Wednesday, 31 August 2011

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

TCS to revolutionize the Rural Governance in Bihar

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 11:04 AM PDT

PATNA: Three Young Guns under bannership of Tantra Consultancy Services (TCS) are all set to revolutionize the local self governance in the country.They started a pilot project in Narayanpur Village under Hasanpur block of Samastipur District of Bihar,which showed favourable outcome. They target the elected representatives including Mukhiyas and train them about new growing economy and skills required to develop villages at the grassroots level.Each group of Mukhiya is assigned a mentor under the so called Mukhiya Buddy System

Recently, three young friends launched a nationwide innovative and sustainable social venture -’Leadership and Learning Programme for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) – which started in Bihar. This is in line to enable the elected members to get equipped with the basic administrative, financial management, leadership and behavioral skills.They also tried to explain the importance of Gram Sabha and conducted a mock Gram Sabha to show how to handle the problems of villagers more effectively. Training was executed in a practitioner-oriented manner by showcasing the case studies and involving everyone in group activities etc.
“We dont charge anything for this training and soon we will try to make it sustainable by helping the elected members to work and promote small-scale industries in villages,” they said.

One of the members of TCS , Anis Bari who hails from Bihar will showcase his latest Bihar experiment before a panel of experts of the Harvard Business School next week in Manila. Bari recently quit his job as Software Engineer at Hewlett Packard, Bangalore

“I always wanted to do things a bit differently and not the same monotonous bug fixing,” he said. He dreams to create his own identity and wanted to do something to contribute to the economy of state and country

Patna to host Mother Teresa International Film Festival

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 10:38 AM PDT

PATNA:The City is going to witness the first of its kind film festival in Bihar. Mother Teresa international film festival (MTIFF) 2011 is gojng to be kickstarted from this Friday. In total 12 films will be screened including “The Fifth World” and “In the Footsteps of the Mother”.
The films will be screened at Notre Dame Academy, Don Bosco Academy, St. Xaviers’ high school, Patna Women’s college, Nav Jyoti Niketan, Regent cinema hall, Rose Bud Academy, Holy family hospital nursing school and the College of Arts and Crafts.

The aim is to focus and create awareness about the life of Mother Teresa and other nuns and missionaries.The festival has travelled to 50 destinations in India.” Several schools and educational institutions have joined the celebrations of Mother Teresa’s birth centenary by becoming venues for MTIFF 2011″, says festival director Frank Krishnar.

The inauguration of the film festival will be at Patna Women’s College with the film “Mother Teresa”, a three hour epic from Italy.You can get free passes at YMCA and AASRA Charitable Trust. It has been reported that a special show will be organized for invited guests and children at Regent cinema hall on Sunday morning.

M S Dhoni misbehaved by manager of English Cricket Academy

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 02:24 AM PDT

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Captain of Indian Cricket Team was barred from entering the Indoor Academy at Old Trafford on Thursday because he was wearing spike shoes.He was scheduled for a photo shoot requested by England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after the practice session on Thursday.

But the manager at Lancashire Academy did not allow him to enter at the entrance because of spikes in Dhoni's shoes that could have caused damage to the synthetic turf.

According to a report in Indian Express, Dhoni tried to explain to the manager but the latter did not budge. An angry Indian captain left the academy without attending the photo shoot.

Indian team manger in the England tour, Shivlal Yadav said that ECB chairman Giles Clarke has been informed about the misbehavior and the Indian team management awaits an action by the ECB, said the report.

Rahul Dravid ready for his T20 debut and retirement

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 02:15 AM PDT

New Delhi:Rahul Dravid is expected to debut in his T20 career and it is probable that it will be his last T20 match.India’s struggling batting dwindled further on the eve of their only Twenty20 game against England, when a concussed Gautam Gambhir was ruled out. And with just seven fit batsmen available, Dravid’s T20I debut is imminent.

