E D I T O R I A L
Iraqi Cauldron: Raving and Renting
THE cauldron of violence in the hapless Iraq, a direct result of the naked American aggression is devouring more lives of innocent men, women and children. The whole Iraqi race faces the threat of being wiped out either by the American bombs rained in daily on one part or the other or by the inner sectarian strife now being abetted by the Americans. More

C O M M E N T
Indo Canadian Politicians Forget Real Heroes
Heroes from the Asian sub continent who struggle hard in an alien land and got their compatriots precious political right to vote are a forgotten lot.  They were indeed men of epic proportions, hardy stuff and full of sacrifices and they paid heavy price to get their brothers and sisters their franchise. Writer Gurpreet Singh from Vancouver recounts the saga of struggle and great contribution these heroes made and bemoans the lack of respect among the emerging class of Indo Canadian politicians. More

L A W  &  J U S T I C E
Justice on the Rocks
TO say that the Indian judicial system is in a deep crisis is to state the obvious. The scams involving some members of even the Indian higher judiciary in corruption, bribery, sex, nepotism and abuse of power has brought under focus the need for reform of the judicial system. The image of the judiciary and its credibility are low. More

A N A L Y S I S
Dams be damned: A Case in Point
Jyotika J. Thukral
FOR people in key positions, the most important thing is to do the balancing act. Prime minister has to do it all the time, finance minister does it when it comes to budget, and nuclear scientists do it when there is a chose between power generation and nuclear weapons. Teachers, journalists and bureaucrats do it all the time day in and day out. More

F E A T U R E S
The Siege Within
Gobind Thukral
OVER 160 districts in 11 states periodically slip out of the control of Indian state and become ‘liberated zones’. The Naxalites ‘actions’ are not isolated, but planned and coordinated and have some kind of external link. Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh while delineating on April 13 at the meeting of chief ministers in New Delhi termed it “ As the biggest single biggest security challenge ever faced by India. More

Small is Beautiful: Micro Units as Venture Capitalists
Professor Vinod Anand
BOTH research and experience reveal that in the informal sector very often-indigenous medium or large firms have achieved their current market position through an expansion of previously tiny/micro and small firms. Such expansion implies that the units have grown qualitatively in terms of (a) stepping up of the scale or the level of production, and other related activities, indicating horizontal growth. More

N E W S B A G
Bhagat Singh Day in Lahore
THOSE who love freedom also remember the leaders who had struggled hard and made huge sacrifices to free the Indian sub continent from the British yoke.  People not only in India but also in Pakistan and many other countries paid their rich tributes on the occasion of completion of 75 years of martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. More

India Cheap Lives
100 Feared Dead in Fire at Meerut Trade Fair
OVER 100 people are feared to have died on Monday in a fire that swept through large tents packed with consumers visiting a trade fair in the Indian town of Meerut. Mainly charred bodies of women and children were discovered strewn in the remains of the tents. More

Pakistan: Sectarian Violence claims 58 lives as Bomb Blasts Karachi
IN another incident, at least 57 people have died in a suspected suicide bombing at the congregation to mark the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birth in southern Pakistan. More than 80 people were injured when the blast ripped apart a wooden stage where religious leaders were sitting. More

Nepal on Fire: Protesting Journalists Arrested
THE police in Nepal have arrested 25 journalists and five human rights activists when they were protesting and demanding that the country's king Gyanendra to step down. Police arrested 30 journalists in the capital when they had gathered for a rally to oppose police action against media persons covering the pro-democracy agitation. More

Accused acquitted of Irfan’s murder
CLOSE on the heels of acquittal of all the nine accused in the Jessica Lal murder case, the Delhi police have once again failed to secure the conviction of the accused in the murder of Outlook cartoonist Irfan Hussain nearly seven years back. More

New UK law to impact India considerably
IN a bid to gain firm and fair control over immigration, the UK government has announced a new set of rules without showing any concern about the implications that this might have. For one it has decided to do away with the permit-free training arrangement for international doctors. More

F O C U S
Of Rape and Punishment
Jyotika J. Thukral
RAPE is the most heinous of the crimes. But it is only of late that there have been calls from social activists and public men to hang the rapists or at least imprison them for life. If we go by the media, Delhi has earned the dubious distinction of being the rape capital of India.  This is largely true. This is also how newspapers, with their urban bias see it. More

Corporates Hijack Organic Farming in Punjab
Umendra Dutt
Organic farming is picking up a pace in Punjab. "Punjab is going the organic way"- this could be a general impression that anyone can have from the media campaign of Punjab government. There are several things going on in Punjab related to organic farming. More

A R T  &  F I L M S
In Quest of the Lost Being
Dr. Jaspal Singh
SOME twelve years ago Amarjit Ghuman published her first collection of poems Dupahir da Jashan. Then she got lost in the din of worldly chores. Some of the poems in the first collection were very evocative and they betrayed some promise in the shaping of the poet in future. More

A Wayward Actor Salman Khan Goes to Jail for Poaching
Jyotika J. Thukral
Bollywood actor Salman Khan is in the news once again. He has been sentenced to five-year imprisonment for hunting endangered Blackbuck in desert wildlife preserves. The actor had to spend three nights in the Central jail in Jodhpur before his bail plea was accepted on April 13. More

C U L T U R E
House of Commons Award for Punjabis
An All Party Parliamentary Group on Punjabis in Britain has honoured organisations and individuals who have made outstanding contribution to Punjabi art literature, scholarship, sports and values. At a ceremony at the House of Commons started with a Dhol performance, a first in the history, to celebrate the onset of the season of Punjabi festival Vaisakhi, the country of their adoption honoured Punjabis. More

Silver-foiled sweets take a deadly turn
THE age-old Mughlai tradition of using silver foil to garnish food has turned grave it seems. For a study carried out by the scientists of Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in India reveals that millions of consumers in India regularly take in toxic, cancer causing metals in the form of silver foil used to wrap sweets and betel nut products. More