India approves 2.5 billion deal with Israeli Defence

New Delhi – India has started a 2.5-billion-dollar (Rs10,000 crore)  joint venture with Israel to develop an advanced range surface-to-air missile capable of detecting and destroying hostile aircraft, missiles and spy planes, news reports said Friday. India now buys half of its arms from Israel, making it Israel’s biggest customer. It is thus funding the Israeli occupation in Palestine, because the Israeli economy rests on its defense industry, its main export, as well as the inflow of US tax dollars.

With more than a billion people, India is a country of striking contrasts. India accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s poor and its fiscal deficit is one of the highest in the world. Almost half of Indian women are still illiterate; about 40 million primary school-age children are not in school. 21 percent increase and India. Just one lakh people in India account for at least one tenth of the country’s GDP. In 2006, India had 1,00,015 people with a personal net worth in excess of at least $1 million (Rs 4.1 crore) each, according to the World Wealth Report. Last year, the number of Indians getting richer grew at 20.5%.

According to the Israel National Insurance Institute findings, one of every four Israelis lives below the poverty line — that’s 1.6 million people. Thirty-five percent of children are living in poverty, leaving Israel with this unhappy distinction. The number of Israeli millionaires per capita is twice the world average, according to the 2005 World Wealth Report.  The rate of increase in the number of millionaires in Israel is 50 higher than global rates, says Merrill Lynch report (2006).

During BJP rule, the pro- zionist Hindutva intelligentia took the controle of political corridors of power in the Prime Minister’s office, the Defence Ministry and the Home ministry, in New Delhi. It is being alleged that the presence of this arms trading network were traced in many armed conflicts across India. This influential network also established various research institutions across India to hype security risks and thus to promote weapon trade. The money coming from the bribes and the kick backs have been channelised to the welfare of Sangh Parivar empire.  The military agreements, collaboration on nuclear and missile defense, and sharing of intelligence with Israel has continued even with the communist supported new United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

India’s Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday approved the project between the Defence Research and Development Organization and Israel Aerospace Industries for developing the missile system which would have a range of about 70 kilometres, the Times of India daily reported. The CCS’s meeting was attended by defence minister AK Antony, external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee, finance minister, P Chidambaram and home minister, Shivraj Patil. The venture would work towards developing an air defence system for the Indian Air Force to replace its ageing Soviet-era Pechoura missile system. India, which has traditional ties with the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) and has supported the Palestinian cause for decades, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Defense ties between the two countries have also boomed due to the ideological bondage between India’s Hindutva Fascism and  Israel’s Zionism.

Business Week reported in 2005 that India became Israel’s largest importer of weapons the previous year, accounting for about half of the $3.6 billion worth of weapons exported by that country. Not coincidentally, that year also proved to be the second best recorded year for the Israeli weapons industry, making Israel the 5th largest weapons exporter in the world and accounting for about 10 percent of the world’s weapons trade.

Poverty rates in Israel reached a new peak in 2005, although they leveled off in 2006, according to statistics by the National Insurance Institute. It ranks among Western countries with the greatest percentage of poor children, according to the insurance institute.

Some 7,400 Israelis are worth at least $1 million, the World Wealth Report said, including 84 who have at least $30 million. The total liquid assets of Israel’s upper echelon grew by 25 percent, to $30 billion, between 2004 and 2005, according to the report. Those designated by the report as the nine richest Israelis made their fortunes in everything from diamonds to real estate to communications to entertainment.

But, India and Israel have found a shared enemy to target in their respective “anti-terrorism” operations, conflating Kashmir and Pakistan with Palestine, and also common agreement on a framework that has gained global currency with Bush’s “war on terrorism,” resulting in the new “India-Israel-US axis.” US based Indian scholar, Vijay Prashad says Mossad and India’s Research Analysis Wing (RAW) shared information and analysis from the late 1970s onwards.

The door to Washington, many have realized, is through Tel Aviv. And in the U.S., according to some, the door to Capitol Hill is through AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group that shuts down all criticism of Israel as “anti-Semitic.” Hindu right-wing groups, such as the Indian American Political Action Committee (USINAPAC) and the Hindu American Foundation (linked to the VHP) have forged alliances with AIPAC and the American Jewish Committee. The missile deal has been hanging fire for at least a year, but its approval just before India’s national security adviser M.K. Narayanan’s trip to Washington is a signal to the powerful Jewish lobby in the US, whose support will be vital in seeing through the 123 Agreement in the US Congress. Reports says that US may get  another lucrative order from the Indian Air Force for 126 multi-role combat aircraft, the biggest military aviation deal in history.

The Israeli help comes after repeated delays in the indigenous Akash missile project that is still to undergo user trials, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, sources told the IANS news agency that 18 command and launch systems would be built for the new missile system. The new missile is likely to be an advanced version of the Israeli Spyder quick-reaction missile which has an effective range of 55 kilometres.

India and Israel are already in a 14-billion-rupee project to develop an extended-range version of the Barak missile that is deployed on frontline Indian Navy warships. The next-generation Barak will have a 70-kilometre range against the 10-kilometre radius of the existing missile.

India and Israel have increased cooperation in varied fields particularly in military and intelligence ventures since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992.

According government estimates, Israel has become India’s second biggest defence supplier after Russia, providing military equipment worth 1.6 billion dollars in 2006.

India has already acquired the Green Pine early-warning radar from Israel.

Other joint-venture projects are underway for spy planes, electronic warfare systems and AWACS (airborne warning and control systems), while Israel is helping India with the modernization of its Soviet-era fighter jets and tanks.

