Indian soldiers lauded in Israeli textbooks for freeing city

Press Trust of India | Updated: September 23, 2012 11:01 IST
Haifa, Israel: While remaining largely unknown in their own country, some Indian soldiers will now become household names in Haifa in northern Israel after figuring in the history textbooks taught at schools for their contribution in liberating this city in 1918.
The municipality of Haifa has gone ahead with its decision to immortalise the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers, many of whom are buried in the cemetery here, by including the stories of their valiant efforts in liberating the coastal city during the First World War in the school curricula as part of the history textbooks.
"The move is a part of Haifa municipalities efforts to preserve the city's history and heritage," Hedva Almog, deputy Mayor of Haifa told people gathered to pay respects to Indian soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war to liberate the city.
Haifa Historical Society has done an extensive research on the role of the Indian army in the region.
As per their findings, a large number of Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives in this region during the First World War and nearly 900 are cremated or buried in cemeteries across Israel.
Almog said that the municipality is planning big centenary celebrations to commemorate the event in 2018, calling upon India to join hands in making it a success.
Charge de Affaires at the Indian mission in Tel Aviv, Vani Rao, reacted positively to the request extending support in organising the Centenary celebrations.
The Indian army commemorates September 23rd every year as Haifa Day, to pay its respects to the two brave Indian Cavalry Regiments that helped liberate the city in 1918 following a dashing cavalry action by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.
Residents of the Israeli city also celebrate Haifa Day the same day with a series of cultural programmes during the week.
Indian soldiers lauded in Israeli textbooks for freeing city

HC raps police over 'arbitrary' arrest of cartoonist Trivedi

HC raps police over 'arbitrary' arrest of cartoonist Trivedi
Press Trust of India / Mumbai September 14, 2012, 16:55
Dubbing the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on the charge of sedition as "arbitrary" and on "frivolous" grounds, the Bombay High Court today said it breached his freedom of speech and expression.
The court also said it intended to lay down guidelines for application of the pre-Independence law to ensure that liberties guaranteed to citizens in a civil society are not encroached.
"How can you (police) arrest people on frivolous grounds? You arrest a cartoonist and breach his liberty of freedom of speech and expression," a division bench of justices D Y Chandrachud and Amjad Sayyed said, voicing strong displeasure over the arrest of Kanpur-based cartoonist whom it had granted bail two days back.
The Kanpur-based cartoonist, arrested last Saturday, was released on Monday after the high court granted him bail amid mounting public outcry.>br> Observing that Trivedi's arrest was prima facie "arbitrary", the court said, "We have one Aseem Trivedi who was courageous enough to raise his voice and stand against this, but what about several others whose voices are shut by police."
The court was hearing a PIL filed by a lawyer Sanskar Marathe against Trivedi's arrest, which he described as "illegal, bad in law, and unjustified".
Noting that the law governing sedition was a pre- Independence provision in the statute book when government wanted protection from citizens, the bench said it intended to lay "parameters" for its application to check misuse.
"If there are no parameters there will be serious encroachment of a person's liberties guaranteed to him in a civil society," the bench said.
HC raps police over 'arbitrary' arrest of cartoonist Trivedi

SC quashes HC's gag order on troops movement

SC quashes HC's gag order on reporting troops movement
Friday, September 14, 2012, 16:29
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the Allahabad High Court order which had prevented media from reporting on the controversy related to alleged Army units' movement towards Delhi on January 16 amid the then prevailing row over erstwhile Army Chief V K Singh's date of birth.
A bench of justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad allowed the plea of Press Council of India which had challenged the order saying that court cannot impose such a ban on media as it violates the freedom of speech.
The bench said the high court erred in passing such order as ban on media was not sought and the prayer was only to hold an inquiry into the controversial incident.
"We are of the opinion that the high court should not have passed the order as the prayer before it was entirely different and it was inconsonance with the prayer made by the petitioner," the bench said.
The court also took into account its recent Constitution bench judgement which had said press can only be directed to postpone the reporting for a certain period.
The Centre also said it was against the high court's order and it should be quashed.
The high court had directed various Central and state government authorities on April 10 "to ensure that there is no reporting/release of any news item by the print or electronic media on the movement of troops."
The high court's order was passed on a PIL which said a national daily and a news magazine had reported on movements of the Army units from Agra to Delhi when the Singh's age row controversy was at peak. The petitioner had said the reports were against national interest.
The PCI had approached the apex court saying the order was in violation of the fundamental right under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution, granted to the media and every citizen of the country.
SC quashes HC's gag order on reporting troops movement
Business Standard report

