E D I T O R I A L
Peace in Peril
INDIA is becoming a dangerous place to live. Violence is striking deep and hard in various forms. On July 11 terrorists struck within half an hour over crowded Mumbai’s suburban trains at seven railways stations killing over 200 innocent persons, mostly women and children. More

F O C U S
Canada: Conservatives’ New Agenda
Gobind Thukral
Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper was not wrong when during his last low key visit he offered a simple advice to George. W. Bush, “If the U.S. becomes more closed to its friends, the terrorists win." More

Brinjal: Why kill old Varieties
Umendra Dutt
Recently a large number of farmers protested in the national capital, New Delhi to urge the government stop the new Bt variety of this most popular variety of vegetables, the brinjal grown across the country. More

A N A L Y S I S
Trade and Geopolitics: Deliverance in Failure
Gobind Thukral
ANY chance of a major global deal on trade depends upon profits and geo political gains that each negotiating country could be making. It can not be “win- win” situations for all the countries as many votaries of free trade were urging the world to believe. More

Agro Chemicals: the Bane of Indian Farmers
Joginder Singh and Gurinderjit Singh
THE rapid technological transformation in agriculture during the past four decades made possible by the increased use of seeds of high yielding varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and mechanization is proving tough for the farmers. More

L A W  &  J U S T I C E
Plea Bargaining: Some Legal Reform at Last
Joginder Singh Toor
A young girl presents to the pharmist in a drug store in Canada, a prescription from a doctor for the purchase of medicine, 100 tablets in number. The pharmacist looks in wonder at the stoutly dressed, well built girl but with dozed eyes. More

F E A T U R E S
Indo Canadian Heroes: Some Honour at last
Gurpreet Singh writes from Vancouver
IT is a well earned recognition that the indo Canadian community has recognised at last. Two Indo Canadian seniors, who had fought valiantly for the right to vote, were honoured at the Punjabi Mela in Surrey on June 24. More

Sikh Army Deserter Supports the US War Dodgers
Gurpreet Singh reports from Vancouver
TWENTY two years ago, hundreds of Sikh soldiers had revolted from the Indian army following a military raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Today, the leader of those army deserters is supporting the US soldiers who have refused to participate in the controversial Iraq war and have fled to countries like Canada. More

A Peep into the Other Punjab
THERE is a great deal of talk and promise to provide some  needed relief to the harassed farmers from their debt of nearly Rs 25, 000 crore. Yet there is hardly a mention of the poverty and indebtedness of the farm workers and other dalits in Punjab. When farmers were given free power, the poor and the dalits were given a pittance in the shape of free power worth two electric bulbs. Professor Manjit Singh, Professor of sociology at the Panjab University takes up the cudgels on behalf of these large neglected sections. More

L I T E R A T U R E
The Lost Heritage
Punjab That No longer Exists
Dr. Jaspal Singh
Harkesh Singh Kehal, after his retirement from the Punjab Civil Service goes back to his village Sandaur in Sangrur district of Punjab to rediscover that vibrant pattern of life which he left behind a few decades before. More

M E D I A
IRAQ: IPS Reporter Shot in Baghdad
A young Iraqi journalist Alaa Hassan, who reported for an independent international news agency IPS (Inter Press Service), was shot and killed in Baghdad. Recognised for courageous reporting from the trouble torn country where not many journalists really venture out, Alaa was killed on Jun. 28 by armed men as he drove to work. More

P O E T R Y
I am Iraq”: The New Poetry of Protest
Colombian is the third largest recipient of U.S. military aid, backed by attack helicopters, spy planes and advisers for its counterinsurgency fight.  Yet here the fight that has dragged on for decades is not only grim, but has produced a rare awakening among the people. In July during the 16th International Poetry Festival of Medellín -- founded here as a fight against fear, over 1, 50,000 people heard two great poets, one from Iraq, the  39 year old Muhsin Al-Ramli and the other from Colombia Allan Luna, 49 year old. More

INTROSPECTION
Extracted from NAZARIYA by Vinod Anand “NAZAR”, and translated by Meera Panigrahi More