Armed adivasis may have held their train for more than five hours, but the passengers of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express seem to be gunning for the railway authorities.

It was a more than five-hour ordeal of tolerating hunger and unbearable heat, as the air-conditioners could not run for long after the train stopped.

“We thought we were going to die,” said Hamid Khan, assistant labour commissioner of Orissa. “They wanted to burn the train. Where was railway security?”

The train reached New Delhi at 7.20 pm on Wednesday, nine hours late, with shattered windowpanes and graffitis such as “Release Chhtradhar Mahato” in red paint in English and Hindi.

Anchal Das, a passenger and a former MP from Jajpur in Orissa, alleged that the railway security personnel had got down before activists of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) struck.

The PCAPA activists, based in Lalgarh in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, about 200 km west of Kolkata, hijacked the Rajdhani Express on Tuesday near Jhargram in the same district to demand for the release of Mahato, their leader.

Das said, “I opened the door fearing they would shoot us if we didn’t open. And the staff changed out of their uniforms and sat with us. We thought we would be used as human shields in case of firing.”

P K Panigrahi, another passenger, said, “We remained seated. But they did not misbehave with the passengers.”

Rail Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh each for all the staff members onboard.

At the station, the railway staff greeted the passengers with roses. A team of 20 doctors examined them.

A cat and mouse game is now a regular feature at Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur Station, 266 km east of Lucknow.

There are, on the one hand, human traffickers smuggling young girls from Nepal, and a group of individuals trying to stop the practice, on the other.

Though the issue has not figured in discussions between political leaders of the two countries, it has become so sensitive that it is inflaming anti-Indian sentiments in Nepal.

Maoists in Nepal, a political force to reckon with, have been demanding a ban on sale of liquor and girl trafficking. They had even made it known that anyone taking part in this would be humiliated publicly. And they want the Indian government to take concrete action.

“Earlier we used to rescue the girls at Gorakhpur Station itself. It is easy to identify them — scared, huddled together. But then some touts also started travelling by road to Deoria, about 100 km east of Gorakhpur, to board the trains (to escape us),” said Abhishek Shahi of the Childline Foundation, a central government organisation.

“The girls are picked up from Nepal on the promise of employment. They are handed over to touts operating on the Indian side. The tout would then take them to Delhi or Mumbai. He also helps in getting them a passport to go to other countries.”

In Mumbai, the girls are paraded before prospective buyers: the younger ones are sold to buyers in West Asia and the rest are sent to brothels across the country.

Traffickers and their agents trick young girls and their parents by promising them work and the pleasure of visiting spas and beauty parlours, only to push them into the sex trade.

Neither the parents nor the girls make much money from the deal. While the agent earns Rs 1-10 lakh, the parents end up with something like Rs 5,000, according to Shahi.

The Asian Development Bank estimates that 100,000-200,000 Nepalese women and girls, roughly 25 per cent of whom are less than 18, are held in Indian brothels.

A recent study by Maiti, a non-government organisation in Nepal, said: “There are about 70,000 Nepali women migrant workers working in various international foreign labour markets. Annually, Nepal receives approx $1.5 billion (Rs 7,200 crore) as remittances and the contribution of women migrants make up about 11 per cent to this figure. In total, remittance has more than 17 per cent contribution to the GDP of our country.”

Maiti has estimated that a significant number of such girls end up being sex workers.

“Earlier the girls were sold to Indian brothels, but now they are being sent to the Gulf. It’s nearly impossible to bring them back from there,” said Prabha Khanal, a regional manager of Maiti.

Maiti rescued 13 girls in August this year. While six of them were intercepted at Kalyan railway station near Mumbai, four of the repatriated girls were rescued from Sahara International Airport, Mumbai, and another three from a brothel in Mumbai.

Dava Bhuti Tamang Sherpa (21) was sent to Lebanon. On her return, she was handed over to Maiti by Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport Metropolitan police. She had lost vision in one eye; her hands were bruised and burnt. She did not get the promised $150 (Rs 7,200) a month either. The physical torture suffered at the hands of her clients was evident.

Padma Darai (23) was brought back from Saudi Arabia, almost mad.

