Homophobia: The violence of intolerance
Navi Pillay
(26/10/10)
A Ugandan man reads the headline of the newspaper "Rolling Stone" in Kampala, in which the paper reveals the identity of alleged gay members of Ugandan society and calls for public punishment against those individuals. Photo: AP
Too often, those who should be exercising restraint or using their influence to promote tolerance do just the opposite, reinforcing popular prejudice.
Seth Walsh was 13 years old when he walked into the garden of the home he shared with his family in Tehachapi, California last month and hanged himself. Before taking the tragic decision to end his life, he had endured years of homophobic taunting and abuse from his peers at school and in the neighbourhood. He is one of six teenage boys in the United States known to have committed suicide in September alone after suffering at the hands of homophobic bullies.
In the past few weeks we have seen a spate of attacks directed against people perceived as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. In Belgrade on October 10, a group of protesters shouting abuse hurled Molotov cocktails and stun grenades into a peaceful gay pride parade, injuring 150 people. In New York on October 3, three young men, believed to be gay, were kidnapped, taken to a vacant apartment in the Bronx and subjected to appalling torture and physical abuse. In South Africa, a large-scale march in Soweto brought attention to the widespread rape of lesbians in the townships, which perpetrators often try to justify as an attempt to “correct” the victims' sexuality.
Homophobia, like racism and xenophobia, exists to varying degrees in all societies. Every day, in every country, individuals are persecuted, vilified or violently assaulted, and even killed, because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Covert or overt, homophobic violence causes enormous suffering which is often shrouded in a veil of silence and endured in isolation.
It is time we all spoke up. For while responsibility for hate crimes rests with the perpetrators themselves, we all share a duty to counter intolerance and prejudice and demand that attackers be held to account.
The first priority is to press for decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide. In more than 70 countries, individuals still face criminal sanctions on the basis of their sexual orientation. The existence of such laws exposes those concerned to the constant risk of arrest, detention and, in some cases, torture or even execution. It also perpetuates stigma and contributes to a climate of intolerance and violence.
But as important as decriminalisation is, it is only a first step. We know from experience in those countries that have already removed criminal sanctions that greater, concerted efforts are needed to counter discrimination and homophobia, including both legislative and educational initiatives. Here again, we all have a role to play, particularly those in positions of authority and influence — including politicians, community leaders, teachers and journalists.
Sadly, too often those who should be exercising restraint or using their influence to promote tolerance do just the opposite, reinforcing popular prejudice. In Uganda, for example, where violence against people based on their sexual orientation is commonplace and human rights activists defending the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people face harassment and the threat of arrest, a newspaper on October 2 published a front page story “outing” 100 Ugandans who the newspaper identified as gay or lesbian and whose photographs were carried alongside the headline “hang them.” It is time we recognised such journalism for what it is: incitement to hatred and violence.
Political leaders and those who aspire to public office have a particularly important duty to use their words wisely. The candidate for public office who, rather than appealing for tolerance, makes casual remarks denigrating people on the basis of their sexuality may do so in the belief that he or she is indulging in harmless populism, but the effect is to legitimise homophobia.
Last month in Geneva I spoke at a panel discussion on decriminalising homosexuality, sponsored by a diverse group of 14 countries from Europe, North America, South America and Asia. In a video message, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu lent his support and spoke with passion about the lessons of apartheid and the challenge of securing equal rights for all. “Whenever one group of human beings is treated as inferior to another, hatred and intolerance will triumph,” he said. It should not take hundreds more deaths and beatings to convince us of this truth. It is up to all of us to demand equality for all our fellow human beings, regardless of their sexual orientation or their gender identity. (Courtesy: U.N. Information Centre, New Delhi)
(Navanethem (Navi) Pillay is United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.)
Keywords: homophobia, suicide
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
CWG infrastructure to be launching pad for future events, says Kumari Selja-Thu, Oct 21
CWG infrastructure to be launching pad for future events, says Kumari Selja
Selja Thu, Oct 21 01:30 PM
New Delhi, Oct 21 (ANI): Union Minister of Tourism and Housing Kumari Selja said today that the infrastructure that has been developed in Delhi for Commonwealth Games would serve as the launching pad for future events in the country.
Inaugurating an International Hospitality Fair here, Selja said that the range of events that can be organized in Delhi have moved beyond traditional meetings and conventions to sporting and entertainment extravaganzas.
Pointing out that the core competence of the hospitality industry ultimately lies in the quality of its human resources, Selja said: "As part of our efforts to improve the availability of qualified and trained personnel in the hospitality sector of the country. The Ministry of Tourism has taken several initiatives to bridge the demand supply gap."
She said at the forefront of this effort are the twenty one existing Central Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM), twelve State IHMs and five Food Craft Institutes (FCI). So far in the Eleventh Plan, the Ministry has sanctioned seventeen new state IHMs and 11 new FCIs.
She said similarly several initiatives have been undertaken to build capacity amongst the service providers. (ANI)
Selja Thu, Oct 21 01:30 PM
New Delhi, Oct 21 (ANI): Union Minister of Tourism and Housing Kumari Selja said today that the infrastructure that has been developed in Delhi for Commonwealth Games would serve as the launching pad for future events in the country.
Inaugurating an International Hospitality Fair here, Selja said that the range of events that can be organized in Delhi have moved beyond traditional meetings and conventions to sporting and entertainment extravaganzas.
