Chinese daily flays India over rapes

India‘s “inefficient and unequal democracy” cannot provide answers to social evils and that is why angry citizens are taking to the streets, an influential Chinese newspaper has said.

“The Indian democratic system seemingly can’t solve these problems but provides legitimacy for them,” the Global Times said in a commentary after the death of a 23-year-old who had been gang-raped and tortured in Delhi.

“India’s democracy is now manipulated by a small number of elite and interest groups. This easily ignites massive grass-roots protests like the current ones and the anti-corruption rallies in August.”

The street protests in New Delhi offered a lesson to China, said the Global Times write-up by Lin Xu.

“Six decades ago, China and India maintained a similar development level, but there has been a widening gap after China explored reform and opening-up,” it said.

“Analysts hold that India is about a decade behind China in economic development and three decades behind in social development.”

But the Times noted that as the world’s biggest democratic country, India was seen in the West as having great potential due to its superior system.

“But an inefficient and unequal democracy is unlikely to be able to mobilise this potential.

“The Indian government is criticized for having reacted slowly and India’s law enforcement system is considered sloppy.

“Rape cases in India have a conviction rate of as low as 26% even when they reach court. Moreover, the traditional social culture that devalues women should be condemned.

“Democracy should ensure effective public participation in national politics and supervision of the government. Efficient democracy means more than electoral politics,” it said.

Global Times, which represents hardline thinking in China, went on to say that the abuse of women in India was shocking.

It quoted statistics to say that 572 rapes were recorded in New Delhi in 2011, and rape cases went up seven times in the past 40 years.

“Over the past few weeks, violence against women in India received prominent attention worldwide, most of which dwelt on the root causes of the problem.”

Delhi gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

At about 3.21 am on Saturday the super speciality hospital in Singapore announced the death of the 23 year old gang rape victim.

Hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh told the BBC that she had passed away due to multi organ failure due to “serious injuries to her body and her brain.”. He also added that “she was courageous” in fighting for her life for so long” against the odds “but the trauma to her body was too severe.”

According to hospital authorities she had been sinking ever since she had arrived in Singapore. In fact the doctors in Delhi, who had been attending to her told DNA on the request of anonymity that shifting her had led to further trauma to her. The journey had proved to be hazardous and she had suffered another seizure in the special aircraft while enroute to Singapore.

On December 26, she had suffered two cardiac arrests and Dr Naresh Trehan had been rushed to Safdarjung Hospital secretly to assess her condition. She had started having multi-organ failure and an infection to her brain had started spreading.

Doctors also told DNA that she had been put on a ventilator as soon as she landed in Singapore as her capacity to breathe on her own had collapsed.The Indian High Commission alerted itsaa superiors in New Delhi at 3.30 am as soon as the news was officially communicated to them. According to the Singapore hospital officials the girl’s family was with her when she breathed her last.

The Delhi Police immediately announced strict measures to restrict movement out of fear that protests would erupt. In fact, the union cabinet had decided to fly her out of Delhi after spontaneous protests broke out in the heart of Delhi. Last week had seen several surges of protests when protesters marched to South and North Block that houses the Prime Minister’s Office and the union home ministry as well as Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Arrangements are being made to fly her back to India.

HIGH ALERT IN DELHI

All roads leading to India Gate, Rajpat and Vijaychowk, where violent clashes broke out over the last weekend in the wake of the brutal assault, were barricaded, have been closed. The Delhi Police tightened security across the national capital on Saturday as soon as the news of the death of the victim reached.

The Delhi traffic police posted a tweet early this morning: “Entire central Vista including Rajpath, Vijay Chowk and all road leading to India Gate will be closed for general traffic, Kamal Attaturk Marg also closed. All travelers (sic) are advised to avoid these roads..”

