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Updated on October 25, 2002 |
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--- South Asian News, August 15, 2002 ---
On India's 55th Independence Day celebrations, Prime Minister Vajpayee accuses Pakistan of double standards in fighting terrorism, and promises free and fair elections in Kashmir. Sri Lanka says it will lift the four-year ban on the LTTE ten days ahead of peace talks that are to begin mid-September. The group that killed American journalist Daniel Pearl is behind the attacks on Christian and Western targets in Pakistan, say Pakistani security officials. In the business section, two U.S. companies look for further expansion in India.
Top Stories
* India celebrates 55 years of independence (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (LA Times) (SF Gate) (Herald Sun) (Morning Call)
* India's Vajpayee takes a swipe at Pakistan (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (Voice of America)
* Exclusive report: Musharraf assails Islamic militants, but stands firm on Kashmir (NY Times) (LA Times) (Chicago Tribune) (Washington Post)
* India says Pakistan plans to sabotage Kashmir poll (NY Times)
* New Indian President: Kashmir elections must be completed successfully (Voice of America)
* Attacks on Pearl, school linked (Washington Times)
* India's ''insect'' activist in Pakistan for peace (MSNBC)
* Sri Lankan leaders attempting to mend political fences (Wall Street Journal)
* Sri Lanka sets date for peace talks with Tigers (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times) (LA Times) (Boston Globe) (Boston Herald) (SF Gate) (Salon)
* Sri Lanka to lift ban on Tamil rebels before talks (Wall Street Journal) (NY Times)
* Sri Lanka gears up for peace talks with rebels (NY Times)
* Many hurt in Bangladesh strike violence (NY Times)
Editorial/Op-Ed
* Crossing borders in India (Daily Californian)
Business/Technology
* Pittsboro company R&D facility in India (Raleigh Business Journal)
* Simple computer helps close digital divide (Silicon Valley Online)
* US outsourcing company plans expansion of Indian operations (Wall Street Journal)
* India's Hyderabad is betting on the back-office (Wall Street Journal)
* Hyderabad, Bangalore vie to be India's tech king (Wall Street Journal)
Other Stories
* Clues dry up in teen's disappearance (NorthJersey.com)
* Blind date Bollywood-style (NY Post) (Boston Globe)
Top Stories
* India celebrates 55 years of independence
New Delhi -- India celebrated 55 years of independence from Britain on Thursday amid tight security against threats of Islamic militant attacks and accused its rival Pakistan of having ``double standards'' in its fight against terrorism. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee first paid homage to the father of India's freedom movement, Mohandas K. Gandhi, by placing flower petals at the eternal flame of his memorial. Vajpayee then headed to the 17th-century Red Fort, a symbol of Indian nationalism, to deliver his annual address.
(Subscription Required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020815_000581-search,00.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-India-Independence-Day.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-independence-day0815aug15.story
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/08/15/international0410EDT0471.DTL
http://www.herald-sun.com/firstnews/37-257435.html
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-india-independence-day0815aug15.story
* India's Vajpayee takes a swipe at Pakistan
New Delhi -- India's prime minister, using his strongest language against Pakistan since the two countries pulled back from the brink of war in June, accused Islamabad on Thursday of ``cross-border terrorism'' in disputed Kashmir. Atal Behari Vajpayee's speech appeared to be in response to an address by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who said India's plans to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir state in September and October were farcical.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020815_001574-search,00.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-southasia-vajpayee.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=ECD6C73E-D28C-4358-83C3707BD59A96C9
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=450EE594-CC1C-479B-9A15582220FAE37D
* Exclusive report: Musharraf assails Islamic militants, but stands firm on Kashmir
August 14, Islamabad -- Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf lashed out at Islamic militants in a nationwide address celebrating Pakistan's independence day this morning, calling last week's attacks on a Christian school and hospital "shameful" and "despicable." "Where is the tolerance, the humanity, the chivalry and the kind heartedness that characterizes true Muslims?" said General Musharraf, who vowed to "break the back" of the groups. "We were never so cowardly as to hide, and to try kill women and children."
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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/15/international/asia/15STAN.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-terrorism0814aug14.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-aug15.story
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/AAug14.html
* India says Pakistan plans to sabotage Kashmir poll
August 14, New Delhi -- India slammed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday for dismissing India's election plans in Kashmir as a farce, saying his remarks showed Islamabad's plans to sabotage the polls. India has said it will hold elections in disputed Kashmir in September and October. ``His denigration of the electoral process and indirect exhortations to boycott the elections, coupled with disowning responsibility for terrorist activity sponsored to disrupt the electoral process...indicate that our concerns that Pakistan intends to sabotage these elections are well founded,'' foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told reporters.