Pointing out that the core competence of the hospitality industry ultimately lies in the quality of its human resources, Selja said: "As part of our efforts to improve the availability of qualified and trained personnel in the hospitality sector of the country. The Ministry of Tourism has taken several initiatives to bridge the demand supply gap."
She said at the forefront of this effort are the twenty one existing Central Institutes of Hotel Management (IHM), twelve State IHMs and five Food Craft Institutes (FCI). So far in the Eleventh Plan, the Ministry has sanctioned seventeen new state IHMs and 11 new FCIs.
She said similarly several initiatives have been undertaken to build capacity amongst the service providers. (ANI)
CWG: But with added rooms, future bright-Oct 20, 2010,
CWG: But with added rooms, future bright
Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, Oct 20, 2010, 04.25am IST
(I HOPE THESE INFRASTRUCTURE-WHICH IS READY NOW "WITH WHATEVER COST AND CORRUPTION OR MONEY MEANT FOR POOR OR OF HONEST TAXPAYERS..ONE CANNOT JUSTIFIED THAT AND INVESTIGATIONS AND THEN STRICT PUNISHMENTS MUST BE GIVEN TO DEFAULTERS OR WRONG DOERS"!!
!!....BUT ATLEAST NOW AS IT EXISTS, IT NEED TO BE, IT SHOULD AND IT MUST BENIFIT SPORTSPERSONS AND SPORTS MANAGEMENTS OF OUR COUNTRY,SO THAT THEY GET MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE IN BETTER ENVIRONMENT AND FACILITIES AND GET GROOMED TO WIN MORE AND MORE MEDALS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF OUR COUNTRY. IT MAY HELP IN CREATING MORE SPORTSPERSONS IN OUR COUNTRY WHICH IS A DIFFICULT LIKE ANY PROFESSIONS, IS FULLTIME BUT A OFFBEAT PROFFESSION.AS NOW WE HAVE WORLD CLASS FACILITIES AVAILABLE IN DELHI AND OTHER CITIES, WE CAN HOLD NEW SPORTS EVENTS,MAYBE NOT THAT BIG,BUT IN SMALLER GAP SO THAT SPORTSPERSONS- CONTEMPORARY AND NEW AND UPCOMING GET BENIFITED IN PRESENT AND FUTURE YEARS TO COME!!! SO AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS ATTACHED TO IT,ON THE FIELD AND OFF THE FIELD!!...VIBHA)
NEW DELHI: Move over Singapore and Thailand as Delhi finally finds its place in the sun. The Commonwealth Games 2010 may have been wanting for a footfall for one lakh tourists, but has left Delhi none the poorer in infrastructure including accommodation for varying budgets to choose from.
For far too long, Delhi has been out-priced by South-East Asian destinations that offered vacations not only for the rich but also for the backpacker and the middle class budget travellers.
Now the travel industry hopes that an increase in the number of both star category rooms, guesthouses and bed and breakfast establishments will breathe fresh air in the sector.
HVS India estimates that about 4,500 rooms have come up in the run-up to the CWG. ''There has been a drop in room rates by 25%-40% in the last two years, and we estimate a further fall. Delhi is becoming a competitive market as compared to Singapore and Malaysia,'' Manav Thadani, MD of HVS India, said.
With a larger supply of rooms, Thadani explained, conference and meeting business is gradually moving away from Bangalore and Hyderabad to Gurgaon. The city is also likely to benefit from the infrastructure improvements taking place across the NCR like the extension of the Delhi Metro, improvements in intra-roadways and the redevelopment of the airport.
''Although we maintain that the rates will further drop owing to the impending supply pressures, we would like to state that the overall demand is expected to keep pace with the supply,'' HVS's report said.
Former hotel industry FHRAI president Rajindera Kumar said about 20 hotels were currently in various stages of construction and with an increase in room inventory, prices could hit bottom. ''There is a possibility of 50%-60% drop in room rates once rooms increase making Delhi a great value for money destination for the domestic and foreign traveller,'' Kumar said.
Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, Oct 20, 2010, 04.25am IST
(I HOPE THESE INFRASTRUCTURE-WHICH IS READY NOW "WITH WHATEVER COST AND CORRUPTION OR MONEY MEANT FOR POOR OR OF HONEST TAXPAYERS..ONE CANNOT JUSTIFIED THAT AND INVESTIGATIONS AND THEN STRICT PUNISHMENTS MUST BE GIVEN TO DEFAULTERS OR WRONG DOERS"!!
!!....BUT ATLEAST NOW AS IT EXISTS, IT NEED TO BE, IT SHOULD AND IT MUST BENIFIT SPORTSPERSONS AND SPORTS MANAGEMENTS OF OUR COUNTRY,SO THAT THEY GET MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE IN BETTER ENVIRONMENT AND FACILITIES AND GET GROOMED TO WIN MORE AND MORE MEDALS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF OUR COUNTRY. IT MAY HELP IN CREATING MORE SPORTSPERSONS IN OUR COUNTRY WHICH IS A DIFFICULT LIKE ANY PROFESSIONS, IS FULLTIME BUT A OFFBEAT PROFFESSION.AS NOW WE HAVE WORLD CLASS FACILITIES AVAILABLE IN DELHI AND OTHER CITIES, WE CAN HOLD NEW SPORTS EVENTS,MAYBE NOT THAT BIG,BUT IN SMALLER GAP SO THAT SPORTSPERSONS- CONTEMPORARY AND NEW AND UPCOMING GET BENIFITED IN PRESENT AND FUTURE YEARS TO COME!!! SO AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS ATTACHED TO IT,ON THE FIELD AND OFF THE FIELD!!...VIBHA)
NEW DELHI: Move over Singapore and Thailand as Delhi finally finds its place in the sun. The Commonwealth Games 2010 may have been wanting for a footfall for one lakh tourists, but has left Delhi none the poorer in infrastructure including accommodation for varying budgets to choose from.