“Often girls are simply sent back to Nepal after their utility is over,” said Khanal.

With tears in her eyes, Revti (name changed on request) narrated her experience of escape from a Mumbai brothel. “Life is miserable. We have to serve up to five customers a day. The payment varies from Rs 150 to 500 a customer. But the owner of the brothel pockets the money. We live on tips, which is Rs 5-25.”

Several NGOs have set up counters on all major points on the Indo-Nepal border to counsel girls against migration.

Volunteers sit near the two main border crossing points at Bahraich in central UP and Maharajganj in eastern UP to maintain close surveillance. They are also running awareness campaigns in Nepal to save vulnerable girls from traffickers and their agents.

NGOs in Nepal too are now working closely with their counterparts in India to check the menace. “If the touts have built a network, we are also building one to combat them,” said Shahi.

Dear Madam/Sir

This is to bring to your kind notice that Delhi Jal Board Employee. Mr. Rakesh Kumar pathak R/o 431 Janta Flat Nand Nagari Delhi-53. Mr. Rakesh Kumar is not attending to the Delhi Jal Board office since last Eight Year. Corrupted Delhi Jal Board Employee help to Rakesh Kumar in maintain the attendance register and Salary from Delhi Jal Board. Instead he spends time in completing personal business Famous of Modern Glass Putty Industry ( Jhilmil industrial area shahdra delhi 53 And Dilshad Garden delhi) .The Document of the Modern Putty Industry Company has been prepared in such way that proves the company is owned by some other Person. But in realty the owner and Financer of Modern Putty Industry is Mr. Rakesh Kumar who is employee in Delhi Jal Board. Document prepared in the Name of His Wife Ms. Anita Pathak (House Wife) and his brother in Law . Who Live in Dilshad garden Delhi for protection of Mr. Rakesh Kumar from any action. If Mr. Rakesh Kumar is not owner of Modern Putty Industry then Why He does not attend the Delhi Jal Board Office why all the commercial vehicle of Modern Putty Industry are parking near his residential area and why all the employee of Modern putty Industry deal and got cash for field work by Mr. Rakesh Kumar from 431 Janta Flat GTB Enclave Nand Nagari Delhi 53 and why the all record of Purchase and delivered material, vendor visiting card, cash memo and other important document of Modern putty industry kept by Mr. Rakesh Kumar. All the tax return of Modern putty Industry has been prepared in the name of Ms Anita w/o Rakesh Kumar and Brother in Law of Rakesh Kumar Including Pan Card Details and salary(for Modern Putty industry employee) are distributed in factory in the name of Mises Anita w/o Rakesh Kumar and his Borther in Law for Protection of Rakesh Kumar. But in realty the owner and Financer is Mr. Rakesh Kumar as a result of which Rakesh kumar has saved lot of Property in the name of his wife, children and own relative like four Car, Three Motor Cycle, three Commercial Mahindhra three wheels Tempo Two Plots (Land) in Karaval Nagar Delhi, And a Big Land in Harsh Vihar Delhi and U.P on the name of his wife three children and his brother in law family member., A Temple in village whose source of Income, Lot of Gold and diamond jewelry, Luxury Furniture and free handsome Salary with 6th pay commission facility,CGHS and other Facility provided from Delhi Jal Board & income through Rent by 2nd floor of flat no 431 Janta Flat GTB Enclave delhi . Now Modern Putty Industry supply glass putty all U.P. Bihar, Haryana ,Delhi and some Part of M.P And Rajasthan. Respected Delhi C.M today generation facing unemployment problem and here is Mr. Rakesh Kumar Pathak enjoy free salary from delhi jal board with all facility provided by delhi Govt. We lodge the complain no CMO/PGC/529958 but complain is still pending in OSDCM (PG)table and other complain no is CMO/PGC/530262 complain format dispatched on 24/7/2009 to Chief Executive Office H,Q. Delhi Jal Board.In fact
the matter has been dismissed after bribing to the Delhi Jal Board authority.
we write to u with great hope & with the request to kindly conduct an enquiry this matter at your end & oblige. We are being threatened with life by Mr. Rakesh Kumar Pathak and his Wife Anita Pathak also.

