30  dec  2012

1st ODI: Dhoni's effort not good enough as Pakistan win vs India

Dhoni has a century but Nasir Jamshed has one too as well as some valuable support from fellow batsmen as visitors claimed an easy 6-wicket win.

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Chennai:  Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's heroic unbeaten century under pressure went in vain as arch rivals Pakistan held their nerve to clinch the first one day international with a comfortable six-wicket victory in a low-scoring contest here on Sunday.

India posted 227 for six after recovering from a precarious 29 for five one stage but that turned out to be insufficient for the Pakistanis who rode on Nasir Jamshed's unbeaten century to overhaul the target with 11 balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Dhoni played a captain's knock with an unbeaten 113, his 8th ODI century, to script a brilliant Indian recovery after left-arm pacer Junaid Khan (4/43) exploited the overcast conditions to rip through the top-order and leave the hosts gasping for breath within the first 10 overs.

The Indian captain found an able ally in Suresh Raina (43) first and then Ravichandran Ashwin (31 not out) to take the score beyond the 200-run mark which looked doubtful at one stage following the top-order collapse.

Dhoni and Ashwin put on a record seventh wicket partnership of 121 runs but the Indian captain's superlative knock off 125 balls lost much of its value as the Pakistani batsmen went about the task of chasing down the target without taking too many risks.

Younis Khan (58) and Shoaib Malik (34 not out) were the other notable performers for Pakistan.

The Pakistani innings started on a disastrous note as ODI debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a beauty to get rid of Mohammed Hafeez with the very first delivery of the Pakistan innings.

The ball came back sharply after pitching as Hafeez didn't offer a stroke only to find his off-stump knocked back.

The youngster got rid of Azhar Ali a few overs later to reduce the visitors to 21 for two. But the experienced Younis Khan and Nashir steadied the Pakistan innings with a solid 112-run third wicket partnership.

Ratan Tata's farewell letter to all Tata employees - India

28  dec  2012

Ratan Tata, who stepped down as the chairman of the Tata group today as he turned 75, has written a warm farewell letter to his employees saying, “we have every reason to feel proud and feel confident in facing the challenges ahead”.

Mr. Tata handed over the reins of the $100 billion conglomerate to 44-year-old Cyrus Mistry today.

Here is the full text of the letter:

Dear Colleague,

As 2012 comes to an end, let me wish you and your family all the best for the New Year. I hope that 2013 and the future years bring you good health, peace of mind and great happiness.

This is also the last time that I write to you prior to my retirement as the Chairman of the Tata Group and I want to convey to you how privileged I have been to have had the opportunity of leading this great Group over the last two decades through good times and bad.

Whatever has been achieved has only been possible because of the amazing spirit, the dedication of each one of you and the enormous support and faith reposed in me, for which I am deeply grateful and appreciative. I feel immensely proud of the manner in which the employees and the companies have come together in facing crises from time to time. These have included adverse market conditions, natural calamities like earthquakes and tsunamis and gruesome acts of terrorism.

The memories of personal sacrifices, loyalty and individual acts of heroism will always remain in my memory, to reinforce the great sense of pride I have in having been a member of this team. We today are a $100 billion Group in revenues. Over the past 20 years our revenues have grown about 20 times and today 58% come from overseas operations. Our brand has emerged as the 45th global and the number one Indian brand. Our products and services are present in 85 countries. We therefore have every reason to feel proud and feel confident in facing the challenges ahead.The difficult economic environment that we face in the current year will most likely continue through most of the next year.

We will probably see continued constraints in consumer demand, over-capacity and increased competition from imports. There will therefore be great pressure on our companies to reinvent themselves in terms of business processes and to dramatically reduce costs, to be more aggressive in the market place and to widen our product range to better address consumer needs. We will also need to contain our borrowings and work hard to retain our margins. This environment would once again call on you for your support, your commitment and your dedication to achieve success in these somewhat difficult times.This seemingly gloomy picture however will be a passing phase.

