The Hindu – Dal Khalsa slams Shinde

Special Correspondent

Chandigarh, 8 June 2013.  Radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa on Friday criticised Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his observation that Sikh militants allegedly based in Pakistan were under pressure from ISI to provoke trouble in Punjab.

The party had also objected to the use of the word “Sikh,” while Mr. Shinde had sought to raise the spectre of revival of terrorism in Punjab. While Mr. Shinde spoke on the matter, Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, was present and chose to remain silent “Why did Sukhbir not register his dissent and objection then and there,” Dal Khalsa president H.S. Dhami asked.

Terming Mr. Shinde’s statement customary rhetoric, Mr. Dhami said that there was nothing new in the stand of leaders, which had always aimed at portraying the Sikhs in a bad light. “There is a strong anti-Pakistan feeling prevailing in India deliberately created by section of media and the intelligence agencies. By linking Sikhs with Pakistan, the Indian leadership was trying to kill two birds with one stone.” he said.

Mr. Dhami said that though the Minister’s views were baseless, unfounded and ridiculous, they were aimed at constructing a violent picture of Sikhs in the eyes of the world especially when the western governments were trying to curtail hate crimes against the Sikhs in their countries.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dal-khalsa-slams-shinde/article4792321.ece

BBC News – Pakistan inmate Sanaullah Ranjay dies in India hospital

Thursday, 9 may 2013. A Pakistani prisoner who was attacked by a fellow inmate at a high-security prison in Indian-administered Kashmir has died in hospital, doctors say.

Doctors say Sanaullah Ranjay, who was in a coma, died of multi-organ failure at a hospital in India’s Chandigarh city early on Thursday.

Ranjay suffered injuries in the attack at Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu last week.

He has been in prison for the past 17 years on militancy-related charges.

“His condition was extremely critical. He died early morning,” a doctor at the hospital told the AFP news agency.

Ranjay was attacked by a former Indian army soldier convicted of murder after a row between the two men on 3 May, police said. The former soldier has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

The attack on Ranjay happened on the day that an Indian prisoner, who died after being attacked in a Pakistani jail, was cremated in India.

Sarabjit Singh, sentenced to death by Pakistan in 1991 for spying, had been attacked with bricks by inmates in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail a week earlier.

On Tuesday, two members of Ranjay’s family – brother-in-law Mohammed Sehzaad and nephew Mohammed Asif – visited him in hospital in India.

On Wednesday, India’s Supreme Court said it was “pained and concerned” at the attack on Ranjay and wondered why adequate steps were not being taken to protect prisoners.

“We are more concerned why such incidents are happening in jails. Lives of inmates are put in danger. It is a serious matter and can’t be accepted,” the court said.

India says the attack is being investigated and the “guilty will be punished”.

A foreign ministry spokesman said an “advisory had been issued to strengthen security for Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails”.

There were 535 Indian prisoners, including 483 fishermen, in Pakistani jails and 272 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, the spokesman said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-22460865

The Tribune – 201 rape cases in state in 3 months; Rate quite high as compared to total 680 cases last year

Sanjeev Singh Bariana, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 22. At a time when the national capital is on the boil again following the rape of a five-year-old girl, Punjab too has witnessed a spurt in the cases of crime against women.

Between January and March this year, as many as 201 rape cases have been registered in various parts of the state. The three-month average is quite high as compared to the previous year’s count when a total of 680 rape cases were registered all over the state (in 12 months). On the spurt in rape cases, Hasmeet Singh, CPM youth wing office-bearer, said, “Instead of seeking capital punishment for rapists or asking girls and women not to dress provocatively, we should empower them (women) to take on the culprits fearlessly.”

However, Rajwinder Singh, president of a youth club in Gurdaspur, thinks otherwise: “Nothing but capital punishment can instill fear among rapists.”

Navkiran Natt, vice-president of Inqlaabi Naujawan Sabha, had a different view: “A change is possible only with a mass movement. We need to change the mindset of people. This has to begin from villages, in fact our own houses.”