O.P. Chanchal 427 Janta Flat GTB
Nand Nagari delhi 53

Education has lost its essence in the recent past. It has become a mere trade-off against money. The quantity has gained momentum whereas the quality has deteriorated. The education level of a child has become a matter of pride and honour for the parents. It’s role of empowering individuals, to be better human beings, is getting diminished with time.

Of late, the HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, declared UGC to be one of the most corrupt governing bodies in the country. Soon after that, there arose an ambiguity concerning the title of ‘Deemed University’.

The above steps have been taken to increase the transparency within this sector. These days, there is a flood of Institutions in the country, who claim to be the best among all . However, they are mere tuition centres, who charge huge amounts of fees ( that is charged by regular students of a University ) and provide degrees, whose validation is under question. Most of them donot even follow the norms setup by the Governing bodies to attain some minimum standards.

Moving from the prevalent scenario of higher education to that of the School level education, the decision that cannot be ignored is that of ‘ Scrapping of Class ten Board examinations’. The students of class 10 donot have to give Board Examinations. Rather, they would be marked through a year long process of Grades.

Reason behind such an action is to make the education system more practical and interesting for the students.

However, my question is that is it really happening ? Is the system able to impart values it is suppose to ? I donot think so.

The problem in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) is increasing gradually. Corruption and nepotism in the team selection have been a cause of concern for DDCA over the last several years. Recently, Captain Virender Sehwag raised his voice against all the corruption in the state cricket body and threatened to leave Delhi to join Jharkhand next season of Ranji Trophy.

 Well, many former and current players of Delhi also joined Sehwag, in an attempt to protest against the interference of sports committee in the selection process. Several senior players like Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra have also expressed their concern over the matter. Selection process is heavily influenced by the outsiders.

 The way country’s most popular sport is run in the capital is really very disgraceful. Delhi presented many great players to Indian cricket team in the past. In fact, Sehwag and Gambhir are the two regular openers of Indian team at this moment. So, I think, time has come BCCI should take some steps to eradicate all the corruption and nepotism in the Delhi cricket board. If the game is affected by corruption in the capital, the other parts of the country will gradually be affected too.

 I would like to mention one thing that many of officials of DDCA are also active in BCCI and they might try to lead BCCI in the wrong way. This is what I fear most at the moment. Besides IPL, BCCI should also ensure that cricket is being run in the right way in the country.

Its sad to hear that some people are blind followers of a particular religious sect without getting into the details of what they do and how they operate.

I think most of the religious followers of BAPS are very well aware that the so called religious institute/NGO uses the R-1 visa to get illegal immigrants as priests from India by getting millions of rupees from them before they are brought to the Developed countries as Priests or as part of a religious Delegate. Once they arrive successfully they are fled as illegal immigrants never to return back. They keep extracting money from such illegal immigrants once they are fled and made to work for some motel owners of their SECT.

The USCIS got a glimpse of this scandal and has started scrutinizing and denying R-1 visas to suspicious visa applicants.

Another notable scam that was brought to my attention was about money laundering business that these so called Non Profit Organisations conduct. It’s a simple calculation that benefits the donor as well as the organization. For e.g. you give 100k to the organization. They give you a donation receipt of which is entirely tax free. You get a tax deduction of around 20% on the amount donated. The organization keeps that 20% and returns you the remaining amount. So if you consider the overall calculation ideally you received all your donated amount back and the organization benefited 20% from the tax payers money which they use to buy land and increase their assets. I have not seen any hospitals or any charity work done by them. All they believe is in confiscating land and building huge temples to show to the world.

I would seriously love to conduct a sting operation and catch them red handed and expose them to the world. Is anyone ready to help me with this????

Ahmedabad, India – The feud brewing between two Swaminayaran sects turned into a bloody confrontation on Monday in Gadhada, an important pilgrimage centre for Swaminarayan followers in Bhavnagar. Sadhus, who take a vow of non-violence and abstinence, shed their saffron robes to don violent garbs, aiming soda bottles and stones at each other and later attacking a police station. By the time peace prevailed, at least a dozen sadhus were in the Takhatsinhji Hospital in Bhavnagar. The town remained tense on the second consecutive day with the police deploying 200 personnel and imposing section 144 of the CrPC, banning gathering of more than four people in one place.