10 metro stations have been closed. These include Rajiv Chowk, Barakhambha Road,

PM’s CONDOLENCE MESSAGE

PM Manmohan Singh condoled the death of the 23-year-old medical student. His message:

I am deeply saddened to learn that the unfortunate victim of the brutal assault that took place on December 16 in New Delhi has succumbed to the grievous injuries she suffered following that attack. I join the nation in conveying to her family and friends my deepest condolences at this terrible loss. I want to tell them and the nation that while she may have lost her battle for life, it is up to us all to ensure that her death will not have been in vain. We have already seen the emotions and energies this incident has generated. These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change.

It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelize these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action. The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes. Government is examining, on priority basis, the penal provisions that exist for such crimes and measures to enhance the safety and security of women.

I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agenda to help us all reach the end that we all desire – making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in. I pray for the peace of the departed soul and hope that her family will have the strength to bear this grievous loss.

SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY

The Singapore hospital said earlier that the woman had suffered “significant brain injury” and was surviving against the odds. She had already undergone three abdominal operations before being flown to Singapore. Protests over the lack of safety for women erupted across India after the attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of New Delhi. New Delhi has been on edge since the weekend clashes. Hundreds of policemen have been deployed on the streets of the capital and streets leading to the main protest site, the India Gate war memorial, have been shut for long periods, severely disrupting traffic in the city of 16 million. Commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues. Many protesters have complained that Singh’s government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion.

A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India’s major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures.

Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

Saikat Datta

Delhi gang-rape: PM’s wife expresses outrage, calls for severe punishment

The prime minister’s wife Gursharan Kaur on Monday joined the people in expressing outrage over the gang-rape of a young girl and said severe punishment should be meted out to the culprits.

She, at the same time, said any protest against the “ghastly” crime should be peaceful as it would yield more results than violent demonstrations.

The December 16 incident in a moving bus in Delhi was a “very bad incident” and that she was at loss of words in expressing her condemnation, she said.

“We all are very sad at this incident but if they (protests) are conducted in a peaceful manner, they will yield more results,” Kaur told reporters on the sidelines of the release of a book Sikh Heritage Ethos and Relics in Delhi.

“This is a horrible crime…Such incident need to be condemned in the strongest possible way,” she said.

Kaur said severe punishment needed to be handed down to the accused and that there was a need for fast-track courts to deal with such cases.

Russia-India: a new chapter of cooperation

Russia and India have established a relationship that could be described as a “special and privileged partnership”. A statement to this effect was made by President Vladimir Putin during his current official visit to New Delhi. The year 2012 marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and India.

The agenda of the talks focused on expanding bilateral trade and economic ties. Trade between Russia and India has increased by nearly six times since 2000. Vladimir Putin commented on prospects for further cooperation.

“Mutual trade amounted to nearly $9 bln in 2011. We expect it to hit $10 bln in 2012 and to increase twofold over the next few years. About 50% of exported and imports goods on both sides are produced on the basis of high technology. This year, the supply of Russian-made cars, equipment and chemicals to India has increased by 40%. Russia and India have agreed to increase mutual investments. A memorandum between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the State Bank of India which was signed on Monday will create more incentives for ramping up mutually beneficial cooperation, including between small and medium-sized businesses.”

Nuclear energy projects occupy a particular place on the Russia-India cooperation agenda. According to Indian Prime Minister Manmohal Singkh, his country appreciates Russia’s assistance in building the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. President of Russia’s Rosatom Corporation Sergei Kirienko says the Russian side has made a particular breakthrough in the Kudankulam Project.

“The Kudankulam Project meets all ‘post-Fukushima’ requirements and has passed ‘stress tests’. If it had been somewhere near Fukushima at the moment of the disaster, it would have withstood the earthquake and the tsunami, thanks to the high level of its nuclear safety.”

Mutual investments make up yet another important chapter of bilateral cooperation between Russia and India. The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the State Bank of India clinched an important deal to this effect in New Delhi. The Fund’s President Kirill Dmitriev comments.

“Each party will invest up to $1 billion in joint projects. We expect bilateral trade to increase by $10bln – $30bln over the next three years.”