Dravid, a Test specialist who ironically has scored India’s second fastest ODI fifty, would have never expected to play T20s and ODIs on the England tour. But ‘The Wall’ will stand tall to answer the call of duty, with the squad falling by the wayside due to injuries.
The T20 swansong will precede Dravid’s decision to retire from ODIs after the series against England. He announced that decision on the same day selectors surprised him with an ODI call-up.
“In the short term, I am committed because now I have been picked for the series, but in the long term, I think it is best for me and Indian cricket that I focus on Test cricket,” Dravid had said then.
Dravid, though never part of India’s T20 setup, has featured in all four editions of the cash-rich Indian Premier League. So to say he is completely alien to the design won’t be appropriate. And he gave a glimpse of that in the warm-up game against Leicestershire, where he scored 29 off 31 balls.
But at the age of 38, even if he plays a swashbuckling innings on Wednesday, it will be wrong to judge that India missed out by sidelining Dravid for so long. By doing that, those who praised the Fab Four’s decision to leave T20 to youngsters will appear foolhardy.
Rather a honest admission will be that ‘Team Man’ Dravid is currently indispensable for India in Test cricket. Debut and retirement on the same day may be unique, but not something any cricketer cherishes. Dravid is doing this for India, like he has done a number of times.

Who will succeed Ratan Tata?

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 02:02 AM PDT

Ratan Tata, Head of India’s largest Business Conglomerate is set to retire by December 2012.The speculation over his successor has gained much momentum these days. Sources say that the successor will be one of the three candidates out of 11 shortlisted by a search panel, a report said Monday.

Business Standard, the leading financial newspaper, quoted unnamed sources as saying Tata's half-brother, Noel Tata, now heading Tata International, the group's global trading arm, was one of the final candidates.

Other contenders in consideration were senior Tata executives, the report said.

A Tata spokesman was quoted as saying the firm would not comment on the five-member search committee's work except to say it was "fully aware of the relevant timeline", referring to Ratan Tata's retirement date.

Last August, the company named the panel to seek a successor to the man credited with transforming the sprawling conglomerate into a focused and profitable organisation.

Tata, who trained as an architect, has also won praise as the driving force behind the creation of the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest "people's" car.

The newspaper said the search panel believed an outsider might be a "misfit" as any successor to Ratan Tata would need time to settle into the culture of the group.

Ratan Tata has said he hoped his successor would have "our value systems in the forefront," a reference to the Tatas' mantra of corporate social responsibility.

The Tata group has been steered by a family member since its founding in 1868.

For years, Noel Tata toiled out of the limelight, heading the group's retail unit Trent, which contributes a small percentage of the multinational's $75 billion annual revenues.

But last year he was put in charge of Tata International, leading Indian media to suggest he was squarely in the running for the top job.

Review of Bodyguard Salman Khan

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:42 AM PDT

Bodyguard Salman KhanCast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Asrani, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi, Chetan Hansraj

Directed by Siddique

Rating: 0.25

The beauty of a Salman Khan film is that it doesn’t claim to be anything but just that. But when you pack in sappy melodrama, clichéd characterisation, a pathetic love story and action scenes choreographed in outer space, not even a Katrina Kaif item number can save the day.

The film is based on the life of a certain Lovely Singh (Salman Khan) who is, (as his name suggests?), a bodyguard. An unshakeable, unbreakable, fighting machine, who leaps out of a train to land on top of another zipping through in the opposite direction. David Blaine: be ashamed, be very ashamed.

Lovely’s first vulgar display of power is when he swings by a certain port to rescue a group of girls being trafficked to Thailand in a container. After busting several noses and cracking a dozen skulls, one of the baddies unleashes a huge container that lands on Lovely. But our Superman without a cape is indestructible and the container carrying a million thermocol balls is smashed across. Human trafficking: understandable. Smuggling a million thermocol balls: one wild party in Thailand?

Soon Lovely is commissioned to protect the daughter of a very eminent master of the universe (or atleast of a small village in India), Sartaj Rana (Raj Babbar). Following Bollywood’s guideline for clichés, Lovely has a history that has left him forever indebted to the great Rana. Anyway, the daughter in question is Divya (Kareena Kapoor) who’s mostly occupied doing girly things with her live-in friend played by Hazel Keech. After much-half-hearted-opposition, Lovely is employed to guarding Divya, a duty performed mostly by walking around her with shoulders arched like a lobster.

Before we know it, the emotionless Lovely turns down-right spastic as he falls in love with an anonymous girl who stalks him by calling him about 3528 times a day. An obnoxiously fat excuse for a comedian plays an odd sidekick to Lovely as passage of time becomes extremely painful. How the film concludes won’t make it to Kaun Banega Crorepati’s first round of questions but those who brave to sit through this can surely crack ‘Who Dares Wins’.

