However, anti-Bush protests in New Delhi, Hyderabad, where Bush is scheduled to go Friday, and elsewhere around the country gave an indication of strong sentiments that his visit has provoked among those who oppose his aggressive global policies.

There was heavy security at Delhi airport with wired US Marines in black intermingling with Indian commandoes as the gleaming blue and white Air Force One touched down from Kabul. As the doors of the Boeing-747 opened, Bush, dressed in a back suit and a navy blue tie, stepped out accompanied by Laura. They waved to the dignitaries before briskly striding down the steps to be warmly greeted by Dr Singh.

Even as Bush greeted the dignitaries present at the airport, Dr Singh was engaged in an animated conversation with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, leading many to wonder whether they were clearing the final hurdles to the nuclear deal. Just before leaving Kabul, where he made an unscheduled halt becoming coming to New Delhi, Bush told a news conference along with Afghan President Ahmed Karzai that both sides were working on the civil nuclear agreement but said it was going to be a "difficult" one to negotiate for both countries.

Without undertaking whether the agreement would be signed during his visit, Bush said "it is in the interest of countries around the world that India has a nuclear power industry."

Indian authorities threw a security blanket never seen in New Delhi for any head of state, with anti-Bush protestors pledging to take to the streets in thousands against his visit. In a foretaste of things to come, tens of thousands of Muslims and others staged a noisy protest in the capital against Bush, with the chief organiser calling the US president a "terrorist" for his policies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Effigies of Bush went up in flames at the Ramlila ground in the heart of the city, a venue that will see another major anti-Bush rally organised by the communists Thursday.

Condoleezza Rice set the tone for the visit while speaking to reporters on board Air Force One flying Bush to New Delhi. "We would very much like to have a (civilian nuclear) deal; we are going to continue to work at it. But if we don't have one for this trip, then we will continue to work at it," Rice maintained.

Rice also enunciated a sticking point between the two countries on India's plan to separate its civilian and nuclear military facilities by asking New Delhi to place power reactors under "permanent safeguards," and clarified that Washington understands that not "every reactor" will be placed under safeguards. (Agencies)

New Delhi: While the bird flu scare has knocked off any chicken dishes from the menu on offer for US President George W. Bush at the official banquet Thursday, he will be able to tuck into a delectable variety of fare including mutton biryani and korma. The visiting dignitaries from the US will also be able to savour other dishes like fried prawns, fried fish, continental delicacies and broccoli soup.

The special four-course dinner being hosted by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for Bush and his wife Laura will be held in Rashtrapati Bhavan's expansive Mughal Gardens instead of the customary Banquet Hall.

"We found the weather is pleasant in the evenings and decided to shift the venue. There will be over 15 tables laid out for the guests," said a Presidential aide.Bush will be served a 'special dish' of his liking that will be prepared by the chefs in Rashtrapati Bhavan in consultation with the US embassy. A guest list of nearly 100 VIPs has been drawn up for the dinner. . (IANS)

A day after the Allahabad High Court stuck down the decision of an earlier Speaker approving the split in BSP and the subsequent merger of 40 MLAs with ruling Samajwadi Party, Pandey said the rebel group would henceforth function as an independent outfit Jantantrik Bahujan Dal. (PTI)

"During the year 2005, while the number of violent incidents has marginally increased by eight per cent, the number of security forces' personnel and civilians killed, has decreased by 37 per cent and six per cent respectively as compared to 2004," Minister of State for Home S Regupahty told Rajya Sabha in a reply. He said the government had last year decided Directors General of Police of North Eastern states will meet at periodic intervals for joint intelligence coordination.

"It was decided to include states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Mainpur also in this arrangement," he said. (PTI)

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday announced a staggered multi-phased polling assembly elections in West Bengal, Kerala and Assam and Pondicherry and a single-day for Tamil Nadu beginning on April 3 and ending May eight. Counting of votes in all the states will be taken up on May 11, Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon told a press conference here announcing the timetable. The model of code of conduct comes into force immediately.

