Hindustan Times: March 2009

Battlefield Lahore

Pakistani commandos regained control of a police academy outside Lahore on Monday evening after militants rampaged through the complex, killing at least eight cadets and wounding scores before holing up inside for hours.

Fighters loyal to Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud were suspected of carrying the attack, interior ministry head Rehman Malik told a news conference. He said one of the suspects was an Afghan.

“Four terrorists were killed and three arrested,” interior ministry secretary Kamal Shah said. He said 89 policemen were wounded.

Punjab police chief Khawaja Khalid Farooq said eight recruits were killed though there had been reports the toll would be higher as there were 900 cadets in the academy at the time of the attack.

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Labels: Afghan, assassination attempts, cadets, Lahore, militants, Pakistan, Pakistani commandos, Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, police academy

It’s Harvard v Hyderabad now

There IT was, the e-mail he had long dreamt of: “You have been accepted into the Yale School of Business, class of 2011.” It was the culmination of a 10-year-old dream for Soumitra Sharma. “I’d wanted to study at an Ivy League university since I was in secondary school. I was elated,” says the 25-year-old, formerly an assistant manager with Deloitte.

But in April, Sharma will be packing his bags for Hyderabad, not New Haven, Connecticut state where the top business school is located.

“It was a hard decision, but I’m attending ISB (Indian School of Business) instead. Going to the US in this economy is a big risk, even with a top business school like Yale,” he says.

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Labels: American schools, assistant manager with Deloitte, Deloitte, Harvard Business School, Indian School of Business, Indian students, Ivy League university, top business schools, Yale School of Business

He wanted a son, so threw daughters in canal

Fed up of taking care of his five daughters, a 32-year-old father threw two of them into Ganga Canal in Muradnagar, Ghaziabad.

Vinod Kumar (32), a small retailer, took his two daughters Monika (9) and Manisha (5) with him on Tuesday evening.

Around 9.30 p.m. the police informed the family members that Kumar had thrown his two daughters into the canal, 2 kilometres from the house.

While Manisha was saved by a local boy, Monika’s whereabouts were not know. Police said she is feared to have drowned. The police have arrested the father.

“The girls were shouting. We immediately rushed for help.

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Labels: Ganga Canal, Ganga Canal in Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Ghaziabad man arrested, small retailer, threw daughters in canal

Muslim school boy takes fight to keep beard to Supreme Court

Can a Muslim student of a Christian minority school claim a fundamental right to sport a beard against the rules of the school?

A 16-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh has moved Supreme Court against an order of the state high court rejecting his petition challenging the decision of Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School to throw him out for refusing to shave his beard. Mohammad Salim, a Class X student, has sought quashing of the regulation that requires students to be clean-shaven on the grounds that it violates his fundamental right to religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The high court had in December 2008 accepted the school’s contention that it had the right to establish and administer a minority institution under Article 30 of the Constitution and frame its own rules. Supreme Court upheld this right in the P.A, Inamdar

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Labels: Christian minority school, Madhya Pradesh, Mohammad Salim, Muslim student, Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School, petition challenging, shave his beard, Supreme Court

Every inch a proper car

The Nano has been the most awaited car in Indian history and could be the most important too. The well-publicised delay in bringing it to the market (after the Singur imbroglio) has only heightened the sense of anticipation.

Questions have been flying thick and fast. Does Tata’s little Nano drive and feel like a real car? Can it provide the comfort, performance and economy expected of it? Or has Tata’s self-imposed price target of Rs 1 lakh made it too much of a compromise?

Sceptics will be in for a shock. The Nano isn’t a rickshaw with four wheels or a glorified golf cart but every inch a proper car. What makes it special is the way it’s been designed for Indian conditions and pockets. The interiors are basic but more spacious than any small Maruti.

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Labels: genius of the Nano, golf cart, Indian history, Nano car, Nano drive, Ratan Tata, small Maruti

Smacked out of India, Indian Premier League may land in England or South Africa

After weeks of lobbying to browbeat the government, the Indian Premier League took the logical option of moving its second season out of the country .

The Hindustan Times had reported on Sunday that the IPL had decided to shift base out of India.

The decision to move the T20 tournament was taken at an emergency meeting of the BCCI working committee in Mumbai.

The firming up of the new venue is expected on Monday , with South Africa and England emerging as the two front runners.

