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The Mumbai wHODUNNIT Report

2006-07-17T15:47:00.000+06:00

[ Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, raised the terror link with Tony Blair at the G8 summit in St Petersburg yesterday, reminding him that India handed over a detailed dossier three years ago identifying 14 men living in Britain and was assured the suspects would be investigated. "Since then nothing has been done, and the money still coming from Britain helps to pay for the terrorist camps where we believe the bombers were trained and this atrocity was planned," a senior Indian security official said last night.//The funding from overseas has helped terror groups to set up a string of new training camps in Bangladesh, close to the border with India. Al-Qaeda-trained militants are reportedly running up to 13 camps, and MI6 and other Western intelligence agencies have been monitoring the traffic of young recruits to these centres including a number of volunteers based in Britain.//Scores of Indian-based militants are alleged to have attended the al-Qaeda run camps near Bandarban and Chittagong. Security chiefs believe that the mastermind behind the bombing on seven commuter trains used one of these camps in Bangladesh to finalise plans for the attack.

1. An intensive intelligence operation involving central agencies and Mumbai police is on, trawling telecom gateways in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata to track calls which contain "footprints" to Tuesday's serial blasts. The gateways route calls to Pakistan and Bangladesh, the two places where the terror mastermind could be holed up. The task is daunting but crucial.

2. The San Francisco Chronicle report, perhaps unwittingly, provides a damning trail directly back to possible covert Anglo-American involvement. It quotes the Times of India, which cites Indian intelligence sources saying that two radical Muslim groups are behind the attacks, "one of them based in Pakistan, which has fought two wars with India over Kashmir. That group, the newspaper reported is the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba, or Army of the Pure . . . The other group . . . is the Students Islamic Movement of India, which has been in a loose alliance with Lashkar-e-Toiba." The Chronicle report also offers this: "In Washington, a US official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity pointed to another group, 3. Of course, this is all speculation but Indian security sources indicate that they suspect Pakistan had a hand in these events. If that suspicion becomes widespread, won't there be an outcry for retaliation?

4. Just after the Mumbai blasts, a call from

5. The Anti-Terrorist Squad is now quite certain that the seven bombers, and the others who helped them carry out the blasts, had a strong Bangladeshi connection. "

6. Intelligence agencies are working on clues that the perpetrators of the Mumbai serial blasts may have entered India from Bangladesh. These agencies also suspect that the terrorists might adopt the same route to flee to Bangaldesh and hence the Border Security Force (BSF) has been put on high alert. Similarly the Kolkata and West Bengal police have gone on high alert.// the official said. These operatives are also given little price for their assignments. "Intelligence reports suggest that these boys are mostly brought from Bangladesh, asked to accomplish a job and then sent back to Bangladesh after paying little money. The security agencies are unable to catch them and if they nab the main brain, it is difficult to prosecute him in the absence of operatives."

7. 8. After 9/11, Bangladesh has become the hot bed of terrorist training and recruiting ground with even the Bangladeshi army directly involved in training terrorists . Al

9. The metropolis is a conduit for movement of militants, but is not a target of the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Harkat-ul-Jehad-al-Islami (HuJI), Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed or any other militant group seeking shelter in the city, while travelling to and from Bangladesh.The latest finding of the state and the central intelligence agencies — put into action in Bengal after the Tuesday Mumbai mayhem — confirms that Kolkata is a terror corridor. Intelligence reports said the communal harmony has helped the city stay safe. What's more — the rationalists living here outnumber the fundamentalists of both the communities.//10. Although a forceful champion of what it called 'Islamic Revolution' ever since its inception, the 11. investigation continues but with little success even on the forth day after the blasts. The police have been doing combing operations on a large scale in Mumbai and nearby areas such as Vasai and Bhiwandi. After it was confirmed that there was a call made from Malad to Afghanistan on the evening of the blasts, police raided the area and apprehended around 200 people on Thursday morning. 12.

13. While India continues to be vulnerable within its borders to terrorist acts, it has proven a capable ally in President Bush's campaign against global terrorism. The Indian intelligence service, Research and Analysis Wing — better known by its acronym RAW — has provided useful information to American authorities about terrorist activities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and even Europe. But at home, RAW and other assorted security agencies have often been stymied in their efforts at penetrating domestic terrorist rings.

14. 7/11 is not a good day for trains : BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit, the subway system used in the San Francisco Bay Area) reported earlier today that one of the trains got stuck in the Trans-Bay tube (the part that goes under the water across the bay from SF to Oakland). Smoke was reportedly coming out of one of the cars. Thankfully, there were no fatalities. Many were reported dead (at least 33 at the last count) in a train crash in Bangladesh. The train reportedly plowed through a bus at an unmanned railway crossing (Source: CNN) Chicago subway train derailed and fills the subway with smoke. Dozens were taken to hospitals to be treated for smoke inhalation. Once again, thankfully, there were no fatalities reported.

15. A leading terror expert said that chilling similarities between Madrid, 7/7 and today's blasts in Mumbai meant it was almost certain Islamic extremists were behind the latest outrage. More than 160 people were killed and hundreds more injured when seven bombs exploded during the evening rush hour on the train network in the Indian financial capital. Security consultant Will Geddes said that all three attacks were targeted to "paralyse" key communication networks, and singled out two extreme Muslim groups based in Kashmir as likely culprits.//"Another issue for this group is that they are vehemently anti the Hindu and Jewish communities and very much regard them as the main enemy of Islam. Because there is quite a strong Pakistan connection to this group they are very anti-India too.

INTELL JOBS: Young, black, female? You could be just the spy MI5 is looking for : MI5 resorted to a poster campaign in private London gyms to recruit more women from the ethnic minorities.Security service chiefs say they want cunning and intelligent women who have an excellent memory. Applicants must also have the skills to blend into a variety of cultural backgrounds, while remaining composed enough to track a potential suicide bomber. It is the first time MI5 has used a poster campaign to recruit its spies, and the advertisements will also feature in leisure and specialist trade magazines.The campaign echoes the last James Bond film - Die Another Day - in which Halle Berry played Giacinta ''Jinx'' Johnson, a black spy working for America's National Security Agency. According to Whitehall sources, MI5 decided to advertise in gyms because "experience has shown that effective surveillance officers are generally physically fit, undertake plenty of exercise and enjoy an active outdoor life". The campaign comes as MI5 is undergoing one of the biggest transformations in its history. By 2008, the organisation will increase the size of its staff from 2,800 to 3,500 and, in an attempt to combat the threat of home-grown Islamist terrorists linked to al-Qaeda, will establish separate offices in cities outside London.

Highlights 8th July 2006

2006-07-08T23:48:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

1. GLOBAL JIHAD: The headquarters of Islamic terrorism is London, England, where the Anglo-American Establishment sponsors the radical "Muslim Brotherhood" in order to advance its long-term goal of plutocratic global dictatorship.These globalists have fabricated a bogus "war on terror" to crush the remaining vestiges of nationalism and democracy in both Muslim countries and the West. Expect more incitements like the current "Miss World " imbroglio to convince both sides the other endangers its way of life

WAR:

2. [BANGLADESH] Border people not only inhabit and cultivate those remote areas, they also form our first line of defense against occupation, an occupation that is encouraged through void. If BSF succeed in cleansing border area of those people through killing and intimidation, then there will be a new border; and there will be again cleansing through killing and there will be again a new border; until Bangladesh is reduced to such an expanse that every people is within rifle range of BSF. During last AL regime, one top-ranking military official had put his sermon: "Protecting every inch of land through blood has become obsolete an idea now-a-days." Perhaps he tried to appease pro-Indian section of the then ruling party and the blindly pro-Indian intelligentsia (the Bharot-panthee Rajakars), to realize his vested interests after.

3. [BANGLADESH] When contacted, Lt Col Asadur Rahman of 41 Rifles Battalion said the BDR and BSF traded about 600 gunshots, leaving a Bangladeshi girl injured. He, however, could not confirm the death of the two BSF men during the shootout.Local people said they have heard over 1200 shots during the border fight that continued until noon with intervalsThe injured Bangladeshi minor girl is Halima Khatun, 12, daughter of Abdul Haque of village Komorpur. Halima received bullet while she was asleep at their house in the frontier village.

4. [INDIA] The Indian Navy was the first to get these missiles, and Indian generals also want to install BrahMos missiles on the Sukhoi Su-30-MKI Flanker multi-purpose fighters being produced by New Delhi under a Russian license. BrahMos Airspace Ltd. was established in India in 1998 by the Machine Building Research and Production Association (NPO) from Reutov, outside Moscow, and the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of the Indian Defense Ministry for the purpose of mastering production of these supersonic anti-ship missiles. Company documents said the new joint venture would develop, produce, market and sell BrahMos cruise missiles.

5. [INDIA] India has given a security guarantee to Sri Lanka in case of an LTTE misadventure in the hinterland, to which India would respond "appropriately". Officials said that during talks with his Lankan counterpart, the Indian foreign secretary, Shyam Saran, assured that Sri Lanka's territorial integrity was paramount to India. India will respond to the situation with all available resources, including a military response.

6. [INDIA] The Government of India has sanctioned construction of new border outposts (BoPs) of the Border Security Force (BSF) along the Asom-Bangladesh border, which will considerably improve surveillance along the international border. BSF sources told The Assam Tribune that Dhubri district of Asom has around 134 kilometres of international border including around 50 kilometres of riverine with Bangladesh and at present the BSF has 40 BoPs along the border to keep vigilance to prevent infiltration of foreigners and smuggling. Sources revealed that the Government of India has sanctioned construction of five additional BoPs along the international border, which would improve surveillance along the border, as the gap between the BoPs would be reduced considerably.

POLITICAL:

7. [BANGLADESH] Compared to Bangladesh's neighbouring countries, one of which claims to be the world's largest democracy but controls its minorities through dropping bombs from sky, carpet bombing, another one of its neighbouring countries constitutionally declared its minorities as non-citizes and exterminates them, one can easily say Bangladeshi minorities live in relative safe heaven in Bangladesh with its relatively higher percentage in government jobs, enjoying citizenship rights and their democratic representation. No doubt, there is still room for improvement always through good will and mutul appreciation.

8. [INDIA] Nathu-la is also set to bring immense benefits to Bangladesh too. When Changrabandha border post in Jalpaiguri on Indo-Bangladesh border will become operative, Chittagong via Jamuna River Bridge would be much closer to Lhasa than Kolkata port. And China would definitely try to utilise better road and all-weather port facilities at Chittagong. And from there to other countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.

10. [INDIA] The increasingly common, business-centric view of India suppresses more facts than it reveals. Recent accounts of the alleged rise of India barely mention the fact that the country's $728 per capita gross domestic product is just slightly higher than that of sub-Saharan Africa and that, as the 2005 United Nations Human Development Report puts it, even if it sustains its current high growth rates, India will not catch up with high-income countries until 2106. Nor is India rising very fast on the report's Human Development index, where it ranks 127, just two rungs above Myanmar and more than 70 below Cuba and Mexico. Despite a recent reduction in poverty levels, nearly 380 million Indians still live on less than a dollar a day. Malnutrition affects half of all children in India, and there is little sign that they are being helped by the country's market reforms, which have focused on creating private wealth rather than expanding access to health care and education. Despite the country's growing economy, 2.5 million Indian children die annually, accounting for one out of every five child deaths worldwide; and facilities for primary education have collapsed in large parts of the country (the official literacy rate of 61 percent includes many who can barely write their names). In the countryside, where 70 percent of India's population lives, the government has reported that about 100,000 farmers committed suicide between 1993 and 2003.

11. [NEPAL] While the army adhered to its loyalty to the crown despite being re-christened Nepal Army from the earlier Royal Nepalese Army to remove its association with monarchy, Nepal's judiciary has decided to clip the king's influence on judges.Nepal's constitution gives the king the power to appoint judges. Though parliament axed the king's executive and legislative powers, it has not curbed his judicial authority. But now, the Judicial Council, comprising of the chief justice and other judges, has decided to change the provision.

12. [NEPAL] Maoist rebels in Nepal have angrily denounced a government move to ask the UN to monitor the number of weapons held by both sides ahead of elections. They say that the move should not have been made without consulting them. Both sides clinched a landmark power-sharing deal last month after the king abandoned direct rule in April. Meanwhile the government has extended the tenure of a judicial commission formed to probe alleged atrocities against pro-democracy activists. A spokesman for the commission told the BBC that it is now expected to furnish its report by September this year.

13. [PAKISTAN] There is a whiff of "regime change" in the air these days, but not where you might expect it. Not in Iraq, where the conservative U.S.-backed Shiites are already in power. Not in Iran, where White House threats have served to unite, rather than divide, that country. But in Pakistan, where President Pervez Musharraf has recently fallen out of U.S. favor.

CIVIL UNREST:

14. [BANGLADESH] The most wanted criminals of Dhaka, now in hiding in India, seem to have been disappointed at the major political parties' apparent lack of enthusiasm about the idea of engaging the goons for advantage in the upcoming general elections. Some of the notorious criminals are, however, still optimistic about a change of mind of, at the least, a section of the politicians immediately before the polls. Neither the ruling BNP nor the main opposition Awami League has so far invited the crime lords to work for them, although the elections are barely five months away, sources in the underworld said. The major parties used the services of the 23 criminals on the police's most-wanted lists during previous elections, the sources said.

TERRORISM:

[FLASH]Two Pakistani nations and six other Islamists were arrested by Bangladeshi police on suspicions they might have connection with some extremist groups in southern Jhalkathi town Friday night. The Pakistanis and the others claimed they are the members of a religious group "Dawat-e-Islami" (Invitation Islami) and they were arrested from a mosque in Jhalkathi, 263 km from Dhaka. Police and the private television channel Ntv on Saturday said the team of eight persons reached Jhalkathi from southern Barisal district in the morning, but their dissimilar talks creates suspicion in the minds of local people, who informed police. Police then arrested them Friday night and recovered some Islamic books from them. Police officer Habibul Islam when contacted by phone said they will be interrogated rigorously. A Pakistani national Golam Sabbir was quoted as saying he had visited Bangladesh twice earlier and every time he stayed for three months.

15. [BANGLADESH] The leading political parties such as Awami League, B.N.P. Jatiya Party, Jamaat-I-Islami Bangladesh etc. also attacked on one another in many different times. Presently, the names of various Islamic militant groups have been heard in the cases of bomb and grenade explosions for the last 5 years, such as Harkatul Zihad, Hijbut Tahrir, Hijbut Taohit, Sahaba-Sainik Parishad, Talamiz-I-Islam, Jama'atul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), etc. Many claim that Jama'atul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB), Harkatul Zihad, Ahle Hadith and other Islamic militant groups, which were involved in major bomb-attacks in the last five years, are either secret wings of Jamaat-I-Islami Bangladesh or its patronized organizations. Generally all parties, either governmental or opposite, rear terrorists, who dare to commit any fatal crime. 6. The Torrents of Illegal Weapons and Ammunition: The availability of weapons and ammunition can turn a sober nation into aggressive one. An illiterate and poor people, empowered by weapons, will be prone to committing terrible crimes. At the time of war, Indian government supplied arms including bombs, grenades and mines to freedom-fighters as well as trained them about how to use explosives. As a result of these, after liberation, 1972-1975 years were highly chaotic, and frequent bomb-bursts occurred all over the country. Even after the liberation, the supplies of illegal arms and ammunition were intruded in Bangladesh through Indian borders and are still getting intruded. There is an evidence of the supply of illegal arms and ammunition including 233 grenades, seized by the army in border areas in November, 1974.

16. [BANGLADESH] A Bangladesh weekly newspaper office was reported to be bombed. It was alleged that an Islamist organization was behind the bombing incident. According to a report filed by Dr. Richard Benkin, on 05 July, at 11:35pm, local time, two explosions rocked the office of Weekly Blitz, the independent newspaper of maverick editor, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. Report went on to add that Choudhury was not on the premises at the time of the bomb explosion, and report reveals that no one was injured in the explosions.

17. [BANGLADESH] Investigators believe that none of the incidents actually had anything to do with internal politics of either the Awami League or the BNP. The forces behind the carnage have succeeded to remain invisible because of the general lack of political will to uncover the truth, punish the real criminals and take effective measures to protect the nation from such brutal acts.The intelligence agencies in its several reports indicated that Islamist forces were taking the opportunity of the situation.

18. [BANGLADESH - Book Review- CHT 'The Chittagong Hill Tracts: A Victim of Indian Intervention By Mohammad Zainal Abedin - Reviewed by A K Zaman] The writer has indicated that Indian North-East region bordering CHT is geo-politically and strategically very important and volatile. Besides, this region is also rich in natural and mineral resources. In fact, CHT area is also considered as sensitive and strategically significant from Indian defence and security point of view. The writer truly reflected the intervention and involvement of India in order to destabilize the CHT region to help her to subdue insurgency in one hand and to get direct access to North-East region. On the other hand this will also enable her to contain China. The writer has pin-pointed that India uses the Chakma insurgents to keep constant pressure on Bangladesh and weaken it slowly and swallow it finally. He has precisely asserted that by doing this India will be able to intrude its own citizens through 'push-in' in CHT area from its North-East region. The writer has cautioned about the pernicious tendency of India. He showed arguments that where India herself has been ruthlessly suppressing and torturing the innocent tribal people of North-East and Kashmir with a view to occupying their lands. The writer has also proved that the implicit presence of India trained insurgents in CHT area will simultaneously jeopardize the interest of the Bengalis as well as the tribals of CHT.

19. [INDIA] Police have succeded in identifying the check posts and the route taken by the terrorist involved in the attack which revealed that they came from Bangladesh, Inspector General of Police (Faizabad) A K Gupta told newsmen here on Thursday. Enough evidence has been gathered about the route and activities of the arrested terrorists, but it could not be divulged due to security reasons, he said.

REGIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENTS:

20. [INDIA - North East] "It's not only the Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) agency which is aiding and abetting the North East India insurgents. Even the United States of America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)," said Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. "ISI is still active in Bangladesh and continues to back North East India insurgents with the full support of the CIA," Sarkar said adding that he has communicated to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the CIA's involvements - hand in glove with the Pakistani's intelligence agency to "aid and abet" the North East militants outfits.

21. [INDIA - North East] According to premier intelligence agencies, the Shiliguri corridor faces threat not only from this pattern of free movement of personnel and goods through the border areas, but also from insurgents operating from Bhutan and particularly in Assam. The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) militants have been using the corridor for their movement for a long time. The recent emergence of another insurgent outfit, called the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO),7 in north Bengal, is adding to the worries of the security forces. Intelligence reports indicate that, in 1993, certain members of the Rajbongshi community belonging to the ranks of the All Kamtapur Students' Union (AKSU) approached ULFA cadres in the Kokrajhar district of Assam and sought arms training from them.

22.[INDIA - ULFA] There are two ways of looking at the shift in ULFA's posture. First, of course, is the most common approach accepted by analysts, which focuses on ULFA's emerging compulsions and its links with the Bangladesh government. Concomitant to such an approach is the need for the Indian government to respond in terms of the increasing foreign (read Bangladeshi and Inter Service Intelligence [ISI], Pakistan's external intelligence agency) promotion of the ULFA. This perspective, however, fails to assess the threat in its entirety. What is missed is the more important element in the shift: a tactical transformation in the social base of the ULFA.This shift is probably analogous to the vote-bank politics practiced by established political parties in India. This shift neutralises the erosion in the traditional support base of the ULFA in Assamese society, and widens its base among the immigrant community, who are, in no measure, numerically insignificant. As M.S. Prabhakara noted.

23. [INDIA - ULFA] The official said that considering the "relatively small amount (of Rs 15 lakh) in comparison to crores of rupees that the outfit normally demands, it is obvious that lower cadres of the Ulfa are involved who have the clearance and signature from the top brass".

24. [INDIA - ULFA] Amidst all the hue and cry, four ULFA cadres from western Asom alleged that the chairman of the outfit was in hand in globe to eliminate the cadres and leaders from lower Asom. In an e-mail message to a section of Guwahati based scribes on June 16 last, four cadres namely Bijoy Kalita, Rudra Barua, Hemanta Kalita and Kamal Ahmed claimed that ULFA political chief Arabinda Rajkhowa had maintained a hidden agenda to defuse the leaders from lower Asom in the outfit. More shockingly, the group alleged that few missing ULFA leaders including Benning Rabha, Abhijit Deka and Nilu Chakravarty (who were missing after the Bhutan operation) were killed by the outfit cadres following the directive of Mr Rajkhowa. The ULFA chief immediately rejected the allegation and termed it as a motivated attempt to malign the image of ULFA. But the very next day, the four cadres once again challenged that their allegation were based on facts. The four cadres had come out with more allegations against Mr Rajkhowa very recently.

25. [INDIA- NSCN] This is Muivah's second visit in less than two years and his chairman, Isak Chisi Swu, who is much older, has returned to his base in Manila and Bangkok after the initial rounds of talks with the Indian government on the Nagas' future. Muivah is the main force here who sets the pace for negotiations; others follow him. This is worth pondering, especially in the absence of an influential and equally articulate and skilled second rung of leadership within the organisation, which could take over from Muivah and Swu eventually.

26. [INDIA - NSCN] The chairman of the NSCN (IM), Isak Chishi Swu, in a statement issued on the occasion of the 25th Republic Day of the outfit, has said that the NSCN would never enter into any agreement against the will of the Naga people nor would it take any decision at the expense of their rights. Isak Swu, whose statement was read out in his absence at the Republic Day celebrations held at the NSCN (IM)'s council headquarters at 'Camp Hebron' also extended friendship to the Nagas' neighbours, asserting that the Nagas cannot live in isolation from their neighbours and Naga people have to depend on their neighbours and their neighbours on, Naga people for peace and prosperity.

27. [INDIA - NSCN] The NSCN (IM) has today rubbished the statements of K Padmanabhaiah, the Emissary of the Indian Prime Minister to the peace talks that the former was working to have a "federal relationship" within the Union of India. Th Muivah: "We will not distance ourselves from taking on the issues and we always mean what we say." Talking to an Amsterdam based Naga International Support Center (NISC), NSCN (IM) General Secretary Th Muivah said they had not discussed anything with regard to the federal relationship within the Union of India.

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES:

28. [BANGLADESH-DGFI] In an unprecedented move, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and some Islamic political parties are preventing the Bangladesh Bank (BB) from circulating its recently finalised new guidelines for Islamic banks. Going out of its jurisdiction, DGFI in a report to the finance ministry recommended that the central bank forms the guidelines in line with the wishes of a focus group comprising 'Islamic economists, bankers and Shariah Council experts'. The central bank should not modify or add any idea to the focus group recommended guidelines, wrote DGFI. The report all along echoed the recommendations of various Islamic groups and advised the central bank on how to protect the interest and image of the four-party alliance government.

29. [BANGLADESH - R&AW] Indian Professionals working in ADB, ESCAP, World Bank (e.g. Proful C. Patel) etc overtly and covertly push Indian agenda forward at all times. Thus they have managed to materialize their sinister plan (I use instead of conventional design) on a far longer, tortuous Asian Highway route through insurgent-infested, hilly northeast India; elbowing out shorter, straighter route through peaceful Bangladesh. Like a drop on arum leaves, we have lone Anwar Chowdhury in the UK High Commission, here. He hails from greater Sylhet, the part of Assam that came out of Indian Union through referendum and he comfortably speaks in Sylheti (more appropriately Sunamganji) dialect. But he too is silent over BSF killings. He is rather busy with the notorious Tuesday Group poking their collective nose into our purely Bangladeshi affairs.

30. [BANGLADESH - R&AW] It's a deadly serious matter needing attention at all levels of Bangladesh society. What have Hindus or Dalits got to do with Buddhists and Christians? It's a fiction organised by Indians Intelligence with the help of of a few internal agents. Is it not amazing that an Indian representative of Amnesty International sits Indian RAW , BHBCUC and Daniel Pipes, a vile and clever extremist thug, to discuss Bangladesh? Who is discussing the master abuser of Human Rights: India? No one. While Sikhs, Dalits (Untouchables), Tribals, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims face daily pogroms Indian in America and Europe organise propaganda against Bangladesh. Would Indians dare to organise such events against other Islamic nations or even Pakistan? We are easy meat, or so they think. All Bangladesh nationals, wake up against such Indian design.

31. [BANGLADESH - ISI] It seems the D-company of Dubai and Karachi fame is not entirely done. While Indian intelligence and the rest of the world concentrate on Pakistan and Dubai - which Dawood called his home - he has been deftly but surely moving onto newer pastures in Bangladesh.

There was a recent meeting in secret of Dawood with two Bangladeshis - one a powerful young Bangladeshi politician of the ruling alliance and other an intelligence officer . The meeting has raised alarms in the Indian and Western Intelligence circles.

The meeting was ostensibly to discuss ways to smuggle in arms into Bangladesh for the terrorists within the country. It is well known that Khalida Zia is very close to ISI of Pakistan.

32. [INDIA - R&AW] A Director in RAW (Research & Analysis Wing), the country's premier external intelligence agency, has been asked not to return to work, all his files and computers have been seized. A computer systems analyst in the National Security Council Secretariat, the nation's top intelligence processing unit, is under arrest, his residence raided. And now a Navy commander who headed the secretariat's National Information Security Co-ordination Cell is being questioned in what is turning out to be an unprecedented security breach in the highest levels of the intelligence establishment. The breach, detected only a month ago, involves alleged leakage of sensitive information to foreign agents.

33. [INDIA - R&AW] This is the first time that the intelligence bureau has been asked to look into espionage activities in RAW and carry out raids in its office after the Rabinder Singh episode. RAW's counter-surveillance wing had then cut a sorry figure after Singh managed to escape from the country.

34. [INDIA - R&AW] The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW ) of India is different in nature than that of the intellegence of any other country .RAW is the creator Brahma' the Supreme Being' who creates the nation. It gave birth to Bangladesh. RAW is Yamaraj' the God of death. It has already killed half a dozen countries including Goa' Daman and Diu' Hyderabad' Pondicherry' Jammu' Kashmir and Sikkim. The last victim is Sikkim. RAW is Vishnu who takes care of politics' economy' religion' water policy and people's policy of other countries' which it' at the moment' is doing in Nepal. Therefore it is necessary to understand the objectives and organizational pattern of this agency.

35. [INDIA - R&AW] It is important to understand the invisible chemistry unofficially interactive in the process of development of any bilateral relationship that has been frequently occurring since the WW-II. For national security reasons, political and military leaders sometimes had been forced to become double dealers to establish initial diplomatic ties with other states. Thirty-five years ago, in September 1968, when the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was founded with Rameshwar Nath Kao at its helm in India, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had reportedly asked him to cultivate Israel?s Mossad. She believed, so the reports go, a relation between the two intelligence agencies was necessary to monitor developments that could threaten both India and Israel. The efficient spymaster that he was, Kao established a clandestine relationship with Mossad. In the 1950s, New Delhi had permitted Tel Aviv to establish a consulate in Mumbai. But full-fledged diplomatic relations with Israel were discouraged because India supported the Palestinian cause; having an Israeli embassy in New Delhi, it was believed, would rupture its relations with the Arab world.

36. [INDIA - R&AW] Security and strategic affairs experts warn that India's counterintelligence costs will rise dramatically after Nathu La opens because of its proximity to a wide swath of eastern and northeastern India, where Beijing is alleged to have stoked insurgency for decades. "Chinese spies and agents on subversive missions will find it easier to slip in through Nathu La," said Maloy Krishna Dhar, a retired joint director of India's Federal Intelligence Bureau and author of Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled. "India is inviting trouble. The Chinese will stoke insurgency, monitor troop deployment and movement along the disputed border and gain access to vital installations like refineries and highly sensitive warfare training centres."

37. [INDIA- NSC] Authorities probing the spy ring at the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) have taken former Naval Commander Mukesh Saini, who earlier headed a key cell in the prestigious organisation, into custody for questioning about his alleged links with a US diplomat. Though there was no immediate confirmation about whether Saini had been formally placed under arrest, informed sources said he was picked up from his residence on the intervening night of July 3 and 4 and subjected to intense grilling by Delhi police and Intelligence Bureau sleuths handling the case.

38. [INDIA-CIA] There are lot of red faces in the Indian intelligence agencies with the Third Secretary in the US Embassy in India, Rosanne Minchew, reportedly gaining access to the country's higly sensitive secrets, including nuclear information. Minchew, who was running a ring with "insiders", has escaped to the US.

