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Sunni Waqf Board declares Taj as its property

     Lucknow: Amid several claims over the ownership of the Taj Mahal, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board today declared that it was the owner of the world heritage site and the monument should be registered in its name. The announcement in this regard was made by Board Chairman Hafiz Usman in a packed court this morning. The Board, on the direction of Allahabad High Court, was hearing the petition of Mohammad Irfan Bedar who had claimed that the Taj Mahal was a Waqf property and he should be declared its mutawalli i.e. caretaker. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), however, has said that they would challenge the claim of Board in the court of law and the Board's decision of making this declaration was "not in the interest of Taj Mahal". In its presentation to the Board also the ASI registered its opposition against any such claims.

     Earlier, the Board had postponed its judgement in the matter on June 25 as it was collecting evidence and considering legal points related to the matter. It had claimed of gathering manuscripts, archaeological and other related documents to arrive at a 'proper conclusion'. The magnificent 17th-century Taj Mahal built by the emperor as a tomb for his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal, is owned and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India as a national monument. Apart from the Board whose basis of claim is that the monument housed Muslim graves, a descendant of India's Mughal emperors has also staked a claim to ownership of the world's most famous monument to love amid a row between Hindus and Muslims over its custody. Prince Yaqub Habeebuddin Tucy, whose family traces its lineage to the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who built the white marble tomb, staked the claim saying he wanted "to protect the monument from falling into the wrong hands". The structure in Agra in Uttar Pradesh contains the tombs of Shah Jahan and his queen along with other tombs. After the Muslims laid claim to the monument, hardliner Vishwa Hindu Parishad said the Taj Mahal's builders constructed it after demolishing a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon. The Hindu group said the monument should be declared a temple and added that the key to the mystery lay in a sealed basement in the Taj that it said contained the "pillars and artefact of a temple".

National film awards: Saif best actor, Page 3 best movie (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: National film awards have been announced. The jury comprising of noted directors and cinematographers voted for "Page 3" as the best film, a movie about Mumbai's party circuit of high profile socialites. "The best feature film this year, 'Page 3' produced Bobby Pushkar and directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, has been given award for its complex and daring attempt which exposes the shallow world of Page 3 in a manner which is both savagely satirical yet gently ironical," said Sudhir Mishra, head of the jury. While Saif Ali Khan, a noted actor known for his chocolate-boy image bagged the best actor award for "Hum Tum",Tara won the best actress trophy for Kannada film 'Haseena'. "The award for the best actor goes to Saif Ali Khan for "Hum Tum" for his sheer ease, subtlety and spontaneity in portraying a complex role," said Misra. 'Veer Zaara', a love tale between an Indian Air Force officer and a Pakistan girl won the Best Popular Film award along with Tamil movie 'Autograph'. "We decided that this award should be shared, should be given to Yash Chopra for 'Veer Zara" and to "Autograph", a Tamil Film," Sudhir told reporters. The jury, which represented different regions of the country and the wide spectrum of the Indian film industry, gave the decision after going through movies in 14 Indian languages. While noted regional South Indian actor and choreographer Prabhu Deva won the best choreography award for the Hindi film "Lakshya", 'Page 3' also bagged the Best Screenplay and Best Editing awards. The National Film Awards, which are now over half a decade old, were initiated by the government to encourage production of films of aesthetic and technical excellence with a social message. Indian film industry, which is one of the largest in the world, produces around 1000 movies in a year.

Heavy rains make life difficult for Uttaranchal residents (Go To Top)

     Uttarkashi (Uttaranchal): Incessant and heavy rains for over a week now has increased the danger of landslides and road blockades, an annual feature in the monsoons. Due to this, most of the rivers, including the Ganges are flowing over the danger level and most of the highways have been damaged. The villagers are facing loats of problems due to the rain. They have been displaced due to continuous rainfall in the region, which has blocked roads and washed away houses in the area. According to the villagers despite repeated requests, they have not received any help from the government. "The Gangotri highway road has been damaged due to continuous rain. Government has made way on the damaged road which will get damaged if the rain continuous. We requested the state authorities to make a brick wall here (road made on river bank). Our homes are also endangered if water level kept on rising but till now nothing has been done by the state authorities," said Bharat Singh, a villager. Shanti Thakur, another villager said the residents were planning an agitation against the government for blindly starting dam projects in the area, which upsets the fauna and flora, causing environmental hazards. "If we destroy the hills, this will happen. If we interfere with the nature all this is bound to happen. The day is not far when people will no way to reach Gangotri," she said.