For far too long, Delhi has been out-priced by South-East Asian destinations that offered vacations not only for the rich but also for the backpacker and the middle class budget travellers.
Now the travel industry hopes that an increase in the number of both star category rooms, guesthouses and bed and breakfast establishments will breathe fresh air in the sector.
HVS India estimates that about 4,500 rooms have come up in the run-up to the CWG. ''There has been a drop in room rates by 25%-40% in the last two years, and we estimate a further fall. Delhi is becoming a competitive market as compared to Singapore and Malaysia,'' Manav Thadani, MD of HVS India, said.
With a larger supply of rooms, Thadani explained, conference and meeting business is gradually moving away from Bangalore and Hyderabad to Gurgaon. The city is also likely to benefit from the infrastructure improvements taking place across the NCR like the extension of the Delhi Metro, improvements in intra-roadways and the redevelopment of the airport.
''Although we maintain that the rates will further drop owing to the impending supply pressures, we would like to state that the overall demand is expected to keep pace with the supply,'' HVS's report said.
Former hotel industry FHRAI president Rajindera Kumar said about 20 hotels were currently in various stages of construction and with an increase in room inventory, prices could hit bottom. ''There is a possibility of 50%-60% drop in room rates once rooms increase making Delhi a great value for money destination for the domestic and foreign traveller,'' Kumar said.
CWG archery coach Lenin dies in car crash-Hyderabad, October 25, 2010
CWG archery coach Lenin dies in car crash
A Srinivasa Rao
Hyderabad, October 25, 2010
Updated 14:37 IST
(ITS A REALLY SAD NEWS,BUT THE REAL TRIBUTE TO HIM WILL BE THAT IF OUR PLAYERS AND HIS STUDENTS OF ARCHERY WILL DO BETTER AND BETTER IN THE FUTURE....VIBHA)
Cherukuri Lenin, coach of Indian archery team at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, was killed in a road accident on the national highway No. 5 near Jupudi, about 40 km from Vijayawada in the wee hours of Sunday.
Two of his wards - Ritesh Chatterjee (15) and Chittibomma Jignesh (16), who had bagged silver medals in the Commonwealth Games - were also injured in the accident.
Lenin, alongwith Ritul and Jignesh, was returning to Vijayawada after attending a felicitation function in Hyderabad organised by the state government to honour the CWG medal winners and their coaches on Saturday night. Governor ESL Narasimhan and chief minister K Rosaiah presented a cheque of Rs 7.5 lakh each to Lenin and his two silver medallist disciples.
"We started from Hyderabad at around 8 pm on Saturday in a Scorpio, which was being driven by Lenin. At around 2 am, when we were 40 km away from our home, an autorickshaw suddenly came from opposite side.
In a bid to avoid collision, Lenin swerved the vehicle and it hit the road divider," Cherukuri Satyanarayana, Lenin's father and organising secretary of Andhra Pradesh Archery Association, said.
"The vehicle turned upside down and he died on the spot, while we escaped with injuries." An international archer- turned- coach, the 26- year old Lenin had earlier represented India in the compound events. He was also a silver medallist in compound event at Asian Grand Prix Archery championships in 2005. He sacrificed his promising career to take to coaching.
"He is now said to be the No. 3 archery coach in the country. Both his students - Ritul and Jignesh are being groomed as international players," Satyanarayana said.
The chief minister expressed shock over the sudden death of Lenin in the car mishap. He conveyed his deep condolences to the bereaved family.
A Srinivasa Rao
Hyderabad, October 25, 2010
Updated 14:37 IST
(ITS A REALLY SAD NEWS,BUT THE REAL TRIBUTE TO HIM WILL BE THAT IF OUR PLAYERS AND HIS STUDENTS OF ARCHERY WILL DO BETTER AND BETTER IN THE FUTURE....VIBHA)
Cherukuri Lenin, coach of Indian archery team at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, was killed in a road accident on the national highway No. 5 near Jupudi, about 40 km from Vijayawada in the wee hours of Sunday.
Two of his wards - Ritesh Chatterjee (15) and Chittibomma Jignesh (16), who had bagged silver medals in the Commonwealth Games - were also injured in the accident.
Lenin, alongwith Ritul and Jignesh, was returning to Vijayawada after attending a felicitation function in Hyderabad organised by the state government to honour the CWG medal winners and their coaches on Saturday night. Governor ESL Narasimhan and chief minister K Rosaiah presented a cheque of Rs 7.5 lakh each to Lenin and his two silver medallist disciples.
"We started from Hyderabad at around 8 pm on Saturday in a Scorpio, which was being driven by Lenin. At around 2 am, when we were 40 km away from our home, an autorickshaw suddenly came from opposite side.
In a bid to avoid collision, Lenin swerved the vehicle and it hit the road divider," Cherukuri Satyanarayana, Lenin's father and organising secretary of Andhra Pradesh Archery Association, said.