I feel confident that the robust growth that India has shown over the past several years will be re-established and the strong fundamentals in the country will result in India once again taking its place as one of the economic success stories of the region. The Tata Group will undoubtedly play an important role in the continued development of our country, providing leadership in various industrial segments in which they operate and living by the value systems and ethical standards on which our Group was founded. The future growth of the Group will be led in the coming years by Cyrus Mistry.

I am sure that he will receive from you the same support, the same commitment and the same understanding that I have enjoyed over the years. Tatas are a Group where I feel proud to have belonged and proud to have been associated through the years. I wish the Group, Cyrus Mistry and each of you great success in the years ahead. I hope the Group grows and shines in the coming years.

Yours sincerely, Ratan N. Tata, chairman, Tata Sons

Kerala to give Rs. two lakh to families of deceased NCC cadets - India

27 dec 2012

Kerala to give Rs. two lakh to families of deceased NCC cadets

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government on Thursday announced a solatium of Rs. two lakh each to the families of five NCC cadets who drowned in the Periyar River near Kochi.

This was announced by an official in Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's office.

Five teenage NCC cadets from Delhi attending the National Trekking camp of the National Cadet Corps drowned after being caught in a whirlpool while clicking photos in the Peiyar River in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

The victims were Hemant Kumar (15), Mohammed Zeeshan (18), Sabeesh Baqri (18), Dilshad Alam (18) and Gulvez Ahamed (18) (all from Delhi).

About 700 odd NCC cadets from across the country have congregated at Malayattoor for the 8-day national level trekking camp which began on December 23.

Indian Jews from 'lost tribe' move to Israel - India

26  dec  2012

Indian Jews from 'lost tribe' move to Israel

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Jerusalem: Dozens of Jews who claim to be the descendants of a lost biblical Jewish tribe emigrated to Israel on Monday from their village in northeastern India, celebrating their arrival after a five-year struggle to get in.

The Bnei Menashe say they are descended from Jews banished from ancient Israel to India in the eighth century B.C. An Israeli chief rabbi recognized them as a lost tribe in 2005, and about 1,700 moved to Israel over the next two years before the government stopped giving them visas.

Israel recently reversed that policy, agreeing to let the remaining 7,200 Bnei Menashe immigrate.

Fifty-three arrived on a flight on Monday. Michael Freund, an Israel-based activist on their behalf, said nearly 300 others will arrive in the coming weeks.

"After waiting for thousands of years, our dream came true," said Lhing Lenchonz, 26, who arrived with her husband and 8-month-old daughter. "We are now in our land."

Not all Israelis think Bnei Menashe qualify as Jews, and some suspect they are simply fleeing poverty in India.

Avraham Poraz, a former interior minister, said they were not linked to the Jewish people. He also charged that Israeli settlers were using them to strengthen Israel's claims to the West Bank.

When Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar recognized the Bnei Menashe as a lost tribe in 2005, he insisted they undergo conversion to be recognized as Jews. He sent a rabbinical team to India that converted 218 Bnei Menashe, until Indian authorities stepped in and stopped it.

The Bnei Menashe come from the states of Mizoram and Manipur near India's border with Myanmar, where, they say, their ancestors landed after the Assyrians banished them. Over the centuries they became animists, and in the 19th century, British missionaries converted many to Christianity.

Even so, the group says they continued to practice ancient Jewish rituals, including animal sacrifices, which they say were passed down from generation to generation. Jews in the Holy Land stopped animal sacrifices after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Eight years after rape, battle for justice still on - India

25  dec  2012

Eight years after rape, battle for justice still on

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Click to Expand & Play

Hyderabad: The country has risen in support of the Delhi gang-rape survivor but for Sonal (NOT her real name) and her family, it has been a lonely and long frustrating battle for justice. Sonal was eight years old when she was sexually assaulted by her paternal aunt's brother-in-law. Sonal and her younger brother had been left with the aunt in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra because their father is visually impaired and earns his living moving around singing bhajans. The two children were going to school at the aunt's place where the 47-year-old man had access to the child and authority to get his way.

