THE CHRISTIAN ATTACKS ROW
Peace may be long in returning to the Dangs
Though tempers have cooled for the moment, the Hindu Jagran Manch is hell-bent on fighting out the issue. "We will bring out another rally on Christmas next year," promises local Bajrang Dal boss Sunil Choudhary.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'The Christians are more loyal to the Roman Pope than our Lord Ram or Krishna'
"The Adivasis never accept Christianity willingly. They are either forced or bribed by the missionaries to convert. Another problem is that these Adivasis never convert to Christianity for official records," says Hindu Jagran Manch leader Jayanti Kewat.
OTHER REPORTS
Violence spreads in South Canara
Suratkal town remained incident-free, but trouble spread to neighbouring areas with three persons being stabbed to death.
3 BJP allies boycott Cabinet, UP crisis deepens
Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj Party politician Markandey Chand, after attending the meeting, told the media that in his view Kalyan Singh should be replaced. He said he attended the meeting only to ensure that the CM did not get any one-sided resolution adopted.
Chandrika's delayed departure fuels speculation
Union home ministry officials hinted that the Lankan president wanted to meet politicians like Vaiko who are close to Tamil Tigers chief V Prabhakaran and could try to get him to the negotiating table.
BJP national executive to discuss Jana's blueprint to improve ties with RSS
"We are going to ensure that the party's policies and the government's actions do not clash," BJP vice-president Jana Krishnamurthy told Rediff On The NeT.
CBI-Jaya row may have been sparked to sell Joginder book
"The former CBI has not said that he was sought to be pressured into implicating Jayalalitha, or for filing a charge-sheet against her. Why then mention it in Inside CBI, if it was not to boost its circulation?" said a source in the publishing industry.
Bengal announces grand education plan for million kids
The state government has decided to set up 7,240 primary schools in the state. It is also ready to spend Rs 1 billion for this purpose.
Goa Congress in ferment as defectors are rewarded
Dissent is brewing within the party after the returning prodigals were rewarded with big positions and influential portfolios.
Militancy on the wane, claims GOC-in-C, northern command
The locals are realising that there is no threat to Islam and actively helping the army, said Lt Gen S Padmanabhan.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Hammering out an Indo-US nuclear deal
'For India to continue carping on the unjustness of the non-proliferation regime would be a mistake. It is not in India's national interest to support unbridled nuclear proliferation. Furthermore, India's nuclear policy is not determined solely by security considerations,' says Gaurav Kampani.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
BJP inherited a messy defence situation
'By the end of Mulayam's term as defence minister, the navy was on the verge of starvation, the army was grumbling, and a section of the air force was in open mutiny over pay and service conditions... So let us admit that he runs a close second to Krishna Menon as the worst in that sensitive post,' says T V R Shenoy.
To each his own fingernails
'You see, Indians are mounting assault after assault on the hallowed pages of the Guinness Book. A man who grew his fingernails since about the 50s clawing into the Book that way -- announced that he wanted to cut off the nails and sell them; his asking price was ten thousand dollars. I understand the queue to buy what was clearly the world's most desirable living room centrepiece was almost as long as the nails themselves,' says Dilip D'Souza.
DECEMBER 31, 1998
THE BHAGWAT DISMISSAL
Navy chief Adm Vishnu Bhagwat sacked; wife blames 'communal politics'
The government named Vice-Admiral Sushil Kumar, FoC-in-C of the Southern Command, to succeed him. In a related move, Defence Secretary Ajit Kumar was transferred to the department of industrial policy. T R Prasad replaced him.
'When a service chief defies the Cabinet, how can the government not assert its authority?'
"The Cabinet appointments committee is the highest decision-making body in the government. It is headed by the prime minister. If its decision was not acceptable to Adm Bhagwat, he should have resigned," says Admiral (retired) J G Nadkarni.
