The New York Times has narrated the story of the Mumbai Terrorists attacks in November last on the basis of dossiers prepared by India and Pakistan.

Describing it as a brazen planning, the news from Karachi in the issue of September 30 says

“The Pakistani investigation concludes “beyond any reasonable doubt” that it was Lashkar militants who carried out the Mumbai attacks, preying on their victims in a train station, two five-star hotels, a cafe and a Jewish center over three days starting last Nov. 26.

According to testimony by the only surviving attacker, Ajmal Kasab, 22, Lashkar recruits were vetted and trained around the country, including at well-established camps in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, as well as in Mansehra, in North-West Frontier Province.

A core group, the 10 chosen for the Mumbai assault, was eventually moved to Karachi and its suburbs, where the real drilling began and where Pakistani investigators later retraced the plotters’ steps.

Beginning as early as May 2008, the group trained and planned brazenly while living in various neighborhoods in and around Karachi. They made scores of calls using cellphones, some with stolen numbers, starting in August. They set up voice lines over the Internet.

At one water sports shop, they bought inflatable boats, air pumps, life jackets and engines. One of their training camps, with five thatched rooms and a three-room house, was located near a creek, where they conducted water drills in the open.

The police later recovered an abundance of evidence: militant literature, pocket diaries, spent and live ammunition, empty gun magazines, life vests and receipts for supplies, including distributed weapons and explosives, the Pakistani dossier says.

At the other camp, which they named Azizabad, the group and their trainers set up a classroom.

Using handwritten manuals, the recruits were trained how to use cellphones to keep in contact with their handlers during the attack. They pored over detailed maps of the Indian coastline, plotting the course they would take to Mumbai. They learned how to use global positioning devices.

Working from Millat Town, a dusty, middle-class Karachi suburb on the eastern edge of the city, Mr. Sadiq organized the cadre. Neighbors described him as quiet and pious, riding around the streets with his two young sons perched on his motorbike. The Pakistani dossier says he was a committed Lashkar militant.

In an interview, his uncle, Lala Yasin, said the same thing, adding proudly that Mr. Sadiq was willing to do anything to liberate Kashmir from India’s grip.

“Lashkar-e-Taiba does not kill people without reason,” Mr. Yasin said at his home in Karachi, a few blocks from where his nephew planned the Mumbai attacks.
“It is the champion of jihad,” he explained. “Muslims are like a body and if one part of your body is aching, the entire body may be jeopardized.”

Sir Phirozeshah Mehta - Patriot and social reformer in the 19th century;.Dadabhoy Nowroji ,Known as the grandfather of India, social reformer and first Indian to be elected to the British house of Commons in the 19th century; Swami Vivekananda; W.C. Bannerjee , A founder member of the Indian National Congress: President Dr. Rajendra Prasad – Freedom fighter and the first President of Independent India; President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan first Vice President and the second President of Independent India: Pandit Motilal Nehru – Freedom fighter and father of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of Independent India; President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed – President of India; Sir Dorabji Jamshedji Tata – Barrister, Industrialist;J.R.D. Tata; Dr. C.

Rajagopalachari – The first and last Governor General of Independent India; Dr. Badruddin Tyabji – Leader, Patriot and Founder Member of the Indian National Congress; His Holiness Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah - Aga Khan and The Nawab Of Pataudi Mansur Ali Khan are some name who have been members of Freemasons in India
Freemasonry has always fascinated people from all walks of life. The kaleidoscope of its membership has included Royalty, Aristocracy, judges, Gentry and Commoners alike. Freemasons in India have been no exception, and have contributed to India over the last three centuries in no small manner.

But this charitable organization has always remained shrouded in to mystery for maintain a veil; of secrecy over its rituals, operations and activities. It has prized properties all over the country in the form of Masonic lodges.

The origins and early development of Freemasonry are a matter of some debate and conjecture. A poem known as the “ Regius Manuscript” has been dated to approximately 1390 and is the oldest known Masonic text There is evidence to suggest that there were Masonic lodges in existence in Scotland as early as the late sixteenth century.

Dan Brown has written in The Da Vince Code about the organization but not to the likings of the members of Freemasons. However, in his latest book “The Lost Symbol” he has showcased the Freemasons in the perspective which has delighted the freemasons’ members.

20 years ago Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India had remarked that 90 per cent of the government funds were pilfered en route, and surely they are more innovative now. It means that only 10 per cent of funds, earmarked are percolated to the prospective beneficiaries in India. This phenomenon is not restricted to India and other Asian countries alone. Even in the United States, The conventional estimate is that 7 percent of government spending is lost to waste, fraud or abuse.

In India, the programmes for the ‘common man’ such as the NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and the waiver of farm loans often become windfall for bureaucrats and the party cadres. Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) for the NREGS, which, if we had truth-in-advertising, should be renamed ‘National Employment Guarantee Scheme for Party Cadres’, because 95 per cent of the funds ended up in their pockets.

Rs 70,000 crore for the waiver of farm loans, most of which went to rich landlords already flush with untaxed agricultural income that has led to a boom in consumption in villages. Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) spent on the corrupt, do-nothing bureaucracy.