The girl told her aunt who reportedly scolded her and scalded her with a hot iron ladle to ensure she did not tell this to anyone else. The child fell ill. When the parents brought her home to Hyderabad, her mother noticed the child was withdrawn, terrified to let anyone come near her, would not even let her mother give her a bath. The mother soon discovered what had happened and they took her to a doctor who said the child had been sexually assaulted and had suffered injury in her private parts. They filed a police complaint.

The case was subsequently transferred to Ladkhed in Maharashtra. After five years of running around the police stations and pursuing the case, in April, 2009, the court of Darwha additional sessions judge found the accused guilty under section 376 r/w 511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused went in appeal and he was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court within a year. The Maharashtra government did not think it was necessary to appeal against this judgement in the Supreme Court. The father of the child, with neither money nor influence, was unable to find a lawyer to fight his case. Finally, the Human Rights Law Network intervened and filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) on behalf of the parents.

In the SLP, the petitioner has mentioned that "the honourable High Court without being sensitive to prevalence of domestic child sexual abuse, overthrew the entire case of prosecution based on its wrong assumption that every burn injury, irrespective of its nature and grievousness, is bound to leave a burn mark on the body even after 25-27 days, without giving a chance to the witness to clarify this. The High Court even erred in calculating this time period as 10-12 days as against the proofs available on record.

"The High Court again erred in assuming that word 'Kukarma' was used by the victim while as per the records she never said this word. The original statement of the victim at the Alwal Police Station uses the word 'rape' and testimony in the witness box clearly uses of phrase 'sexual intercourse'.

"It is important to mention here that Honourable High Court has unduly considered the irrelevant facts for releasing the accused. The order of the Honourable High Court does not consider the seriousness of the allegations, the age of the victim, the stage of the appeal, which should be given a very serious consideration at the time of ordering release of an accused person. Rather it considered the facts, which should not be considered as grounds for release of an accused person.

"The High Court in its judgement has found this highly probable that a blind father will put the reputation of his unmarried daughter and family on stake for extracting a petty amount of money (which may not be more that Rs. 1200) from the accused who happens to be a relative too. The facts, which must primarily be considered - the seriousness of allegations, the age of the victim, order of the Session court, the possibility of the accused threatening the victim again or repeating the act again with the victim or other girls - have been completely ignored by the Honourable High Court."

Saurabh, a software engineer who was so moved by the plight of the father and his fight for justice, decided to make the battle his own. "How can anyone say that for Rs. 1200, a father would put his daughter's chastity at stake. Whereas he has spent several times that amount in trying to pursue the case."

Saurabh points out that the case has suffered because of shoddy investigation and poor evidence collection by the investigating authorities. "It is very obvious that the evidence of the doctor who examined the child and gave a report must be taken on record. Also the testimony of the person to whom the child first reported the crime, in this case the aunt. Both of that was not done. When in the High Court the questions were asked about this evidence, the prosecution had no answer."

Saurabh says he feels there should be a system of ensuring feedback on the quality of investigation and some punitive action for some obvious lapses. "The victim pays such a huge price for basic lapses by the investigating agency. So if at some stage, either during trial or later, the judge notices lapses of this sort, then questions must be asked and the officers made accountable."

The SLP filed by the family has been admitted in the Supreme Court. But eight years after the crime, justice seems delayed, if not denied, too long. The child has grown into a 16-year-old. Social taunts forced her to drop out of school. She has few friends because other parents don't want their children to interact with a "rape victim" because they presume she could be a "loose character" and a "bad influence on their child". So it is a lonely existence for the young girl. The family has been ostracised by relatives who wanted them to accept a "monetary compensation and bury the case". Socially there is heckling and humiliation. The siblings also dropped out of school because the mother wanted to be with her children to protect them. The visually impaired father, who also suffers from polio, needed a support. So the son dropped out and started accompanying his father on his bhajan tours.