Things about ‘Bodyguard’ that are incomprehensible or retarded or both: 1. Each time Lovely gets a phone call his body jerks ahead like someone has kicked his behind. 2. There is a quirky scene involving a remote controlled helicopter that is let loose on Divya. As it slashes through fruits, furniture, the special effects are tacky enough for it to seem like a housefly that can be easily swatted down.

Among the performances, Salman translates innocence with idiotic grins and expressions that can’t be briefed here. Kareena’s character is not important enough to be able to decide the fate of this film. Raj Babbar only reinforces the logic behind him being scarce in films, drifting between loud and controlled hamming.

The music covers the landscape, from the chirpy, ‘I love you’ to the full-blast disco-dhol number, ‘Desi Beats’. When director Siddique said that Salman Khan will be seen here in an avatar he has never been seen in, he wasn’t lying. But the pertinent question is, do we want to see Salman in an emotionally challenged, Forest Gump-ish state?

Review  Powered by Yahoo Movies

Abhayanand becomes the new DGP of Bihar

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:29 AM PDT

Sri Abhayanand, ADG training will take the charge of Director General Of Police of Bihar from today.Abhayanand,popularly known for his Super 30 initiatives has also done several successful policing initiatives — like speedy trial and formation of Special Auxiliary Police from among retired Army officers
A 1977 batch IPS officer he will take over from Neelmani at a special ceremony here.

Compared to some of his immediate predecessors, Abhayanand is likely to have a longer stint as the state police chief since he will retire in December 2014. His father Jagdanand had also held the post of Bihar DGP and had retired in 1986.

In the past six years, over 60,000 accused have been convicted because of the speedy trial initiative that works on the principle of police stations ensuring presence of all witnesses in courts rather than just filing chargesheets.

Everest Lady Nirupama Pandey felicitated at Patna

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:25 AM PDT

Squadron leader Nirupama Pandey, who recently unfurled Tiranga on Mt. Everest was the Center of attraction on the occasion at S.K Memorial Hall for National Sports Day celebration in memory of national hockey wizard Major Dhyanchand.

The lady who hails from Siwan, Nirupama wearing a sky-blue printed sari, climbed the steps of the stage to receive Ati Vishisht Khel Samman memento, citation and cash award of Rs 1 lakh from the CM. The audience in the auditorium roared in applause. Modi, accompanied by minister for food supply and consumer protection Shyam Rajak, sports and culture minister Sukhda Pandey, and officials watched the scene.Cheif Minister Nitish Kumar and Dy. CM Sushil Modi were also present at the occasion

The applause was not without reason, as compere Soma Chakravarty explained and a brief note on the back page of the souvenir released on the occasion stated: “Squadron Leader Nirupama Pandey, resident of village Jamo Jalalpur, Siwan, became the first Bihari person to unfurl the tricolour on the highest point of earth, Mount Everest (8,848 metres), on May 25, 2011.”

Himachal Pradesh moves the Bihar way

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:19 AM PDT

Himachal Pradesh has become the second state to follow Bihar in passing strict Anti-Corruption Laws.Previously Madhya Pradesh has also passed such law.This allows government to confiscate the property of the corrupt officials and utilise it in public interest.

The Himachal Pradesh Special Courts (Attachment and Confiscation of property) Bill, 2011, passed by the state Assembly, calls for setting up of special courts to dispose of the trials and eventually pave the way for the government to confiscate the property.

Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said, "The laws enacted in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar were studied and improvised to make it more practical and judicious for tackling the problem of corruption in Himachal Pradesh".

The property of the public servants, accused of corruption or facing trial, would be attached in the first stage and its confiscation or disposal/auction will be done only after the case is finally disposed off.
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Monday, 29 August 2011

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Eastern zone convention of Architects concludes at Patna

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 08:13 AM PDT

Architect’s Eastern zone convention-2011 was recently hosted by Bihar and Jharkhand chapter of Indian Institute of Architects (IIA), on the theme of "Green Architecture”. Various architects from in and around state presented their ideas on how construction can be brought into a symbiotic relationship with the environment along with increasing the efficiency. With optimal weather conditions and optimal use of daylight, which prevents use of electric lights during the day, usage of wind and solar power for energy requirement of the building and recycling of water up to five times can contribute to save expenses and also conserve the environment.

