Friday, August 31, 2007

Hyderabad bomb blasts demonstrate holes in Indian establishment

Abhishek Behl, www.merinews.com

Even as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi called for fighting terrorism in the Gandhian way, two terrible blasts ripped apart Hyderabad killing at least 40 persons and injuring many more.
She said this while delivering a lecture in Cape town University in South Africa, while terrorists, who obviously have no faith in Gandhian ways planned and executed their attack to perfection.
The inhuman blasts in Hyderabad have once again proved the failure of Indian intelligence and security agencies in preempting the actions of terrorists operating in the country. Political failure of the Indian establishment is evident and as a usual Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil is scheduled to visit the spot where the actual blasts took place.
National security Guards are already there, the Leader of the opposition will be visiting Hyderabad and the usual post blast voices will be made. Money and jobs will be offered to the families of those killed, a special investigating team will be constituted and and after few months all will be forgotten, till another blast hits the nation.

Being the most powerful politician in the country, Sonia’s statement assumes significance as her words set the tone for the administration and governance of the country. Congress government particularly Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil have time and again failed to ensure that justice is done to the perpetrators of these crimes.
Even as hundreds of Indians have been mowed down by terror attacks in Hyderabad, Kashmir, Delhi, Varanasi, Bombay, Malegaon and many other places, the UPA government has failed to provide leadership to the country.
The most important question is whether the government has any concerted plan to fight terrorism? After suffering for so many years have we evolved a plan as to how to check the global terrorists, who are bent upon killing the people?
Are the local police and security men trained to take on the might of these highly motivated but misguided men.

The answer to these questions is plain no. Even if the Indian government has any poper plan to tackle terror its results are evident, India is not safe. Terrorists are planning and executing their operations with impunity and government has no concrete solution to offer against this menace.
Only thing which the government can do is add more Zs to the security of its own ministers and bureaucrats, who are already well protected and over fed. If a proper audit of the Indian security system is done then it will be obvious that ninety percent of the resources meant for protecting the public are usurped by Indian politicians, VIPs bureaucrats and their families.


Hyderabad has been on the hit list of terrorists and this is what the pan-Islamic jihadi terrorist organisations in Pakistan, which are members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF), have been saying even long before the IIF was formed in February, 1998.
Top Indian Terrorism expert, BV Raman, writes “They look upon Hyderabad and Junagadh as Pakistani territory, which should have come to Pakistan in 1947. They also look upon them as legitimate lands of the Ummah, which should be restored to the Ummah. They project their jihad as a three-phase struggle. Under Phase I, they would "liberate" J&K. Under Phase II, they would "free" Hyderabad and Junagadh from "Hindu control." And under Phase III, they say they would "liberate" the Muslims in other parts of India.”
Indian government must wake up from the deep slumber and formulate an effective policy against the Pakistan based terrorists. The Congress government and its Left allies will have to stop appeasing Pakistan, a country which has been branded as exporter of global jihad.
Life of every Indian is precious and the government should stop treating this loss of lives as routine which it has been doing for the last many years. If this is not done at the earliest, chances are more blasts will rip through the Indian cities and kill many more.

And it is not that only ordinary Indians will die, but even those rich, powerful and influential Indians, who do not visit the chaat Bhandars, public parks and bus stands will face annihilation, though their number may come next in the game of global jehad.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Japanese PM draws a new painting of Indo-Japan relations





“Stronger India is in the interest of Japan, while a strong Japan is in the interest of India and both countries have started working towards building an enduring relationship which is mutually beneficial to the people of both countries”- Shinzo Abe.



AT THE FUNCTION organised by India Center Foundation on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minster Mr. Abe, inaugurated and added colours to a canvas to portray the new picture of Indo-Japan relations.

Cutting across political ideologies, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi joined hands and came together on stage with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to add colours to the canvas, signifying a rare unanimity on Indo-Japan relations.

While Abe painted the red hued Sun, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje Sindhia added her own signature style and engulfed the sun with vibrant orange and brown, signifying energy and power.