39. [INDIA-CIA] Top Government sources told The Indian Express that since it has now been confirmed that US Embassy official Rosanna Minchew first established contact with NSCN's systems analyst S S Paul during an IUSCSF programme in March 2005 and had several ''unauthorised'' meetings with her, the feasibility of the bilateral programme was under review. So far, three plenary sessions have been held, the last in New Delhi in January. Five working groups have been announced and two more are under consideration.

40. [PAKISTAN- ISI] In his biography, Ghadaar Kaun? Nawaz Sharif Ki Kahani, Unki Zubani , Sharif, who was toppled by the military in 1999, said he had received complaints from his Indian and Bangladeshi counterparts that the ISI was engaged in efforts to destabilise those countries. Sharif said when he attended an India-Pakistan-Bangladesh tripartite meeting in Dhaka during his second tenure, then Indian prime minister I K Gujral expressed 'good sentiments' to improve ties with Pakistan but complained about sabotage activities being carried out ISI in India.

41. [FORUM BUZZ:] Do you know Dr Ullah how people crack jokes about you? Two Mukto-Mona readers / contributors sent me long emails cataloging samples of your unsubstantiated assertions, lies and deceptions. I simply deleted those messages with a request to the senders not to send such messages against you or anybody else to me. I asked them to go public if they really have some substance (which I believe they have) to prove your unsubstantiated claims (including your “non-existent” Cornell University fellowship). I can cite some of your totally fabricated stories. One of them was that “repatriated” Bengali soldiers killed Sheikh Mujib, while the fact is that all the officers (including Col. Faruq and Major Dalim) and soldiers were Freedom Fighters. Another fantastic article by you, full of fantasies, on Central Asia made me laugh for days. Please give a break and concentrate on Agriculture, which is your field, NOT history or politics. By the way, according to one of your bitter critics, who wrote to me (and I am sure to many others), that he did not find any worth mentioning research work by you in any journal or book on botany, agriculture and other fields of your expertise and (should be) areas of interest.

END

Highlights 29th June 2006

2006-06-29T19:56:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

GLOBAL

1. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then the Saudi ambassador, with long ties to the Bush family, observed that the relationship between the forty–first and forty–third presidents was, as Suskind writes, "cool and distant, not even what one would expect of a father and son; that the son didn't consult the father – even though he was, quite possibly, the most valuable advisor presented by modern history." ..........Book Review: The war for us

2. At a time when Hindu-Muslim antagonisms, taking recourse to carefully constructed myths about each other as historical rivals ever since their first encounter, are causing such devastation in our lives, these books serve a very important instructional purpose. The publishers must consider rendering them into Hindi, Urdu and other local languages, minus the academic verbiage, so that their messages might reach a wider audience where it truly matters. .....Book Review:Islam in the Subcontinent: Muslims in a Plural Society

3. The trade and transit blockade India imposed on landlocked Nepal in 1989 was the direct fallout of Kathmandu's import of defense equipment from China. New Delhi openly opposed Nepal's decision, even though the 1950 treaty of peace and friendship did not forbid Nepal from purchasing arms in competitive markets. Historians refer to bilateral contacts of the early fifth century, but present-day analysts examine events and trends recorded after Nepal and China established diplomatic relations in 1955. "China and Nepal are close and cordial neighbors connected by mountains and rivers," said Zhu in Kathmandu last year, alluding to the presence of mighty Himalaya between the two countries.......China's watchful eye across Himalaya

4. The Saddam regime and Taliban leadership agreed to diplomatic ties and a secret intelligence service relationship. They discussed security cooperation with Hekmatyar's Islamic Jihad group. The Taliban representative also agreed to support the Saddam regime in Pakistan's North-West Frontier, a region sympathetic to and actively involved with the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the world-wide Islamic jihad movement. An Islamist, most likely the Al Qaeda and Taliban affiliated Fazlur Rahman Khalil, promised the support of Bangladesh.........Global Jihad: Saddam and al Qaeda

5. While monitoring SWIFT-handled transfers is a useful tool in identifying and tracking certain suspicious transactions, its importance should not be overstated. The information in SWIFT's hands is no better than the information which it is provided by the banks handling the transactions at both ends. And there is already an obligation on banks in the US and Europe to report all "suspicious transactions" The problem is that FINCEN and the corresponding FIUS in other countries have simply been overwhelmed by the enormous amount of transactions that are reported to them.............Global Jihad: Reports of US Monitoring of SWIFT Transactions Are Not

6. Observing that the global war on terror has become a feud between capitalism and Islam, a former RAW chief has said the ongoing battles in Iraq and Afghanistan have created more terrorists than they have destroyed.

"In today's context when we talk of international terrorism, we invariably
refer to Islamic/Jehadi terrorism. Unfortunately, the response to this,
described as the global war on terror is neither global, nor is it against
terror,"

Vikram Sood, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, said in an article in the forthcoming issue of 'Indian Defence Review'.........'Global war on terror neither global nor against terror'

~~Quick Reads~~

Intelligence Summit Newsletter
THE DANCING ISRAELIS: An unprecedented honest analysis of 9/11
Six Rules for Eating Wisely
Interesting Article by Tabish Khair
Thanking Mac
= World Cup Fun-da=
India and China - Two Primary Manufacturers for the World Markets
A Satanic Plot for a One World Government

DIASPORA

7. Across the globe and especially in America, hundreds of other gay Muslims have started to pursue marriages of convenience--or MOC, as they are known-- in which gay Muslims seek out lesbian Muslims, and vice versa, for appearances' sake. Mansoor works as an accountant in New York and is a devout Muslim. He abstains from drinking alcohol or eating pork and is particular about offering early morning prayers. To his friends on Wall Street, he is a financial whiz; to his parents, a devoted son. But Mansoor is also part of a burgeoning trend of gay Muslims adopting marriages of convenience. Hard statistics are hard to come by, but on a single Web site for South Asian gays and lesbians seeking such marriages, almost 400 requests had been uploaded.........Muslim Gays Seek Lesbians For Wives

8. At the core, the concept of holy is a tribalist code of behavior. The totems and taboos of each tribe are part of that coda. Living in societies where there are other tribes than our own, we have two options for inter-tribe dialogue. Each option has its logical, predictable consequence. If the tribes prefer peace they would be respectful of other tribes' totems and taboos, unless those impose on the sanctity of their own set of the same stuff. In contrast, the tribes would desecrate each other's totems and taboos if their goal is warfare, with a view to establishing political supremacy.......[Forum Buzz] The Debate Over 'Holy' versus 'Unholy'

9. With specific reference to the 'holy Cow' let not just look at it as a Shonaton deity, but more what is her and the 'holy Ox's' relation to us (meaning you and me?) in the natural sphere. Humanoids as such has convinced itself that it bears no resemblance to these 'unfortunate creatures' we GOBBLE UP, just to satiate some 'religious belief' or the other? .......[Forum Buzz] The Debate Over 'Holy' versus 'Unholy'

10. I shall offer two examples. Muslims generally do not drink alcohol on the table because they believe it is forbidden according to their religion, Islam. The transgression of drinking under the table is rumored to be quite wide, however.

But so long as the wrath of Allah is not zapping the lives of such Muslims as would so engage, I guess "Drink up, but hushhh!" seems quite popular among many Muslims.

The quality of booze varies, however, depending on the financial stratum where any drinking Muslim resides. There may be upper-class cognac drinking Muslims on one extreme, and poverty-stricken "taaRi" [Bengali alcoholic drink] drinking Muslims on the other. Then there is eating of pork. Muslims tend to be more pronouncedly against it. Some even have the foolishness to call it 'stinky', even though pigs are farm-raised and corn-fed nowadays........[Forum Buzz] The Debate Over 'Holy' versus 'Unholy'

BANGLADESH

11. Mastans – organised-crime syndicates – run "protection rackets" throughout society through a complex system of payment and collection. Even street beggars will be paying "protection". Mastans have also developed relationships and linkages with high-level politicians, who benefit financially and offer political and judicial protection in return. Some mastans have become wholly or partly legitimate businesses; others have entered politics directly and each have their own coterie of goondas (enforcers or thugs). The lines between politics, business and organised crime are becoming increasingly blurred in Bangladesh. There are honest businessmen and politicians, but such people are often fairly isolated and powerless. In the prevailing atmosphere it is very difficult to remain totally unsullied by corruption.........Bangladesh’s fraying democracy

12. Patricia said the international community, including the USA, is concerned over the prevailing political situation ahead of the national elections. Issues relating to the caretaker government system and the Election Commission should be resolved soon, she added......Any rise of third force to be disastrous: US envoy

13. Confirming the incident, BDR said they fired 600 bullets in retaliation and thwarted the BSF attempt to occupy a small stretch of land along the Kushiara River. Farmers cultivated paddy and vegetables on the land. But the BSF wanted to harvest the crop and occupy the land forcibly. BSF made similar attempt on June 24 with firing upon BDR outpost, which was foiled. Since then they mobilised additional troops and guns to renew the attack, said a BDR officer...........BSF fire thousands of bullets at Zakiganj border

14. Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Wednesday told the Jatiya Sangsad that Bangladesh had already lodged a strong protest against India's move for inviting tenders to explore oil and gas in the undemarcated areas in the Bay of Bengal............Bid to explore oil in Bay of Bengal

15. What are they doing there It is alleged, they are looked after by RAW in Kolkata? How are Dhaka's 'top terrors' in Kolkata faring? The daily routine of one of these characters is pretty much like this: An hour's morning walk from 5 am to 6 am. Breakfast and another sleep session till noon. Then it's straight to the city in his chauffeur-driven Mahendra jeep. The marathon adda begins, gossiping and chatting with buddies of the same ilk at hotels and bus counters along Sadar Street, Park Street, Marquis Street ... in between, calls to and from Dhaka are made through the cell or from a public phone booth. Daily phone bills are astronomical -- around 10 thousand taka on average.........Notorious criminals of Dhaka's underworld seek safe haven across the border

16. The sudden stoppage hit the open market as the price of pulse marked a increase by Tk 10-12 a kg from Tk 48-Tk 50. Price of rice, wheat and sugar is also in upward trend. "Some 12 rice-laden trucks and 22 pulse laden trucks crossed the border on June 22 while on June 23, it was only four trucks of rice and on June 24, it was two trucks of rice crossed the border to see a total stop from Sunday," said a port source.........India's ban on sugar, rice, wheat, pulse exports causes price hike

17. During the US Navy Ship in its mission 'Operation Smile' in Bangladesh, it would provide includes general, paediatric and ophthalmology surgery, basic medical evaluation and treatment, preventative medicine treatment, dental screenings and treatment, cleft lift and cleft plate surgeries, optometry screenings and public health training. ......US Navy hospital ship arrives in Bangladesh July 1

18. For its part, India has been equally warm towards Hasina. Irrespective of the party in power, New Delhi had always showed a soft corner for Hasina. The historic ties with Hasina's father Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as well as the shared secular ethos of the Awami League and mainstream Indian leadership forged a bond between the two. Hence, Congress or BJP, the Indian leaders have been extremely warm towards Hasina and did not hide their preferences, if it came to that. ...........The Hasina visit and Bangladeshi elections

19. For all intent and purpose, the BNP now has more RAW agents infiltration in its rank than the Awami League ever did. It serves Indian interest to have BNP in power, because it is easier to 'get things done' when a supposedly 'anti-India' party is in power.....Re: [Chutneyz] The Hasina visit and Bangladeshi elections

20. The book examines Bangladesh's potential as a base for terrorists. The author points out that Bangladesh is a soft state with poor governance; its police force is ineffective and easily influenced by such outfits as the Jamaat-e-Islami and the extremist HUJI. Bangladesh's geostrategic location, too, makes it an ideal base from which terrorists could direct operations in countries as far apart as Spain and Indonesia. Besides, its porous border with India facilitates militants slipping in and out of the country.........Book Review: Talibanization of Bangladesh

21. Presently, the news of BSF killing of Bangladeshi nationals appears in our newspapers daily. One would like to observe here that there is no reaction of political parties on this issue. The day one BSF soldier was killed, came the reaction of the Indian High Commissioner and very rightly at that. Of course, the foreign ministry spokesperson then denied the contention of the Indian High Commission by giving details of actual happenings. ...........Indo-Bangla relations

22. The fact that buprenorphine costs less than heroin and is more accessible has hastened the development of illegal markets in various countries. Buprenorphine manufactured in India, for example, is smuggled into Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as Bangladesh, where it is used by 90 percent of the country's intravenous drug users, according to a UN Drug and Crime report last year..........Heroin-withdrawal drug taking over as addicts' cheap choice

~~Quick Reads~~

Hasina brings series of corruption charges against PM, her family
UN Secy Gen poll: Delhi seeks Dhaka’s support
A Bangladeshi Secretary General?
Many issues remain unresolved: No move to mend Dhaka-Delhi ties
Dhaka decides to go ahead with exploring overlapping blocks in the Bay
RMG export to US up 26pc in Jan-Apr
Countering drug trafficking in Bangladesh
Calling Quadianis non-Muslims

INDIA

23. According to highly-placed sources, is part of a well-concerted move to smuggle in arms consignments to Bangladesh for creating countrywide disturbances well before the next elections. According to sources, the discussion during the Dubai meeting veered around the urgent need to import small arms and explosives for terrorists enjoying the tacit support of a powerful section of the ruling group. The meeting was reportedly arranged by ISI agents, though the supportive role of a powerful foreign agency in the entire scheme of things is not being ruled out.

On May 16, a large consignment of arms "certainly not meant for security forces" was brought in at an air force base near Dhaka by a Kuwaiti C-130 aircraft. The whole operation, being highly secretive in nature, was supervised by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. Investigations reveal that a Kuwaiti NGO Al-Harmain (a banned organisation having links with Al-Qaida) was the funding agency for the arms transshipment for Bangladeshi terrorists .........Dawood's Bangladesh mission gives India worries

24. Sri Lanka's Army-backed Tamil paramilitaries are seeking recruits amongst Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu, offering hefty salaries, an Indian news agency reported this week. The Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), an India-based paramilitary group now operating in an anti-LTTE grouping under the Karuna Group, is seeking recruits from refugee camps and orphanages in southern India, an Indian website reported, citing local press reports. The recruitment is being conducted with the knowledge of India's external intelligence agency, RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), the report added........RAW aiding paramilitary recruitment in India - report

25. No meaningful cooperation between state and central intelligence entities exists, especially when different political parties rule at the center and in the states. Coordination among the three prime central agencies, IB, RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), is non-existent. The Kargil and Surankote intelligence failures are two glaring illustrations of a divided house of Indian spook (see Kashmir's snake in the grass June 7, 2003). Dhar gives a clarion call for freeing intelligence organizations from the machinations of the executive. Legislation to make the agencies accountable to parliamentary committees is a crying necessity. Election prospecting, verifying credentials of ruling party candidates, researching the weaknesses of opposition candidates, toppling and interfering with elected governments and other dirty operations victimizing the innocent are shameful tasks assigned to agencies that should be protecting national security. .............BOOK REVIEW : Open Secrets. India's Intelligence Unveiled by M K Dhar

26. The former guerrillas of the NLFT have told police their leaders not only sexually abused scores of tribal girls recruited into the rebel army but also used them - and some male guerrillas - to produce scores of porn films, officials say. "The films were found to be dubbed in Burmese, Bengali, Thai and Hindi, suggesting they were being marketed to many countries in the region," said Ghanshyam Murari Srivastava, Tripura's police chief. He said police have recovered scores of pornographic DVDs featuring young women and men from various parts of the state, including remote areas such as Amarpur and Gandacherra. Such pornographic DVDs have also been recovered from NLFT bases inside Bangladesh after they were raided by the Bangladesh army, the police chief said. ............India rebels 'making porn films'

27. "We have instructed our men to carry stocks of condoms to prevent contracting HIV-AIDS while working in vulnerable areas," Vice Admiral V.K. Singh, director general of the Armed Forces Medical Services, told soldiers at an army cantonment in the Meghalaya state capital Shillong on Tuesday. An estimated 100,000 army and paramilitary troopers are deployed in the rugged jungles of the northeast against some 30 guerrilla groups waging insurgencies for independent homelands or greater autonomy . .......Condoms for troops battling N-E rebels

28. India has foolishly decided to globalise its particular Islamic problem, which remains fundamentally unique. The West is confronted by an Islamic problem that dates back to the 8 th century and their civilisations are indeed involved in a world-historical dispute. But it does not follow they are going to help India with its contemporary difficulties with Islam. On the contrary, they are now merely using India to prosecute their own war with Islam . The current disputes go back to the post-FWW settlement in the Middle East, when the Western powers divided up the post-Ottoman Arab world, the establishment of Israel and the West's insatiable thirst for oil.............India’s troubles with Islam and the West

29. One thing that is common in most of the struggles going on in the northeastern region is that every agitating group seeks a 'permanent solution' to this or that problem. This is a matter of life and death for the people whose interests the various groups claim to represent. Fortunately for the people in whose name such a demand is pressed, its proponents do not possess the same kind of single-minded viciousness and material resources as those who historically sought a 'final solution' did..........North East India: Problems and Solutions

30. What is required is for Ulfa to shed its call to arms, to move away from Bangladesh into Assam, to quickly move into a political mode and get a feel of the ground realities by travelling across the state. For this to begin, two or three nominees of the group should start discussions quietly with Indian government officials and its leaders should consider a return to their homes ~ they need to learn that there is strong opposition to them, not merely from political groups such as the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party but also from those who believe in a transparent peace and human rights for all, not a select few, and the families of those who have suffered their wrath and violence..........Assam: ULFA must prepare for realistic dialogue

~~Quick Reads~~

Navy's spies catch Chinese subs
China reopens a passage to India
India's economic report card
SIACHIN: AN EPISODE TO REMEMBER
LTTE admits killing Rajiv Gandhi, apologises to India

NEPAL

31. Our political base was not that rigid. Ours is a party which had to wage a People's War for just rights despite entering Parliament. We were the third largest party in Parliament.... We lawfully tried to raise some issues — issues related to nationality, people's daily requirements and democracy -- even back then. We are not rigid. What we said even after starting the People's War is that we are not communists of the traditional type. Even after the start of the People's War, we have always been ready to accept the people's verdict. We had told the government during the very first peace talks let's hold constituent assembly elections; that the solution to our problem lay there. We were never into rigid politics. We were very much wide and flexible. ..........The future of Nepal as envisioned by the Maoists

32. There are now intelligence reports that Islamic militants are using Nepal, along India's northeastern border, as an alternate infiltration route into India , as they head to Kashmir for attacks. This is an alarming significant new development. I had lunch Monday with an Indian Colonel and he was certain the infilitration had been contained. The intelligence reports were based on the surrender of two Islamic militants; Manzoor Ahmad Lone of the al-Barq unit and Nazir Ahmed Lone of Tehrike-e-Jehad. They are both from the Kupwara district of Kashmir. ..........Crossfire War - South Asia Theatre - Nepal New Infilitration Route

PAKISTAN

33. The hot, dry and dusty little town of Darra Adam Khel, barely a half-hour drive from Peshawar, is one of the major suppliers of small arms to the residents of the tribal belt. From a distance, it looks no different from any suburban settlement in North-West Frontier Province. The main road meanders into a market where few outlets are larger than a single room. But the fare they flaunt is deadly: revolvers, automatic pistols, shotguns and Kalashnikovs line the shelves of a typical shop. Only five years ago, the list would also have had items such as anti-personnel mines, sub-machine guns, small cannons and even rocket launchers.............Pakistan's flourishing arms bazaar

~~Quick Reads~~

'Suicide attack' on Pakistan army
Rape case four hanged in Pakistan

END

Highlights 24th June 2006

2006-06-24T20:22:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

GLOBAL

1. I think I will face a lot of criticism for my Iran/Al-Qaeda chapter from the Muslim media. I am going to reveal facts that nobody can deny. I am very careful. I wrote each and every word only after many cross-checks. I even cross-checked the claims made by Osama Bin Laden. I will definitely raise some issues like why he is still at large, and I'll have to talk about the weaknesses of the Pakistani and American secret services. I will not enjoy the publication of my book because I do not live in an ideal democracy. I am not bothered by who might benefit from my research. I have only one objective in mind; to keep the historical record straight. .............Global Jihad: Al-Qaeda's Hidden Arsenal and Sponsors -Interview Hamid Mir

2. Suspected Ottawa terrorist Mohamed Harkat was freed on bail yesterday as evidence emerged that a former "high-ranking" al-Qaeda informant who triggered his arrest was, in fact, a relatively minor and "certifiably insane" operative. What's more, Abu Zubaydah only revealed his information, including now questionable details about supposed al-Qaeda plots against the United States, while being tortured by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators.............Global Jihad: Harkat informant called 'insane'

3. The head scarf continues to be perceived in the West as a symbol of religious cruelty. A survey last year by the Council on American-Islamic Relations found that more than half of the 1,000 U.S. respondents believe that Islam encourages the oppression of women. Actually, many women in Middle East and Islamic countries are free; others are working to bring about more change. That's probably news to many Americans. Next week, for instance, Kuwaiti women will participate in parliamentary elections for the first time in the country's history. Iqbal al-Ahmed, a women's rights activist, sees this as an opportunity for Kuwaiti women. "In their first two elections, they will make little difference," Ahmed told The Associated Press. "But when the society absorbs (the idea), they will become a force and they will acquire more confidence that they can bring about change." While progress in these regions might not measure up to Western standards of freedom, an examination of education, political participation and social reforms shows that women in Muslim countries have made considerable strides. Attitudes, too, are shifting.......A veil doesn't mean 'oppressed'

4. The utter ruthlessness of the Amen Corner's tactics resembles nothing so much as the tactics and methods of a covert action carried out by agents of a foreign power, and, indeed, some of these people – such as Larry Franklin, for example, along with his accomplices – are foreign agents, who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Character assassination is, for them, a routine matter – and, in certain cases, physical assassination is not out of the question. The news that Lebanon has uncovered an Israeli spy ring that routinely engaged in a number of assassinations ought not surprise anyone. With all the mysterious explosions occurring in that tortured land, and with Israel's long history of involvement – both open and clandestine – in that country, this hardly comes as a shock. Perhaps now the great mystery of who killed Rafik Harriri – a heinous act somewhat dubiously attributed by UN investigators to Syria – will be opened up to some new interpretations...............The Assassins

5. Long before there was war in Iraq, long before US foreign policy was frowned upon by much of the wider world, there was an empire that controlled 1/3 of the known world. The British Empire fucked over the New World, royally screwed what later became India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and generally did nasty things for King (Queen) and Country. Loyalist patriotic songs like "Rule Britannia" concealed the great evil of the Monarchy and the entirity of the British Empire and when the Americans said they'd had enough and wanted representation, the British commited a series of Intollerable Acts that built up to their declaration of Independence. But that still wasn't enough for the British to actually fuck off, things would turn very ugly before they got a lot better.........American Revolutionary War

6. The surreptitious sale of Chinese arms becomes easier because China has not signed up with any multilateral agency to ban sale of its arms to undemocratic regimes. China does not support international initiatives for an arms trade treaty. The Amnesty report says that China supplied 200 military trucks to Sudan and weapons to Myanmar while Nepal was sent consignments of rifles and grenades. Sudan faces a severe internal strife that shows no signs of abating. The military junta in Myanmar has turned down all pleas from the international community to introduce democracy. Nepal was lucky as the people's movement there finally brought a repressive monarch down on his knees. The Chinese weapons did not help him much..................Guns and bombs from China

7. Eager to assert itself internationally, the Chinese government is itself on a drive to promote Mandarin abroad in hopes of putting it on a par with English. "Promoting the use of Chinese among overseas people has gone beyond purely cultural issues," said Hu Youqing, a National People's Congress deputy and Chinese-language professor at Nanjing University, in an interview with the government-owned China Daily. "It can help build up our national strength and should be taken as a way to develop our country's 'soft power.'" To that end, over the past two years Beijing has opened language and cultural centers called Confucius Institutes—modeled on Spain's Instituto Cervantes or Germany's Goethe-Institut—in more than 30 countries, including Australia, Japan, Kenya, the U.S. and Sweden. China has also deployed more than 2,000 Peace Corps-like volunteers to teach Mandarin overseas, mostly in Asian nations such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. Meanwhile, back home, China has been rapidly upgrading Mandarin-language schools to handle a rising influx of overseas students..........China's economic rise means the world has a new second language—and it isn't English

8. MI6 and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe the scientists have played a major role in enabling Iran to be "well advanced in providing uranium enriched materials for nuclear bombs," said Alexander Cirilovic, a nuclear terrorism expert in Paris. Both high-level MI6 and CIA sources have confirmed the scientists would only have been allowed to assist al-Qaida with the authority of Iran's unpredictable President Mahmoud hmadinejad. The revelation comes at a time when Washington has increased pressure on Tehran to give up its nuclear weapons program. The scientists worked for Dr. A.Q. Khan, the "father of the Islamic bomb," who is now under house arrest in Pakistan after confessing he had provided both Iran and North Korea with details of how to make their own nuclear bombs. ..............Brit MI6 Confirms Bin Laden Nukes

9. The members of the CFR dominate almost every aspect of American life, yet most Americans have never even heard of the Council on Foreign Relations. One reason for this is probably because there are over 170 journalists, correspondents, and communications executives who are members of the CFR, and who do not write about the organization. Also, it is an express condition of membership that no one is to disclose what goes on at CFR meetings..............The two organizations that run the United States

10. In the follow-up interviews, the U.S.- led war in Iraq, now in its fourth year, was cited by Muslims and Westerners alike as another primary cause of bad relations. Muslims, in comments reflecting historic tensions with Christianity, described Iraq and the Bush administration's war on terrorism as a "crusade" against Islam, while in the West people said that terrorist attacks by Muslims had undermined trust. European Muslims lined up with European general publics on some issues, indicating that integration might be moving ahead better than recent events would suggest. While Muslims outside Europe generally saw Westerners as violent and immoral, for example, this view was not shared by Muslims in France, Germany and Spain. But British Muslims were highly critical of Westerners, the survey found, holding negative views resembling those of Muslims in Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, and Nigeria. In Turkey, negative opinions of the West have increased in tandem with opposition across Europe to Turkish admission to the European Union. Only 16 percent of those surveyed in Turkey now hold a positive view of Christians, down from 31 percent in 2004.....................Muslims and the West: Antipathy and mistrust

BANGLADESH

11. The very foundation of Bangladesh and its ability to function as a sovereign member of the family of Nations is under debate. It has led to some foreign pundits suggesting, most controversially, that we are a 'failing State.' Others have given the Fatwa that we are on the threshold of being not only a source of international concern but are gradually evolving into a Taliban stronghold. This is indeed contrary to the current Government's views that the country is moving forward supported by a 'joar' (flood) of economic development. I am afraid that ordinary citizens like me are unable to really see evidence of such glorious development. Security of the person, of the individual, of the institutions associated with the family or in the wider sense with the State is in a state of ruination. I have to wear glasses now a days. I need it to be able to read. I probably need better spectacles, which will permit me to see the flow of water when I open my tap in the morning or to feel the breeze of the fan when I switch it on it in the afternoon. Our house, Bangladesh, is seriously unstable. We might be able to build a strong wall around the perimeter and think that we are well protected. That is however not the case. Our Armed Forces can protect us from external aggression. We have also shown in 1971 that Bangalees are adept in guerilla warfare. I am not worried about that security. I am anxious about the division within that is distinctly becoming a security threat................Do we have a security policy for Bangladesh?

