Asian Voice - Saturday 13th February 2010
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Madhya Pradesh Govt transfers IG for praising Kasab The Madhya Pradesh government last week transferred Special Armed Forces (SAF) IG Rajendra Kumar for praising Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani gunman involved in the Mumbai attack. "The state government has issued transfer orders of Kumar posting him to the headquarter here," officials said. Kumar had cited the example of Kasab to buttress his point on importance of undergoing training with passion at an SAF training camp. "If you are trained well you can do anything...An example is the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab. He just studied up to class eight and had just one year training. With this he could operate weapons and gadgets and GPS devices. He could do this because he had passion and he trained very well...," he had said.
Dandi monuments, Saife Villa being restored Dandi, which has become synonymous with the India’s freedom movement, is abuzz with activities these days. The Archaeological Survey of India is working round the clock for the restoration and conservation of Saife Villa and Bapu’s statue which depicts the Namak Satyagraha. “The villa and the Banyan Tree spot are about 125 years old. We were sent here last month on special orders of ministry of culture, Government of India to restore them to their original shape and structure,” an ASI official said. Saife Villa, built in early 19th century on 747 sq mtr of land with a built up area of 167.24 sq. mtr, has lime plaster, said ASI Vadodara’s Rajesh Johri. He said the restoration project was likely to be completed by March 15,
2010. The Banyan Tree at Dandi where Mahatma Gandhi gave his speech before breaking the law of the British Empire will also get a facelift. The memorial was opened by Jawaharlal Nehru on April 6, 1961. However, except for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi not many can claim to have seen it for many years. The Father of Nation’s
statue near Saife Villa is in a shambles. Only a push is enough to bring it down. However, the ministry of culture, Government of India and Gujarat government plan to install a new statue, to be built with 78 stones for the 78 followers who were with Bapu during his famous 1930 Dandi March, which began from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, a distance of 241 miles which they covered in three weeks.
Indian EVMs attracting foreign poll panels Indian electronic voting machines (EVMs) may be a subject of controversy in the country, but that hasn't stopped poll panels of many countries, including South Africa from showing interest in acquiring the ballot gadget. According to the Election Commission of India, poll bodies of South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya and Nepal have evinced keen interest in the EVMs. The interest in Indian EVMs from foreign poll management bodies comes in the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Telugu Desam Party and the AIADMK, among others, and some rights activists raising questions over the proper functioning of the voting machines. In his latest criticism, BJP's Parliamentary Party chairman L K Advani early this week blogged that "there's no such thing called
a tamper-proof electronic voting machine". He asked the poll panel to clear misgivings and apprehensions on their functioning. Meanwhile, India's Chief Election Commissioner Navin B. Chawla and Election Commissioners S.Y.
Quraishi and V.S. Sampath met with the poll panel heads of Commonwealth nations who were in New Delhi for the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission of India. The Indian officials met with Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Commonwealth Mmasegoa Masire-Mwamba. Masire-Mwamba com-
plimented India's leadership in election management and suggested that the ECI should play a key role in promotion of democratic process worldwide through the mechanism of the proposed Commonwealth network of election management bodies, according to an official statement. Several countries requested for the Election Commission's support in training, improvement of skills and human resource development. Some heads of electoral bodies requested that their personnel should get an exposure to the conduct of Indian elections. Indian voting officials also met with US election commissioner Ellen L. Weinstraub. The exchange focused on campaign financing, expenditure scrutiny and regulatory provisions, the statement said.
India to send 2 astronauts into space in 2016 5-member panel to look India will launch its first manned mission in 2016 with two astronauts for a week-long odyssey in space, said a top Indian space agency official last week. "We are planning a human space flight in 2016, with two astronauts who will spend seven days in the earth's lower orbit," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Radhakrishnan told reporters in Bangalore. Space scientists and senior officials of the state-run ISRO are
preparing a pre-project report to build the infrastructure and facilities for the mission, estimated to cost a whopping Rs 124 billion ($2.76 billion). The Planning Commission had in principle approved the human space flight project in February 2009. Its Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia then said more funds would be allocated in two phases during the Eleventh Plan (2007-12) and Twelfth Plan (2012-17). "We will design and develop the space module
for the manned mission in the next four years. Two astronauts will be selected to train for the space flight," Radhakrishnan said on the margins of a space event. The government had allocated Rs 950 million for pre-project initiatives in 2007-08. The space agency will set up a full-fledged training facility in this tech hub for training the astronauts and building a third launch pad at its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km northeast of Chennai.