In the Left Front-ruled West Bengal, where the Commission had been active in the last few months removing huge chunks of bogus voters from electoral rolls, an unprecedented five-phase polling on April 17, 22, 27, May 3 and 8 has been fixed.

Similarly, Kerala will also witness an extended polling schedule spread over three days April 22, 29 and May five, something unusual for the state known for clean and violence-free polls. Tamil Nadu will go to polls on a single day on May eight. In the neighbouring union territory of Pondicherry, election will be held on May eight in 27 constituencies while in Mahe (adjoining Kerala), Yamam (adjoining Andhra Pradesh) and Palloor the election will be on May three.

Election in Assam will be held in two phases on April three and April ten. Assam has a 126-member assembly, Kerala 140, Tamil Nadu 234, West Bengal 294 and Pondicherry 30. Tandon said the decision on five-phased elections in West Bengal was made taking into consideration "various ground realities" like area domination, availability of central paramilitary forces in naxal-affected areas.

"I think so", he said when asked this was the first time that the polling in West Bengal would be spread over five phases. "We want to have a good and peaceful poll in all the states," he added.

To a question what prompted EC to have a single-day vote in Tamil Nadu vis-a-vis five phases in West Bengal, Tandon said all political parties in Tamil Nadu wanted a single-day poll and the decision was also based on the Commission's own assessment.

Polling in all the four states and union territory of Pondicherry would be held through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Tandon said. Observing that the progress in issuance of Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) was "not very happy" in Tamil Nadu with a mere 55 per cent coverage, he said it was almost cent per cent in Kerala and Pondicherry and 92.13 per cent in West Bengal. The programme in Assam could not be started due to various reasons, he added.

For the first time, the EC has decided to change the marking of indelible ink which would now run from top of the nail to the bottom of the first joint of the left fore-finger of a voter. Observing that all officials engaged in the conduct of polls should discharge their duties in an impartial manner and without fear, he warned of strict action against those found wanting on any account.

The EC has instructed the state authorities not to allow any civil or police official above the rank of sub inspector to be in his home district during the poll period. Instructions have also been issued that such officials would not be allowed to continue in the same district if they have completed three years of posting there during the last four years. Tandon said the Election Commission has directed the poll-bound states to ensure that those who stand transferred should move out physically of their last place of posting and not remain there on any pretext including leave. (PTI)

The sources said that both the importer and the broker had fudged the chassis number of the vehicle, which was brought under the transfer of residence (TR) scheme that mandates that the vehicle has to be used by the importer for two years before being further sold off.

DRI sources notified that they had sought the original manufacturing information from the manufacturer Toyota to ascertain the actual date of manufacture and conducted scrutiny of the vehicle to confirm that it was manufactured in 2003. Sen, who purchased the car from dealer Haren Choksi, was not available for comment. (ANI)

Earlier notification had fixed the summer vacation from May 15 to July 9.Registrar General V K Jain informed the media that during the vacation Special Benches will sit for old pending cases.He said the decision has been taken in this regard and it will be worked out on the number of such Special Benches. (PTI)

New Delhi: Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to provide right to minority educational institutions to seek affiliation to any university of their choice with the government assuring the members that it would not in any way interfere with the functioning of any educational institution.

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2005, already passed by the Lok Sabha, was okayed by the Rajya Sabha after opposition from the BJP which charged the Congress-Led UPA government with playing vote bank politics.

Replying to a debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Human Resource Development M A A Fatmi said minority educational institutions were facing difficulties in getting no objection certificates for setting up educational institutions and the legislation was brought to remove these hurdles.

He assured the House that applicants seeking affiliations could directly approach the Commission if they had failed to get no objection certificates from states. Fatmi dismissed apprehensions raised by some members that the legislation would interfere in the functioning of institutions like UGC saying norms applicable to other institutions would be applicable to minority educational institutions.

With regard to extending reservations in minority educational institutions to community members living below poverty line, the Minister said this was a separate issue and could be discussed later.

