Sources said that while the Indian officials had been keen on the address being held at either the Vigyan Bhavan convention centre or the the Teen Murti Bhavan conference hall, inside the Jawaharlal Nehru museum, the US officials had been insisting on the 'Purana Qila' to give an 'Indian touch' to the ambience of the address, which will be beamed live to the US audiences.

The Indian officials were, however, averse to the idea of the address being held at the 'Purana Qila', their objections veering on the fact that it was "not safe" for the US president to address a huge gathering at the venue. The US authorities have put in place 'unprecedented' security arrangements during Mr Bush's visit, which begins on March 1.

Infact, the sheer size of the security apparatus being put up at places which he is expected to visit, would dwarf even the "larger-than-life" technical wizardry seen in many of the James Bond films or the Star Wars movies.The high level of security arrangements for the visit of Mr Bush can be gauged by the fact that eight special teams have been constituted for his security for the official engagements scheduled in India. (UNI)

In a letter to the President, Ashok Arora, former secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said "my only request is that the elevation of of Mr.Bhayana may be kept on hold till the Hon'ble High court adjudicates his judgement."

Referring to the cognizance taken by Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma of the Delhi High court wherein the city Police Chief K K Paul was asked to furnish details of the case before it, Arora requested personal hearing from the President over the issue.

Bhayana's verdict acquitted all the nine accused including Manu Sharma, son of Haryana minister Vinod Sharma and Vikas Yadav, son of former parliament member D P Yadav. Bhayana had blamed it on shoddy police investigation and hostile witnesses for the acquittal. Bhayana's name figured in the list of five judges of the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS) cleared by President A P J Abdul Kalam for appointment as Additional Judges of the Delhi High Court, sources said. (PTI)

Meanwhile, political parties on Sunday joined the chorus for a retrial in model Jessica Lall murder case suggesting witnesses to the incident were bought over by money power, attacking Delhi Police's "failure" to provide correct evidence and seeking law to protect to witnesses.

"Who killed Jessica Lall, who fired the bullet...the verdict has raised questions on effective functioning of our judicial system," CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan told reporters after its two-day National Executive meeting here. He said the issue would certainly be raised in Parliament as it shows that "those who have the money and connections can get away with even murder."

The National Executive also expressed deep concern at the "total failure of the Delhi Police" to present properly the evidence in the case and demanded setting up of an effective mechanism of investigation to bring the culprit to books. "We are alarmed that in the capital of the country the perpetrators of the ghastly murder who carried out the crime in the presence of so many had been let scotfree by the court due to lack of evidence," the resolution said.

Former Prime Minister V P Singh said witnesses in Jessica Lall murder case could have been "bought over" to change their statements in court. "They were overcome by money power," he told reporters when asked to comment on witnesses turning hostile in the case. (PTI)

Lucknow: The Railway recruitment examination for Group D posts was cancelled while the test was on on Sunday for around six lakh northern region candidates following a leakage of question papers here and 18 people have been arrested in this connection. The all-India exam for 10,000 Group D posts was cancelled after the police Special Task Force arrested some people allegedly selling the question papers for Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh each.

Ahmedabad: With culling of chickens nearing its end in most of the poultry farms in and around Uchchal taluka of Surat district, authorities now have the daunting task of clearing huge piles of chicken droppings that has hardned over the years, officials said here on Sunday.

"Culling operations are nearly over and officials are now concentrating on getting rid of any loose chicken. A daunting task ahead of us is to clear huge quantity of bird droppings that has accumulated and hardened over the years," Gujarat secretary (Cow Breeding and Protection) D K Rao told PTI.

The State Animal Husbandry Department has already culled more than 80,000 poultry chicken and destroyed thousands of eggs since the operations began following the fear of bird flu being spread to Surat district, which is adjoining Navapur in Maharashtra where avian flu was first confirmed in India.

"We are trying to figure out first how to make the droppings into semi solid state and then it may be sucked into a machine. However, this is a new task for us and we are in touch with Animal Husbandry authorities in Maharashtra over this issue also", Rao said.

Rao said that there was no need for panic among people of Uchchal region or anywhere across Guajrat following two samples of chicken from the region being tested positive for the flu. Adequate measures were being taken by the Government to prevent its outbreak to fowl or humans, he said.

The official said that health officials and vetenary teams were constantly surveying the areas and conducting door to door examinations. State Health Commissioner Amarjeet Singh said some people who worked in the poultry sector and who had fallen ill a week ago are under observation at a hopistal in Vyara taluka of Surat but none of their samples have tested positive for the feared flu and they would be allowed to go home soon.

Navapur: Even though the actual reason for the outbreak of bird flu in the poultry farms here has not been ascertained yet, migratory birds coming here could have laid the seeds for the virus, according to a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official.

"It is not possible to critically state the actual cause of bird flu. The Bhopal-based High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) has confirmed H5N1 bird flu virus in the region. My presumption is that the virus has been brought here by the migratory birds coming to the large water bodies here," WHO Regional Advisor (Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response) South-East Asia, Dr Subhash Salunke told PTI here.