      Meanwhile, the authorities say they have sounded a red alert in Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts, as they fear more landslides in the coming days. The local legislators are also working for the welfare of people. They are continuously reminding the higher authorities to take care of all those areas which can be in danger with the continuous rain. "I have written to the concerned authorities that they should identify all those regions which are prone to landslide and other things. I have asked them (disaster management authorities) to give us detailed information about the areas in danger to Chief Minister also," said P.S.Bisht, a local legislator. The Pana-Maneri hydropower plant has also been closed due to heavy rains in the past few days, which is expected to create major electricity problems for the surrounding areas. The Indian Air Force began ferrying service to evacuate tribals and tourists marooned in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur valley after the region was cut off by flash floods due to overflowing of Sutlej river. Heavy rains have continued to lash Himachal Pradesh, bringing life to a standstill.

BHU enforces strict norms to check ragging (Go To Top)

     Varanasi: One of the oldest and largest universities of India, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has made efforts to check ragging menace within the campus. The University, which boasts of faculties in medical, engineering, arts, science, music departments among others, has had numerous instances of ragging in the past, compelling the authorities to take stringent measures to put a halt to the nuisance. "This time we are taking immediate action against the culprits which we think may have a positive impact on other students. We have constituted a disciplinary committee in every institute related to the university which will oversee all such cases. It will take immediate action against those who are found engaged in ragging," said A K Srivastava, Dean of Students, Banaras Hindu University. Besides a disciplinary committee, a vigilance committee has also been constituted to check ragging at the university and all its 60 hostels. A number of mobile squads have also been constituted to keep a strict vigil on students as the new academic session started on July 11. Besides protecting the new students from the wrath of their seniors, the authorities have initiated a noble plan to ensure that they themselves never indulge in ragging their juniors. All the students seeking admission in the university are being asked to pledge that they'll never rag anyone, and would invite strict disciplinary action if found guilty. Their guardians too are being asked to sign a similar undertaking.

BJP asks Fernandes to mind his own business (Go To Top)
by Pankaj Choudhary

     New Delhi: Amidst speculations over who thinks what about Advani's controversial remarks on Jinnah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today strongly rejected NDA convener George Fernandes's statement regarding the BJP-RSS ties and asserted that the BJP was inspired by the ideals of the RSS and was dedicated to it and "Fernandes has gone beyond his jurisdiction and he should respect the feelings and sentiments of the party." "We are sad. We disagree with it. The NDA is an alliance of political parties which have their own identity. The constituents of the NDA never interfere in each other's internal matters and each has its own style of functioning," said party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj. She said that the BJP was unapologetically influenced by the ideology of the RSS. "Our loyalty towards the RSS is complete and it will always be. So anyone making statements like that should think about our sentiments before doing so," said Swaraj. Swaraj also said that Fernandes had gone to RSS Headquarters at Nagpur to meet Sangh chief K S Sudarshan on his own. "Neither the BJP had sent him nor the RSS had called him," to meet Sudarshan and try to mediate in the matter, said Swaraj. BJP leader Uma Bharati said: "I respect Fernandes but I think he made a mistake. He has no right to overstep his limits." "RSS-BJP ties are like that of parents and children. It is a sacred bond and cannot snap for life. By talking about it, Fernandes has breached propriety. I respect him greatly, but he is making a mistake," said the firebrand BJP leader. Bharati said the BJP's ties with the NDA were not above its relations with the RSS. "Do we ask Fernandes to explain his socialist ideology? He has no right to question our ideology." Swaraj also stressed that "the party's ideology was no different today than what it was when it was in government or when the NDA was formed," when asked whether Fernandes's fear that BJP would have greater RSS influence now were true.

