Reporting India

In six of the seven, these companies took down the “offensive” material, and often removed more than was asked for. (In the seventh case, the researcher asked a shopping portal to remove information on one brand of diapers, saying they caused diaper rash and were therefore harmful to minors. The shopping site rejected the request, calling it frivolous.)The study does not name the specific intermediaries involved, but they are understood to be the big social media and Internet companies that dominate the industry.

Two examples:1. The researcher objected to a comment below an article on a news Web site about the Telangana movement, which aims to create a separate state in Andhra Pradesh. The comment, which was well-written and not obscenity-laced, condemned the violence in the Telangana movement and called its leaders selfish, but supported the cause over all. The researcher wrote the intermediary that the comment was “racially and ethnically objectionable” and “defamatory.”The researcher received no written response, but within 72 hours the intermediary had taken down not just the “offensive” comment, but all 15 comments that were published below the article.

2. The researcher sent a take-down notice to another intermediary, defined as a “host and information location tool,” asking that it remove three links provided on its search engine after entering the words “online gambling.” The links, the researcher complained, were “relating or encouraging money-laundering or gambling,” which is illegal under the April rules.The intermediary wrote back to the complainant, saying that the intermediary’s search engine was a “mere conduit” with no control over the information passing through its platform.But it subsequently removed the three links mentioned in the take-down notice, and all other URLs of the three Web sites, including their subdomains.

The rules seem to encourage “privately administered injunctions to censor and chill free expression,” C.I.S. says. A third party whose information has been removed is not informed about the take-down request or given a chance to defend itself.The study’s results show the “rules are procedurally flawed as they ignore all elements of natural justice,” C.I.S. concludes.

A meeting between Indian and Chinese Special Representatives (SR) over boundary disputes scheduled for early next week has now been postponed indefinitely, in the backdrop of a row between New Delhi and Beijing over hydrocarbon exploration in the South China Sea.
The Special Representatives—India’s National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and China’s State Councillor Dai Bingguo—were expected to hold the 15th round of talks on the protracted boundary dispute in New Delhi on Monday and Tuesday.

They were expected to firm up the proposed “Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs,” an additional arrangement involving senior diplomats of both countries to urgently deal with any evolving situation along the Line of Actual Control. The dates of the Special Representative level talks were not made public officially. Sources earlier said Special Representative Dai would travel to New Delhi to hold the next round of SR-level talks with Menon. The two SRs held the 14th round of talks in Beijing on November 30, last year.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, on Friday stated that New Delhi and Beijing were in touch with each other to set dates for the SR-level talks in the near future, hinting that the parleys scheduled for Monday and Tuesday had been deferred indefinitely.

“We are looking forward to the 15th round of SR talks in the near future and the two sides remain in touch to find convenient dates for the meeting,” said Vishnu Prakash, official spokesperson and Joint Secretary (External Publicity) of the MEA.

The statement was issued a day after China’s state-run Xinhua news agency stated in a commentary that India’s “jitters” and fears over China’s growing clout in the region was caused by an “inferiority complex” and “loud jealousy”.

The SR-level talks were postponed in the backdrop of New Delhi brushing aside Beijing’s objections to the role of India’s ONGC Videsh Limited in hydrocarbon exploration in offshore blocks claimed by Vietnam in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing said it was opposed to any country engaging in oil and gas exploration in “waters under the jurisdiction of China.” China claims “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea.

New Delhi refuted the Chinese objection, stating that its ties with Vietnam in the hydrocarbon sector were in accordance with the international laws and it would like the bilateral cooperation to grow in the coming years. India went ahead to strengthen its hydrocarbon ties with Vietnam.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Bali in Indonesia earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that Indian interests in the South China Sea were “purely commercial” in nature and sovereignty claims on the disputed waters must be settled according to international law. Wen sent out a message of warning while addressing the Asean leaders in Bali and stated that “outside forces” should not, under any pretext, get involved with the dispute on the South China Sea.

Earlier in late July, an Indian Navy vessel, the ‘INS Airavat’, was reportedly warned by the Chinese Navy off the coast of Vietnam against entering “Chinese waters”. India also flexed its muscle last week with the successful test of new-generation 3,500-km Agni IV missile, followed by an announcement that Agni V, with a strike range of over 5,000 km would be test-fired in just three months.