A district police chief said, “A majority of the registered rape cases are those of elopement. And a large number of those involved are minors. Police does not dither from registering a case, though the conviction rate is poor.”

An officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector-General said, “The abysmally low rate of convictions in rape cases also stresses on the dark side of the law. At times, rape cases, though in a negligible number, are registered to settle scores. Complainants themselves reach at a compromise with the accused later… The law needs to be re-looked into.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130423/punjab.htm#2

The Indian Express – Punjab Police zero down on cop helping most wanted in drug haul case

Chitleen K Sethi

Chandigarh, 28 March 2013. The Punjab Police has zeroed down on one of its serving sub-inspectors who is allegedly helping Jagdish Bhola – the kingpin of the Fatehgarh Sahib drug haul case – while he is on the run.

The Rs 130 crore drug haul, in which Olympian boxer Vijender Singh’s name also cropped up, started with the arrest of Anoop Singh Kahlon and his associate on March 3.

The police today raided the residence of Sarabjit Singh, an SI attached with an IG of the Punjab police, in Nayagaon near here and recovered drugs worth lakhs from his house.

Sarabjit Singh was not at home when the raid was carried out and is said to be underground for several days now.

Jagdish Bhola, the main supplier of drugs and chemicals to Anoop Singh Kahlon stayed at Sarabjit’s house till March 10, said police sources.

Bhola, a national wrestling champion and former Arjuna awardee and ‘Rustam-e-Hind’ is said to be the most vital link in this international drug chain. Bhola’s house in Phase 10 Mohali was raided by the police on March 8 and over 10 kgs of chemical used in synthesizing drugs along with Rs 8.7 lakh in case. Bhola however was able to evade the police and is yet to be arrested.

Sarabjit Singh has worked under Harinder Singh Chahal, who remained the SSP Ferozepur and SSP Faridkot for several years. He remained the CIA in-charge under him at these places. Chahal is now retired and Sarabjit Singh is posted with an IG level officer in Chandigarh.

Sources in the police they recovered over 1 kg of pseudo ephedrine and 5 kgs of opium from Sarabjit’s residence.

Sarabjit was allegedly involved in a drug related case earlier and was dismissed from service. However he was reinstated following the intervention of his senior officers.

A case has been registered by the police against Sarabjit Singh. Police sources add that Sarabjit carries three gunmen with him while he is entitled to none. Cops working on the drug haul case pointed out that even they, despite being in the middle of a dangerous investigation, do not have any gunmen attached to them.

Sarabjit is not the first cop who is involved in this drug racket. Ram Singh, Vijender’s sparring partner who was questioned by the police for several days too is a head constable in the Punjab police.

Kahlon from whose house police recovered over 26 kg of heroin worth Rs 130 crore too worked for the Punjab police before he left for Canada.

A retired DSP of UP Police from Meerut who was running a pharmaceutical factory and was one of the main suppliers of the raw material- amphetamine etc., used for production of rave party drugs has also been arrested in the case.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/punjab-police-zero-down-on-cop-helping-most-wanted-in-drug-haul-

case/1094233/2

The Tribune – New solar window system could heat up small homes

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 3. Studies being undertaken by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) could help in the exploitation of solar energy at the grassroots level in cold regions.

It will not only reduce the demand for power, but also cut down on pollution and carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuel.

Scientists have developed a new solar window system for cold climatic regions based upon the altitude of a place, the azimuth and the sun’s winter solstice, which define the sun’s position above the horizon and the angle of the sun’s rays. This would help in trapping maximum solar energy. The window system does not require installation of any solar panels or other paraphernalia.

To study the effects of the solar radiation, windows of same sizes were constructed in two rooms of identical dimensions and material, one aligned with the sun’s winter solstice and the other facing away.

Scientists found that the room aligned with the solstice achieved air temperature 3-3.5 Celsius higher than the other room.