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Labels: BCCI, Indian Premier League, IPL chairman Lalit Modi, South Africa, T20 tournament

Safdarjang's tomb to be lit up for 3 hours every night

Starting Thursday, Safdarjang's tomb will be lit up every day for three hours after sunset.

The monument is not open to public after dark, so you will have to enjoy the spectacle from outside. However, officials said they were considering a plan to allow restricted entry in the monument complex during night.

Till that happens, whenever you are driving down Aurobindo Marg, especially if you are atop the Safdarjang flyover, keep your eyes peeled for this spectacle.

Fifth sight
The 18th century monument was illuminated on Thursday as part of the Union Ministry of Tourism's project to illuminate 13 heritage monuments protected by Archaeological Survey of India in Delhi, ahead of Commonwealth Games 2010.

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Labels: 18th century monument, Archaeological Survey of India, Aurobindo Marg, heritage monuments, monument, Safdarjang flyover, Safdarjang's tomb

United States may expand its covert war in Pakistan

US President Barack Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan beyond the unruly tribal areas, to strike at a different centre of Taliban power in Baluchistan, where top Taliban leaders are orchestrating attacks into southern Afghanistan.

According to senior US administration officials, two high-level reports on Pakistan and Afghanistan have called for broadening the target area to a major sanctuary in and around Quetta. Mullah Muhammad Omar, who led the Taliban government that was ousted in the 2001 US-led invasion, has operated out of the region for years.

The missile strikes being carried out by Central Intelligence Agency-operated drones have never extended into Baluchistan, a sprawling province under the authority of the central government,

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Labels: Afghanistan, American covert war, Barack Obama, covert war in Pakistan, missile strikes, Taliban government, top Taliban leaders, United States

Lalu, Paswan deal Congress a bad hand

After the BJP it’s the turn , of the Congress to be bullied around by its allies – first in Uttar Pradesh, then Maharashtra and now, on Tuesday Bihar. Its most trusted allies Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan have cut a deal behind its back, giving it practically nothing.

Last week, the Biju Janata Dal had snapped ties with the BJP in Orissa and also pulled out of the NDA.

Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats. Prasad’s RJD will contest 25 of them and Paswan’s LJP 12, according to their announcement. They left the remaining three for the Congress, without so much as consulting it, laying bare cracks in the ruling UPA.

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Labels: allies, Bihar Lok Sabha Seats, Biju Janata Dal, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh

Zardari blinks, Pakistan exults

Iftikhar Chaudhry was propelled by a mass of agitating lawyers, political activists and former PM Nawaz Sharif to his rightful position as the chief justice of Pakistan in the early hours of Monday .

In a swift response to the surprising change of tack by President Asif Ali Zardari, Sharif, who had set off on a ‘long march’ from Lahore to Islamabad on Sunday, ended the agitation and declared victory “We have got the fruit of our two-year struggle,” the PML-N chief told supporters after ending the march.

Following intense pressure mounted by Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani and the United States, PM Yusuf Raza Gilani announced in a televised address that Chaudhry and other judges sacked in November 2007 would be able to resume their duties.

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Labels: Army Chief Ashfaq Kayani, chief justice of Pakistan, declared victory, former PM Nawaz Sharif, Islamabad, Lahore, long march, Pakistan Army, political activists

Don’t compare Kosmix to Google, just go Explore

KOSMIX, A well-financed Silicon Valley start-up, is often described on blogs and news sites as a search engine that may someday rival Google.

As flattering as that notion may sound, it rankles Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman, the co-founders of Kosmix. And that’s not because other start-ups making similar assertions have fallen laughably short of the mark. It’s because Kosmix is trying to do something quite different from traditional Web search. “Search does what it does well, very well,” Harinarayan said. “I don’t think we can ever compete with that.” Kosmix, he said, is not about finding the best set of documents for a specific keyword or phrase.

Instead, its goal is to ‘Explore’ and “tell me more about something,” he said.

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Labels: co-founders of Kosmix, Explore, Google, Kosmix, search engine, Silicon Valley, specific keyword, traditional Web search

Family of 4 falls of faulty flyover, killed

A family of four was killed when the father's motorcycle fell off the Palam-Dwarka flyover in southwest Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.

Twenty-seven-year-old carpenter Deepak Kumar, his wife Renu and their children Rishabh (5) and Veeru (3) - fell on a concrete slab below. The motorcycle got entangled into the railing.