Salunke was here to take stock of the steps taken by the administration to control spread of bird flu virus.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is setting up four US funded Bio Safety level-three Laboratories (BSL-3) in the country to tackle any outbreak of the avian flu. "The laboratories would be set up at Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune", ICMR Director General Prof N K Ganguly told reporters here on Sunday. (PTI)

New Delhi: Devotees thronged temples to offer obeisance as religious fervour and traditional gaiety marked Maha Shivratri celebrations across the country on Sunday. Faithful took holy dip in rivers and ponds at sunrise before making a beeline to tastefully-decorated and illuminated Lord Shiva temples to offer prayers. Hymns in praise of Lord Shiva were sung with fervour as women observed day-long fasts for well being of their husbands and son. Serpentine queues were seen at several temples in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad as the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation ran additional buses to cope with hugh rush of devotees.

In Varanasi, over one lakh devotees bathed the Shivlingam with water and offered prayers at various temples, including the famous Baba Kashi Vishwanath temple, amidst tight security. Over 350 Shiv Sena activists were arrested as they proceeded towards Kashi Vishwanath temple to offer jalabhishek en masse on the occassion of Shivratri, police said. (PTI)

Chennai: Posters depicting AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as Hindu gods and goddesses put up at various places across the State by the partymen have drawn the ire of various Hindu outfits here. AIADMK members had put up the posters as part of Jayalalithaa's 58th birthday celebration on February 24.

New Delhi: Armed with the sanction under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the CBI is looking for two Gutkha barons -- Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal and J M Joshi -- who have allegedly gone underground after the Mumbai police gave a go ahead to prosecute them.

The police pursued the Naxalites to the nearby hills where they had taken the villagers and engaged them in a gun-battle for over an hour in which some 250 rounds of ammuniton were fired. Failing to withstand the continued firing from the policemen, the ultras abandoned the 10 men unharmed and retreated, Prasad said adding that an investigation into the incident was on. (PTI)

Kochi (Kerala): This week’s media blitz that accompanied a 106-year-old granny’s efforts in this Kerala town to become computer savvy has left the fun-loving village icon worn out after posing for umpteen TV channels.

Rosakutty, the beedi-smoking great grandmother who loves singing old film numbers, shot into national prominence as local and national media zeroed in on her after she enrolled for the course at an Akshaya Centre in the sleepy village of Edamukkudy.

Akshaya, which literally means un-perishable, launched first by Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2003 in Malappuram district, is part of the Government’s efforts to make one member in every family e-literate. After more than a year, close to half a million of Malappuram’s population became e-literate up to a basic level, learning through computer games.

The programme became an Asian paradigm and a model that several international experts are studying for replication in their countries. The Akshaya Centre where she is registered is run by the Young Men’s Association, Kothad, which has been in the forefront of community development. Tomy, the treasurer of the association, said Rosakutty lives about a kilometre away from the e-learning centre.

"She spends every Tuesday and Thursday at an old age day care centre here. We decided to include Rosakutty from last Sunday in the 15-hour computer training programme at our centre and made arrangements to bring her in an auto rickshaw," said Tomy.

The programme includes an absurdly simple software developed by involving people in a wide selection of games taken from everyday life situations - from catching mangoes and making a dragonfly lift a stone to drawing and painting a house.

Tomy said that the lessons in the form of computer games were a bit difficult for her to grapple with. Due to her age, Rosakutty found it difficult to move the mouse fast enough to begin the computer game, which constantly disappeared from the screen.

When news of her first appeared in the local newspapers, enthusiastic scribes wrote colourful stories of how a 106-year-old granny had become attracted to computers after seeing children playing computer games.National TV channels too made a beeline to Kothad. Things turned chaotic Thursday, the day Rosakutty normally spends at the day care centre when she went missing for a few hours.

A reporter for a newly launched national TV channel arrived at the day care centre and, after giving her a warm kiss, cajoled her to travel in their car to the Akshaya Centre for a shoot.After it was over, the reporters - eager to beat other channels with the news clip - did not bother to take her back to the day care centre and instead left her behind at the e-learning centre.

"I was out of the village at the time. I later learnt that people at the Akshaya Centre brought her back home with great difficulty," said Pushkin, Rosakutty’s 30-year-old grandson.

Locals were incensed when two other reporters from national TV channels turned up Friday. It was after much persuasion that they finally agreed to transport Rosakutty for another TV shoot.But the few minutes of fame for Rosakutty became a publicity tool for the e-literacy programme.

"After several shoots for TV channels, she is really weak now. I feel we should send her out to the Akshaya Centre only after she recovers her health," said her grandson.

But as far as the promoters of Akshaya are concerned - enough publicity has been garnered for their e-literacy drive, thanks to Rosakutty, and they have now roped in cine superstar Mammootty as their goodwill ambassador. (IANS)

The State Congress leadership is unlikely to agree to a Congress-NCP alliance at this juncture, as this would affect the party's poll prospects in the next Assembly elections. Moreover, if the NCP finally gets the nod from the High Command for an alliance, Lapang followers fear that the NCP might put forward an idea of change of leadership in the Congress.