“Even this difference in temperature is significant for small buildings or utility structures which may have little or no heating facilities,” a scientist said. “This has the possibility of being further enhanced if a combination of solar wall windows and sun roofs is designed,” he said.

In regions that experience very cold winters, trapping the sun’s heat whenever possible is a major design concern along with issues like insulation so that internal heat is retained and exposure to cold winds is minimised.

The spin-off of this study could have applications for small residential units and other sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, dairy farming and the cottage industry.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130304/punjab.htm#15

The Tribune – Girls in elopement cases find themselves helpless

Sanjeev Singh Bariana, Tribune News service

Chandigarh, March 3. Guddi (name changed) came wailing out of a district court complex in Punjab last week after a court jailed her lover to seven years’ imprisonment for eloping with her five years ago when she was 15 years old.

She is now an adult. But she has nowhere to go as her parents are not ready to accept her and the boy’s parents too have turned their back after their son was jailed.

“One of my aunts used to visit me at the Nari Niketan till about two years ago. I don’t have any place to go. The shelter home might ask me to leave as the case has been settled. The boy’s family had promised to take me home.

But their attitude changed after their son was jailed,” she said.

Guddi is not alone as there are more than 70 girls in the two shelter homes – Nari Niketan, Jalandhar, and Care Centre, Amritsar – who are facing a similar situation. There are some who despite being adults cannot be released because of pending court cases. Parents of many boys, who at one time had offered to accept them, have refused after doing rounds of courts or after their sons were imprisoned.

Pruthi (name changed) studied at a convent school before she was “coaxed into a relation” by a neighbour’s son in a small town in Ludhiana district. “He proposed to marry me and we eloped. The police caught us from a hotel in Delhi.

My friend was taken to jail. My father left me when he learnt that I wanted to stay with the boy. He did not withdraw the complaint and my friend was jailed,” she said.

Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Director, Social Security and Child Development, confirmed that certain cases had “no official solution”. “We have no solution to their family problems. But we are trying out to make them self-reliant. Lovely University has offered to conduct free courses for inmates of the Nari Niketan. Many girls are trying hard to make a new beginning in their lives,” he added.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130304/punjab.htm#1

The Tribune – Tribune Analysis; SAD succeeds in bridging gap with NRIs

Jangveer Singh, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 4. The Pravasi Punjabi Sammelan 2013 is set to be unique in more ways than one. The SAD has been successful in bridging the gap with not only the NRI community but also the NRI media. The SAD has used the momentum of its second consecutive assembly elections victory to reach out to the NRI community. Though it has come out with legislations, including the human trafficking and compulsory marriage registration Act, besides deciding to create fast-track courts to hear NRI cases, the SAD is keener to woo the NRI community politically.

The SAD has not been a favourite with the NRI community with hardliners ruling the roost abroad for decades after Operation Bluestar. The NRI media, which is quite vocal on Sikh issues, has also not given the best of coverage to the SAD.

Sources said after the SAD returned to power this March, it began encouraging the creation of party cells abroad.

There is an understanding that though NRIs don’t have a vote, they command a lot of votes because they are opinion-makers. Similarly, the NRI media is influential in building public opinion, especially through radio programmes.

SAD president Sukhbir Badal made a pitch for his party as well as the government at the NRI Sammelan today by urging NRIs to recognise the fact that those who did not have any base in Punjab were given respect abroad.

He said a perception had been built by persons like his cousin Manpreet Badal of the PPP that Punjab had become bankrupt. He claimed it was people like Manpreet and “the maharaja” (Pradesh Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh) who were the biggest enemies of the state. “Please stay away from such people,” he pleaded with the delegates.

Dressed as a CEO, Sukhbir used a power-point presentation to compare the revenue growth during the SAD-BJP government with that during the previous Congress governments. He took the NRIs through the steps taken by the government on various fronts and the way ahead. This was aimed at convincing the NRI community that a responsible government, which had the vision to take Punjab forward, was in place in the state.