Russian companies are taking part in projects to build metal-working plants in Bhilai, Rourkela and other cities of India. Russia’s Severstal is a partner in a joint project to build a full-cycle metalworking facility in India. Russian insurance companies Ingosstrakh and ROSNO are tapping the Indian market as well. In addition, Russia and India have signed a number of important agreements on cooperation in defense and technology.

Russia and India are also set on bolstering cooperation within the framework of international organizations, including the BRICS group, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the RIC group which comprises Russia, India and China, and the G20.

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Russia, India sign package of agreements

Russia and India have signed a package of cooperation agreements in the framework of Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, according to the Voice of Russia correspondent.

The two countries have specifically signed a memorandum of understanding between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the State Bank of India. The two will invest in joint projects one billion dollars each.

The Russian and Indian Ministries of Culture have signed a cultural exchange programme for 2013 through 2015, while the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Science and Technology of India have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of science, technology and innovations.

An agreement was also concluded on the sidelines of the summit on setting up a joint venture by the Helicopters of Russia Company and India’s Elcom Systems Private Ltd. 

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Moscow, Delhi in Syria dialogue call

Russia and India call on world powers to comply with the Syria resolutions of the UN Security Council and the decisions of the Geneva conference on Syria. They believe there is no way out of the Syrian crisis other than a national political dialogue.

President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said this in a joint statement issued after their talks in New Delhi on Monday.

According to the United Nations, the Syrian conflict has claimed 20,000 to 30,000 lives since first erupting 21 months ago.

The Syrian government says foreign-backed terrorists are at work. 

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Russia, India to foster military ties

Russia and India have made a commitment to foster bilateral military and technical cooperation, Russian President Putin has said in the wake of his Monday meeting with PM Manmohan Singh.

“We have agreed to step up Indian-Russian cooperation in military and technical spheres, to work on new projects through joint ventures and know-hows exchange,” Mr. Putin said.

He cited the fresh deal between a Russian state-run chopper maker and India on exports of helicopter units and equipment.

India has agreed to purchase 71 MiG-17B-5 helicopters worth 1.3 billion dollars. Russia is also to deliver to India 1.6-billion-dollar plane units to organize the licensed assembly of Su-30MKI jet fighters.

New Visa Agreement Signed by India and Pakistan

Shri Sushilkumar Shinde, Home Minister of India and Mr. A. Rehman Malik, Pakistan Interior Minister jointly operationalized the new Visa Agreement between India and Pakistan on 14th December, 2012 at New Delhi. However, the Visa-on-Arrival will come into effect from 15th January, 2013 and the Group Tourist Visa from 15th March, 2013. A Circular to this effect was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs today to all the Indian Missions, State Governments/ Union Territories, Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs), FROs and all concerned.

Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan had signed on 8th September, 2012, a new Visa Agreement to facilitate travel for the nationals of both countries desirous of travelling to the other country and to promote people to people contact.

Key features of the new Visa Agreement are as below:

Visitor Visa

• Places of visit allowable increased from three to five places

• In exceptional cases visitor visa for one year could be issued in the past. Now provision made for issue of visa upto two years in following cases:

a.Persons above 65 years of age
b.National of one country married to national of the other country.
c. Children below 12 years accompanying parents in (b) above

Visa on Arrival can be granted at Attari/Wagah check-post to persons more than 65 years of age for 45 days with single entry (effective from 15th January, 2013).

Business Visa

Exemption from Police Reporting for Business visa granted to businessmen with an annual income above Pak Rs. 5 million or equivalent or annual turnover above Pak Rs. 30 million or equivalent.

Group Tourist Visa

• Group Tourist Visa for 30 days may be issued for travel in groups, with not less than 10 members and not more than 50 members in each group, organized by approved tour operators/travel agents (effective from 15th March, 2013).

Entry and exit

• Now entry and exit from different designated Immigration Check Posts can be allowed, if indicated in application.

• However, exit from Wagha/Attari on foot cannot be accepted unless the entry was also on foot via Attari/Wagah.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the New Visa Agreement will facilitate easy movement of people across the two countries.

