Thursday, April 15, 1999

Pak Sufi singers enliven Baisakhi
NEW DELHI, April 14 —The tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa Panth and Baisakhi were celebrated in the Capital today with fervour and gaiety.

Nation pays homage to B.R. Ambedkar
NEW DELHI, April 14 — Cultural programmes and functions marked the 108th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar as the nation paid warm tributes to the architect of the Indian Constitution.

DSGMC allocates Rs 1 cr for Khalsa celebrations
NEW DELHI, April 14 —The tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa Panth and Baisakhi were celebrated in the Capital today with fervour and gaiety.

India now has N-deterrence: PM

NEW DELHI, April 14 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said India had achieved minimum nuclear deterrence with the test-firing of the extended range ‘Agni-ii’ ballistic missile in the aftermath of the Pokhran-II nuclear tests.

“Minimum deterrence ke taiyari ki sari shringkhala poori ho chuki hai (the entire process of achieving minimum deterrent has been completed),” Mr Vajpayee told a gathering of BJP workers at his official residence here.

“Now India is fully secured,” the Prime Minister asserted amid applause. “We are satisfied that we are now fully capable of defending our borders.”

Stating that Pakistan “does not have to worry” over this, he said “we have prepared Agni-II keeping in mind our security interests as we are surrounded by nuclear weapons all over. Our missile should not cause concern to anyone.”

While New Delhi had informed Pakistan about test-firing of Agni-II, “they (Islamabad) are also keeping us informed,” the Prime Minister said without elaborating. “Relations between India and Pakistan will progress further.”

Castigating the five nuclear weapon powers (p-5), he said “these ‘panch mahabhoot’ (five big ghosts) want their supremacy. But we don’t accept that. While some countries go on building nuclear weapons, they want others not to follow it. This cannot go on”.

“India stands for elimination of all nuclear weapons from the world, but we are opposed to the supremacy of five weapon powers,” the Prime Minister said.

Paying tributes to Guru Gobind Singh on the tercentenary of launching the ‘Khalsa Panth’, Mr Vajpayee said his message of “Bhakti (Faith) and Shakti (power) are not antagonistic but complement each other as has been shown by the Pokhran-II tests and my bus trip to Lahore”.

He also paid tributes to Dr B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary saying his ideals of fighting for the downtrodden had led the government to strive for social justice.

China keeping vigil on India
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 14 — China is keeping a close watch on the political developments in India.

According to reports available with the Indian intelligence agencies, China has been particularly concerned about the developments in India after the Pokhran-II blasts last May and following the latest successful testing of the intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) Agni-II. As a result the Chinese military and political leadership appears to have decided to take a keen interest in and try to influence the course of political developments in India.

According to perception of the Chinese Government and various secret papers prepared by different organisations in the country, the development of Indian nuclear weapons pose a serious threat to China’s security. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has also been asked by the Chinese Government to redeploy the medium and long-range missiles all along the Indian border, sources here disclosed.

Apparently, the Chinese forces have also been told to be in a state of preparedness with a notice time of 45 days.

The Chinese had prepared a detailed “paper” following the Pokhran-II blasts and as per reports, China will make concerted efforts to isolate India on international level and also secure western sanctions against it.

The Chinese feel that India had adopted a strategy of limited regional threat and had also accelerated its various modernisation plans. The area in which India was said to be concentrating was modernisation of military hardware.

While the Chinese feel that India will have new kinds of tanks, artillery and combat aircraft by the year 2005, it had also adopted a major strategy of “attacking in the west, defending the north and advancing in the south”. This was besides the developing of nuclear weapons.

Jaswant Singh rules out arms race

NEW DELHI, April 14 (PTI,UNI) — The External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, today said there would be no arms race in the subcontinent as a result of Pakistan’s test-firing of the Ghauri-II missile in response to India’s Agni-II test launch.

‘No,’ he told newsmen here when asked whether the missile test-firings would lead to an arms race in the region.

Pakistan had informed India about its plans to test-fire the Ghauri-II missile today, he said after addressing a conference on ‘India-UAE relations in the next decade’.

‘If Pakistan is at peace and is economically and politically stable, it is not only good for Pakistan itself or for Indo-Pak relations. It will also be good for the whole geopolitical region of which the United Arab Emirates is a part,’ he earlier said.