Frozen relations

* Special representatives of the two countries were scheduled to hold the 15th round of talks

* They were expected to firm up an additional arrangement involving senior diplomats to urgently deal with any evolving situation along the Line of Actual Control

* Statement comes a day after Chinese news agency commented on India’s ‘jitters’ and fears over China’s growing clout in the region caused by “inferiority complex” and “loud jealousy”

* Foreign ministry says both sides in touch to set convenient dates for talks in the near future

Dog dammit. A stray dog delayed the first practice session of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix at the state-of-the-art Buddh International Circuit on Friday.

A dog was seen on the track before the start of the session but was shooed away by the organisers. The problem arose when another one stopped the proceedings at the widely praised facility that cost the Jaypee Group approximately $400 million.

Race organisers chased down the dog in a safety car before resuming the session.

Team Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok, who became the first driver to set a time in the practice session, played down the incident saying it was a minor thing to have happened.

“These things happen everywhere. I saw a naked man running in German Grand Prix and a giraffe in Brazil,” Chandhok said.

“It was an honour for me to set the first timed lap in front of the fans. It was an extraordinary moment for me and a very emotional one,” said Chandhok, who was 19th fastest in the opening session and won’t be driving the Sunday’s race.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton topped the session before being penalised with the three grid positions for the race day for ignoring the yellow flag towards the end of the session.

Diwali Night In India

Wikipedia: Deepavali or Diwali, popularly known as the “festival of lights,” is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-November for different reasons. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC.

The name “Diwali” is a contraction of “Deepavali” (Sanskrit: दीपावली Dīpāvalī), which translates into “row of lamps”. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas or dīpas) in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

The festival starts with Dhanteras on which most Indian business communities begin their financial year. The second day of the festival, Naraka Chaturdasi, marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Amavasya, the third day of Deepawali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the Bali, and banished him to Patala. It is on the fourth day of Deepawali, Kartika Shudda Padyami, that Bali went to patala and took the reins of his new kingdom in there. The fifth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj), and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

Honda Launches Car In India Priced At USD 8k

The Japanese car giant Honda confirmed that it is making best efforts to tap the low price car segment in India, as it launched the new Brio today in India. Honda Brio has been priced quite competitively to gain maximum share in the Indian car market. The new 2011 Honda Brio will be available in the price range of Rs. 3.95 lacs to Rs. 5.1 lacs.

The company which operates in the country through a joint venture with the Siel group, earning the name Honda Siel Cars India, said that besides new Honda Brio launch, it   aims to generate revenues of Rs. 112 crore this fiscal. The revenue is to be gained from the export of auto components from India.

With the Honda Brio launch, we will be entering a new segment for the first time in India. It has been designed and developed specially to meet the needs of customers here,” Honda Siel Cars India President and CEO Takashi Nagai said, while addressing the media on the occasion of the Honda Brio launch.

He also added that the company adhered to its words of fixing the Honda Brio price at less than Rs. 5 lacs. He conveyed that the company achieved the goal, through cost-efficiency measures and large scale localisation of the new Brio 2011 components. However, the top-end version of the new Brio 2011 will cost around Rs. 5.1 lacs.

Nagai said, “The new Honda Brio India is at present about 80 per cent localised and over the next few months, will reach 90 per cent. This has been key to the pricing strategy of the Honda Brio.”

The new 2011 Honda Brio is expected to compete with big names like the Hyundai i10, Maruti WagonR and General Motors Chevrolet Beat, which have the same price range as Honda Brio.

The new Honda Brio India will be rolled-out in four variants. Nagai said that Honda Brio expects to attract majority of customers residing in small cities. In the bigger cities; however, the demand for existing models such as the City, Civic and Accord is likely to overpower that of New Honda Brio.

“The compact car segment will soon become the second pillar of business for Honda in India,” Nagai was quoted as saying.

Nagai communicated that the manufacturing process of the new Brio, which is backed by the power of a 1.2-litre petrol engine, involved brainiac and skilled engineers of Honda Seal Cars India right from the starting stage.

On exports of components, Nagai said Honda Seal Cars India has already started the process of shipping components of the new Brio to Thailand from its facility at Rajasthan.

“We will have export turnover of Rs. 112 crore this fiscal,” he said. The company also exports components for the City and Jazz to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Thus, the new Honda Brio India, which is the cheapest car produced by the company till date, will surely pose a threat to the sales of cars that already exist in the Indian auto market.