A Congress minister said his party would not betray the present coalition partners in the government as per the mutual understanding arrived at among the MDA partners during the formation of the government in 2003. He indicated that the majority of the Congress MLAs were also against such combination.

In this context, Congress Legislature Party secretary Charles Pyngrope made it clear that the Congress was not in favour of an alliance with the NCP.When contacted former Chief Minister SC Marak said there was no indication for an alliance except for some statements from the NCP spokesperson Conrad Sangma.

"I don't think there is a need now, so far there is no move and if at it is required, the matter has to be discussed at the national level", Mr Marak said.

Meanwhile, the AICC expressed displeasure over poor performance of the Congress in Tura by-poll. The remaining two years are crucial for the party, as the Congress has to seek mandate on the issue of its achievements.A section of Congress legislators are said to be not happy with the present leadership and also the group of ministers in the MDA. Though downsizing is one of the reasons, the Congress leaders attribute such resentment to lack of development and less number of schemes provided to those MLAs who are not ministers.

The Congress legislators who are not in the ministry along with some Opposition members are determined to raise issues concerning poor performance and so to say the failure of the government when the Assembly session begins in March.

Already the NGOs in the State threatened agitation over the extension move. "If the wish of the people is defined as democracy, the voice of the people, who do not favour the extension, has to be respected. If at all the Chief minister and the Deputy Chief Minister decide in favour of the extension, their decision will not be considered democratic", a Congress MLA said.

Reiterating their opposition to the government's move, the MLA said that the extension to Mr Bazeley would show the government in poor light. "It is illogical for us to resort to practice of extending services of certain officers undermining the capabilities of their successors".

"Does the government want to show that other officers are incompetent? If at all there is a need to praise the leader, he should leave his foot prints and make sure that his successor gains all the knowledge to carry on with the work", the Congress legislator said.

When contacted, former Chief Minister SC Marak said it was up to the State government to take a decision in this regard. "The government should look into the guidelines and rules", he said.

In a letter to the KHADC chairman Martamlin Pyrbot, KHNAM general secretary Erwin K Syiem Sutnga on Sunday lambasted the Council for such "very serious misgivings" and called it an act of commission and omission by the present Executive Committee of the Council.

"The issues are matters of grave public importance relating to maintenance of the rule of law and the authority the KHADC, whose position now seems, has been lowered by the acts of commission and omission", Mr Sutnga said.

"On February 24, I was informed by the KSU Sohra Circle that not a single non-tribal trader from Ichamati had trading license from the KHADC and most of them were not even aware about the necessity of trading license, which is a mandatory legal and constitutional provision", the KHNAM leader said, adding "this is an indication that the KHADC is seriously remiss in following rules and regulations for trading by non-tribal businessmen", he said.

Moreover, Mr Sutnga claimed that on the same day he visited the areas illegally mined by the KLMC to that an extent that it was found stealing limestone from the land of Mr Dohkrut at Rusiar. "Besides stealing of limestone, the company was also causing harm to the environment as well as the betel nut plantation in the area", the KHNAM leader said.

Mr Sutnga allegedly that the Company was violating the stay order given by the Court of the Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Shillong, Mr R Kharshiiing with impunity and the scale of theft and destruction is about Rs 50 crores. Mr Sutnga accused the KLMC of operating without valid trading license.

Similarly he said the Bangladeshis were entering the areas of KHADC on the strength of passes issued by the Union Home Ministry. However, Mr Sutnga said it was not known whether the KHADC was aware or not that among these Bangladeshsis, "some of them seem to have permanently settled in the area".

The KHNAM leader said recent allegation by the State police relating to granting of trading licenses by the KHADC to the Bangladeshis in Shillong "reflects inefficiency on part of the Council's trade department". He urged the chairman to take appropriate steps in this regard during the current session of KHADC.

SHILLONG: At a time when avian flu has sent a chill down the spines of everyone, Shillongites were caught by surprise when two dead chickens were discovered at Motphran, the main market place of the city on Sunday morning.The dead chickens were sighted by some passers by, sources said. It was even alleged that one of the dead chickens was taken away by the employees of one the restaurants nearby.

SHIILONG: An unidentified baby of eight months was abandoned at the gate of the Convent of Sisters of Missionaries of Charity at Laitumkhrah on Sunday. Police said the baby boy was abandoned at around 6 pm at the gate of the convent and the nuns at the Missionaries of Charity were taking care of the baby.

SHILLONG: Shooting incident in a camp of coalmine labourers at Kyrkuh, in which one Shaktiman driver was injured, has reached a point of controversy with the KSU and Jaintia Youth Federation (JYF) chipping in for a discussion on the matter. The meeting is slated for on Monday.

While on one hand, the victim Mr Shor Rymbai and his sister alleged he was injured when police fired at him, Jaintia Hills police, on the other, clarified that while confronting HNLC militants, the victim was injured by the bullets of the militants.

KSU president Samuel Jyrwa said what could be construed from the statement of Mr Rymbai was that the incident was "apparently a fake encounter". The KSU would decide on future course of action after the meeting, Mr Jyrwa said.