Indian Politicians become intolerant to Jokes and Cartoons

An Indian cartoonist has been jailed for his drawings highlighting government corrruption. Aseem Trivedi has been charged with sedition for his cartoons that mock the Indian government. His supporters say the decision is evidence of political leaders' growing intolerance of criticism and the freedom of expression. Gerald Tan has more.
Scamsters and money launderers are free in India but a cartoonist who drew funny pictures is in Jail... This is height of Jokes in India.
He's a cartoonist. A political cartoonists job is to mock the corrupt and powerful. I was wondering what cartoons could be so horrible that they might get him in trouble and I was shocked that the cartoons are actually utterly innocuous. He used "national symbols" because he believes, rightly apparently, that the corrupt are raping the nation itself. His arrest proves that he wasn't exaggerating. It proves his innocence and the government's guilt. He has won.

Greetings: Report My Signal

REPORT MY SIGNAL

Chander Kamboj
For my NRI Friends
Link to Door Darshan News Live on Web.
http://webcast.gov.in/live/
Watch and listen to the PM of India giving the 15 Aug speech from the ramparts of The Red Fort At 0700 hours IST

WISHING YOU ALL AND YOUR FAMILIES
A VERY HAPPY
AND ENJOYABLE INDEPENDENCE DAY

Independence Day Greetings

I LOVE MY NATION............
Jana gana mana adhinayaka jaya he
Barata bagya vidata
Punjab sindu Gujarat Marat
Dravida utcla Banga
Vindhya himachala Ganga
Ucchala jaladi taranga
Tubh shuba name jagr
Tubh shuba ashisha manga
Gahe tubh jaya gade
jana gana mana adhinayaka jaya he
Barata bagya vidata
Jaya he ! Jaya he ! Jaya he!
Jaya jaya jaya jaya he
........JAIHIND
RMS Team wishes all the Readers
A Happy Republic Day

Government trying to censor blogging?

By R Shankar, India Syndicate, 22/03/2011
Govt trying to censor blogging?
Is the Indian Government snooping on bloggers? Is a worried and nervous government trying to censor what bloggers write? Will the government snip uncomfortable opinion or comments?

Coming soon after the infamous Radia tapes where the government eves-dropped on corporate communication in hotel rooms and other private spaces, the issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha by Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday during the Zero Hour.

Said Chandrasekhar: "Indian bloggers are vibrant stakeholders of democracy, they represent young thoughts and their initiatives play an important role in the Indian political system. Youth rely on the phenomenon called blogging for news, to exchange ideas, thoughts and there should no censorship or control of thought on the Internet".

He urged the Government "to prevent any form of censorship, any form of control over blogs, bloggers and Internet"

A member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, Chandrasekhar pointed out to media reports that said that the Government was proposing to block or shut down blogs as well as bloggers if the opinions posted in them do not suit Government, institutions or individuals.

He said the move is one sided as the Government was planning to publish new rules in the Official Gazette under the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2009 without inviting public opinion.

The rules, if they come into force, "will infringe upon the Right to Freedom of Expression of the bloggers and users of the internet - as the internet has become an essential part of our daily life," said the MP.

The new rules are ready to be notified in the Official Gazette and then these rules will come into force, he said.

The rules require intermediaries such as service providers not to host or publish any information, which in the context of the internet, does include bloggers.

Additionally, the rules propose to authorise the intermediaries to remove access to 'infringing' material if they themselves gave actual knowledge or are asked to do so by a mandated authority.