No emigration clearance to women seeking jobs as housemaids

Government has banned grant of emigration clearance to women below the age of 30 years seeking employment as housemaids or domestic workers in any foreign country.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi admitted that it had come to the notice of government that several Indian women going abroad for jobs face exploitation. He, however, said "though there have been general reports regarding exploitation of Indian women going abroad for employment, there has been no specific complaint." He ruled out the possibility of any separate legislation in this regard.

The Government on Wednesday admitted in the Lok Sabha that Canada and Australia have cautioned their citizens against travelling to North Eastern states and border areas, including Jammu and Kashmir citing adverse law and order situation. (PTI)

New Delhi: Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, two super-specialty health centres here, will be the standby medical facilities during US President George W. Bush’s three-day visit to India from Wednesday.

"US officials inspected our facilities, found our services were to their satisfaction and issued a letter designating us as the standby hospital for the US president and other dignitaries," said S.K. Sama, chairman of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

"We have reserved two rooms for this purpose," Sama, who also officiates as the hospital’s medical director, told IANS.

Apollo officials said after a similar inspection, the US Embassy and the Secret Service had told them to standby for any emergency. "Our ambulance will follow Bush’s cavalcade in Delhi. A team of doctors from our hospital and US health services will be inside it to meet any health requirements," said an Apollo spokesman.

"Two rooms have been checked, reserved and sealed. We hope the president’s visit will be completed without any problem, but in case of any emergency we are ready to tackle it."

Officials at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said it was the official medical facility for the US embassy. "Whenever dignitaries come from the US, we make special arrangements for them," a hospital spokesman said.(IANS)

A five-star hotel in the Indian capital is playing host to a special team that is part of US President George Bush’s security entourage - some 65 dogs that are referred to as "officials".

The specially trained dogs were flown in as part of the multi-layer security for Bush and have been put up in deluxe rooms at the Le Meridien Hotel in central Delhi.

New Delhi: The CBSE’s Annual Board Examinations began on a relaxed note on Wednesday, with Class XII students taking the English paper and giving a good feedback on the 15-minutes "cool-off" time introduced this year.More than four lakh students appeared for their Class XII exams in over 2400 centres across the country and abroad.

However, Anubhav Sahni, another Class XII student from Delhi, said the 15 minutes would prove to be more useful while taking tougher papers like physics, chemistry and mathematics. A total of 4,54,045 students -- 2,63,286 boys and 1,90,759 girls -- including 6,495 foreign students, appeared for their English paper, kickstarting the month-long examination season with certain new features.

The examinations for Class X will begin tomorrow.Providing a big relief to students, the CBSE has this time restructured certain important question papers and given the examinees an extra time of 15 minutes before each paper.

The Board has restructured Mathematics, Social Science and Science papers of Class 10 and Physics, Business Studies, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Economics and Accountancy question papers for Class XII.Without changing the number of questions, the Board has rearranged their pattern like reducing the word requirement of long-answer questions so that students can finish their paper in time. Also, the students will get an additional time of 30 minutes for revising their answer sheets for certain important papers. (PTI)

Abu Salem, accused of masterminding the Mumbai blasts that until then was the worst urban terror attack, told the investigative agency that he had delivered three AK-56 rifles and some cartages to Dutt. Dutt who was present in the TADA - Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act - court is one of 123 people accused in the blasts case that shook the country's financial capital.

According to the confessional document, Abu Salem carried the weapons in a white car, provided by his accomplice Riyaz Siddiqui, to Dutt's residence. Salem's lawyer Ashok Sarogi, however, said that his client had no idea that he was transporting weapons to Dutt. Salem was apparently told that he was carrying a consignment of silver.

"All the confessional statements from Abu Salem has been taken by force," Sarogi told mediapersons outside the TADA court. The copies of the confession will be furnished to defence cou-nsel. Salem's confession will have an impact on Dutt only if the case is reopened and the don is included in the trial.

Experts say this is unlikely, considering the scale of the case and the time it has already taken, which is over 10 years. The TADA court on Wednesday opened the sealed envelope containing Salem's confession to the CBI regarding his role in the blasts.