The Pakistan Interior Minister, Mr. A Rehman Malik said that he has come to India with a message of peace and assured that Pakistan Government will take all possible steps to work together with India for moving forward for the sake of future generations.

During the visit of Pak Interior Minister, the Indian and Pakistan delegations are also holding a bilateral meeting on issues that include counter terrorism border management, fake Indian Currency Notes and cooperation among security and investigation agencies.

The official delegation accompanying the Pakistan Interior Minister includes Members from Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Federal Administration and High Commission of Pakistan in India.

Supreme court of India allows Italian marines to go home for Christmas

 

Two Italian marines charged with killing two fishermen off the coast of India are likely to spend Christmas in Italy, after an Indian court on Thursday accepted a plea by the sailors to be allowed to join their families for the holiday season.

The two sailors, members of a military security team protecting the cargo ship Enrica Lexie from pirate attacks, shot the fishermen they say they mistook for pirates off the southern state of Kerala in February, sparking a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Rome.

The Kerala high court said its decision to allow the men back home for two weeks was contingent on the Indian government‘s approval.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are out on bail in the Indian state but not allowed to leave the country. They will be required to hand over 60 million rupees ($1.1 million) as a bank guarantee to the court before leaving.

The sailors, awaiting trial in New Delhi’s Supreme Court in connection with the shooting deaths, have to report back to India on January 10.

The Kerala state government opposed the sailors’ request, suspecting Italy of trying to smuggle the men out of India and feared that the sailors may not return.

“We’re very happy with the judgement. The Kerala government’s apprehensions have been quashed,” said Vijaya Bhanu, the counsel for the sailors.

Last week, Italian authorities summoned India’s ambassador in Rome and expressed “strong disappointment” that the Supreme Court had delayed a decision on where the men would face trial.

Italy wants the Supreme Court to rule that the shooting took place in international waters, outside India’s jurisdiction, allowing the marines to be tried in Rome.

Indian authorities accuse the sailors of killing unarmed fishermen in a “contiguous zone” where Indian law applies.

While visiting the marines in Kerala last week, Italy’s Defense Minister, Giampaolo Di Paolo, pinned his hopes on India allowing the men home for Christmas, saying “nobody more than India knows the values of festivities”.

REUTERS

Gujarat govt refutes Arvind Kejriwal’s charges

The Gujarat government today refuted Aam Admi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal‘s charge that it favoured certain industrial groups in the state.

“The charges levelled by Kejriwal are baseless and aimed at maligning the reputation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,” government spokesperson and Minister of State for Energy, Saurabh Patel said.

“The charge that the state government favoured Adani group while purchasing power is not true. Power was purchased from the Adani Group after inviting bids and Adani was the lowest bidder,” Patel said.

Regarding the land given to the Adanis, Patel said, “the government has not given any farm land to Adanis. The land which was given in Kutch was wasteland. The charge that the land was given at Re 1 is false as it was given on a lease for 30 years on BOT basis and every year the state government gets rent on it”.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal had alleged in New Delhi that Modi favoured Gujarat-based business house Adani Group on power purchase and land allotment besides giving gas fields worth Rs 20,000 crore to private companies for “free”.

On the gas deal with a foreign firm GeoGlobal Resourcing, Patel said, “GSPC (Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation) had informed the Director General, Hydrocarbons in 2010 that the deal with GeoGlobal was cancelled and they did not have 10 per cent participating interest anymore in the oil exploration of the Krishna Godavari Basin Deendayal Block.”

“As there was no commercial production so far from KG-OSN-2001/3 gas block, there was no question of giving any benefits to that company,” Patel said.

About allotment of plots to MPs and MLAs in Gandhinagar, Patel said, “the policy of allotment of plots to MPs and MLAs was initiated by the earlier Congress governments and it was discontinued by the Modi government five years back.”

TATA’s 155 mm Howitzer / Mounted Gun System

The Tata group unveils India’s first indigenously developed 155 mm howitzer in New Delhi on Monday.

