UP : MLA held for Murder

Lucknow: Criminalisation of politics has hit a new low in Uttar Pradesh where an engineer with the Public Works Department was murdered allegedly because he did not contribute to Chief Minister Mayawati's birthday funds.

An MLA of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party has been arrested in connection with the assault.

Manoj Gupta was killed when MLA Rajneesh Tiwari’s men allegedly barged into his house in Auraiya - 250 km from state capital Lucknow - locked his wife in the bathroom and then beat him up.

Gupta was then taken in a critically injured state and dumped at the local police station by Tiwari.

The engineer's relatives allege that Tiwari was demanding Rs 50 lakh for Mayawati's birthday celebrations.

Source :CNN IBN

India-Pak leaders keep cool, journos talk war

Indian and Pakistani leaders have ruled out war as an option to end the stalemate created by the Mumbai terror attacks but the media in both countries has been taking a bellicose stand and some say that Indian and Pakistani journalists have been acting like nationalists instead of like journalists.

Are Indian and Pakistani media creating jingoism? CNN-IBN’s Sagarika Ghose asked this on Face The Nation to senior Pakistani journalist and the Editor Geo TV news channel Hamid Mir; Strategic Affairs Editor of The Hindu newspaper Siddharth Varadarajan; and a former editor of the Panchjanya, the magazine of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Tarun Vijay.

source: CNN IBN

Shoe Raid on BUSH

Scribe ‘admits’ Bush shoe raid

Muntazer al-Zaidi: Celebrity

Baghdad, Dec. 16 (Reuters): An Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush appeared before a judge today and admitted “aggression against a President”, a judicial spokesman said.

TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi became an instant sensation in the Arab world when he called Bush a “dog” at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday and threw his shoes at him.

“Al-Zaidi was brought today before the investigating judge in the presence of a defence lawyer and a prosecutor,” said Abdul Satar Birqadr, spokesman for Iraq’s High Judicial Council. “He admits the action he carried out.”

The court decided to keep Zaidi in custody and, after the judge has completed his investigation, it may send him for trial under a clause in the Iraqi penal code that makes it an offence to try to murder Iraqi or foreign Presidents.

The sentence for such a crime could be up to 15 years jail, Birqadr said.

Zaidi’s brother said today that the reporter was hit on the head with a rifle butt and had an arm broken in the chaos that broke out after he threw his shoes at Bush and was leapt on by Iraqi security officers and US secret service agents.

Zaidi is in a hospital in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, his brother Maitham al-Zaidi said.

“All that we know is we were contacted yesterday by a person — we know him — and he told us that Muntazer was taken on Sunday to Ibn-Sina hospital,” Maitham al-Zaidi said. “He was wounded in the head because he was hit by a rifle butt, and one of his arms was broken.”

The brother declined to identify the source of the information and his comments could not be independently verified. Asked about his remarks, various Iraqi officials denied having responsibility for the case.

Birqadr said he was not personally present during the hearing and so could not confirm that Zaidi was injured.

According to the Associated Press, Maitham al-Zaidi said on Al-Baghdadia television, Zaid’s employer, that he had spoken by telephone with his brother and that he told him “thank God, I am in good health”. “I felt from his voice that he is good health,” Maitham al-Zaidi said.

In Mosul, Iraq’s third-largest city, located north of Baghdad, an estimated 1,000 protesters carried banners and chanted slogans demanding Zaidi’s release.

A couple of hundred more also protested today in Nasiriyah, a Shia city about 320km southeast of Baghdad, and Fallujah, a Sunni area.

source:Telegraph

Corruption : Def

Corruption has been defined by the World Bank as the

‘use of public office for private profit.’ In our country,

there are five major players on the corruption scene,

interdependent, strengthening and supportive of the

vicious cycle. They are the neta, the corrupt politician;

the babu, the corrupt bureaucrat; the lala, the

corrupting businessman; the jhola, the corrupt NGO;

and the dada, the criminal of the underworld.

Source :Wiki

Riots : Def

Riots are a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence, vandalism or other crime. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are typically chaotic and exhibit herd behavior.

Riots often occur in reaction to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. Historically, riots have occurred due to poor working or living conditions, government oppression, taxation or conscription, conflicts between races or religions (see race riot and pogrom), or even the outcome of a sporting event. Some claim^{[citation needed]} that rioters are motivated by a rejection of or frustration with legal channels through which to air their grievances.