A large number of dignitaries, who were present on the occasion used the brush with enthusiasm and panache and filled the canvas with vivid colours signifying the improving relations between the two countries. An abundance of red, yellow, green and browns ware filled by leading politicians, industry leaders and bureaucrats including Minister of State for Planning MV Raj Shekharan, former Defence Minister George Fernandes, Gautam Adani, chairman Adani Group, Rajesh Shah, chairman Mukund Steel, President FICCI Amit Mitra, Girish Kumar Sanghi, MP; Suresh Prabhu, MP; Aloke Mehta, MP;Vijay Darda, MP, Lalit Modi, Ram Jethmalani, Dilip Padgaonkar, Sudeendhra Kulkarni, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and many others.

Japanese Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that India and Japan have entered a new phase of friendship, which would significantly impact the world.

The relations which had been silent for the past 10-years are now growing at a rapid pace as Japan has re-discovered India and both are natural allies in the road towards progress, said the Japanese Prime Minister while appreciating the work done by India Center Foundation in strengthening the relations between the two countries. The Foundation and particularly it’s chairman Vibhav Kant Upadhyay, he said has played a vital role in building cultural, social and economic linkages between the two countries.

Welcoming the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said that Abe’s visit to India was a historic one and marked the high watermark of Indo-Japanese relations.

Extending warm welcome to Japanese entrepreneurs in Gujarat, Modi said that they were aiming at building a mini-Japan in Gujarat that would be a hub of industrial growth in the country.

CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, recalled that Prime Minister Abe was the grandson of the first post-war Prime Minister of Japan and was playing a crucial role in improving the Indo-Japan relations. Both India and Japan complement each other and if they build a strong relationship, they can reach the pinnacle of the new pecking order in the world, he added.

Dwelling on the role played by India Center Foundation, chairman Vibhav Kant Upadhyay said “India and Japan are natural friends and friendship between two countries will benefit and service the world besides the two nations.”

Here it must be mentioned that India Center Foundation has played a crucial role in promoting India-Japan relations and it was instrumental in the successful creation of India-Japan global partnership which was announced by the Prime Ministers’ of both the countries in the wake of post-Pokharan sanctions. India Center Foundation was established in 1996 with the vision of catalyzing the relationship between the two countries.

Earlier, addressing a business meeting organised jointly by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underlined the need for a bilateral currency swap agreement and called upon the private sector in both countries to assist their respective governments in meeting the challenge of climate change that Japan and India have decided to tackle at the global level.

Mr. Abe reiterated his government’s commitment to assist India in infrastructure development, particularly the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata Dedicated Freight Corridors and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Chaos stalls proceedings in assembly second dayRather, Qarra exchange heated words; NC, PP legislators protest

Athar Parvaiz


SRINAGAR, Aug 22: Chaotic scenes dominated the proceedings of in the state assembly for the second consecutive day and the scheduled business got suspended with the legislators in opposition benches protesting in favour of their persistent demands.
The speaker had to enforce adjournment thrice as every attempt to resume the scheduled business proved unsuccessful. Prior to the adjournment of the house on the third and final occasion, leader of Opposition Abdul Rahim Rather and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister,

Tariq Hameed Qarra exchanged words of criticism and disparagement. They also made arguments in favour of their respective benches and both of them refused to take the responsibility of the resultant chaos on the two successive days. Later, Rather further elaborated his and his party's viewpoint during a press conference outside the assembly complex.
The high drama began at the very outset today as the legislators from district Kupwara, donning black aprons, inscribed with the slogan "Estehsal Bandh Karo", walked into the well of the house and demanded immediate attention towards the far-flung district. They said that the district has altogether been ignored just because people of Kupwara have elected NC candidates. Those who raised slogans included: Qaiser Jamshed, Kafeel-ur-Rehman, Mir Saifullah and Sharief-u-Din Shariq. Jamshed and his other colleagues were later forced to leave the house as the speaker observed that they were disprupting the proceedings.

Mubarak Gul and legislators of Panthers Party also chose to get assertive in favour of their respective demands. Mubarak demanded attention about the "deteriorating condition of Srinagar city" whereas legislators of Panthers Party demanded immediate revocation of suspension of Harsh Dev Singh. Harsh was suspended by the Speaker on Tuesday after senior Congress leader, Pandit Mangat Ram Sharma moved a motion for his suspension.