Similarly in the United States of America, In the $787 billion in federal stimulus money in the wake of recession, a good amount has been pocketed by fraudsters but compared to India, their numbers are nothing but peanuts.

In this age of globalization, as the world is fast becoming a global village, tourism has gained a new dimension with tourists in sizeable numbers flocking to visit other countries. India with its medieval monuments has a lot to offer these tourists. Little wonder, Delhi, a medieval Indian city, the national capital of India, has plenty of sites, attracting tourists. It has medieval buildings, built by magnificent Mughal rulers such as Qutab Minar, Humayun Tomb, Shahi Jama Masjid and majestic Lal Qila (Red Fort) as well as the monuments which can be described as temples of development. To cap it, the internal tourist traffic too has flourished.

The global economic slowdown doesn’t seem to affect the growth of Indian tourism sector as the foreign tourist arrivals in the country is expected to touch 10 million by 2010 from 5.08 million in 2007. This will result in a near doubling of foreign exchange earnings from tourism from 10 billion $ in 2007 to Rs 16 billion $ by 2010, as per an estimate by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Other Tourism Activities

The Corporation provides several other activities for tourists:

• Azad Hind Gram - a rural tourist complex with amphitheater and a museum in the memory of the freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose
• Four Coffee Homes - run by the Catering Division of DTTDC are located at prime locations in Delhi.
• Dilli Haat - a market providing items for sale directly by the craftsmen from different parts of the country at one place, recognized as an art, crafts and cultural centre of Delhi, which was visited by approximately 16 lakhs visitors in 2001.
• Musical Fountain - located at Ajmal Khan Park with water cascades synchronized to coloured lights, each show lasts 20 minutes.
• Sound and Light show (Son-et-lumiere) - takes place at the Old Fort and projects the Fort’s history realistically through weekly one hour shows in Hindi and English covering the history of Delhi over a period of 5000 years.
Other activities include boating at nearby lakes and arranging for parasailing and mountaineering activities in India.

Click below to listen to an interview of Kalpana Palikawala Deputy Director Ministry of Envirnoment & Conservation

Like the cats, Delhi had seven lives ...”. The current life is the immediate legacy of the British Raj. It was during the period of the British subjugation of India that New Delhi was constructed in 1935 and since then its forays from the walled city or Old Delhi remain unbridled. In fact, the construction activities got an impetus as India gained Independence way back in 1947. After two decades, migration from the Indian cities and countryside got an unwarranted boost amidst lot of opportunities for livelihood here.

Click below to view the video of Tourist opinons about landmarks in Delhi

This city, on the bank of river Yamuna, with a lot of fountains and gardens, a gift to India by the Mughal rulers, always longs for lungs in the form of forest, gardens and ponds, declining fast in the wake of urbanization. Said ul Jab, a forlorn sleepy village, in proximity to the famous Qutab Minar, tucked away in South Delhi.

Its name was Said ul Ajaib. A sufi saint, perceived to be having miraculous or benediction power used to live here in the vicinity of a mosque and a dargah (built over the grave of a revered religious figure). In the wake of development and increasing demand for housing dwellings the builders and unscrupulous colonizers too had their praying eyes on the land in this village. However, the authorities in the Delhi Tourism, a body of Delhi state government wisely decided to develop a barren rocky areas as a park. This park was named as ‘Garden of Five Senses’. It is a recent development as the new millennium was ushered into.

Braving all the odds, such as lack of water and fertile soil, the garden has been developed. It has as many as three restaurants but mostly catering to the tourists, hailing from the upper middle class strata of the society. A number of modern sculpture have been erected to add to the beauty of the garden. No wonder, this latest addition to the list of gardens in Delhi, has come up fast as a favored spot on the Delhi tourist map.

Tourists’ views on Said ul Ajaib:

• “Its very peaceful & romantic to be in the Garden of 5 Senses” Naresh - Delhi.
• “Its a nature’s gift to Delhi” Faizan - Faridabad.
• “Unnatural elements in the lap of Nautre” Rakesh - Jammu.

Constant endeavours are made to conserve the history by the Archaeological authorities as the monuments like humans are prone to decay; they too have to face the vagaries of the weather; they are also subject to vandalism at the hands of hooligans.

To view the Video of artisans working at Humayun Tomb click below:

“Until such time as our monuments can defend themselves, why don’t you defend our monuments”, says Aamir Khan, a Bollywood Actor.

A joint effort of: Anil Maheshwari, Fowzan R Mulla, Sadiq Pathan, Lahtaw Zau Raw, Tara Gyapak

Arun Jaitley, the suave powered face of the BJP is leading the campaign against Navin Chawla, an election commissioner. The same Jaitley was instrumental in getting the coveted post of Secretary to Government of India, Minister of Information & Broadcasting, for Chawla during the NDA rule. He took briefs on behalf of his friend Chawla to Maneka Gandhi, the then Information & Broadcasting Minister. Everyone was aware of the extreme bias of Chawla for the Congress but the sharp bureaucrat had powerful links in the BJP.