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-southasia-india-pakistan.html
* New Indian President: Kashmir elections must be completed successfully
August 14, New Delhi -- India's President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said the disputed region of Kashmir is an integral part of India and not an international issue. The remark came in a pre-Independence Day address to the nation. In a speech televised live to the nation, President Kalam said the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir is not an international issue. He said elections to choose a state government in the region must be completed successfully.
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=FA037435-B0DE-4B89-A438E5E08B54B6A7
* Attacks on Pearl, school linked
The group that killed American journalist Daniel Pearl is behind the attacks on Christian and Western targets in Pakistan, Pakistani security officials said. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan already has convicted four members of the group for kidnapping and killing Mr. Pearl. Four others are awaiting trial. "We have identified the attackers. They are associated with the Sheik Saeed group," said Syed Marwat Ali Shah, the police chief of the Rawalpindi region, the site of two recent attacks on Christians.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/.htm
* India's ''insect'' activist in Pakistan for peace
Islamabad -- Award-winning writer and activist Arundhati Roy sees herself as an ''insect'' burrowing into established institutions to force social change. Her campaigns have got her into trouble with the authorities in her native India, but have caught the public imagination. This week, in one of her most radical steps yet, she has made her first trip to Pakistan, a country locked in a tense, nuclear-armed stand-off with India that has threatened at times this year to degenerate into all-out war. If she has a message for the peoples of both countries, it is simple: ''Don't listen to your governments.''
http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters.asp?reg=ASIA
* Sri Lankan leaders attempting to mend political fences
August 14, Colombo -- Sri Lanka's president and prime minister are working to sort out their differences, hoping to help along the peace process in this island nation, a government official said. Former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar has been talking to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on behalf of the president to iron out their sometimes-strained relationship, a spokesman for President Chandrika Kumaratunga said Wednesday.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020814_004396,00.html
* Sri Lanka sets date for peace talks with Tigers
August 14, Colombo -- Peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels to end one of Asia's longest-running wars will start in mid-September in Thailand, peace broker Norway said Wednesday. Sri Lanka said it would lift a ban on the guerrilla group 10 days ahead of the talks, meeting one of the main Tiger demands before the first face-to-face talks in seven years.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020814_005059,00.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-srilanka.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-briefs15.2aug15.story
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/227/nation/Sri_Lanka_rebels_plan_peace_talks+.shtml
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/international/ap_oslo08142002.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/08/14/international1138EDT0580.DTL
http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2002/08/14/srilanka/index.html?x
* Sri Lanka to lift ban on Tamil rebels before talks
August 14, Colombo -- Sri Lanka's government will lift a ban on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels 10 days before peace talks that will begin mid September aimed at ending one of Asia's most protracted ethnic wars. ``It was always going to be at least 10 days before,'' Bradman Weerakoon, the prime minister's secretary told Reuters. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which signed a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire with the government in February, had said it would not continue the peace bid with a ban in place.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020815_001464-search,00.html
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-srilanka-peace-ban.html
* Sri Lanka gears up for peace talks with rebels
Colombo -- Sri Lanka is preparing an agenda for face-to-face peace talks in September with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in an effort to end one of Asia's longest-running wars, a cabinet minister said on Thursday. The talks, the first in seven years, would address a conflict that has claimed about 64,000 lives since fighting erupted in 1983, said Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris. ``We are close to finalizing it. We want to discuss substantive issues first,'' Peiris, the state spokesman for the peace process, told a news conference a day after peace broker Norway said talks would start between September 12 and 17.
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-srilanka-talks.html
* Many hurt in Bangladesh strike violence
Dhaka -- Police and activists fought running battles and at least 50 people were injured during a half-day strike in Bangladesh called to demand the execution of the killers of the country's independence leader. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family were killed in an army coup on August 15, 1975. Activists from the main opposition party, the Awami League, threw stones at police as they fired teargas shells and used batons to try to disperse the demonstrators, one witness said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-bangladesh-strike.html
Editorial/Op-Ed
* Crossing borders in India
August 13, Berkeley, California -- Three months after state-sponsored violence against the Muslims of Gujarat killed more than 1,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless, I arrived in Ahmadabad, India, with 10 students from Delhi University. Ahmadabad was like two cities divided by a river. The desolate old city and sprawling industrial areas to the east remained under curfew because of continuing attacks on Muslims. Roads were decorated with burnt stores, homes were torn down to ruins and 43 refugee camps were spread out in the city. As we drove through, our guide, who worked with Muslim refugees, pointed out the unmarked yet palpable border between Muslim and Hindu streets.