"The vehicle turned upside down and he died on the spot, while we escaped with injuries." An international archer- turned- coach, the 26- year old Lenin had earlier represented India in the compound events. He was also a silver medallist in compound event at Asian Grand Prix Archery championships in 2005. He sacrificed his promising career to take to coaching.
"He is now said to be the No. 3 archery coach in the country. Both his students - Ritul and Jignesh are being groomed as international players," Satyanarayana said.
The chief minister expressed shock over the sudden death of Lenin in the car mishap. He conveyed his deep condolences to the bereaved family.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Row over interlocutors saying Pak key to peace in Kashmir-TNN, Oct 25, 2010,
Row over interlocutors saying Pak key to peace in Kashmir
TNN, Oct 25, 2010, 12.02am IST
(I THINK INTERNATIONALIZING THIS ISSUE WILL NOT HELP IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM,IN FACT, IT WILL FURTHER COMPLICATE IT...VIBHA)
NEW DELHI: The interlocutors on Kashmir have started their stint by triggering a controversy. The BJP took strong objection to Dileep Padgaonkar's comment on Saturday that Pakistan's involvement was crucial to resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying the team was exceeding its brief.
BJP accused Padgaonkar of "internationalizing" what India considers to be its internal matter. Significantly, Congress distanced itself from Padgaonkar's comment, saying it was for him to explain what he meant by the formulation.
Taking exception to Padgaonkar's comment that a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue was not possible without Pakistan's involvement, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The BJP demands that the PMO immediately clarify if this was part of the brief given to the interlocutors. What was the Pakistan dimension that the interlocutor was referring to. Is this part of the brief given or has he stepped beyond its brief?''
The Congress, on its part, underlined that the illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan was the issue where the neighbouring country was relevant to the narrative. "Padgaonkar is the best person to articulate on what he has said or not said. As far as Congress is concerned, we support the unanimous resolution of Parliament that the unfinished business of partition is to address the issue of illegally occupied parts of J&K by Pakistan," party spokesperson Manish Tiwari said.
Sources in the home ministry, which is the nodal ministry for the interlocutors, sought to downplay the comment, saying it has to be seen in the "larger" context of Pakistani occupation of parts of Kashmir.
Terming Padgaonkar's comment as an attempt to reach out to different sections of people with whom he and his fellow interlocutors -- Radha Kumar and M M Ansari -- have to talk, an official said, "The team has gone to talk to all sections of people, including separatists. Let it test the ground and bring as many people as it can for talks. The interlocutors are expected to find ways to reach a permanent political solution."
Padgaonkar, meanwhile, stuck to his remarks and maintained that what he said regarding Pakistan was "obvious" and there was nothing new. "What I have said with regard to Pakistan is the obvious. I have not said anything that has not been said before. I have not exceeded my brief as we did not get any brief. The home minister has said there are no red lines or boundaries. We know what we are doing," he said in Srinagar.
Recalling that Parliament had passed a resolution on J&K asking Pakistan to vacate those areas which it has occupied, Padgaonkar said, "This shows that there is a Pakistan dimension to this issue."
TNN, Oct 25, 2010, 12.02am IST
(I THINK INTERNATIONALIZING THIS ISSUE WILL NOT HELP IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM,IN FACT, IT WILL FURTHER COMPLICATE IT...VIBHA)
NEW DELHI: The interlocutors on Kashmir have started their stint by triggering a controversy. The BJP took strong objection to Dileep Padgaonkar's comment on Saturday that Pakistan's involvement was crucial to resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying the team was exceeding its brief.
BJP accused Padgaonkar of "internationalizing" what India considers to be its internal matter. Significantly, Congress distanced itself from Padgaonkar's comment, saying it was for him to explain what he meant by the formulation.
Taking exception to Padgaonkar's comment that a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue was not possible without Pakistan's involvement, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The BJP demands that the PMO immediately clarify if this was part of the brief given to the interlocutors. What was the Pakistan dimension that the interlocutor was referring to. Is this part of the brief given or has he stepped beyond its brief?''
The Congress, on its part, underlined that the illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan was the issue where the neighbouring country was relevant to the narrative. "Padgaonkar is the best person to articulate on what he has said or not said. As far as Congress is concerned, we support the unanimous resolution of Parliament that the unfinished business of partition is to address the issue of illegally occupied parts of J&K by Pakistan," party spokesperson Manish Tiwari said.
Sources in the home ministry, which is the nodal ministry for the interlocutors, sought to downplay the comment, saying it has to be seen in the "larger" context of Pakistani occupation of parts of Kashmir.
Terming Padgaonkar's comment as an attempt to reach out to different sections of people with whom he and his fellow interlocutors -- Radha Kumar and M M Ansari -- have to talk, an official said, "The team has gone to talk to all sections of people, including separatists. Let it test the ground and bring as many people as it can for talks. The interlocutors are expected to find ways to reach a permanent political solution."
Padgaonkar, meanwhile, stuck to his remarks and maintained that what he said regarding Pakistan was "obvious" and there was nothing new. "What I have said with regard to Pakistan is the obvious. I have not said anything that has not been said before. I have not exceeded my brief as we did not get any brief. The home minister has said there are no red lines or boundaries. We know what we are doing," he said in Srinagar.