Violence between followers of the Vadtal sect and Bochasanwasi Akshar Purshottam (BAPS) sect, and the pitched battle with the police, is just one incident that manifests the tension brewing between the burgeoning five Swaminarayan sects and their sub-sects, and the fact that violence is afflicting religious sects in Gujarat. However, this is the first time that BAPS was involved in violence.

The Swadhyay Parivar was in the thick of controversy last year after NRI Pankaj Trivedi was murdered by a rival group in Ahmedabad. Digamber Jains and Hindus are clashing over right to worship atop the fourth peak of Girnar in Junagadh. Followers of religious leader Asaram Bapu are clashing with authorities over a notice to evict them from their ashram in Surat which is an encroachment according to the Revenue Department.

The central issue here is control over property and assets worth crores that each sect has amassed over the years. And, control over the trusts that manage the properties which, besides huge temple complexes, include schools and colleges, hospitals, and social work institutes. With such high stakes, there is not an inch to lose.

On Monday, the sadhus clashed over construction of a boundary wall. Though, the decades-old Vadtal sect’s temple is about half a km away from the land acquired by BAPS for an exhibition hall recently, this was cause of heartburn in the Vadtal sect and led to violence on Monday. Vadtal sect’s Gadhada temple’s coordinator Govindbhai Patel says BAPS acquired the land, which they were eyeing, dubiously. “The wall obstructs our access to that area,’’ he claims. But, BAPS’ Swami Brahmviharidas says it took them six years to go through all official procedures and acquire the land. “Everything is on record. The High Court, which observed that all official procedures were followed, ruled in our favour. I think that was the last straw for our rivals and they caused trouble when we started building the wall,’’ the swami adds.

“The primary aim of the sects in the last few years has been to increase their following and presence which decides who is more influential. As the sects grow, the acquisition of prime land and assets and control over trusts has started causing feuds both between and within the sects. We have already seen this in other religious sects in the State,’’ says Dr Makrand Mehta, former professor of History at Gujarat University, who has done a research tracing the origins and spread of Swaminarayan sects.

Political observer and writer Dinesh Shukla says the emergence of new social classes has lead to distortion in religious sects. “This has lead to power struggles and tussles to take control of property and assets.

The property and assets in possesion of each sect is valued at several hundred crores. In the past, these power struggles have resulted in sting operations revealing sex scandals and financial irregularities. Now it is turning to violence,’’ Shukla says.

After Monday’s clashes, head offices of BAPS and Vadtal sect refused to offer any comments on the violence. While feuds over land resulted in the bloody confrontation at Gadhada on Monday, power struggles within religious sects like Swaminarayan and Swadhyay Parivar are getting increasingly violent. In the Vadtal sect and Swadhyay Parivar, it has even led to murders.

On June 15, 2006, NRI Swadhyayee Pankaj Trivedi was clubbed to death outside Gymkhana Club in Ahmedabad. Trivedi was opposed to Pandurang Shastri Athavale’s successor Jayshree Didi, accusing her of corruption and financial irregularities.

He joined a rival faction opposed to Jayshree within the Parivar. But what sealed his fate was his opposition to the Government renewing the lease of Bhav Nirzar temple premises in Ahmedabad which is worth over Rs 500 crore now. Trivedi felt that since the Parivar deviated from Athavle’s teachings, it should not be in possession of the temple.

In September 2004, and again in January 2006, the Digamber sect of Jains and Hindus clashed over the right to worship at the Dattatrey temple on the fourth peak of Girnar mountain range. Skirmishes still take place and a permanent police chowky has been put up there to maintain peace.

Swami Gadhadhranand, chairman of the Vadtal temple committee, was kidnapped by four sadhus and a disciple belonging to a rival faction in May 1998. Before the power struggle began, the root cause of the friction was sale of land worth crores by a rival faction.

Sharing of the temple spoils had led to two other murders at Vadtal. Manubhai Patel, a supervisor was the first to be murdered in last 70s. In 1986, Nattu Swami was murdered in his hostel room at Vadtal by rival faction disciple.