Earlier, he was empanelled as Secretary to the Government of India during the NDA rule. Mr. N. Gopalaswami, the Chief Election Commissioner was a member of the committee, as Home Secretary, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, which had cleared the name of Chawla for empanelling as Secretary to Government of India.

Interestingly, Chawla, who had been indicted by the Shah Commission (looking into the misuse of office and power during the dark days of Emergency), never hid his extreme preference for the Congress though a public servant (bureaucrat) is supposed to be an impartial one and above the party politics. Is it not a phoney war to befool the gullible public?

Another interesting political development is that Mr. Arun Jaitley has been offered a ‘bail-out’ in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections by his highly placed and well entrenched friends in the Congress. For the first time in his political career, he will enter into a fray. This time, he will be the BJP candidate from New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, at present represented by Ajay Maken, a junior minister in the UPA Government. Maken, having a sound grassroot base, will be shifted to Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency.

He could be a formidable foe for Jailey. Kapil Sibal, another minister, representing the Chandni Chowk, will be shifted to New Delhi constituency while Ajay Maken will swap the position with Sibal. Thus a weak candidate will be fielded by the Congress, making Jailey to romp home to the victory in the ensuing elections.

The maverick Lalu Yadav, Railway Minister in the UPA Government does not mince words or miss any opportunity to lambast the BJP and RSS. Bit all this is for public consumption. He wants us to “Do what I Say not What I do”. The Tehelka weekly magazine (issue 24 January 2009) informs us that the RSS stalwart Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is also former Vice-President of India and Chief Minister for Rajasthan, was chosen by Lalu Yadav as the local guardian for his daughters when they were studying in the Maharani College, Jaipur (Rajasthan, an elite educational institution). It was disclosed by none but by Shekhawat himself during a course of an interview.

Prepare yourself to listen from Lalu Yadav that all this is a conspiracy to defame him by the RSS leader. Perhaps Lalu and his ilk think that the people are fool and can be fooled by any Tom and Harry.

Vir Sanghvi, the versatile and prolific writer, son of the more versatile journalist father, has preferred to ventilate his pent-up comments on the sad development in Indian journalism on his web site. He is welcome to the spreading blogosphere in India. At last, he is able to comprehend the power of this powerful media platform, better known as blogging, new media or web 2.0.

He has stopped writing for his ‘favourite’ pink newspaper MINT as his conscience would not allow him to do so. It is a matter of happiness that he has a conscience. He has reproduced the article “Scams, skysters and Satyam”, meant for his Pursuits column in Lounge, a supplement of the Mint, on his web site. He has alleged that the editor of Mint has refused to carry it because it included criticism of his paper. He has also posted another article on his web site, expressing his hold-no-bar anger, forgetting the cardinal principal of journalism that you should react to a situation but your anger should not be reflected in your write-up or story. To his credit, Sanghvi has carried some adverse comments including one that said:

“Why is everyone so indignant that the critical column wasn’t accepted? Being the Editorial Director of the HT Group (of which Mint, directly or indirectly, is a part), shouldn’t Vir have shared internally, his feedback on goof ups so serious? Are we sure we are talking transparency & ethics here, or is it really about maturity in offering professional feedback to a sister publication? I love Vir’s views, and I love his writing, but I think such misplaced ego & prima donna attitude is silly.”

It was posted by Rajeev. Vir Sanghvi has not dared to reply to this comment. I too made a comment in less than 100 words but the owner of the web site did not fit it to include among the comments though it did not contain any abusive language or carry any pornographic reference but it was critical of Sanghvi’s functioning when he was at the helm of the affairs in (The) Hindustan Times.

Sanghvi has too posted another post under the heading “Owning a TV channel can actually be a problem, rather than an advantage”, in which he has asserted that the clout of the media made no difference. He has given a number of examples including that of Times of India. He writes:

“The most important media house in the country today is Bennett, Coleman and Co., owner of The Times of India, Economic Times etc. But, in the mid to late 1990s, all of The Times of India’s influence could not prevent the needless harassment of Ashok Jain, head of the family that owned Bennett. We know now that at least one of the officials who persecuted Jain was a crook because he was later arrested on corruption charges. But no matter how much the Times protested, Enforcement Directorate officials hounded Jain almost to his death.

“If the Times cannot use its own clout to defend its owner, then what sense does it make to talk of the power of media barons?”

I don’t think that Sanghvi, a known name in the corridors of power and intelligence agencies is aware of actual developments in the case. In fact, on account of this case, H.D. Dev Gowda government fell and was replaced by I.K. Gujaral Government. It is not a mere coincidence that one daughter of one Mr. Judge was married to the son of Mr. Gujaral and another daughter was married to one of the two scions of the Times of India empire. Despite the restrictions, put by the Delhi High Court on the movement of Mr. Ashok Jain, the grand old man of The Times of India, the Gujaral government allowed the senior Jain to move out of country. Are not all such happenings pointers to the clout of media.

There is an interesting humorous Take On Pakistan in The Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper. It portrays the grim situation prevailing among the youth of Pakistan.