12. Sources said Hasina will not receive the award as questions arose in the Indian foreign ministry over the credibility of the organisation that nominated Hasina for the award for her contribution to parliamentary democracy. A high official of Kolkata police said the question of credibility of the organisation has existed all along and it was informed to the government. The organisation had nominated a few other celebrities, including Nelson Mandela, for the award in the last four years, but nobody went to receive it.............Hasina won't receive award in Kolkata

13. Informed sources said that the Leader of the Opposition could hardly afford a visit to India to receive "Mother Teresa Award" from a little-known organisation in Kolkata at a time when her party and the 14-party alliance that it leads have unleashed a programme of movement to compel restructuring the Election Commission and reform of the Caretaker Government. The sources said the AL Chief before her departure for New Delhi on Wednesday had a meeting with a key western diplomat along with selected leaders of her party in Dhaka. It is believed that Sheikh Hasina carried some briefs from the said diplomat to Delhi where she attended a high profile dinner yesterday at the invitation of an Indian Minister..............Hasina's Delhi visit raises questions

14. According to a news item published in The Asian Age yesterday with the headline "No official status for Hasina's five-day visit" said, "New Delhi, in a balancing act, politely declined to confer "official" status on her visit in her capacity as Leader of the Opposition. New Delhi also discouraged the hosting of a seminar on the subject of future of democracy in Bangladesh, which Ms Hasina was expected to address in the capital." Quoting sources The Asian Age said New Delhi wanted to maintain bilateral relations on an even keel ahead of the Bangladesh parliamentary elections in early 2007. It did not want to send out "wrong signals" to the BNP-led government of Khaleda Zia, especially after an upturn in bilateral relations following her India visit. The policy of "distinct engagement" being followed by the Bangladesh premier has helped remove certain "misunderstanding" that had crept into the bilateral ties and restore, of late, a certain degree of amity in the interactions between the two sides, the sources added. ............Delhi not giving state protocol during Hasina's tour

15. The appreciation came during the FBI boss' meeting with Bangladesh State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar, who is now in Washington on an official visit, on Wednesday, according to a home ministry press release. Both Muller and Babar expressed mutual satisfaction at the present level of cooperation between the two governments and desired to remain constantly engaged for furthering the relationship to a newer height, said the release. Muller offered to extend further assistance for capacity building...................FBI director praises Dhaka's anti-terror campaign

16. The case for Bangladesh to plan for large scale generation of nuclear power should be examined with seriousness. Nuclear power generation is also cheap. Counting out the initial establishment costs, the per unit of electricity generated from nuclear power plant is said to be much like that of a coal or gas fired plant. Bangladesh would do best to get Chinese assistance to build a number of nuclear power plants and train manpower for the purpose within a short time-frame. Possibilities for similar cooperation may be explored also with other countries............The Nuclear Power Option in Bangladesh

17. In the first months of 1971 uprising in Bangladesh, the Pakistan Army had taken recourse to all possible means of quelling the resistance posed by the coalition of rebellious Bangladeshi soldiers, police, ansars, and the barely armed youths. These were in the forms of armed attacks in different district and subdivisions, shooting battles, and arsons in suspected areas of insurgent hideouts. These activities, known as "operations against miscreants" would be followed by massive arrests of suspected individuals...........Dealing with 1971 Insurgency: Pak Army's Frustrated Response From The Pages of History

18. According to Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) sources, the BSF men opened fire on the Bangladeshi cattle traders at Ghojadanga, a bordering village about 500 yards inside the Indian territory at Basirhat of 24 Parganas, at about 10:00pm while they were returning back home from India. Manirul Islam, 24, son of Sirajul Islam, and Mokammel Haque, 19, son of Abdul Aziz of Mahmudpur village, and Khokon, 20, son of Shahidul Islam of Gayeshpur village in sadar upazila of Satkhira district died on the spot.............Four Bangladeshis killed in BSF firing

19. Despite some corrective measures by India in this area, no tangible result in reducing the gap has been visible. Some economists suggest that one of the ways of reducing the trade deficit is the economic and trade cooperation between Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India (NEI). A few of them even advocate that closer integration of Bangladesh's economy with that of northeastern states is likely to have drastic reduction of trade gap between the countries. Furthermore the integration will have two results: (a) bigger market for Bangladeshi goods in the northeastern states, and (b) access of Bangladesh to minerals of the Indian states for its industrial use. ..................Bangladesh's trade deficit with India: What is to de done?

20. Bangladesh contingent deployed in United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) provided Human Resources Development training to 200 Liberian Youths under Human Resources Development Project (HRD Project), says BSS. They were imparted training in areas of tailoring, generator mechanics, first aid and computer operations, said an ISPR Press release in Dhaka on Monday. The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Operations and Rule of Law Luiz Carlos DA Costa attended the closing ceremony of six-week long HRD Project as chief guest. He lauded the Bangladesh contingent for going beyond their mandate of peacekeeping by engaging themselves in humanitarian activities...............Bangladesh Army provides training to Liberian youths

21. Foreign satellite channels, that have been airing programmes of various kinds in the country, are making a phenomenal profit taking away about Tk 60 crore every year. There are about 300,000 subscribers of foreign channels. Banking on this huge number of viewers, the channels earn Tk 2.35 crore every month, according to an estimate of cable operators.The viewers who subscribe to Star Movies, Star Plus, National Geography, Star World, Star Gold, Zee Cinema, Zee TV, Cartoon Network, Alpha Bangla, Sony TV, Sony Max, AXN TV, Discovery, Ten Sports, Star Sports and ESPN, have to pay Tk 235.29 a month. Of the payable amount, the government is supposed to get 32.25 per cent as value added tax (VAT).Viewers have to pay the cable operators Tk 22.48 for HBO, Tk 44.97 for Star Sports and ESPN, Tk 10.58 for Cartoon Network, Tk 13.23 for Ten Sports, Tk 40.47 for Sony, Tk 35.71 for Zee channels and Tk 67.65 for Star channels.........................Pay channels take away Tk 60 crore

22. According to the Indian intelligence reports, the drug traffickers at the directives of their international bosses, carry heroin to Bangladesh from one of the Indian states Bihar. Apart from Cox's Bazar sea routes, the miscreants generally operate through border areas of Dinajpur-Rajshahi and other parts of the northern region of Bangladesh. The drug traffickers also prefer to carry heroin through border areas of Lalgola of Murshidabad, Islampur and Maldah in the Indian state of West Bengal, according to the intelligence reports available. It is learnt that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has identified those routes for drug trafficking on the basis of statement of an arrested drug trafficker, who was earlier detained by police in Bihar.The CBI reports also said that the drug traffickers use routes of several Indian states to send consignments of heroin to different European countries through Bangladesh. As per reports of the CBI and the Bangladesh Intelligence sources, the drug traffickers usually use mobile phones to communicate with the syndicate for drug trafficking..............Bangladesh safe route of drug traffickers

23. A recent report on wildlife in the Sundarbans, as appeared in our national dailies, the other day, saddened me and prompted me to write this article. The Forest and Environment Minister is reported to have said, without any remorse I suppose, that in the Sundarbans nearly 40,000 deer fell prey to the Royal Bengal Tigers each year. He again disclosed that the present strength of tigers is around 450 in number. There was no mention of any sub-species - whether there are different species of the tiger having particular size, waist shape, size of their nose and thinner or more closely spaced strips, as found among the species....................Protecting wildlife of the Sundarbans

INDIA

24. CPI (M) central committee member Hemen Das today stoutly refuted a UNI report published in The Sentinel on February 14 which had quoted him as having said that Bangladesh-based fundamentalist forces weretrying to create a "greater Islamic state comprising Bangladesh, Assam, Tripura and North Bengal". Das, while talking to The Sentinel today, said that although the CPI(M) has not ruled out the possibility of a reported design of the ISI-CIA backed fundamentalist forces to destabilize the north-eastern region, as alleged by the CPI State Committee recently, the party thinks that it is not possible for the secessionist forces to disintegrate India..............Dismembering India impossible : Das CPI-M doesn't see Bangladesh design

25. One matter cannot be over-looked. The visit of Indian artistes, litterateurs, journalists and intellectuals to Bangladesh has increased to a great extent. They are taking part in various meetings and seminars of our country and giving various types of sermons. Most of them are making undesirable comments on undivided India, United Bengal etc, which is not their point of discussion. Some local 'progressive' cultural activists and intellectuals are also echoing similar tone. It is notable that after independence a group of intellectuals of West Bengal are making publicity in newspapers on United Bengal or greater Bengal in the name of East Bengal-West Bengal friendship. Some time back Shib Narayan Ray, an Indian intellectual, spoke highly on Undivided Bengal while he was in a visit to Bangladesh. In an interview with a weekly he told that both the parts of Bengal will be inevitably united. But he did not clarify anything about how both the portion of Bengal will be merged, whether Indian administered Bengal well be freed from her (Indian) subjugation and will be united with Bangladesh or Bangladesh will be included with India-controlled West Bengal. Needless to say that there is no difference of slogans like Unification of India-controlled West Bengal and Bangladesh , United Bengal, movement for revival of sub-continent or undivided India . Such attitude was also prevalent in a teleserial 'Purbo-Poschim' (East-West) adapted from a novel written by Sunil Gangopadhaya, which aims at establishing undivided India. .................Indian move to establish United India through United Bengal

26. In the talks in the Netherlands, the NSCN-IM is likely to put pressure to get "some kind of concession" from New Delhi on its charter of demands, including autonomy for Nagaland, official sources said. The NSCN-IM, which began talks with the government in 1997 after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire, is likely to submit a fresh proposal on the kind of autonomy it wants for evaluation by the Centre, they said. An Assam government team led by Chief Secretary S Kabilan is understood to have briefed Union Home Ministry officials here today about the situation in the state, especially in the wake of a series of blasts this month that killed seven people and injured 25. The state government team reportedly suggested that only threeof the five jailed ULFA leaders could be released. The Assam officials said ULFA ideologue Bhimakanta Buragohain, vice chairman Pradip Gogoi and cultural secretary Pranati Deka could be set free. ................Centre to hold talks on Northeast insurgency

27. Assam Rifles jawans top in the list to have endured with AIDS/ HIV while among the three defence forces Army jawans rank highest to have contacted with this dreaded diseases, said Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DGFAMS), V.K.Singh. "The Assam Rifles rank highest mainly because most of the troops were continuously based in the vulnerable international border of this region," pointed out the DGFAMS while informing that the diseases has come in the three armed forces to 20 per cent less than the national average of nine per cent. ....................Assam Rifles top in AIDS/HIV

28. ULFA's demand for releasing five of its senior leaders currently in jail on charges ranging from murder to secession was seen as one of the last big thorns in the road to peace. ULFA, which has been fighting for an independent Assamese homeland since 1979, last October appointed an 11-member People's Consultative Group (PCG) comprising prominent civil society members to represent it in the talks with the government. The stage is now set for direct talks between the elusive ULFA leadership led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah - according to Indian intelligence officials, both were believed to be operating out of Bangladesh in carrying out their hit-and-run guerrilla strikes in Assam....................New Delhi clears thorn in road to peace in Assam

29. The peace talks with ULFA have reached a very crucial stage. Till the assembly elections Central as well as State government were successful in buying time by avoiding difficult issues like the issue of 'sovereignty' or the release of ULFA leaders lodged in jail. But now the government will have to come out with its stand on these issues. After returning to power in this year's assembly polls, Tarun Gogoi has vowed to end 27 years of insurgency in the state by bringing the rebels to the table for talks.. In his enthusiasm to remove all potential hurdles in the way of a Delhi-ULFA dialogue, the Tarun Gogoi government has decided to recommend the release of even recently arrested militant leader Mrinal Hazarika. But unfortunately, the ULFA appears to be as unpredictable as ever. The terror strike by the outfit has already vitiated the atmosphere. Hopefully, the facilitator of the talk Indira Goswami must be aware of the limitations of the Central government. If she is able to persuade ULFA to concede ground on the issue of sovereignty only then some positive outcome is expected from the talks. In any case, now the majority in Assam has rejected the ULFA's demand for 'sovereignty' as the survey conducted by the PCG has shown. But if the talks between the UPA government and ULFA fail, it will be the biggest blow to CM Tarun Gogoi, who has been trying to buy peace with militant outfits since taking over the reins for the first time in 2001. .................Assam : Peace Talks under the Shadow of Terror

30. Is the Prime Minister's condemnation of an attack going to dissuade terrorists from carrying out their murderous activities? When will the Government finally take effective action? The usual excuse given by the 'secular' media is that Islamic terrorism against Indian targets is a consequence of the 'pogrom' initiated by Narendra Modi in Gujarat following the Godhra 'incident'. That absolves Muslim terrorists of all crimes committed against innocent people. What the media needs to be reminded of is the statement made by Mohammad Amir Shakeel Ahmed as long ago as 1999 at a conference of Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) that his nation is not India, but Islam. Listening to him was one of the founding fathers of the Laskar-e-Toiba's Indian operations, Azam Ghauri who happened to be killed six months later in a shoot-out with the Andhra Pradesh Police. ................Warn the United States and Pakistan—Now!

31. A fact that exposes mainland India's links with the region is the thriving militancy in most of the northeast states. The demands of the different militant groups range from autonomy within the provisions of the Indian constitution to outright secession. Such militant movements started early with India's independence in 1947. At one point, more than 120 militant groups operated in India's northeast. In recent years, the Indian government has had some success in achieving stability in the region, using tactics from negotiations to military operations to root out militants. Nevertheless, the region remains a potential tinderbox. Militants in India's northeast once enjoyed vast popular support since they in their formative years, voiced genuine grievances of the people such as poor governance, alienation, lack of development and an apathetic attitude from the central government in New Delhi; in recent years, however, this influence has been reduced. Nevertheless, in most of the states in the northeast, anti-government militants often indulge in successful strikes against government interests............North East India: A volatile tinderbox

32. Security for Taslima Nasreen has been tightened since yesterday following a threat issued by the imams of several mosques and some city-based fundamentalist organisations. They have said they "would not sit idle" if their demand for the controversial Bangladeshi authoress to be "thrown out of India" was not immediately responded to by the governments in New Delhi and Kolkata. Armed plainclothesmen are keeping round-the-clock vigil and screening all visitors. "I have received threats so my security has been increased," she told The Statesman. Security agencies are trying to find out whether the local fundamentalists have been put up to it by their Bangladeshi brethren, with whom they are said to be linked at several levels. The threat has come at a time when the Bangladesh High Court has summoned her to be in Dhaka within the next few days for a case filed by an author who has complained that she, in writing one of her books, has hurt his religious sentiments. ..................Security tightened for Taslima

33. The Chinese may not talk about it in public, but they are concerned over the emerging close relations between India and the US---not because of the military potential of an India-US axis, but because of its moral potential. They fear the likely infectious effect of our democracy in their border areas more than our nuclear weapons. They fear the US ability to use the people power as it did in East Europe, Ukraine and Georgia more than the USA's military strength. In reality, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) is not meant to protect the member-countries from external military threats. It is essentially meant to protect them from sections of their own people in the form of what they project as extremism and separatism. They may outwardly project themselves as unconcerned over the implications of the India-US relationship for their stability, national security and regional pre-eminence, but they are. In our understandable keenness to see only the positive in China, we should not overlook certain constants in their policy. One of these constants is to give Pakistan a psychological feeling of parity with India militarily and economically and to buttress the self-confidence of Bangladesh vis-a-vis India. China is not a South Asian power, but look at the way they have built for themselves a growing South Asian presence..................India and China: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

34. With its new wealth, China has been inventively building trade and transportation links to further its larger interests. Such links around India's periphery are already bringing this country under strategic pressure on three separate flanks. China is fashioning two north-south strategic corridors on either side of India — the Trans-Karakoram Corridor stretching right up to Gwadar, at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz; and the Irrawaddy Corridor involving road, river and rail links from Yunnan right up to the Burmese ports. In addition, it is shoring up an east-west strategic corridor in Tibet across India's northern frontiers...............India: Dragon designs

35. As developed by Ross Mallick, the reasons leading to the Morichjhanpi massacre have to be understood in relation to the long history which led to the partition of Bengal and the intricacies of caste, class and communal differences. Briefly, in the colonial period, the East Bengal namasudra movement had been one of the most powerful and politically mobilised dalit movements in India.5 In alliance with the Muslims, they had kept the Bengal Congress Party in opposition from the 1920s. The exclusion of the bhadralok from power led to the Hindu elite and eventually the Congress, pressing for the partition of Bengal at independence, so that at least the western half would return to their control.6 Partition, however, meant that dalits lost their bargaining power when divided along religious lines of Hindus and Muslims and became politically marginalised minorities in both countries.With the partition of India, threatened by their Muslim and lower-caste tenants, the upper-caste landed elite formed the first wave of migrants from East Pakistan into West Bengal. Subsequent migrants were rural middle class cultivators and artisans. If the richest amongst them found a niche amongst relatives and friends in Kolkata and its outskirts, the poorer amongst them squatted on public and private land and tried to resist eviction. In the 1960s and 1970s (especially after the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971, Mujibur Rahman's assassination in 1975 and Zia-ur-Rahman's coming to power) communal agitations started to hereafter be directed against the poorest and low caste Hindus who had remained in East Bengal. They now sought refuge in West Bengal.................Dwelling on Morichjhanpi

36. Maoist militants, known here as Naxalites, have been fighting in India since the late 1960s. Until recently, they have basically been in pockets in the jungles in India's poorest states. More recently there has been more unity between these groups. Analysts talk now about the emergence of the Red Corridor, a great swathe of Maoist militancy which stretches all the way from the border with Nepal, south through India to the sea. Later I was introduced to a senior Maoist commander, Gopanna Markam, a veteran of 25 years with the guerrilla force. I asked him how he would describe what he was fighting for. "We're fighting for a new democratic revolution in this country," he said. "People are hungry, there's nothing to eat. They have no clothes. They have no jobs. We want development for the people. That's why people are coming to this fight."..............India faces Maoist 'Red Salute'

37. Pointing out that civil aviation minister had denied Jet chairman Naresh Goyal clearance because of the serious concerns raised by the home ministry, JD(U) chief and former civil aviation minister Sharad Yadav wondered "why is the security clearance being given" to the Jet chief now? He also released the report from the country's external intelligence agency, RAW, which the home ministry had cited to deny the clearance to Goyal. In its letter to the home ministry, RAW had referred to concerns expressed by investigating agencies about the "large dubious investments" by Gulf sheikhs, Mumbai underworld as well as smugglers in the airlines. ..............Yadav releases RAW report on Jet Air

NEPAL

38. King Gyanendra, who seized power and sacked the elected government in February last year, has no one but himself to blame for his isolation, Dahal said. "He is now a detached figure and he himself created this situation because he responded very late to the people's movement. He fell into his own trap," Dahal said. It has been a long fall for the monarch, seen by some devout Hindus as a reincarnation of Vishnu, the god of protection. "He has become powerless and even his divine-like status is in jeopardy. For the king, it is never going to be the same again," said Manoj Shrestha, 30, the owner of a small Internet cafe in the capital. "His own arrogance and over-ambitiousness put him in this position. That's why he is quiet," Shrestha said. Some feel that since the new government stripped the king of his control of the army and removed him from political life, his role has become significantly less relevant. "The king is no different from the ordinary civilian now. His role in politics has ended," said Narayan Man Bijukchhe, chairman of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, a small parliamentary group............Nepal's king lies low as country mulls his future

39. Events in Nepal are moving in a dizzying pace. Add to this the bewildering number statements being made by the leaders of SPA and positions taken on one day and given up soon after. It is getting more and more difficult for analysts to examine what is going on at all. But amidst all this confusion, the Maoists are going about with a clear agenda and a road map and they have so far been able to get what they wanted without giving in on any of their core issues. The Seven Party Alliance on the other hand appears to have no bottom line and have been giving up without much of a fight on many of the issues which one thought they would be firm. In the press conference given by Prachanda and the seven party leaders after the meeting on the 16 th, the body language of the Alliance leaders gave the impression of being on the defensive and Prachanda hogged the whole limelight. Even Madhav Nepal a senior leader in his own right was seen to be quiet. One gets the feeling that the Maoists are going to have their way...............The Maoists have their way so far

40. Maoist rebels in Nepal have said they will not lay down arms until elections are held for a body which will draw up a new constitution . A rebel spokesman said they were ready to demobilise their fighters but would not disarm them at the moment. His statement came a day after Nepal's home minister said the government would not share power with the rebels until they had given up their weapons. Both sides clinched a landmark power-sharing deal last week. As part of the agreement, the government said it would dissolve parliament and set up an interim government that would include the Maoists. .............Nepal Maoists 'will not disarm'

PAKISTAN

41. What the pen-pushers and spooks in the Ministry seem to have forgotten is that they are the ones who permitted an army of foreign militants into this country, ostensibly to fight in Afghanistan. Many of these foreign agents stayed on, and are now busy killing our people, including our soldiers. In fact, Pakistan must be the most welcoming country in the world for illegal migrants: literally millions of Bengalis and Afghans have settled anywhere they chose to without any questions being asked. If anything, officials of the Interior Ministry have colluded in this influx by handing out ID cards and passports to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants. ...............Pakistan: Paranoia and patriotism

END

Highlights 20th June 2006

2006-06-20T23:44:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

GLOBAL

1. The Muckraker Report attempted to secure a reference to the U.S. government authenticating the Bin Laden "confession video", to no avail. However, it is conclusive that the Bush Administration and U.S. Congress, along with the dead stream media, played the video as if it was authentic. So why doesn't the FBI view the "confession video" as hard evidence? After all, if the FBI is investigating a crime such as drug trafficking, and it discovers a video of members of a drug cartel opening talking about a successful distribution operation in the United States, that video would be presented to a federal grand jury. The identified participants of the video would be indicted, and if captured, the video alone would serve as sufficient evidence to net a conviction in a federal court. So why is the Bin Laden "confession video" not carrying the same weight with the FBI? ......FBI says, "No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11"

2. Atleast ISRO has a website. India's intelligence agency (that's RAW, if you didn't know. I'm sure you know its the CIA for the US and perhaps even that its the MI6/SIS for the UK) does not even seem to have one. Perhaps it is so secret they thought it unwise to put one up. Unfortunately, we know more about American intelligence and other agencies than we know about their Indian counterparts. I know how much effort I have expended in trying to find out more about the RAW. Can we atleast get a glimpse of what kind of intelligence capabilities we have as a nation? Perhaps even what we had 10 years ago? ......CIA, MI6 and RAW

3. According to Paul Joseph Watson, on PrisonPlanet.com, in "Pentagon jettisons U.S. agent provocateur al-Zarqawi," as posted on the GlobalResearch website June 9, "Irrefutable evidence confirms that Zarqawi was a U.S. agent provocateur used to sell the necessity of the war in Iraq. Preceding the release of the recent Zarqawi video tape, the Pentagon embarked on a propaganda push to magnify the role and influence of Zarqawi in Iraq-reinforcing the 'al-Qaeda in Iraq' brand myth and pinning the increasingly unpopular occupation on the wider 'war on terror.' Transcripts of meetings between the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed turning Zarqawi into a caricature and making him appear 'more important than he really is.' The same documents directly which stated the false promotion of Zarqawi included marking the U.S. 'home audience' as one of the targets of a broader propaganda campaign. ......Global Jihad:The post-Zarqawi era

4. In the late 60's, as India's Research and Analysis Wing was taking shape, their first significant clandestine operation, motivated by the surprise incursion into Indian territory by Chinese forces in 1962, was an elaborate attempt to understand the Chinese character. What they found was interesting and powerful knowledge. They found a devious people, fanatically devoted to their racial identity, with unquestioning obedience to their central authority [they uncovered later that post-Mao, China had been taken over by the Shanghai Triad]. They found that the Han diaspora, regardless of geography, reported to their rulers in mainland China. Most importantly, they found that the diaspora was essentially engaged in espionage and subversion, wherever they were. RAW shared their learnings with the American FBI in the early seventies. Within months, the FBI, cross-validated these findings in their own country. According to reliable sources, since then, nearly 90% of FBI's budget has been deployed on surveilling the Han around the world in association with RAW. In the late 80s, these agencies, having seen it all vis-a-vis the Han Chinese, embarked on a massive counter-intelligence operation........Understanding Chinese Intell

5. The house of Saud has occupied two of the holiest sites for Muslims, Mecca and Medina, for far too long. If they were actually protecting, promoting and preserving our religious heritage, that would be fine, but the Saudis, following their own puritanical version of Islam, have razed all monuments associated with the Prophet Muhammad and his family. The same people who had the temerity to incite Muslims to violent reactions to the infamous Danish cartoon have no compunction about destroying our Islamic heritage and brazenly promoting a culture of hate against anyone who disagrees with them. The United States has known for decades that the Saudis discriminate against women and minorities and spout hatred against anyone who does not follow their misogynist and exclusivist brand of faith. They openly mark Shias and Sufis as being waajib-ul'qatal (acceptable to be killed).......How much sacrifice for the price of oil?

BANGLADESH

6. It appears that Mr Barclay thinks India is distracted with its projects along Bangladesh border. That is simply a piece of fiction. It is a cunning piece of Indian propaganda. India has some 700,000 soldiers fighting its own Indians wanting to break up the country left behind by Britain; and that has been going on for most of the last 60 years away from Western media and Human Rights attention. As an example: small people of 2 million like the Christian Naga have suffered 200,000 killings at the hand of Indian Army but no one in the world cares to give it any coverage. There are over 20 different civil-wars being fought out all over India, excluding Kashmir. Even Africa or Colombia has nothing comparable, except that the world media have chosen to give India the image of Mahatma Gandhi! India's relationship with the entire South Asian region is poor and it has nothing to do with religion. Hindu Nepal distrusts India. India setup the Hindu Tamils against the Buddhist Sinhalese in the civil-war in Sri Lanka. As you know the racial and religious civil war is once again brewing in that country. The border along Burma has been at war for most of the last 60 years. Despite all the dirty propaganda Bangladesh has remained largely at peace, compared to the region, even though India has armed various terrorist groups over the last 30 years. Bangladesh is India's second largest trading partner after the USA. But the trade has always been unequal. India has used its elements to sabotage Bangladesh economy time after time. India uses the international media to plant stories against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, China and Bhutan. India is a source of instability in Asia. It has occupied Buddhist nation of Sikkim.......Propaganda against Bangladesh by Lloyds List

7. A military takeover or even an enhanced role for the men in uniform is a constant apprehension in Bangladesh. It is a reminder of the long phases of martial law in the erstwhile East Pakistan and since 1971 in independent Bangladesh. Not surprisingly, DeSoto was asked if the US had any role to play in 'protecting' democracy in Bangladesh from any 'extra-constitutional move in the wake of failure of political leadership' to resolve their election disputes. His reply: 'I trust that the people of Bangladesh will reject that option and work hard to protect its long tradition of democracy.' All this can hardly be taken as an attempt by Bangladeshis to win accolades from the West. But the fact is that there is widespread apprehension about growing activities of Islamist militants. Especially since the present government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, having an influential Islamist component, took office immediately after 9/11. The last four years have been a trying time for religious minorities and political opponents...... US taking keen interest in Bangladesh's 'dance of democracy'

8. Bangladesh as a nation has deeper problems than bomb attacks, drugs and corruption. Social degeneration does not happen in a day and unfortunately there is no quick fix for the same. Children as well as everyone living in a society learn from the society the most.A society embedded with moral values is surely expected to pass on its values to the youth who shape the future. The cultural invasion in the name of technological advancement through satellites has inflicted even the most remote areas. It is no more a cause for concern that parents and children watch soaps regularly which teaches probably nothing more than adulterous relations. Admittedly there are many channels which informs on technological issues and news of the globe. The importance of these cannot be agreed more. At the same time there are several channels that affect the deepest fabric of our society by staging indirect ridicules and showing irrelevance of most important of our values like the institution of marriage, respecting elders, modesty and values of chastity. Unfortunately, these channels are more popular. In the present world politics the institution of popular opinion is generally venerated, probably this particular example gives insight to the saying - what is popular is not always right......Vision For Bangladesh: Tackling Hegemonic Foreign and Economic Policy

9. Recently Mohammad Humayun Kabir, the Deputy Commissioner of the Khagrachari Hill district, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), has published a book, "Khagrachari 2001-2005", in which he describes the indigenous peoples of the CHT as 'infiltrators' or 'settlers', 'anti-Bengali', 'wild and uncivilized tribes' and so on, and purposefully sent it to various Ministers, people representatives, government officials and offices of donor agencies in Bangladesh. The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) strongly condemns and protests the book and the behaviors of the Deputy Commissioner, which breach the rules and decorum of a public office like one being held by him.The book published in English from the office of the Deputy Commissioner in April 2006 portrays the indigenous peoples living in the CHT region since time immemorial and even before the arrival of any ethnic Bengalis as 'outsiders' and 'anti-Bengali'. It is politically motivated. In addition to that, it presents some wrong and distorted statistics and information designed to provoke and perpetuate communal violence and to denigrate the indigenous peoples by endowing with various humiliating epithets.........Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT): Demanding ban on book