Recalling that Parliament had passed a resolution on J&K asking Pakistan to vacate those areas which it has occupied, Padgaonkar said, "This shows that there is a Pakistan dimension to this issue."
Top generals, babus & netas in land-grab-Oct 24, 2010,
Top generals, babus & netas in land-grab
Josy Joseph, TNN, Oct 24, 2010, 11.56pm IST
The Mumbai-headquartered Western Naval Command (WNC) has raised serious security concerns and sought action by the navy, army and government against a highrise apartment complex in Mumbai's Colaba area, in which senior military leaders, politicians and bureaucrats own apartments. Among those allotted houses in the 31-storeyed Adarsh Housing Society are two former army chiefs, several other generals and admirals, and political leaders and senior bureaucrats.
A recent letter to the navy chief from Vice-Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WNC, and other documents with TOI reveal a conspiracy to appropriate, in the name of war widows and military veterans, a prime plot that was in the army's custody for years. In the process, the army even lied to the ministry of defence (MoD), which then misled Parliament, when a starred question regarding the ownership of the land came up in 2003.
Almost every army officer involved in misleading Parliament now owns a house in the complex. In his letter, Admiral Bhasin says that the housing society is now refusing to part with the list of its members and the Maharashtra government too does not have the details.
The building, immediately adjacent to a planned helipad and other military installations, has violated the CRZ ( coastal regulation zone) limit of a maximum height of 30 metres, and has now gone up to 100 metres, says Bhasin inhis letter dated July 5 of this year. The Western Naval Command chief has suggested that the army be asked to institute a formal inquiry to find out duplicity, if any, by serving/retired officers in reappropriation of the ecological park managed and occupied by HQ MG&G (headquarters, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa) Area since 1996. He also wants the MoD to take up the issue with the Maharashtra government and ensure that further construction is stopped and occupancy permission is not given.
The controversy fundamentally hinges around whether the plot of land belonged to the army or not and in this matter, several senior army officials were more than cooperative in declaring that it did not. Crucial documents that prove the army's possession of the land and the Maharashtra government's past commitment to give the plot to the army have gone missing from the records of the concerned army offices in Mumbai and Pune. TOI now has many of those documents. When we sent a detailed questionnaire based on these undisclosed facts to the army headquarters a few weeks ago, the only reply was, "We are looking into all aspects brought out by you."
The story began a few months after the Kargil conflict of 1999 when the army vacated the controversial land in Colaba, handing it over to Adarsh Housing Society. Almost every army officer who was in the chain of command when this transfer and subsequent developments happened, including two former army chiefs, now have apartments in the highrise. Senior bureaucrats in the state who played important roles in the decision-making process hold apartments through their relatives, as do politicians from the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena. Almost everyone who could have objected to the project appear to have been silenced with apartments in the highrise, which consequently rose from the original plan of six floors to the present 31 floors.
Documents show that the land on which Adarsh Society stands today (Block VI in Colaba) was to be the army's in exchange for a plot it gave up in Mumbai's Santa Cruz rifle range in the mid-1950s for the construction of the Western Express Highway. In a letter dated December 31, 1958, joint secretary in the MoD, S D Nargolwala, wrote to the secretary of the public works department of Bombay, referring to a discussion between the chief minister and defence minister where they agreed on the land swap. The army was to be given land in Block VI, an area adjacent to the site where defence installations are already situated. The letter also says that in case the transfer did not take place, the state government would financially compensate the army.
In 1973, the state government gave BEST, the city's electricity and transport utility, 5.14 acres of land from Block VI along Capt Prakash Pethe Marg for a bus depot. It undertook reclamation in the 1980s and left 200 feet outside its compound wall for the proposed road. Immediately after, encroachments came up on the open strip of land. Even though the transfer was yet to be done in the army's favour, it carried out afforestation on the land to prevent encroachments, according to documents. A park was, in fact, inaugurated on October 27, 1996 by the then GOC of MG&G Area, Major General B A Kariappa.
In 2000, when the state government issued the modified development plan for 1981-2001, it reduced the width of Capt Prakash Pethe Marg from the proposed 200 feet to 60 feet. Together with the land that was already there, the entire area was earmarked for a parade ground, helipad, garden, BEST depot and residential zone. Adarsh Society has now come up in this residential zone.
On March 29, 2000, the collector of Mumbai city wrote to the GOC of the Maharashtra and Gujarat Area. In an evident attempt to make out that the land belonged to the state government, not the army, he said that he had received a request for the allotment of "government land for residents of the staff members of defence service personnel" (sic) and that during the site inspection on March 27 "it is revealed that the military department has constructed the wall to the above plot and hence the government land (was) protected from encroachment". "You are, therefore requested to confirm that there is no objection to allot the land to the proposed society of the service personnel", the letter added.
The army officers seemed to have moved with alacrity to respond positively to the collector's letter. Just a day later, on March 30, headquarters MG&G Area sought a report from the defence estate officer (DEO), Mumbai, to confirm the status of the land. On the same day, the DEO replied saying, "It is verified from our records that land in question" falls "outside of the defence boundary".