Riots typically involve vandalism and the destruction of private and public property. The specific property to be targeted varies depending on the cause of the riot and the inclinations of those involved. Targets can include shops, cars, restaurants, state-owned institutions, and religious buildings.

CONGRESS wins 3 states, BJP retains 2

Putting up an impressive show in the Assembly elections, the Congress worsted BJP in Rajasthan, scored a hat-trick in Delhi and regained power in Mizoram while the saffron party had to remain content with retaining Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

While the Congress got clear majorities in Delhi and Mizoram, it may be slightly short of the majority mark of 101 in Rajasthan winning 74 seats and ahead in 23 others. The ruling BJP has won in 52 seats and was ahead in 26.

The BSP has won four seats and was leading in one while independents have bagged 11 and were ahead in four.

Others won four seats and were leading in one.

Led by Shiela Dikshit, the Congress retained power for the third consecutive term in Delhi, winning 40 seats in the 70-member Assembly in a keenly fought battle.

The BJP, which was hoping to wrest power after 10 years, was left behind at 22 seats. The BSP won two seats while INLD and LJP bagged one each. Results for three seats are yet to be declared.

Bagging a two-thirds majority in Mizoram, the Congress wrested power from the Mizo National Front after a decade, winning 29 of the 40 seats.

The elections, seen as the 'semi-final' ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year, brought cheer to the Congress which had faced a debacle in 13 states after coming to power at the head of a coalition at the Centre in 2004.

The BJP, which hoped to cash in on the Terror card and sweep in all the states barring Mizoram, managed to retain their grip on power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on the development plank, breaking the jinx of failing to get re-elected in any state other than Gujarat.

Netas Acts : Post Mumbai

26/11 is proving to be the modulator of political motormouths who, contrary to their trait, are weighing silence in gold.

Ubiquitous dramatis personae Raj Thackeray, Amar Singh, Mayawati, Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi, who dominated headlines and TV screens till Mumbai was raided by Pak-sponsored fidayeen, have simply melted away from public view.

The vanishing act is a conscious decision to stay out of the firing line owing to public anger against politicians, especially those with aggressive sectarian agenda.

A past master of glib quotes said, "I have simply decided to keep quiet. Why risk anger of agitated masses." The view is held across party lines.

Managing public profile against a groundswell of anti-politician mood is proving a tough task. Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh may have escaped the sack had he not taken movie man Ram Gopal Verma to the Taj in what is being dubbed "terror tourism". His deputy R R Patil has fallen for trying to defend his role as home minister by diminishing the magnitude of Mumbai terror. Narendra Modi got swayed by his `iron man' hype to forget that politicians, post-Mumbai, were a strict no-no. Kerala CM V S Achuthanandan tripped on the same trick.

Though Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi tried to brazen it out by dumbing down the public fury as "powder & lipstick" campaign, BJP quickly disowned him.

Virtues of silence are being discovered across the political spectrum. "I saw the fate of Modi and VS. What did Vilasrao do wrong? It is just the mood around," said a senior politician, advocating low profile for his creed.

If 26/11 is the defining moment in their behavioural pattern, the evidence is incontrovertible. Raj Thackeray virtually monopolised the media space since his henchmen kicked off a campaign against North Indians in October. The focus was firmly on him when he visited his estranged ailing uncle Bal Thackeray on November 23. Three days later, when commandos from Bangalore and Dehradun died for Mumbaikars, he vanished with his campaign.

Observers say with their existence threatened, the middle-classes are seeing caste and religion agendas as villains. In fact, the fear of attracting popular anger has squeezed out otherwise acceptable bombastic statements on defeating terror.

SP brass, which seized on post-Batla House anger among Muslims to run a shrill campaign against Congress, has forgotten it, as it appears, for good.

Mayawati has chosen to shun sniping at rivals when the poll season normally would have brought out the `best' from her. Even BJP chief Rajnath Singh is not speaking in defence of Malegaon accused anymore.

Gujarat Fake Encounter Controversy

The 2007 Gujarat Fake Encounter Controversy started when the police of Gujarat state in India admitted on March 23, 2007 to the killing of an alleged extortionist (claim,[1] ) "Sohrabuddin Sheikh" in a staged gun battle (such battles are known as an "encounter killings" in India) on November 26, 2005.^[1][2] The police at that time had claimed that the man, belonged to the Pakistan linked terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba and was planning to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to avenge the death of Muslims killed in the 2002 Gujarat violence. The government also admitted that Sohrabuddin's innocent wife Kausarbi had been killed by the police and her body burnt in an attempt to remove the traces of the crime.

