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Home Contact Us Dateline New Delhi, Saturday, July 9, 2005

India not too happy with G-8 outcome: Manmohan Singh
by Ashok Dixit

London: Rounding up his three-day visit to the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said on Friday evening that he was not completely satisfied with the results of the two-day Group of Eight (G-8) deliberations at Gleneagles, Scotland, adding that the eight developed countries-US, Britain, France, Russia, Canada,Italy, Japan and Germany -- had not done enough to address the serious issues of climate change and sustainaible development through their statement released today. Addressing a news conference at India House after unveiling the plaque to commemorate the 75th Founding Day of the building, Dr. Singh said that though India had had a limited role to play in the G-8, he had used the opportunity of his meetings with various G-8 leaders, including President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, President Hu Jintao and President Chirac among others, to re- emphasize New Delhi's concerns over developed countries not wanting to take up the very realistic challenge of providing a cleaner global environment and promoting sustainable development of poorer nations. "I must agree with you that the communique (of the G-8) has failed to come to grip on the issue of climate change. There are visible differences between the perceptions of the developed and the lesser developed nations on the issue of climate change," Dr. Singh said. He, however, highlighted the point that in some sense, countries like the United States had acknowledged and made clear that what limits economic growth also affects the environment. This, he said, was one of the redeeming features of the G-8 deliberations, otherwise there was nothing much to write home about.

Dr. Singh also touched upon other issues during his interaction with the media. These included the issue of terrorism, the way forward on Kashmir, results of talks with various G-5 and G-8 leaders, whether the issue of India's inclusion as a permanent member of the UNSC was raised, praise for Indian security forces and intelligence outfits in dealing with the Ayodhya blast and its aftermath and his government's strategy for dealing with the malaise of corruption. When asked about the government's policy on how it would enhance economic growth, Dr. Singh said: "We must maintain the momentum of high growth. Meaningful solutions can be best found in arapidly growing economy. The CommonMinimum Program's projections are aimed at that. We will have a growth rate of seven percent. Indications are that we have a growth rate of 6.9 percent. Growth by itself, however, is not a singular factor. Processes of empowerment, principally health and education have to be encouraged. Regional disparities have to be removed. The government has embarked on a program to provide social safety nets." Earlier in the evening, the Prime Minister unveiled the plaque to commemorate the 75th Founding Day of India House. He used the occasion to once again reiterate his shock and sadness over the terror attack on London's Metro system, saying terrorism had cast its shadow once again, "reminding us that this is an urgent global problem which we neglect or minimise at our peril." He said that though the events in London had inevitably affected his programme at Gleneagles on Thursday, and a scheduled meeting with Tony Blair had to be cancelled, New Delhi's partnership with Britain appeared to be progressing in the right direction, and he visualised this relationship being enhanced in the years to come. He said that the 75th Founding Day of India House "is reflective of the inextricable links between India and the UK, which this building embodies. The function was attended by External Affairs Minister K.Natwar Singh, who is here to attend a meeting of G-4 Foreign Ministers, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, National Security Advisor M.K.Narayanan, senior officials of the PMO, India's High Commissioner to Britain, Kamlesh Sharma and others.

Manmohan Singh gets Oxford doctorate (Go To Top)

London: In a speech laced and marked with solemnity and emotion, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today accepted an honorary degree in Civil Law from the University of Oxford at special ceremony at the Boden Hall. Departing from the original text of his speech, Dr. Singh called for a measured, yet effective response against the scourge of terrorism, whch he said has had a devastating impact on both India and Britain in the last week. Dr.Singh who had earlier been escorted into the hall by Oxford University Chancellor, Lord Patten of Barnes and senior University figures in a traditional procession from the 15th century Divinity School into Convocation House, used by the English Parliament during the British Civil War involving Oliver Cromwell and Charles I as antagonists, described the moment of him receiving the degree from his alma mater as an event that he would cherish for the rest of his life. 'The world has changed beyond recognition since I was a student here. Developing countries have found a new voice, a new status and have acquired a new sense of confidence over the past few decades. As an Indian, I see a renewed sense of hope and purpose. This new optimism gives us Indians a sense of self-confidence, and this shapes our world view today,' Dr. Singh said.