'The decision shows a total lack of sensitivity towards the morale of the navy'
"I think the biggest fault lies with the government. The defence minister should have called the chief of naval staff and the defence secretary and sorted out the differences... via discussion," says Admiral (retired) R H Tahiliani.
Sushil Kumar is the most decorated officer
A member of the navy's executive branch, Sushil Kumar has participated in all major naval operations, including the liberation of Goa in 1961 and the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971.
THE REDIFF SPECIALS
'A chief's right to have his team has to be tempered with equity and justice'
'Servicemen are as susceptible to being persuaded by sycophancy as their civilian counterparts. It is perfectly possible for a "chief's team" to consist of meritless sycophants,' says Adm Nadkarni.
Anger, loss of morale and resentment
"The navy chief is not a police chief that you send him a letter asking him to reverse his decision," says a former brigadier of Admiral Bhagwat's clash with the defence ministry.
THE CHRISTIAN ATTACKS ROW
Vajpayee promises to rein in Singhal
Deprecating the Vishwa Hindu Parishad chief's recent utterances against Christians, the prime minister said VHP leaders "cannot be allowed to continue like this".
PM orders punishment for un-Christian acts
Vajpayee said resentment among Gujarat's tribals was growing -- at some places it was even taking the shape of tribals versus Christians.
Christians are safe in India, Vajpayee asks embassies to tell the West
The decision followed protests by diplomats led by US Ambassador Richard Celeste. The official spokesperson of the Vatican Embassy told Rediff On The Net that "the Vatican is extremely disturbed about the continuing violence".
Dangs "cent per cent" normal, says Keshubhai
The Gujarat CM said his government would take stern steps to curb conversions and seek legal opinion on the SOS allegedly sent by the Christians to the Pope.
Gujarat Congress calls central panel a farce
The team's report cannot be trusted since it has only taken the state government's view and not visited the affected areas, GPCC spokesmen Arvind Sanghavi and Hasmukh Patel said.
VHP accuses Sonia of backing Christians to appease minorities
The organisation submitted a memorandum to President K R Narayanan, urging him to take immediate remedial steps to ensure that Christians live in harmony with the majority community.
OTHER REPORTS
Inquiry absolves Pawar of blame for Gowari tragedy in 1994
Justice S S Dani said the Maharashtra CM was unaware of the background of the incident as well as the incident itself in Nagpur. But the government rejected his finding saying it was "unable to understand [why] the commission [had] to go out of its way... to give [Pawar] a clean chit".
Cops blamed for Ramabai Nagar riots
Justice S D Gundewar, whose report was tabled in the state legislature today, said Sub-Inspector M Y Kadam, who ordered his men to fire on a dalit mob in Bombay last year, is unfit to continue in service.
Ruckus in Maharashtra houses
Vociferous slogans for and against former CM Sharad Pawar marred the last day of the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature.
Curfew in Karnataka town
Thirty-two people, including 20 police personnel, were injured in Suratkal near Mangalore when a mob clashed with the police.
Chargesheets filed against Al-Umma leaders
Those charged with the murder of traffic policeman Selvaraj last year include Mohamed Ansari, general secretary of the banned Al-Umma, and Siddiq Ali, son of S A Basha, the group's founder leader.
Rocket attack on Srinagar injures 2
At least six rockets were fired from an unidentified location at an army camp in the heart of the city.
Mahajan promises right to information
The information and broadcasting minister said a bill to guarantee the right would be introduced in the budget session of Parliament.
Bombay group demands ban on Bombay Boys, Zakhm
The little-known organisation asked censor board chairperson Asha Parekh to resign if the films that "fly in the face of Indian culture and show Hindus as terrorists" aren't banned.
Congress forecasts polls next year
The worsening economic situation and contradictions within the ruling coalition and the BJP will lead to elections, said AICC secretary Anil Shastri.
Cold wave toll touches 50 in Uttar Pradesh
Three deaths were reported overnight in Faizabad.
