http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/india/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:23:27 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418747/posts Reporting from New Delhi - It takes a lot fewer than 140 characters to say, "Do you want to keep your job?" In what some are billing as a generational clash of technology and culture involving India's famously inefficient government and bureaucracy, a junior minister has broken ranks with his bosses on the issue of Twitter, earning front-page treatment and leaving his higher-ups unamused. The scrimmage, played out between outspoken State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shashi Tharoor and senior Cabinet ministers, has titillated a nation that enjoys political intrigue almost as much as its cricket matches. Tharoor, former U.N. official,... Los Angeles Times / latimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418747/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:23:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418499/posts ALTHOUGH MICROSOFT AND YAHOO have not actually tied the knot yet, they appear to be unanimous about the need to protect Indians from the perils of pornography. Yahoo has announced that it is blocking sex searches for all those on the Indian subcontinent. Its decision came after a similar statement from Microsoft's Bling, er, Bing last week. Part of their motivation might be a law currently being looked at by the Indian government to make porn illegal. However so far no one has actually told Yahoo or Microsoft to pull the plug on Indians searching for sex content online. In... The Inquirer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418499/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:32:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418225/posts Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4624.html Travel Alert U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs This information is current as of today, Thu Dec 31 2009 01:18:42 GMT-0800 (PST). India - Security Issues December 29, 2009 The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to continuing security concerns in India. The U.S. Government continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India. Terrorists and their sympathizers have demonstrated their willingness and capability to attack targets where Americans or Westerners are known to congregate or visit. In addition, there continues to be a possibility of... Travel.State.Gov - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE - Bureau of Consular Affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418225/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:21:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417442/posts Karambir wasn’t supposed to be his name. At 22, Kanwaljit Kang was married and pregnant. One night, she had a dream. A saint opened the Sikh holy book and said, “Name your baby, a son, Dusht Daman.” Kanwaljit only laughed. Such a hard name for a child, she thought. The name meant “Destroyer of demons”. The saint was right. A boy was born. For eight months, he went without a name. Finally, Kanwaljit and her husband Jagtar went to a nearby saint to ask for another name. But the saint said the name should stay. Still, Kanwaljit resisted it. No,... FORBES INDIA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417442/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 05:15:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417086/posts There is a "lack of awareness" over condom sizes A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men. The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms. It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India. The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth of the country... BBC News, Delhi http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417086/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:49:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417022/posts Russian Navy takes delivery of a new submarine for lease to India MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - The nuclear submarine K-152 Nerpa has joined the Russian Navy. The new Project 971U boat is planned to be leased to India, to which it will sail next summer. An Indian crew will undergo training aboard it before the hand-over ceremony. Its trials, which began in 2008, were interrupted by a tragic accident on September 8, 2008, when an unauthorized release of a fire-fighting gas killed 20 men and injured more than 20 others. The accident caused a delay in... Ria Novosti http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417022/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:09:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415979/posts Couples desperate for children are turning to India, where relaxed laws on surrogacy means the business in babies is booming.. Here a womb can be rented for a few thousand pounds and IVF treatment is a fraction of what it costs in the West. "My criteria is very strict," Dr Anup Gupta tells me in the midst of a packed waiting room in New Delhi. Sky News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415979/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:25:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415701/posts In a major security breach, an Indian national working as a cleaner at Medina airport in Saudi Arabia managed to travel on an Air India flight, carrying 273 Haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to India, hiding in the toilet of the aircraft. Habib Hussain, 26, from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, told the police that the contractor who employed him there had taken away his passport and harassed him. Finding no other way out to return home, he sneaked into the Air India flight to Jaipur. Habib's presence came to light about half an hour after the flight took off... NDTV (India) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415701/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:35:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415467/posts The 86-year-old governor of a southern Indian state resigned Saturday, a day after a television news channel broadcast a tape allegedly showing him in bed with three women, an official said. Gov. Narain Dutt Tiwari's office has denied the allegation, denouncing the tape as fabricated. Tiwari, a veteran governing Congress party leader in Andhra Pradesh state, sent his resignation letter to the Indian president on Saturday, citing