Abu Salem, a former aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who allegedly now lives in Pakistan, was extradited to India Nov 11 from Portugal along with his companion and former Bollywood actress Monica Bedi. (Agencies)

According to him, employment avenues in rural areas should be increased by encouraging people to take up horticulture. Countering the notion about self-employment and business activities through self-help, Mr Tiwari said: "The basic idea is to create jobs as only jobs can provide security to the people. Not everybody can be businessmen, hence we will have to create jobs", he said.

"We have large scale production of ginger and turmeric in Meghalaya. The government needs to make efforts to market these produces for economic benefit of the growers. We also need to ensure that growers of horticultural produces get fair price", Mr Tiwari told reporters on Wednesday.

"Oranges and pineapples, besides other fruits could be processed for value addition for domestic consumption - that is for sale within the State", he said.

The Chief Secretary said there should be more concentration on growing of bamboo and diversification of bamboo products. "The bamboo cultivation could provide jobs for it having a huge scope for value addition", he said. He said the migration of people from rural areas to urban centres could be checked, if jobs were provided in rural sectors. He stressed the need for setting up of more industries in the State for job opportunity.

According to sources, the fire started from one house, but due to strong wind spread rapidly and destroyed six other adjacent houses in succession.Mawlai MLA PT Sawkmie visited the affected families on the following day and extended some immediate relief to them.

SHILLONG: Even three days after the killing of the State Bank of India, Zonal Office Assistant Manager Winner Kharshandi, police failed to make any breakthrough.Kharshandi was shot dead by some unidentified armed miscreants on Monday while he was on the way to Shillong after visiting his relatives at Thiedieng village near Mawsynran in East Khasi Hills.

According to police, the investigation to identify the killers was still on and said to be clueless as of now. However, there are indications that the murder could have been due to some personal grudge. Sources said efforts were on to track down the killers who are still at large.

Police said Boro abducted Das and later handed over to two Bangladeshis who were waiting in the border to carry out the murder. They strangulated the Custom official.Boro was paid Rs 20,000 for this, police said adding that the former also confessed that these two persons were involved in the crime.

One Killed: One person died on the spot when the motorbike he was riding collided with a truck at Lad Smit at around 9.30 pm on Wednesday.

The department said, "As of today, there have been no confirmed case of bird flu in the State, or for that matter any report of outbreak of avian flu in any part of Northeast".

In spite of this, the department is continuously monitoring the situation on a day-to-day basis, the department statement said. All district AH&V officers have been instructed to keep a strict vigil in their respective check posts and rapid response team would be dealing with any emergency situation arising from any incidence of poultry It said that necessary precautionary measures were taken against bird flu as required under the action plan by the Central government.

SHILLONG: The annual plan outlay of Meghalaya for 2006-2007 will be finalised by the Planning Commission in Delhi on March 7, official sources on Wednesday said. Chief Minister DD Lapang and Chief Secretary SK Tiwari will leave for Delhi on March 6 for a meeting with the Planning Commission officials.

Earlier, the State government had worked out the plan size of Rs 896 crore - an increase of 12 per cent over the last year's plan outlay of Rs 800 crore. The State government is likely to ask more funds from the Planning Commission for the enhanced annual plan size this time.

Usually, the Planning Commission allows only 10 per cent increase in the plan outlay from the previous year. However, breaking the norms, Meghalaya is asking for a 12 per cent hike.

The Centre had directed the State government to stress on rural development, food security with special emphasis on agriculture, organic farming, production of meat, eggs, fish and improvement in social service sector including education and health care. Other priority areas are road connectivity, fisheries, sericulture, youth and sports affairs.

SHILLONG: The Chief Executive Member of KHADC, Mr HS Shylla has made an impassioned plea for allowing uranium mining at Mawthabah under West Khasi Hills in greater interest of the country. "Since we have such a precious mineral like uranium, we should mine it instead of being led by unjustified fears. We should consider the interest of our country and be proud of our contribution to the country's nuclear strength", Mr Shylla said.