Wikipedia: The Last Nawab of Pataudi (5 January 1941 – 22 September 2011)

The term Nawab of Pataudi may refer to any of a Turkic lineage of rulers of the princely Pataudi State in India, but most commonly refers to the 8th Nawab, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, who played cricket for both England and India. Both he and his son the 9th Nawab captained the Indian cricket team.

A Nawab was originally the provincial governor or viceroy of a province or region of the Mughal empire. The term is derived from the Arabic ‘naib’, meaning deputy. In some areas, especially Bengal, the term was pronounced Nabab. (The last variation has entered the English language) Most of the Muslim rulers of the subcontinent had accepted the authority of the Mughals. Hence the term Nawab is generally understood to mean any Muslim ruler in the subcontinent. Under British rule, Nawabs ruled the princely states of Awadh, Bahawalpur, Baoni, Banganapalle, Bhopal, Cambay, Jaora, Junagadh, Kurnool, Kurwai, Palanpur (Pakistan), Pataudi, Rampur, Sachin, and Tonk. Other former rulers bearing the title, such as the Nabobs of Bengal.

India Likely To Replace Japan As World’s Third Largest Economy

More evidence the emerging markets are taking over the world growth story. India is close to replacing Japan as the world’s third largest economy, possibly as early as this year, says a senior economist at India credit rating agency Crisil. Sunil Sinha, the firm’s main macroeconomist, based the projections on India’s purchasing power parity, saying that tsunami-wracked Japan will see a decline in GDP this year, while India’s economy will expand as will the purchasing power of its currency, the rupee.

As it stands now, India is the fourth-largest economy in the world, trailing the U.S., China and Japan.  GDP figures from 2010 show that the Japanese economy was worth $4.31 trillion, with India at $4.06 trillion. Not far behind. The earthquake and tsunami in March nearly shut Japan down for a month and now Japan’s economy is expected to post no growth at all this year, at best, while India’s economy will grow between 7% and 8% in 2011. 

“India should overtake Japan in 2011 to become the third-largest economy in the world at purchasing power parity,” Sunil Sinha, head of research and senior economist at Crisil was quoted saying in The Economic Times of India on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund’s growth forecast for India and Japan show both country’s GDP levels about the same in constant dollar terms, but the disaster in Japan has taken its toll on the nation’s growth. “Were it not for the earthquake and tsunami, India would have overtaken Japan in around 2013-14,” said Sinha.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, reported recently that the Indian economy would be the third largest by next year. This year, next year, or 2013, it’s only a matter of time before the world’s leading three economies are two-thirds emerging market nationss.

The IMF expects the Japanese economy to contract 0.7% this year while it forecasts India GDP at 8.2%.

Gujarat top cop Sanjiv Bhatt to Narendra Modi: You have completely misconstrued SC verdict

NEW DELHI: Senior IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt says there is nothing in the Supreme Court order in the Gulbarg Society case that should give chief minister Narendra Modi reason to celebrate. Bhatt made this remark in an open letter to the chief minister on Wednesday; the open letter was in response to the open letter written by Modi on Tuesday to “six crore Gujaratis”.

Terming Modi’s plans for a three-day fast for peace, harmony and unity in Gujarat as “completely misleading”, the suspended police officer said: “It seems you (CM) have completely misconstrued the judgement and order passed by the honourable Supreme Court of India and it is very likely that your chosen advisors have once again misled you and have in turn, made you mislead the ‘six crore Gujaratis’ who look up to you as their elected leader.”
 
Bhatt had earlier accused Modi of wanting to teach Muslims a “lesson” after the Godhra train-burning incident in 2002. He had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court accusing Modi and also casting doubts about the functioning of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the riots that followed the incident. He had said that after the Godhra incident he was summoned along with other senior officers and told to lie low as emotions were running high among Hindus. Bhatt was suspended by the Modi government in August this year for not reporting to work for nearly 10 months. 
 
Full text of Sanjiv Bhatt’s open letter to Narendra Modi:

Sanjiv Rajendra Bhatt
Indian Police Service

Dear Shri. Modi,

I am glad you chose to write an open letter to the ‘Six crore Gujaratis’. This has not only afforded me a window to your mind but has also given me an opportunity to write to you through the same medium.