Recent Major Indian deals with Israel

Feb 2007

In Delhi, the Ashkenazi chief rabbi met top Hindu leaders including leaders of the RSS and BJP in what was termed as “Jewish-Hindu summit.” It led to a 9-point “Declaration of Mutual Understanding and Cooperation from the First Jewish-Hindu Leadership Summit”. The declaration was signed from the Hindu side by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, head of Dharma Acharya Sabha, who is close to the RSS. The tainted Kanchi Shankaracharya Swami Jayendra Saraswati too was involved with the Hindu side represented by some thirty prominent Hindu leaders. Israeli Ambassador David Danieli was also present during the dinner at Advani’s official residence while the (Jewish) Indian officer, Lt. Gen. (retd) JFR Jacob, was part of the Jewish delegation.  “Since Jews were a powerful community in the US, their association with Hindus would help to strengthen Indo-US relations.”  said, another key organizer, Mr. Bawa Jain.

Israel recently transferred five million shekels (5.5 Crores of Indian Rupees) to the Israel Anti-Drug Abuse Foundation (IADAF) operations in Goa. The  organization’s hostel in Goa which treats hundreds of Israelis who suffer from symptoms of drug abuse while traveling in the Indian sub-continent each year. Young Israelis after having to serve 3 years in the Army feel they need to explore the world and get away from all the problems of Israel. Every year, many Israeli young people enjoy their  freedom by visiting Indian beaches of Goa and Kerala and indulge in drug usage .

June 2007

Israeli deputy chief of general staff Major General Moshe Kaplinsky visited J&K from June 14 to discuss various issues with army officers in the state. He met Lt Gen Tej Sapru, general officer commanding of 16 corps and other senior officers in the state to discuss issues of mutual interest. Israel, ranks fifth globally in security-related exports and the role of its spy agency, MOSSAD is being  alleged in  many armed conflicts around the world.

Muslim Intellectual Forum (MIF), a Mumbai based platform of intellectuals, thinkers and human rights activists has linked the  release of Al-Qaida related CDs with the visit of Israeli military and intelligence delegation to India. In a statement Feroze H. Mithiborwala, Convenor of MIF, said, “The latest addition of the Al- Qaida Hind tapes appeared on the same day that an Israeli military and intelligence delegation was to visit India and advice the government on counter-terror measures in Jammu and Kashmir.” He added that it has been the observation MIF that the Al-Qaida tapes come at the most opportune times for US president George Bush and Israel.

“In our estimation, Al-Qaida is nothing but a front organization of the CIA and MOSSAD. The US-Zionist empire has stated that their war against terror will be fought endlessly and across borders and for that they have created a phantom organization, the Al-Qaida. Interestingly, the growth of US-Israeli Imperialism is directly proportional to the growth of terrorism and inversely proportional to the growing resistance,” Feroze said.

The 7/11 Mumbai terror attack occurred on the same day that Israel launched its war on Lebanon. The terror attack on the Sankatmoc-han Mandir on March 7, 2006, occurred a few days after the greatest Indian upsurge after the Quit India movement, against the visit of Bush. Even the terror attack on the Indian Parliament has never been investigated, he said.  The Convenor of MIF viewed that in India basically terror attacks have replaced communal riots as a strategy of the state to divide, confuse and terrorise the people. No terrorist attack requires a commission of enquiry, only pin the blame on some Muslim sounding organization.

In  Jun, 2007, The State Bank of India (SBI) has become the first foreign bank to open a branch in the Israel’s diamond exchange.  The Central Bank of India owns 59.7% of it.

In July 2007, India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) found many ‘blood diamonds’ are being smuggled in to Surat, the country’s polishing center.The rough diamonds from “Antwerp, London and Israel  are brought on fishing boats through the shallow waters of Gujarat’s west coast, they said. Blood or Conflict diamonds originate primarily from war zones where they are illegally mined and later sold secretly. The perpetrators use the profits to buy arms, fund civil wars and military coups against legitimate governments there.

Surat’s gems and jewellery industry, which comprises of more than 6,000 small and big diamond cutting and polishing units, employs around seven lakh people. Being the largest processor and exporter of precious stones in the world, India, with a turnover of Rs 45,000 crore, has always been suspected of getting blood diamonds processed here, DRI officials say. And with nine out of every 11 diamonds in the world being cut in Surat, the city’s cutting and polishing industry is closely associate itself with hinutva mafia. Rough diamond activity in Israel was in high gear in June. Israel’s exports of rough diamonds skyrocketed, totaling $341 million, a 74.5 percent rise over the $195 million in rough diamonds in June 2006.

Critics of the diamond industry point to Botswana, the largest supplier of uncut diamonds in the world, where a fourth of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. A third of the people of are undernourished and the life expectancy is 36 years. Botswana has the second largest per capita AIDS rate on the planet, with nearly a quarter of the people infected. Similar conditions persist throughout the diamond-producing regions of the world.

Indian-Israeli trade – primarily in diamonds, machinery, chemicals, rubber and plastic – grew from $200 million in 1992 to $3 billion in 2006.

July 2007

Israel Desalination Enterprises Technologies (IDE) won two tenders to build three more desalination plants in Gujarat for $9.5 million. Earlier in 2002, IDE built a plant capable of producing 5,500 cu m in Gujarat province where it plans to build one of the plants. “Gujarat and Israel are divided by land but are united by water, in terms of its management and renewable resources’ Modi said. (Ahmedabad News Line, ExpressIndia.com, June 22, 2007)

Hindutva’s  “super patriotic” government in Gujarat also help Jews in Gujarat to migrate to their dream land. Loshana havah Yerusalim (Next year in Jerusalem) became the goal of this tiny population of little over 200 aspiring jews.

Indian drug manufacturer, Elder Pharmaceuticals Ltd said  it had entered into an exclusive in-licensing deal with Israel’s Enzymotec to sell the latter’s cholesterol reducing dietary supplement, CardiaBeat, in India.  Under the deal, Enzymotec will supply the bulk drug to Elder, which would make and sell the finished drug in India under the brand name of Lipicheck.

A study conducted by Elder pegs the size of the domestic cardio vascular drugs market at about Rs 4.5-5 billion, with an annual growth rate of 18-20 per cent, it said. CardiaBeat will be launched by September 2007 and is expected to generate revenue of nearly Rs 200 million by the end of the third year, the company said in a statement.