On April 5, 2000, Colonel S S Jog of the area headquarters wrote to the collector saying that "necessary action at your end may be taken as deemed fit for the welfare of service personnel/ex-servicemen/their widows". A day later on April 6, Colonel Jog made a minute sheet for records. The note said the draft reply was "prepared and finalised" after "having been vetted by Dy GO/GOC in chair" and that "it was ascertained" that Adarsh Society wanted to develop "the above land for kith and kin of servicemen/ex-servicemen/ their widows". Col Jog's worry about the entire action is palpable in his handwritten note, which says, "It is reiterated that NO, repeat NO, NOC was given to the collector's office." For any activity within 1,000 metres of a defence installation, militarys no-objection certificate is a must under the law.
The collector, on his part, continued to imply that the land was not legally owned by the army in his allotment letter issued to Adarsh Society in 2000 which says that the land was "in the custody of the defence department". This letter is among the many documents that are mysteriously missing from the military stations in Mumbai, according to TOI investigations. The letter also lays down several parameters for members including the fact they should have "lived continuously" in Maharashtra for at least 15 years, which almost all the senior officers who own flats do not fulfill.
In December 2003, when a starred question on the issue was asked in Parliament, the MoD misled Parliament based on notings that originated from Mumbai's army station. Col R K Bakshi, SO (land) for the general officer commanding the area, wrote to the Pune-based southern command that the "subject land has never been/is not under the occupation of the army". This falsification of fact was repeated by Brigadier Parvinder Singh on behalf of the southern command to the headquarters in Delhi. He wrote to the army headquarters repeating it, which MoD later told Parliament.
General Vij was the army chief when Parliament was misled, and owns a house in the Adarsh apartment complex. Vij is now the vice-chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, holding a minister of state rank. Lt Gen Shantanu Chaudhary, the then vice-chief of army staff, also owns an apartment in the complex. So does Colonel Amarjit Singh, who was then Chaudharys staff officer.
As concerns mounted about the entire episode and its illegality began to emerge, at least the department of defence estates changed its earlier stand and opposed the project. Veena Maitra, then director general of defence estates, wrote on March 8, 2004, to the southern army command and other authorities, pointing out that the land "has been always under the occupation of the Army, is located inside military area and is bounded by a boundary wall and a gate made by MES (Military Engineering Service)". Despite those facts, "the local army authorities had given an NOC as senior uniformed officers had become members of the residential society intended to be set up on this land", Maitra said.
After the army headquarters asked the southern army command for a response to Maitra's letter, the latter on May 25, 2004, placed several facts, many of them wrong, to argue that the land never belonged to the army. "To prevent encroachment from slum dwellers and to ensure hygienic environment in this area, being in proximity of officers mess, some trees had been planted by the local military authority in the mid-nineties." The letter goes on to say that Adarsh Society "has membership from various sections of society, including serving and retired defence services persons as well as civilians from all walks of life." And it adds, "Lt Gen G S Sihota, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VM, ADC had applied for membership of this society."
One of the most damning pieces of evidence of the manipulation is recorded in a set of letters written by Saurav Ray, defence estate officer, Mumbai, on July 14, 16 and 25 of 2003, to headquarters MG&G Area. He points out that Adarsh Society "is not exclusively a defence entity. It has approximately 33 civilians among 62 members and it has the potential of being a business enterprise of vested interests in the garb of welfare". And adding a new twist to the story is western naval command chief Vice-Admiral Bhasin's July 5 letter to navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, saying the Adarsh society was "deliberately" refusing to part with the list of apartment owners.
Josy Joseph, TNN, Oct 24, 2010, 11.56pm IST
The Mumbai-headquartered Western Naval Command (WNC) has raised serious security concerns and sought action by the navy, army and government against a highrise apartment complex in Mumbai's Colaba area, in which senior military leaders, politicians and bureaucrats own apartments. Among those allotted houses in the 31-storeyed Adarsh Housing Society are two former army chiefs, several other generals and admirals, and political leaders and senior bureaucrats.
A recent letter to the navy chief from Vice-Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WNC, and other documents with TOI reveal a conspiracy to appropriate, in the name of war widows and military veterans, a prime plot that was in the army's custody for years. In the process, the army even lied to the ministry of defence (MoD), which then misled Parliament, when a starred question regarding the ownership of the land came up in 2003.
Almost every army officer involved in misleading Parliament now owns a house in the complex. In his letter, Admiral Bhasin says that the housing society is now refusing to part with the list of its members and the Maharashtra government too does not have the details.
The building, immediately adjacent to a planned helipad and other military installations, has violated the CRZ ( coastal regulation zone) limit of a maximum height of 30 metres, and has now gone up to 100 metres, says Bhasin inhis letter dated July 5 of this year. The Western Naval Command chief has suggested that the army be asked to institute a formal inquiry to find out duplicity, if any, by serving/retired officers in reappropriation of the ecological park managed and occupied by HQ MG&G (headquarters, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa) Area since 1996. He also wants the MoD to take up the issue with the Maharashtra government and ensure that further construction is stopped and occupancy permission is not given.
The controversy fundamentally hinges around whether the plot of land belonged to the army or not and in this matter, several senior army officials were more than cooperative in declaring that it did not. Crucial documents that prove the army's possession of the land and the Maharashtra government's past commitment to give the plot to the army have gone missing from the records of the concerned army offices in Mumbai and Pune. TOI now has many of those documents. When we sent a detailed questionnaire based on these undisclosed facts to the army headquarters a few weeks ago, the only reply was, "We are looking into all aspects brought out by you."