The girl's mother asks, "They say we must fight for justice. My daughter's life and ours was ruined. We are fighting for justice. Why isn't anyone helping us? Neither the government nor anyone else?"

Two ACPs suspended, they failed in their duty, says Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna - India

24  dec  2012

Two ACPs suspended, they failed in their duty, says Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

New Delhi: Delhi's  Lieutenant Governor, Tejinder Khanna, who was away in the US all of last week as a law and order crisis unfolded after a young medical student was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in the heart of the city, today denied that he had been ordered back.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told NDTV today that he "enquired" where Mr Khanna was. The Lieutenant Governor said he was visiting his daughter and had permission from the President to do so. The Delhi Police reports to the Lieutenant Governor and not the chief minister, a point of repeated criticism by many including Sheila Dikshit, who heads the Delhi government.

The gang-rape of 23-year-old Amanat (NOT her real name) has infuriated the city, which has seen violent protests in which the police has been accused of having used excessive force; satellite protests are being held everyday in other cities.

The Lieutenant Governor arrived in Delhi this morning and met representatives of women's organisations and top Delhi cops. He then spoke about police lapses like the bus in which Amanat was raped being allowed to ply in the city with tinted windows, which is against the law. He said on the Sunday evening that the incident happened cops had failed to stop the bus as it drove through a number of checkposts. He said two Assistant Commissioners of Police had been suspended for failing in their duty and two Deputy Commissioners of Police asked to give explanations.

The Lieutenant Governor pointed out that Delhi's police commissioner had apologised for any police excesses and an inquiry was on. "Restraint would have been a better model perhaps," Mr Khanna said, referring to police action on protesters over the weekend, which saw violent clashes at India Gate between the police and demonstrators shouting, "We want justice." Some carried placards that demanded the death penalty for rapists. The police used tear-gas and water-cannons against the crowd of many thousands, who defied police orders to gather at India Gate. Some tried to rush towards Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the President lives.
 
The Lieutenant Governor also enumerated a number of measures being taken by the police to ensure safety of women in the capital, including sensitising the police force. Mr Khanna announced that Sudhir Yadav, Special Commissioner of the Delhi Police, can be approached 24/7 on women's rights on 9818099012.

"Drivers of public transport vehicles would have to wear ID badges. They will also need to carry photo IDs. Earlier, there was no background check on drivers; the process will begin now," he told the media. 

The Lieutenant Governor said that he will personally review the security situation for women in the city. Me Khanna also said strict action would be taken if police personnel are found guilty of disrespecting or misbehaving with women.

Newly-elected Himachal Congress MLA wanted for girl's murder - India

22  dec  2012

Newly-elected Himachal Congress MLA wanted for girl's murder

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Panchkula: Newly-elected Himachal Pradesh MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary has been named in a murder case by Panchkula Police. A team of the police from Panchkula, which borders Chandigarh, raided Mr Chaudhary's residence and other suspected hideouts.

The MLA along with three others is wanted in connection with the murder of a young girl. Jyoti, a native of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, was found dead in Panchkula on November 22. As per the post mortem report, she died of head injuries and had had an abortion recently. Details from her cell phone led the police to the MLA.

The girl's father, Booti Ram, said he will go to court if the police fail to catch the perpetrators.

"Police are not doing anything. I will go to court to get justice,"Booti Ram said.

Mr Ram was reportedly offered money to remain silent on the case, he refused the offer, Mr Ram said. "I don't want any money," Mr Ram said.

Mr Chaudhary is also the general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, and is the son of a four-time Congress MLA. He was elected on a Congress ticket from Doon constituency in Baddi, which borders Haryana.

The police have not been able to locate the MLA.