"The execution of these rules in its existing form will be a blow to the vibrant blogging community and bloggers. It could result in a shutting down of the internet, which is the main form of expression for growing Indians, if the information posted is found inconvenient to Government, institutions or individuals. This is certainly against our basic democratic principles," he added.

Chandrasekhar urged the Government to be transparent by inviting public opinion and involve the blogging community before finalising and implementing these rules.
Source: India Syndicate
Govt trying to censor blogging?
Comment: Success of Citizens movement like in Syria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Tunsia, Bahrain and other ME Nations ruled by dictators/ Shiekh Royal Families is directly derived from the power of the Internet Social Networking medium. Is our country choosing to curb the Freedom of Speech or is it getting nervous? Are we heading towards a full fledged banana/ fake republic/ democracy in totality? Should it not focus on Governance and enable Democracy? It is not Governance deficit but total lack of Governance that is breeding criminals. What about Electoral/ Police/ Judicial reforms? What about passing Lok Pal Bill without dilution? Does every village have access to clean drinking water? Do we have 24 hour assured electricity in all the villages? What about implementation of RTE in all the states? The Bureaucrats seem to be misleading the Nation and misguiding the Politicians to suppress Citizen Movements working for a vibrant democracy.

RTI Logo & Portal Launched

PIB: Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Shri Prithviraj Chavan launched the Logo on RTI and the RTI portal today in the presence of Shri. A N. Tiwari, Chief Information Commission and Shri. Shantanu Consul, Secretary, DoPT.

It is a simple and iconic logo depicting a sheet of paper with information on it, and the public authority – providing the information. This represents people’s empowerment through transfer and accountability in Governance. The logo’s shape and structure make it easy to remember, recall and replicate with minimal distortion.

In the last five years the RTI regime has heralded a regime of transparency and accountability and strengthened the democratic structure of the country. Success stories of citizens using the RTI Act abound. The Act has achieved great success in empowering the citizens of India. However it was felt that the core values of the RTI regime – Empowerment, Transparency and Accountability- need to be given a shape in the form of a logo. The logo would be displayed at all public authorities and will be used in various communications related to RTI.

The Right to Information Portal – A Gateway on RTI – was also formally launched on this occasion. The portal is one stop knowledge bank for information seekers, information providers, trainers, Information Commissions, students and academicians. It provides for a digital library, discussion fora, e- newsletter and a blog. Latest judgments of the High Courts and Information Commissions; reports, articles, guides, manuals, handbooks for various stakeholders; online certificate course are also available on this portal. There is facility for stakeholders to interact through dedicated and open discussion forum and register as resource persons. The web URL for the Portal is www.rtigateway.org.in
RTI Logo & Portal Launched
RTI Portal

Indians have succeeded in other countries but failed in India

Silicon Valley alone contains over one lakh Indians

To sum up our performance in the 20th century in one sentence: Indians have succeeded in countries ruled by whites, but failed in their own ...

This outcome would have astonished leaders of our independence movement. They declared Indians were kept down by white rule and could flourish only under self-rule. This seemed self-evident. The harsh reality today is that Indians are succeeding brilliantly in countries ruled by whites, but failing in India. They are flourishing every where specifically in the USA and Britain.

But those that stay in India are pulled down by an outrageous system that fails to reward merit or talent. Fails to allow people and businesses to grow, and keeps real power with netas, babus, and assorted manipulators. Once Indians go to white-ruled countries, they soar and conquer summits once occupied only by whites.

Rono Dutta has become head of United Airlines, the biggest airline in the world. Had he stayed in India, he would have no chance in Indian Airlines. Even if the top job there was given to him by some godfather, a myriad netas, babus and trade unionists would have ensured that he could never run it like United Airlines.

Rana Talwar has become head of Standard Chartered Bank Plc, one of the biggest multinational banks in Britain , while still in his 40s. Had he been in India , he would perhaps be a local manager in the State Bank, taking orders from=2 0babus to give loans to politically favoured clients.