"Green architecture means judicious and environment-friendly usage of resources including energy, water and construction material throughout the building life cycle, aimed at energy efficiency, least waste generation and healthier habitat of occupants. Today, when the natural resources are depleting at an uncontrollable rate along with vicious impacts of global warming, green buildings have become the need of the hour," said Prafulla Gopinath Karkhanis, the president of IIA.

Around 300 architects from Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, north-eastern states and Bihar participated in the convention. Even students of architecture from National Institute of Technology, Patna, and Apeejay School of Architecture and Planning, Noida, participated in the seminar.

"The idea behind such conventions is to allow interaction among professionals, sharing of ideas, assessing the prevailing practices in the industry and also to provide in-hand learning opportunities for practitioners and students," said C.S. Sinha, the convener of the convention.

Tanmay Tathagat, an accredited architect with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed)-India, made a presentation on "Energy simulation for building designs".

"The green buildings may cost Rs 20-30 per square metre more than the conventional buildings but these are healthier to reside in as the material used have less chemicals and are therefore less toxic. Moreover, the buildings are developed in such a way that they conserve maximum energy," he said.

He added that drinking water can be recycled several times and can be used in bathrooms and for gardening purposes later.

Leed-India is a green building rating system, which is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. There are 150 Leed-registered green buildings and 23 Leed-certified green buildings in India.

Swami Agnivesh A short Biography

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 01:13 AM PDT

Swami Agnivesh is a social activist and a self titled Swami.He was born as Shyam Vepa Rao on September 21, 1939, in Sakti, Chhattisgarh. Agnivesh received his degrees in Law and Economics in Calcutta.He also worked as a lecturer of Business Management at St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, from 1963 to 1968
Later in 1968, Agnivesh went to Haryana to join the Arya Samaj and on March 25, 1970, Agnivesh took the sanyas vows. He was expelled from the organization in August 2008, after 17 of the 19 Arya Samaj Pratinidhi Sabhas in India expressed opposition to him.

Agnivesh became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, and served as a State Minister for Education from 1979 to 1982.In 1981, while still a minister, he founded the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which continues to raise issues bonded labour in India, especially in the quarries in and around Delhi; he remains the chairperson of the organization. After leaving the Ministry, he was arrested twice, spending a total of 14 months in jail on charges of subversion and murder, of which he was later acquitted

Recently, Agnivesh became the target of public furore for being a government’s mole in Team Anna during Anna Hazare’s fast for a strong Jan Lokpal from 16th to the 28th of August, 2011. This was conjectured upon by some when his video appeared on Youtube in which he was allegedly seen talking to someone addressed as Mr.Kapil on his cellphone. The video shows him asking Mr.Kapil not to relent to the demands of Anna Hazare’s aides and advises him to talk “firmly.” He is also heard describing Team Anna as “mad elephant”. Agnivesh denied these allegations saying that he was not talking to Kapil Sibbal, but to Kapil Muni. Subsequently, the media published an interview with Kapil Muni, who categorically denied talking to Agnivesh and slammed the self-styled swami for being unhappy with Anna hazare’s aides on not being appointed as a negotiator during the protests.

He is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981. Agnivesh also founded and become president of the World Council of Arya Samaj, which he describes as an associate of the original Arya Samaj, and served as the chairperson of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery from 2001 to 2004. Agnivesh has been controversial due to his anti-Hindu statements.

Agnivesh testified before the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Later he created a new task for emancipation of womanhood, which was a helpful factor in the Commission of Sati (prevention) Act of 1987.
In 2005, Agnivesh was part of a two week campaign against female foeticide that traveled across India.
Agnivesh also argued at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws.
In 1968, Agnivesh went to Haryana to join the Arya Samaj and on March 25, 1970, Agnivesh took the sanyas vows.He was expelled from the organization in August 2008, after 17 of the 19 Arya Samaj Pratinidhi Sabhas in India expressed opposition to him.
In 2008, he addressed a large gathering at the Anti-Terrorism Global Peace Conference, at Ramlila Grounds, organized by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and several Islamic organizations, where he stated, “It is wrong to attribute the wrongdoings of a few individuals to the whole community. I would not mince words to say that the United States is the terrorist number one. To defame the Koran and Islam is the worst form of terrorism. Islam stands for peace and brotherhood and there cannot be a bigger lie than saying that Muslims are terrorists.” Swami Agnivesh is also a proponent of interfaith dialogue and is a member of the Board of World Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.