Jessica Lal Murder

Jessica Lall (1965-1999) was a model in New Delhi, who was working as a celebrity barmaid at a crowded socialite party when she was shot dead on April 29, 1999 ^[1]. Dozens of witnesses pointed to Siddharth Vashisht, a.k.a. Manu Sharma, the son of Venod Sharma, a wealthy Congress politician in Haryana, as the murderer. The surname "Lall" is sometimes spelled "Lal" in the media.

In the ensuing trial over seven years, Manu Sharma and a number of others were acquitted on February 21, 2006.

Following intense media and public pressure, the prosecution appealed (a rare measure) and the Delhi High Court conducted proceedings on a fast track with daily hearings over 25 days. The lower court judgment was found faulty in law, and Manu Sharma was found guilty of having murdered Jessica Lall. He was sentenced to life on December 20, 2006.

Abdul Karim Telgi

He began printing fake stamp paper. He appointed 300 people as agents who sold the fakes to bulk purchasers, including banks, FIs, insurance companies, and share-broking firms. His monthly profits have been estimated as being in the neighbourhood of Rs 202 crore (US $20 million). More details here

The Telgi case brought corruption in the Karnataka police force to light, causing a national scandal in India. ^[2] A videotape emerged in September 2006 of Abdul Karim Telgi taking a Narco Analysis test. Under the influence of the supposed truth serum, Telgi is said to have blurted out the names of Nationalist Congress Party leaders Sharad Pawar and Chaggan Bhujbal. Pawar has never been publicly linked to the case, but was forced to go public with a denial.

On 17 January 2006, Telgi and several associates were sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment.^[3]

On June 28, 2007 Telgi was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment ^[4] for 13 years and fined a whopping Rs 202 crore on various counts in one of the main cases of the scandal. Hours after Telgi pleaded guilty and repented his actions, Judge Chitra Bhedi of a special court pronounced the quantum of punishment under various sections of the IPC and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act. This is the harshest punishment given to Telgi in any of the fake stamp paper cases he has been convicted for so far in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Judge Bhedi observed that she had taken a "lenient view" since Telgi, who is in judicial custody in Pune, had pleaded guilty and also because of his health. Telgi is HIV positive.

Bhedi sentenced 42 other accused in the case, who too had pleaded guilty, to rigorous impriosnment for up to six years and imposed fines on them. CBI counsel Raja Thakre moved an application in the court seeking the confiscation of Telgi's property to recover the fine slapped on him. Telgi, who broke down earlier in the day while pleading guilty, thanked the judge for "giving him justice."

Tehelka

Tehelka is an Indian weekly magazine under the editorship of Tarun Tejpal. The publication started life in 2000 as a news website, Tehelka.com.

It was forced to close down temporarily due to hostile government action following Operation West End, a major expose on corruption in defense procurements. In 2003, it was relaunched as a weekly newspaper. In 2007, it once again underwent a transformation, and shifted to a regular magazine format. In September 2007, Tehelka came up with a Hindi news based web portal "Tehelka Hindi". Just after a month in October 2007, it once again captured widespread attention for an elaborate sting operation that captured on hidden camera several perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat riots admitting to horrendous crimes, and revealing the riots to be part of a well-planned conspiracy that had state sanction.

Ketan Parekh

Ketan Parekh was a Mumbai-based stock broker. He hails from a well-to-do Gujarati family involved in share trading, and Ketan was involved in the shares scam of 2000-2001 on the Indian Stock Market.

Companies, when raising money from the stock market, rope in brokers to back them in raising the share price. Ketan formed a network of brokers from smaller exchanges like the Allahabad Stock Exchange and the Calcutta Stock Exchange, and used benami, or share purchases, in the name of poor people living in the shanty towns of Mumbai. Ketan rose to fame at the same time as the worldwide dot-com boom (1999-2000) and he relied primarily on the shares of ten companies for his dealings (now known infamously as the K-10 scrips).