Rajat Gupta is head of Mckinsey, the biggest management consultancy firm in the world. He now advises the biggest multinationals on how to run their business. Had he remained in India he would probably be taking orders from some sethji with no qualification save that of being born in a rich family.

Lakhsmi Mittal has become the biggest steel baron in the world, with steel plants in the US , Kazakhstan , Germany , Mexico , Trinidad and Indonesia . India 's socialist policies reserved the domestic steel industry for the public sector. So Lakhsmi Mittal went to Indonesia to run his family's first steel plant there. Once freed from the shackles of India , he conquered the world.

Subhash Chandra of Zee TV has become a global media king, one of the few to beat Rupert Murdoch. He could never have risen had he been limited to India , which decreed a TV monopoly for Doordarshan. But technology came to his aid: satellite TV made it possible for him to target India from Hong Kong . Once he escaped Indian rules and soil, he soared.

48-year old Gururaj Deshpande. His communications company, Sycamore, is currently valued by the US stock market at over $ 30 billion, making him perhaps one of the richest Indians in the world. Had he remained in India, he would probably be a babu in the Department of Telecommunications.

Arun Netravali has become president of Bell Labs, one of the biggest research and development centres in the world with 30,000 inventions and several Nobel Prizes to its credit. Had he been in India, he would probably be struggling in the middle cadre of Indian Telephone Industries. Silicon Valley alone contains over one lac Indian millionaires.

And to add more to the list: Sabeer Bhatia invented Hotmail and sold it to Microsoft for $ 400 million. Victor Menezes is number two in Citibank. Shailesh Mehta is CEO of Providian, a top US financial services company. Also at or near the top are Rakesh Gangwal of US Air, Jamshd Wadia of Arthur Andersen, and Aman Mehta of Hong Kong & amp; Shanghai Banking Corp.

In Washington DC, the Indian CEO High Tech Council has no less than 200 members, all high tech-chiefs. While Indians have soared, India has stagnated. At independence India was the most advanced of all colonies, with the best prospects.

Today with a GNP per head of $370, it occupies a lowly 177th position among 209 countries of the world. But poverty is by no means the only or main problem. India ranks near the bottom in the UNDP's Human Development Index, but high up in Transparency International' s Corruption Index.

The neta-babu raj brought in by socialist policies is only one reason for India 's failure. The more sordid reason is the rule-based society we inherited from the British Raj is today in tatters. Instead money, muscle and influence matter most.

At independence we were justly proud of our politicians. Today we regard them as scoundrels and criminals. They have created jungle laws in the holy name of socialism, and used these to line their pockets and create patronage networks. No influential crook suffers. The Mafia flourish unhindered because of political links.

The sons of police officers believe they have a licence to rape and kill (ask the Mattoo family). Talent cannot take you far amidst such rank misgovernance. We are reverting to our ancient feudal system where no rules applied to the powerful. The British Raj brought in abstract concepts of justice for all, equality before the law. These were maintained in the early years of independence. But fifty years later, citizens wail that India is a lawless land where no rules are obeyed.

An IAS probationer at the Mussorie training academy points out that in India before the British came, making money and distributing favours to relatives was not considered a perversion of power, it was the very rationale of power. Why not revert!

A feudal official had a duty to enrich his family and caste. Then the British came and imposed a new ethical code on officials. But, why should we continue to choose British customs over desi ones now that we were independent?

The lack of transparent rules, properly enforced, is a major reason why talented Indians cannot rise in India. There's no Brain Drain - Brain in the Drain here otherwise!

The neta-babu raj remains intact despite supposed liberalisation. But once talented Indians go to rule-based societies in the west, they take off. In those societies all people play by the same rules, all have freedom to innovate without being strangled by regulations. Now, you know the reason!

This, then, is why Indians succeed in countries ruled by whites, and fail home. It is the saddest story of the last and current century.

Inputs: Ravi Shankar Jayaram, Research associate, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, The Hague
Indians succeed in countries ruled by whites
Indians have succeeded in other countries but failed in India ..?

