competitive card of six races is framed for tomorrow. The Commuter Cup, a terms race for Indian horses four years old and over, is the feature. The 1,200m sprint, will, perhaps, be fiercely...

Arup Baidya tops seedings.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 5. - Arup Baidya will head the seedings in State Badminton Championships starting on 8 July at Raipur Club, Ramgarh. The five-day event will have more than 100 participants - 70 of them men. Amrita Bhattacharjee is the top-seed...

Mahanta backs J&K demand.
December 28, 2000... GUWAHATI, July 7. - The Assam chief minister and president of the Asom Gana Parishad today endorsed Jammu and Kashmir's demand for autonomy. We do not consider the autonomy demand by J&K as irrelevant, he told a press conference at the...

Bonhomie on battle-eve.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 7. - The Trinamul Congress and the Left Front continue to trade allegations of horsetrading over the mayoral election, but bonhomie marked the swearing-in ceremony of CMC today with Mr Subrata Mukherjee embracing Mr Kanti...

BJP plans blitz on Buddha move.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 7. - The BJP feels it can mobilise public opinion in West Bengal against the Left Front government by raking up the issue of the CPI-M not participating in the birth centenary celebration of Dr Shyamaprasad Mookerjee. ...

Number of pvt players may be restricted.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 7. - The government is likely to approve its policy for opening up of national long-distance telephony by this month, with a restriction on the number of private players for the first five years and an entry fee. Long...

DIGEST: Dunlop submits fresh revival scheme.
December 28, 2000... CALCUTTA, July 7. - As per an order of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), Dunlop India Limited has submitted its revised revival scheme to the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), the operating agency. ...

DIGEST: First Global.
December 28, 2000... MUMBAI, July 7. - First Global (UK) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Global (India) has been granted membership of the London Stock Exchange. It is the 300 th member of the LSE. First Global is an Indian brokerage house with influence...

Airtel ties up for Net on mobile.
December 28, 2000... NEW DELHI, July 7. - Airtel, cellular service provider in Delhi and some southern states, today entered into an alliance with Silicon Valley-based Phone.com for providing Internet service on mobile phones. Mr Sanjay Kapoor, CEO of Bharti...