In 2005, Agnivesh stated that the Puri Jagannath Temple should be opened to non-Hindu.This lead to the priests of the temple condemning his remarks as “purely anti-Hindu in nature” and burning him in effigy.

In May 2011, hundreds of Hindu priests protested against Swami Agnivesh's claim that ice stalagmite that they believe resembles Lord Shiva is just a piece of ice; during the protest the priests burned him in effigy.

He has received several awards including
Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
Right Livelihood Award 2004
M.A.Thomas National Rights Award 2006

Swami Agnivesh trashed by Kiran Bedi over his video

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 12:52 AM PDT

Swami Agnivesh the close aide of Anna Hazare has invited fresh troubles after a video related to his conversation with Union Minister Kapil Sibbal appeared on the Internet(Youtube).He was seen supporting Government stand on Anti-Graft movement and asking Sibbal to take tough stand against Anna

Please see this video yourself

Mr. Agnivesh on his part claimed the video footage was "doctored and concocted" and part of a smear campaign against him and denied he was talking to Union Minister Kapil Sibal.

The Minister was involved in negotiations during the initial stages of the stand-off between Team Anna and the government.

Team member Kiran Bedi alleged that Mr. Agnivesh has been caught on camera where he is asking a person after addressing him as "Kapil", "Maharaj aap inko itna kyu de rahe hai"(Maharaj, why are you giving them so much?).

"Who’s Maharaj? It is Kapil Sibal on the other side. He said Sibal sahab, I heard that," she said.

Ms. Bedi accused Mr. Agnivesh of being absolutely unethical.

The core team and Mr. Agnivesh had developed differences during the course of Mr. Hazare’s fast.

Ms. Bedi told PTI that the footage "shocked us all and we are very uncomfortable" with it.

"Only he can answer this. He should own it or reject it. However it leaves no doubt. It obviously tells us what happened. He should tell us who is the person whom he mentioned," she added.

Mr. Agnivesh said: "These were lies and it is a cut and paste job. There are several people in my personal circle whose first name is Kapil. I never address political leaders as 'Maharaj.’ Kapil Maharaj could be anybody," he said.

Commercial Exploitation of Anna Hazare Movement

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 12:15 AM PDT

The commercial exploitation of Anna Hazare’s Movement have begun, even before the movement has come to a temporary halt.Now a Marathi producer is planning to make a movie on his recent movement.Anna will be played by Arun Nalavade. The name of movie will be Mala Anna Vhyaychay or I want to become Anna.

A leading news portal reports that Nalawade is so excited about his role in the film that he affirms it will be a lifetime role. “By watching television, I have already started learning Anna’s body language and am trying to imitate his voice,” said Nalavade, who was one of the producers of Shwaas. “Playing Anna is the biggest challenge in my life and I am reading up on him. I shall try to give justice to the role.”

“Mala Anna Vhyaychay or I want to become Anna will be produced and directed by Ganesh Shinde. Shinde said he had recently completed live shooting at Ramleela Maidan in Delhi where Hazare had sat for the hunger strike.

“I have also taken some shots from Mumbai and Ralegansiddhi of the agitations supporting Hazare,” Shinde said. “This film is about an unsuccessful heart-broken youth who goes to commit suicide, but gets inspired by Hazare’s work and finds the real purpose of his life.”

Interview with Irom Sharmila – the Iron Lady of Manipur

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 12:04 AM PDT

Irom Sharmila Chanu the civil rights activist from Manipur, who has been on fast since year 2000 in protest of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act imposed there.Recently, She came into light after she lent her full support to Anna Hazare through her letter. Here we present an interview with  Irom Chanu Sharmila, the iron lady of Manipur

What did instigate you to this (fast)?
This is for the sake of the downtrodden ones against the inhuman activities of the rulers. I’ll fast until the Act (AFSPA 1958) is removed.

What you did after decided to fast for this cause?
I met my mother on November 4th evening and took her blessing. (After that till now she has not met her old mother).

It’s more than a decade you started fasting and your health has worse in due course, what makes up steadfast?
My conscience, this is a spiritual struggle.

How long will these continue…..
I am doing this for the sake of truth and peace. I believe that truth will succeed one day. I will continue till (pauses for few seconds)….. This strive is on principle of belief and conscience.

Do you think will government agree on your demand repealing AFSA?
(Smiles…… no reply).

Do you still write poems or how you spend your time in the security ward?
Nowadays I have started doing painting on various themes such as leela’s of the god.