Responding to points raised by the members of the Council during a general discussion on the vote-on-account, Mr Shylla said the proposed road from Wahkaji to Mawthabah was needed for the benefit of local villagers and  informed the House that Centre already sanctioned Rs 19 crore for the project.

The proposed road has already been sanctioned to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), which entered into an agreement with the KHADC for execution of the project. Mr Shylla said irrespective of whether uranium mining was allowed or not, the UCIL agreed to sanction the construction of the proposed road.

Reacting to some allegations brought against the Lafarge Cement for "suppressing tribal interest on its land at Nongtrai near Shella for limestone mining", the CEM said, "Since the matter is subjudiced, the KHADC was only asking the company to pay its royalty directly to the Council instead of routing through the State government".

The Leader of Opposition, Mr Bindo M Lanong and another Member Mr HL Massar brought this allegation, while making the present CEM responsible for the same.

The House also passed the vote-on-account amounting to more than Rs 12.33 crore for the period from April 1 to June 30 in which the maximum portion was sought for payment of salary to the KHADC staff, including clearance of arrears, dearness allowance and dearness pension.

Earlier, during the question hour, Executive Member (Trade) Ronnie V Lyngdoh said that the Council issued 569 trading licences to non-tribal traders during the period from March 2004-2005. The CEM informed the House about 51 number of cases pending in various Courts, including one in Supreme Court, besides 45 in High Court. Five are lying in various lower courts, the CEM said.

In a letter to the Chief Minister on Wednesday, Mr Sawkmie highlighted Mr Wahlang as an able officer who showed his capability to control law and order situation in Shillong, at a time when the MBOSE issue snowballed into a major public unrest in Garo Hills last year. There was all around development all over the district, besides transparency and accountability finding a focus.

Besides giving a formal letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Sawkmie also met Mr Lapang and discussed the issue with him. Mr Sawkmie claimed that the Chief Minister assured him that he would take up the matter with his cabinet colleagues for "examination".

The notification for transfer of Mr Wahlang was issued on Tuesday and he would be replaced by another senior IAS officer Pankaj Jain.

SHILLONG: Unidentified miscreants stole about 800 metres overhead telephone cable of the BSNL worth Rs 50,000 from Wahingdoh and Mawlai Phudmawri areas on Tuesday. Informing this here on Wednesday, a top BSNL official said a similar incident took place in the month of December at Umsohsun and Garikhana Stand Jeep.

SHILLONG: Governor Mr MM Jacob on Tuesday released the book titled 'Administration of Justice in the Khasi Hills' authored by Dr (Ms) Ebanoris Jyrwa at a function held in Raj Bhavan. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Mr Jacob said that the book is an innocent attempt to trace the legal and judicial system prevalent in Khasi Hills.

Mr Jacob said, "Even during the British rule the legal administrative system developed in this part of the country is very different from what is followed in the rest of the country". He said that in matters related to the administration of justice the local traditional system followed by the tribal people was preserved and the tribals were allowed to administer justice according to their customs.

Meanwhile, he said, "Under the British Raj, the Khasi and Jaintia Hills was divided into two parts - 'Khasi and Jaintia Hills District' and 'Khasi States'. "The 'Khasi States' one of the Indian States that acceded to the Dominion of India are not parts of British India, in so far as the administration of justice is concerned, the administration for the Khasi and Jaintia Hills District was governed by the Rules of the administration of justice in Khasi Hills and policies prescribed by the Governor", Mr Jacob said.

Mr Jacob said that with the introduction of District Council by the Sixth Scheduled of the Constitution of India, after independence, the judicial administration in the district is bifurcated between the Deputy Commissioner and the District Council, adding that it has also curtailed the powers and functions of local chiefs and traditional organizations to a very large extent.

Significantly the Megha-laya Governor also stressed on the need to consider the separation of the judiciary from the executive thus giving his thoughts to the burning topic of the day. He felt that the time has come for "considering the separation of the executive from the judiciary, keeping in view the recent Supreme court decision on the same."