Iraq bombed again
American fighters fired missiles and laser-guided bombs early on Wednesday after a British aircraft observed missiles rising from an Iraqi site.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Not a bad year after all
'Only excellence and performance can survive in the long run. This is the inexorable logic of globalisation and we, like the rest of the world, have no option but to live with it. If we succeed, we will no longer aspire to lead the Third World into the next millennium. We will be part of the First World,' says Pritish Nandy.
What is shame?
'Granting that lesbianism exists in our country, is it necessary to make a film that shows it, however artfully, to the highly impressionable and uneducated female population of millions, especially the adolescent and teenaged ones in mofussil areas, towns and cities? After all, lesbianism is abnormal sex, isn't it?' says Arvind Lavakare.
Delhi: Paramilitary to prop up police
Maharashtra: Joshi renames Osmanabad
THE WEATHER
Bonfires light Andhra Pradesh as mercury dips
While Medak, Nizamabad and Ramagundam recorded a minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, the state capital registered 10.5 degrees.
DECEMBER 30
Uttar Pradesh power struggle out in the open
Kalyan Singh has said a stable alternative to his government is impossible. Observers view this as a serious threat to split the BJP if he is ousted as CM.
Singhal sees 'foreign hand' in violence against Christians
The VHP leader accused the Church of running a campaign in India and abroad to project Hinduism and India in bad light.
VHP denies involvement in Dangs violence
The organisation has charged Christian missionaries with fomenting trouble because they are finding it difficult to get new recruits to their faith
More trouble is not ruled out in the district
A Hindu organisation declared that it would "not allow the area to be converted into another Mizoram or Nagaland".
Congress to stage rally against attacks
The party will also submit a memorandum to Gujarat Governor Anshuman Singh, urging him to dismiss the Keshubhai Patel government for failing to safeguard the interests of the minorities.
Wedding bells ring a warning in Bombay
The police insist the threat from extortionists is exaggerated. But elite clubhouses and five-star hotels say the fear psychosis has seen business from wedding parties drop substantially.
Madras court dismisses Jayalalitha's petition
Special Judge-3 P Anbazhagan rejected the former Tamil Nadu CM's prayer for a direction against the governor's sanction to prosecute her.
Chidambaram forced CBI to file case against Jaya: Swamy
Quoting Deve Gowda as telling him that his finance minister had even harassed him about Jayalalitha, the Janata Party chief said the PMO had forwarded all notes from Chidambaram on the issue to the law ministry for its opinion.
Karunanidhi accuses Centre of double standards
The Tamil Nadu CM charged the government with adopting "contradictory stances" on the corruption cases against former chief ministers J Jayalalitha and Laloo Prasad Yadav.
Maharashtra proposes antidote for ragging
Health Minister Daulat Aher has promised to bring in an anti-ragging bill in the next session.
Part of Southern Command moved to Jodhpur
GoC-in-C H M Khanna said this was to supervise 'Exercise Shiv Shakti', the largest war game of the decade.
Foresters raid Maharashtra assembly canteen
The owner was booked for serving Indian quail, a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to legislators and visitors.
Bombay schoolkids among 15 killed in Aurangabad mishap
The children from a school in Bhandup, north-east Bombay, were on a four-day picnic tour of places of historical interest when their bus collided with a dump truck.
Appointments row a passing issue: Sareen
The outgoing chief of air staff also played down allegations of government interference in appointments.
THE REDIFF SPECIAL
Pakistan's survival is in doubt, says new book
The authors say political mismanagement, which has reached saturation point, is to blame. They see four possible scenarios, none very flattering for the country.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
A chorus of disapproval
'Does not long to be PM? Hahahaha... you gotta be kidding! Once the woman got the taste of blood -- offered like neivedya by her servile, topi-dropping, feet-clutching Congressmen -- she's not about to live on ghaas-poos. But I'll grant you this: Yes, Sonia Gandhi has shown herself to be cleverer than the rest,' says Varsha Bhosle.