health reasons, a state official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters. The scandal hit as Andhra Pradesh is engulfed in social unrest. Outrage over a... sfgate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415467/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:38:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415381/posts New Delhi, India (CNN) -- Forty-five people are believed dead after a bridge collapsed in the north Indian industrial hub of Kota, officials said Saturday. Rescuers were struggling to retrieve all the bodies of victims who fell into the Chambal River on Thursday after the bridge collapsed, according to K. Ravikanth, the top administrative official of Kota district. So far, rescuers have pulled out 11 bodies, he said. The bridge, under construction since 2007, is a joint venture among Gammon India, South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and India's national highway authority, said Rajeev Dasot, Kota's inspector of police. Kota, about 250... CNN.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415381/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:14:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415293/posts Part I -- Realizing and correcting our mistakes... After putting an end to mutiny of 1857, British viceroy Lord Lytton (1874 -1880), brought into existence the Indian Arms Act, 1878(11 of 1878);an act which, exempted Europeans and ensured that no Indian could possess a weapon of any description unless the British masters considered him a "LOYAL" subject of the British Empire. Father of Nation M.K.Gandhi referring to Arms Act of 1878 remarked "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest" (page 238,... merinews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415293/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:45:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414900/posts In the 19th century, Indian armies twice crossed the Hindu Kush, hoping to stitch together the patchwork political authority of the territory in the service of their British masters. Over a century later, the sovereign republic of India once more has a renewed presence in what was once its mountainous buffer from the Tsarist, and then Soviet, giant to the north. A year ago, Indians completed the construction of Afghanistan's new parliament building and, to compound the symbolism, provided training to the legislators who would make the country's laws. Over a billion dollars in aid and investment, multiple consulates, and... guardian.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414900/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:59:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414862/posts The inadequacy of Barack Obama’s Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy stems from the exigencies of the calendar of the next presidential elections in America, writes Kanwal Sibal The striking thing about Barack Obama’s new policy initiative on Afghanistan and Pakistan announced on December 1 is how little in it is actually new. It re-states the problem in known terms and the proposed way forward treads old ground. This is surprising, as the president spent an enormous amount of time to examine his options, to the point of being accused of dithering, and knew that the implications of the new course he... The Telegraph India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414862/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:04:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414843/posts BY 9 in the morning, the bazaar on a rocky island in the Panj River was a frenetic scene of haggling and theatrics. Afghan traders in long tunics and vests hawked teas, toiletries and rubber slippers. Turbaned fortune tellers bent over ornate Persian texts, predicting futures for the price of a dollar. Tajik women bargained over resplendent bolts of fabric. All were mingling this bright Saturday at a weekly market held throughout the year and, in one form or another, for thousands of years here in the Wakhan Valley, which divides Tajikistan and Afghanistan. “Mousetraps, mousetraps, mousetraps, oooowww!” crooned a... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414843/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:59:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414398/posts When I first heard that President George W. Bush was one of the speakers at this year’s Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, I was rather surprised and just a bit excited. He is slated to give his speech at the Hindustan Times Summit later today and the whose who of the Indian political, economic and social elite along with some foreign dignitaries will grace the occasion. I mean during his presidency although one of the cornerstones of the Bush doctrine was a paradigm shift in the way the US looked at Asia and the world and India was at the center... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414398/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:55:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414286/posts Arms sale to Pak justified as India buys from US: Chinese official Saibal Dasgupta, TNN 22 December 2009 BEIJING: A senior Chinese defense official has justified Beijing's sale of warships and submarines to Pakistan on the ground that India was buying similar systems from Russia and the United States. He indicated that China was conscious India might be worried about the sales. "The initiative may invite concerns from its neighboring countries. But the doubts are unnecessary," Zhai Dequan, deputy director of China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, was quoted as saying in the official media. The statement came in the... The Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414286/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:07:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414148/posts History speaks of a Pax Romana, a Pax Britannica, and a Pax Americana - but no other namable eras of sustained peace, for the simple reason cited by Henry Kissinger: nothing maintains peace except hegemony and the balance of power. The balancing act always fails, though, as it did in Europe in 1914, and as it will in Central and South Asia precisely a century later. The result will be suppurating instability in the region during the next two years and a slow but deadly drift toward great-power animosity. Those who wanted an end to US hegemony will get