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INDIA
Surinder Koli gets third death penalty for Nithari killings In the sensational case of young children and women disappearing in Nithari, on the outskirts of New Delhi, a special CBI court on Tuesday handed third death penalty to Surinder Koli, the servant of businessmean Moninder Singh Pandher. In the latest case, Surinder was given the death penalty for rape and murder of Rachna, a nine year girl. Nithari cases rocked India in 2006. Judge A K Singh said the crime was in the rarest of rare categories and awarded death penalty to 38-year-old Koli. He even said the criminal deserves more severe punishment for his crime. Both Pandher and his domestic help Koli have been accused of killing young children and women. The crime came to light when the remains of the victims were found dumped in a drain behind Pandher's house in Noida. Pandher, who is still lodged in Dasna district jail, was not an accused in this case. Thirteen other cases remain to be decided.
BJP-JD(U) finalise seat arrangement for Bihar polls NDA partners BJP and JD(U) finalised seat adjustments for the Bihar assembly polls. The JD(U) is expected to contest on 141 and BJP on 102 assembly seats in Bihar. This arrangement was agreed by JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and chief minister Nitish Kumar. However, there is hitch on some seats which have been reorganised by the delimitation commission. About a dozen MLAs of both JD(U) and BJP are likely to be denied ticket.
Liquor spins gold for Kerala Jostling for their turn at a government run liquor shop has become a common sight in Kerala. Liquor sales touched a whopping Rs 2,350 million in a single week during the Onam festival recently. The state-run Beverages Corporation, the only wholesale supplier of liquor in the state, has now become the biggest money spinner for the government - even surpassing revenue from sale of petrol and diesel! In the last four-and-ahalf years, the revenue from sale of liquor in Kerala touched nearly Rs. 150 billion more than the total revenue earned in the earlier 22 years. "Am I happy that liquor consumption is going up? No never. But it's an assured source of revenue for the government. And even if I don't collect it, there will still be consumption of liquor," said Dr T M Thomas Issac, Finance Minister, Kerala. While state coffers are filling up, Kerala's high liquor intake has doctors worried. "In many instances, patients brought with some other complications are actually believed to be cases of alcohol abuse. They don't consider this as a stigma or something dangerous for health. They take it as a matter of prestige," said Dr Shyam Sundar, Consultant, Government General Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. But it doesn't help that young boys too are getting addicted. With liquor sales being one of the biggest revenue sources for the government, it seems Kerala will retain the dubious distinction of being a tippler’s paradise for some time.
Nishita Shah ranked among richest in Thailand The 30-year-old woman entrepreneur of Gujarati origin Nishita Shah Federbush is in the club of richest in Thailand. Shah, who has her business empire in Bangkok, has found a respectable place in the Forbes report on Thailand's 40 richest people. The report published last month puts Shah in 24th rank with net worth of $340 million. Shah dropped three ranks down from the 21st rank in 2009, although she has gained $60 million in her net worth. In the Forbes list of 2009, her net worth stood at $280 million. Nishita Shah is director of her family's business in Precious Shipping Public Company Ltd, a dry bulk shipper founded by her father, Kirit Shah. She is holding the position in the company since 2002. She holds around 98.5 million shares, which account for 9.48% of the total paid-up capital of the listed company. Precious Shipping has a fleet size of 44 ships. She is also director in other non-listed companies, including Globex Corporation Ltd, Graintrade Ltd, Unistretch Ltd, and Geepee Air Service Ltd. Nishita's father Kirit founded the group in 1989 and subsequently took it public in 1993. Her family migrated from India to Burma and then to Thailand many years ago. The wealth was calculated using share prices and exchange rates as of August 20, 2010. Shah has been regularly in the Forbes list of richest in Thailand. In 2008, she was ranked 19th with net worth of $375 million while in 2007 she was ranked 12th with net worth of $350 million.