My dear brother, it seems you have completely misconstrued the judgement and order passed by the Honourable Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal No. 1765 of 2011 arising out of S.L.P. (CRL.) No. 1088 of 2008 viz. Jakia Nasim Ahesan & Anr. Versus State of Gujarat & Ors. It is very likely that your chosen advisors have once again misled you and have in turn, made you mislead the ‘Six crore Gujaratis’ who look up to you as their elected leader.

Let me as a younger brother-Gujarati, help you decipher the Judgement and Order that has led to unequivocal gloating and jubilatory celebrations among some sections of the political spectrum. It has been stated in your letter that “One thing is apparent from the Supreme Court’s judgment. The unhealthy environment created by the unfounded and false allegations made against me and Government of Gujarat, after 2002 riots, has come to an end”. Let me clarify that even by a long shot, the order of the Honourable Supreme Court has nowhere, even remotely, suggested that the allegations contained in the complaint filed by Mrs. Jakia Jafri were unfounded or false. The truth is that the order of the Honourable Supreme Court is in fact, a very major leap in the direction of delivering justice to the hapless victims of the Gujarat pogrom. As you are well aware, Mrs. Jafri had approached the Honorable Gujarat High Court with a prayer for registering her complaint as an FIR. The said petition was disallowed by the Honourable High Court of Gujarat. Mrs. Jafri, therefore, approached the Honourable Supreme Court of India by way of a Special Leave Petition against the order of the High Court. The Honourable Supreme Court directed the SIT to look into her complaint and subsequently also directed the learned Amicus to examine the evidence collected by the SIT. At the end of this long and arduous exercise the Honourable Supreme Court has not only allowed the Appeal of Mrs. Jafri and directed the SIT to virtually treat the complaint of Mrs. Jafrri as an FIR, but has also directed the SIT to file a report under section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C. Let me clarify for your benefit and for the benefit of your Six crore brothers and sisters of Gujarat, that this report under section 173(2) of the Cr.P.C. is colloquially known as Charge-Sheet or Final Report. The honourable Supreme Court of India has also directed the SIT to place all the evidence collected by it, including the reports of the learned Amicus before the magistrate empowered to take cognizance. I am sure you will appreciate that in order to let the law of the land take its due course, this was the best option available to the Honourable Supreme Court as per the scheme of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

What the Honourable Supreme Court of India has given to Mrs. Jafri is much more than what she had originally prayed for. The order over which some of us are gloating in feigned glee, is in fact, a very cleverly worded order that takes the perpetrators and facilitators of the 2002 carnage a few leaps closer to their day of reckoning. The false bravado comes across as a very smart attempt to mislead the gullible people of Gujarat and instil a false sense of confidence in the political rank and file. Please be assured that we will see a very different picture as the actual import of the order starts settling in and takes judicial effect.

As one of the ‘Six Crore Gujaratis’, I feel deeply pained and cheated when the likes of you, consciously or inadvertently, mislead the people of Gujarat for ulterior motives. The theory propounded and practised to perfection by Paul Joseph Goebbels, one of Adolf Hitler’s closest associate and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, can definitely work with the majority of the populace for some time. But all of us know from historical experience that Goebbelsian Propaganda cannot fool all the people for all the time.

I fully endorse your realization that “Hate is never conquered by hate.” Who would know this better than you, who has served this State for the last one decade; and I, who has served in the Indian Police Service for the last 23 years. I had the misfortune of serving with you during those days of 2002 when the dance of hatred was choreographed and perpetrated at different venues in Gujarat. Albeit this is not the appropriate forum for me to discuss and reveal the details of our respective roles, I am sure that both of us will be getting ample opportunities before appropriately empowered fora to disclose our knowledge about the dynamics of hatred in the realpolitik of Gujarat. I hope you and your cronies, within and without the Government, will not hate me more for this.

I cannot agree more with you when you say that “the credibility of those who have been spreading lies and defaming Gujarat has come to its lowest ebb. The people of this country will not trust such elements anymore”. But my dear brother, you seem to have got it entirely wrong as to who are the ones spreading lies and defaming Gujarat. To my mind, Gujarat has gained infamy not because of the hapless victims who have tirelessly crusading for the cause of justice and truth, but because of the despicable actions of the people who sowed and cultivated hatred to reap political and electoral benefits. Please give it a thought. Introspection can prove to be very revealing at times.