SHILLONG: The Union Tribal Affairs and DoNER Minister PR Kyndiah on Sunday admitted that sentiments over the September 30 incident in Garo Hills played a big role in Tura by-election.

Speaking to The Shillong Times, Mr Kyndiah said, "Development was not the issue this time in Tura by-poll. The victory was due to sentiments. It was not the question of Purno or Mukul or Congress or NCP. Strong sentiments over the tragic incident of firing were in the minds of the people of Garo Hills during the poll".

"When nine lives were lost, it becomes difficult for any government to tide over the crisis. But we hope that things will cool down in near future", Mr Kyndiah said. He further said beyond the emotional issue, eventually, party matters would come to play in Garo Hills. He ruled out that the verdict of this election would make an impact in 2008 Assembly elections.

"The next Assembly elections will be different. The government has already taken measures. The inquiry into the firing incident is on and the MBOSE report will come up in the Assembly session", Mr Kyndiah added.

SHILLONG: The State Government is apparently applying a dilly dallying tactics on the issue of separation of executive from judiciary even as it is yet to reply to Supreme Court in this regard. Supreme Court had upheld Guwahati High Court order for separation of judiciary from executive in Meghalaya based on a petition filed by prominent lawyer Mr Subhasish Chakrawarty. The apex court also served a deadline of one month to the State government to file its report on the matter.

"The matter is still pending with Supreme Court and the final hearing will come up after the State government files its report", Mr Chakrawarty said adding that "the State government should make the separation by establishing separate courts in all districts in line with that of Sessions Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate".

Mr Chakrawarty said separation of judiciary from executive would help in early disposal of cases and prevent interference of politicians or bureaucrats in judicial matters since courts would be under direct control of High Court. He said Meghalaya was among a few states in the country where separation of judiciary had not been done.

However, Law Secretary E Warjri declined to comment on the difficulties faced by the State government in implementing the same. "There are many problems but I don't want to say anything since the matter is still pending with Supreme Court", he said while asserting that the government would respond to apex court order within the stipulated time.

Retired judge of Guwahati High Court,  Justice Beryll Lamare opined that "separation of judiciary from executive is a must" and that the contention of the State government about difficulties for not completing the process was unjustified.

"There is no problem at all with the State government. They only need to amend the 1937 rules in order to start the process so that they can define the exercise of judicial powers", Justice Lamare, who was one of the members of the High Court Commitee on separation of judiciary from executive, said. The Committee had recommended Supreme Court the need for separation of judiciary from executive.

Justice Lamare said the State government has to create posts mainly that of District Judge, Additional District Judge, Judicial Magistrate and Assistant Judicial Magistrate in order to start the separation process, which according to him, would create employment opportunities for several qualified law graduates.

"Financial implications are not so big. The judicial officers can function even from Deputy Commissioner's office along with their own judicial staff for the time being", Justice Lamare said. He suggested that Session divisions could be opened up in three district headquarters - Shillong, Jowai and Tura - with separate district judges to cater to daily cases.

It may be mentioned that Meghalaya is among the four states in the country including Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, where the separation of judiciary from executive has not been carried out. In Nagaland, the process was initiated, but not given effect officially.

The failure to carry out the process led to delays in disposal of numerous cases including those involving petty crimes as magistrates were busy with executive matters including law and order maintenance, instead of disposing of cases. This has caused great hardship for the people seeking justice.

SHILLONG: Two members of a family from Kolkata were killed when an Alto they were travelling in collided with an MTC bus at Umsning in Ri-Bhoi district on Sunday.Polie said of the four occupants of Alto, two were killed on the spot and other two were seriously injured. They were shifted to Shillong Civil Hospital.

According to police, four of them had come to Shillong from Kolkata on Saturday. The accident took place while they were returning. The deceased identified as Sabyasachi Banerjee (55) and Debjani Banerjee (48) were a couple, who visited the State along with their daughter Shriya Chaudhuri and her husband Nabindu Chaudhuri, who are injured.

Shillong: 29-year-old Krishna Gangadhar, a follower of Sri Aurobindo who hails from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Orissa, is on a pilgrimage to different parts of the country where the relics of the spiritual leader are kept. He is a firm believer in the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo that an enduring spiritual experiment works for the transformation and perfection of life instead of its rejection.

On his arrival here in Shillong, the globe-trotter, who travelled the country on his bicycle, told The Shillong Times that since his childhood he had always dreamt of visiting various places in the country where the relics of Sri Aurobindo is kept.

While undertaking a pilgrimage to such sites, which spread across many states of the country and were unknown to him, Mr Gangdhar admitted that there are certain things which prevent him to tour to these places such as financial constraint, lack of basic education or thorough knowledge of the location of the places.

However, he maintained that there are the good things as well that keet pushing him to fulfill his dream. He remembered how great people like Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Parahamsa or Shankaracharya visited different places in different parts of the country on foot. "I am their follower and this very aspect inspired me to conduct this tour," Gangadhar said.