Mr Jacob said, "The traditional system of administration of justice has helped to preserve the identity of the tribes and promote dispensation of quick and inexpensive justice, on the negative side, one can say that the system has become too static for too long and has failed to keep peace with the changing times".

Further he said that this book is a valuable asset and contributes significantly to exsisting knowledge on the unique system of administration of Justice in the Khasi Hills exsisting with the modern legal system.

`It is extremely unfortunate that the government has dropped the move to collate data on the status of Muslims in the armed forces. This follows an uproar over the steps taken by the "Prime Minister’s High-Level Committee" (PMHC) on "the social economic and educational status of the Muslim community" headed by former justice Rajinder Sachar to approach the defence forces for such data. The protest was raucous or political. The Bharatiya Janata Party sought the President’s intervention in his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the armed forces to stop this "misguided" survey. Former army officers held dharnas against the "divisive" move, which they believe, would "weaken" a robustly secular institution. And former Defence Minister George Fernandes termed the PMHC’s work a "seditious act" aimed at "communalising" the armed forces!

After this, much of the media simply renamed the PMHC the "Sachar Committee". The Congress defensively pleaded that its survey would be "purely a data-gathering and fact-finding exercise." The PMO quickly distanced itself from the Committee. Chief of Army Staff Gen J.J. Singh said : "It is not the army’s philosophy to disseminate or maintain [community-wise] information"; we are not concerned with "the faith or language" of the people employed or "where they come from." And the Defence Ministry, which had sought the relevant data from the armed services, assured them it won’t forward it to the PMHC.

In the heat of emotion, it was all but forgotten that in our Parliamentary system, the President is not the court of last resort. He is the defence services’ Supreme Commander in a figurative sense. He does not possess the executive authority to start or stop a survey. Since then, former Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen R.S. Kadyan has approached the Supreme Court to ask that the survey be stayed. He argues the survey would help to "sow the seed of communalism in the defence forces."

Numerous arguments were advanced by opponents of the move. These hold that the very conduct of the survey would tarnish the armed forces’ image as a professional force; that words like "caste", "creed", "religion" and "reservation" are unheard-of in regimental messes; that the army is one of the few reliably secular institutions in India, which is fully trusted by the religious minorities -- unlike the police or paramilitary forces; it has an enviable record of protecting the lives of the minorities in communally charged situations.

Some of these arguments are undoubtedly valid. For instance, no one can seriously question the army’s secular credentials and its impartial role in protecting the life and property of the minorities when called upon to do so. The Indian army represents a remarkable achievement. It’s one of the few apolitical militaries in the Third World to function fully under civilian control. And yet, the ant-survey arguments miss one essential paradox: namely, that the army does not fully reflect the rich diversity and plurality of Indian society. It suffers from under-representation of certain ethnic, religious and social groups, and from over-representation of some others, most notably the so-called "martial races" favoured under the colonial system of recruitment, including Sikhs, Gorkhas, Dogras, Jats, Rajputs, etc.

Among the under-represented groups are people from the Northeast, Dalits, OBCs, and Muslims. We know from a note sent on January 9 by the army to the Defence Ministry that in 2004 it had only 29,093 Muslims among a total of 11 lakh personnel -- a ratio of 2.6 per cent, which compares poorly with the Muslims’ 13 per cent share in the Indian population. Similarly, there have been complaints of under-representation from Dalit and Adivasi leaders and smaller linguistic groups. To demand that their recruitment be increased is not to advance an anti-national, communal or divisive agenda, but to ask for diversity and balance. None other than former Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram raised the demand for greater Dalit recruitment in 1971.

Indeed, Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s greatest Prime Minister, who cannot even be remotely accused of a communal bias, noted in 1953 that "in our Defence Services, there are hardly any Muslims left… What concerns me most is that there is no effort being made to improve this situation, which is likely to grow worse unless checked." This concern was reiterated by Mahavir Tyagi, then Minister of State for Defence, who disclosed that "the percentage of Muslims in the armed forces, which was 32 per cent at the time of Partition has come down to two… I have instructed that due regard should be paid to their recruitment."