10. The exchange of fire ensued when BSF patrol teams from Chhiladana camp intruded into Bangladesh territory crossing the river for kidnapping some Bangladeshi fishermen. In the face of challenge from the BDR guards, the retreating BSF men opened fire provoking the BDR to retaliate. Following the incident, the BSF increased the number of troops with heavy arms prompting the BDR to remain on alert and creating tension unnecessarily in the border. The BSF continued its provocative activities in the border areas despite repeated assurances given at various levels including higher political levels and engaged itself in killing Bangladeshi nationals at regular intervals. All these sad incidents came out as news items in the Bangladesh media regularly quoting local witnesses and BDR as sources. But the Indian High Commission in Dhaka came out surprisingly with a press release next day and tried to put the blame on the BDR for the incident. The High Commission also had a swipe at the Bangladesh media saying it had been making 'faulty and sensational reports' over the border problems and made a request to contact it 'to get true picture'. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, however, dismissed the Indian High Commission's allegation and said the BSF killed as many as 52 innocent unarmed Bangladeshi nationals in past six months since November last year despite the fact that civilians would not be outright shot dead under any circumstances as agreed to at Indo-Bangladesh meetings held at various levels......Unnecessary border tension

11. The floods in Assam have reportedly taken a serious turn displacing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. All the rivers in the Indian state of Tripura, close to Bangladesh, are flowing well above the danger level and flood waters are fast hurtling downwards. This means that appearance of a flood in more areas of Sylhet and other parts of Bangladesh may be imminent. While there is nothing that can be done to prevent the floods in the short run, everything must be done to limit the damage caused every year by a natural calamity of this nature.......Bangladesh: Preparing(?) for floods

12. It is learnt that the scrutiny of the draft is almost complete and it would be sent to the concerned ministries for their approval. Earlier Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed told the newsmen that about 5,000 foreign nationals including 980 from Myanmar and India are now staying in different jails in Bangladesh. "Some of them have already completed their jail terms but they are not allowed to leave the country due to the absence of an extradition treaty," the minister said.IG (Prisons) Brigadier General Zakir Hossain said, "We could not send them to their respective countries in the absence of an extradition treaty." Around 200 criminals including top terrors are staying in India illegally. Dhaka has also handed Delhi a long list of wanted criminals who have taken refuge in Kolkata and other parts of India to avoid arrest in Bangladesh. But the Indian government is yet to take necessary action in this regard, according to the sources......Extradition treaty with India in the offing

13. Experts observed that India would face a devastating flood this year, as a result India could anytime open dams built in the upstream to avoid flooding without informing Bangladesh.The nation would face unprecedented flood if India does not inform before opening their dams, so Bangladesh requested India to inform the government before opening of Indian dams so that Bangladesh could take preparation to face the flood, sources said. Bangladesh repeatedly requested India to follow the flood forecasting and warning agreement but India did not bother to abide by the agreement, sources said.......Delhi asked not to open dams without notice to Dhaka

14. The Bangladesh boom defies some of development theory's central tenets. For decades, experts have identified political stability and effective governance as critical prerequisites for economic takeoff. But this lowland nation of 145 million is making tangible progress largely without them. Bangladesh now leads South Asia in most social-welfare indicators—including female literacy and poverty reduction. Its fertility rate is near replacement level. And Bangladesh is the only South Asian country on track to meet its United Nations-mandated Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty by half by 2015. "When I go to India or Pakistan from Bangladesh, people ask, 'What is it you do, cook up all your statistics?' " says Muhammad Yunus, founder of microlender Grameen Bank. "They ask, 'Why are we falling behind when we're doing the right things, while you are doing the wrong things but getting the right answer?' " .There's no pat explanation for Bangladesh's unlikely success.......Bullish on Bangladesh

15. Amid allegations of bid manipulation, Bangladesh Navy is purchasing six high-speed patrol boats for Tk 14.5 crore although it procured the same for only Tk 9 crore last year, competent sources said. Each of the boats should measure 12 metres in length, have air-conditioned cabins and be equipped with light machine gun (LMG) posts, global positioning system, radar and other sophisticated equipment to help the navy conduct anti-smuggling operations in the deep sea. Sources said the boats designed by Valiant company of Portugal are yet to be manufactured. But they do not meet the navy's length requirement and also do not show any LMG post. The comptroller general of audit objected to this procurement last week, asking the Directorate General Defence Purchase (DGDP) why the navy should purchase the six boats at Tk 14.5 crore when it had purchased the same for Tk 9 crore last year. The DGDP finance department has asked the naval authorities to justify its decision....Costly deal to buy Navy patrol boats

16. The Bangladesh government, according to the plan, will construct a 43km stretch of the road in the first phase, of which 20km will be in Bangladesh and 23km in Myanmar, at a cost of Tk 163.49 crore.Of the total sum, Tk 94 crore will be spent on the 23km road from Taungbro to Bawli Bazar inside Myanmar along with two bridges and 90 culverts.Later, in the second phase, another 110km stretch from Bawli Bazar to Kyautaw in Myanmar will be constructed at an estimated cost of Tk 770.26 crore.Yangon has been unwilling and non-cooperative despite repeated requests from Dhaka since September 2005 for finalising a framework of the agreement on the road link.It has maintained that it is unable to finance the Myanmar portion of the road and that the project is not on its priority list......Bid to push Bangladesh-Myanmar road link through

INDIA

17. Presumably because I'm Jewish and write about India, I received an invitation to a 'Jewish-Indian Reception' held earlier this year at Columbia University in New York. "Did you know that Jews have lived in India for over 2000 years without any signs of Anti-Semitism?" the invitation began. "Did you know that annual bi-lateral trade between India and Israel reached $2.7 billion this past year? Interested in learning more about the historical, cultural, and political connections and similarities between Jewish and Indian Americans? Join us for a night of great speakers ..." These speakers included the Indian Consul-General, the Israeli Deputy-Consul General and Congressman Gary Ackerman. The event was organised by a pro-Israel student group called LionPAC, with support from the South Asian Law Students Association, among others. It offers a microcosm of the burgeoning India-Israel-US axis, a phenomenon supporters of the Palestinian cause need to be more aware of......India, Israel and the US

18. A top former intelligence official has said India would have the capacity to make about 50 nuclear warheads a year as it would be able to retain six reactors outside safeguards envisaged under the India-US nuclear agreement. "Under the deal, India shall retain six unsafeguarded reactors and shall have the capability of producing nearly 50 nuclear warheads per year," J K Sinha, former Additional Secretary in the Research and Analyses Wing (R&AW) of the Cabinet Secretariat, has said. Sinha said the assurance of supply of nuclear fuel from the US as well as the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) would free India's existing capacity to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium for its nuclear weapons programme.....India can make 50 nukes a year: J K Sinha

19. The state on Tuesday in its petition defended its ban on Dwikhandito, terming her writings as "pornographic" and "perverted". Outside the court, Jamiat-i-Hind activists said Taslima was "immoral". They demonstrated during the hearing, saying she should be told to quit India immediately. Taslima had gone there to back social activist Sujato Bhadra, who has filed a petition challenging the ban on Dwikhandito. A three-judge special Bench of justices DK Seth, AK Basu and Soumitra Pal commenced hearing. Opening his argument, Bhadra's advocate Joymalya Bagchi said: "Similarexpressions as the ones used in the two pages of allegedly offending passages are present in Taslima's earlier writings, which have not been banned and are available in the market. Therefore, banning Dwikhandito is an illegal exercise of power to suit the convenience of the state."......Porn tag on Taslima work

20. To bolster the navy's reconnaissance capabilities, India is to buy more IL-38 spy planes from Russia and the decks for the supply would be cleared during Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash's week-long visit to Moscow starting on Monday. Navy plans to buy two more IL-38 maritime reconnaissance aircraft from Russia to strengthen its depleted spy plane fleet hit by crashes of the IL-38 aircraft.The new planes to be purchased would be upgraded versions of the aircraft fitted with advanced Sea Dragons suits.......India to buy more spy planes from Russia

21. Cross-border terrorism is also a cause for worry in Tripura. The state is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, which confers on the terrorists an enormous operational advantage. The NLFT and the ATTF together have as many as 51 hideouts in Bangladesh. The NLFT's Biswamohan group has 32 hideouts, the NLFT's Nayanbasi faction has three and the outlawed ATTF has 16 camps spread across Sylhet, Habigunj and Laulavi Bazar districts and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The Tripura state government has reportedly sent to New Delhi a list of militant camps in Bangladesh, with maps and other relevant details, but the matter is yet to be taken up with Dhaka. Thus Indian diplomacy has a sensitive task to perform. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar is very critical of both Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani for not mounting pressure on the Bangladeshi government to dismantle the bases of the banned militant outfits. Similarly, the Assam government is asking New Delhi to pressure the Bhutan government to dismantle camps of Bodo militants in that country.........India's Unquiet Eastern Front

22. Pointing out that there are 918 lady officers in the Army, Gen. Sujlana said the Vice Chief of Army Staff S. Pattabhiraman's reported statement that the Army can do without women was quoted "out of context and misconstrued." What he meant was that the Army's preference in the combat units was for gentlemen officers over lady officers. "We have made it a point to put them in services [such as ordnance, supply, medical] but in combat units such as armoured and artillery, the preference is for men officers," clarified Gen. Sujlana. Asked about the suicide by Susmita Chakraborthy on Thursday due to stress and disinclination to perform certain duties as she felt she was better qualified, he said the rigours of Army life as compared to civilian occupations are tougher but "we are ensuring that new recruits are being adequately trained to withstand the rigours of army life." ....Indian Army for more women officers

23. It is right for Ulfa to attack the Indian security forces for violation of human rights and their intimidation of the public. But Ulfa is outraged, a reflection of its own duplicity, whenever anyone raises a voice against the organisation's own lawless ways, the killings of innocents and the most vulnerable, attacks on public property (which harm ordinary people, because it is the system upon which they depend) and refusal to acknowledge that they can only legitimise their demands if the people of Assam support them. They have never sought a mandate from the public in the way possible in a democratic (though flawed system): of an election. They have boycotted, intimidated, attacked and otherwise tried to disrupt democratic exercises and mobilisation. This shows their mind-set although they conveniently blame, in a language which is as archaic as the Soviet Union, that it is the Indian colonial state which forces them to do so........Ulfa outbursts meet media counter-blast

24. China and India have agreed to reopen border trade at the historic Nathu-la Pass after more than 40 years, a symbol of rapprochement between Asian giants who fought a Himalayan war in 1962.The pass, at an altitude of around 4,300 meters, or 14,100 feet, will open on July 6, the official Chinese press agency, Xinhua, reported Monday, and handle trade between the tiny northeast Indian state of Sikkim and southern Tibet."The reopening of border trade will help end economic isolation in this area and play a key role in boosting market economy there," Hao Peng, vice chairman of Tibet, said in comments carried by Xinhua. The agreement to reopen the ancient Silk Road route was the latest sign of warming relations between the world's most populous countries. China now recognizes Sikkim, a former Buddhist kingdom, as part of Indian territory, and although much of the 3,500-kilometer, or 2,175-mile, border between China and India remains disputed, the two countries agreed last year to settle the issue politically. ......China deal with India on Silk Road

25. The outfit has over 35 separate modules spread across the country, sources said. Jaki-ur-Rehman Laqvi is the commander-in-chief of Lashkar but the operations in India are under the control of Abu-Alkama. Lashkar has its operational bases in Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. A military source here stated that nearly 100 terrorists in seven separate batches have crossed over to Jammu and Kashmir in May and are based in north and south Kashmir districts of Kupwara and Anantnag. And the fact was substantiated when on June 6, an infiltration bid was thwarted, eight out of 12 terrorists were killed along LoC in Machail sector of Kupwara.................India: Terrorists out to create mayhem

26. Hiteswar's Ahom ethnicity had helped him in establishing equation with Ahom Muttock (Thai-Ahom origin) leaders like Arabindo Rajkhowa, Golap Barua, Prodip Gogoi and Paresh Baruah. "Some chilling details of Hiteswar's linkages with the breakaway AASU leaders, who cobbled up with ULFA, were narrated to me by Samiran way back in 1981 during one of his clandestine visits to Delhi. At that point of time, I had treated his story as another application of dirty tricks by the inner coterie of Indira Gandhi," Dhar wrote. "That was the salient point of time when Indira Congress leaders like Hiteswar Saikia and Lalit Doley extended tacit support to the ULFA faction of the AASU and AAGSP. They blindly tried to use the Ahom nationalist card against the Muslims. Hiteswar did not do anything new. The Congress Party has the distinguished history of supporting divisive forces in the North East to its political advantage," he said........Muslim state in Assam:ISI and DGFI plan says former IB Director

27. Well, India can wait it out — and hope that a growing economy will create conditions that will make terrorism unattractive. However, even if this approach were to succeed, it will not be before many more people die. But there is another way to ensure Baruah and Rajkhowa are in India during ceasefire and negotiations. And that is for the Indian government to ask them to come. The next time the Indian government considers further negotiations, it must make them contingent on the ULFA leadership's return to India, even if this means offering a moratorium on all criminal cases pending against them. Such a measure may upset the state's political equations, but may well be what is needed to close a long and terrible chapter in its history. And who said peace can be had without eadership? A truth and reconciliation process is desirable, and may even be inevitable. The duration of the moratorium can be linked to the renunciation of violence.......Assam: ULFA’s long tail

28. China and India have signed an agreement to re-open an ancient trade route which was closed 44 years ago . Border trade will now resume from 6 July through the Himalayan pass of Nathu La, 4,000 metres (14,000 feet) above sea level. The Nathu La pass provided a crucial link in the ancient Silk Road through which Indo-Tibetan trade was conducted for centuries.....India-China trade link to reopen

PAKISTAN

29. One reason for the confused state of Pakistan could be the fact that everyone practically hates everyone else. There may be a "consensus" of hatred about one person or entity but the haters may be filled with mutual fear and loathing too. Such a consensus would therefore be not very useful for national direction. This "tower of babel"-like situation could quickly put off a foreign sympathiser whose attention span is limited to the proportion of Pakistan's importance as a state. Only people scared of Pakistan could be interested in its complex internal dissension. One should be looking, not for 'lovers', whose affection is innocent and therefore fragile; but 'haters' of Pakistan, whose fears are sure to be deep-rooted enough to focus on our plight over the longer term.......Pakistan: Peace and Tolerance in Practice!?

NEPAL

30. Prachanda speaks passionately about the need to dismantle feudal structures to create a proletarian society but he has remained smugly quiet about his own elevation as a demi-god by his supporters. The rich and ruling elite in Kathmandu, who the Maoists view as feudal and want to destroy, has been left untouched throughout the war, whereas poor and ordinary villagers have suffered. The war has caused ordinary Nepalis enormous suffering. After seeing Prachanda's pictures, a teacher at a village school recently told me: "Prachanda looks very well-fed. In fact, his healthy diet is bought from the money extorted from poor people like myself. "Or else, where does he get the money from?" For Prachanda India was an expansionist foe. Out of the first nine points in his 40-point demands submitted to the government in 1996, seven were directed against India. However, it has been an established fact that during much of the insurgency both Prachanda and his deputy, Baburam Bhattarai, have spent time in India. There have been credible reports, some carried by the BBC, that Indian authorities have covertly co-operated with the Maoists at times. That explains why after the insurgency started they have rarely been critical of India...... Prachanda - hero or villain?

31. A more long-term controversy concerns the future of the monarchy. Prime Minister GP Koirala pointedly said this week that he hoped a ceremonial monarchy would remain. The future of the monarchy is still unclear The Maoists fiercely reject this notion; even some of Mr Koirala's own party colleagues denounced his remark. Weapons also present a thorny problem. Many Nepalis would like to see complete disarmament before the constituent assembly elections. The Maoists and the government seem to have settled for the rebel and army weapons to be under international supervision. Each side is already accusing the other of violating a recently signed code of conduct by continuing to wield weapons in public. And violence continues, although on a much reduced scale. The Maoists in particular are being accused of it. Earlier this week, a schoolboy they admitted abducting near Kathmandu was found dead. A respected human rights group recently concluded the rebels had also killed two brothers, kidnapped earlier. Army soldiers, meanwhile, were alleged to have beaten up ordinary people and Maoist party workers in remote western Nepal......Nepal - the challenges ahead

END

Highlights 17th June 2006

2006-06-17T23:50:00.000+06:00

GLOBAL

India's current sparse goodwill towards the U.S. is not set in stone and may not last longer than the current Indian government does. Even some U.S. conservatives are worried for the future. Nor are most Indians likely to view their neighbour Pakistan as anything except a problem, now and in the future. The situation is hardly better in Pakistan, where only 27% approve of the U.S. and 10% of Bush - yet half think Iran becoming a nuclear power would be a good thing. The "balancer" in favor of an alliance with America in Pakistan is the historic authority of the military, something General Musharaff is certainly unwilling to change but that democratic reform movements certainly plan to.......America's Next Big Foreign Policy Disaster

The situation in the former princely state is far from stable. In 2004, violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) diminished somewhat but it is again on the rise, amid concerns that it could reach earlier levels with Pakistani support, particularly since the two countries' priorities remain at odds. Pakistan's military government has urged India to reach a solution on Kashmir; Indian decision-makers instead stress the prior need to create an environment conducive for a stable peace, which would help, in the longer term, to resolve the issue. Should the Pakistani generals, impatient with the pace and directions of the talks, attempt to pressure India through accelerated support for cross-border militancy, the fragile normalisation process could easily collapse. Within Jammu and Kashmir, the relative decline in violence has helped stabilise the economy, and tourism is again flourishing in the valley. With the assistance of international agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, the Indian government is undertaking development projects in the cities. While the human rights situation has improved in urban centres, including J&K's district capitals, it has yet to change in the countryside, fuelling Kashmiri resentment, particularly in the valley. Human rights violations are inevitable so long as there is a heavy presence of security forces. Although India attributes this presence to militant violence, it should reassess and reduce it to prevent the militants from exploiting Kashmiri alienation.....India, Pakistan and Kashmir: Stabilising a Cold Peace

South Asian Intelligence snapshots this week
Happy Father's Day!

The modern name of the province, Assam, is actually of quite recent origin. It is connected with the Shan invaders who entered the Brahmaputra valley in the beginning of the 13th century A.D., and who were known as Ahoms. The tradition of the Ahoms, themselves, is that the present name is derived from Asama in the sense of `unequalled' or `peerless'. They say that this was the term applied to them at the time of the invasion of their valley by the local tribes, in token of their admiration of the way in which the Ahom king first conquered and then conciliated them. Other origins suggested include the restructuring of the original Tai word, Cham, meaning `to be defeated', with the addition of the Assamese prefix, `a', to mean undefeated, the conquerors. Thus, the word used to describe the conquerors of the land later came to be applied to the very land they conquered. Barua also suggests a possible Bodo derivation. Mr. Ives, born in Britain in 1931, came to Canada to study glaciation. But his travels, which have taken him from from the Himalayas to the Andes, the Rockies and the Arctic, soon became absorbed in the the human impact on mountains. He has come to defend mountain inhabitants, often poor, subsistence farmers and gatherers who have found themselves at the wrong end of tangled political wrangles.In 1979, for example, the World Bank predicted that because of deforestation, there would be no accessible forests left in Nepal by 2000.That prediction has turned out to be wrong. But in recent decades, powerful organizations have tended to exaggerate the impact of human populations -- particularly poor, subsistence populations, said Mr. Ives. Once such claim was that deforestation in the mountains of India and Nepal would spark catastrophic floods in Bangladesh….Deforestation in the mountains of India and Nepal would spark catastrophic floods in Bangladesh.

I however consider the Quran to be a far more modern tome which exposes the reality that the original message, if any, of Jesus was altered. Muhammad was right in his claim Jesus did not claim to be the Son, but it was later invented. Now that the Christian scholarship, at least many among them, is admitting of it openly, Muslims can exploit this to reclaim some honor for their faith. But this fine line requires a level of intelligence that I think many of them lack, busy in their recurring endeavors to stick their backs up in the air to perform prayer five times a day .In the real world the powerful mind is a big arsenal. Most Muslims lack the social setting in which to grow one, away from the ugly hypocrisy and collectivist pressures that are all too common among them. It is indeed a pity, because I see that the opportunity exists for Muslim scholars to step up to the plate. But learning to fight intellectually would presuppose Muslims have developed enough to do so in far larger scale than they have. For most, supporting suicide bombers directly or indirectly seems a far easier route aka delusion of global domination. But one has to be quite stupid regardless of his mastery at spouting Quranic verses, to not see the bigger picture. Opportunity beckons!... The good ol' History Channel by SMI in Minnesota, US

BANGLADESH

To document the religious heritage of Bangladesh, the Bangla Academy in Dhaka has published several books: on Hindu temples [Ratanlal Chaakraborty, Bangladesher Mandir, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, B.S. 1394,] Buddhist stupas and temples, and Muslim mosques and mazars.
In Bangladesh [Bengal] Hindu traditions of local, vedic, non-vedic, tribal, Mongolian along with Buddhist and Islamic, have all merged to give her a distinctive identity. Here the traditions of the Saivaites Saktas and Vaishnavs, (the predominant Hindu groups in Bengal) have merged producing many festivities from worshipping of tulshi plants and baniyan trees to snake goddess Manasa to Gods Kali, Shiv and Sri Krishna. For the convenience of travel and for hotel accommodation, Bangladesh could be divided into six tirtha (pilgrimage) regions. For example, the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Mymansingh region of Central Bangla [Madhya Bangla, the Khulna-Jessore-Kushtia [West central Bengal], Paschim Madhya Bangla, Barisal-Faridpur's Coastal Bengal [Jal Bangla], the Chittagong-Comilla's Southeast Bengal [Dakhin-Purba Bangla], Sylhet and North Bengal [Uttar Bangla].Bangladesh - The Holy Land of Hindu and Buddhist Pilgrimages

There's an acute lack of philosophy in this land.
Basics haunt us, secure us, insecure us, and rule our cramped identities.
Our fears have gotten bigger than us.
Breakfast at 8, lunch at 2, a cuppa at 5, dinner at 9:
It's as if food's running out on us.
We never skip meals and simply eat because we have
to keep the routine alive.
The routine of routinely complaining about weights
and looks
The routine of routinely blaming Atkins and our
thyroids,
The routine of 'Dhuro' has done us all a great disfavor.
A dog or a cat in a car, a quick trip to the nearest video
store,
A bite at a Korean restaurant nearby,
Kids leaving for school after High School,
All fall under: Routine...Wake up, Mrs Bangladesh

Dhaka urges Delhi to increase dry season flow of Ganges water
Re: Dhaka urges Delhi to increase dry season flow of Ganges water
Why unabated deforestation?
Corruption and Politics
BDR, BSF trade gunfire
All border posts on alert:Tension mounts as BDR, BSF exchange fire i
UNDP team to study pre-poll environment

The organisation giving the Mother Teresa award to Bangladesh's Leader of the Opposition itself has no legal basis. Chairman of Mother Teresa International Millennium Committee, Anthony Aroon Biswas, himself admits this. It is not a registered organisation. Once the committee had collected huge amount of money to install a statue of Mother Teresa, but at that time also they did not consulted the Sisters of Mother Teresa. Ultimately the venture died half way. Then the committee started nominating top personalities of India and other countries. From Bill Clinton to BJP leader Arjun Munda, many were in their list. There are no records of the many people who the committee nominated for wards every year, some being awarded several times over. Interestingly the committee even did not consult the government, not even the Ministry of External Affairs, before awarding the prize to any foreign dignitaries. But it is mandatory to inform the government with details of the organisation who are giving the awards and is required to seek permission from the state government. It is essential, since the state government has to make necessary arrangements for the person's security. In the case of nominating former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the state and the central governments were kept in dark. The spokesperson of the Minister of External Affairs clearly said that it had not been consulted by anybody about conferring the award to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. They had no idea as to which organisation has invited her. But the West Bengal government only came to know from a letter from the Ministry of External Affairs about Hasina's proposed visit on June 23 and 24 for receiving the award and that has left the West Bengal government in a tizzy.........Missionaries of Charity disclaim Mother Teresa award:Sheikh Hasina is receiving an award again, though no one is quite sure what it is all about.

This is an amazing story -- and I am not sure if this 'award' that Hashu apa is scheduled to receive is any way 'more important' than the 13 Phd's she has managed to harvest! Re: Missionaries of Charity disclaim Mother Teresa award:Sheikh Hasina is receiving an award again,

INDIA

Nearly a million people have been displaced by flood waters in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. Officials say that incessant rains over the past week have caused two major rivers to flood and several landslides. Ten districts have been affected by the flooding. Rising water levels and breaches in the rivers have cut thousands of people off. Many fled their homes and transport was halted in some areas of the state as water cut off highways and railways.....Half a million displaced in Assam

The writer and the gunman have never met. But their relationship, forged over bad phone lines and under the watch of Indian intelligence agents, has become the cornerstone of renewed efforts to bring peace to an area that has known little but violence for three decades. Amid a recent surge in militant attacks in Assam that have killed at least eight people and left more than 80 injured, the government is holding its third round of talks June 22 with the "consultative group" which Goswami heads, and which meets with officials on behalf of the militants. So the pressure is on to avoid a stalemate."This is a rare chance for us after so many years," said Goswami, 63, a widow with an avalanche of pitch black hair and a teenager's nervous giggle who for nearly two years has been the main conduit between the government and the ULFA militants, thrusting her into the largest of a cluster of bloody but largely forgotten conflicts that have killed more than 10,000 people in the last 10 years. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed.".....Assam: Indira Goswami terrorist liaison?

Assam's continued official isolation from non-Indian territories is a serious security concern for the Indian government, now mostly due to the insurgent problems within the country's borders. In this respect, India's internal order problems are intimately linked with the virtual impossibility of closing off Assam to the traditional channels of human movement – routes that are much older than any state in the region. This problem, of course, seems common-place in today's age of globalisation. While world regions could benefit economically from simpler crossborder connections, communities on opposite sides of international borders would clearly benefit from common attempts to solve trans-border problems. Nonetheless, national political and cultural systems remain committed to strong border defences in the fear of disturbing the coherence of their national traditions. Indeed, the conflict between these two pressing modern needs – territorial openness and closure – seems increasingly difficult to reconcile. ......Where is Assam?

... this is certainly mind boggling ...and ideally we look at maps for reasons more than just a curios look at the weather... and frankly there are hardly any dissimilarity in the weather here in Bangladesh than it is in "India's North East" -- and Assam from where my parents (they were first cousins) and later my deceased wife (she too was my FIRST COUSIN!) came, varies only in one thing -- the winter spell which is longer and more enjoyable if you are living along the borders with Meghalaya, Nagaland or Bhutan. My village is at the foothills of Nagaland -- and winters there are maybe 5 months of the year?Misuse of maps for political domination or ambitions is as old as Man itself, however the concept of GeOcODE for Risk database management is the new in-thing.....Re: Where is Assam?

FLASH: BSF sounds alert on border following crackdown by Bangladesh
Assam: ULFA explodes confusions?