Except the BAPS, even elections to the temple trusts in all other Swaminarayan sects result in bitter skirmishes between rival groups, though elections have not turned violent yet.

The tension was palpable when elections were held last October at Maninagar and Junagadh temples. And, the election results are usually followed by a sodomy or sex scandal, revealed to followers by either faction.

NEW DELHI: Four years after the pioneering Right to Information regime came into force in India, many hurdles remain in the way of a citizen

accessing information. Just 27 people out of 100 get the information they ask for. And, even if an information commission rules in your favour, there is a 61% chance you won’t get the information because the rulings are not complied with.

These are some of the many interesting findings of the largest study conducted to assess the performance of Information Commissioners across India. Overturning many commonly held notions, the project led by RTI campaigner Arvind Kejariwal has ranked an unheard of information commissioner from Kerala, P Faziluddin, as the best in the country in terms of public satisfaction. Karnataka was found to have the best Information Commission.

The most public face of the Central Information Commission, its CIC Wajahat Habibullah, is placed fourth on the list in terms of public satisfaction while two IC’s from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra bring up the bottom. Former CBI officer M L Sharma was found to be the least popular among CIC commissioners on the same count.

Apart from analyzing public satisfaction, the ranking also took into account ‘effectiveness’ (whether information was made available or not), ‘deterrent impact’ (imposing penalties for non-disclosures) and ‘pro-disclosure factor’ (which looked at whether the order was in favour of the applicant or not).

The study throws up other interesting results. Violence-racked regions like Assam and Chattisgarh are blazing new trails in ushering in transparency with Information Commissions of the two states passing 98% pro-disclosure rulings. IC Anil Joshi from Chattisgarh has ruled 100% in favour of transparency, the study, that browsed through more than 50,000 rulings, discloses.

And, despite the much reviled system of appointing retired bureaucrats as information commissioners, Kejariwal’s Public Cause Research Trust found all the best performing commissioners were retired babus. The only commissioner with a background in activism, Shailesh Gandhi, was ranked at the bottom of the rung on each of the four parameters.

While releasing the findings, Kejariwal said the rankings may change once more feedback starts flowing in from all parts of the country. “We are asking just one question: Did you finally get satisfactory information after approaching the Information Commission?” Kejariwal said, explaining how his team of researchers wrote to each applicant who got a favourable order to find out what they thought of the interface with information commissioners.

“These findings are just the beginning of a process. The hope is citizens will constantly assess the performance of high public officials as an integral part of an effective democracy,” the RTI campaigner hoped.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art Of Living kicked off Sangam 2008 yesterday, a three-day All-India Summit for Environment. Using the “triple bottomline approach” (ecology, economy and technology), the confluence sought to bring together “multi-sectoral non-government organisations (NGOs) on one common platform to develop practical solutions for India’s most pressing environmental concerns.”

Organised through AOL’s sister concern, the “International Association for Human Values” in partnership with the United Nations Millennium Campaign, with “technical support” from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, promotional literature for the summit said Ravi Shankar, along with Dr R.K. Pachauri, Dr Ashok Khosla, Sunderlal Bahuguna, Dr Vandana Shiva, and Kartikeya Sarabhai would be in attendance.

BHAMY V. SHENOY of the Mysore Grahakara Parishat, who plays a lead role in bringing out a magazine for NGOs called Catalyst, was among those who signed up, paying Rs 5,000. He fled before the end of the first day. This is a letter he has written to several NGOs and NGO heads of his first-hand experience.

***

“I am back from Ravi Shankar’s Sangam 2008 within a few hours of its inauguration. It was supposed to be an “all-India NGO summit for protection of environment and access to social justice.” In reality, this was one of the cleverest hoaxes perpetrated in the name of a spiritual movement using the facade of NGOs.

“We should keep away from this “spiritual” person. His is a commercial ashram doling out psychological products specially for some foreigners and middle-class women who have studied in English medium schools. Many are working there as volunteers. It was impressive to see how so many could be motivated to give their services free of cost to produce profit for an institution. This requires genius of the highest order.

“I even met a professor from IIT Bombay who is a volunteer there. When I expressed my disappointment with the whole show, she was very “sympathetic” and assured me that she too felt the same way at first, and later thanks to “guruji” she could see the light.

