The Tribune – India, China discuss fresh dates for border talks

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28 India and China are learnt to be in touch to reschedule the 15th round of boundary talks between their special representatives (SRs).

China today made conciliatory noises, three days after the boundary talks were postponed when Beijing sought the cancellation of an address by the Dalai Lama to a global Buddhist conference under way here but New Delhi had refused to do so.

“China pays great attention to the 15th meeting of special representatives on the India-China boundary issue. At the moment, the two sides are in communication on a specific date for the meeting,’’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted as saying.

Asked if China had pressed India to cancel the Buddhist conference since the Tibetan spiritual leader would be addressing it on Wednesday, the Chinese spokesman said, “I want to point out that the Dalai Lama is not purely a religious figure, but the one who has been engaged in separatist activities for a long time under the pretext of religion.”

He went on to add that Beijing opposed any country providing a platform to the Dalai Lama for his ‘anti-China’ activities.

Official sources here said the two countries were exploring the possibility of holding the boundary talks before the year-end. They were also working at ensuring that their latest face-off didn’t affect the scheduled talks between the two defence secretaries on December 8-9.

New Delhi is hopeful of hosting Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, who is widely expected to succeed Hu Jintao as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), after the successful conclusion of the boundary talks between the two SRs – National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111129/main4.htm

The Tribune – In poll mode, SAD revives ‘Panthic’ agenda

Naveen S Garewal, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 28. After an experiment in social engineering, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) seems to have changed its strategy and has now decided to take a calculated risk by re-adopting the “Panthic agenda”.

At the same time, it has decided to keep distance from radical elements within the Sikh community. The spree of inaugurations of Sikh historical monuments at the fag end of the SAD-BJP government term clearly aims at garnering Sikh votes.

The brain behind the move seems to be that of SAD patron and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Being a veteran politician, Badal Senior, it seems, has sensed the gradual erosion of the Sikh vote bank of his traditionally “Panthic” party over the years.

The alliance of the SAD with the BJP has further diluted this vote bank. Further, the underlying tension between the SAD and the BJP has made it necessary for the Akalis to consolidate their own position without banking on the BJP.

In turning the Khalsa Heritage Centre at Anandpur Sahib into a reality, along with dedicating three other monuments (in memory of Banda Bhadur at Chappar Chiri and the two Sikh massacres — small and big ghallugharas at Kanuwan and Kuper Heedha), Badal has a twin agenda. The prime aim is to garner support for his party from every possible quarter so as to retain power, with or without the BJP. Secondly, Badal wants to establish himself in the revered league of Akali leaders as Master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh.

The move to confer the titles of ‘Panth Ratan Fakr-e-Qaum’ upon Chief Minister Badal by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh aims at catapulting the Badal Senior into the galaxy of famous Akali leaders. As the Akal Takht Jathedar is appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandak Committee (SGPC) where the SAD has 157 out of 170 elected members, the move is being viewed nothing more than an act of sycophancy.

At the beginning of the current term of the SAD-BJP government, Badal was conferred upon with the title of “Sant-Siaasatdaan” (Saint-Politician). Gurcharan Singh Tohra, an astute politician and many-time president of the SGPC, was posthumously given the title of “Panth Rattan.” He was never a part of the government.

During the 2002-2007 Congress regime, Captain Amarinder Singh had managed to woo a large number of rural voters by streamlining procurement and series of other administrative measures. Since, the Congress does not want to lose its vote bank, built in rural areas, it has hit out at the SAD’s re-calibrated pre-poll strategy of reviving the “Panthic agenda”.

As a counter reaction, the SAD has raked up issues like “Operation Bluestar.” The inauguration of the Sikh historical memorials has also brought forth the increasing divide between the SAD and the BJP. During LK Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra, the SAD made it a point to distance itself from the BJP leader for his controversial comments on Operation Bluestar in his book, ‘My Country My Life.’ Though BJP president Nitin Gadkari was present for the opening of the Khalsa Heritage Complex, the Punjab BJP president was “missing”.