All the members later raised joint slogans: "Nekami Sarkar Hai Hai.. Choroon Ki Sarkar Hai Hai." Finding the members unrelenting, the speaker adjourned the house for 10 minutes (which ultimately continued for more than an hour). When the attempt was made for the second time to resume the "business" at 12:05 pm, Panthers Party (PP) legislators started raising fierce slogans in favour of revocation of suspension orders against their leader, Harsh Dev Singh.

Jammu and Kashmir in nutshell today:Drama in Jamm and Kashmir assembly

Amid continuous clashes in Assembly, Cong comes closer to PDP, Panthers to NCOn day 2 of failed business, Govt hints at aborting session

From Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 22: Continuous clashes on varied issues between the Opposition and the ruling coalition on the second consecutive day in the Legislative Assembly today concluded with the senior Congress leader and Minister incharge CAPD Taj Mohiuddin's revelation that the Government would ask the Speaker to adjourn the current session sine die if National Conference (NC) persisted with its 'tactics of disrupting the business'. The House witnessed mayhem as NC's MLAs from Kupwara sought "justice" to their district and three of the Panthers Party's MLAs demanded revocation of the suspension of their colleague Harsh Dev Singh who had been punished on Tuesday for allegedly threatening to murder Minister for Rural Development, Jugal Kishore Sharma.

"We are seriously thinking to request the Speaker to adjourn this session sine die if National Conference did not discard its tactics of disrupting the business in the House", Taj Mohiuddin threatened at an interaction with media on premises of Legislative Assembly. According to him, the "real cause" of NC's indignation was that the senior PDP leader and Minister incharge Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Tariq Hameed Qarra, had touched some sensitive nerves of the Opposition leaders by exposing their "doublespeak".

He said it was utterly unfortunate that senior NC leaders, who have been members of the House for over 25 years, used "derogatory language" to silence Mr Qarra. "They shouted that the Minister had gone mad", Taj referred to the leader of the Opposition Abdul Rahim Rather's unexpunged remarks on the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Speaking on behalf of his Congress party, Taj said: "We endorse each and every word of the Law Minister".

Taj's outburst came minutes after he came out of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's chambers, clearly to express his party's solidarity with the ruling coalition sibling. He was escorted to the dais by a number of the coalition MLAs and Ministers, notably PDP's Abdul Aziz Zargar and Dilawar Mir besides Jugal Kishore of Congress. Taj and Zargar accosted the journalists immediately after NC's Abdul Rahim Rather and Panthers Party's Balwant Singh Mankotia lashed out on the coalition Government separately at a platform created by the State Information Department. Both, Taj and Zargar held NC and PP members responsible for disrupting the business and "playing with the sentiments of the people". They said that the Opposition had run out of the issues and was taking refuge under "cheap histrionics". Rather and Mankotia had earlier separately put the blame of disrupting the business on the Treasury Benches.
Briefing mediapersons, Rather said that in his earlier statement in the Assembly today, Mr Qarra had presented himself as a "mad man". "As everything was turning calm, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister got up without any reason and made an impromptu outburst on the Opposition. I did seriously realise that the Minister had turned mad. I told the Speaker that the Minister had some mental problem and was in need of a medical examination. I told him that we had a well equipped mental hospital with qualified doctors here", an unusually irritated Rather vomitted.

He alleged that the Law Minister's tantrums, coupled with the Speaker's repeated orders of adjournment, were "part of a conspiracy to scuttle business of the House". In his briefing, Mankotia lamented that the Speaker had taken extreme action against Harsh Dev Singh for a disputed incident that had occurred outside the Assembly but he had not explained under what rule of the business he had entertained the Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma's motion and hastily expelled an elected representative.

NC's, PP's and the coalition's briefings and counter-briefings were understandably preceded by hours of unruly scenes on day three of the current session in Assembly. With the Speaker's arrival, three of NC's MLAs from Kupwara---Kafeel-ur-Rehman, Qaisar Jamsheed Lone and Mir Saifullah---emerged on the well while shouting slogans and seeking "justice" to their backward district in development. Wearing black aprons, emblazoned with bold slogans in Urdu, all the three MLAs continued with their dramatic demonstration, forcing the Speaker to order an adjournment of 10 minutes. Proceedings, however, resumed after a pause of one hour. When the agitating MLAs, supported by many of their party colleagues from their seats, persisted with the drama, their own party colleague and Deputy Speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone, who was this time in chair, ordered watch and ward staff to take them out.