The technology giant, Cisco’s second biggest non-U.S. R&D facility is in Israel even though,  its Bangalore site is the largest in the world.

16 July 2007 

Widespread corruption in the Public Food Distribution System causing starvation deaths in India

May 31, 2007
A Written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre

The Prime Minister of India in his foreword in the ‘Report to The People’ dated May 22, 2007, claims: “In this 60th year of independence, the country should have the satisfaction of recording for the fifth year in a succession a rate of economic growth of over 8.5%.” The Asian Legal
Resource Centre (ALRC) however is not sure whether the estimated over 200 million Indians who are presently suffering from malnourishment, and the many more million who have done so during past decades, will be satisfied with this growth.

The country’s overwhelming population is often given as an excuse to justify poverty and starvation in India. This theory is applicable only if the State itself is poor and has no means to procure enough food for its people. India is not poor, even though 70% of Indians are. India’s
projected defense budget for 2007-08 is 24 billion US$ and it plans to spend further on its weapons upgrade programme. Defense spending of such proportions in a country where a section of the population equivalent to 2/3rds the size of that of the United States is undernourished or
suffering from malnourishment, is difficult to stomach. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has highlighted this contradiction of priorities in his report following his mission to India in 2005.

India is a country of contradictions. A country that has a projected 9% development index performs worse than some Sub-Saharan countries with regard to addressing starvation and malnourishment within its territory. The National Minimum Programme promulgated by the Government of India in 2004 speaks about the Rural Employment Guarantee programme, which is also reflected in India’s voluntary pledge to the United Nations Human Rights Council. However, millions of Indians in rural villages are not benefiting from this programme and remain unemployed. The programme is not properly implemented and in places where there are possibilities of implementation and thus employment, recruitment to the programme is based on caste bias and nepotism.

Poverty and resultant starvation in India is not limited to the lower caste, although they suffer the most. The lower caste forms only about 20% of the Indian population, whereas starvation and malnourishment affect about 53% of its entire population. Starvation and malnourishment are the  direct result of the failing administrative system in India. A malfunctioning administrative system has a direct bearing upon the living conditions of the poor. For example, for the distribution of food to targeted population the government has established the Public Food Distribution System (PDS). However, the management of this system suffers from corruption; particularly black marketing, caste prejudices and the utter failure of various local governments.

The targeted PDS was introduced in India in 1997. The shift from a universal PDS to a targeted PDS was performed with the intention of avoiding the misuse and wastage of subsidised food materials.  However, owing to a lack of proper screening methods and transparency in the
procedure, the PDS is still a failure in India. For example, the licensing procedure for running a PDS shop is plagued by corruption. Licenses are awarded by the respective state governments and the authority to issue them is delegated to the district administrations, which are notoriously
corrupt.

To receive subsidised food a family is required to posses a ration card, which also serves the purpose of determining the family’s financial status. This process involves obtaining certificates from the village-head and officers at the district administration. While the village-heads often
refuse to issue such certificates, district administration officials demand bribes. The ALRC has documented several cases where the refusal of the village-heads to issue certificates to the poor is the part of a larger plan; to prevent the poor, particularly those from the lower castes, from accessing government welfare schemes such as the PDS shop. This is because the longer the people remain poor and near starvation, the easier it is for the village-head to continue subjecting them to bonded labour.

The continuation of caste-based discrimination is yet another factor that perpetuates poverty and deprivation of food, as was briefly mentioned in the Special Rapporteur’s report. 60 years after independence, the prevention of caste-based discrimination remains on paper rather than
being enforced in practice. Due to this, caste-based discrimination is widely practiced and discrimination prevents the lower castes from accessing food. Additionally, the lower castes are deprived of landed property and those who have titles to particular pieces of land are
frequently prevented from actual possession by local feudal lords.

In addition to this, large-scale land holding still continues in various States, including States that have enacted the land ceiling laws. Holdings of large extents of land (by individuals or families) deprive the poor from having arable lands of their own. However, the poor can still benefit
from such large-scale cultivation, by being employed by the landlord, although in reality this tends to be for much less pay than that stipulated in the Minimum Wages Act. However, when landlords find that agriculture is not profitable for various reasons and sell off their land to property developers, the most affected are the poor landless communities, as this often results in the starvation of the agricultural labourers who depended upon such large-scale cultivations.

In addition to poverty caused by human interference, large-scale poverty exists in remote regions of the country. One such example is the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. This district shares a border with Bangladesh. Land erosion by the river Padma has rendered large numbers of persons landless. Those who could afford to, left well in advance, but the poor had to stay until their land was taken by the river. This situation is exploited by cross-border smugglers based in the state who employ the poor to smuggle articles across the border to Bangladesh.

The smuggling involves crossing the river at night, which often claims peoples’s lives, while others are shot and killed by the Border Security Force stationed along the Indian border. Ironically, a major portion of the smuggling involves food — grains collected from PDS shops are smuggled across the border to be sold on the black market. The West Bengal State Government considers the people living along the international border in Murshidabad as being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and does nothing for their welfare.

The situation of hundreds of families in the Jalangi block of Murshidabad involves grave cases of exploitation, starvation and malnourishment, many of which have been documented by the ALRC’s sister origination, the Asian Human Rights Commission, and which has also been mentioned by the Special Rapporteur. The state and central government schemes remain highly ineffective and are totally failing the starving population in Jalangi. However, the government of India has not taken any credible action regarding this issue.

The government of India has formulated and is executing several welfare programmes intended to prevent starvation and malnourishment in India. While proper planning and implementation of these programmes are necessary, what has been mostly ignored is the poor state of functioning of the PDS. The system itself, as claimed by the government, covers only 16% of the total population. The actual number of households using the PDS is around 91 million, significantly less than the 160 million being claimed by the government. 78% of these persons are trying to make use of the system – 26% are from urban areas while 52% are rural households. Of these 91 million households an alarming 61% claim that the PDS is plagued by corruption and 49% claim that corruption has increased in the past year. The PDS is viewed as the most corrupt institution in India.