Seen in this context, the recent decision of the Government of Assam to `change the name of the state from Assam to Asom', as rather inaccurately perceived even within the State, does not amount to any substantive and material restoration of an old name. Rather, what is being proposed (the required legislative process is yet to begin) is a minor rectification of distortions that have crept in the way the name is transcribed in English, to bring the usage closer to the way it is spelt and written by native writers and speakers of the language. The proposed change corresponds to the change from the old Gauhati to Guwahati. Rather like Bengluru in Kannada being more recognisably known in its English transliteration, orthography and pronunciation as Bangalore, the land known familiarly as Assam (the name is now an `international brand' and so should not be tampered with, according to those who believe above all in the orthodoxy of the `brand') is actually identified and known as Asam - or Asom - by those who claim its history, its material and cultural space, as their own. Other versions of the new transcription, like Oxom, claim to be in closer correspondence with the way the word is pronounced and written in Assamese, some of which may appear obscure to those unfamiliar with the complex nuances of the language as she is spoken - and written..... Assam:In the name of changing names

PM’s Bharat yatra: beneath and beyond the rhetoric
Violence and violation :Atrocities inflicted by militants on two tri
Deforestation in the mountains of India and Nepal would spark catast

In an unprecedented action which has created ripples in the corridors of the external intelligence agency, a team of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) led by an assistant director searched the office and sealed computers of Brigadier U Dasgupta, designated Director (Computers) in the R&AW. The action was confirmed by top Government sources who told The Indian Express,''After the Rabinder Singh espionage scandal, we have started a system of surveillance of sensitive posts in the R&AW and this action is an outcome of that. The officer in question was dealing with computerisation and also in touch with American companies as part of his official duties. Certain things were brought to the Government's attention which are now part of a high-level investigation.''…..Again RAW officer under cloud, IB searches his office, seals computers

PAKISTAN

Musharraf's seizure of power was soon followed by a seven-point agenda (or was it five points, or nine?. Who remembers? and more to the point, who cares?). In any case, the programme was soon dumped in the black hole where all political promises are lost for eternity, and its elements no longer resonate in the public consciousness. In proposing it, Musharraf was making the familiar mistake of all military rulers before him (and probably after him): confusing the might of the military with the ability to make things happen outside the barracks.This error of judgment also reveals a potent truth that Pakistan's political class need to understand and register. Political power is a far more elusive thing than the announcement of military orders. To exercise it effectively, a leader must be able to coax and cajole as well as command. The military mind, however, only understands the latter. This is revealed in the natural cycle of dictatorship: in its early days, a policy of "shock and awe" can work, as the opposition is cowed; but when after a while the uniformed rulers are revealed to be just like their civilian counterparts (and less effective to boot), the novelty wears off and the dictator is seen as yet another power-hungry politician…..Democracy: The state of Pakistan

Highlights 15th June 2006

2006-06-15T20:28:00.000+06:00

From the European Space Agency comes this (CLICK HERE) satellite image of Dhaka, Bangladesh at the confluence of the Ganges and Bhramaputra Rivers. Prismatic, incandescent, and curiously, palpably supple. Tissue-like. Soon after discovering the image (and also this image), the BBC reported on the factory riots in Dhaka earlier this month, one of the many civil, political and religious unrest in the country this year and last. So if anything, this synchronicity highlights the often jarring contrast between the somber, lived experience on the ground and the hypnotic beauty of satellite imagery: the paradox of Icarus.
GLOBAL

FLASH: Serial Bomb attack in Thailand
Petition to Support Ayaan Hirsi Ali
How Good Is American Intelligence on Iran’s Bomb?
Global Jihad: Bin Laden's jihadi spring
Global Jihad: Dissecting the Zargawi Spectacle
Global Jihad: Al Qaeda - The Next Phase of Evolution?
Global Jihad:Why Amman helped track down Zarqawi
Global Jihad:Jordan aided in Zarqawi operation
BANGLADESH

Babar & his magic stick
Latest Satellite Image of Dhaka - Haunting!
Bangladesh-born U.S. Marines Build Shrine to Islam --- Saudi Style!
World Bank official apologizes to PM
Is third force inventible in Bangladesh?
On Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)
BSF kills 10 in ten days on southwestern border
10 Indian insurgents killed in Rangamati
Bangladesh global leader in girls' education: WB
Maqsood's new talk show Bishwocup Protidin
Bangladesh's cycle of strikes
Gunfight with BDR in Satkhira: BSF man among 3 Indians killed
BSF atrocities
Fake stories of illegal intrusion of the Bangladeshis in Assam
Bangladesh strike turns violent
Asian Highway network gathers speed
India, Bangladesh fight against the current
293 Bangladeshis killed by BSF since Oct 2001
Please say ‘No’ to TATA
Bangladesh-Myanmar sea boundary
Air polluters get drastic duty cut
Case against Apollo ordered
CHT Manual Act challenged
Oil/gas exploration inside Bangladesh territorial waters
Untold story of powerful ministers in Bangladesh
Ameen
'Scores injured' in Dhaka unrest
Why call them indigenous?
Recent vandalism in garment industry-how to avert recurrence?
Quenching Bangladesh's thirst for tea
Those shameless corrupts in Bangladesh
Blogosphere on arrest of Bangladeshi terrorists in Canada

INDIA
This "wall of instability" has prevented India from gaining access to vital resources and markets, deterred regional economic integration and security cooperation, and may even undermine investor confidence. India's poor relations with Bangladesh and instabilities in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and in India's northeast have limited direct land access to the markets of China and Southeast Asia. Progress on plans for Myanmar to supply India with natural gas from its Shwe field off the coast of Arakan state has been held up by tensions between India and Bangladesh and Myanmar's close relationship with China…. (Asia Times, 6-1-06)

Indians are economically backward and politically weak compared to Malays who comprise 50 percent of the population and dominate decision making at every level. Ethnic Chinese, who make up another 24 percent, enjoy economic clout and dominate business activity….It is now a common sight to see bulldozers reducing large temples to rubble and workers to smashing deities before the eyes of helpless worshippers…. (Inter Press Service, 6-1-06)

ULFA founder Paresh Baruah is in Dhaka: Indian Intell
AIDS, HIV and misery co-exist in India's troubled North-east
India test-fires nuclear-capable missile
Militants blow up railway tracks in Assam
INDIA: Islamists Want Author Taslima Nasreem Deported
Child labour - India's 'cheap commodity'
US State DeptTrafficking in Persons Report-India
Indian paramilitary soldier shoots two of his seniors
Assam rocked by deadly explosions
Fruits of unrest in Assam
Ulfa steps up attacks in Assam

NEPAL

The Untold Pains of Nepal

Highlights 3rd June 2006

2006-06-03T14:13:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

GLOBAL

1. Unlike Europe, China refuses to be intimidated by Washington, a primary reason for the growing fear of China on the part of US planners. Much of Iran's oil already goes to China, and China is providing Iran with weapons, presumably considered a deterrent to US threats. Still more uncomfortable for Washington is the fact that, according to the Financial Times, "the Sino-Saudi relationship has developed dramatically", including Chinese military aid to Saudi Arabia and gas exploration rights for China. By 2005, Saudi Arabia provided about 17 per cent of China's oil imports. Chinese and Saudi oil companies have signed deals for drilling and construction of a huge refinery (with Exxon Mobil as a partner). A January 2006 visit by Saudi king Abdullah to Beijing was expected to lead to a Sino-Saudi memorandum of understanding calling for "increased cooperation and investment between the two countries in oil, natural gas, and minerals"....More by Noam Chomsky

2. Although terrorism is the manipulation of fear and using it on others, terrorism is more political, Answers.com says that terrorism is, “The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons” that means that bullying and threats aren’t exactly terrorism but they use the same idea. The word “Terrorism” got its name from the French “Reign of Terror” when thousands were executed during the French Revolution.....More

3. VOICES: I don’t understand this world. Have we run out of characters in the millions of years of existance that we’re left only with religious figures of whom to reduce their entire life’s work into a Romantic Comedy? Will it be Tom Hanks playing Jesus and Meg Ryan as Mary? For heaven’s sake go make a situation comedy staring Ghenghis Khan, Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini, where they sit at a coffee shop all day and talk about nothing. It writes itself! And for that matter, I’m really sick of living in a world where people profit off of Jesus bobble-head dolls made by 8 year-olds in some sweat shop in Bangladesh. The very idea must conflict with at least one of the commandments.....More

4. UK's Clothing Imports in First Quarter 2006 (Statistical Report): 29 May 2006- The UK last year imported over 15 billion euros worth of woven and knitted clothing and that figure could get higher this year after shipments increased in the first quarter of 2006. China remains leading supplier while Bangladesh's low prices attracted UK buyers. India was strong in value while Spain has replaced Portugal as top supplier of knitted clothing....Emerging Textiles

China’s Military Modernisation - Shift in India’s perception
China’s Middle-Class
Dream Shattered: Millions of Graduates Face

BANGLADESH

5. Prime Minister's son Tareq Rahman's friends are also increasingly becoming desperate in cashing millions of dollars through corruption. Hawa Bhaban is already an infamous name in Bangladesh, which although claims to be the political office of BNP's Chairperson, it openly interferes in every business deals.

Gias Uddin Al-Mamun, is one of the hated names in Bangladesh, who, just because of being Tareq Rahman's friend, became one of the richest men in the country from extreme poverty status. In recent years, it is alleged that Mamun has also established links with Indian intelligence agency and he now plays an important role in politically guiding Tareq in taking extremely pro-Indian stand. It was already reported in Bangladesh press that, Mamun maintains close relations with several Indian beauties, who are used by this man for gaining several favors for New Delhi from influential figures in Bangladesh. Tareq according to reports is
also a very potential prey for Mamun, which this young politician either fails to realize or simply ignores, because of some unknown fact.

Mamun was the main figure in smuggling a few million dollars to Malaysia accrued illegally as alleged, from number of projects, which brought extremely bad reputation for Begum Khaleda Zia and her government.....More

6. Check the cool geezers above. This is what the crazy kids are wearing these days. Adbur Rahman is clearly fond of his red and white checked gamcha/tea towel. I swear I saw him wear the same tea towel thing on the day he was on TV all day long not so long ago? Can he be forgiven for wearing the same outfit twice in public? Does it bring him luck? The court didn’t think so obviously…. And check the slightly tilted helmet. Now that is style. He was surrounded by the cool black bandana wearing posse last time too…must be some sort of private security firm he has ( or had?) or maybe a breakdance outfit? Banga bhai - I am disappointed with. The helmet is so straight on. So last year…..More

7. In the rejoinder, the authorities of TIU-USA even admitted that they were not aware of anything until the news story broke in “Asian Tribune.” This very clearly shows that, TIU-USA is taking some very quick steps to ultimately save their skins from legal actions. It may be also mentioned here that, Dr. Gazi procliams to be a close friend of Bangladeshi Prime Minister's son. A Bangladeshi intelligence service is already investigating into the case of TIu-Dhaka campus, involvement of minister's wife and Dr. Gazi Alam. On condition of anonymity, a highly placed source in Bangladesh government said that they will lodge criminal cases against the promoters of Dhaka Campus of TIU as well will notify Interpol and other US intelligence agencies about the dubious activities of Dr. Gazi Mahabubul Alam and TIU-USA....More

8. Many conspiracy theories emerged after the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) bombings that rocked Bangladesh last year. Some JMB members turned out to be former Jamaat-e-Islami members. But it was obvious that being in the government Jamaat had no reason to play with fire. One of the theories was that this whole JMB plot was a brainchild of BNP to tarnish the image of their ruling coalition partner Jamaat so that they can get the leverage in the coming election.Now that JMB kingpins are behind the bar and facing death penalty and the BNP has got the praise, a TIME cover article; where is Jamaat in the picture now?...More

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

Bangladesh-US joint exercise continues
Bangladesh people to reject extra-constitutional rule: US
Bangladesh to Go Islamist?
From Sonar Bangla to Bangladesh
Election 2007 in Bangladesh: Doubts and speculations
Bengali anomalies
Khaleda finally acts against Islamist terror
Bangladsehis killed by Indian BSF since 2000
Industrial Riots Reveal Bangladesh's Crisis of Governance
The Sundarbans

INDIA

8. Despite claims of strategic partnership with Beijing and growing economic relations across the Great Wall, the government has put on hold Chinese giant ZTE Telecom’s plan to enter wholesale trading in telecom equipment, following objections from intelligence agencies. This comes on the back of several other big Chinese investments being objected to by intelligence agencies. The home ministry is now conducting a detailed probe into the Chinese company’s activities and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has been told that ZTE can’t be granted permission for wholesale trading before the investigation report is considered. Already in the Indian market with a subsidiary, the Chinese company had sought permission to enhance its equity capital and enter after-sales service and wholesale trading of telecom equipment.....More

9. The Intelligence report in effect admits as much.

‘‘The multiple terrorist attacks in the US and the subsequent war on terror have
focussed world attention on the role of madarsas in fostering and sustaining terrorism. The large scale use of the madarsa network in Pakistan for motivating, recruiting, and launching trained terrorists, creation of Taliban, etc. have brought madarsas under international spotlight in an extremely adverse light and clearly established their complicity in fomenting terrorist activities in the region.’’
‘In the Indian context,’’ says the report, ‘‘where the role of Madarsas is already the subject of intense scrutiny, the recent attack on the American Information Centre, Kolkata, on January 22, 2002, and the subsequent developments have heightened the controversy.’’ It is now an undisputed fact that many, may be most, madarsas foster, sustain, motivate, recruit and launch terrorists. Islam is a global faith. It places faith above nations. There is nothing like a national Islam, different from the global. Madarsa is about Islam. It stands for Islam. It cannot teach one Islam in India and another in Pakistan. So the role of the madarsas elsewhere and in India cannot be different. There is the common thread of Islam running through the madarsas cutting across national limitations.....More

10. In India, the poor are the terrorists, and even states like Andhra Pradesh, we have thousands of people being held as political prisoners, called Maoists, held as political prisoners in unknown places without charges or with false charges. We have the highest number of custodial deaths in the world. And we have Thomas Friedman going on and on about how this is an idealistic –– ideal society, a tolerant society. Hundreds –– I mean, tens of thousands of people killed in Kashmir. All over the northeast, you have the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, where a junior non-commissioned officer can shoot at sight. And that is the democracy in which we live....Arundhati Roy

11. The Ulfa-constituted People’s Consultative Group has convened a meeting tomorrow to discuss the “impact” of the recent arrests in North Bengal on the peace process, implying that the next round of talks with Delhi will be anything but a smooth exercise. Doubts over the peace process cropped up a day after chief minister Tarun Gogoi declared that his government would be “proactive” in the campaign to end 25 years of insurgency in Assam. The PCG is expected to brief writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami, the chief facilitator of the peace process, about its stand after a review of the situation. Lachit Bordoloi, one of those handpicked by Ulfa to hold preliminary discussions with Delhi, said the peace process would surely go off-track if militant leaders were arrested during this crucial period. As many as six Ulfa leaders, including the outfit’s 28 Battalion “commandant” Mrinal Hazarika, were arrested in Siliguri recently. An unconfirmed report said the outfit’s finance secretary, Chitraban Hazarika, was also in Bengal police’s custody. “Such arrests are detrimental to the process of building a congenial atmosphere for peace,” Bordoloi said....More

12. Based on specific information, Darjeeling police last night arrested three hardcore KLO militants and one of their aides from different areas of the Siliguri subdivision.Two grenades, two active cellphones with Bangladesh numbers, a few SIM cards of local mobile service providers, some documents and two bicycles were seized from them, the police chief said.“During interrogation, we came to know that the KLO militants used the Kajigach border to infiltrate into north Bengal,” he said. Naresh and Saral had crossed the border on May 25, while Dilip came here a month ago. “They had a plan to attack a target in the region,” Meena said. He said Dilip and Saral were new cadres who had undergone arms training at Chittagong in Bangladesh. Naresh, on the other hand, is an old hand who had been trained in Bhutan long ago. He had been arrested five years ago, but was let out on bail only to join the rebel outfit again.In Bangladesh, the rebels had taken shelter in the hideout of the All Tripura Tiger Force, a banned organisation. “There the ATTF charged Rs 1,000 per KLO militants as monthly rent,” Meena said.....More

13. India plans to build eight trade centres along its border with Bangladesh in northeastern Tripura state to boost commerce with its neighbour, officials Tuesday said. "We are now awaiting clearance from Bangladesh to set up the border trading centres. New Delhi has approved the Tripura government's proposal for the eight new centres," Pratap Datta, spokesperson for the Tripura Industry and Commerce Department, said. The proposed trade centres or inland ports are likely to be set up at Raghna and Hirachara in north Tripura district, Kamalpur in Dhalai district, Bamutia, Kamala, Sagar and Boxanagar in west Tripura district as well as Srinagar and Akinpur in the south district....More

14. After the former External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, resigned following accusations in the Volcker case, the country has had "no independent Foreign Minister," BJP president Rajnath Singh said on Monday. He criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has since held the External Affairs portfolio. Addressing the party's national executive committee meeting, Mr. Singh held the Government responsible for the current political situation in Nepal, as it had failed "to take any meaningful and constructive initiative" in time. Indirectly, Mr. Singh made it clear that the BJP was unhappy that Maoists could have a major say in any future set-up in Nepal. There was a "dangerous collusion between the Nepal Maoists, terrorists in Bangladesh and Pakistan's ISI." The Left parties in India had something to do with this. The Congress was repeating in Nepal the "historical blunder" it had committed in Tibet. Mr. Singh accused the Left of "targeting Sri Lanka" and interfering in the Government's policies in that region....More

15. My second question is regarding the theory that all this is a big "conspiracy". The article quotes the Hizbul as saying that "the attack was staged to downplay the successful strikes of militants in the past few days". I presume that the Hizbul feels that this heinous plot could only have been hatched by the Indian Government. In fact I believe that if you use the Right to Information Act and demand the transcripts of the last meeting between our Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Head of RAW you can expose this conspiracy. I'm quite sure that the transcripts will read something like this:

RAW-Head: Intelligence reports suggests that the militants are planning to conduct a number of terrorist attack during the PM's round-table conference.
PM: Hmmmm..This does not sound good guys. We need to do something.
DM: I concur. Terrorist attacks make us look bad.
PM: Yes I have to go through the entire routine again and again. Read the same old condolence message and then say that some vested interests are trying to sabotage the peace process. We need to discredit these militants.
RAW-Head: I got the perfect idea!!!! Since there are many terrorist attacks plans why don't we go along with the general theme. Lets shaft these guys by carrying out our own terrorist attacks. That will totally fox them. In fact lets lob a few grenades into a bus carrying tourists.

That'll make us look really good and will totally downplay the 10 other successful strikes.
In conclusion I have just one thing to say. Hizbul you're a bunch of IDIOTS!!!!...Only In India

16. After Mr. Bush's visit, Al Qaeda and the IIF have started alleging that the Hindus have joined the global Crusader-Jewish conspiracy against Islam. This is a message to their followers and sympathisers in India to step up their activities in Indian territory. The focus of the stepped-up jihadi efforts has been increasingly on targets of religious and economic importance. The two recent jihadi attacks on domestic tourists in J&K are a warning signal. If the terrorists had succeeded in their attempts at Aurangabad, its impact on Hindu-Muslim relations and tourist flow could have been serious. In the past, the command and control of pan-Islamic terrorism directed against India was in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and its foot-soldiers also came from those countries. Now, while the command and control continues to be in Pakistan and Bangladesh, there has been an increasing reliance on recruits from the Indian Muslim diaspora abroad--particularly in the Gulf--the Indian Muslim community in India itself and the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.....More

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

VHP’s Durga Vahini trains women to use arms
India held back by wall of instability
One woman raped every half-hour in India
The other India
India, Bangladesh to discuss fate of water projects

PAKISTAN

17. Pakistan’s real gripe is with the Americans. In recent months, an angry Musharraf has quietly but deliberately defied them. Relations between the two countries have not been so poor since 9/11. In March, Bush spent just a few hours in Islamabad after spending several days in India, where he gave recognition to India’s nuclear weapons programme, but refused to do the same for Pakistan. So in recent weeks Islamabad has said the investigation into top nuclear scientist AQ Khan, the world’s worst proliferator of nuclear technology, is at an end ~ just when Washington again urges Pakistan to allow US investigators direct access to Khan, who is under house arrest in Islamabad and could prove that Iran is intent on making nuclear weapons. More than a decade ago Khan provided key nuclear equipment to Iran. However, Islamabad is in no mood to do Washington any favours or annoy Tehran. “Yes we are under a lot of pressure on the issue of Dr AQ Khan, but we will not surrender,” foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri told the upper house of Parliament on 19 May. “We are an ally of the USA in the global war on terror, but we will not take dictation from anybody on our national interests.” Pakistan also pushes ahead to build a gas pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to India, at a cost of US $7.2 billion, despite repeated US warnings not to do so.....More

18. The defence budget in Pakistan has never been discussed. Its mention in the budget itself is a one-liner, a convention that was set during the Z.A. Bhutto era when the country was recovering from the shock of a military defeat at the hands of India and the emergence of Bangladesh.But the one-line mention doesn’t go with the concept of transparency being advocated by President Pervez Musharraf. The committee’s top agenda is to discuss how the Pakistan Army formulates the defence budget and who monitors its spending. While the ISI gets its funds under the defence ministry, the allocation for it may not be part of the scrutiny.....More

NEPAL

19. It has been the contention of various experts that the core fighting strength of the PLA is not in excess of 8,000 people. Against this the national army has a fighting strength of about 80,000 people. Before Gyanendra’s rule was derailed, there were plans to expand the fighting strength of the then royal army to about 1,20,000 to help it win the war. A merger of the fighting forces of the two armies will be less than this figure. Moreover, since the two sides were waging war, the operational cost borne by society was much higher. When peace comes, the costs of maintaining an enlarged army will be much lower. Merger of the two armies under a new leadership will also deal with the problem of disarmament and rehabilitation simultaneously. Under a policy of disarmament, rehabilitation of PLA fighting forces will be a problem. A merger will solve the problem since they will follow the normal army regimen and be confined to the barracks and have the normal relationship that military personnel have with the rest of society. Over a period of time the army can be reduced in size and re-skilling of fighting forces can take place within the national army.....More

20. Now that the peace process has started (the code of conduct is already out), people are talking about its successful completion. The possible role of the United Nations is being discussed at full length. The Nepal government and the Maoist party have agreed in principle to invite the UN for monitoring the peace process. Also there is the talk of the role of India in the process. The Indian role, unfortunately, comes along with the role of UN. It is a fact that India wants to oversee the whole peace process under the cover of UN and it seems the Maoists are fine with that. But isn’t it amazing that after agreeing on the second point, India is unwilling to give “green signal” for the third? Isn’t the second point supposed to be more sensitive than the third one?...More in United We Blog! For A Democractic Nepal

MYANMAR

21. An army intelligence officer from Maungdaw check point, which is opened for border trade in Maungdaw, collects 5000 kyat per passenger who travels to Bangladesh. The toll collection from passengers is not used as part of the state revenue nor to help fund the army; the money was collected from the officer to keep for himself. The army officer, Sergeant Aung Myo Lwin, collected 5000 kyats from a passenger at the check point because some officers from other departments, including customs and the police, do not want to collect a large toll from passengers, said a report from local businessmen. Before the intelligence officer was posted at this check point, the authority collected 1000 kyat per passenger if they had goods to transport to Bangladesh. If an individual did not have any goods then he or she would pay 300 or 500 kyat to officers at the check point.....More

It is time for UN intervention in Burma: ARNO

Nepal's Maoists come out of the jungle, into the mainstream

Highlights 30th May 2006

2006-05-30T00:43:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

GLOBAL

1. GUTRUSH, a Globally United Terror Response to United States Hegemony, may be considered a viable option by the French and other EU members for protecting their interests. Once we understand how our former allies could feel pushed far enough into a corner to participate in a GUTRUSH it is that much easier to envision participation by Russia and China. The key to a effective GUTRUSH is that world powers like the EU, Russia and China, who have already voiced their displeasure, discontent, and desire to limit US hegemony, begin proactively enhancing the economic, political and military apparatus of second tier or perimeter nation states outside the Alliance.....As we continue delving into the concept of GUTRUSH and analyzing the thoughts, feelings, actions and statements of the Euro-Asian Alliance it becomes apparent that the concept may already have moved into reality. The most likely brain center for GUTRUSH would be in Russia. China’s foreign policy appears to be one of deception, especially the appearance of amicability for purposes of economic gain. The EU is an ally of the US through NATO and other institutions, thus making it to risky a location to support the GUTRUSH brain center. Russia, on the other hand, has had a head start since it has been going head to head with the US for decades. One captured Russian spy said that the dissolution of the USSR was actually a KGB operation. It would be interesting to know exactly what he meant……More

2. A new report by the U.S. Defense Department says China is continuing to increase its military capabilities in ways that have already altered the regional military balance and is causing concern about China's future intentions. The annual report is required by Congress. The report says China is increasing its force of short range ballistic missiles that could attack Taiwan and other regional targets, and looking to buy or develop more advanced and capable aircraft and ships. The report says China is also increasing its high-technology ability to disrupt other countries' access to communications, computer networks and other services essential to modern defense, and society as a whole....More

3. According to an executive summary of the "2006 Annual Report on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China," the People's Liberation Army is in the process of a long-term transformation from a mass army designed for protracted wars of attrition on its territory to a more modern force capable of fighting short, high-intensity conflicts. In the near term, China's military build up appears focused on preparing for Taiwan Strait contingencies, including the possibility of U.S. intervention, according to the report.....More

4. When you find an intelligence agency discussed by the media, it is invariably for exposing its misdeeds or failures. It is the `goof-up', as the popular expression goes, that receives huge publicity and intense scrutiny, much to the embarrassment of that in power and to the immense glee of those who sit in the Opposition in the legislatures. Seldom is the success of the Intelligence Bureau/Research and Analysis Wing, the MI 5/MI 6 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation/Central Intelligence Agency (the domestic and foreign intelligence agencies respectively of India, the United Kingdom and the United States) celebrated, because no intelligence outfit worth its name can ever go to town with its positive achievements, unless it resorts to inspired leakages. This is why possibly the reputation of many intelligence organisations is unsavoury, something that invites ridicule rather than praise. This is the hazard of the trade of intelligence. No operative can complain about it, because he or she knew of this predicament at the time of entry. The travails of an intelligence outfit get compounded in a country like the U.S., where unlike in India, its operations are openly discussed, either in Congress or the media. There is very little - be it an act of financial impropriety or extramarital dalliance of an intelligence officer - that is left to public imagination.....More

CHUTNEYZ UPDATE

A Chronological History: The New World Order (World Govt ?)
A Satanic Plot for a One World Government
“Come Out of the White House with Your Hands Up!”