He said that his mother, a French lady who was the co-founder of Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry (died in 1973), his colleague in the Ashram supported and encouraged him to pursue his dream. He drew his first inspiration to undertake the tour after he visited the places in Orissa in October 2000, in which relics of Sri Aurobindo were kept. Later, he went to Pondicherry to collect information on the locations of the relics of Aurobindo in the whole country.

And finally, on August 15, 2005, which is also the birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, he began his tour to all these places. Mr Gangadhar said that the highest distance he has cover in a day is 240 km. He has covered all the States and only are are left to cover, i.e., Jharkhand, Tripura and West Bengal. He arrived here in Shillong on Thursday in his bicycle and visited the Sri Aurobindo Institute, near Raj Bhavan. He left Shillong for Tripura on Saturday morning.

US President George W. Bush's reference to the need for patience in the negotiations with India on the nuclear deal between the two countries suggests that America is waking up to the prerequisites of dealing with a vibrant democracy -- an unusual experience for Washington. Till now, the US has dealt either with adversaries challenging its suspected hegemonic ambitions - the former Soviet Union, Red China and Iran - or with two types of allies.

The first type - or the one Washington may have preferred - comprised virtual client states like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq during its war with Iran, and other countries mainly in the Middle East. There were also Chile, Argentina and other military dictatorships in South America as also South Africa under the apartheid regime. The phrase 'banana republics' evolved from the American practice of propping up petty tyrants in Latin America.

Heavily dependent on American military and economic aid and undemocratic at home, these countries served as America's front paws during the Cold War. Even after the demise of the Soviet Union, many of them remained essentially autocratic and under America's tutelage, mainly in the Middle East.There were changes elsewhere, mainly the gradual restoration of democracy in South America and the end of the white supremacist government in South Africa. But the impact of these regions on international affairs has been minimal.

Among the other allies of America, which were not as subservient as the Arab countries, were the Europeans nations. Of them, only France has tried to maintain a certain distance in policy matters from Washington from Charles de Gaulle's time, an attitude most in evidence at the start of the Iraq war, which made then US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice speak of the need for punishing France.Her other comments in this context underlined America's arrogant attitude towards 'friends': Russia should be ignored, and Germany forgiven, for having opposed the Iraq war along with France. The long, post-World War II occupation of Germany by the Allied Powers had virtually reduced it to the state of a vassal, which was expected to do America's bidding. And Russia no longer posed any major threat in strategic terms.

Although democratic, unlike the Middle Eastern countries, the European allies of the US were not expected by Washington to follow a line directly opposed to that of America if only because of the 'special relationship' of the kind which was supposed to exist with Britain. A similar relationship was also there with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Turkey.Yet, the hauteur of the American attitude towards them could be seen from the fact that when the Turkish parliament and government refused to let the US use its territory for the invasion of Iraq, then US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz wondered why the Turkish army, long nurtured by America, did not intervene.

India is an oddity in this respect. It's never been in the American camp, having openly shunned alliance like NATO, SEATO and CENTO. All through the Cold War, it was on the wrong side of then US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles's categorisation: 'If you are not with us, you are against us!'

India's enthusiastic espousal of the concept of non-alignment made it an automatic adversary of the US because it ran counter to the American efforts to build up an anti-communist military bloc. For all practical purposes, therefore, the US considered India to be a part of the Soviet camp. Although perceptions have changed after the end of the Cold War, America's attitude towards its allies - and would-be allies - apparently hasn't. It still expects an ally to follow either the subservient model (Pakistan, Egypt) or the quiescent model (Britain, Japan).Its latest experience with India, therefore, is perhaps making it aware of a third model, where a boisterous and 'noisy', as an American newspaper called it, democracy allows intense and persistent criticism of its own government's and America's policies.

The US is apparently unaccustomed to such attacks, as the responses of the US ambassador in New Delhi, David Mulford, show. As anyone acquainted with the Middle Eastern countries is aware, the American ambassador's status is way ahead that of other envoys. So, Washington's man in New Delhi may have presumed that it is within his rights to tell his country's new ally how to vote on the Iran issue or to tick off the chief minister of a state for calling Bush the leader of an 'organised gang of killers'.The American establishment may be theoretically aware of the liveliness and even unruliness of an open society. But after long years of having its way with other democracies (except France), it must have been taken aback by the vociferous resistance to the India-US nuclear deal by a section of Indian nuclear scientists and the media, apart from, of course, the opposition parties.

Yet, Washington cannot afford to be too pushy because it probably needs India more than India needs the US. It is not only that India's harmonious multicultural democracy provides an ideal example of what America is trying to establish in the Middle Eastern countries but the Indian system is also diametrically opposed to the Chinese model, with its continuing emphasis on mind control, as Beijing's line on the Internet search engines shows.What is more, the US also probably sees India as a military counter to China, which may be the reason why it acquiesced in New Delhi's nuclear capability. The US knows, therefore, that it cannot allow its relations with India to languish, let alone deteriorate.