Game, time pass….
I like games because they give good health and for me yoga is game. I play (do yoga) all day. (She laughed)

Now after a decade your struggle is gaining momentum due to different campaigns to create awareness about cause. How you feel?
Very positive, feel supportive and hopeful. I wish gods does everything fine.

This interview was taken by Mohammed Tanveer Iqbal and appeared in Situation Asia

Sharmila Irom, The Anna Hazare of North East

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 11:54 PM PDT

Irom Sharmila Chanu is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur. She was born on March 14, 1972 to Irom c Nanda(father) and Irom Ongbi Sakhi (mother).
Sharmila Chanu Irom

Since 2 November 2000, she has been on hunger strike to demand that the Indian government repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA), which she blames for violence in Manipur and other parts of India’s northeast Having refused food and water for more than ten years, she has been called “the world’s longest hunger striker”.She is a 39 years old hailing from Manipur and has been continuously on fast this November she will complete her eleventh year. She hasn’t taken a single morsel of food or a single drop of water on her own during this period. On November 2, 2000, in Malom, a town five kilometers away from Imphal the capital of Manipur state, ten civilians were allegedly shot and killed by the Assam Rifles – Paramiltary forces while waiting at a bus stop. The next day’s local newspapers published graphic pictures of the dead bodies, including one of a 62-year old woman, Leisangbam Ibetomi, and 18-year old Sinam Chandramani, a 1988 National Child Bravery Award winner. After this incident Sharmila began to fast in protest of the killings, taking neither food nor water.

By 2004, Sharmila had become an “icon of public resistance”. Following her procedural release On October 2, 2006, for around four months, Irom Sharmila Chanu went to Raj Ghat, New Delhi, which she said was “to pay floral tribute to my idol, Mahatma Gandhi.” On August 23, 2011, Sharmila was involved in the wave of Anti-corruption movement on invitation by Anna Hazare via letter
Sharmila was nominated to the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize by a Guwahati-based woman’s organization, the North East Network.
She was awarded the 2007 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which is given for “an outstanding person or group, active in the promotion and advocacy of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights”. She shared the award with Lenin Raghuvanshi of People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, a northeastern Indian human rights organization. In Addition the largest monetary prize the first Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize was given to her in 2010 by the New Delhi IIPM . She was awarded the Sarva Gunah Sampannah '" Award for Peace and Harmony” aka the 12th Signature Women of Substance award (Assam) also in 2010 . 2009 she was awarded the first Mayillama Award (Kerala). And in 2010 in the presence of the Law Minister Sri V Moilly in Bangalore she was awarded in absentia a lifetime achievement award. She was most recently awarded an Adivasi Ratna award accepted by her brother.

Here is a short documentary on her life by Kavita Joshi , My Body My Weapon

Letter of Sharmila Irom to Anna Hazare

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 11:33 PM PDT

Sharmila Chanu Irom has been on a fast at Imphal, Manipur for the past ten years. This Iron Lady of Manipur has been protesting against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Manipur which gives the Army and the paramilitary forces the power to shoot or arrest on mere account of suspicion. She has been kept alive on a cocktail of vitamins and nutrients. She is force-fed twice a day through her nose.

She wrote a letter to Anna Hazare expressing her solidarity for his movement against corruption and at the same time highlighting the contrast to the government’s response to the two protests. Full text of the letter follows:

JUST PEACE FOUNDATION

Kongpal Kongkham Leikai
Imphal East ” 795001
Manipur
India

Contact: +91-9862696184

Email: justpeacefoundation@gmail.com

Sharmila response to Anna’s invitation

23 August 2011, Tuesday
10.27am, Security Ward, JN Hospital

Respected Anna,

I whole heartedly welcome your invitation to join the anti corruption rally you are crusading. And yet I would like you to be convinced of the reality of my situation, that I cannot get the advantage of exercising my non-violent protest for justice against my concerned authority as a democratic citizen of a democratic country, unlike your environment. This is the problem I cannot understand.

My humble suggestion is if you feel seriously; please try to reach the concerned legislators (read authorities) to let me get free, like yours, to join your amazing crusade to root out corruption ” which is the root of all evils. Or you can come to Manipur, the most corruption affected region in the world.

With full solidarity and best wishes.