Even as everybody seemed to be appreciative of the Deputy Speaker's action and Speaker Tara Chand took the seat in a relaxed atmosphere, Mr Rather got up and requested Mr Tara Chand to withdraw Harsh Dev Singh's suspension for rest of the session. Speaker told him that he had received the submission and would consider it properly before coming up with his decision. On this occasion, NC's senior leader Ali Mohammad Sagar too got up and began disputing the penal action against the PP's MLA as "unwarranted, unjustified and unconstitutional". It immediately ignited all three of the PP MLAs who began shouting volleys of slogans and occupied the well. As the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr Qarra got up and began making a statement, PP's Balwant Singh Mankotia began gesticulating and snatched away his microphone. This prompted the watch and ward staff to quickly run to the Minister's rescue and drag out all three of the PP MLAs.

Taking umbrage on the ruckus caused by the NC and the PP MLAs over Harsh Dev's suspension, Qarra turned bitter and directed his ire on Rather. Continuing his hard-hitting speech, he slapped the accusation of "doublespeak" on Rather and shouted that the latter had proved himself as incompetent in functioning as Leader of the Opposition. "Mr Rather, don't you have any control on your members. This pandemonium has questioned your competence as Leader of the Opposition", he shouted on the NC leader. He claimed that Mr Rather had assured maintenance of order from the Opposition in his meetings with the Minister and the Speaker but he was encouraging and provoking a many members in the Opposition to create mayhem.

"This is all a drama to demonstrate to the media as you people have no issue to confront the Government. Why doesn't the Leader of Opposition know as to where the black aprons of his MLAs came from. We'll hold you accountable--- in the people's court", Qarra grumbled and evoked louder slogans from the Opposition. "Mr Speaker, you'll have to think if this House could run with this pandemonium. You'll have to take an appropriate decision", Qarra directed on the Speaker.
As Qarra paused with thumping of desks in his praise by several PDP and Congress members, Rather retorted in the din of anti-Government slogans by NC MLAs that the Minister incharge Parliamentary Affairs had turned "mad". This prompted Speaker Mr Tara Chand to adjourn the business till tomorrow. Significantly, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was present in his chambers and also visited a medical camp outside on Shergarhi Lawns, distanced himself from the mayhem and did not enter the House.
Three-hour-long drama on the floor of Assembly came at the cost of authorities subjecting hundreds of thousands of people to untold suffering outside. Entire public movement remains frozen in the top business streets of Budshah Chowk, Maisuma, Koker Bazar, Jehangir Chowk and parts of Hari Singh High Street from beginning to end of every day's business in the Legislature. While the shopkeepers have been complaining losses worth Rs 20 to 50 cr every day, residents and other commuters have got to live in a curfew-like situation. Any demand of relaxation is being perceived by the authorities as comprise to security guidelines.

Speaker's announcement of adjournment was quickly followed by leaders of all the political parties approaching media and attempting to convince them that their rivals were responsible for failure of business on yesterday and today. When journalists asked Taj Mohiuddin why the session had not been held at SKICC if the Government, according to him, was really concerned about the people's suffering outside, he pleaded that the convention complex had been booked by different parties one to two years in advance. He said it was impossible for the Government to disturb the conferences at SKICC. When it was pointed out to him that no international conference was booked at SKICC during the current session of legislature, he said that he would check the records.

While Minister for Rural Development, Jugal Kishore, explained to the journalists as to how and why the PP members had been threatening and abusing him for "pre-empting the exploitation of Talwara migrants" in Reasi area, PP's President and MLC Bhim Singh spread fire in all directions, with the exception of NC and BJP. He alleged that Jammu Police had unleashed a reign of terror on his workers and Talwara migrants on the directions of Chief Minister and senior Police officials in Jammu. He alleged that most of the Congress party's MLAs and Ministers had swindled an amount of Rs 70 cr which Government of India had provided for the relief of Talwara migrants on a direction from Supreme Court. In an explicit allegation, he claimed that Taj Mohiuddin had grabbed 500 kanals of land at river Tawi in Jammu city in addition to spending Rs 5 cr of State exchequer on his private bungalow. He held out a threat that his party would continue agitation until Harsh Dev Singh's suspension was revoked by the Speaker.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Commonwealth Games Village: Fight to save the Yamuna

Abhishek Behl

The proposed Games Village seems to be in trouble as two groups have locked horns over its construction on the Yamuna floodplains. Whereas the first group is backed by builders and Delhi Government, the other comprises of ecologists and activists.