http://www.dailycal.org/article.asp?id=9114
Business/Technology
* Pittsboro company R&D facility in India
August 14 -- Pittsboro-based CiVentiChem LLC has expanded overseas with the formation of a new R&D and custom synthesis facility in Hyderabad, India. CiVentiChem provides integrated discovery support, research and development, contract research and custom synthesis services to pharmaceutical, agrochemical and biotechnology companies. IndUs BioSciences currently has a staff of thirteen chemists and is involved in contract R&D work for multinational clients.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/08/12/daily32.html
* Simple computer helps close digital divide
August 14 -- I've always been a digital-divide cynic, suspecting all the talk about transforming the lives of poor people through Internet access to be self-serving narcissism from Silicon Valley technologists seeking a justification for making themselves rich. Vinay L. Deshpande has changed my mind. Deshpande, a Stanford-educated software entrepreneur in Bangalore, India, is the driving force behind the Simputer, a handheld device that resembles a Palm personal digital assistant. The Simputer, which costs from $175 to $375 depending on features, is designed for impoverished rural villages in India and other under-developed parts of the world.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/personal_technology/3866243.htm
* US outsourcing company plans expansion of Indian operations
August 14, New Delhi -- U.S.-based Brigade Corp., a leading global provider of business process outsourcing, said Wednesday it plans to invest more and hire hundreds of software professionals to expand its Indian operations. "India will be the strategic factor behind Brigade Corp.'s growth globally," said Raymond E. Bayley, chief executive of the Illinois-based firm that claims to provide Fortune 500 companies with innovative ways to maximize the value of their non-strategic operations.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020814_004995,00.html
* India's Hyderabad is betting on the back-office
August 14 -- Hyderabad may lag behind Bangalore in software and technology start-ups. But it's betting on winning the race to provide remote services such as call centres and data processing. As India's software-export juggernaut slows, Hyderabad's ambitious chief minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, now plans to target companies looking to India for back-office services. Thanks to plunging telecoms costs and a widening wage gap, more and more multinationals are turning to countries like India and the Philippines to provide services. According to consulting firm McKinsey & Co., India's exports from remote services have the potential to balloon from $1 billion now to between $21 billion and $24 billion by 2008.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020814_010729,00.html
* Hyderabad, Bangalore vie to be India's tech king
August 14 -- Both cities are racing to build international airports. Both are ruled by business-friendly politicians. Both have spawned a clutch of companies listed on American stock exchanges. Indeed, no two cities symbolize India's love affair with technology quite like Bangalore and Hyderabad. Only in Bangalore are software tycoons revered alongside movie stars and cricketers. Only in Hyderabad can you grab a bite at a restaurant called y2kchicken The similarities underscore a keen sense of one-upmanship. For Bangaloreans, their city is the undisputed heavyweight champion of Indian technology. It is by far the country's largest exporter of customized software, or software services, and is home to a slew of multinationals and India's most prominent technology companies.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20020814_010728,00.html
Other Stories
* Clues dry up in teen's disappearance
August 14, North Bergen -- Minkesh Patel is a shy, religious 18-year-old who doesn't drink or use drugs, and never ventured far from home on his own, relatives say. A week ago Sunday, he walked out in the midst of a friend's wedding and vanished. He told an aunt he would be back in five minutes. Eleven hours later, the family notified police that he was missing. The first clues in the disappearance came last week when detectives learned that at 2:22 p.m. on Aug. 4 - less than an hour after Patel was last seen near the Indian restaurant in Union City where the ceremony was being held - Patel's ATM card was slipped into an automatic teller machine at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=45&page=4630262
* Blind date Bollywood-style
The newest reality TV craze in India? A show based on arranged marriages. The show could have been called "Meet Your New Husband" but was given the more romantic title "There Is Someone Somewhere" instead. On the show, a young woman and her parents choose one of three men - for keeps. The process stretches out over three episodes, with the bride-to-be meeting potential mates on Monday's and Tuesday's episodes, and the decision coming by Thursday's.
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/54792.htm
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/227/living/Boy_meets_girl_Indian_style+.shtml
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--- South Asian News, August 15, 2002 ---
The Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA) is a national non-profit organization committed to the political empowerment of the Indian American community. For additional information on IACPA, please visit www..
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