The Akali strategy

- To check gradual erosion of the Sikh vote bank: The spree of inaugurations of Sikh historical monuments, at the fag end of the SAD-BJP government, clearly aims at garnering Sikh votes

- To reduce dependence on the BJP, its alliance partner: The underlying tension between the alliance partners has made it necessary for the Akalis to consolidate their position without banking on the BJP

- To keep distance from radical elements within the community and gain support from every possible quarter to retain power

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111129/main9.htm

The Hindu – South Africa releases stamps to mark arrival of Indians

Johannesburg, 29 November 2011. A series of postage stamps in commemoration of the arrival of the first indentured Indian labourers to South Africa 151 years ago have been launched here.

In partnership with the Department of Arts and Culture, the Department of Communications and the South African Post Office, two stamps have been launched, with a further two sets set for launch next year.

The stamps feature a sketch of the S S Truro, the ship that brought the first indentured labourers for the sugarcane plantations in Natal province from India in 1860, and photographs of passengers coming ashore at the Durban port.

Poignant reminder

There are also pictures of sugarcane cutters to serve as a poignant reminder of the extreme hardship and endurance of the early labourers from whom most of the 1.4 million South Africans of Indian origin are descended.  The Truro left Madras and anchored in Port Natal on November 16, 1860 to start off the arrival of thousands of Indians until the last ship, the Umlazi, in 1911.

“This is in honour of those gallant Indian pioneers, our forefathers and mothers who, due in large part to economic hardship so many decades ago, made a difficult but conscious choice to depart the shores of India and set sail into the unknown, across treacherous and unpredictable oceans,” Minister for Public Service and Administration, Roy Padayachie, who launched the stamps here said.

The launch incorporated an inter-faith prayer as well as the unveiling of two memorial slabs at the suburb of Belvedere, about 30 km north of Durban, so named after the second ship that brought labourers from India.  The memorial peace slabs bear the names of anti-apartheid icons such as John Langalibalele Dube, the first President of the ANC, Ahmed Timol, Shanti Naidoo, Kader Asmal, Walter and Albertina Sisulu.

Mr. Padayachie said that these slabs were a tribute “to the sacrifices of the indentured Indian labourers and liberation fighters for their immense contribution to build a democratic South Africa we have today.”

He appreciated the indigenous African people for accepting the Indian labourers so that they could stay and make the new country their home for themselves and the generations that followed.

The Minister said that over the decades, the Indian community had made significant contributions to the cultural, social and political life of South Africa, adding to the country’s diverse cultures. (PTI)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2669170.ece

Sint-Truiden Guru Nanak Nagar Kirtan 23 October 2011

Standing in divan hall in front of Guru Granth Sahib

Flowers in front of Guru Granth Sahib

Theodorus (man in black) walking away after paying respect

Sikhs on the palki truck 

To see more Sint-Truiden Gurdwara related pictures go to :

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157624495772533/  

More Nagar Kirtan pictures to follow  
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Unholy act; Sewadar seeks ‘bribe’ for facilitating ‘darshan’

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 28. An incident of an SGPC ‘sewadar’ reportedly demanding a bribe to facilitate “darshan” at the Golden Temple has come to light. The alleged incident occurred with the wife and the brother-in-law of Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association general secretary APS Chatha a couple of days back.

Chatha said his wife Harveen Kaur and brother-in-law Gurpreet Singh Anand visited the Golden Temple around 2.30 pm on November 26. “On reaching the shrine, they noticed long queues of devotees in front of it, after which they decided to pay obeisance at the Akal Takht and leave. When they were leaving the premises, they came across a ‘sewadar’ near Baba Budhajee Beri and inquired from him as to when the rush of pilgrims would decline.”