‘The principal responsibility to improve the relations lies with India, and this government has done much more to resolve Indo-Pak issues than any other government in the last 20-30 years,’ he told the conference, organised by Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR).

He, however, refused to reply to any queries on the ongoing political crisis faced by the Vajpayee government.

PATNA: The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, on Wednesday said the firing of Ghauri missile by Pakistan was expected.

‘We all knew that our neighbour will also test their defence capability after we tested ours, Agni-II,’ Mr Fernandes told reporters while reacting to the test-fire of Ghauri by Pakistan.

The government was keeping a close watch on all aspects of the country’s security, he said.

Pak Sufi singers enliven Baisakhi
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 14 —The tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa Panth and Baisakhi were celebrated in the Capital today with fervour and gaiety.

Gurdwaras were decorated and special kirtan durbars held in which noted ‘Shabad’ singers including Sufi singers from Pakistan of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana, Sharafat Ali Khan and Shafqat Ali Khan, rendered hymns from “Dasam Granth”.

Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, greeted the Sikhs on the occasion of Baisakhi and tercentenary of Khalsa Panth and promised that the Centre would extend more assistance, if required, for the celebrations.

Addressing a gathering at Rakab Ganj Gurdwara here, Mr Vajpayee said the government had already extended all possible financial and physical help for the celebrations and would pitch in more, if required. He described the tercentenary celebrations as a great moment in Indian history.

Establishment of Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh has given humanity a new meaning, philosophies and principles of the 10th Guru which were relevant in all times to come.

The Chief Minister of Delhi, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, who was also present on the occasion, promised that the state government would soon give second official language status to Punjabi. “The government is committed to the promise,” she added.

Urging the Sikhs to follow the tenants of Khalsa, religious leaders stated that “Khalsa” was defined by the holy scripture as, “he, who is constantly aware of the Eternal One and is perpetually enjoined to Him in spirit and thought. He, who does not worship or recognise any deity or idol. He, who does not indulge in any form of aimless penance, pilgrimage or other such superfluous activities.”

A special kirtan durbar was held at the Gurdwara to mark the occasion and people in large numbers participated in the gathering.

Historic gurdwaras are Gurdwara Nanak Piyao; Gurdwara Majnu Tila; Bangla Sahib Gurdwara; Bala Sahib Gurdwara; Sis Ganj Gurdwara; Rakab Ganj Gurdwara; Moti Bagh Gurdwara; Damdama Sahib Gurdwara; and Mata Sundari Gurdwara, which have a close link with the life of the great Gurus.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee general secretary, Mr Bhajan Singh Walia, said the committee had allocated Rs one crore for the celebration, he said, adding that the committee was expecting 10 per cent share of the Rs 100 crore announced by the Centre for the Khalsa Panth celebrations.

The DSGMC has planned year-long programme and have also submitted projects worth Rs 20 crore for the setting up of Guru Gobind Singh International Sikh Centre in Delhi, Guru Tegh Bahadur College of Engineering and Guru Tegh Bahadur Sikh Study Centre at Khalsa College.

Nation pays homage to B.R. Ambedkar

NEW DELHI, April 14 (PTI) — Cultural programmes and functions marked the 108th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar as the nation paid warm tributes to the architect of the Indian Constitution.

President K.R. Narayanan, Vice-President Krishan Kant and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee paid floral tributes at Ambedkar’s statue at the Parliament House lawns here.

A crowd gathered at Parliament Street, which formed the hub of various festivities, where people raised slogans like ‘Baba Ambedkar Amar Rahe’ (long live Ambedkar) and danced to the beat of drums. Food free of cost was distributed by various organisations on the occasion.

In Maharashtra, special cultural programmes, ‘Buddha Vandan’ and ‘Bhim Gyan’ marked the occasion.

Followers of Ambedkar gathered in large numbers at ‘Chaitya Bhoomi’ in central Mumbai and the Republican Party of India (RPI) activists organised a function at Azad Maidan in the city to pay tributes to the leader, who was instrumental in bringing the Dalits into the mainstream of Indian politics.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi garlanded the statue of Ambedkar in Chennai and lit a commemorative torch symbolising humanism and communal harmony.

In Pondicherry, Chief Minister R.B. Janakiraman and his cabinet colleagues took part in various functions to mark the day.

Ministers in West Bengal paid warm tributes to the leader and recalled his glorious role in improving the lot of the backward classes.