BANGLADESH

5. Even after four years, the enigma surrounding the death of top model and actress Tania Mahbub Tinni hasn’t been resolved. An officer of the CID has said that Tinni committed suicide. The police is investigating along those lines. During the investigations, the CID interrogated 35 persons including Tinni’s co-models, friends and acquaintances. According to the police, their statements all indicate that former parliamentarian Golam Faruk Ovi was behind her suicide. Ovi, sensing his being implicated in the matter, went undercover and eventually took off for Canada.....More

6. The Bangladeshi Navy will procure four submarines and two maritime patrol aircrafts (MPAs) to protect Bangladesh's maritime territory and its resources in the Bay of Bengal. The decision was recently made by the Bangladeshi government. To accelerate maritime patrol the government has already arranged training for the submarines and Bangladeshi naval personnel have already been imparted with some necessary training. Additional training will follow. The Bangladeshi government will soon procure a single conventional diesel and electric powered submarine. The submarines are designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and are capable of general reconnaissance, mine laying and patrol missions.There are approximately 44,000 square miles of maritime area belonging to Bangladesh. A naval ship takes three days and three nights to monitor such a huge area. But a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) can do this task in 2 to 3 hours. Therefore, in addition to the submarines, the Bangladeshi Navy will also purchase two American-made Maritime Patrol Aircrafts (MPA) at the cost of US$18.57 million. A Singapore-based company called King Air will supply these aircrafts.....More

7. Ahead of Bangladesh steel mills associations' rally on Monday to protest the Tata Group's revised proposal for the USD 3 billion investment here, a group of experts today claimed the Indian major's plans were "suicidal". The organiser of the roundtable of the National Committee for Protecting Oil-Gas-Mineral Resources and Electricity-Port (NCPOGMREP) accused the under-process investment deal with the Indian giant Tata of "being suicidal for the country." Tata Group presented a revised plan last month and urged the Bangladesh Government to take a decision by May 31. Tata's Group's USD 3 billion proposal includes a USD 2.4 million tonne a year steel plant. The investment proposal, the largest ever in Bangladesh, also includes a one million tonne urea factory and a 1,000 mw gas-fired power plant.....More

8. Wife of State Minister for Education Ehsanul Haque Milon is running a fake university named ‘The International University’ at city's Uttara model town, thus cheating hundreds of students in Bangladesh. The matter came to the attention when a local newspaper published an exclusive report on it. According to the report, the education ministry has found that the authorities of The International University have been running the private institution for over five years with a fake approval of the ministry.The ministry has received a copy of the fake approval letter that the university authorities have shown to the students as well as to different government organizations....More

9. RAB members prepared a profile of 927 out of total 5,000 terrorists listed with them, the sources said. Out of 927, some 400 terrorists are from Dhaka Metropolitan and nearby areas and the rest 527 are from outside Dhaka division. The RAB members are now verifying the draft profiles of the listed terrorists. The RAB members have submitted a list of the 927 terrorists to the Home Ministry on July 11 last year, the sources said, adding drives against them would start after getting green lights from appropriate authorities. The track records of criminals, their bank accounts, sources of income, suspected foreign trips and police relevant records against them are being compiled and analysed at the RAB office, it is understood....More

10.The disregard of legal process was demonstrated recently, on 5th March 2006, when military officers went to the magistrate's courts in Khagrachari, in broad daylight and put arms in the hands of innocent Jummas and took photographs, in full view of the magistrate. In spite of protests by local lawyers and journalists, nothing was done in spite of complaints by Khagrachari Bar Association. These are some of the methods employed by corrupt military officials to justify the arrest and detention of innocent Jummas, and perhaps their ongoing presence in the region. There has also been another serious incident of communal violence in Maischari on 3rd April 2006, where a number of Jumma villages were attacked and two Jumma women were gang raped and a Buddhist monk attacked by Bengali settlers. When the women were taken to be examined by doctors to confirm their injuries, doctors either refused to do so, or were pressured to report the women had not been raped. It should be noted that in order for evidence of rape to be submitted under Bangladeshi Law, a woman must be examined by a Government doctor, who are not impartial and have to think of their careers....More

11. Bangladesh textile exporters received frantic calls on Wednesday from companies like Wal-Mart and Carrefour about supplies after two days of violent strikes by thousands of workers demanding higher pay. Two people died, dozens were injured and more than 300 factories were ransacked and dozens burned after tens of thousands of workers filled textile manufacturing zones north of the capital Monday and Tuesday demanding better pay and working conditions from textile companies enjoying a boom in exports.
“We’ve never seen such a madness in our history. It affected the country’s biggest textile belt and forced temporary closures of at least 1,000 factories,”
Abdus Salam Murshedi, acting head of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association said. Murshedi said the situation improved markedly on Wednesday but most of the factories in the belt still remained shut down, imperiling millions of dollars of export orders. “Every minute we are getting calls from big buyers like Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Carrefour, American Eagle, Aldi, Metro etc. They want to know what actually was going on here,” he added.....More

12. Bangladesh border guards, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) has handed over to India, nine militants belonging to the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT). The nine were arrested by the BDR some two and a half years back when they were trying to sneak across the Indo- Bangla border near Habibganj in Bangladesh.They were in a Bangladesh jail till recently, when BDR handed them back to Tripura police at Khowai in West Tripura.Tripura officials said this was the first instance of Bangladesh extraditing terrorists to India, adding, it was a good gesture that would help in improving the relations between the two countries.....More

13. I wonder why it takes so long for us city-based people to realise that for far too long the poor have continued to remain poor in this country -- and under the circumstances it becomes very easy for just about anybody 'fishing in trouble waters' to catch one big FISH too many, to exploit a situation that goes way beyond basic understanding or sensibility. Thus 'fishy'......things will always remain! I have been screaming myself hoarse for years that our real problem is Civil Unrest NOT Terrorism and sadly there have been no takers. Therefore I am quite curious to know why our media or intellectuals or the Awami League or the Conspiracy theorist have has not yet blamed the JMB so far? Or has everybody agreed with me for once that Civil Unrest today has a huge possibilty of esclating to the inevitable CIVIL WAR? The truth is Terrorism was one big myth, and it simply does not exist and one created by both the BNP and AL, to make sure that the $ 100 million offer from the US to 'fight terrorism' is received. The green is IN and distributed .....end of the story....More by Mac

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

Prior Predictions On Bangladesh Civil Unrest
Bangladesh Employers Told to Stop Destroying Garment Industry
Who are they?
Re-Axe: Who are they?
Deal with Tata suicidal for the nation
Murder of Bangladeshis by BSF goes on unabated: Odhikar
Banned poly-bags elbow out jute alternatives
Garment industry on a dormant volcano of genuine labour grievances
Inter-linking of rivers
Poem: Boogie Through Life!
Mystical Sufi music staging a comeback
Textile workers' rage rocks Bangladesh
For an environment treaty
2 Bangladeshis killed by BSF
Foreign conspiracy to cripple country's garment sector?
Intolerable caricature of Awami League Leader
Election: money, muscle power likely to dominate
National security mechanism in Bangladesh
Bangladesh-India relations-Mutual cooperation can be beneficial
UNPFII: CHT Needs Imminent UN Intervention
Strategy Page Assessment of Bangladesh RAB
Bangladesh elected to United Nations Peace-Building Commission
Garment industry on a dormant volcano of genuine labour grievances
Why is this anarchy?
Some 'agent provocateurs' involved in acts of vandalism in RMG units
Bangladesh factory rioting ends
International law of the sea: Bangladesh perspective
India blamed for backing destruction of Bangladesh’s garment sec
TIME Magazine on Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban Bangladesh

INDIA

14. India's armed forces are woefully short of equipment, reveals a parliamentary committee, calling for immediate measures to rectify the situation if the military is to deliver what it is intended to. Be it the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force (IAF) or the Coast Guard, they are either pathetically short of equipment or what they hold does not perform at optimum, parliament's standing committee on defence has said in its 11th report....More

15. Five years after the GoM report, the secretariat of the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff has formulated the armed forces’ Joint Doctrine that Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee released May 17. The Andaman and Nicobar Command has also been created and, from all accounts, is functioning fairly well. The Defence Intelligence Agency, however, has not been able to achieve much - largely because of the existing players jealously guarding their little turfs. There may be a wealth of information available but there is no one to collate it into the larger picture that should be provided. What then is the Joint Doctrine all about? According to a defence spokesman, ‘the doctrine contains the fundamental principles by which to conduct future joint operations with the aim of enhancing the fighting capabilities of the armed forces.

‘It will complement the single service doctrines that have already been
promulgated and lead to a better understanding of the application of military power in a variety of situations,’

the spokesman added. The document is intended to be dynamic in nature and subject to regular review, to keep pace with the evolving concepts and technology and ensure its contemporary relevance. In the history of contemporary military operations the world over, the spokesman contended, ‘it is a truism that no single service has been able to achieve military objectives individually....More

16. The West Bengal police now suspects, following the interrogation of a front-ranking leader, cadre and linkmen of Ulfa arrested on May 18 from Siliguri in North Bengal, that the militant outfit has established close links with Maoists of Nepal. Intelligence sources said today that Ulfa had either set up or was preparing to set up training camps in Nepal but the restoration of democracy there “upset” their plans....More

17. India will sign a defence deal with Russia within a fortnight under which 18 Sukhoi-30K fighter jets it had purchased earlier from Moscow will be exchanged for the latest Su-30 MKI multi-role war planes. A spokesperson of Irkut Corporation, the manufacturer of Sukhoi jets, said the trade-in contract would be signed within a fortnight. However, she declined to reveal the value of the deal.....More

18. Indian armed forces use these guns in the kashmir region (by the special forces),they are realy impressed by the performance of these guns and plan to make them the standard firearms for the indian army,they plan to jointly produce a version of it for the indian army known as the zittara,also a submachine gun based on the microtavor is currently under design for the indian and the israeli armed forces.i have already posted images of these weapons on this forum......the zittara is not indigenous version it is a joint indo-israeli development,built to indian specifications but with israeli technology ,design and gizmos. the tavor has already been phased into service ,they are currently used by the special forces and the anti-terrorist forces....Snoop in here....

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

India not democratic
Lafarge violates human rights in tribal areas : Meghalaya
NGOs

PAKISTAN

19. Pakistan has announced that it will buy four F-22P frigates from China, with the last unit to be constructed in Pakistan. Pakistan`s Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir said in Beijing that the deal would also allow for technology transfer for boosting Pakistan`s indigenous production of modern warships. The News International reported on May 23 that the frigates` keels would be laid at Shanghai`s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard later this year, with the first frigate scheduled for delivery in 2008. The fourth frigate will be constructed in Pakistan at the Karachi Shipyard. Under the terms of the contract, the Karachi Shipyard will be upgraded and China will provide training and technical assistance to shipyard personnel. The F-22P frigate will be equipped with helicopters specially designed to carry surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles along with advanced self-defense systems. Tahir said, 'Modalities of its design and configuration are in the final stages.' He said signing contracts worth about $600 million was another milestone in ever-increasing bilateral relations between the two countries in the maritime sector....M&C

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

Mystery of Pakistan's cloistered scientist :AQ Khan is
allowed few visitors these days.

NEPAL

20. No newspaper or television channel in India has bothered to report the dissenting point of view in Nepal. Nor have Maoist sympathisers - if not card-carrying cadre - masquerading as television news anchors and newspaper journalists cared to report that thousands of people across Nepal have taken to the streets since Monday to demonstrate their support for the King and reject an illegitimate Pratinidhi Sabha's criminal attempt to rob the Himalayan kingdom of its Hindu identity by declaring it a "secular state".....More

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

21. India's Marshall Plan to control Nepal - India is coming in
a disguised way!

MYANMAR

CHUTNEYZ UPDATES

Burmese Rohingyas exhorts Army rulers to honor the result of
1990 election.
Burma ready to take back Rohingya refugees

Highlights 24th May 2006

2006-05-24T13:41:00.000+06:00

A woman cries after her son, who was part of a protest Tuesday by garment workers, goes missing in Dhaka, Bangladesh

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Civil Unrest: Detailed Report

Quick Comments From Taj Hashmi: Attacks on garment factories -- Who is Responsible?

Powerful minister’s son behind the scene!-Tk 1400 cr project to process nat’l security documents Responsive bidders excluded

It is commonly believed that BNP is a nationalist party and not pro-Indian. Since founded by Ziaur Rahman the party strongly opposed Indian hegemonies. It had organised Farakka Long March, took the Farakka problem to the United Nations, made the claim strong on South Talpatty island and vehemently opposed transit facility to India over the Bangladesh territory. Khaleda Zia did not hesitate implicating India in the recent militant activities of JMB that received arms and explosives from across the border. This being the stance of BNP, it is widely believed that the Indian intelligence agency RAW made inroad among the young leadership of the party.

Kuldip Nayar, a veteran columnist of India, has indicated to the covert link between RAW and Tarique Rahman. Writing for Gulf News early this month he said, "Sadly, some of the Indian leaders have reposed confidence on Tarique Rahman. Little do the pro-Tarique elements in Indian government realize that he is burning the midnight oil for getting the BNP back to power." He also predicted that the conflict between BNP and BAL may give way to intervention by the Army.....More

Bangladesh is progressively becoming fundamentalist and in many ways a failed state. Consequently, its people cannot help but look for greener pastures across the border. This would continue to be supported by the Bangladeshi leadership with the ultimate aim of getting adjoining states to secede to Bangladesh. It is unlikely that border fences would ever stop the tide of migration, as it is next to impossible to police the entire land, riverine and sea borders effectively. Here again the only workable option to resolve differences and to prevent them from turning fundamentalist is to hold discussions paving the way for economic activity and people to people contacts. With open borders, there will be more migration -- but surely that can be largely resolved by adopting a work permit system. The practice of looking the other way for the sake of vote-bank politics must stop. It also needs to be noted that the Army and some fundamentalists de facto rule Bangladesh......More

The country is on tap. World Bank president is due in town... a bomb explodes..and hartal starts. International cricket is being played....a journalist turns up in a rickshaw and wants it to pull into the playing ground...gets a rough treatment and all the journos go on hartal and write protest emails all over the globe.... Somepeople go on rampage over electricity and get the police to shoot and Kansat starts.. While the Germans are in town.... factories are burnt...The French are due in town.... and while the French delegation is in India they are fed endless diet of footage and lectures about "sorry state of Bangladesh".... NFB

INDIA

In an explosive expression of her views, celebrated Indian writer Arundhati Roy told an audience here that ‘‘India is not a democratic country’’. ‘‘The biggest PR myth of all times is that India is a democracy. In reality, it is not,’’ Roy, the author of The God of Small Things told the 1,000-strong audience at a book reading function she attended along with Eduardo Galeano, one of Latin America’s most distinguished writers. With her aggressive speech, Roy, the 1997 Booker winner, dominated the event with Galeano playing second fiddle. She surprised the jampacked Town Hall as she stopped reading The God of Small Things midway and said she wanted to speak on an issue, which had been bothering her for quite some time.....More

A clandestine meeting of Ulfa leaders, scheduled to be held somewhere near Alipurduar at the end of this month, may be the reason why so many activists of the outfit have recently landed in Siliguri, Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers said today. IB officers came to know of this meeting from a top Ulfa leader picked up on Sunday night from near Phansidewa on the outskirts of Siliguri. Terming it as “quite a big catch”, IB sources said the leader would be handed over to police only after the bureau’s interrogators had found out all they could from him. Today, a team of plainclothesmen raided the house of Suman Sunar (27) at Dandabusti in Bagdogra and detained her for interrogation, said district police superintendent Rajesh Subarna. The wife of Arjun Sunar, an employee of the Gorkha Regiment posted in Jammu, Suman allegedly was in regular touch with Ulfa leader Bijay Kalita, who was arrested on Sunday. A cellphone was seized from her.....More

More than two years after the Royal Bhutan Army flushed out all ULFA and Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) cadres from the Himalayan kingdom, the two groups are now exploring possibilities of setting up bases in Nepal. Revealing this, sources in the Intelligence department said interrogation of senior ULFA leader Manoj Hazarika, alias Plaban Phukan, who was arrested in Siliguri in North Bengal, also indicated that the two outfits were trying to forge an alliance with the Maoists in Nepal. Hazarika, along with three other ULFA cadres, was picked up on the night of May 17 following simultaneous raids conducted in two hotels by the IB and West Bengal Police. Two more rebels were later arrested from the Naxalbari area on Sunday night, sources said.

Cracking down on Pakistan-backed espionage activities in the country, security agencies have neutralised 27 modules of the ISI and arrested over 40 of its operatives since 2005, the government said today. For tackling ISI activities, the government said it has adopted a well coordinated and multi-pronged strategy by strengthening border management to check illegal cross-border activities and gearing up the intelligence machinery. "During the period January 1, 2005 to April 30, 2006, 27 ISI backed modules were neutralised in various parts of the country resulting in the arrest of 41 espionage agents, including 15 Pak resident agents, some of who had infiltrated through the Indo-Pak border," Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

PAKISTAN

Hugh Barnes is a reputable British journalist who has written for Financial Times, New Statesman, Independent on Sunday, the Sunday Times and once was a senior correspondent for Agence France Presse. He is currently director of the democracy and conflict programme at the Foreign Policy Centre. In his lengthy New Statesman article on the ISI and Pakistan (which came out today) he makes a number of interesting points, including the following Pakistan is a dictatorship run by the army, whose intelligence wing sponsored terrorism in Afghanistan and Kashmir until Musharraf's 180-degree policy turn in the wake of 11 September 2001. Today Pakistan is teetering on the brink of chaos and the ISI is largely to blame. Many leading Pakistani politicians feel that the recent anti-Cartoon riots were being orchestrated by the army itself. They say he's using the riots to send a warning to the west - as if to say, 'Look, I'm the only person saving the country from Muslim extremism’. And the writer believes that to an extent Musharraf's recent behaviour seems to bear this out. In Kashmir, as in Afghanistan, Pakistan's intelligence services have found that controlling Islamists is an inexact science. Musharraf banned Lashkar-e-Toiba in early 2002, but he allowed it to create a domestic charity under another name, Jama'at-ud-Da'awah (the Preaching Society), with the same leader......More

Police have shut down 87 FM radio stations which were operating illegally from religious seminaries and mosques in various districts of the NWFP, officials said on Monday. Law-enforcement officials said they had shut down the radio stations after conducting joint raids with representatives of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on seminaries and mosques. They said they had earlier told the illegal radio station operators to cease their activities through official notices. Police have also confiscated the transmitters of the stations. "It is worth mentioning that there is serious tension among the listeners as well as among the clerics of various mosques and madaris in Swabi district," a police official said. 'Jamia Masjid' or main mosques and Madaris in Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Lower Dir and other districts, were running these FM radio stations without obtaining any licence from Pemra. Even one naib nazim in the Daggar Nari village of Karak was operating an FM radio station illegally from his Madrasseh or religious school, police officials said....More

We hear that for the first time in this country’s history, officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will appear before the Senate body on defence to brief its members about the agency’s functions and covert operations. The briefing will apparently also include information on the agency’s infamous political cell and how it operates. The briefing will be in-camera. This is a good beginning, though not enough for two reasons. First, it does not seem that the senators will have the authority to grill the ISI brass; the tone of the report, based on information given out by the committee itself, indicates that the ISI officials will simply brief the members, not be accountable before them; second, the briefing is in-camera and not open to the media. This means we will not know the exact contents of what has been said or discussed.....More

NEPAL

During King Gyanendra's regime, India has not been able to contain ISI activities in Nepal. It is time India attempts to contain ISI's murderous activities aimed against India. It is now confirmed that Maoist rebels are being given subtle support by the ISI with tacit connivance of the Chinese Intelligence for strengthening the emerging political force. Such a contingency, Pakistan appreciates, will give rise to a new social engineering, which will witness considerable de-Hinduisation of Nepal. The immediate duty of Delhi is to checkmate the ISI and see to it that its influence in Kathmandhu is totally eradicated. If this is not done in time, Delhi may have to pay terrible consequences in the days to come. It is not enough for King Gyanendra to step down. It is important that the new Nepal government steps up containment of ISI ruthlessly and effectively. Too much time has been wasted in the past.....More

Civil-Military Relations and the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal

Highlights 21st May 2006

2006-05-21T13:42:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

GLOBAL

Today, the Washington Times ran a report that publicizes a threat known for some time to Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This is the threat posed by radical Islamic Jihadis from Europe who infiltrated into Iraq to fight with al-Qaeda forces there who are now beginning to return to their Euro-homelands. These combat experienced and battle-hardened terrorist veterans, estimated to be at least in the high hundreds, who not only possess violent extremist Islamic radicalization but European citizenship, will prove to be a major challenge to the security forces of Europe. There is surely no reason to believe these hardened Jihadi fighters will leave their violent ways behind in Iraq.....More

"ClA-supported Mujahedeen rebels … engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting against the Soviet-supported government," writes historian William Blum. "The Agency’s principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading druglords and a leading heroin refiner. CIA-supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan/Pakistan border. The output provided up to one half of the heroin used annually in the United States and three-quarters of that used in Western Europe. U.S. officials admitted in 1990 that they had failed to investigate or take action against the drug operation because of a desire not to offend their Pakistani and Afghan allies," and also because selling heroin and spreading misery is highly profitable. In fact, the Soviets attempted to impose an opium ban on the country and this resulted in a revolt by tribal groups eventually exploited by the CIA and Pakistan....More

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh has threatened to scrap all gas supply agreements with India if it takes its gas pipeline from Myanmar via Mizoram, but the government is going ahead. Bangladesh which has been unable to overcome internal opposition to be a supplier to India hoped for a royalty and share from the Myanmar pipeline and believed it was Indian posturing to consider the alternate Mizoram route. The secondary Mizoram route was thought high cost and terrain unfriendly, but French consultants say it could meet Indian needs and be built within a time frame.....More

Law and order has sharply deteriorated over the last few months in the capital and elsewhere, and the trend is continuing despite instructions from State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar to Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) to contain it. Babar himself recently acknowledged the rise in criminal activities and expressed concern to reporters. Sources in the intelligence agencies said gangmen in the absence of their leaders have formed small groups to carry out crimes to make their position and role felt ahead of the election. Top criminals, who reportedly enjoy the blessings of some ruling alliance leaders, are directing their associates from outside the country. Local teenage youths, who are not on the police list of criminals, get involved in killing, toll collecting, abduction, mugging and other forms of criminal activities, police sources said. Reports of intelligence agencies said such crimes may increase in the days to come.....More

In an after hours telephone call, Bangladesh Home Minister Lutfuzzamen informed Bangladesh journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury that the government will frame the sedition charge against him at his May 23 trial. Framing the charge is the first step in proceeding to try Choudhury for sedition, a capital offense. Previously, the government has equivocated about its intentions regarding Choudhury, at times assuring US lawmakers and others that they would arrange for the charges to be dropped. Babar’s call was the first time they admitted their intention to proceed with the sedition trial. On several occasions, Babar, Bangladesh Ambassador to Washington Shamsher M. Chowdhury, and other Bangladesh officials have admitted that there is no basis for the charges against Choudhury. In a 2005 meeting, Chowdhury told US Congressman Mark Kirk that the entire matter was “a purely personal financial dispute.” In that same meeting, Kirk and this reporter challenged Chowdhury to explain why the government continued to hold the journalist and charge him with a capital offense for “a purely personal financial dispute.” The ambassador agreed that the detention was unjust and promised to see that Choudhury was freed on bail; which he was on April 30, 2005, after 17 months in a Dhaka jail.....More

Bangladeshi intelligence agencies arrested Badruddoza Chowdhury Momen, owner of BD Foods, a company exporting ‘spices’ to Western destinations, for trafficking huge amount of heroin which were packed inside the sachets of spices. On interrogation, Badruddoza confessed to the interrogators that he has smuggled out narcotics worth few hundred million dollars to United States and Europe since 2003......BD Foods Chairman has claimed that a top-level leader and member of parliament of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh helped him smuggle several consignments of ‘illegal goods’ to the United Kingdom. He said, in 2005, his company smuggled 75 kilograms of heroin to United Kingdom and also claimed that another Jamaat leader made efforts to save him from the smuggling charges the police brought after four months of investigation......Meanwhile, owners of vernacular daily Naya Diganta has applied for broadcast license to establish a private television channel named Diganta TV. Bangladesh government is actively considering the proposal for giving license to this group to begin an Islamist television channel. Meanwhile, brother of Prime Minister, Major (Retired) Sayeed Iskander has got the broadcast license of Islamic TV, which goes on air in July. Earlier several radical leaders applied for the license of Voice of Islam, another TV channel, which is also awaiting approval in the ministry. It is observed that, Islamist radicals are giving emphasis on media by establishing several newspapers and television channels, with the objective of giving support to Islamist revolution in the country.......More

Stepping in last year to run the government-sanctioned site was an obscure group by the name, Project Hope and Harmony, which landed (in partnership with nonprofit Reston Interfaith) the $200,000 contract. The man behind the project is Muslim activist Mukit Hossain. But he's not just any activist. Born in Bangladesh, Hossain also runs a shadowy Muslim charity in Herndon which recently had its accounts closed by Wachovia bank due to suspicious activity related to possible money-laundering. The Foundation for Appropriate and Immediate Temporary Help, or FAITH, received a $150,000 donation last year from a front group run by Saudi bagman M. Yacub Mirza, whose home and offices were raided by federal agents after 9/11. FAITH helped establish the Project Hope and Harmony.....More

UN forces in Democratic Republic of Congo have launched an assault on an eastern militia in a bid to bolster security two months ahead of national elections. Escorted by attack helicopters and armoured vehicles, around 1,000 Bangladeshi, Pakistani and South African UN peacekeepers along with 3,000 Congolese soldiers launched the operation on Saturday. The attack aims at retaking the town of Tchei in Ituri district, where militia violence has killed tens of thousands since 1999....More

INDIA

The Myanmarese news website 'Mizzima News' reported that

Indian troops have moved into the Indo-Burmese border region of Moreh.

India and Myanmar have had a very good military relationship with Myanmar helping India with tackling border insurgencies. About 50 Indian military trucks believed to be carrying weapons crossed the border into Burma last Thursday, according to eyewitnesses. "Five trucks full of soldiers followed the 50 trucks," a resident in Moreh said. The backs of the trucks were reportedly covered with plastic sheets. The Burmese embassy in India refused to comment on what the trucks were carrying....More

One in every 12 'high risk' individuals for the global banking system is an Indian. Over 121,000 Indians have been categorised as high-risk individuals in global anti-money laundering (AML) databases. The number could go up further as newer individuals get identified by various agencies. These Indians are among the 1.4 million people listed as risk entities from across the world. The database gets updated daily with about 25,000 records getting added on average every month.'This should not sound sensational as India is the second-most populated country and one in every seven persons in the world is an Indian,' said the CEO of a foreign bank operating in India.The AML database is compiled by the IntegraScreen Group, a Singapore-based company having research centres in Mumbai, Beijing, Amman, Penang and Shenzhen.....More

Following the recent visit of President Bush to India the Indian Government sees it as a politic time to launch legal proceedings against one of its spies who, after working as a double agent for the CIA for several years, fled to America on 14 May 2004. This man is Rabinder Singh who rose to the senior position of head of the Southeast Asia branch of India’s Research and Analysis Wing RAW (equivalent to the CIA). Singh initially fled to Nepal and then to the US, allegedly using an American passport provided by his American "handlers" to whom he had been passing secrets. Singh is a Sihk – a religious minority within India (perhaps his loyalty to that Hindu dominated country was weak). He is apparently a counter-terrorism specialist. Why would the CIA wish to “run” Singh (ie. persuade him to work for them)? The US would find some value in Indian reporting he could deliver on terrorism (particularly from Indian sources in Pakistan and Afghanistan) and in Southeast Asia. Singh could provide a detailed picture of the structure and personalities specifically within RAW and within the Indian intelligence community generally....More

India has responded with diplomatic equanimity to Pope Benedict XVI's seemingly provocative remarks condemning attempts to ban religious conversion in certain states. The pope had told India’s new ambassador to the Vatican, Amitava Tripathi, on Thursday that the country should "firmly reject" attempts "to legislate clearly discriminatory restrictions on the fundamental right to religious freedom". He had also taken note of the "disturbing signs of religious intolerance which had troubled some regions of the nation".....

It was the pope's second declaration this week in defence of religious freedom in countries where Christians are a minority. In India, the statement comes in the backdrop of Rajasthan planning to become the sixth state to enact the anti-conversion law the pope was referring to.

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa already have laws that bar conversions but allow re-conversions to Hinduism. Jharkhand has declared its intention to enact a similar law......More

The Tamil Tigers are a mass nationalist movement with "liberated territory," a full-scale army and even a tiny navy; moreover, 20,000 Tiger cadres received secret paramilitary training in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu from 1983 to 1987, courtesy of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and India's CIA -- the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). But such sponsorship literally blew up in the face of the Indian Congress Party leadership when Indira's son and successor Rajiv was killed by a female Tiger suicide bomber in 1993. Indeed, the all-too-frequent pattern of surrogate terrorism, whether sponsored by the CIA, RAW, or the KGB, has been "return to sender" -- most notoriously in the cases of those former CIA "assets," blind Sheik Rahman and Osama bin Laden....A History of the Car Bomb

The United States has said that it is ready to assist India in tackling militancy in the country's Northeast. At a press conference, Henry V Jardine, the US Consul General in Kolkata, said that Washington has offered cooperation in this regard, keeping in mind the existing strategic relationship between the two countries. "The government of India is trying to address that and trying to deal with these groups here and to what extent the US can help, I think we would try to help.” “We have a very close cooperation and a growing strategic relationship with India. “One of the things that we have done recently here, I think we are here for the last couple of years, we have done joint training exercise in Mizoram at the jungle war fare training center,” he said....More

The Assam Government is considering the release of at least five jailed top separatist leaders of Assam to facilitate a frontline rebel group which could begin direct peace talks with New Delhi, a state official said on Saturday. The new Congress-led coalition government in the state has intimated New Delhi that there were no problems in releasing some of the jailed leaders of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for the sake of peace, said an Assam government spokesperson. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi also confirmed the same. "We have no problems in releasing the jailed ULFA leaders and the formalities are on in this regard to secure their release," Gogoi said. "We have recommended their release following views sought from us by the central government.".....More

Maoist rebels have opposed the setting up of steel plants by Tata Steel and Essar Steel in Chhattisgarh's impoverished but iron ore rich Bastar region, saying capitalists had no role to play there.

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) said in a press statement that tribespeople had ownership rights on land, water, forest and other natural assets. The Bastar region is divided into three districts - Kanker, Bastar and Dantewada, the last being the worst hit by rebel activity. Steel major Tata Steel struck a deal with the state government in June last year for setting up a five-million tonne per annum integrated steel plant in Bastar with Rs.100 billion investment....More

NEPAL

The world’s last Hindu kingdom is no more. Nepal has become a secular state and the king a tax-payer. Nepal’s parliament today approved a sweeping plan to strip King Gyanendra (in picture), considered the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and the institution of monarchy of military and political powers. The historic move signals the end of the supremacy of the Shah dynasty that has ruled the country for the last 237 years.....More

PAKISTAN

A Bangladeshi national, the main accused in last year’s Shramjeevi Express blast that claimed 12 lives, has confessed that Pakistan’s ISI was running terrorist camp in Bangladesh. A six-member team of officers is trying to elicit information from Obaid-ur-Rehman, member of the banned Bangladeshi outfit Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia, who is in police remand till May 22, police said on Friday.

They said Rehman has also given certain information regarding terrorist camps running in Bangladesh. Police have called experts of Bangla language to interrogate Rehman, Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Gupta said Rehman, a native of Sherupur district in Bangladesh, was associated with the banned outfit.

The bomb explosion took place on the Delhi-bound Shramjeevi Express near Raja Harpal Singh railway station here on July 28 last year, leaving 12 people dead and scores injured....Newindpress

President General Pervez Musharraf has rejected the old notion of using Afghanistan as a "strategic depth" in case of any aggression, and said the theory is based on the assumption a country has been invaded and overrun and its government is operating from other countries.
"This can never happen to Pakistan," the president said, and added that according to the country's military strategy its defences lie in its borders.