The story began a few months after the Kargil conflict of 1999 when the army vacated the controversial land in Colaba, handing it over to Adarsh Housing Society. Almost every army officer who was in the chain of command when this transfer and subsequent developments happened, including two former army chiefs, now have apartments in the highrise. Senior bureaucrats in the state who played important roles in the decision-making process hold apartments through their relatives, as do politicians from the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena. Almost everyone who could have objected to the project appear to have been silenced with apartments in the highrise, which consequently rose from the original plan of six floors to the present 31 floors.
Documents show that the land on which Adarsh Society stands today (Block VI in Colaba) was to be the army's in exchange for a plot it gave up in Mumbai's Santa Cruz rifle range in the mid-1950s for the construction of the Western Express Highway. In a letter dated December 31, 1958, joint secretary in the MoD, S D Nargolwala, wrote to the secretary of the public works department of Bombay, referring to a discussion between the chief minister and defence minister where they agreed on the land swap. The army was to be given land in Block VI, an area adjacent to the site where defence installations are already situated. The letter also says that in case the transfer did not take place, the state government would financially compensate the army.
In 1973, the state government gave BEST, the city's electricity and transport utility, 5.14 acres of land from Block VI along Capt Prakash Pethe Marg for a bus depot. It undertook reclamation in the 1980s and left 200 feet outside its compound wall for the proposed road. Immediately after, encroachments came up on the open strip of land. Even though the transfer was yet to be done in the army's favour, it carried out afforestation on the land to prevent encroachments, according to documents. A park was, in fact, inaugurated on October 27, 1996 by the then GOC of MG&G Area, Major General B A Kariappa.
In 2000, when the state government issued the modified development plan for 1981-2001, it reduced the width of Capt Prakash Pethe Marg from the proposed 200 feet to 60 feet. Together with the land that was already there, the entire area was earmarked for a parade ground, helipad, garden, BEST depot and residential zone. Adarsh Society has now come up in this residential zone.
On March 29, 2000, the collector of Mumbai city wrote to the GOC of the Maharashtra and Gujarat Area. In an evident attempt to make out that the land belonged to the state government, not the army, he said that he had received a request for the allotment of "government land for residents of the staff members of defence service personnel" (sic) and that during the site inspection on March 27 "it is revealed that the military department has constructed the wall to the above plot and hence the government land (was) protected from encroachment". "You are, therefore requested to confirm that there is no objection to allot the land to the proposed society of the service personnel", the letter added.
The army officers seemed to have moved with alacrity to respond positively to the collector's letter. Just a day later, on March 30, headquarters MG&G Area sought a report from the defence estate officer (DEO), Mumbai, to confirm the status of the land. On the same day, the DEO replied saying, "It is verified from our records that land in question" falls "outside of the defence boundary".
On April 5, 2000, Colonel S S Jog of the area headquarters wrote to the collector saying that "necessary action at your end may be taken as deemed fit for the welfare of service personnel/ex-servicemen/their widows". A day later on April 6, Colonel Jog made a minute sheet for records. The note said the draft reply was "prepared and finalised" after "having been vetted by Dy GO/GOC in chair" and that "it was ascertained" that Adarsh Society wanted to develop "the above land for kith and kin of servicemen/ex-servicemen/ their widows". Col Jog's worry about the entire action is palpable in his handwritten note, which says, "It is reiterated that NO, repeat NO, NOC was given to the collector's office." For any activity within 1,000 metres of a defence installation, militarys no-objection certificate is a must under the law.
The collector, on his part, continued to imply that the land was not legally owned by the army in his allotment letter issued to Adarsh Society in 2000 which says that the land was "in the custody of the defence department". This letter is among the many documents that are mysteriously missing from the military stations in Mumbai, according to TOI investigations. The letter also lays down several parameters for members including the fact they should have "lived continuously" in Maharashtra for at least 15 years, which almost all the senior officers who own flats do not fulfill.
In December 2003, when a starred question on the issue was asked in Parliament, the MoD misled Parliament based on notings that originated from Mumbai's army station. Col R K Bakshi, SO (land) for the general officer commanding the area, wrote to the Pune-based southern command that the "subject land has never been/is not under the occupation of the army". This falsification of fact was repeated by Brigadier Parvinder Singh on behalf of the southern command to the headquarters in Delhi. He wrote to the army headquarters repeating it, which MoD later told Parliament.
General Vij was the army chief when Parliament was misled, and owns a house in the Adarsh apartment complex. Vij is now the vice-chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, holding a minister of state rank. Lt Gen Shantanu Chaudhary, the then vice-chief of army staff, also owns an apartment in the complex. So does Colonel Amarjit Singh, who was then Chaudharys staff officer.
As concerns mounted about the entire episode and its illegality began to emerge, at least the department of defence estates changed its earlier stand and opposed the project. Veena Maitra, then director general of defence estates, wrote on March 8, 2004, to the southern army command and other authorities, pointing out that the land "has been always under the occupation of the Army, is located inside military area and is bounded by a boundary wall and a gate made by MES (Military Engineering Service)". Despite those facts, "the local army authorities had given an NOC as senior uniformed officers had become members of the residential society intended to be set up on this land", Maitra said.
After the army headquarters asked the southern army command for a response to Maitra's letter, the latter on May 25, 2004, placed several facts, many of them wrong, to argue that the land never belonged to the army. "To prevent encroachment from slum dwellers and to ensure hygienic environment in this area, being in proximity of officers mess, some trees had been planted by the local military authority in the mid-nineties." The letter goes on to say that Adarsh Society "has membership from various sections of society, including serving and retired defence services persons as well as civilians from all walks of life." And it adds, "Lt Gen G S Sihota, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VM, ADC had applied for membership of this society."