"Spacecraft for the proposed manned mission will have extra facilities like entry into crew capsule and an escape chute," the chairman said after releasing a book titled Moon Mission: Exploring the Moon with Chandrayaan-1. To demonstrate its reentry technology prowess, ISRO had launched in 2007 a 600 kg space capsule recovery experiment (SRE) using the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) rocket and was successful in bringing it back to the earth safely 12 days later.
into Telangana issue
The government of India last week constituted a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna to study the Telangana statehood issue. A home ministry spokesperson said the committee would hold wide-ranging consultations with all sections of people and different political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh. The other members of the Committee are Prof (Dr) Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, National Law
University, Delhi, Dr Abusaleh Shariff, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, Delhi, Dr (Ms) Ravinder Kaur, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Delhi and Vinod K Duggal, former Home Secretary, who will also function as its Member Secretary. The spokesman said the terms and references were being drafted and would be finalised in consultation with the chairman of the Committee.
New vision for Kinnari Desai, Gagandeep Singh Ahmedabad’s Blind People’s Association a ray of hope for differently-abled BY K K JOSEPH Blind People’s Association (BPA), Ahmedabad is a ray of hope for the differently- abled people by giving a new confidence to be self-reliant and face the realities of life, thus helping them lead a normal life. BPA is promoting comprehensive rehabilitation of people with all types of disabilities through education, training, employment, community¬- based rehabilitation, research, human resource development and other innovative means. It is working for the blind, the deaf, mentally retarded, the orthopaedically impaired, the mentally ill etc. BPA also imparts technical education and professional training to the differentlyabled. It produces and dis-
tributes devises like crutches, calipers, wheelchairs and other mobility devises, free of charge. At least 1,500 disabled students are studying here. It also runs hostels for the blind boys and disabled girls, a library, an eye hospital and orthopaedic hospital. BPA, which was started in Ahmedabad in 1964, is running 11 campuses in Gujarat of which five are in Ahmedabad. The blind are now operating computers, surfing the web, doing telemarketing of products and services, thanks to BPA. People with disabilities are mobile on their tricycles and three wheeler scooters. Artificial limbs are provided free of cost to the needy. It is forging a new alliance by taking over the management of Jeet Mehta
Kinnari Desai
School for mentally retarded children. It is starting two primary schools – one each in Bavla and Naaz – where normal and disabled children will study together in inclusive settings. BPA has touched the lives of thousands of differently-abled people and transformed them. An example is Kinnari Desai who was a programmer in the State Bank of India, Ahmedabad. Later she
became a victim of low vision and lost her job. She became very desperate, dejected and lost interest in life also. She regained her confidence through the help of BPA. Now she is the proud recipient of Ford Foundation scholarship which enables her to continue post graduate studies in disability. She will be leaving to USA soon to pursue her studies. She will be first person from Gujarat to receive this scholarship out of 30 people selected from all over India this year. All this was possible because of the encouragement and guidance she received from BPA. Another example is Gagandeep Singh. While he was studying in St Xavier’s school in
Ahmedabad he became a victim of low vision. Through the help of BPA he also regained confidence and continued his studies. He took BBA from Gujarat University and later joined the B K School of Management. Now he is a proud student of IIM, Bangalore. He will be completing his studies this year and will be able to stand on his own feet. These two are only a few examples where BPA has given a new lease of life to the disabled. According to Dr Bhushan Punani, the Executive Director of BPA, Ahmedabad, 0.45 per cent of India’s population are blind. A lot of blindness is curable if given treated at the right time. He says eye donation in Gujarat is very encour-
aging, but hospitals in Ahmedabad are not able to take full advantage of the donations because of lack of cornea transplantation facilities. So most of the donated eyes are being sent to south India where the facilities are excellent. On the employment front, he says 77 people secured employment through them in 2009. The main areas of employment are in the fields of computer programming, lift operation, BPOs and in animation. They are depending on government, individuals, trusts and international aid agencies for financing their activities. BPA continues to be a single window service for people with disabilities. It is touching the people and changing their lives.