The NRI community responded positively to Sukhbir’s presentation. Canadian MP Param Gill said he was touched by the Deputy CM’s presentation and felt proud to be a Punjabi.

Three-time Canadian MP Gurwant Grewal said: “We will share with everyone what we have learnt today and put an end to the misinformation being spread about the government abroad.”

The SAD president will be visiting the US and Canada this summer to further cement the party’s bonds with the NRI community.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130105/punjab.htm#20

The Tribune – Adopt new technology for agri growth: Sukhbir; Four-day Agro Tech fair concludes; Registers 75,000 visitors

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 4. Farmers need to understand new technologies and processes in order to propel agriculture growth in the state. Punjab with just 1.5 per cent of the total agricultural area in the country had been contributing more than 55 per cent to the nation’s food kitty.

In the process of making India self-sufficient, Punjab has been losing out on soil nutrients and groundwater. This was stated today by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on the concluding day of the Agro Tech 2012, organised by the CII, here.

“We must thank the CII for bringing all the stakeholders — companies, farmers and the government — on one platform,” he said.

Giving a call for diversification in agriculture sector, Sukhbir said the farmers would have to come out of the vicious cycle of wheat and paddy and focus on low water-consuming cash crops. He said the Punjab Government was seeking investments from entrepreneurs in the area of diversification of agriculture sector, food processing and conservation of water.

Sukhbir said farmers would have to turn smart marketers to be able to adjust their product portfolio according to the fast-changing demand and supply equation in the international food market.

He said opening up of the Wagah border and giving it the status of a dry port by allowing export of 6,000 goods could be a game changer for the entire north India.

While addressing the gathering, Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa called upon entrepreneurs to come out with technology for small and marginal farmers, which would help increase farm yield.

During the four-day fair, 75,000 visitors, including 35,000 farmers from various states, showed up.

The Agro Tech also saw farmers’ delegations from Afghanistan, Australia, Nepal and The Netherlands.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121205/punjab.htm#4

The Tribune – Canadian PM to visit Chandigarh next month; Punjabi origin ministers Bal Gosal & Tim Uppal in delegation

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 26. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper begins his seven-day official visit to India from November 3. Accompanied by both of his ministerial colleagues of Punjabi origin, Bal Gosal and Tim Uppal, he would also visit Chandigarh during his trip.

It will be Stephen Harper’s second visit to India.

“Canada enjoys a strong working and personal relationship with India but we must further strengthen the links between our two countries,” said the Prime Minister.

“India is a growing economy with enormous potential, and expanding our trade and investment links with India will create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity here in Canada.”

Accompanying him will be a big business and cultural delegation besides five ministers. Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Joe Oliver.

Minister of Natural Resources and Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), and Tim Uppal, Minister of State (Democratic Reform) will be part of the official delegation.

Other than meeting with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his ministerial colleagues, Stephen Harper will also address the World Economic Forum on India, an independent international organisation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders.

Trade between India, one of the fastest growing economies, and Canada has been on the rise.

The strength of the ties between the two countries is reflected in the estimated 1 million Canadians of Indian origin residing there.

Stephen Harper would also visit Agra, Chandigarh and Bangalore.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121030/punjab.htm#16

The Tribune – Photo exhibition of anti-Sikh riots at Jallianwala Bagh

New Delhi, October 19. Several organisations working for the betterment of the Sikh community in Delhi today said a mobile photo exhibition of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots would be inaugurated at Jallianwala Bagh on November 1. It would reach Sultanpur Lodhi on October 24, Jalandhar on October 25, Ludhiana on October 26, Anandpur Sahib on October 27 and Chandigarh on October 28.

A seminar on “Effective legislation against communal and sectarian violence” would be held on November 4, said senior advocate of the Supreme Court H S Phoolka.

He said the photo exhibition and the seminar were being organised to pressurise the government into punishing the guilty as not one accused in the anti-Sikh riots had been convicted. He said there were only five cases being heard by courts, the rest having been dismissed for want of evidence or witnesses. (TNS)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121020/punjab.htm#11