It is the Veteran

It is the Veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Veteran, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the Veteran, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Veteran, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Veteran, who salutes the Flag,
It is the Veteran, who serves under the Flag,
To be buried by the flag.
by Aneshte Shaman
It is the Veteran
It was the Veteran who gave us our freedom
About our veterans

Letters from Readers

FOR ALL WHO DIED IN THE NAME OF DUTY FOR OUR FREEDOM
I am an avid reader of your Blog. I am forwarding a link which depicts how soldiers are respected in Canada. Maybe our countrymen can learn something from this.
With warm regards
Vipul

I would like to point out that this is an issue that has been around for a while but with it being Remembrance Day today I thought it was appropriate to share this with the world. This story is about a Canadian soldier but how many in the world can say that it could not be about one of their sons or daughters.
Remembrance day- click me

An article which appeared in Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad) during Mid October, 2008 written by Vice-Admiral Arun Kumar Singh who retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam is timely and needs to be made use of during the rally being held on 12th April, 2009.

Relevant extract is given below :
“India’s said history of lack of strategic vision and its inability to protect the wealth its entrepreneurs have traditionally generated resulted in about 1,300 years of foreign invasions, slaughter and subjugation, Progressively destroying the morale and respect of the military, in 61 years since Independence, will result in history repeating itself.
The three wise ministers reviewing the armed forces’ pay, may like to remember this letter written in 320 BC by Kautilya (author of Arthasashtra) to Emperor Chandra Gupta Maurya: ”… My Lord, the day the Mauryan solider has to demand his dues, or worse, plead for them, would neither have arrived overnight nor in vain. It will also bode ill for Magadha. For then, on that day, you my Lord, will have lost all moral sanction to be king! It will also be the beginning of the end of the Mauryan Empire!!”. I sincerely hope that a placard can suitably be designed and displayed at the Rally for wide publicity.
Regards,
Col Indarpal (Retd)

Indo- Pak War 1971: Public Memory is short

A Soldier's General: General Sam Manekshaw chats with Jawans about their war experiences. Circa Dec 1971.
16th December 1971 was a day to remember in more ways than one. The daybreak came not with bright sun-shine but with a severe storm raging in its full fury, it was more like a tornado with the corrugated tin- sheets from various structures around getting uprooted from their moorings by the force of the wind and flying around like unguided missiles.

Coming out of my hut I was buffeted by the strong gusts of the wind, crouching low and struggling against the wind force I slowly made my way to the mess for breakfast. However, the mess was in a mess with soot everywhere. No breakfast could be served that morning as the strong gusts of wind flowing in and out of the kitchen made it impossible to light the stove.

Down below in the planes of the then East Pakistan birth of BanglaDesh had taken place and the post- delivery calm prevailing. It was all quiet once again after days, months and years of killings of the locals prolonged fighting by the Mukti Bahini and a short fight with Indian forces when 90,000 odd of the Pakistani Army had surrendered to India Armed forces.

(Later while commanding the regiment at Ranchi, I had gone to Gaya, to visit the Brigade Signal Company located there and happened to visit the POW camp commanded by Lt Col Mahender Singh Tiawthia of Signals. I felt extremely sad to see the Pakistani young officers corralled behind the barbed wire fence)

The War of liberation over, the instrument of surrender having been signed at Dhaka and things returning to somewhat normal state, with my mother's demise at the back of my mind all the time I then requested and was granted a few days of leave.

Changing trains at Delhi Junction for Dehradun, I possibly one of the very few soldiers returning from the Eastern front was besieged by a welcoming party and escorted to a stall serving free Idli-Dosa and other South Indian delicacies.

Excitement of meeting Jeet and the children staying in separated family accommodation with many other families as neighbours was over-shadowed by once again the 'Survival's Feeling of Guilt' returning from the battle front, I was dreading of any bad news fortunately, all were safe.

The short leave over once again back at the Delhi Railway station I was looking for the stall dispensing free Dosas. However not only the welcome party was missing but the stall had also been wound-up. The fervour for the sacrifice by the Army made only a short time back was now History. Public memory is so short.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)