What's a few lies between friends?
'Why does this party need to lie? Simple: the lies work well to cover up the Shiv Sena's own wrongdoing. After all, it was not just "some youngsters" who dug up that cricket pitch, it was a gang of Shiv Sena vandals. If you think that was minor, what they did during the riots was far worse,' says Dilip D'Souza.
THE WEATHER
Andhra Pradesh shivers at night
Night temperatures were also appreciably below normal in parts of Maharashtra.
DECEMBER 29
Centre may declare 1999 the Year of Christ
Unable to curb the increasing attacks on Christians, especially in BJP-ruled states, the government is coming up with some tokenism instead.
Missionaries mixed up with Naxalites: Singhal
The VHP chief also made a veiled attack on Sonia Gandhi, saying an emerging leader of the country is also influenced by 'Christian forces'.
Gujarat Christians urge PM to protect them
In a letter, the United Christian Forum for Human Rights expressed anguish over the violence in several places in the state on Christmas.
Where X'mas brought the fear of death...
For south Kashmir, Christmas meant waking up to grey mornings and hours of search operations, living through tension more draining than the cold, and going to bed in the embrace of crackdowns and bloody nightmares.
Jayalalitha goes on trial
Trial in two cases of corruption against the former CM began before two special judges in Madras despite attempts by Jayalalitha and her associates to get them adjourned.
Former TMC minister denies witch-hunt
S R Balasubramanian, who was minister of state for personnel, hotly denied CBI ex-director Joginder Singh's charge that political pressure was used to register a case against her.
Ramamurthy offers to step down
The Union petroleum minister said he is willing to let an AIADMK candidate take over if that will ensure the stability of the BJP-led government.
Strikers kill boss in Goa
A group of workers from a leading mining company killed a senior officer and attacked another after being dismissed from office.
People's War ready for talks with Digvijay
But the banned Naxalite outfit said the offer is not unconditional. Talks will only come about after "a democratic atmosphere is created in all districts".
ULFA may start killing AGP leaders
The insurgents have threatened to target the ruling party's members from January 1 if the "mysterious killings" of its sympathisers are not stopped. So, many AGP leaders are planning to quit.
Tripura militants target children
Several children have been killed or kidnapped by guerrillas of the National Liberation Front of Tripura and the All-Tripura Tiger Force. In many cases, the terrorists killed them despite getting ransom.
Eight hurt in firing, stone-throwing in Nagercoil
Two persons were seriously injured in police firing and six others were hurt in stone-throwing following a clash over BJP flags being hoisted.
Vedic colony unearthed in Uttar Pradesh
The discovery in Mahoba district indicates that human settlement continued in the region from the Chalcolithic Age to the Mediaeval Period.
Karnataka govt servants get back to work
The indefinite strike for wage parity with central staff has been called off temporarily in the public interest.
BJP panel to study atrocities against women
The committee is to approach women who have suffered atrocities and collect evidence against the culprits for further action.
Death of a tranquillised elephant stops
research project
The disoriented animal suffered brain damage after hitting its head against a tree, scientists said.
Vancouver Sikhs divided as moderates win gurdwara poll
The fundamentalists have now got together to set up another gurdwara in the Canadian city.
US-Iraq hostilities resume
American warplanes fired missiles at an Iraqi air defence site in the north, killing four soldiers.
Bihar: Four ministers admit law-and-order is bad
Delhi: Advani discusses policing with K L Sharma
Tamil Nadu: AIADMK steps up attack on DMK
Uttar Pradesh: Mulayam moving closer to BJP, says Khurshid
Uttar Pradesh: Kalyan's claim shocks BJP chief
THE WEATHER
Cold wave kills 4 in Rajasthan
And Kashmir is shivering, with Leh and Kargil 12.5 degrees below zero.
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