what... Asia Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414148/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:48:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414140/posts New visa rules introduced by India following the arrest of David Headley, the Pakistani-American said to have been involved in the attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, have been criticized by the U.S. and U.K authorities. Nationals from 14 countries able to obtain long-term visas for India, long-term being five or ten years, were previously required to leave the country for a brief period every 180 days. AFP explains that often individuals affected by the 180-day rule would make a short visit to one of India's neighbors, such as Nepal, before returning to the country where they had previously been... Digital Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414140/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:25:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413676/posts Sea Gripen landing on carrier (image : Scenium) Saab Touts Sea Gripen for India and Brazil Saab is responding to an Indian Navy (IN) request for information (RfI) regarding future carrier-capable fighters with a new development of the Gripen NG, dubbed the Sea Gripen. India's RfI, selectively released to bidders over recent weeks, seeks detailed information on a common aircraft design for conventional aircraft carrier operations and short take-off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) operations. Beyond the (much delayed) entry into service of the INS Vikramaditya (the rebuilt former Russian Navy vessel Admiral Gorshkov ), India has ambitious plans to build... Jane's Defence Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413676/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:00:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412694/posts At a recent event in the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, I found myself with my arm around his waist and his arm around my shoulder, posed for a photo opportunity. George W Bush, the much reviled former President of the United States, was in an expansive mood that evening. Aside of his “base” in America, this was fawning that had to be seen to be believed. He is the unquestioned hero of India’s elite. A senior member of the ruling Congress party said he would recommend him for the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award. In his early... Blog Spot Res Gestae http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2412694/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:45:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412683/posts Manmohan Singh’s recent state visit — the first hosted by the Obama administration — has been almost universally criticised in India for being, although high on symbols, everything from a fizzle to a failure. The critics, in this instance, may be exaggerating. If the yardstick of success is replicating the July 2005 achievement, then this summit indeed pales in comparison. The 2005 visit was epochal because it removed the last major structural impediment to better US-Indian strategic relations. Since then, however, bilateral ties have become broad and diverse, spanning a variety of issues where both agreement and disagreement persist in... The Indian Express http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412683/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:19:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412681/posts Nearly a year after the Obama administration took office, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that US-India relations are drifting, lacking the focus, momentum and salience they had when George W Bush occupied the White House, David J Karl writes for PacNet #77. By David J Karl It is a disconcerting indicator of the condition of U.S.-Indian relations that much of the attention in Washington regarding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s state visit was focused, first, on the accouterments of the lavish banquet President Obama gave in his honor and, then, on the bizarre exploits of the aspiring reality-TV contestants... ISN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412681/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:14:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412574/posts Vice President Joe Biden. Click image to expand.Vice President Joe BidenGive credit to the vice president: He really does enjoy politics and "can't see a room without working it," as a colleague of mine half-admiringly remarked last Wednesday morning.We were waiting to enter the studio and comment after Biden had finished his interview with the Scarborough/Brzezinski team, in which the main topic was Afghanistan. Exiting, he chose to stop and talk to each of us. Not wanting to waste a chance to be a bore on the subject, I asked him why he had mentioned India only once in the... Slate.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412574/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:35:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412411/posts Singing the enemy’s song Rahman, many experts have long suspected, was allowed to enter the United States by the Central Intelligence Agency in an effort to infiltrate Al-Qaeda -- a high-stakes intelligence gamble that backfired spectacularly “We have an expression in Arabic”, the blind Egyptian cleric who ran al-Qaeda’s networks in the United States once told an interviewer, “everybody sings for those he loves”. On February 26, 1993, a fifteen hundred kilogramme improvised explosive device went off in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Centre in New York -- the very building that, eight years later, would be... The Hindu http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412411/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:35:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412055/posts "Oh, you are all here. I had some things to discuss with all of you so it’s good that you are together in the same room,” US President Barack Obama said as he strode into the room where the BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India and China — were holding their last, intensive meetings in Copenhagen. “We really need a deal,” he said. “It’s better that we take one step forward rather than two steps back. I’m willing to be flexible.” And he rolled up his sleeves and sat down. Obama had come to meet China’s Wen Jiabao, in... Times Of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412055/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:34:01 GMT