"We will never let our enemies enter our areas," General Musharraf told Pashto TV Kheyber in an interview aired on Friday. On the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the president said no one knew where he was and "those who say he is in Pakistan should come up with information and intelligence."

Saying Osama could be anywhere in the world, the president however, presumed that he could be hiding in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.....More

Either by way of a concession to men, or because women are less likely to be enemy agents, or merely in order to conform to the general pattern of gender inequality in the country,

the law apparently allows a foreign woman married to a Pakistani man to acquire Pakistani citizenship but when a Pakistani woman marries a man from another country he is not allowed Pakistani citizenship.

An attempt to change the law is about to flounder against the resistance of the interior ministry and the intelligence agencies. According to a newspaper report, the interior ministry, supported by three intelligence agencies, has cited a number of reasons for its opposition.

This will allow other countries to “plant their agents” in the country; enable “illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries to naturalise themselves”; raise unemployment in the country by an increased “influx of immigrants”; and “provide legal ingress to Indian male citizens into Pakistan”

. Such marriages, it seems, threaten to open a Pandora’s box and put an end to the happy life as we now know it......More

Bangladesh Born US Intell Officer "Kamil Pasha" testifies in Court

2006-05-19T12:55:00.000+06:00

This surveillance photo shows Shahawar Matin Siraj, the defendant, with an informer, left, and a man who has pleaded guilty, right.

Officer Details His Work Undercover Amid Muslims

by WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM

A young police detective testified yesterday at the Herald Square bombing plot trial that he was recruited from the Police Academy 13 months after 9/11 to work deep undercover in the Muslim community to investigate Islamic extremists.

The detective, a Muslim who came to America from Bangladesh when he was 7, testified that he was a 23-year-old college graduate when he was plucked from the academy in October 2002. He took an apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where, he testified, his assignment was to be a "walking camera" among Muslims there.

He said he had no regular contact with the department other than through his handler, to whom he reported by e-mail at first. During two years of living in Bay Ridge, he was involved in "numerous" investigations, he testified, and was at times shadowed by a field team to ensure his safety.

The Police Intelligence Division's program to post detectives overseas has been widely publicized. But this detective's testimony yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn provided the closest look yet at how the division is using undercover investigators to penetrate mosques, bookstores and other places where Muslims gather in the city.

His testimony confirmed what many Muslims have believed since the Sept. 11 attacks: that law enforcement agencies have worked to infiltrate their community during terrorism investigations. It also revealed the extraordinary steps the department took to create a fictitious identity so a Muslim investigator could live for years in an insular neighborhood where people have become highly suspicious of the authorities.

Beyond the detective's testimony, police officials yesterday would not discuss the scope of the program and provided no details about its structure, its guidelines or its successes or failures. Several officials, however, suggested it was in its early stages. The witness was identified only by a pseudonym — Kamil Pasha — in order, prosecutors said, to protect continuing investigations.

The detective was the final witness at the four-week trial of Shahawar Matin Siraj, 23, a Pakistani immigrant who is charged with plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station in 2004. His lawyers have argued that he was entrapped by a paid police informer, a 50-year-old Egyptian-born nuclear engineer who they say was the driving force behind the plot. They have argued that their client was an inept dupe who was not predisposed to commit an act of terrorism until the informer inflamed him.

The undercover detective was called as a witness to rebut the defense arguments that the informer had drawn Mr. Siraj into the plot. He told the jury about statements Mr. Siraj had made long before he met the informer, which prosecutors contend show he had often spoken about violence and terrorism. The detective was not involved in the investigation of Mr. Siraj but came across him during his undercover work.

Much of the detective's testimony focused on Mr. Siraj's statements, but strands of information about him and his work were interlaced with his answers. And while prosecutors sought to limit testimony about his background, objecting several times to questions by one of Mr. Siraj's lawyers, Martin R. Stolar, the judge, Nina Gershon, overruled the objections.

The detective testified that he graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and entered the Police Academy in July 2002. In the middle of October, roughly halfway through his academy training, he left early when he was recruited to join the Intelligence Division, where he was assigned to the Special Services Unit, which runs the undercover program.

Within three weeks, according to his testimony, he made his first appearance at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, a mosque on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, next door to the Islamic bookstore where Mr. Siraj worked. He testified that he spent time there periodically. Mr. Stolar, while questioning the detective, indicated that his reports showed he had seen Mr. Siraj 72 times over the two years, mostly in the bookstore.

Highlights 17th May 2006

2006-05-17T10:39:00.000+06:00

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

WORLD

Indonesian security forces may have foiled terrorist attacks on last weekend’s summit of Muslim leaders and the famed Borobudur temple complex, the country’s police chief said. Gen Sutanto told parliament Monday that police received the information during interrogations of suspected militants arrested in last month’s raid on the hideout of Noordin Top, believed to be a key leader of the Al Qaeda-linked group Jemaah Islamiyah. “It could be the targets of their bombing was the D-8 (Developing Nations) meeting,” which brought together heads of state, prime ministers and government ministers from Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt and Bangladesh, he said.Another possible target was a Buddhist religious ceremony held over the weekend at the ancient Borobudur temples in Central Java province, he told the parliament’s legislation commission.........More

By all means, have favourites, those whose political attitude matches ours, for example, Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, the democratic opposition in Burma, the liberal politicians in Nepal, the moderate Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, and so on, but that cannot mean hostilities against Begum Khalida, or helping the Sri Lankan gunboats run out the LTTE, conspiring against Gyanendra. Until we get to a position to customise the neighbourhood environment, we have to exist and befriend all the elements, except those who threaten our internal order and integrity, the Maoists, for example, or even the LTTE. With them our actions must stamp our determination to protect our interests, what they do elsewhere should concern their own national governments more.....More

BANGLADESH

The US State Department apologised to Bangladesh's national carrier, Biman, after a flight was barred from landing at New York's JFK Airport at the weekend, an airline spokesman said. The flight from Dhaka with 257 passengers onboard was forced to divert and land in Montreal on Saturday after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) refused it entry into American airspace citing security reasons. "This was a mistake," Stephen C. Engelken, a director of the State Department's bureau of South and Central Asian affairs, told the Bangladesh embassy in Washington. Engelken also conveyed his "deep apology" for the discomfort caused to the passengers, according to a faxed message, a copy of which was seen. The airline said in a statement that it would seek compensation for the financial losses it suffered due to the FAA decision. The cash-strapped carrier SDAY said it had already decided to suspend its unprofitable route from Dhaka to New York, which loses 80,000 dollar each trip. Officials said the company was set to incur more losses in the current financial year because of increasing jet fuel prices and a jump in the cost of fleet maintenance......More

The government has in principle approved purchase of 28 main battle tanks (MBTs) worth Tk 448 crore for the army under a five-year procurement plan with Tk 90 crore to be spent in the next fiscal year, highly placed sources said. This procurement plan is in addition to the plan to upgrade the army's existing 232 old tanks under two projects. The upgrading will cost nearly Tk 1,000 crore. The government has primarily decided for a Tk 350 crore Chinese soft loan to finance one of the two projects while financing for the other project has not yet been decided. Side by side, Bangladesh Navy is also procuring two US-made maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) at a cost of Tk 130 crore. Singapore-based King Air is supplying these aircraft....More

Advocate Alena Khan, who led an investigation into Nasreen's death, filed a general diary (GD) with Tejgaon Police Station on Monday after three unknown people called on her cellphone and spoke incoherently and inconsistently. In the GD Alena, executive director of the Bangladesh Society for Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR), mentioned that the three unknown people called her from four different numbers which were unknown to her, police said. "The callers asked me about my whereabouts and wanted to meet me in person but as I asked them about the purpose of the meeting, they hung up". She said nobody answered the phone when calls were made to those numbers from her office. "Sensing something fishy I decided to file a GD on Monday evening," she added........More

Shipowners have been warned to be vigilant after a spate of pirate attacks in the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong, an international watchdog said.The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded at least 18 attacks since January 28 this year, the head of the Malaysia-based Piracy Reporting Centre, Noel Choong, told AFP on Tuesday. "Basically there have been 18 attacks in Chittagong since 28 January 2006, but we believe many more may have gone unreported," said Choong. "We believe that there are groups of pirates operating in the area. We are warning ships that enter the area to be extra vigilant. We are concerned about the high number of attacks in that location."........More

The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested one person at the Khulna city on Sunday night and seized a CD and a catalogue on uses of uranium, basic element used in nuclear bombs, from his possession. Acting on a tip-off, the members of Rab-6 arrested Kartik Chandra Saha, 42, at a residential hotel in the city. He was allegedly looking for a buyer to sell the 14-page catalogue containing particulars about uses of uranium and the CD containing a recorded speech of some people on how and from where to get the highly explosive substance, sources said. Assistant Director of Rab-6 FM Badruzzaman lodged an FIR in Khulna Sadar Police Station the same night as complainant SI Rafique has been assigned to investigate the case. Kartik Saha hails from Mathurapur village under Satkhira Sadar upazila and is a shrimp trader by profession. He has fallen sick due to intense interrogation by Rab before being handed over to Khulna police. He will be further interrogated after being taken on remand, said the IO (investigation officer) of the case. Procurement of uranium and its use are not only banned in Bangladesh but all over the world.....More

Privacy advocates wonder how much the agency picks up - and stores. Many are increasingly skeptical of intelligence agencies with recent revelations about the Bush administration's surveillance on phone calls and e-mails.To think that an AMERICAN spy agency is spending time analyzing satellite photos of AMERICA!! We should really insist that they spend their time analyzing photos from Bangladesh or some other country that the White House has no direct obligation to defend from another September 11th-style attack.....More

The High Court (HC) yesterday issued a rule on the government to explain within two weeks why the arrest, detention and deportation of Bangladeshi origin US citizen Ehsanul Islam Sadequee to the United States would not be declared illegal.The court also issued the rule to show cause why the authorities concerned of the government should not be directed to produce Sadequee before the High Court bench. Following two writ petitions, one filed by Sadequee's wife Happy and another by Supreme Court advocate MK Hasan as Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a HC division bench issued the rule. Sadequee's wife filed the petition challenging the legality of her husband's arrest and handing over to US investigation department, the FBI.......More

A suffocating environment has apparently gripped the port city that is emerging out of tension, assumed confrontation and bloodshed over privatization of New Mooring Container Terminal (NMCT), an under construction yard of Chittagong Port Authority for handling of freights packed in containers. The assumed confrontation is the virtual outcome of personality clash between the Shipping Minister Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Akbar Hossain and Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Alhaj ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.... It is learnt that a good number of dockworkers and employees of different industrial units in Chittagong backed by opposition political leaders and workers, are now finalising the strategy of enforcing the siege. Intelligence agencies reportedly cautioned the government of the sensitive issue that might receive public support and ignite violence.......More

Following press reports on India and Myanmar encroaching on gas blocks in Bangladesh’s maritime territory, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia summoned the advisor of the foreign ministry, Reaz Rahman, and the secretary of the ministry, Hemayetuddin, to ask them about the latest situation, said PMO sources. Asked to comment on the reported encroachment on our deepwater hydrocarbon exploration blocks by India and Myanmar, a top foreign ministry official said none of the three nations have yet demarcated the maritime boundary, and Bangladesh has been preparing its arguments to substantiate its claim. Bangladesh claims, according to the Law of the Sea, 12 nautical miles of territorial sea, 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone and 350 nautical miles of the continental shelf under the Bay of Bengal....More

China and Bangladeshi armies have vowed to step up their "productive" defence cooperation to safeguard regional and world peace. The two sides reached the conclusion when Chinese Defence Minister General Cao Gangchuan met with visiting Bangladeshi Army Chief of Staff Moeen U Ahmed. Noting that the two sides have forged effective cooperation in political, economic, military and cultural fields, Cao said the two nations share common interests in the promotion of regional and world peace and stability and in safeguarding the interests of the developing countries.The country has been allowed 10 years’ time to justify its claim since it ratified the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea in 2001.......More

INDIA

The IB, RAW and Military Intelligence have warned off heightened ISI sponsored terrorist activities in north Kerala. The General Officer Commanding of the Army’s south zone has also warned off Islamic extremist activities in north Kerala. Now the centre and central intelligence have for the first time in the history of Kerala, warned off the Pak-based Hizbul Mujahideen threat to the State during or after the polls....The hobnobbing of the CPM and the Congress with the jehadi outfits and their supply of explosives for use against political opponents, especially RSS and BJP is creating dangerous consequences for the State. Probes into various terrorist activities by jehadis are being scuttled by the ruling Muslim League. A future CPM regime will be no better since it is courting jehadis like Madani with open arms. Top police, Army and IAS officials belonging to Kerala and having served in Jammu and Kashmir say that ruthless and tough actions and political will is needed to crush terrorism, otherwise it will be too late and Kerala may become another Jammu and Kashmir which is what the jehadis want. Will the Congress and the CPM wake up to the threat of jehadi terrorism and act strongly or will they soft-pedal for petty vote-bank politics? Perhaps only time will tell.......More

India's intermediate-range nuclear-capable Agni- III missile is technically ready for test-firing, according to the country's top defence scientist Sunday.'We are technically ready for the test-firing of the missile,' M Natarajan, scientific advisor the India's defence minister, said at a function in the capital presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, PTI news agency reported.'We are awaiting a nod from the government,' Natarajan said. The Agni-III missile, named after the Indian god of fire, is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 4,000 kilometres............More

India appeared hesitant on Tuesday to confirm or deny a senior scientist's claim that it was ready for the political signal to test a nuclear capable Agni III missile amid reports that US pressure had actually put the project in the cold store. At the heart of the official reluctance to speak clearly on the issue was a report in the Asian Age on Tuesday which quoted Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee as suggesting that India was not politically ready to test the missile that is said to have a range of over 3000 kms. 'As responsible members of the international community, we want to keep our international commitments on non-proliferation,' Mr Mukherjee had said on Monday. The newspaper quoting a source interpreted this to mean that the government has abandoned the programme. A fuller quote in the Age suggests further chaos. 'We have no pressure on us. Nor are we putting any political pressure. It is just that we have decided to have self-imposed restraint,' Mr Mukherjee had said. This brought the foreign ministry into the picture, whose spokesman, 'in response to a questio' on Tuesday left the issue just as vague........More

The state Director General of Police P.S. Pasricha pointing a finger at terrorists infiltrating Maharashtra from across Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, alleged that the police suspected a “foreign hand” behind the huge quantity of assault rifles and deadly RDX explosives seized three days ago in Aurangabad and Nasik districts......More

PAKISTAN

Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency — the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has voiced its opposition to the ongoing laying of the optical fibre link between India and Pakistan, saying Indian experts were capable of grabbing Pakistan’s vital and sensitive information through the link.....In the absence of signal intelligence, says the letter, the Indian intelligence networks will be able to deliver faster terror executions with more devastation. The letter says that the Intelligence Bureau also supports the contention of the ISI that the laying of the fibre link between the two nuclear armed neighbours could prove counter productive.......More

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has asked Pakistan to clarify after a Taliban commander claimed that Pakistani intelligence had a hand in the beheading of an Indian engineer in Afghanistan last month. Karzai's chief of staff, Jawed Ludin, said this week that the administration expected Islamabad to explain its position on the accusation that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) ordered the killing of K. Suryanarayana, a website quoted a report of Afghanistan's private Tolu TV network as saying. A Taliban commander told the TV network that Amir Khan Haqqani, identified as the military commander of Taliban fighters in Zabul province, opposed the killing of Suryanarayana, who was abducted by the Taliban in Zabul April 28, the website afgha.com said........More

Yes I did serve as an Inter Services Intelligence (ISI- Government of Pakistan's CIA-FBI rolled into one) mole once, before we had differences of opinion and I was grabbed by Research and Analysis Wing (RAW- Government of India's equivalent of ISI.) But then with kids in college and the van needing new tires and a tune up job, I decided to become a double agent. It worked fine for a while before both ISI and Raw became leery. But by that time I...well, that is a story for some other time. Back to this list and my relief at not discovering temporal there.....More

Has President Bush agreed of Burma becoming an Autonomous Region of China?

The strategic landscape in Southeast Asia has begun to change in ways that demand a rethinking of US policy toward Burma. China's economic and military capabilities have grown dramatically at a time when China's traditional security concern, Russia, has faded. Japan remains a long-term, but not an immediate security problem for China. This has left China free, in geopolitical terms, to shift its attention to the south. The most striking manifestation of this development has been a very assertive policy toward the South China Sea; i.e., the entire sea and all the land outcroppings within it are claimed as Chinese sovereign territory. This has been accompanied by a number of statements from senior Chinese civilian and military officials that seem to presage a kind of Chinese Monroe Doctrine for South-east Asia-a modern reprise of the historic preponderance of the Middle Kingdom.....More

Suicide Terrorism: Hatred Comes Home to Roost

During the Afghan jihad, Pakistan funneled CIA money to some of the most radical Islamist paramilitaries (and even tried to sell them on suicide bombings); in 1992, the government switched clients and backed the Taliban, a relationship it maintained until 9/11. Pakistan’s religious right has also applauded suicide attacks by Muslim separatists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan is the perfect case of the chickens coming home to roost. By contrast, the situation in nearby Bangladesh is a bit of a surprise. During the Muslim country’s war of independence from Pakistan, in 1971, local Islamists fought on the side of Islamabad - discrediting themselves in the eyes of many Bangladeshis for years to come. In fact, the government played down any notions of an Islamist problem until last August, when the previously banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) detonated over 450 salt shaker-sized bombs in a single day........More

RECOMMENDED READING:

The Israel Lobby

The Legal Concept of an Islamic State

The failed states Index and Pakistan

The End of Empires

Maoism and Marxism

Highlights 14th May 2006

2006-05-14T12:38:00.000+06:00

Muslim leaders issue statement of support for Iran nukes

Iran's President Ahmadinejad scored a major coup today at a conference on the Indonesian resort island of Bali , as six major Islamic nation fell into line behind Iran and issued a statement supporting Iran's nuclear program and unlimited unrichment and the rights of nations to develop nuclear energy for `peaceful' purposes. All for the betterment of Dar Islam, of course. This little bombshell was dropped by the heads of state and prime ministers from Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey and Malaysia and government ministers from Egypt and Bangladesh....More

Art of rigging in Bangladesh

The combined result of skullduggery and incompetence is that Bangladesh has been burdened with 1.11 crore ghost voters in the draft electoral rolls if the BBS calculation is accepted, and 1.71 crore if another 60 lakh voters (10 lakh plus 40 lakh) are taken into account. As things stand, there is virtually no chance of deleting the names of ghost voters. The Election Commission has no mechanism for doing that. All this is hardly surprising. That the BNP and the JeIB - the latter really calls the shots in the coalition government that the former leads - is clear from the manner in which the electoral rolls have been compiled and events earlier. To begin at the very beginning, the first signs were discernible on May 16, 2004, when Bangladesh's National Parliament passed the Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Bill. The raising of the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 years to 67 years, which was the main thing it provided for, was widely believed to have been done to ensure that a pro-government person headed the caretaker government holding the next parliamentary elections......More

The Potential and Challenges of Information Technology for the Future of Bangladesh
-- An essay by Sajeeb Wazed Joy

It is not enough just to build a submarine fiber optic cable. Bandwidth must reach the entrepreneurs. This requires a massive distribution network within the country. Still, just a network is not enough either. There must be sound policies put in place to regulate the distribution of the bandwidth. The current submarine cable provides Bangladesh with a bandwidth of ten gigabits per second while the current BTTB network can transmit a maximum of two megabits per second. That is barely one millionth of the capacity of the cable. Current BTTB plans do not call for the utilization of the full bandwidth for another four years! Also, the current policies call for the submarine cable to carry only voice traffic for the foreseeable future. That means that most of your businesses will not see any benefit from this cable. Lastly, the current regulatory framework calls for completely non-transparent control over the distribution of the bandwidth. What that means is that kickbacks to Hawa Bhaban will make up the largest portion of the bandwidth pricing. Bandwidth prices will follow the same trend as the price of all essentials in this country have during this government's term and you will pay double of what the actual cost is.

Bangladesh's remittance inflow posts 22 pct rise in 10 months

Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) sent home 3.89 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of the current financial year (July 2005-June 2006) while the amount was 3.19 billion dollars during the same period of last fiscal year, according to statistics of Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank. Remittance inflow has been showing an upward trend since December, which was on an average around 426 million dollars a month......More

Local firms investing billions in Bangladesh

Taiwanese companies are ready to invest billions of dollars in impoverished Bangladesh to combat EU anti-dumping duties and rising wages in China and Vietnam, an official said yesterday. In the past two years, around 250 Taiwanese investors had visited Bangladesh to assess opportunities, James Wu, deputy director general of Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade said.....More

Bangladesh's trade with North-East India remains suspended

Export-Import activities through land ports between Bangladesh and North Eastern Indian states remained suspended for the fifth day on Sunday as the Indian officials are on an indefinite strike, Bangladesh customs officials said. The suspension of trading started on Wednesday when the customs officials of Meghalaya, Monipur and Tripura enforced an indefinite strike protesting against the abduction of their colleagues allegedly by the Indian insurgents of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Hundreds of goods-laden trucks at different land ports --Tamabil, Bholaganj, Sutarkandi, Shewla and Chhatak --in Sylhet and Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh had been remained stranded.....More

GLOBAL JIHAD

Emerging Coalition of Jihad

With Al Qaeda far from being vanquished, and Pakistan and Bangladesh inevitably turning into jihadi outposts in the emerging pan-Islamist network in Asia, India is more than likely to be caught in the vicious tail-wind of the next wave of terrorism, gathering momentum since 9/11. This wave of terrorism, as mounting evidences reveal, is likely to emerge from the military-governed Pakistan which has been flirting with jihadis for more than two decades - first using them to quell domestic ethnic and sectarian protests, then playing CIA's quarter-master general in Afghanistan unleashing a band of mujahideen on the entrapped Soviet troops. After the Soviet collapse, it was launched against India in Jammu & Kashmir. No other country has spawned as many terrorist groups as Pakistan. The key protagonists in this wave of terrorism have been the Pakistan Army and the ISI directorate. Irrespective of numerous international sanctions, these agencies continue to assist different hues of terrorist groups that have deep and organic links with Al Qaeda and other jihadi outfits.....More

MI6 report: Osama bin Laden in league with FARC and Mexico's Popular Revolutionary Army

No surpise here, really. The Islamo-Marxist nexus is alive and well in the Western Hemisphere with a little help from that globe-trotting agent of the Russian Federal Security Service, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Popular Revolutionary Army announced its existence in 1996, has conducted most of its military operations in the southern Pacific state of Guerrero, operates through a front called the Popular Revolutionary Democratic Party and, unlike the Zapatistas in the state of Chiapas, is overtly Marxist-Leninist. FARC's commitment to establishing a communist republic in Colombia is well known.....More

Operation Black Thunder Hidden Truths Of India

State-sponsored terrorist groups began massive murderous assaults from December 1987 liquidating families of militants and their sympathisers. Their homes were put to fire. The units were placed under the overall charge of Izhar Alam, Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar. Ribeiro had certain reservations and conveniently went on leave to Bombay. The police made regular announcements of ‘recoveries’ of Russian made RPG rockets and Russian surface to air missiles, earlier imported by RAW (India external intelligence agency) from Kabul, from all over Punjab. This served as a prelude to pursuit of new tougher policy.....More

INTERVIEW: 'For 7 Months, We Weren't Told To Fly Any Mission'

Air Marshal Ashok Goel (retd) was the operations manager with the RAW’s Aviation Research Centre (ARC) before and during the Kargil war. At that time, he was an air vice marshal and a key participant in intelligence gathering operations. In an interview to Outlook, he speaks on the intelligence inputs given to army and political leadership. Excerpts

DEBATE: Tagore and Sukhamaya Bain's Communal Slur

Rabindranath was neither an anti-Muslim nor a pro-Muslim. He was not the poet of the grass-root people of any kind, in terms of things like emancipation of an underclass. Although his timeless classics will be loved by all kinds of people for a long time. "Amar Sonar Bangla, Ami Tomay Valobasi" was chosen for the national anthem by the Bangalee nationalists (most of whom were Muslims) because of their love for "Bangla." At that time when the Pakistani Muslim brothers of people like Taj Hashmi were committing all kinds of atrocities against the Bangalees of East Bengal, "Joy Bangla" and "Sonar Bangla" were very much the emotion of the people of Bangladesh. Choosing this song by Tagore as the national anthem of Bangladesh was because of Bangalee nationalism, and not mostly as a tribute to him. In fact, Tagore did not need it then, he does not need it now. He will remain big enough in history, irrespective of what Bangladesh becomes, irrespective of how long this Bangladesh as we see it lasts. The problem is people like Taj Hashmi and his poorer-quality friends want to dissociate Rabindranath from Bangladesh by calling him a Hindu, and by portraying him as anti-Muslim. Their objective is to have a Muslim Bangla through hatred against non-Muslims. These hate-mongers of poor-quality intellects should learn from the history of Pakistan that unity based upon hatred does not last very long. I challenge them to truly love the Muslims and to respect the rights of people whom their Allah has made non-Muslims. ...Sukhamaya Bain

Don’t judge people by your own standard. You might have been part of some killer gangs, not me. Where did you find me as hateful? I don’t hate Tagore or undermine him as a poet ( I even like some of his songs). Why do you people think that everybody will have to like everything written or said by Tagore or anybody else? Why can’t you be tolerant enough to accept divergent views? Don’t you know there are people in the West (you live there) who have strong liking and disliking for their dead and alive leaders, poets, philosophers, Jesus, Muhammad, Washington, Shakespeare, Bush, Cheney and others? Why do you suffer from the perpetual sense of insecurity and the ‘Gelo, Gelo, Shab Gelo Syndrome”? So what if fifty million Bangladeshis don’t respect Tagore and another hundred million worship him? I don’t give a damn. Why do you people always invent conspiracies? “Hidden hands pulling invisible string” is the typical peasant and pre-modern syndrome. Learn how to relax, respect and trust people and then you will have democracy in Bangladesh. First be a democrat in your living room and then try to preach it to others. I only evaluated Tagore's politics and hypocrisy and class solidarity (for his own class). To me the parameter of patriotism with regard to East Bengal lies in the following:

a) one's stand towards the atrocious Zamindari System
b) One's attitude towards the Partition of Bengal (1905-11)
c) and one's stand towards the Dhaka University proposal.