Yours,

Sd/-

Irom Sharmila
Hunger Striker to repeal the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act

Kiran Bedi and Om Puri to face privilege motion in Parliament

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 11:13 PM PDT

The Parliament is back on track of crushing the supporters of Anti-Corruption Crusade.Kiran Bedi, Anna’s key aide, would face a privilege motion in Parliament along with actor Om Puri for their remarks taunting the MPs.

Om Puri in his remarks ar Ramlila Maidan said, “I feel ashamed when an IAS or IPS officer salutes a ganwar (illiterate) who is a neta (leader). We have more than 50 per cent ganwar leaders. Don’t vote for them,” Om Puri had said.

In her remarks against the MPs, Bedi had said, “Our politicians are hiding behind a mask. They think and speak. There has been no lathi-charge till now because of Anna. We don’t know what will happen after he goes. Till now, Delhi Police is with us, but if they get any demands, we don’t know what will happen. We have been tolerating for the past 60 years, how much more do we tolerate?”

Rajya Sabha Members Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Mohammed Adeeb (Independent) had moved the privilege motion against the duo for attacking parliamentarians on Saturday.

Anna to fast for Electoral Reforms now

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 11:04 PM PDT

Anna Hazare, the icon for Anti Corruption Crusade has indicated that electoral reforms will be on top of his agenda next so that corruption can come down. “I have only deferred my fast, not given it up. Only when these reforms are complete will I really end my fast. I will not rest until all the changes that I look to are achieved,” he said to thunderous applause from thousands of his supporters waving tricolour and shouting slogans like ‘Anna Hazare Zindabad’.
Hazare said that his fight would now be for Right to recall and Right to reject as part of electoral reforms so that corruption can be reduced.
“While Right to recall would be for those elected, the Right to reject will be a column in the ballot paper which would ensure the voter has a right to say that he does not like the listed candidates.

“If the majority in a constituency says that they reject a candidate, even then the election should be cancelled. How much money they (candidates) will distribute? Once the candidate spends Rs 10 crore for one election and if the election is cancelled, then right sense will dawn upon them,” he said.

Maintaining that people’s parliament is bigger than “Parliament in Delhi”, Hazare said that is why Parliament had to listen to people’s parliament.
“This movement has created a faith that the country can be rid of corruption and we can go ahead with implementing laws and the Constitution made by Dr BR Ambedkar,” he said.

Harnaut Rail Coach Factory to be productive by November

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 10:57 PM PDT

The Rail Coach Maintenance Factory at Harnaut is all set to be operative. According to sources, Railways will take the charge of this factory by November.It is one of the dream projects of Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar.It will have the pride to be completed on schedule and will be one of the major industrial unit in Bihar

Work on the Harnaut workshop, which is the second of its kind in the country after Perambur, is in full swing. The railways is setting up the ambitious workshop on about 113 acres of land which includes workshop on 76 acres and staff quarters on 37 acres. However, the work on the railway colony is yet to be kicked off.

According to an ECR official, the railways would build about 18 sheds in this workshop. The special feature of the workshop is that it will have the ‘double-stacked coach maintenance technology’ to carry out periodical overhauling (POH) of coaches. The cost of the project, which was initially Rs 98 crore, has been revised to Rs 224.51 crore. The project will be commissioned in November this year, he said.

According to sources, the railways has completed wheel bogie shop, wheel axle shop, heavy repair shop, carriage store shop, plant care shop and light repair shop. Work on carriage repair shop and rail track shop has been going on smoothly. Work on the administrative building and canteen is on, sources said. An ECR official said that the Harnaut coach maintenance workshop has been designed and developed with the latest technology. Bogies of mail and express trains would be provided a comprehensive maintenance on its completion. However, this workshop will have no facility to carry out coach maintenance work of German LHB coaches, he said.

The ECR is one of the biggest zones comprising five divisions. It has more than 2,500 passenger coach holding capacity (number of coaches) which require periodical overhauling (POH) on a regular basis to maintain full safety measures. In its absence, the railways has been sending coaches to Lilluah in West Bengal and Gorakhpur in UP for their immediate POH. The Harnaut workshop will facilitate timely and fast POH of the coaches, a Railway Board official said.

According to sources, the railways has planned the workshop in a modern way. While there will be a special arrangement for the final disposal of waste materials from the workshop, the railways would use the filtered water for horticulture purpose on the sprawling campus. There will be a special sewerage treatment plant on the workshop premises to deal effectively with the final disposal of waste materials, sources said.
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