The mishap took place around 2.15 pm when Deepak's bike crashed into the side verge. On impact, the four were flung over the three-foot-high railing.

A few hours later, another motorcyclist was killed on the same stretch in an almost identical fashion.

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Labels: concrete slabs, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Dwarka, motorcycle, Palam-Dwarka flyover

Blast at mosque in Lanka

A suicide bomber triggered explosives amid a gathering of Muslims celebrating Milad-un-Nabi, killing 14 and wounding 40 more including a minister in the southern Sri Lankan town of Akuressa on Tuesday .

The condition of several among the injured, including that of minister Mahinda Wijesekera, was said to be serious. Wijesekera was flown to a hospital in Colombo from Akuressa, some 150-odd km from the capital. The death toll is expected to rise.

The LTTE did not claim responsibility but the suicide attack bore all the trademarks of one carried out by the Tamil Tigers, now cornered in a sliver of land in the north-eastern district of Mullaitivu.

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Labels: Blast at mosque in Lanka, death toll, minister Mahinda Wijesekera, Muslims celebrating Milad-un-Nabi, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan town of Akuressa, suicide bomber, Tamil Tigers

The Third Front rises

With a viable Third Front appearing more realistic than ever during the last five years, the CPI(M)-led Left Front has stepped up efforts to snatch regional parties currently with the Congress and BJP .

The CPI(M) looks in charge, more so after snaring the Biju Janata Dal, ending its 11-year old alliance with the BJP.

Encouraged by this early success, it is lining up more such parties for a friendship pitch.

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, who was negotiating with Naveen Patnaik, returned to the capital and spent a busy day briefing his party colleagues and other allies on the Orissa coup.

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Labels: allies, Biju Janata Dal, CPI, Naveen Patnaik, NDA, Orissa, regional parties, Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu, TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, UPA

Countdown begins...

The countdown to the Commonwealth Games 2010 has officially begun.

Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna on Sunday unveiled the prototype of the Queen's Baton on the eve of Commonwealth Day at the India Gate lawns.

After lighting the ceremonial lamp, Khanna tried to ally fears about whether Delhi will be able to host the Games. "I am in touch with all the authorities concerned. There is no need to panic. The infrastructure will be completed on time.We are making good progress and will ensure that the Commonwealth Games are a resounding success," he said.

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Labels: Commonwealth Games 2010, eve of Commonwealth Day, India Gate, Laser show, Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna

Indian Premier League on, but stays off poll course

After the frantic speculation of Wednesday and Thursday there was finally an out , come on Friday over the future of the second season of the Indian Premier League.

The IPL, set to arm itself with a reworked schedule, seems to be back on track for the moment. In a meeting of BCCI office-bearers in Mumbai, IPL chairman Lalit Modi reiterated the commitment of tweaking the schedule to ensure no matches are held 24-48 hours prior to and after polling at the IPL venues. "We'd stated we'll work around the dates as and when the dates for the elections are announced," an IPL official told HT. "Security is of importance to us, too, and we will co-operate with the government."

Four new venues - Cuttack, Nagpur, Rajkot and Indore have been added to the nine already listed. "We'll shortlist these down to eight depending on the polling dates and the level of security at different venues," the official said.

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Labels: BCCI office, Cuttack, Indian Premier League, IPL chairman Lalit Modi, IPL dates, Nagpur, polling dates, Rajkot and Indore

Murali hints at insider role

Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan hit out at the security arrangements in Pakistan and suspected militants had inside information about their movement.

“Somehow in this incident there were no police with guns on the bus,” the 36-year-old off-spinner said.

“If someone was there with a gun we would have had a chance of defending ourselves,” he said.

“Normally all the buses go and , we have four or five escorts,” Murali said, revealing his anguish that there could have been inside information about the Sri Lankan team's bus route to the Gaddafi Stadium.

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Labels: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan, security arrangements, Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan team's bus route, suspected militants

Will Big B go bare?

This is going to be Bollywood’s most talked about swipe of the razor. After almost a decade sporting his famous French cut beard, Amitabh Bachchan will appear on screen almost cleanshaven in his forthcoming film Paa. The film is to be directed by ad manturned-director Balki of Cheeni Kum fame, and it is a co-production between Bachchan’s AB Corp Ltd and Big Pictures.