[1] Ketan had large borrowings from Global Trust Bank, whose shares he was ramping up so that he could get a good deal at the time of its merger with UTI Bank. He got a Rs 250 crore loan from Global Trust Bank, although Global Trust’s chairman Ramesh Gelli, who was later asked to resign, repeatedly asserted that the amount was less than Rs 100 crore, which was in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India's normal amount. Ketan and his associates obtained another Rs 1,000 crore from the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank despite the fact that RBI regulations ruled that the maximum loan a broker could obtain was Rs 15 crore. In addition, Mr Mehta's best friend, Mr Pravin Ruparel was involved with Ketan's Business in 1996.

Ketan's modus operandi was to ramp up the shares of select firms in collusion with promoters. Interestingly, around the time when Ketan started taking long positions in his favorite K-10 scrips, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) concluded a 3-year old case against Harshad Mehta, who had colluded with the managements of BPL, Sterlite and Videocon to ramp up their shares.

In Ketan's case, SEBI found prima facie evidence of price rigging in the scrips of Global Trust Bank, Zee Telefilms, HFCL, Lupin Laboratories, Aftek Infosys and Padmini Polyme

Hawala

The Hawala scandal or hawala scam was an Indian political scandal involving payments allegedly received by politicians through hawala brokers, the Jain brothers. It was a US$18 million dollar bribery scandal that implicated some of the country's leading politicians. There were also alleged connections with payments being channelled to Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Kashmir.^[1]

Those accused included Lal Krishna Advani who was then Leader of opposition. He and others were acquitted in 1997 and 1998, partly because the hawala records (including diaries) were judged in court to be inadequate as the main evidence.^[2] The failure of this prosecution by the Central Bureau of Investigation was widely criticised.^[3]

Bofors Scandal 1990

The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 general elections.

The scandal was worth Rs 640 million (Rs. 64 crore).

The case came to light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defence minister, and was revealed through investigative journalism by Chitra Subramaniam of the newspapers The Hindu and Indian Express.

The name of the middleman associated with the scandal was Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman who represented the petrochemicals firm Snamprogetti. Quattrocchi was close to the family of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and emerged as a powerful broker in the '80s between big business and the Indian government.

Even while the case was being investigated, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 for an unrelated cause.

In 1997, the Swiss banks released some 500 documents after years of legal wrangling and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Quattrocchi, Win Chadha, also naming Rajiv Gandhi, the defence secretary S. K. Bhatnagar and a number of others. Several attempts to extradite Quattrocchi failed.

Meanwhile February 5, 2004 the Delhi High Court quashed the charges of bribery against Rajiv Gandhi and others,[1] but the case is still being tried on charges of cheating, causing wrongful loss to the Government, etc. Win Chadha also died.

On May 31, 2005, the High court of Delhi dismissed the Bofors case allegations against the British business brothers, Shrichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja.

In December 2005, the Mr B. Datta, the additional solicitor general of India, acting on behalf of the Indian Government and the CBI, requested the British Government that two British bank accounts of Ottavio Quattrocchi be de-frozen on the grounds of insufficient evidence to link these accounts to the Bofors payoff. The two accounts, containing € 3 million and $1 million, had been frozen in 2003 by a high court order by request of the Indian government (when the (now) opposition party BJP was in power). The accounts were de-frozen on January 11, 2006. He left India for Malaysia during the tenure of P V Narasimharao as the premier of India. India fought a long battle in the Malaysian courts to extradiate him in vain. On January 16, the Indian Supreme Court directed the Indian government to ensure that Ottavio Quattrocchi did not withdraw money from the two bank accounts in London. The CBI (Central Bureau Of Investigation), the Indian Federal law enforcement agency, on January 23, 2006 admitted that roughly Rs 21 crore, about USD $4.6 million, in the two accounts have already been withdrawn. The British Government released the funds based on a request by the Indian Government. At the time a Congress-led alliance was in power, and Sonia Gandhi, as President of the Congress Party, faced considerable criticism for this sudden volte face by the Indian government.

However, on January 16, 2006, CBI claimed in an affidavit filed before the Supreme court that they were still pursuing extradition orders for Ottavio Quattrocchi. The Interpol, at the request of the CBI, has a long standing red corner notice to arrest Quattrocchi.

Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina on 6 February 2007, but the news of his detention was released by the CBI only on 23 February, stoking claims that it may have been suppressed by the ruling Congress government because of state elections.^[1]

February 26: Quattrocchi has been released by Argentinian police. However, his passport has been impounded and he is not allowed to leave the country.^[2]

There is no extradition treaty between India and Argentina. Government of India lost this extradition case and decided not to appeal against the decision in the Argentinian Surpreme Court.