On the other hand, India may be in no hurry as its long experience during the non-aligned period has shown that it could survive and even prosper in semi-isolation. So, it is not averse to marking out areas of nuclear technology where it will be 'no go' for the IAEA, a position America has accepted.But it also has to accept what Pakistani dictator Ayub Khan once said - that relations between two allies have to be one between friends, not masters. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)

Don't be surprised if you read in an American rag that aliens have abducted President Bush when he comes visiting India next week. A large number of Americans have an abiding belief in UFOs and extraterrestrials. In one of his books, astronomer Carl Sagan cites an opinion poll, which says that 2 per cent of all Americans believe they've been abducted by aliens at some point of their lives. Those who have had some contact with aliens apparently include a few former American presidents. Jimmy Carter claimed to have seen a UFO in 1969.

Ronald Reagan reported seeing not one but two UFOs around 1974 when he was governor of California. He also spoke publicly about the world uniting against an alien threat on different occasions, most notably during a speech at the United Nations. This might have something to do with findings of a recent study by Duke University, which discovered that about 50 per cent of American presidents between 1789 and 1974 suffered from a mental illness. But what this most definitely goes to show is that the dichotomy between the irrational Orient and rational West a theory perpetrated over centuries is a myth.

America, in particular, is fertile ground for superstitions and what Sagan calls pseudoscience. The debate on creationism versus evolution reflects the prevalence of pseudoscience in America. There have been efforts by US schools, the latest being the Ohio Board of Education, to introduce intelligent design which questions evolutionary theory in teaching biology.These moves have usually been stymied by courts, which have consistently struck down attempts to make creationism or intelligent design mandatory in school curricula.It is one thing, however, for courts to declare creationism unconstitutional; it is entirely another to eradicate these thoughts from minds of Americans.

Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of well-entrenched superstitions in America, the fear of number 13 being a prominent one. Several hotels in US don't have a thirteenth floor and at least one major American airline omits row 13 in its aircraft.Of course, there are superstitions, such as a black cat crossing one's path or walking under a ladder bringing bad luck, or keeping one's fingers crossed to avert misfortune, that are universal.Belief in the supernatural has no borders it is as rampant in Kansas City as in Kanpur. (By arranegement with The Times of India)

Sir,

Education in Meghalaya was something we always felt proud of and any student going outside the state was respected because of being educated in Meghalaya. Such was the standard of education in our state, it was at par with the standard of education in any state of India if not better. But can we say with conviction that our standard of education is the same now. I say that the standard of education in Meghalaya is in its lowest ebb and it couldn't be any worse. We sneer at the condition of education in certain states like Bihar etc., but is it any better in our state? I would like to bring to the notice of all, particularly the concerned authorities about the practice of allowing the higher secondary students to indulge in mass copying and cheating which is very unabashedly going on in a particular school in Garikhana. The said school was earlier once reprimanded for doing the same with their class X students in tacit understanding with another school in Lower Mawprem. The students of the said school do very well in their class XII examinations (thanks to mass copying) even with mediocre results in their class X standard. But they later falter very badly when they go to the reputed colleges of the city for degree course.

This is neither an allegation nor an attempt to malign any institution, rather an attempt to save education in Meghalaya. The concerned authorities needs to take necessary action to prevent the further downslide of education in our state.

Yours etc.
Roop Sharma,
Shillong-4

Sir,

There has been a lot of speculation regarding the service extension of Mr P J Bazeley, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya. People of Jaintia Hills especially those from Sutnga Constituency wish that Mr Bazeley gets an extension for a further period of one year. The People Jaintia Hills are truly indebted to him for his contributions to the development of the district right from the time he was the Deputy Commissioner upto now.

People hope that one day he would represent the Constituency as an MLA/ MP and put our state too in the national map as one of the most developed states in India.

All the negative writings in the press and rumblings by the NGOs are nothing but the outcome of dirty politics. The Khasis brothers must realise the politics being played by these 'friends' who want to thwart the growth of our own people and also the contributions of Mr Bazeley for the development of the state of Meghalaya.

Yours etc,
Name withheld on request
Via e-mail

"We have alerted the people and rushed medical and veterinary teams to the two islands after we got reports of the deaths of a large number of poultry in the area," Tinsukia district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Lohia told IANS on telephone.

The two islands are located in the vicinity of the 650 sq km Dibru Saikhowa National Park, one of the world's 19 biodiversity hotspots. "Samples of the dead birds were sent to a laboratory in Bhopal to find out if the chickens had died of bird flu or some other disease," Lohia said.

"We are taking the matter very seriously and all preventive measures are being adopted in view of the bird flu scare prevailing across the country."

The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal is India's leading facility for investigating diseases like the H5N1 virus of avian influenza that causes bird flu. Dibru Saikhowa's park warden Aniruddha Deya said: "We are maintaining a strict vigil in the park area to ensure that no migratory birds have died inside the forests."

The governments in the seven northeastern states - Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur - have banned the import of chicken and eggs from outside the region.There have been no reported cases of bird flu in the northeast, but the spread of the virus in other Indian states has caused some panic in the region.