Chatha said the ‘sewadar’ told them that if they wanted to pay obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum, it was not a problem and that he would facilitate it. When Gurpreet asked him how he will manage it, he said they will have to do “sewa”, which they took as doing community service like cleaning utensils etc. They agreed and the ‘sewadar’ took them to the shrine from the lane where one gets ‘parshad’ on exit. He himself stood there while sending with them one of his associates.

On their return, when Gurpreet asked him what “sewa” they need to do, the ‘sewadar’ allegedly demanded Rs 1,000 from him, said Chatha, adding that both his wife and brother-in-law were shocked to hear that. He said they handed him over a Rs-100 note and left the place. He said the incident had hurt him as he felt that instances like these would portray a poor image before the tourists visiting the shrine.

SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh said though the matter had not come to their notice, still if the aggrieved persons could identify the ‘sewadar,’ they would initiate strict action against him.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111129/punjab.htm#13

BBC News – Pakistan denies firing provoked Nato border attack

28 November 2011

Pakistan has denied reports that it opened fire first, provoking the Nato air strike which killed 24 troops at a checkpoint on the Afghan border.

It follows claims by Afghan officials that Nato forces were retaliating for gunfire from the Pakistani side of the volatile border on Saturday.

On Sunday Pakistan’s army chief led mourners as those killed in the strike were buried at military headquarters.

Nato has apologised, calling it a “tragic unintended incident”.

The White House has also described the deaths as a tragedy.

“We mourn the brave Pakistani service members who lost their lives,” said a spokesman for President Barack Obama, Jay Carney.

“Our sympathies go our to their families and go out to Pakistan.”

“As for our relationship with Pakistan, it continues to be an important cooperative relationship that is also very complicated,” said Mr Carney.

‘Under fire’  

The night-time attack took place at the Salala checkpoint in the Mohmand district, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, early on Saturday morning.

The Pakistani army said helicopters and fighter aircraft hit two border posts, killing 24 people and leaving 13 injured.

Local officials said the two posts were about 300m apart on a mountain top.

Unnamed Afghan officials quoted in The Wall Street Journal said Saturday’s attack was called in to shield Nato and Afghan forces who had come under fire.

One official quoted in the paper said that Kabul believed the shooting came from an army base.

“This is not true. They are making up excuses. What are their losses, casualties?” Pakistani army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said in response to the allegations.

Military sources earlier told the BBC that a US-Afghan special forces mission had been in the area, where a Taliban training camp was believed to be operating.

They said the mission came under fire from a position within Pakistan, and they received permission from the headquarters of Nato’s Isaf mission to fire back.

On Monday an Afghan defence official with direct knowledge of the attack told the BBC’s Bilal Sarwary in Kabul that Nato was targeting high level Afghan and Pakistani Taliban commanders, including a foreign militant training suicide attackers in the Khas Kunar area close to the Pakistani border.

Officials say that these training camps were not far from Pakistani checkpoints.

‘Grave infringement’

But Major-General Abbas said that the raid went on for more than an hour and continued even after local commanders contacted Nato telling them to stop the strike, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Pakistani officials have consistently maintained that there had been no militant activity in the area, and most of the Pakistani soldiers were asleep. They also said Nato had the grid references of the posts and therefore should not have fired.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called it a “grave infringement of Pakistan’s sovereignty” and officials responded by cutting key Pakistani supply lines to Nato in Afghanistan.

The BBC’s Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that public anger has intensified amid growing demands from Pakistan’s opposition parties to sever all ties with the US.

On Monday lawyers staged protests across the country and Reuters news agency reported that Pakistan’s fuel suppliers had said that they would not in the immediate future resume supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he had written to Mr Gilani to “make it clear that the deaths of Pakistani personnel are as unacceptable and deplorable as the deaths of Afghan and international personnel”.

Nato has said it is investigating what happened.

The incident looks set to deal a fresh blow to US-Pakistan relations, which had only just begun to recover following a unilateral US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May.

Pakistani troops are fighting the Taliban in the crucial border region. Hundreds of militants have been resisting attempts by the security forces to clear them from southern and south-eastern parts of the district.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15915247