Fodder Scam

Fodder Scam is a scam related to the Animal Husbandry Department of the government of Bihar in which irregularities of nearly Rs 950 crores (US$ 264 million) were detected.

Investigation

Lalu had ordered probe into these massive irregularities in accounts by constituting a committee^{[citation needed]}. However motives of these people were questioned by a Public Interest Litigation and Supreme Court of India handed over the case to CBI. Many people who were in this probe committee themselves became accused. Charges were filed against Yadav too and later on Mishra was also framed. Developments of the case has been the deciding factors in political situations both at state and national level.

The first report on Lalu Prasad Yadav and J.N.Mishra involved in Fodder Scam was Given in 1992 by Mr. Bidhu Bhushan Dvivedi, then Police Inspector in Vigiliance department, Bihar to G.Narayan then, Director General Vigilance, Bihar. Mr Dvivedi is witness to many cases of CBI in fodder scam.(Refer:-Inside CBI-Joginder Singh & Chara Chor and Khazana Chor). ^[1]

Following the series of events and pressure from the ruling party in Bihar-Lalu's government Mr. Dvivedi was then relieved of his duty in Vigiliance Dept. and was given a shunt posting in CID (Foods) and was later suspended for one and half years after which he was released through H'onble Ranchi High Court Judgement.(Cite:

Animal Husbandary Scam popularly known as "Chara Ghotala" is one of the biggest scams in India valuing almost more than INR. Rs.1000 Cr.

Accused

There are a total of 76 accused, of whom three have died and three turned state witnesses.

Some of the people against whom charges were framed include:

• Former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra
• Former MP Rajo Singh
• Former Bihar animal husbandry minister Vidyasagar Nishad
• Former central minister Chandradeo Prasad Verma
• Four bureaucrats of the Indian Administrative Service, veterinary doctors and other government officials.

It was only after Special Investigation Team(SIT) under U N Biswas was constituted that investigation started at a brisk rate. Soon many heads started rolling and Yadav and members of his party had to lose their ministerial berths both at centre and state facing corruption charges.

There are 20 truckloads of documents in the case.^[2]

Religious Violence

Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Hinduism, the largest religion in India, accounts for 80% of the population; Islam, the second largest religion, accounts for 13% of the population; Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism taken together account for 3% of the population; and Christianity accounts for 2% of the population.^[1] Other religions such as Zoroastrianism and Judaism, although not popular, have a centuries long history in India. Religious fundamentalism is considered a major driver; with Hindu nationalism, Sikh separatism, Christian Evangelism, and Islamic fundamentalism acting as catalysts or as primary forces for outbreaks of violence.

Despite India's secular and religiously tolerant nature, broad religious representation in various aspects of society including the government, the active role played by autonomous bodies such as National Human Rights Commission of India and National Commission for Minorities, and the ground-level work being carried out by Non-governmental organizations, sporadic and sometimes serious acts of religious violence tend to occur as the root causes of religious violence often run deep in history, religious activities, and politics of India.^[2][3][4][5]

Along with domestic organizations, international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch publish reports ^[6] bringing embarrassing attention to acts of religious violence in India. Foreign government organizations such as United States Department of State have also published similar, but controversial,^{[7][8][9][10]} reports^[11][12] which have largely been dismissed in India as interference in internal affairs.^[13][14]

Ramnad Riots 1957

On September 11 Emmanuel Sekaran, the leader of the Dalit/Congress delegation at the peace conference, was murdered in Paramakudi. He was murdered when he was Just 33. He was Married to Amirtham Grace and he had four female children. Their Names are: Mary Vasantha Rani, Poppin Vijaya Rani, Sundarai Prabha Rani, Jansi Rani.

On September 13 clashes erupted at Arumkulam. 5 Dalits and 3 Thevars were killed, and their bodies were thrown unto fire. 2 of the Thevars and 1 of the Dalits were women.

On September 14 a group of armed police entered the village of Kulathooval in order to arrest suspects in the Emmanuel murder case. 5 Thevars were killed in police firing. According to Forward Bloc sources the five were blindfolded and executed. A police inquiry commission later refuted that perception.

On September 16 clashes erupted in villages like Veerambal, Arumbakkan, Irulandapatti and Sandakottai. In the two latter places 60 Dalits, including one woman, were killed.