Such corruption exists in the PDS due to the failed criminal justice system in India. Illegal dealing with rationed articles is a crime in India. A crime registered under the relevant domestic law must be tried in a special court constituted in each state. However several states are yet to establish such a court, meaning that cases registered under the law in those states will have to wait for years to be decided through the regular courts. Additionally, states most frequently withdraws from prosecutions related to cases registered under the Essential Commodities Act as compared with other prosecutions. This shows not only the tolerance that various state governments exhibit towards corruption within the PDS, but also the influence of the licensees upon the government.

Even though the Rapporteur expresses his concerns about corruption in the PDS, there are no concrete proposals suggested by the Rapporteur in his report to address this issue. To achieve any improvement in addressing the food security in India, there must be a multifaceted approach to the issue focusing on: the implementation of welfare schemes; increasing the existing network of the PDS within the country; and taking effective steps to prevent corruption within the PDS.

The prevention of corruption within the PDS cannot happen in a vacuum. It will require equipping the criminal justice mechanism in India to specifically address this problem. In addition to an increase in the number of special courts to try offenses related to the distribution of rationed food articles, a separate and independent mechanism must be constituted to investigate such cases.  This must be independent from the local police since the latter is itself corrupt and will therefore fail to effectively investigate crimes related to food distribution. There is also a need to change domestic law, in particular the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

As a country that has a surplus of food, it is a pity that in India, food that is distributed to the poor does not reach them, but is either spoiled and lost or sold on the black market. To change this, there are no quick-fixes. However, the prevention of corruption within the PDS is a critical starting point. The specifics of this are often ignored or overlooked in favour of various other issues.

In this context, the Asian Legal Resource Centre requests the Human Rights Council to:

1. Recommend that the Government of India take immediate steps to prevent widespread corruption within the PDS — these steps must include the establishment of independent and separate mechanisms to investigate cases of corruption in the PDS. This mechanism must be independent from the local police, as the latter is corrupt and therefore inefficient in investigating corruption. This requires a change in the existing domestic law — The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and the government of India must be urged to make such changes and facilitate this process;

2. Request the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food to further study the specifics of corruption within India’s PDS system, so that the Rapporteur can help the government to address this issue more effectively;

3. Request the Government of India to urge its state governments to set-up the required number of special courts to deal with cases of corruption within the PDS;

4. Urge the Government of India to expand a functioning PDS network within the country, so that it covers not only the 16% currently being covered, but covers all persons in need of food security assistance.

5. Request various UN bodies such as the UNDP and the FAO to assist the Government of India in addressing the issue of hunger and starvation in India, particularly through proper and vigorous implementation of development programmes in the country.

6. To further request the Government of India to immediately implement the recommendations made by the UN Rapporteur on Right to Food in his report – E/CN.4/2006/44/Add.2 – and to make necessary policy changes required to address this situation.

About ALRC: The Asian Legal Resource Centre is an independent regional non-governmental organisation holding general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is the sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission. The Hong Kong-based group seeks to strengthen and encourage positive action on legal and human
rights issues at local and national levels throughout Asia.

Human Trafficking to US: India’s Hindu party legislator recieved 20,000 US $ per person

I got Rs 800,000 per person, Katara says

Sahil Makkar, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, April 28, 2007

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Babubhai Katara, arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle people abroad, has told the police that he was paid Rs 800,000 for every person he helped to go abroad illegally, with his aide and travel agents pocketing most of the money made in the deals.

“I was given only Rs 800,000. I really don’t know if they charged Rs 3 or 4 million for sending people abroad with me,” Katara told officers interrogating him.

He stated this when confronted with statements of his aide Rajender Gampa and some travel agents that they used to charge Rs 3 to 4 million from each person who flew abroad in the company of the MP on the latter’s family’s passports.

Police say they have evidence that Katara and his associates were involved in flying out at least 12 people to the US and Britain. The Gujarat politician had personally taken six people with him.

“They have fooled me,” a police official quoted the MP as telling investigators during interrogation.

“Though he was paid a handsome amount, it were the agents and others involved in the human trafficking racket who arranged for the passports and clients and so took a larger share of the booty,” a senior police official told.

“Our investigations show that these travel agents were in some kind of agreement with the MPs and paid them a fixed amount every time they smuggled out a client abroad. Katara was given Rs 800,000. The rest of the money was distributed among the MP’s aides and agents,” the officer added.

Katara, who had reportedly earned around Rs 3.5 million through human trafficking, was apparently not aware that Sunder Lal Yadav, a travel agent, earned more than him simply by arranging the clients and documents.

The investigating officer also revealed that travel agents identified people who could cough up Rs 3 million to travel abroad. The agents had a wide and well-organised network spread through the small towns and cities in Punjab to the big cities in Andhra Pradesh.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police, which is conducting the investigation, has identified five travel agents involved in the racket. Three are from Punjab (Joginder Singh, Santhu Masih and Harbhajan Singh), Hyderabad and New Delhi.

The racket came to light on April 18 when Katara was arrested at the airport in New Delhi while trying to fly out a woman, Paramjeet Kaur, and a 15-year-old boy Amarjeet Singh on the passports of his wife and son.

Police later arrested Gampa, Sunder Lal Yadav and their female accomplice Kiran Dhar on charges of forging documents and passports. Yadav was charged with arranging the visas.

Kiran allegedly taught women flying abroad how to act like an MP’s wife – and how to conduct before immigration officers.

Yadav told a court in New Delhi that three Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MPs from Uttar Pradesh – Mitrasen Yadav, Ashok Rawat and Mohammed Tahir Khan – and Ramswaroop Koli of BJP from Rajasthan were also involved in the racket.

And Gampa told the court that Katara as well Mitrasen Yadav and Ashok Rawat knew that he was using their letterheads to help people immigrate illegally.