Bhairab Kanta Sharma, a veterinarian, said: "People have stopped eating chicken or eggs and so the demand for fish and mutton has gone up manifold during the past week." (IANS)

Over three lakhs examinees of HSLC Examination in Assam had a surprise awaiting them on Saturday morning. On reaching the examination hall, they were informed that the Maths exam scheduled for the day had been put off on account of detection of leakage of the question paper. The SEBA has been already under cloud over inefficient handling of the HSLC examinations of late.

Aizawl: Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri on Sunday said India is considering to open a full-fledged visa office in North East to facilitate easy travel of the people here to Bangladesh.

Talking to UNI here at the Chief Secretary's residence, Ms Sikri said, ''The Centre has already initiated and proposed to set up a full-fledged high commissioner office in the NE region and now it is up to Bangladesh Government to take the initiative.''

''Setting a Bangladesh High Commission in NE will not only make the visa process easy but also minimise travel for documentation process,'' she added. She did not reveal where the office would be set up, but said, ''It would be either in Shillong or Guwahati.''

Pointing out to the existing Bangladesh visa office in Agartala, which was not much active at present, she said, ''The office will also be more active very soon.'' ''To expedite the process of setting up a visa office, there will be a discussion in this regard during the high-level delegation meeting between the countries to be held in March,'' the envoy said. (UNI)

Imphal: The beleaguered Manipur is all set to face another 24-hour bandh called by Joint Action Committee formed to demand the release of one Maibam Naobi Chanu, an alleged girl friend of one slain PLA cadre, from Monday. The girl is under the custody of Manipur police.

M Naobi of Yairipok Leirongthel was arrested by Thoubal police after the funeral service of Kh Bikash of the PLA. Bikash took part in the attack on a team of Thoubal police commandos in which four personnel including an OC, N Lokhon were killed on February 20.

As the JAC's intimation to release Naobi Chanu failed to materialize, the decision to go ahead with the general strike from February 26 midnight was taken, the co-convenor maintained while listing appropriate action against commando personnel involved in arresting M Naobi Chanu, medical check-up of the detained girl and compensation to injured persons as other contents of the memorandum presented to the CM.

On the other hand, one of three women picked up by Thoubal police personnel while attending Kh Bikash's Mangani Leihun and released on Sunday displayed several bruise marks allegedly sustained in police custody. The woman named heikrujam Kumari alias Rasheshwari (50) of Nongbram Awang Leikai bore several blood clotting marks on the thighs, back, forearm and arm areas.

Meanwhile, all Thoubal District United Clubs organisation has vehemently condemned the detention of Naobi Chanu. (NNN)

Tuensang (Nagaland): The already tense situation in and around Tizit area in Mon district of Nagaland has further heightened following Sunday’s clash involving the two NSCN factions. Reports said that a factional clash between the rival NSCN factions erupted around 6 am on Sunday and lasted over four hours. However, according to official sources, the gun battle lasted for about one hour in which casualty, if any, was yet to be ascertained. When contacted senior NSCN (IM) leaders expressed ignorance about the clash According to inputs provided by the intelligence agencies, grenades were also used in the clash.

It may be mentioned during Friday night’s clash at Namsa, three cadres including two from the NSCN (IM) and one from the NSCN (K) were injured. The NSCN (K), however, claimed it killed one and injured one in the gun battle. (NNN)

Aizawl: Mizoram Government has signed MoUs with various Bangladeshi companies for export of bamboo. Talking to UNI,State Industries Joint Director G Malsawmdawngliana said Bangladesh paper mills had expressed willingness to purchase one lakh metric tonnes of bamboo from Mizoram.

''Karnaphuli, Chittagong and Chatak paper mills have already approached us to supply more than one lakh MT bamboo chips on a regular basis,'' he said.

NITOL Niloy Group, Dhaka, had recently acquired Chatak paper mill and signed an MoU with a Mizoram government agency for importing 300 MT raw bamboo chips on regular basis, he informed.

This MOU was likely to be followed up by a commercial deal shortly as the same group was scheduled to take delivery of the first batch of bamboos by October, the Joint Director said, adding the bamboos would be delivered through Sutarkandi Land Customs Station(LCS) near Karimganj in Assam.

He also pointed out Mizoram possesses 14 per cent of the total national bamboo wealth and the state's annual surplus bamboo was estimated by Tata Energy Research Institute to be around 32 million MT per annum. 

The export of bamboo would be further enhanced once LCS at Tlabung was activated, he added. (UNI)

Aizawl: MLA from Suangpuilawn constituency H Lalsangzuala on Sunday expressed discontentment with the State Government for arresting him on the basis that some "miscreants" had mentioned his name in connection with the Village Council election threats.

Lalsangzuala, or Sangnova as he is more popularly known, was arrested by the police on Friday, and produced before the court where a bail was granted on the same day, had been charged with inciting communal disharmony and with exerting undue influence at elections after police found a notice inviting him to attend a meeting called by the Hmar People's Convention at his house.

Lalsangzuala, however, denied that he had seen the notice and said since he was a people's representative, all and sundry walk into his home and anybody could have left the notice there. Moreover, he said he was in his constituency at the time the meeting was supposed to have taken place.