“Uniformly every volunteer to whom I complained about the NGOs being taken for a ride, responded in the same manner as though all of them were robots programmed by some unknown force. The whole campus is filled with security people. Going from one place to another place was like going from one section of a jail to another where every gate is protected by a security guard.

“After charging Rs 5,000 as a delegation fee, Art Of Living was providing us a room to be shared with two others, and with no towels, soap, drinking water, etc. The food was sub-standard. We were expected to wash dishes after eating.

“We did not go there as his disciples. I do not think delegates were taking part to learn about self-help as his disciples may be expected to do. I refused to wash dishes which was not liked by some. This is not because I dislike it. I have done it often. But I did not pay Rs 5,000 to do that. Moreover on the website, I was offered better lodging and food facilities.

“What a wonderful way of advertising his product by charging us!

“Companies pay money to advertise their products, but here Ravi Shankar collects money from us and introduces us to his product.

“There were satsanghs, “free” introductory yoga classes, visit to his first abode, etc. I am sure some NGOs would have decided to buy his products and will act as his emissaries. Of course, there will be a few like me who will attempt to do just the opposite. There were spies in the ashram observing people like me. It was obvious and at one time I was even frightened.

“During an evening satsangh, there were some planted questions put to Ravi Shankar. Still, his responses were pedestrian at best. One of the questions was about the new burning topic of global warming and climate change and what he (Ravi Shankar) thought about them.

“At first, he ridiculed those who are worried about such things and proceeded to give the example of the Y2K phenomenon. Ravi Shankar dwelt on how foolishly people worried about Y2K, about places exploding, about the world coming to an end, etc and how nothing of the kind took place. He was suggesting that Y2K was not a problem and so also global warming. Little did he take into consideration the elaborate precautions taken by the world to prepare for Y2K and how India became the world capital for IT and outsourcing as a result.

“What a pity such an ignoramus is considered as a “guruji” even by the firebrand Vandana Shiva.

“Someone asked the question about the unrest and violence in Kashmir and his response was to pat the questioner and to state that youth should get involved.

“After spending less than 24 hours, I decided to leave the place. The cult-like environment was suffocating. Some other delegates from Mangalore with whom I have been conversing also decided to leave after the inauguration. One of the speakers Ananth Nadkarni, vice president, Tata council for community initiatives, too decided to leave early. Another speaker who was to talk on HIV left even before the end of the first day.

“But for Vandana Shiva, none of the advertised experts and well-known speakers (R.K. Pachauri, Ashok Khsola, et al) were present. Is it possible that their names were prominently placed to sell the Sangam?

“We were told that about 500 delegates had registered and there were three silver sponsors. They must have raised at least Rs 30 lakh and the incremental cost would be no more than Rs. 3 lakh. This is an excellent and clever way of making huge profits. Business colleges should use this as a case study. We should admire the entrepreneurial capabilities of Ravi Shankar. It needs genius.

“Despite being a keynote speaker, Vandana Shiva spoke for just few minutes and that too in a rambling manner. She took the opportunity to bash Tata’s small car, the Nano. Her so-called keynote speech was dull and did not dwell on the main subject. A high school student could have delivered a better speech with greater insight.

“A High Court judge also gave an uninspiring talk making no substantive points except offering “pranams” to “guruji“. What a joke!

“I attended the first workshop and it was also equally boring. Speakers were more interested in offering pranams than dwelling on the subject.

“I do not think we can collaborate with this group. When they were pressing us to register all the time, and not giving us any suggestions on how we could collaborate, I knew this was a commercial establishment and not a spiritual centre as is advertised. Perhaps we should write an article on how NGOs should guard against such frauds in the future.

“I am sure during your meeting with Ravi Shankar and his people, you would have come to the same conclusion. Let us now revert back to the poverty issue and stop any idea of collaborating with Ravi Shankar.

“I am planning to demand the return of payment since facts were misrepresented to me while registering. I am exploring the possibility of filing a case in the consumers’ forum. When our NGO, Mysore Grahakara Parishat, is encouraging others to file cases, I need to follow that example.”