749 killed in 2006 in the Maoists’ conflict in India

Salwa Judum campaign prolongs the conflict

South Asia Foreign Correspondent Club, New Delhi:

According to the Naxal Conflict in 2006 released to the media today by Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), 749 persons were killed in the Naxalite conflict in India in 2006. These include 285 civilians, 135 security personnel and 329 alleged Naxalites. The highest number of killing was reported from Chhattisgarh (363), followed by Andhra Pradesh (135), Jharkhand (95), Maharashtra (60), Bihar (45), Orissa (25), West Bengal (22), Uttar Pradesh (2), Karnataka (1) and Madhya Pradesh (1).

The killing of 749 persons in 2006 represents a decrease in the number of killings than in 2005 during which 892 persons were killed. But, the Naxal conflict captured the centre-stage of the armed conflicts in 2006 because of the Salwa Judum campaign and its disastrous consequences such as the violations of the right to life by the Naxalites, security forces and the Salwa Judum activists, forcible displacement of 43,740 persons as of 31st December 2006 in Dantewada district and abdication of the responsibility to maintain law and order to the Salwa Judum cadres; spread of the Naxalite conflict in 1,427 police stations, and increased striking capability of the Naxalites akin to the Maoists of Nepal.

The Naxalites have killed 412 persons including 277 civilians and 135 security personnel.

The Maoists have killed more civilians than the security forces, and the massacres of the innocent civilians by the Naxalites were unprecedented. The major massacres were Darbhaguda massacre of 28 February 2006 in which 27 persons were killed, Monikonta massacre of April 2006 in which 15 unarmed villagers were killed after abduction, Errabore massacre of 17 July 2006 in which 31 persons were massacred; and Halewada massacre in which 12 persons of a marriage party were killed in a powerful bomb blast near Halewada village in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on 16 May 2006. In some of the massacres, many innocent victims were killed in the most despicable manner through repeated stabbing and slitting of the victims’ throats in front of other hostages or villagers.

The Maoists’ victims also included Salwa Judum cadres, alleged police informers, political party activists, some of whom were killed after trial in Kangaroo courts, Jana Adalats of the Maoists.

“These acts of the Maoists constitute serious violations of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court” – stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

The Naxalites, who frown at the lack of development, have been responsible for blocking many development initiatives in the areas where they exercise control by targeting labourers, officials and companies. They have been systematically targeting all such governmental buildings that could provide shelter to security personnel.

The security forces claimed to have killed 322 alleged Naxalites.

“The claims of the security forces that all persons killed were “Naxalites” are far from the truth. There have been credible reports of torture, rape and extrajudicial executions by the Salwa Judum activists and the security forces especially in the process of forcibly bringing the villagers under the Salwa Judum fold.” – stated Mr Chakma.

The Central government has been supporting wrong policies on the Naxalites. The Salwa Judum campaign which resulted into 48.5% of the total killings in Chhattisgarh has more to do with local political considerations than resolving the Naxalite conflict.

“The Salwa Judum campaign which has been extended to “six blocks” in one district i.e. Dantewada cannot resolve the Naxalite conflict which is spread over 170 districts in 13 States across the country” – warned Mr Chakma.

“The Salwa Judum campaign has only accentuated the Naxalite conflict but made resolution of the Naxalite conflict in Chhattisgarh extremely difficult if not impossible by exposing all those living in the camps to the violence of the Naxalites”. – further added Mr Chakma.

ACHR stated that during its latest visit to the Salwa Judum camps in Dantewada district from 1-5 January 2007, it found the conditions of the camps housing 43,740 displaced persons to be deplorable and sub-human. The displaced persons continued to be provided just a square meal of rice and dal. Medical and educational facilities remained non-existent.  About 250 schools and Ashram schools are being used by the security forces and for the Salwa Judum campaign.

ACHR expressed concerns with the continued “law and order” approach of the government to deal with the Naxalite crisis as reflected from the creation of a division within the Ministry of Home Affairs to address the Naxalite conflict.

ACHR recommended creation of a separate Ministry for speedy development of the Naxalite affected areas in line with Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and intervene with the State government of Chhattisgarh to stop the “Salwa Judum” campaign and not to involve the civilians in conflict with the Naxals and investigate all allegations of human rights violations. ACHR also recommended to the Naxalite affected States to declare cease-fire with the Naxalites and hold peace talks.

ACHR also urged the Communist Party of India (Maoists) to declare cease-fire with the State Governments for resolving the problems through dialogue, facilitate dismantling of all the Salwa Judum relief camps and return of the camp inmates to their respective villages with full safety and security; stop forcible recruitment including of the children and indiscriminate use of explosives against the civilians, and to ensure respect of the international humanitarian laws.

Friday, 12 January 2007

Nearly 70,000 killed in 17-year Kashmir insurgency: rights group

SRINAGAR, India: Nearly 70,000 people have died in the 17-year conflict in India’s portion of Kashmir, a local human rights group said Friday, a figure markedly higher than the latest police count.

The Jammu-Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society came up with the death toll after reviewing news reports and conducting door-to-door surveys in every district in Kashmir, Khurram Pervez, the head of the group, told The Associated Press. Most of dead were civilians.

Pervez said his group’s survey of news reports alone shows about 50,000 people have died, but he added, “We don’t subscribe to this figure as newspaper reports are mostly based on police handouts. Neither do we accept the government figure of 41,000.”

The latest police estimate said 19,987 rebels, 16,253 civilians and 4,982 security forces’ personnel were killed between January 1990 to November 2006.

However, Kashmir’s inspector-general of police, S.M. Sahai, acknowledged that many deaths went unreported in the early years of the violence.

“The initial years (of Kashmir insurgency) were chaotic … and hundreds of incidents went unreported,” Sahai said.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the main separatist political alliance in the state, says more than 100,000 people have been killed in the nearly two decades of violence. A combination of police and human rights figures compiled by AP have previously put the death toll at 68,000.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim it in its entirety. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since independence from Britain in 1947.