Recalling his time at Oxford in the 1950s, Dr. Singh, dressed in a red gown, said that now in hindsight, he was of the view that India's grievance against the British Empire of yore had a sound basis. To emphasize this point, he said: 'India's share of world income collapsed from 22.6 percent in 1700, almost equal to Europe's share of 23.3 percent at that time, to as low as 3.8 percent in 1952,' five years after securing independence from British colonial rule. It was indeed an irony that at the beginning of the 20th century, 'The brightest jewel in the British Crown' was the poorest country in the world in terms of per capita income, he added. Giving a humourous, yet staid twist to his speech, Dr. Singh said: 'It used to be said that the sun never sets on the British Empire. I am afraid we (India) were partly responsible for sending that adage out of fashion. But, if there is one one phenomenon on which the sun cannot set, it is the world of the English-speaking people in which the people of Indian origin are the single largest component. Of all the legacies of the Raj, none is more important than the English language and the modern school system. That is, if you leave out cricket.' 'Of course, people here may not recognise the language we speak, but let me assure you that it is English! In indigenising English, as so many people have done in so many nations across the world, we have made the language our own. Our choice of prepositions may not always be the Queen's English; we might occasionally split the infinitive; and we may drop an article here and add an extra one there, I am sure everyone will agree, however, that English has been enriched by Indian creativity as well as we have given you R.K.Narayan and Salman Rushidie. Today, English in India is seen as just another Indian language,' Dr. Singh added.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister recalled the words of Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in his magnum opus 'Gitanjali' in which he said 'The West has today opened its door. There are treasures for us to take. we will take and we will also give, From the open shores of India's immense humanity.' 'As we look back and also look ahead, it is clear that the Indo- British relationship is one of give and take. The challenge before us today is to see how we can take this mutually beneficial relationship forward in an increasingly inter- dependent world,' Dr. Singh concluded amid thunderous applause. Dr. Singh is one of 10 distinguished men and women who was presented with an hononary degree by Oxford this year. He studied in Nuffield College and was awarded his DPhil by the Universityt of Oxford in 1962. His area of research was India's export trends and prospects for self-sustained growth. The other Indians who have received hononary degrees from Oxford are Tagore in 1940, Indira Gandhi in 1971, film director Satyajit Ray in 1978 and economist Amartya Sen in 1996. In 2003-04, Oxford had 27 and 107 Indian undergraduates and post-graduates respectively.

Al Qaeda linked group claims responsibility for London blasts (Go To Top)

London: An Al Qaeda linked terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the London blasts. In a statement posted on the Internet, the group, which calls itself Abu Hafs al Masri Brigades has said that Londoners should brace themselves for more such attacks. It has described the English capital as the "capital of the infidels". "Our words have not gone with the wind and our strikes have not stopped. Thanks to God, a group of Mujahedeen from the Abu Hafs al Masri Brigades launched strike after strike in the capital of the Kufr, the infidels," The Daily Mail quoted the statement posted on the Arabic-language news website as saying. "Blessed is this conquest. The coming days will show a greater expression of jihad against those who declared war against Islam and Muslims. We will not keep quiet or stay idle until Islam is safe in the lands of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine," the statement added. Interestingly, another group calling itself The Secret Organisation of al Qaida in Europe, issued a claim of responsibility for the London attacks on Thursday, just hours after the blasts ripped apart the city's tube stations and one bus. Also both the groups had earlier claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings of 2004, that killed 191 people.

Pak interrogating suspect for links with London carnage (Go To Top)

Peshawar: Pakistani authorities are interrogating a British national, Zeeshan Siddique, suspected of having links with al Qaeda and militants in the UK, for his possible role in Thursday's serial bomb blasts in London. Security agencies had picked up the man from near Peshawar in May. Though Sidddique's links with some of the militants belonging with Al Muhajiroun, a radical Muslim group in the UK, have been established, his association with the group as such has not been proved. However, the interrogators have recovered several phone numbers from his possession allegedly linking him to al Qaeda operatives, and feel he may be the missing link in the plot. The interrogators have also recovered from him a CD containing programmes regarding circuit works, aeronautical mapping and digital simulation. He has reportedly disclosed to the interrogators, that he was a suspect in a failed plot to bomb pubs, restaurants and rail stations in London. According to The Dawn , they are now focusing on a note in which Siddique states that one of his comrades had informed him that 'wagon' had now been called off. According to the paper, the reference to 'wagon' has prompted security officials to take a fresh look at the whole case with particular reference to the bombings in London's underground tubes.

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