Asian Voice - Saturday 2nd October 2010
Prof A R Rao, the maths wizard At 102, he is still active and conducting classes every week By K K JOSEPH “It is important that the brain is used as an activity room and not a store room.” This motto is keeping Prof A R Rao (Annaswami Rangnath Rao) popularly known as Raosaheb active in life. He has completed 102 years of his exemplary life on September 23. He is an expert in problem solving, pioneer in the field of non-formal mathematics, the one who set up an excellent mathematical laboratory at Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC) in Ahmedabad, the first lab of this type at that time in India. He looks frail and emaciated with hearing problem and his speech is also impaired. He is also weak in the knees and moves with the help of a wheelchair or on someone’s help. But he is very agile – at least on the intellectual front. His memory is excellent, to say the least. He communicates in writing. Even after all the physical disabilities, he conducts classes on every Saturday for two hours in problem solving in maths. He is wizard in geometry. His students are a heterogeneous group. Dr Jayesh Patel is a gynaecologist by profession. Mr Ratnakar Mehta is a banker and works in the Reserve Bank of India, Ahmedabad. Dr M H Vasavada is a retired professor of mathematics from Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar. Prof Roghelika was associate professor of maths at M G Science College, Ahmedabad. Dr Padmanabhan is working as a senior scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation and has taken PhD in maths. Mr Sabir Telwala is teaching maths in Anjuman Islam High School, Ahmedabad. Prof Bachubhai B Raval is a retired professor of maths
A R Rao (Right) conducting classes
from J G College of Education, Ahmedabad. Though these students of Prof Rao have nothing much more to gain in life now, why they are attending his classes regularly? According to them it is the love of maths that is drawing them to Prof Rao’s classes. “Maths is pleasure. Learning maths is like threshing and polishing the brain, especially under the guidance of Prof Rao,” said Dr Jayesh Patel. Since Prof Rao’s hearing is impaired, a slate and pencil is used to communicate with him. His method of teaching is unconventional. His problem solving methods are not available in any text book. He will explain to you different methods in solving the problem. He has instant answers for any complicated problems. “We feel rejuvenated and fresh after coming out of the class,” say his students. Maths acts as a medicine Prof Vasavada recalled an incident where maths has acted as a medicine for Prof Rao. “One day when we came for the class, Prof Rao was running high fever. So we told our teacher to cancel the class. But Prof Rao insisted on conducting the class. Once the class was over, Prof Rao’s temperature came down and became normal.” Mr V R Rao, son of Prof Rao narrated another incident which illustrates the memory power of his father. “One day my son who came from America
wanted to know the details of his family tree. His grand father instantly gave him the names and details of five generations before him.” This mathmagician was born in a small village called JakkaSamudram of Salem district in Tamil Nadu as the eldest of four siblings. He completed his schooling at Tanjore and Tiruchirapalli and graduated in chemistry with gold medal from Madras (now Chennai) University. After completing his post-graduation from Bombay University and fellowship from Wilson College, Mumbai, he started his teaching career at Bahauddin College, Junagadh (Gujarat) in 1933, where he spent the next 27 years as a maths professor. Later he pursued stints at other colleges in Gujarat and held distinguished positions in many academic committees in and outside Gujarat. After retiring from active teaching, he joined VASCSC in 1974 as professor emeritus. He was associated with the centre for the next 34 years till ill heath forced him retire from it in 2009. In order to popularize maths he set up a maths lab there and designed new mathematical models, be they teaching aids, games or puzzles. To bring awareness about non-formal mathematics, he travelled far and wide to deliver talks and organize workshops and exhibitions. His serv-
ices are still sought for training students for International Olympiad. He had presented research papers in the filed of geometry, number theory and combinatorics at conferences which gave him international recognition. He has also made contributions in the making of Gujarati encyclopaedia “Vishwakosh.” He has also published five books in maths- two in English and three in Gujarati, besides several articles in magazines and journals. Prof Rao is also interested in philosophy, geography, chemistry and biology. He is also a linguist and knows eight languages. To acknowledge his services to the society in popularizing maths, he has been honoured by the government of India and the Gujarat government. Documentaries have also been produced on the life of Prof Rao. Even after all the honours and awards, this doyen of maths is a simple man. Even former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam greeted Prof Rao on his 100th birthday. According to Prof Rao defective method of teaching, over emphasis on exams and indiscriminate cramming of materials from text books and so-called guides are some of the reasons why students are scared of maths and showing not much interest in studying the subject. To popularize and make it easier to understand, he advocates the use of mathematical models in teaching the subject. Now many school boards are making it mandatory to use this method in schools and even to establish maths labs for the same. If implemented properly, more students will opt for maths. Our present system of teaching maths is age-old. If we can supplement it by non-formal methods, the dream of this visionary would be fulfilled.
Ayodhya verdict stay plea rejected Continued from page 1 Importantly, the CJI and the other two judges on the Bench - Justice Aftab Alam and Justice KS Radhakrishnan – were unanimous in their decision to lift the stay. Following the judgement, all parties to the case expressed satisfaction. The Congress and the BJP have also welcomed the judgement saying that the people of the country are mature enough to accept the verdict. Earlier counsels pleading for deferment of the verdict said the court and
the government could try innovative approach to evolve an out-of-court settlement. However, counsels for all the parties to the dispute except Nirmohi Akhara, opposed the plea for deferment. Appearing for the petitioner pleading for Tripathi, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi told the court that the dispute was an emotional issue and the court and the government should make some innovative and proactive approach to evolve a mediated settlement. Rohatgi contended that there could be no title
suit pending after the government acquisition of the land in 1993. Opposing the plea of Tripathi, a counsel for the Sunni Wakf Board said his petition was motivated and should not be entertained at this stage. The lawyer contended that there must be an element of settlement which is acceptable to all the parties to resolve the dispute and sadly, this is missing here. Senior advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad, appearing for one of the parties, said "He (Tripathi) is a non-serious party" who did not appear regularly
before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court during the protracted hearing. He said the plea that the pronouncement of the verdict may lead to adverse consequences should not be considered. "If this argument of consequences is accepted then even a bail plea could have a negative consequence," he said. Former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, who appeared for one of the parties, agreed with Prasad and said "judicial function cannot be made hostage to consequences."