     Meanwhile, George Fernandes said that the RSS had callled him to discuss the issue. He had not gone on his own and he has the records of getting the call from the RSS headquarters two times. "I never interfered. I spoke on a matter that worries the nation and harms the NDA. There is no need for anyone to be offended," said the NDA convenor, denying speculation that he had spoken out at Advani's behest. "Only time will tell whether the RSS' interference will harm the NDA. I felt it necessary to speak my mind," he added. Fernandes had issued a statement on Tuesday and asked the RSS to confine itself to socio-cultural matters and also advised the RSS to confine itself to its socio-cultural activities and not acquire a political colour or dictate to the BJP as to who should be its president. Regarding Advani's statement about Jinnah, he said: "There is nothing wrong or objectionable in the comments on Jinnah made by BJP president LK Advani during his recent visit to Pakistan. The NDA must constantly re-affirm our secular ideology and superior and truly democratic value system." "I urge the RSS to confine itself to its socio-cultural activities. I strongly object to the RSS abrogating to itself a political role. This clear separation of roles is necessary to promote healthy democratic traditions in India," Fernandes said at a news conference here. Commenting on the ongoing BJP-RSS strife, the JD-U president said, "in the extraordinary situation that seems to have developed in the main opposition party and driven primarily by my concerns for the NDA." Regarding the RSS' ongoing bid to remove Advani as BJP chief, he said, "who should be the BJP president is its own internal matter." RSS strongly reacted to his statements and said that Fernandes should refrain from unnecessarily interfering in the internal matters of Sangh Parivar and BJP.

Death toll in Pakistan train accidents rises to 250 (Go To Top)

     Ghotki (Sindh Province): The death toll in Pakistan train accidents has risen to around 250 while the number of people injured is said to be around 1000, according to the latest reports reaching here. The accident occurred in the wee hours today at Ghotki in southern part of the Sindh province when three passenger trains collided with each other. Muhammad Aga Muhammad Tahir, a district official, said that the exact figure of the casualties is not known, but it is feared that the accidents left around 200-250 people dead and more than 1000 wounded. The report said that the accident occurred at about 4 a.m. when a train stationed in a station near Ghotki, in Sindh, was hit by a train coming from Lahore. People had just trying to come out the damaged trains when `Tezgam' train going to Lahore from Karachi struck against this train.

London attackers were suicide bombers of Pakistan origin: Paper (Go To Top)

     London: With the help of around 2500 surveillance cameras installed at railway stations, the London police and investigating agencies are now inclined to believe, that four youths of Pakistan origin and residents of Yorkshire, were behind the carnage on Thursday. While two of them came from Leeds, the rest were from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. Said to be aged between 19 and 30, the four "suicide bombers", who were chatting, and carrying large ex-Army-style rucksacks, appeared as if they were heading to a holiday destination, but were actually about to carry out the first suicide attacks in Britain, said a report in The Independent. While one of them is said to be well educated and cricket-freak, the youngest of them all, Hasib Hussain (19), became devoutly religious about 18 months ago. According to the paper, the four British men of Pakistani origin had met at Luton train station. They boarded the `Thameslink' train at 7.48 am and arrived at the King's Cross in at 8.20 am. As per their plans, the four split at King's Cross tube station, each going their separate ways with their weighty rucksacks, it added. They picked up the mobile bombs probably from a house in the Burley district of Leeds and are said to have driven down in two or three hired cars, before going about their deadly business, the report said. According to the paper, after zeroing in on the four youths on the surveillance cameras, the police traced each of the suspects via documents they left at the crime scenes, including credit cards. They were later able to find the body parts of three of the terrorists, but the man travelling on the Piccadilly Line has still not been identified. Meanwhile, friends and neighbours of the suspects, were still in shock over the revelations. "He's one the best lads I've ever met. He was just a guy I liked to play cricket with," the paper quoted Azzy Mohammed (21), a friend of Tanweer, as saying.

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