Bachchan will look clean-shaven, but the beard will not come off entirely because the star is said to be , superstitious about it. He is to going keep some of it, but mask it with make-up, says our source. The beard marks Bachchan’s comeback from a dark phase through the 2000 film Mohabbatein. Then came KBC and there was no turning back.

Paa was announced right after Cheeni Kum. “Amitabh would be seen in a very different look,” Balki had said then. He would not give any details now, but says that “it is a role and a look in which no one has seen him”.

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Labels: AB Corp Ltd and Big Pictures, Amitabh Bachchan, Bachchan will look clean-shaven, Cheeni Kum fame, forthcoming film Paa, French cut beard, KBC

Wounded Pakistan blames foreign hand

In a variant of the 26/11 Mumbai strikes, about a dozen heavily-armed terrorists opened fire at a convoy taking the Sri Lankan cricket team to Lahore's Gaddafi stadium, wounding seven players and killing seven Pakistanis.

Star batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana were treated in hospital but out of danger, while captain Mahela Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara and Suranga Lokumal had minor injuries. Six Pakistani policemen and a civilian were kned in the attack.

Tuesday's attack was the first terror strike on sportspersons since the last such incident during the 1972 Munich Olympics when 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian gunmen.

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Labels: 1972 Munich Olympics, first terror strike on sportspersons, Lahore's Gaddafi stadium, Mahela Jayawardene, Mumbai strikes, Sri Lankan cricket team, Star batsman Thilan Samaraweera

Politicians latest to join reality Television bandwagon

Forget the world. India is shrinking. A 23-year-old from Tripura, Sourabhee Debbarma, on Sunday became the first woman to win the latest edition of Indian Idol.

Sourabhee took home a contract worth Rs 1 crore and a Tata Winger car. If you think that’s a lot, India’s biggest-ever reality show Sarkar Ki Duniya, which launches Tuesday night on the latest channel Real, a collaboration between the Alva Brothers and Turner International, offers a prizemoney of Rs 1 crore.

Welcome to the world of talent and reality-based TV programmes that are rewriting the rules of the entertainment industry creating , an unprecedented buzz, excitement and anticipation among the youth and the not so-young. It’s as if a window has opened to the many Indias that never meet. Of cities, small towns and villages. Of entrepreneurs, professionals, daily wage labourers and the unemployed. Now their worlds appear to meet — on reality TV .

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Labels: first woman to win Indian Idol, Indian Idol, reality-based TV programmes, Sarkar Ki Duniya, Sourabhee Debbarma, Tata Winger car, Tripura

Across the Border Musharraf and a dog named Che

Prevez Musharraf is possibly one of the most interviewed leaders in the world.

But the man who ruled over Pakistan's destiny from 1999 to 2008, first as army chief and then as president, has already conveyed to me that this meeting is going to be an off-the record conversation over tea. No interview please.

Musharraf, I was told, continues to live in the official residence of the country's army chief in Pindi due to security reasons and would be happy to meet me.

And so I head with a friend, who has helped arrange the meeting, to Army House in Rawalpindi from Islamabad late Sunday morning .

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Labels: Army House, Chak Shahzad, dog Che, General Musharraf, Islamabad, Pakistan's destiny, Prevez Musharraf, rawalpindi, Sainik Farms of Delhi

Hindustan Times

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Battlefield Lahore

Monday, March 30, 2009

It’s Harvard v Hyderabad now

Thursday, March 26, 2009

He wanted a son, so threw daughters in canal

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Muslim school boy takes fight to keep beard to Supreme Court

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Every inch a proper car

Monday, March 23, 2009

Smacked out of India, Indian Premier League may land in England or South Africa

Friday, March 20, 2009

Safdarjang's tomb to be lit up for 3 hours every night

Thursday, March 19, 2009

United States may expand its covert war in Pakistan

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Lalu, Paswan deal Congress a bad hand

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Zardari blinks, Pakistan exults

Monday, March 16, 2009

Don’t compare Kosmix to Google, just go Explore

Friday, March 13, 2009

Family of 4 falls of faulty flyover, killed

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Blast at mosque in Lanka

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Third Front rises

Monday, March 9, 2009

Countdown begins...

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Indian Premier League on, but stays off poll course

Friday, March 6, 2009

Murali hints at insider role

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Will Big B go bare?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Wounded Pakistan blames foreign hand

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Politicians latest to join reality Television bandwagon

Monday, March 2, 2009

Across the Border Musharraf and a dog named Che

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