Police, acting on information received from apprehended persons of the outlawed Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) had earlier on Thursday arrested Malsawma Darngawn, chairman of the Sinlung Hills Development Council (SHDC). Darngawn had been said to have provided funds for HPC (D) people who had instructions to travel to Ratu constituency where letters informing and threatening people not to nominate or vote candidates from other parties except the overground Hmar political party HPC were to be distributed.

As a result of these letters, village council elections, which had taken place last Friday, were deferred in two villages, Sakawrdai, the headquarters of the SHDC, and Tinghmun.Later, the arrested persons dragged in Lalsangzuala Hmar, an independent legislative member, whose house was subjected to a search by the police.

When contacted on Sunday, the MLA said, "I am not such a fool as to keep incriminating documents in my house where I may have been involved. As a people's representative, my house is an open house where anybody can walk in and leave something behind.".

A source close to the MLA said on Sunday that Opposition leader and State Congress chief Lalthanhawla had visited the MLA on Saturday morning where he sympathised with Sangnova and assured him his party's support in the matter. (NNN)

NSCN(IM), the dominant Naga outfit holding peace talks with the Centre since 1997, refers to Gandhi in every round of the ongoing crucial parleys as they think in him they had the best audience among Indian leaders, who understood their grievances and expressed genuine sympathy to find a solution to the vexed issue.

"In every talk I have with them, there is not a moment without them not referring to Mahatma Gandhi," Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, who has been holding peace talks with NSCN(IM) for over a year, told PTI here.

"Naga people are very very appreciative of Mahatma Gandhi and the way Mahatma Gandhi dealt with them," he said adding that the NSCN (IM) leadership has high regard for the father of the nation.

Naga National Council leader A Z Phizo had led a delegation to Delhi in 1947 to meet with Mahatma Gandhi and requested him to support the Naga claim for independence. Phizo's account says Gandhi showed genuine sympathy to their problem and opposed use of force in securing the loyalty of Nagas to India.

Over the years, Naga insurgent leaders had also held peace talks with leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Recently Keviletuo Kiewhuo, Vice President of Naga Ho Ho, the influential apex body of all Naga tribes, said "had Gandhi lived two or three years more, things would have been different."

The Ho Ho leader, who has been a key figure in the backroom initiative for the peace process, had also criticised the Naga leadership for insisting on "sovereignty" in sixties.The NSCN(IM) has been demanding formation of a 'Greater Nagaland'- which would comprise all Naga-inhabited areas, including parts of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The outfit had on January 31 agreed to extending the eight-year ceasefire in Nagaland by another six months after four days of hectic negotiations with the Centre in Bangkok.The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister Oscar Fernandes and included interlocutor for Naga talks K Padmanabhaiah. The Naga group was represented by its leaders Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. (PTI)

Kolasib District SP Lalbiakthanga Khiangte told PTI over phone that the arrested persons included Chairman of the FUWS R. Zoramthanga and general secretary V. Laichhinga.Lalbiakthanga said that security have been beefed up along the National Highway to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic in view of the road blockade being organised by the FUWS from tomorrow.

The Society demanded meeting between Chief Ministers of Mizoram and Assam to find solution to the boundary dispute between the two states.It also demanded convention of a special session of the state assembly to pass a resolution seeking constitution of the Boundary Commission. (PTI)

An additional thirty companies of central paramilitary forces arrived here to thwart any attempt to disrupt the elections.The SEC meeting held with the observers on Sunday, where all aspects related to the elections were reviewed, expressed satisfaction with the poll preparedness of the State.The elections will be held in 627 seats in North and 1485 constituencies in West District. Altogether 3359 candidates have been vying for 1539 seats in the first phase of election.

In the second phase election on March 3, a total of 7303 candidates will fight for 3102 seats.The poll results will be announced on March 6.The campaign for the elections ended peacefully on Saturday. No untoward incident was reported, police said.

According to the petition, yet to come up for hearing, Potendra of Khepati village under Debitola block of Gauripur area of Dhubri district was branded a witch by his Rabha community, who blamed him for the chronic sickness of a girl of the same village.In December,the village society declared him a witch and attacked his house at night. He managed to escape, leaving his family behind, the petition said.

Meanwhile,the villagers continued searching for him and announced a 'death sentence' for him.Potendra, fearing for life, started living in a Muslim dominated char area, about 25 km from his village, and after a few weeks, his family secretly left their village and joined him.He got himself converted to Islam and assumed the name Priyar Ali while his wife Tejimola became Taslima Begum.

At present, they live in a house given by the village society of Gege Alga village.According to Potendra, who speaks through an intermediary fearing for his life, he had got feelers from his former community asking him to return but he would not go as a few years ago another villager Farasi Rabha was killed under similar circumstances.

The practice of hounding people in rural areas on charges of practising sorcery had claimed 200 lives in the past five years in the state, which had been facing insurgency for two-and-a-half decades now.Given the rising trend, Assam police had intensified its drive to curb it. Codenamed 'Project Prahari', the drive includes community policing measures, besides regular awareness campaigns among tribal chiefs and village elders. (UNI)