A BATTLE HAS begun between two interest groups on the banks of river Yamuna. While one is bent upon occupying the Yamuna floodplains to construct the high profile Commonwealth Games Village with the support of the State, the other is aiming to stop this construction as it threatens the very ecology of the river.

The first group comprises of powerful builders working in unison with Delhi Government as well as the Union government. In contrast, their opponents comprise of an assorted group of environmentalists, local farmers, social activists and members of Delhi Resident Welfare Associations as well as local villagers.

By joining the ‘crusade’, renowned water activist Rajendra Singh has not only boosted the morale of the environmentalists but added to their rank and file too.

The Games village is proposed to be constructed on a prime piece of property, adjacent to famous Akshardham temple on the National (Delhi-Nainital) highway. Construction on the site began on August 10 and it was marked by a strong protest by ‘Save Yamuna’ activists, who have been camping on the site since last 13 days.

Accusing the government for neglecting the interests of the people for the sake of commercial interests of few, the environmentalists have asked Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to explain as to on what grounds it decided to construct the Games Village on Yamuna river bed.

They opined that the proposed construction was in gross violation of the NEERI report titled ‘Environmental Management Plan for Rejuvenation of River Yamuna in NCT’, which explicitly states, “No residential or industrial facilities requiring permanent structures should be provided on the river bed.”

Further, the protestors claim that the Yamuna Standing Committee accorded no specific permission to DDA for raising the permanent residential multi-storied flats in the name of ‘Commonwealth Games Village’ alongside the Akshardham temple on Yamuna floodplains.

Speaking on the occasion, noted water activist, Rajendra Singh said that construction on the river bed would lead to the destruction of Yamuna, which is the lifeline of Delhi and this loss would be irreversible. It could lead to floods as well as shortage of drinking water as concretization of the river would not allow the replenishment of the already receding water table of the city.

In a similar vein noted water activist, SA Naqvi accused the government of failing to safeguard the interests of the common man, particularly farmers, living in and around Delhi. Asserting that the proposed construction would not be allowed as it was against all environmental norms, Naqvi said that people’s power would win against the might of the State and power builder nexus.

Harpal Singh Rana, a local leader asked the people to unite against the unjust policies of the State and to take the fight unto the last. A few Delhi University students, who were present on the occasion expressed surprise over the government’s decision, “ Games village should be built on such land, which does not threaten the very existence of the people”, said Sonakshi, a DU student.

With battle lines drawn, it would be interesting to know that who will win the ‘game’? Will state power knock out the ‘Save Yamuna’ campaign or will the underdogs be able to wrest the initiative and Save Yamuna from extinction. If they manage to do so, it will not only save the river, the lifeline of the entire region.

The answer will be there for all to see in the next few days.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Merinews impact: Hotmail, Rediff make amends accept J&K as India