More than a dozen Islamic groups in Kashmir have been fighting for independence or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan since December 1989.

International human rights groups have accused both the rebels and the Indian army of abuses in Kashmir. India says Pakistan arms and supports the Islamic insurgents, but Pakistan says it only gives the rebels diplomatic and moral support.

The Associated Press  IHT , December 8, 2006

2.3 million people of Indian ancestry : US Census Data

Indian community burgeoning in America

EDISON, N.J. — The train station billboards tell it all.

Local travel agents promise the best airfares from New York to Mumbai. Shagun Fashions is selling dazzling Indian saris. And DirecTV offers “the six top Indian channels direct to you.”

Roughly every third person who lives Edison, a New York suburb, is of Asian Indian ancestry. Many are new immigrants who have come to work as physicians, engineers and high-tech experts and are drawn to “Little India” by convenience _ it’s near the commuter train _ and familiarity.

Here they can “get their groceries and goods from home,” says Aruna Rao, a mental health counselor who lives in town.

Although a steady stream of Indians have settled in the U.S. since the 1960s, immigrants positively poured into the country between 2000 and 2005 _ arriving at a higher rate than any other group.

Not only is the Indian community burgeoning, it’s maturing. Increasingly, after decades of quietly establishing themselves, Indians are becoming more vocal in the American conversation  about politics, ethnicity and many other topics.

“I’ve been studying the community for 20 years and in the last four or five years something different has been happening,” said Madhulika Khandelwal, president of the Asian American Center at Queens College in New York. “Indian-Americans are finally out there speaking for themselves.”

Roughly 2.3 million people of Indian ancestry, including immigrants and the American-born, now call the U.S. home, according to 2005 Census data. That’s up from 1.7 million in 2000.

They have big communities in New Jersey, New York, California and Texas, and their average yearly household income is more than $60,000 _ 35 percent higher than the nation overall. Indian Americans, along with Indian expatriates worldwide, sent about $ 3 billion back to India in 2005, World Bank data show.

And so when Virginia Sen. George Allen was caught on video in August calling an Indian American man “macaca” _ a type of monkey and an offensive term _ the community quickly responded.

Within days after the reports emerged, Sanjay Puri, founder of the U.S. Indian Political Action Committee, and other Indian leaders in the Washington, D.C., area requested and got a lengthy meeting with Allen, Puri said. The senator publicly apologized.

If this had happened 10 years ago?

“It would have been a lot harder,” Puri said. “But this is a prosperous and fast-growing community. People are beginning to understand that we are contributing politically, so that made a big difference.”

Many Indian immigrants arrived in the U.S. focused almost entirely on individual success _ getting a top-notch job, making good money and pushing their children to do the same.

But things are changing. After the Sept. 11 attacks, many Indian Sikhs, who wear turbans as part of their faith, were mistaken for Muslims _ and terrorists. Hundreds were harassed or worse: In Mesa, Ariz., a Sikh gas station owner was shot and killed on Sept. 15, 2001, by a man who told police “all Arabs had to be shot.”

Few knew their rights because few had been engaged politically, said Amardeep Singh, executive director of The Sikh Coalition in New York.

“We were caught with our pants down,” he said. “Sept. 11 created a confrontation. We realized we now need to actively involve ourselves in the policy-making process. Otherwise policies will be made that exclude us.”

The group now has two bills pending in the New York city council _ one would allow city employees to wear turbans and the other would make city officials craft plans to prevent hate crimes if another terrorist attack happened. The community recently saw three Sikhs elected to low-level offices around the city. “It’s a good first step,” Singh said.

The push extends beyond Sikhs, Puri said.

“The question that every Indian-American is asking lately: Is the American dream _ making a lot of money and having fancy cars _ enough?” he said. “Giving back and being active is also happening.”

In New Jersey, Ready to Run, a Rutgers University-based project that helps women seek public office, will next year for the first time court Asian women, said Reema Desai, an immigration lawyer who is helping organize the outreach.

Indians also are working outside politics to influence broader society. They are overrepresented among college professors, engineers and technology workers. Between 10 percent and 12 percent of all medical school students are Indians, according to the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, the biggest physicians’ group in the nation after the American Medical Association.

Half of all motel rooms in the nation are owned by Indians, according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.

In New York City, Basement Banghra, a popular Indian music event that blends hip-hop rhythms with Indian melodies, attracts hundreds of partygoers to Sounds of Brazil nightclub each month. It will mark its 10th anniversary next year.

There are novelists, including Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri of Brooklyn; filmmakers like Mira Nair, whose “The Namesake,” based on Lahiri’s novel and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, is due in theaters next spring; and prime-time television stars such as Parminder Nagra on “E.R.” and Naveen Andrews on “Lost.”

“Many of these things are converging around the same time, so it all adds up,” Khandelwal said. “It seems like every other day there’s a big book or movie or high-profile accomplishment.”

Increasingly, American-born Indians _ who call themselves Desis _ have the confidence to make their voices heard. “There is a clear rise of this generation,” she said.

With rapid growth, the community is becoming more complex.

Layered atop the dizzying diversity of India itself _ there are dozens of languages, and distinct regional differences in culture, politics and cuisine _ are growing class differences among Indian-Americans.

About one-tenth live in poverty, and as many as 400,000 are undocumented, said Deepa Iyer, executive director of South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow in Takoma Park, Md.

“This is a community of contrasts,” Iyer said. “We hear so much about this highly educated and affluent group, but we also have segments that are not fluent in English and are battling immigration problems and hate crimes.”

Such topics are often discussed in New Jersey, home to 170,000 Asian Indians as of Census 2000. Many have fresh memories of gangs of anti-Indian white youth in the late 1980s in Jersey City _ then the nexus of the state’s Indian community _ who called themselves Dotbusters, referring to the decorative bindi some Hindi women wear between their eyebrows. In 1987, a finance manager was beaten to death with a baseball bat while his attackers shouted “Hindu! Hindu!”