Tagore miserably failed to be patriotic from the East Bengali (Bangladeshi) perspective for his support for the Zamindari system, opposition to the Partition of bengal and Dhaka University...Taj Hashmi

Highlights 2nd May 2006

2006-05-02T10:56:00.000+06:00

The Third Anniversary of "Mission Accomplished"

Back in the days of "mission accomplished" Our chief was landing on the deck The sun was setting on a golden photo op Back in the days of "mission accomplished" Thousands of bodies in the ground Brought home in boxes to a trumpet's sound No one sees them coming home that way Thousands buried in the ground Thousands of children scarred for life Millions of tears for a soldier's wife Both sides are losing now Heaven takes them in Thousands of children scarred for life We had a chance to change our mind But somehow wisdom was hard to find We went with what we knew and now we can't go back But we had a chance to change our mind. "I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world." --- Stephen Colbert at the White House Press Correspondents dinner April 30, 2006. (See below "I give people the truth, unfiltered by rational argument.") [open one of the following links in a new window to hear Let's Impeach the President or the full Living with War Neil Young album, including "Shock and Awe", while reading this post
zig]...More

Bangladesh new center of 'Islamic terrorism': book

'Bangladesh, under the present regime, is fast becoming the new epicentre for Islamic terrorism,' according to 'Global Jihad: Current Patterns and Future Trends', authored by journalist Rajeev Sharma. 'This network is real, and partisan diplomacy and selective anti-terrorism warfare will only let loose this Frankenstein,' says Sharma, referring to the attitude of the West towards the emerging trends in Bangladesh. The book says the jehadi network in Bangladesh directed against India was mushrooming. 'Given the Indian geographical region the network is targeting, it could be far more dangerous than the Kashmir insurgency.' The book says that the Bangladesh jehadi outfits, enjoying both internal and external patronage, were working for multiple thrusts into India....More

The awesome threesome

Khaleda Zia deserved a proper dressing down in the matter of the resurgence of Islamic terrorism in Bangladesh. Apart from that, for those who want to know more about Islamic terrorism and its origins, recommended reading is Maloy Krishna Dhar's excellent work 'Fulcrum of Evil: ISI-CIA-Al Qaeda Nexus'. Dhar, incidentally, is a former joint director of the Intelligence Bureau and he should know what he is writing about. It is as much a damning indictment of Islamic Terrorism as of the CIA. The manner in which the CIA helped financially and in other ways the Al Qaeda makes one wonder who the real criminal is: The United States or Bangladesh and its colonial masters in Islamabad......More

For Nepal, and India, the road ahead is difficult

Instead of the Indian embassy and ambassador, acting on the instructions of the Ministry of External Affairs, being the sole conduit for messages between India and the Nepalese establishment and political parties, a large number of interlocutors and busybodies have involved themselves in the process. There are the special envoys with their one-on-one meetings with King Gyanendra, where nobody else knows what is discussed. There are the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Army Staff, who believe in running their own lines of communication with the RNA. Then there are tantric interlopers and Hindutva fanatics who further contribute to the radio clutter. More noise also comes from our legion of ex-rajas, rajvadas and `cadets' who have family ties with the Narayanhiti Palace and who intercede at crucial moments with the ruling party to ensure that India does not side with the people of Nepal. Somewhere in the middle of this unholy mess are the intelligence agencies, which also appear not to know what India should be doing. For example, their agents turned a blind eye to meetings between the Nepal Maoists and the SPA, which were crucial to the mass mobilisation witnessed on the streets of Kathmandu in April. But their boss, India's intelligence czar, worries endlessly about the security threat posed by the Maoists and is reportedly keen on turning the RNA's weapons tap back on again.....More

Second wife’ and suicide bid follow Taliban terror

The trauma of slain telecom engineer K. Suryanarayana’s family deepened today when his widow Manjula tried to commit suicide following the appearance of a “second wife” in the morning. Gogula Swapna, 28, had arrived at the Malkajgiri house carrying a one-year-old baby allegedly fathered by Suryanarayana. Her relatives said the child should be given a share of the Rs 55-lakh compensation. She was turned away from the doorstep but in the evening, Manjula poured a bottle of phenyl down her throat. Doctors at the hospital said she was out of danger. Swapna, a former schoolteacher from Warangal, claims Suryanarayana married her at a temple on August 31, 2002, after a year’s courtship while he was posted in the town during his stint with Tata Teleservices. “When Nidhisha was born, Surya signed the hospital register as her father,” she claimed. “I am ready for a DNA test on her.”....More

Myanmar to wipe out ULFA bases

Though there is no precise intelligence report of the number of ULFA militants in Myanmar, sources said the cadre strength was believed to be in several hundreds and fluctuated periodically because of re-entering into Indian soil and infiltration into Myanmar for operational purposes. Sources said some of the camps even have women and children cadre. The centre is concerned that Pakistani Intelligence Agency could use its links with top ULFA leaders based in Bangladesh to spread trouble in those belts, the sources added....More

PROFILE: Vigilante Group Ranvir Sena

Among all the private armies that exist in Bihar, the Ranvir Sena is the most powerful. It is a private army of upper-caste landowners and is known to be operating in central Bihar. The Ranvir Sena came into existence primarily to counter the influence of various left-wing extremist, Naxalite, groups and the Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist [CPI-ML] (Liberation) in central Bihar. It was founded in September 1994 in Belaur village of Udwantnagar block, Bhojpur district following the merger of private caste armies like Savarna Liberation Army and the Sunlight Sena. The forerunners to the Ranvir Sena in Bhojpur district were the Brahmarshi Sena and Kuer Sena, Kisan Morcha and Ganga Sena. These senas were smaller in size and operated with a limited area. They could not sustain for long and had withered away owing to repeated Naxalite onslaughts. Dharichan Chaudhary of Belaur had founded the Ranvir Sena. Its founding and continuing commander is Brahmeshwar Singh of Khopira village.....More

'There is a fury Building in India' : Arundhati Roy

The battle in the Narmada Valley has raised radical questions about the top heavy model of development India has opted for. But it also raises very specific questions about specific dams. And to my mind, though much of the noise now is centered around the issue of displacement and resettlement, the really vital questions that have not been answered are the ones that question the benefits of dams. Huge irrigation schemes that end up causing waterlogging, salinisation and eventual desertification have historically been among the major reasons for the collapse of societies, beginning with the Mesopotamian civilisation. I recommend Jared Diamond's wonderful book Collapse to all those who wish to take a slightly longer, and less panicked view of 'development'. India already has thousands of acres of waterlogged land. We've already destroyed most of our rivers. We have unsustainable cropping patterns and a huge crisis in our agricultural economy. Even vast parts of the command area of our favourite dam - the Bhakra - is water-logged and in deep trouble. So the real issue is not how ordinary farmers in Gujarat will benefit from the Sardar Sarovar, but how they will eventually suffer because of it.....More

Mazaar razed, Vadodara enragedAdd to Clippings

What started as Vadodara Municipal Corporation's (VMC) encroachment drive on Monday morning in the walled city, turned into a major communal riot by afternoon. At least four people were killed and more than 30 injured in police firing and violent clashes in other sensitive parts of the city. Two of the dead had bullet injuries and the other two stab wounds. Most of the injured had bullet injuries in their legs. Trouble began when the VMC team reached Mandvi area to demolish a mazaar on the roadside as part of their drive against
illegal shrines which were roadblocks. Hundreds of Muslims turned up in no time at the mazaar, which belongs to Chisti Rashid-ud-din and is believed to be more than 300 years old. Some leaders had also approached the municipal commissioner on Monday morning and requested him to pull back his team. However, the commissioner refused, and it was pointed out that several temples had also been removed during earlier part of the drive. Initially, an argument started between the VMC officials and the residents over the legality of the mazaar.....More

Debate: Atheism vs. Agnosticism
Statuis: Ongoing

Many of my religious friends have told me that in their religion, they learn about acceptance and how "God" accepts all people. If that's the case, how come so many people of religion treat people of non-religion as though God is never going to forgive them for the choice that they've made. (Again.. why the non-religious person would care is beyond me.)To wrap things up, if you are religious - be accepting of those who aren't. They've made their decision and more likely than not, what you say is not going to sway that decision. They don't need your judgements, they need your support. With the decision to not believe in a higher power, or to just believe in a higher power but not a "God", come many reasons. Some may be more open than others to share with you their reasoning (when people start a debate with me, the first thing we get into is why I chose not to be religious. Personally, I am very open about it. I am not ashamed to tell you why I don't believe.) Don't force the person to tell you their reasons -- in due time, they may open up and let you in. Until then, just be there for them. Making a decision like this is a lot harder than you think....More

Letter from India: The Great Game is alive and in a new guise

2006-05-01T13:48:00.000+06:00

01 May 2006
Mahendra Ved

THE fall of absolute monarchy in Nepal, despite its somewhat emotional context of being the world’s only Hindu kingdom, could make India look north to redefine its geostrategic goals.

On the one hand, it means advancement of democracy as part of the changes in the region, be it Afghanistan or the Central Asian republics. One is not necessarily buying wholesale the Western (read American) concept of what should constitute democracy. But a change from party-less or single-party democracies seems possible in the not-too- distant future, in Myanmar or even Tibet and China.

Poll drums are being heard from Bangladesh, the battle- ground for two formidable women politicians, each with a political legacy to defend. No matter who wins, India would be happy if it stabilises a volatile border from where it receives job-seeking migrants who stay on. India is large and relatively better off. But it cannot have an unrestricted inflow of people who change its demography and cause socioeconomic upheavals.

Many Indians are happy that President George W. Bush praised Indian democracy, while reminding Pakistan that it was time it had one. But that does not ease the task of handling the complexities of Indo-Pakistani relations.

That Bush and, more than him, his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, prefer multi-party, multi-ethnic, multi- linguistic democracies like India, Indonesia and Malaysia has become clear to the Indian intelligentsia.

The change in Nepal is being seen in that larger context, with the hope that, however chaotic, Nepalese democracy would prevent the Himalayan nation from sliding into a failed state. As the largest country in South Asia, India cannot afford failed or failing states on its borders.

The strategic aspect of the painful change in Nepal, still under way, may take a while to unfold. Until then, New Delhi could look beyond the Himalayas where it perceives a major answer to its quest for energy security lies.

That is where the new "Great Game" is unfolding. Its name is energy. It explains the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Uzbekistan.

India views Central Asia as its "extended neighbourhood" because of the strong cultural links. After decades of dealing with the region via Moscow, it is turning its gaze on each of these landlocked nations where, to thwart Russian preponderance, China is already in and, since 9/11, the US.

The complexity is exemplified by the potshots that Uzbek President Islam Karimov, a dedicated US ally for five years, chose to take at the Bush administration and Nato during the Indian visit. He noted that the powerful West had failed to curb the spiralling production of narcotics in Afghanistan, let alone catch Osama bin Laden and Taliban supremo Mullah Omar.

But India needs Central Asian gas and will try its best to work on the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan pipe- line, even if it means defying the US and collaborating with China.

While the US is crying "democracy" in Uzbekistan, after it was asked to quit the military base at Khanabad, India has stepped in with offers of IT, telecom and other know- how, ready to prospect for oil and minerals, education, farm research, and so on.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between India and Uzbekistan for the establishment of an Uzbekistan-India Entrepre- neurship Centre in the Uzbek capital, which will train young entrepreneurs and lead to extra employment.

However, the Indian reach across the Himalayas is limited by the fact that not enough is done on the ground. After the initial enthusiasm shown when Central Asia fell free of Moscow, little has been done to build on the old relationships and the nostalgia of the Raj Kapoor cinema.

For one, officials admit that India does not have "deep pockets" — in other words, it is not ready and equipped to play a global part. Also, India’s airlines, investors and traders have not learnt from the success of L.N. Mittal with his steel plant in Kazakhstan. There is still an unexplained fear of the "back of beyond".

On the other hand, there is renewed talk of an India-China-Russia axis, if for little else, for mutual energy security. But India expects to play only a minor role since it views China as a competitor in the race for oil and gas.

For India, there is no single dimension to be tackled in isolation. As an observer on the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO), the grouping of Russia, China and four of the Central Asian republics — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — India would not be directly participating in military exercises.

But India does feel the need to counter the growing Chinese military presence in Myanmar at one end of the South Asian spectrum, and at Gwadar, the Chinese-built naval base in Baluchistan at the other. Indian security experts are still groping for an answer, though.

But it is not all military. Sherthang is a little village in Sikkim in the Himalayas, where trials have begun to resume border trade between India and China, snapped after the 1962 conflict, via the Nathu La pass.

Starting this month, perhaps, trade will begin. Chinese silk, yak tails and raw wool are likely to hit Indian markets from this village in exchange for Indian farm products, textiles, watches, shoes, canned food, tobacco, rice and dried fruit. One is reminded of the saying, "Money makes the mare go".

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Nasreen...our Daffodil.

2006-05-01T12:50:00.000+06:00

Nasreen...our Daffodil

Shaheda Hassan Nina

It difficult to speak about Nasreen in the past tense, and without emotions...but I was asked by my brother Mac to say something in print, so here I go.....although as I sit to write, I am numbed with a strange feeling because, the truth that she is no more has yet to settle in on me, even after a week now.

Is it the distance or is it because she went away without even saying goodbye,while I was going through my daily routine in another country, quite oblivious to the fact that such tragedy awaited us!

I was working when a phone call on my cell by my friend Rubina in Washington awoke me to the cruel truth that Nasreen is no more. It could not be true, I shouted to her and more phone calls later...it dawned on me that yes, my closest friend has indeed passed away.

Next morning, I caught myself talking to her as was I was going out of the house..another close friend, Rounak in Hamilton also had the same experience. She was given a bouquet by her staff on this sad occasion and she too said that she was telling Happy to see how beautiful the flowers were! Are we shell shocked or is Nasreen really listening to us because now she has the freedom to go beyond one country?..don't know..can't tell.

Nasreen always had time for everybody..whether it is a village women awaiting health care or an acid survivor needing some comfort or Barish (her nephew) who wanted her to read a bed-time story..she touched people's heart and made a difference to their lives.

I remember, when she came into my house, the first stop would be at the kitchen, where she would chat with the household staff and ask them what they were making for her to eat, throwing them into fits of giggle, then a peep into my daughters' room ( they were teenagers and needed some peer support from Nasreen aunty!) and then finally she would come to my bedroom and embrace me in her all too familiar cozy embrace.

This was Nasreen. Ever in a rush to do many things and ever apologetic that she had not come to see me or the girls in a while. I could never understand why she always was in such a great rush...her daily agenda was crowded with a thousand errands or issues or meetings, but every night it ended with a visit to her mom, whom she never failed to visit.

My own mom having passed away years ago,I remember telling her,that her mom should be her priority of visit, not her friends...as she was getting old..lest did we all know, that Nasreen was rushing on with life because her own time was limited; so she needed to make her mom the happiest mom ever.

We shared so many memories together that it would have to be written in a book...but I will only tell you about the last time I saw her. It was around this time last year that I went back to Bangladesh. Nasreen had then become a mother and she was SO HAPPY!

I went to see her in her mom's house in Dhanmondi and I remember Nasreen holding little Jamila to her chest...she looked so tranquil and beautiful that for a moment I remained transfixed and could only look at her quiet bliss.

Little Jamila was the focus of her attention for the last one and half year..as I mentioned before, Nasreen lighted up people's lives..but Jamila lighted up her entire existense...only God felt that her wordly day was done and her happiness should be short-lived. Why? because Happy was so HAPPY? Really!

Daffodils are springing up all over. It reminded me of Sister Joseph Mary in Holy Cross College who would recite very emotionally Robert Herrick's poem

Fair Daffadils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attain'd his noon.

Nasreen, we will always weep for you and miss you..our Daffodil. May Allah rest your good soul in peace.

Inspired by Nasreen's work on the violence against women, Shaheda Hassan Nina is currently undertaking a diploma on Assaulted Women and Children's Counselling and Advocay Program at George Brown College, Toronto, Canada

'The Ruling Caste'

2006-04-30T16:45:00.000+06:00

By DAVID GILMOUR
Published: April 30, 2006

During their brief momentous period of collaboration, Joseph Stalin and Joachim von Ribbentrop agreed that it was absurd that so much of the world should be ruled by Great Britain. In particular, the Russian leader told the Nazi Foreign Minister, it was 'ridiculous ... that a few hundred Englishmen should dominate India'. He was referring to the men of the Indian Civil Service (ICS).

The statistic alone seems ridiculous. In 1901, when Queen Victoria died, the 'few hundred' numbered just over a thousand, of whom a fifth were at any time either sick or on leave. Yet they administered directly (in British India) or indirectly (in the princely states) a population of nearly 300 million people spread over the territory of modern India, Pakistan, Burma and Bangladesh.

Stalin's grumble contained perhaps a touch of tacit admiration. More explicit praise came from earlier foreign leaders who, like him, had been in search of empires to rule. Bismarck thought Britain's work in India would be 'one of its lasting monuments', while Theodore Roosevelt told the British they had done 'such marvellous things in India' that they might 'gradually, as century succeeds century ... transform the Indian population, not in blood, probably not in speech, but in government and culture, and thus leave [their] impress as Rome did hers on Western Europe'.

It is not difficult to find foreign eulogies of British civil servants in India, from the French Abbé Dubois, who in 1822 extolled their 'uprightness of character, education and ability', to the Austrian Baron Hübner who in 1886 ascribed the 'miracles' of British administration to 'the devotion, intelligence, the courage, the perseverance, and the skill combined with an integrity proof against all temptation, of a handful of officials and magistrates who govern and administer the Indian Empire'. Similar tributes can also be found in unexpected places in Britain. Lloyd George, the Liberal leader, lauded the Service as 'the steel frame' that held everything together, while John Strachey, the Labour minister, judged it the 'least corruptible ... ablest and ... most respectable of all the great bureaucracies of the world'.

The same words recur again and again, even from Indian nationalists and their newspapers at the end of the nineteenth century: impartial, high-minded, conscientious, incorruptible. The ICS may have had its critics-even within its own ranks-but about its elevated standards there was no argument. N.B. Bonarjee, a member of the Service but also an Indian nationalist, praised 'its rectitude, its sense of justice, its tolerance, its sense of public duty', as well as 'its high administrative ability'. After independence in 1947, the new nations of Pakistan and India each displayed pride in its traditions. While in Karachi a Government pamphlet proclaimed that the Pakistan Civil Service was the 'successor' of the ICS, 'the most distinguished Civil Service in the world', in Delhi the Home Minister, Vallabhbhai Patel, used it as a model for the Indian Administrative Service, a body that played a crucial role in the integration and unification of the new state. Even at the beginning of the twenty-first century retired members of the IAS were recalling the exploits of their British predecessors with almost embarrassing effusiveness.

The high reputation of the ICS was never reflected in the literature of the country where most of its members were born. This was no doubt partly because civil servants do not make exciting characters in fiction, even when they do much of their work on horseback. During the existence of the Raj they sometimes appeared in the novels of largely forgotten authors such as Alexander Allardyce, Flora Annie Steel, W. W. Hunter, Edward Thompson and A. E. W. Mason. More recently they have featured in the fiction of three winners of the Booker Prize, although not in any leading role except in J. G. Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur, a historical novel about the Indian Mutiny. In Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Heat and Dust the civil servant is a hapless figure whose wife has an affair with the local nawab, while in Paul Scott's The Jewel in the Crown he is an uncomfortable liberal who disavows his predecessors and is limited to a brief appearance in a single volume of the Raj Quartet.

Scott's work, criticized both by Indian nationalists and by British conservatives, is a brilliant portrait of the Raj in its closing years. Yet it is limited not only in time but also in the range of its British characters, who (apart from some missionaries) are nearly all connected to the Army. Rudyard Kipling painted a fuller and richer picture of the Raj at its zenith, but this too is restricted in scope, mainly because he lived nearly all his time in the Punjab and left India at the age of 23. He also took most of his characters from the military (with a preference for NCOs and Other Ranks), and distributed his civilians in professions as diverse as forestry and engineering. Some of Kipling's few civil servants are strong men, dedicated paternalists obsessed with duty and the welfare of Indians. But others are pedantic or frivolous or impractical. In his story 'Tod's Amendment' he gave a 6-year-old boy more understanding of agricultural tenancies than the Legal Member of the Viceroy's Council.

Although Kipling was the principal chronicler of British India, the most enduring effigy of its administrators was carved by E. M. Forster in A Passage to India. The two writers approached the Subcontinent from angles that could hardly have been more different. Kipling was born in India and returned at the age of 16 to earn his living as a journalist in Lahore. Forster had already published most of his novels by the time he sailed for Bombay in search of India and Indian friendships. There was nothing in his background, character or outlook that predisposed him to look favourably on the Raj. Indeed several of his friends in the Bloomsbury Group had abandoned their traditional family links with imperial rule. They even persuaded one of their members, Rex Partridge, the son and nephew of ICS officials, to change his name to the less regal-sounding Ralph.

A Passage to India is a subtle and in certain ways sensitive work, a well-crafted drama with an evocative sense of place and some plausible Indian characters. But its author's loathing of the British in India-a feeling he confessed to in private-turned it into a tendentious political novel, at any rate for many of his contemporary readers. Kipling was fascinated by other men's professions and wrote numerous stories about work; so was Scott, who diligently carried out research into how the British had administered India. But Forster was seldom interested in writing about work; he preferred portraying people at their leisure or in their domesticity in Florence and the Home Counties. He did not see civil servants inspecting hospitals or canals but witnessed them relaxing at 'the Club', where he judged them philistine and stupid. Then he turned them into caricatures. His District Officer, Turton, is pompous and absurd and wants 'to flog every native' in sight as soon as there is a crisis; his memsahibs are even worse, crude stereotypes, compounds of nothing but snobbery and racial prejudice. Their actions are seldom more credible than their characters. Forster makes them react to an obscure incident in a cave as if it had been a minor massacre. They gather at the club and make semi-hysterical suggestions about calling out the Army, 'clearing the bazaars' and sending the women and children to the hills. There is almost nothing believable about the scene at the club or about the arrest and trial of Aziz, where Forster's ignorance of administration and judicial procedure let him down again. Yet these events, described in fiction and depicted in film, form one of the most abiding images of British India.

The principal historical portrait is a kinder one. Fifty years ago, a former civil servant, Philip Mason, published (under the pseudonym Philip Woodruff) his two volumes of The Men Who Ruled India, The Founders and The Guardians. They are the work of a wise man and a talented writer who wrote affectionately yet sometimes critically of a Service which had on the whole, he thought, justified its reputation for altruism and benevolent rule. Although regularly and unfairly denounced by post-colonial critics as hagiography, it is the work on the subject best known to non-academic readers.

Two historiograpical developments in the late 1970s changed academic attitudes towards the Service. The most important was the publication in 1978 of Edward Said's Orientalism, a hugely influential book that spawned legions of disciples, in India and elsewhere, who took it for granted that colonial rule was always evil and colonialist motives were invariably bad. The other was a sudden interest shown by a number of North American historians in demolishing the reputation of the ICS. In 1976 Bradford Spangenberg published a thesis claiming that the Service was obsessed with status and promotion and declaring that, as a result of his 'scrutiny of the characteristics and motivations of British officials', he had destroyed the 'myths' of its efficiency and 'self-sacrificial esprit de corps'. Although his 'scrutiny' generally and curiously eschewed the examination of civil servants' private papers, it was welcomed by other historians equally eager to demonstrate the self-interest and lack of altruism in the Service. It soon became normal to read American studies of British India without finding a decent motive ascribed to officials who had spent a good part of their careers digging canals, fighting crime and organizing famine relief. Even the officers of the Indian Medical Service, men working (with a certain success) to combat malaria, plague and cholera, were accused of carrying out research 'driven by narrowly professional motives' and of trying 'to advance their careers at home by contributing to the advance of a universal medical science'. 10 How contributions to the advance of medical science can be regarded as inherently sinful is something of a mystery. Even odder is the implication that trying to advance one's career is an activity unknown to American historians.

The most significant contributions to the subject since Woodruff are The District Officer by Roland Hunt and John Harrison, which is outside my period, and Clive Dewey's Anglo-Indian Attitudes, which just touches the end of it. Dewey's study concentrates on two very different figures in the ICS, Malcolm Darling, a friend of Forster who also befriended Indians, and Frank Lugard Brayne, an Evangelical who attempted to transform his district by enforcing sanitary and agricultural improvements. The author took the two men to represent the Cult of Friendship and the Gospel of Uplift, two contrasting outlooks which, he argued, alternated as the dominant British attitude to India between the governorship of Clive and the viceroyalty of Mountbatten.

Paul Scott became so interested in the mechanics of the Raj that he even contemplated writing a non-fictional account of its working routines. He wished that the last British generation in India would stop reminiscing about tigers and elephants and the smell of dung fires, and tell him how their curious administration had functioned. 'How did it work?' There was 'nothing more maddening', he told a retired civil servant, 'than the lack of printed evidence of how men like you actually spent their day. From chota bazri to sundown. Minute by minute, hour by hour.'

This book does not pretend to explain how the administration worked. That would require a study not only of Stalin's 'few hundred' but of the hundreds of thousands of Indian subordinates who were employed in the various different services. But it does aim to show what the senior men did, how they worked and how they lived from chota bazri to sundown, from apprenticeship to the Collector's bungalow and, in some cases, to Simla and Government House. It takes them from background and recruitment through their careers to their retirement; it describes their work and their ambitions, their thoughts and their beliefs, their leisure time and their domestic existences. I have attempted to explain why they went to India, what they did when they got there, and what they thought about it all. While mindful of recent post-colonial scholarship, I have tried to be unprejudiced in assessing their strengths and weaknesses, their successes and failures. If I have been incapable of doing so without irony, I hope at least that I have been fair.

My approach has been an individual's on individuals, coming to the institution through its members, not the other way round. That is why some sections deal exclusively with a single official, notably Alfred Lyall, whose life is chronicled from training to retirement. I began doing research on the ICS fifteen years ago, while working on a biography of Lord Curzon, and since then I have come across hundreds of people writing or being written about in private papers. The experience has led me to appreciate the diversity within the structure. Despite my admiration for Dewey's work, I find that few of the people I have investigated fit comfortably into one or other of his categories: most of them have bits of both Darling and Brayne.

No doubt this view places me in Dewey's categories of 'unreconstructed liberal' or empiricist who denies the importance of ideologies and the Zeitgeist. Of course I am aware that there was a civil service ethos imbibed at Haileybury or Oxford and later reinforced in the provincial capitals of Bombay, Lahore and elsewhere. Similar ideas percolated in the clubs and in the secretariats. But always there was the diversity encouraged by diverse circumstances. The experience of Madras was very different from that of the Punjab; men in obscure districts did not see things in the same way as their colleagues in Calcutta. Ultimately officials in India had to live on their own resources, their lives determined by individual temperaments, environment and experience- and by the eternal problems of human relationships. . . .

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Bingo Forum HowKowz as on 28April 2006

2006-04-28T14:00:00.000+06:00

Topic: Is the Koran the perfectly preserved revelation of aLLAH
Status: Ongoing

How could an ant know the name of Suleyman? Can ants hear and understand human languages? Why did Allah reveal that when Suleyman and his army reached the valley of the ants, an ant said,"Ants! Enter your dwellings so that Sulayman and his troops do not crush you" Doesn't Allah know that ants can't hear and understand human speech? Why did Allah reveal that Suleyman heard and understood the ant's speech? Doesn't Allah know that ants convey messages to other ants only through feelers/antennae.

Topic: Rabindranath Tagore
Status: Ongoing

This shameless laureate fought shoulder to shoulder with the management by shaking hands with the communal group members of the University of Calcutta as well as the lawyers of the Calcutta Court. HOW MANY BANGLADESHIS ARE PROUD OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DACCA? These sons of the soil must speak loudly that they are the products of that institution. HOW MANY BANGLADESHIS KNOW THAT Bishwa-Kobi-Raj-Guru OPPOSED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAME UNIVERSITY BETWEEN 1910 AND 1920? Why the Bangladeshis need to honor such a scoundrel laureate? If there was no University in Dacca then the entire population would face a situation like Nepal or Bhutan or Afghanistan. What was the prime reason for Bishwa-Kobi-Raj-Guru to oppose this University? Do we have answer? Indeed Bishwa-Kobi-Raj-Guru was communally motivated......Finally, Bishwa Kobi-Raj-Guru had no connection with Bangladesh before 1947 and after 1947. His no family member or relatives belong to Bangladesh. His son-in-law was a British citizen and died there. His situation is not the same as Kazi Nazrul Islam. Again, Bishwa Kobi-Raj-Guru is not the National Poet of Bangladesh. Such a laureate has no room in India as well as a National Poet. The prime reason for that he regarded as a scoundrel tout writer who had no fame in any branch of literature. Name any branch - he has touched, but never acquired championship. He has no parallel work compared to the champions in other languages. He was a mere reproducer and copier of old works of some less known people such as Lalan Fakir. He also stole many concepts from the Persian literature beside English competitors. Why Bangladeshis need to bother about such a stupid garbage copier? Since his ashes were thrown in Bhagirathi then we need to throw his legacies in the Bay of Bengal........More

The contemporary debates among Bangladeshis is that eversince the partition movement, even Tagore changed his alliegiance from Bengal to India and he personally recommended that Bankim's "Bande Materem..." song should be adopted as India's national anthem. It is however true that Tagore's song is a beautiful expression of Bengal. However, in reality it remains only an illusion. The reality is that since the time of Tagore many things have changed. West Bengal joined with India, and East Bengal with Pakistan. Again during the liberatin war of Bangladesh in 1971, India with our West Bengali brothers secretely built the Farakka dam to deprive the Bangladeshis of the needed water, drying up our "sonar bangla". There is no sign of West Bengal joinining with Bangladesh.Despite our cries, there has been no protest from West Bengali brothers against India in the destruction of "sonar Bangla". It seems that they Like us sing their song but don't like to hear our cries! And our singing of Tagore's song morning and evenings, every day doesn't change their mind to stop building further dams. Our waters have been taken away for ever......More

Who the f**k cares what song you beggardeshis like to sing?! But, we will appreciate if you sing like this:

O merey paki chodan kay sathi, Ab fir chodo humko,
hum sab hain chutiya beggardeshi.

(Greetings to our Pakistani f**k buddies, please f**k us again as you did in 1971. We love you because we are some kinda dumb f**k stupid beggardeshis)....More