Abhishek Behl

Finally MSN Hotmail and Rediffmail.com have come around to recognize you as citizens of India, if you happen to be resident of Jammu and Kashmir.
The correction was made only after Merinews published the report regarding the absence of J&K from the list of Indian states available on both these sites.
It is worthwhile to mention that both these sites were not showing Jammu and Kashmir on the list of Indian states on their email registration forms.
A large number of people from Jammu and Kashmir had demanded that government should take immediate action against these sites as these were violating the law of the land.
It is pertinent to mention that Indian Parliament has unequivocally resolved that J&K is and will always be an integral part of the country.
As the emotions of millions of people were involved in the issue, Merinews had talked to senior representatives of MSN and Rediff, who had admitted that omitting Jammu and Kashmir from the list was a serious mistake.
Both MSN and Rediffmail.com came good on their promise of rectifying this technical glitch, which had sent a wave of anger among the residents of Jammu and Kashmir in particular and Indian citizens in general
Appreciating the prompt action taken by these sites, Mohd Shahid, a JK resident, said “I am really happy that merinews took up the cause of the people of the valley and compelled these big corporations to make amends”, adding the people of J&K form an integral part of the country.
That the people of the country were really unhappy with this situation can be clearly made from the fact that a large number of netizens had made put up angry comments against both the sites as well as the government.
Accusing the government of apathy, Mohd Mudassir Alam, had written, “Our political leaders should at least wake up now. Always they claim Kashmir as integral part of India, but when it comes to reality is far way. Even today most of the Kashmiris do not consider themselves neither an Indian or a Pakistani. Today Hotmail, Rediffmail is doing such types of things, if government wouldn't resolve the matter soon, chances are that the whole world will deny it as a part of India.”.
Likewise a number of concerned citizens had demanded that the matter should be taken up at the highest levels, however, the management of these two sites preempted any such thing and corrected the mistake at a war footing.



With inputs from Pritha Roy Choudhury

Thursday, August 09, 2007

For Hotmail and Rediff, J&K does not exist in India

Perhaps, married to the cold war legacy MSN Hotmail and Rediffmail.com do not show Jammu and Kashmir as part of India thus questioning the very integrity of the country.



IF YOU ARE a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, then Microsoft owned Hotmail.com does not recognise you as an Indian. Even our very Indian Rediffmail.com does the same although it considers Jammu as part of the country while Srinagar is missing from the list of cities.

Surprised! Just try to sign up for an account with Hotmail.com, and click on the box for the option of country, that is India. While you open this section all states of the country come up but Jammu and Kashmir, the crown of India does not exist in the category.

What can be the reason behind the absence of Jammu and Kashmir from this list?

Is it an inadvertent mistake or a sad reminder of the cold war legacy that MSN owned Hotmail.com does not recognise Jammu and Kashmir as part of India.

Startlingly the same happens when one registers for Rediffmail.com, but there is a catch, the name of Jammu crops up in the list of Indian cities in Rediff, while Kashmir or Srinagar remains to be absent from the list.

It may be worth mentioning that during the cold war, American institutions and companies used to refer Kashmir as a disputed territory in order to whiplash India.

The absence of Jammu and Kashmir from the list of states in the Hotmail account clearly sends this shocking message to millions of users worldwide that there is no state with this name in India.

The seriousness of the matter can be gauged from the fact that Hotmail is world’s largest free Web-based e-mail service provider and is used in more than 220 countries and territories.

As MSN Hotmail is said to be having around 190 million active accounts, it means that a population as large as world’s 5th largest country is being told, perhaps unintentionally that Jammu and Kashmir does not exist in India.

Similarly, Rediff.com, one of the most popular and most used mail platforms in the country and its failure to show Kashmir in the list of Indian cities can send very confusing signals to the people, particularly, the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.

When Merinews spoke to some people about this fallacy they expressed deep anguish over the issue and demanded that Microsoft and Rediffmail and any other website doing the same should correct the situation at the earliest.

Chairman of the Internet Governance Forum, Nitin Desai, when contacted, said, “It is really surprising and this is not done. What will someone residing in Jammu and Kashmir who wants to sign up for these websites do? This fallacy needs to be addressed.” Desai is also the Under Secretary for Economy and Social Affairs United Nations.

The officials of MSN as well as Rediff.com maintained that this was a technical mistake and would be rectified at the earliest. Talking to merinews, Vice President (Marketing), Rediff.Com, Manish Agarwal, said that currently there is no city in the list from Kashmir Valley, “I think it is an unintentional error made by the guys working on it. I have taken a note of it and this will be rectified at the earliest.”

A senior official of MSN, India agreeing to speak on the condition of anonymity maintained that it was a technical glitch, “We will see that it is rectified as soon as possible.”

However when merinews pointed out the fallacy, MSN officials said they would rectify the error within a couple of hours, but one wonders why it did not occur to them earlier, which is very apparent.

People in the state of Jammu and Kashmir are flabbergasted over this mistake, intentional or otherwise, they allege that this is a part of larger conspiracy to ensure that Kashmir issue remains a disputed affair.

With inputs from Pritha Roy Choudhury, merinews

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Jammu

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