The PMHC was not being wayward in asking for information about the recruitment and status of Muslims in the army. It’s vital to collect "authentic information about the social, economic and educational status" of Muslims in different government departments. Without such a data bank, we won’t know whether there is under-representation of different groups, what its extent is, and what its causes might be. Collating such information is also the best way of countering prejudices about "minority appeasement".

True, such information is relevant not just for Muslims; it is necessary for other groups too. But the PMHC’s brief pertains to Muslims. It was perfectly legitimate for it to solicit information about Muslims. This is in keeping with the National Common Minimum Programme of the UPA, which promised to promote the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities.

The issue of Muslim under-representation in the defence forces must be situated in context. As MIT-based scholar Omar Khalidi argues in his Khaki and the Ethnic Violence in India (Three Essays, New Delhi, 2003), the army embraced the discredited colonial "martial races" theory which favoured certain "Fixed Classes" like Gorkhas, Sikhs, Dogras and Rajputs in recruitment. Muslims were excluded from these, except for groups such as the Qaimkhani community of Rajasthan and UP, and units like the Grenadiers, Armoured Corps, Bombay Engineers Group and the J&K Light Infantry. It’s only in 1984, after the "revolt" by some soldiers of the Sikh Regiment following "Operation Bluestar," that the army adopted a better mix in what’s called the "All-India Class".

Yet, the proportion of Muslims in the army remains under 3 per cent. In the case of officers, this may be explained by educational backwardness among Muslims. But this cannot explain the community’s low representation among Other Ranks. We need to know whether this is because of a reluctance of Muslims to join the army, skewed distribution of recruitment, or because of unacknowledged barriers to entry, including prejudices.

Gen Kadyan’s petition is wrong to allege that if such information is collated, "it will create very illogical and unnecessary data which might create… in the mind of the minority communities… a feeling of their being less in number in the defence forces… giving them cause for… fear of the majority community." This presumption is fundamentally mistaken. There’s nothing "illogical" about documenting the status of different communities in national institutions. The United States army, for instance, regularly compiles publicly available data on Muslims, Blacks, and other ethnic groups.

More generally, the armed forces cannot be an exception to the concept of citizenship in a multi-ethnic society. Nor can they demand to be shielded from scrutiny just because they perform a role in India’s defence. All citizens have a valid role to play in our national life. Real security derives not just from military defence, but other things including human security, justice, social cohesion and human rights. The armed forces are not a Holy Cow. A data bank on the ethnic-religious composition of all our public institutions is a precondition for measures to promote the welfare of citizens, including affirmative action in favour of the underprivileged and under-recruited. It goes without saying that this should not take the form of quotas and job reservations. But that’s not an argument against diversifying recruitment or promoting equality of opportunity. There’s no reason why the government cannot unilaterally announce that it will endeavour to recruit more and more under-represented groups without embracing a quota system. A caring-and-sharing society must have adequate room for such measures.

Two other points are in order. In many countries, promotion of inclusive multi-cultural policies and diversity became possible only when they abandoned ostrich-like attitudes and confronted reality. For instance, the British police began an internal evaluation after the race riots of the early 1980s. An extensive survey was undertaken of the ethnic composition of the force and prevalence of race- and ethnicity-related biases. This prepared the ground for diversity sensitisation programmes, retraining, and positive discrimination.

Second, there is disturbing evidence that certain Indian security- and intelligence-related agencies simply don’t recruit Muslims. These include the Research & Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau and National Security Guard. This is totally unacceptable and unworthy of a plural society that aspires to a degree of equity. Even the CIA would be embarrassed if it were to exclude African-Americans. The PMHC should thoroughly probe such institutions. Exclusion, and attitudes that rationalise it in the name of "security", are the surest recipe for alienation of our own citizens. We cannot afford this if we want a minimally decent and self-confident India. (IPA Service)

Sir,

Through your esteemed daily I would like to draw the attention of the concerned high authorities towards the factors, which has been ailing the outdoor training in NEPA in recent times. Aged officers like Mr Jitendra Singh has been engaged on deputation to impart the training in the academy. This is undoubtedly having an adverse impact on the trainees. In a training institute like NEPA, young and energetic officers should be deputed to make the training schedules fruitful.