Such crimes have diminished, but they never disappeared, said Singh of The Sikh Coalition. Last year, he said, two Sikh youth suffered violent harassment in New Jersey public schools.

In Edison in recent years, there’s been low-grade tension between Indians and police, residents said, and it erupted during this year’s July 4 celebrations. Police were called to a heavily Indian apartment complex to disperse a crowd of nearly 800, and one Indian man said he was beaten by police, said Jerry Barca, spokesman for Edison’s mayor.

When the community held a protest the next month, the man was arrested on the spot for being an illegal immigrant. He remains in federal custody.

“There’s definitely tension and suspicion,” said Rao, who has lived in Edison for seven years and said the problems have left some Indians disillusioned. “People feel like, ‘What am I doing in this country?’ A lot of it is, ‘I told you so. We’ll never be accepted or assimilated.'” She added that there are no Indians on Edison’s school board or city council.

City officials called on state mediators to help build bridges in the community, and the advisory body includes two Indian-Americans, Barca said. “It’s going to take time, but it’s good because now people in Edison are talking _ as opposed to `you live over there and we live over here,'” he said.

Desai, the immigration lawyer, has lived in New Jersey since she was 3, and said she sees many signs of positive change compared to a generation ago.

“We’ve made an impact in all sorts of things, and now you even have people knowing about our holidays and our culture,” she said. “Things are different now. We’re more visible.”

27 October 2006,By ERIN TEXEIRA AP National Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

Indian companies are most corrupt on Transparency Bribe Payers Index

October 04, 2006 ; NEW DELHI:

In a global recognition to the “Much Merited Upper Class Rule”, India has been ranked as the worst performer by Transparency International on its global Bribe Payers Index, which is based on the propensity of companies from the world’s 30 leading exporting countries in bribing abroad.  India has been ranked at the 30th position in the Transparency International 2006 Bribe Payers Index (BPI), with a score of 4.62.  A score of 10 indicates a perception of no corruption, while zero means corruption is seen as rampant.  India’s major weapon supplier,  Israel  also ranked as one of the most bribing nation, with a score of 6.01. Israel accounted for 0.4% of global trade in 2005.

Upper castes — that is, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas — constitute less than 20 per cent of the Indian population but controles the business and civil service sector of the country. They claim perhaps 80 per cent of the jobs in the new economy, in sectors such as software, biotechnology, and hotel management. The large corporates and MNCs in India prefer candidates come from the upper caste families, so that they can get their jobs done using their contacts and networks. The scores of corruption among these groups explain why they want to shut every door for the Dalits and backward communities in the name of ‘Merit’.

The BPI Index results draw from the responses of more than 11,000 business people in 125 countries polled in the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey 2006. In first place Switzerland scored 7.81 points out of a possible 10 in the BPI.  Israel tied with Hong Kong with 6.01 points (Hong Kong accounted for 2.8% of global trade in 2005). The US, which accounts for the 8.9% of global trade, the highest proportion, received a score of 7.22 points. China, with 5.5% of global trade, and India, with 0.9%, closed the list.

Under BJP’s rule, India became Israeli arms industry’s prized market and there were also reports in 2003, of the Israeli defense establishment dispatching “scores of agents” to persuade the Indian armed forces in to buying weapons resulting in large scale bribes among civil servants and politicians. The ideological bond between Zionism and Hindutva made India as the second largest trade partner for Israel in Asia, after China. It is currently working hard with their old “Hindutva bureacrats” to make India as  their “biggest trade partner”. Since the advent of Hindutva’s grip on the Indian elite castes, every visit by a delegation of Israeli officials either preceded or followed the cementing of ties involving the purchase of weapons, or the training and/or expansion of cooperation between Israeli armaments interests and their Indian counterparts.

In 2005, Israel has achieved a four-fold increase in the bilateral trade with India which stood at $2.4 billion. Business Week reported in 2005 that India became Israel’s largest importer of weapons the previous year, accounting for about half of the $3.6 billion worth of weapons exported by that country. Not coincidentally, that year also proved to be the second best recorded year for the Israeli weapons industry, making Israel the 5th largest weapons exporter in the world and accounting for about 10 percent of the world’s weapons trade. Obviously the Israeli armaments industry values India as a major new market for its weapons, and as such has much to gain from maintaining and deepening the appetite for arms by the Indian state.

The international corruption watchdog on Wednesday said overseas bribery is still common among the world’s export giants despite the existence of international anti-bribery laws, while companies from emerging export powers India, China and Russia are the worst performers. Switzerland has been ranked at the top slot with a score of 7.81, followed by Sweden, Australia, Austria and Canada at the top five positions on the index. The US and UK have been ranked at 10th and sixth positions respectively.

Transparency International said that Switzerland has managed a leading score of only 7.8, which is far from perfect. This indicates there might be variations here but there are no real winners, it added.

According to the report, businesses from India, China and Russia, who are at the bottom of the index, have the most propensity to pay bribes.

This year’s BPI data shows that leading exporters are undermining the development with their dirty business practices overseas, while the foreign bribery by emerging export powers is disconcertingly high.

Companies from the wealthiest countries have been ranked in the top half, but they still routinely pay bribes, particularly in developing economies, it added.

“In the case of China and other emerging export powers, efforts to strengthen domestic anti-corruption activities have failed to extend abroad,” the report said.

“Bribing companies are actively undermining the best efforts of governments in developing nations to improve governance, and thereby driving the vicious cycle of poverty,” said Transparency International Chairwoman Huguette Labelle.

“It is hypocritical that Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) based companies continue to bribe across the globe, while their governments pay lip-service to enforcing the law,” Transparency International CEO David Nussbaum said.

“The enforcement record on international anti-bribery laws makes for short and disheartening reading,” he added.