DSGMC allocates Rs 1 cr for Khalsa celebrations
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, April 14 —The tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa Panth and Baisakhi were celebrated in the Capital today with fervour and gaiety.

Gurdwaras were decorated and special kirtan durbars held in which noted ‘Shabad’ singers including Sufi singers from Pakistan of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana, Sharafat Ali Khan and Shafqat Ali Khan, rendered hymns from “Dasam Granth”.

Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, greeted the Sikhs on the occasion of Baisakhi and tercentenary of Khalsa Panth and promised that the Centre would extend more assistance, if required, for the celebrations.

Addressing a gathering at Rakab Ganj Gurdwara here, Mr Vajpayee said the government had already extended all possible financial and physical help for the celebrations and would pitch in more, if required. He described the tercentenary celebrations as a great moment in Indian history.

Establishment of Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh has given humanity a new meaning, philosophies and principles of the 10th Guru which were relevant in all times to come.

The Chief Minister of Delhi, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, who was also present on the occasion, promised that the state government would soon give second official language status to Punjabi. “The government is committed to the promise,” she added.

Urging the Sikhs to follow the tenants of Khalsa, religious leaders stated that “Khalsa” was defined by the holy scripture as, “he, who is constantly aware of the Eternal One and is perpetually enjoined to Him in spirit and thought. He, who does not worship or recognise any deity or idol. He, who does not indulge in any form of aimless penance, pilgrimage or other such superfluous activities.”

A special kirtan durbar was held at the Gurdwara to mark the occasion and people in large numbers participated in the gathering.

Historic gurdwaras are Gurdwara Nanak Piyao; Gurdwara Majnu Tila; Bangla Sahib Gurdwara; Bala Sahib Gurdwara; Sis Ganj Gurdwara; Rakab Ganj Gurdwara; Moti Bagh Gurdwara; Damdama Sahib Gurdwara; and Mata Sundari Gurdwara, which have a close link with the life of the great Gurus.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee general secretary, Mr Bhajan Singh Walia, said the committee had allocated Rs one crore for the celebration, he said, adding that the committee was expecting 10 per cent share of the Rs 100 crore announced by the Centre for the Khalsa Panth celebrations.

The DSGMC has planned year-long programme and have also submitted projects worth Rs 20 crore for the setting up of Guru Gobind Singh International Sikh Centre in Delhi, Guru Tegh Bahadur College of Engineering and Guru Tegh Bahadur Sikh Study Centre at Khalsa College.

Fake SC certificates
MUMBAI: The Railway Recruitment Board has detected fake caste certificates and duplicate applications by about 3,000 applicants for availing benefit of free travel for the June 6 written test for posts of assistant station master (ASM) and enquiry-cum-reservation clerk (ECRC). According to an official release of the railway board, these candidates had besides applying as general candidates, also submitted additional applications as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for which they were detected to have fraudulently made alterations in their certificates in order to claim free travel. — UNI

6 killed in collision
ALLAHABAD: A state roadways bus collided with a jeep killing six people including four women in Ram Nagar Gansyari on the Allahabad-Pratapgarh border police said on Wednesday. Eight people were injured in the head on collision 40 km from here last night. Three of the seriously injured were rushed to the medical college hospital here. — UNI

RI for businessman
NEW DELHI: After a protracted legal battle lasting over 17 years, a Delhi court has sentenced a businessman to one-year rigorous imprisonment for cheating a bank of Rs 41,000 in 1982. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) R.K. Gauba, who found accused Uma Shanker Shandilya guilty of cheating Vaish Co-operative Adarsh Bank Ltd of the said amount, also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him. “If the fine is realised, the same shall be paid to the bank as compensation,” the CMM said in his order. On failure to pay the fine, however, the convict will further undergo rigorous imprisonment for four months, the order said. — PTI

2 NLFT militants killed
AGARTALA: Two militants of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) were killed in an encounter with the (BSF) in South Tripura district on Wednesday. BSF sources said the security forces retaliated when fired upon by the militants, killing the ultras near Maithulangbari, about 90 km from here. Later, the BSF seized arms and ammunition from the site. — PTI

Seven burnt alive in Assam
GUWAHATI: At least seven people were burnt alive in a fire at Hatsingimari under Mankachar subdivision of Goalpara district in Assam on Tuesday night, official sources said. The victims included four women of a family. — UNI