Another ailing factor is that, some of the outdoor instructors are very fond of using mobile phones of some trainees, which creates an adverse reaction on the others. Moreover, showing favour, using slang languages and lack of discipline among the instructors and others has become a regular practice that is ailing the outdoor atmosphere in NEPA.

Through this, I would like to request the concerned authorities to look into the matter urgently in the interest of the trainees in particular and that of the academy in general.

Yours etc.,
Bikash Pradhan
Lower Mawprem, Shillong.

Sir,

According to a recently published news item, a large number of young and brilliant Civil Service Officers, have found themselves disillusioned with the nature of services they are rendering to the Govt. establishments both at the Central and State levels as they have discovered them to be less challenging, want of transparency and thus their spirit of dynamism wedded to societal developments are stunted for one reason or other.

They are in essence, at the cross road of their vocational career; this is in view of the fact that their bold decision and righteous actions are invariably reigned in by the Ministers/politicians and the mafia group remotely controlling our administrative functionality. Consequent upon this outcome, many promising bureaucrats have resigned from their lucrative posts and landed themselves in non-govt. enterprises like the Sahara, Reliance group of Industries and such other flourishing corporate houses. The management of these personnel who form the cream of the intellectual section of the society will prove indispensable.

These ex-bureaucrats will have a free level playing field whereupon they can promote the revenue earnings of the private concerns, their services for that matter could not have come at a better time.

View against the above background, one cannot but fall in line with these disgruntled bureaucrats given the face that even in our state of Meghalaya the same syndrome is prevalent. Some of my friends employed in government establishments responsible for overseeing the implementation of varied rural oriented welfare schemes have found themselves in an unenviable position a their bonafide monitoring reports have ended up gathering dust in some corners of govt. shelves which is indicative of the fall out of rampant corruptions where the dishonest functionaries are being shielded by some vested interests yielding potential power.

Yours etc.,
P U Diengdoh
Shillong 14.

The Minister said that the Tribal Affairs Ministry has been given its due importance and the North Eastern Region has no doubt, got a fair deal. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region , (DoNER) including North Eastern Council is getting due share of importance and focus, he said.

"The bulk of the resources– Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mid-day Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission, Total Sanitation Campaign, National Rural Health Mission, Integrated Child Development Services, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission," the Minister added.

The budgetary provision for the development of North Eastern Region has been increased from Rs.1176.00 crores to Rs. 1350.00 crores and the Tribal Affairs Ministry gets Rs.1656.90 crores from Rs.1498.82 crores, Kyndiah said. The NEC budget has been increased from Rs. 461.50 crores to about Rs. 600.00 crores, which amount to 30% increase, he said.

"The NEC budget was stagnated for the last five years and this increase shows the deep commitment of the UPA Government for the North Eastern Region," he added.

From the mandatory 10 percent allocation for the flagship programmes alone, this would amount to an additional allocation of Rs.4,870 crore in 2006-07, Kyndiah said. The total budget allocation for the NER is Rs.12,041 crore which includes Rs.1,350 crore provided to the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER). From BE 2005-06 to BE 2006-07, the step up is 18 per cent, he said.

On a like to like basis, the allocations for schemes benefiting only SCs and STs have been enhanced by 14.5 per cent to Rs.2,902 crore and the allocations for schemes with at least 20 per cent allocation for SCs and STs have been enhanced by 13.9 per cent to Rs.9,690 crore, Kyndiah pointed out. A special accelerated road development programme for the North Eastern Region at an estimated cost of Rs.4,618 crore has been approved.

The region will also benefit from enhanced allocation for Horticulture and renewed thrust on food processing industry, the Minister added. Oppostion parties have however, dismissed the Union Buget for not taking up big projects in the NE region.