The 155/52 mm howitzer is mounted on an eight-wheeled Tata truck for enhanced mobility. The gun was developed by its defence subsidiary Tata Power Strategic Electronics Division (SED) this year. The ‘mounted gun system’ can fire a six-round salvo on a target 40 km away in less than three minutes.

The truck-mounted howitzer will be displayed at an army seminar at the Maneckshaw centre tomorrow. The rollout comes even as the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence have struggled to import howitzers over the past 25 years.

The Howitzer has been reportedly developed in collaboration with DENEL, the South African defence equipment manufacturer. The 155mm Howitzer/Mounted Gun System was first displayed in posters at DefExpo 2012 conducted at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi in March this year.

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• The Indian Navy is practicing to operate in the South China Sea to protect the country’s economic assets. (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)

The Indian Navy is practicing to operate in the South China Sea to protect the country’s economic assets.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Admiral D.K. Joshi said, “Where our country’s interests are involved, we will protect them and we will intervene.”

The Eastern Naval Command – which looks at India’s eastern sea board and is likely to play a key role when the Navy is deployed in South China Sea – is also being strengthened.

China, which put its first aircraft carrier into service in September, has been locked in a series of disputes over strategic islands in the region, including with Vietnam and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea.

The decision to use the Indian Navy in the region comes days after Chinese state media announced that the southern Hainan province, which administers the South China Sea, approved laws giving its police the right to search vessels that pass through the waters.

Also Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and India protested a map on a new Chinese passport that depicts disputed areas as belonging to China. The Philippines also issued a statement saying it wants Beijing to “clarify its reported plans to interdict ships that enter what it considers its territory in the South China Sea,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend.

India signed a pact with Vietnam in October last year to expand oil exploration in the South China Sea.

Although Beijing has urged New Delhi not to push ahead with the project for the sake of “peace and stability”, the Admiral said that the Indian Navy was ready to support state energy firm ONGC and had carried out exercises in preparation.

“In certain sectors ONGC Videsh has certain interests. It has energy exploration blocks, three in number, and since it is an area of Indian interests, the Indian Navy, should there be a need, would stand by,” Admiral Joshi said referring to the firm’s international subsidiary.

“If required we will intervene to protect (them),” he said and added that it is the navy’s duty to protect India’s sovereign assets.

Acknowledging the rapid modernisation of the Chinese navy, the navy chief said “It is actually a major cause of concern for us, which we continuously evaluate and work out our options and our strategies.”

According to a report issued by the Pentagon in May, Beijing is pouring money into advanced air defences, submarines, anti-satellite weapons and anti-ship missiles that could all be used to deny an adversary access to strategic areas, such as the South China Sea.

NDTV

Chinese Defence Minister gifts Rs. 1 lakh to Indian Air Force pilots.

In a major breach of protocol, visiting Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guang Lie handed out 50,000 each to two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots on Monday.

Two Embraer and an Avro aircraft were sent to Mumbai to fetch the delegation to Delhi for the talks. These aircraft were from the communication squadron of the IAF which is tasked to ferry senior officials and dignitaries including the Indian Prime Minister and the President.

The normal custom is to hand over mementos by the visiting delegation; money is never handed over. IAF officials said when Indian dignitaries travel on these aircraft for foreign trips, they gift ties and other small mementos as a token of appreciation to the aircraft crew.

The money was handed over to pilots as mementos in two packets. Once the pilots opened the packets and realised that money had given they informed the IAF headquarters which in turn has written to Ministry of Defence. The money will be deposited in the Government treasury tomorrow morning. Sources said the money could not be returned to the Chinese Defence Minister due to sensitivities involved in it.

General Guang, who is on a five-day India visit, arrived in Mumbai on Sunday. The Defence Ministry had provided its aircraft for the inland travel of the visiting Minister.

Yesterday, before the beginning of the delegation-level talks, the Chinese Minister had thanked his Indian counterpart A K Antony for the arrangements made by India for him and his entourage.

 

 

 

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