I am deeply touched by your concern and efforts to “further strengthen Gujarat’s environment of peace, unity and harmony.” Thanks to you and your kinsmen, Gujarat has been free from any large scale eruption of communal violence since 2002. The reasons for this may not be very obvious to our fellow ‘Six Crore Gujaratis”. This is my 24th year in the IPS. I was allotted to the Gujarat cadre during a time when the State was passing through the throes of widespread and sporadic communal violence. Having been baptised by fire, I have been since trying to understand and deal with the likes of you, who deal in the divisive politics of hatred. It is my well founded observation that the polity of Gujarat has now crossed the stage where communal violence can accrue electoral benefits to any political party, as the process of communal polarisation is very nearly complete in Gujarat. The experiments in the divisive politics of hatred have been very successful in the Gujarat Laboratory. You and your likes, in the political arena, have been largely successful in creating divides in the hearts and minds of the “Six Crore Gujaratis”. The need to resort to any further communal violence in Gujarat is already passe.

In a constitutional democracy like ours, it is incumbent upon the State to act in Good faith at all times and under all circumstances. Over the last nine and a half years many friends have fallen prey to the misleading campaign that the Gujarat Carnage of 2002 was a spontaneous reaction to the condemnable action at Godhra on the fateful morning of 27 February 2002. The Newtonian Law was never abused more. You had resorted to your knowledge and understanding of Newtonian physics in March 2002 and had sought to apply it to polity and governance at the peak of the Gujarat Carnage of 2002. But what you might have deliberately missed then, and what many of us seem to be inadvertently missing now; is the universally accepted principle of governance which mandates that in a constitutional democracy, an avowedly secular State cannot be allowed to be partisan. It was the bounden duty of the State to have anticipated and controlled the possible Newtonian reaction, if any; not orchestrate and facilitate systematic targeting of innocent individuals! Be that as it may, as an expression of solidarity with your stated objective of spreading Sadbhavana in the land of the Mahatma, I resolve to join you in your Sadbhavana Mission. What better way to do this than helping the truth to come out and let the spirit of justice and goodwill prevail. As all of us understand, there can be no Sadbhavna or Goodwill without truth and justice. I hereby reaffirm my resolve to contribute my might towards the restoration of Sadbhavana in the administration and polity of Gujarat.

But let me warn you that genuine heartfelt goodwill is something we cannot demand, buy or extort…we can only strive to deserve it. And it is not going to be an easy task. The land of the Mahatma is slowly but surely coming out of its hypnotic state.

As the most powerful person in Gujarat you may think that you do not need to feel accountable to the perceptions of all sections of the community. But believe me, history has proved time and again, that power without genuine goodwill is a path fraught with dangers…it is also a path of no return.

Samabhava is a condition precedent for Sadbhava. Governance by equity and goodwill should not only be the first article of your faith but should also be the last article of your creed.

The truth is more frequently than not, a little bitter and not very easy to swallow. I hope that you will take this letter in the true spirit in which it is written and you or your agents will not indulge in direct or indirect acts of retribution as is your wont.

In the words of Martin Luther King Jr. - Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The spirit of the hapless victims who have been struggling for justice in Gujarat may occasionally flag but it will not be supressed by any amount of false Goebbelsian propaganda. The struggle for justice is never easy anywhere in the world…it calls for everlasting patience and unfailing perseverance at all times. The spirit of the crusaders for truth and justice in Gujarat is epitomised in this poem by Bhuchung Sonam, an alumnus of M.S. University, Baroda.

I have principle and no power
You have power and no principle
You being you
And I being I
Compromise is out of the question
So let the battle begin…

I have truth and no force
You have force and no truth
You being you
And I being I
Compromise is out of the question
So let the battle begin…

You may club my skull
I will fight
You may crush my bones
I will fight
You may bury me alive
I will fight
With truth running through me
I will fight
With every ounce of my strength
I will fight
With my last dying breath
I will fight…
I will fight till the
Castle that you built with your lies
Comes tumbling down
Till the devil you worshipped with your lies
Kneels down before my angel of truth.

May the kind God give you the requisite strength to be equitable and benevolent towards one and all!

Satyamev Jayate!

With best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

(Sanjiv Bhatt)