One of the most damning pieces of evidence of the manipulation is recorded in a set of letters written by Saurav Ray, defence estate officer, Mumbai, on July 14, 16 and 25 of 2003, to headquarters MG&G Area. He points out that Adarsh Society "is not exclusively a defence entity. It has approximately 33 civilians among 62 members and it has the potential of being a business enterprise of vested interests in the garb of welfare". And adding a new twist to the story is western naval command chief Vice-Admiral Bhasin's July 5 letter to navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, saying the Adarsh society was "deliberately" refusing to part with the list of apartment owners.
Karat: Left parties still stuck in 1940s-Oct 25, 2010,
Karat: Left parties still stuck in 1940s
AGENCIES, Oct 25, 2010, 12.41am IST
(I AGREE WITH MR PRAKASH KARAT THAT TO UNDERSTAND INDIAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE ONE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE EXISTENCE AND IMPORTANCE OF CASTE AND RELIGION OF OUR COUNTRY,BUT AS OUR CONSTITUTION ALSO DEPICTS THAT WE ALL ARE EQUALS AND BECOZ OF CASTE,CREED,REGION,RELIGION,GENDRE,STRATA OR STATUS...NO ONE SHOULD BE DISCRIMINATED.THOUGH IT HAS GIVEN RESERVATIONS TO CERTAIN CASTES AND RELIGIONS,OR GENDRE,OR DIABLED ...SO THAT THEY CAN COMEOUT OF THEIR BACKWARDNESS AND JOIN MAINSTREAM FULLFLEGEDLY IN EQUAL LEVEL AND WITH EQUAL RIGHTS.PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE JUDGED ONLY BY WHAT THEY GOT IN LEGACY,OR INHERITED BY BIRTH,BUT BY THEIR QUALITIES,HUMANITY IN THEM,QUALIFICATIONS,WHATEVER THEY EARNED THEMSELF OR DESERVE!!!...VIBHA)
Left parties still stuck in 1940s: Karat
CAMBRIDGE: In a candid overview of the state of the Left parties in India, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has said that the Leftist forces, who were still "banking on the concepts and theories of the 1940s" needed to understand the sweeping changes being witnessed by the nation.
In one of the key presentations at the "Lessons of Empire" conference at the University of Cambridge in memory of noted Marxist historian Victor Kiernan, Karat admitted that Left parties were "deficient" in theory and needed to study and understand the new developments sweeping India.
Calling himself the only 'non-scholar' among the speakers that included academic stars such as Eric Hobsbawm and Christopher Bayly, Karat recalled Kiernan's friendship with Indian Marxists such as P C Joshi and E M S Namboodiripad and recalled that he was always unrestrained in his criticism of some aspects of the Communist Party of India.
Recounting the genesis and history of India's Left, Karat recalled that Kiernan would often criticize the party leaders and cadre, some of whom he called the "cafe going intellectuals", for indulging in political gossip. agencies
AGENCIES, Oct 25, 2010, 12.41am IST
(I AGREE WITH MR PRAKASH KARAT THAT TO UNDERSTAND INDIAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE ONE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE EXISTENCE AND IMPORTANCE OF CASTE AND RELIGION OF OUR COUNTRY,BUT AS OUR CONSTITUTION ALSO DEPICTS THAT WE ALL ARE EQUALS AND BECOZ OF CASTE,CREED,REGION,RELIGION,GENDRE,STRATA OR STATUS...NO ONE SHOULD BE DISCRIMINATED.THOUGH IT HAS GIVEN RESERVATIONS TO CERTAIN CASTES AND RELIGIONS,OR GENDRE,OR DIABLED ...SO THAT THEY CAN COMEOUT OF THEIR BACKWARDNESS AND JOIN MAINSTREAM FULLFLEGEDLY IN EQUAL LEVEL AND WITH EQUAL RIGHTS.PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE JUDGED ONLY BY WHAT THEY GOT IN LEGACY,OR INHERITED BY BIRTH,BUT BY THEIR QUALITIES,HUMANITY IN THEM,QUALIFICATIONS,WHATEVER THEY EARNED THEMSELF OR DESERVE!!!...VIBHA)
Left parties still stuck in 1940s: Karat
CAMBRIDGE: In a candid overview of the state of the Left parties in India, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat has said that the Leftist forces, who were still "banking on the concepts and theories of the 1940s" needed to understand the sweeping changes being witnessed by the nation.
In one of the key presentations at the "Lessons of Empire" conference at the University of Cambridge in memory of noted Marxist historian Victor Kiernan, Karat admitted that Left parties were "deficient" in theory and needed to study and understand the new developments sweeping India.
Calling himself the only 'non-scholar' among the speakers that included academic stars such as Eric Hobsbawm and Christopher Bayly, Karat recalled Kiernan's friendship with Indian Marxists such as P C Joshi and E M S Namboodiripad and recalled that he was always unrestrained in his criticism of some aspects of the Communist Party of India.
Recounting the genesis and history of India's Left, Karat recalled that Kiernan would often criticize the party leaders and cadre, some of whom he called the "cafe going intellectuals", for indulging in political gossip. agencies
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