“Domestic legislation has been introduced in many countries following the adoption of the UN and OECD anti-corruption conventions, but there are still major problems of implementation and enforcement,” he added.

The index has been prepared on the basis of responses of more than 11,000 business people in 125 countries polled in the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey 2006.

The watchdog said that India consistently scores worst across most regions and sub-groupings, while China is the world’s fourth largest exporter and ranks second to last in the Index.

Transparency International Chairwoman said, “With growing influence comes a greater responsibility that should constitute an opportunity for good.”

“This is the right time for Russia, China and India to commit to the provisions of the OECD Convention against bribery and contribute to the vitality of tomorrow’s markets. In doing so they will become part of the effort to make corruption history.”

Transparency International says the countries can be divided into four groups. In the first group – those whose companies are least likely to pay bribes – are Switzerland (which came top in the survey), Sweden, Australia, Austria, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the US and Japan.

In the second group – somewhat more likely to bribe – are Singapore, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, France, Portugal and Mexico.

The third group – even more likely to bribe – are Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, South Africa and Malaysia.

Finally – and most likely of all to pay bribes – are Taiwan, Turkey, Russia, China and India (which came bottom in the survey).

Before countries near the top of the list start patting themselves on the back, it’s worth noting that their companies often apply different standards, according to where they are doing business. “Companies from the wealthiest countries generally rank in the top half of the index, but still routinely pay bribes, particularly in developing economies,” Transpency International says. It continues:

Even high scorers are in major need of improvement. The behaviour of the Australian Wheat Board in the UN oil-for-food programme is just one example.

In March of this year, German-US motor company DaimlerChrysler admitted that an internal probe confirmed allegations of “improper payments” made by their staff in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Turkey, in 27th place, is nearly at the bottom of the BPI. This is a crucial result as the country pursues its bid for European Union membership. The poor score also raises troubling questions about the country’s commitment to the OECD (Organisation of for Economic Cooperation and Development) Anti-Bribery Convention, which entered into force there in 2003 …

The United States, which blazed new trails with its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, ought to be leading the way, but ranks behind many OECD countries.

The United Kingdom has demonstrated minimal enforcement of the Convention, despite scandals implicating firms such as British Aerospace.

Companies often try to shrug off bribes as a way of fitting in with local customs and practices, and there is a popular notion that the recipient, not the giver, is the guilty party. Apart from the fact that such payments are often illegal, they undermine any efforts to promote good governance in developing countries. Bribes also have a corrupting effect on the firms that pay them. Often, the payments are made by local subsidiaries – allowing parent companies to pretend that their hands are clean.

Transparency International warns:

Multinationals cannot be absolved of the corrupt activities of their foreign branches, subsidiaries or agents, and they must conduct due diligence before engaging with joint venture or alliance partners. The purchasing, export, and marketing and sales departments remain the business functions most vulnerable to bribery and corruption.

It adds:

The cost of a tarnished image “back home” can be immense. And companies with a culture of bribery overseas face a heightened risk of being undermined by the unethical acts of their own employees. In the long run, it pays for companies to take proper measures to end corrupt practices.

About 150 years ago, there were no Black Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the US, there were no rights for Blacks and there was no cultural influence from Blacks. But now, 75 Black CEOs are working in major US companies. On the contrary, there are no Dalits as CEOs in any private company in India today.

In 1930, the IBM Company in America gave reservation to Blacks, and at present almost all business houses there are accommodating Blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics. Since the intention of our Govt. is not to empower Dalits otherwise on similar lines how US had done for Blacks and others, Dalits can be given participation in govt. contracts and the supply-chain of different articles. After millennia of oppression, it was the British in 1932 which gave reservation through the historic Poona Pact. English and public school education in India is undoubtedly out of reach for Dalits, and this is resulting in lack of English knowledge which is blocking Dalits to take up high profile jobs.

In India, the perception is that if you are a Backward then you do not deserve anything. And the worst is that the Backward is being touted as the hurdle to the ushering in the era of competitiveness. The reservation policy is only to deceive the rest that we have been properly taking care of the Backwards. But India is absolutely clueless about what results have been achieved through the huge money allocated and the policies being pursued for the development of SC/ST/BCs over the last 50 years. According to NSSO, Census of India and NFHS-II, 37 percent of Dalits living below poverty in India while 45 percent them don’t know how to Read and Write. When any insurgent or terrorist strikes, the ready answer is: “foreign hands bent upon to destabilizing our social fabric and economy”. If the reservation is introduced, our industrial giants would put the blame on reservations.

The Govt. of India protected our industry from foreign direct competition. Are they not reservations? If they talk of survival on the basis of “merit” then let the Indian market be open to foreign companies.
Who is to blame for the dismal performance of PSUs or their closure? Why do we forget that “meritorious” professionals are heading most of the PSUs since their inception? Why only PSUs enjoying a monopoly in the Indian economy are doing well? In whose interests a few PSUs (even the profit-making ones) are forced to either close down or are sold to private parties at a paltry sum?

When a person born Untouchable as per the Hindu caste system is condemned to carry the cross then why is this bogey of “merit” raised constantly by the educated elite? Let us not forget that a caste-ridden society like ours hardly provides a level playing field for a large section of Indian society. A person’s station in life is largely determined by birth. In such a system, there is little space for “merit” and efficiency. The recruitment practices in the private needs scrutiny. The upper castes have been enjoying unstated birth-based reservation since centuries. And extending the benefits of reservation to Backwards at any cost can only neutralize this. When can we see 17.5% IAS officers from Dalits, 27.5% from backward communities and 7.5% from tribal?

Someone who is familiar with the Indian social fabric know the age old doctrine of exclusion legitimised and sanctified by the Brahminical ideology. This upper caste elite controles the Business and Civil Service structure in India, by culminating “Bribing” as a ‘routine matter’ in India’s daily life. Transparency International’s BPI Index proves how this dangerous ideology of “self purity and pollution” has extended its wings to the “Globalization of Corruption.”

Website: Transparency International India