On the same day the Thevar village of Ilanchambol was attacked by a Dalit mob. The village had been deserted by the police two days earlier. Five Thevars were killed in the attack. The attack was interrupted as Thevars from the neighbouring village of Keelapanayur arrived, driving of the Dalits and killing two.

On September 17 police opened fire on Forward Bloc cadres in the village of Keeranthai. Five of the killed were Thevars and one was a Dalit.

On September 18 Dalit houses were torched in Thandikudi.

On September 19 hundreds of houses, belonging to both Thevars and Dalits, were torched in the villages of Piramanur, Vadi, Tiruppuvanam, Nallur and Tiruppachatti. On the following day police opened fire on a Thevar mob, but with no casualties.

On September 20 police firing killed 5 Thevars, 4 in Uluthumadi and 1 in Malavavanenthall. In Veerambal, Thevars stormed a church were a group of Dalits had sought refuge. 2 Dalits were killed and 32 injured.

On September 21 clashes occurred in some places. But from the following day onwards there were no reported incidents.

On September 28-29, 1957 CRC held a state conference and reconstituted itself as the Indian National Democratic Congress. Notably, U. Muthuralingam Thevar,one of the inaugural speakers of the event, was arrested just after having delivered his speech.

West Bengal 2007(Food Riots)

The 2007 West Bengal food riots happened in West Bengal in India over shortage of food and widespread corruption in public distribution system. The riots first happened in Burdwan, Bankura, and Birbhum districts but later spread to other districts. The riots started on 16 September 2007 in Radhamohanpur village in Bankura district. That morning a few CPI(M) leaders were lecturing the villagers on the dangers of the Indo-US nuclear agreement. They were shouted down and asked to provide foodgrains by the villagers. When CPI(M) leaders tried to chase them away the angry villagers beat CPI-M leaders and burnt their flags. The police opened fire to quell the mob.

This news of the protest and firing spread and within a day the people across the state came out against corrupt ration dealers and party leaders. Subsequently hundreds of ration shop owners were attacked and their shops and houses looted. At many places, CPI(M) leaders bore the brunt of public anger. Police shot and killed three villagers during the riots and more than 300 villagers were injured in riots. At least three ration distributors committed suicide.

The state government took damage control measures and suspended 113 dealers and served show cause notices to 37 food inspectors.

Bombay riots

The riots started as a result of communal tension prevailing in the city after the Babri Mosque demolition on 6 December 1992. It is commonly believed that the riots occurred in two phases. The first was mainly a Muslim backlash as a result of the Babri Masjid demolition in the week immediately succeeding 6 December 1992 by Hindu hard-line elements in the city of Ayodhya.

The second phase was a Hindu backlash occurring as a result of the killings of Hindu Mathadi Kamgar (Workers) by Muslims in Dongri (an area of South Mumbai). This phase occurred in January 1993 (most incidents reported between 6 January to 20 January).

Overall around 900 people were killed in these riots. Arson, killings and the destruction of property occurred in distinctively different kinds of areas. The areas of Jogeshwari,Pydhonie, Dongri, Agripada, Gamdevi, V.P.Road, Byculla, Bhoiwada, Nagpada, Kherwadi, Nehru Nagar, Dharavi, Ghatkopar, Kurla, Deonar, Trombay, Bandra, Vakola were the worst affected amongst others. Violence affected not only slums but also apartment blocks and chawls.

As a direct result of the riots a large number of Muslims migrated from Hindu majority areas to Muslim majority areas in the city and vice versa. The demographics of the city changed drastically on religious basis. Reports widely indicate more than 200,000 people, most of them Muslim, fled the city or their homes during the time of the riots. A large number of them relocated back due to economic compulsions. However separation and mistrust between the people on religious grounds was widely believed and reported until more than a year after the riots.

1984 Anti-Sikh Riots

The 1984 Anti-Sikh massacre took place in India after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh guards acting in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar, in which the Indian Army attacked Sikh militants praying in the Harimandir Sahib, the holiest Sikh shrine, causing damage and subsequently outrage amongst Sikhs.

Over the next four days Sikhs were killed in retaliatory attacks led by Congress activists and sympathizers. The then Congress government was widely criticized for doing very little at the time, possibly acting as a conspirator, especially since voting lists were used to identify Sikh families.^[1] Then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, made an insensitive statement at Boat Club in New Delhi on November 19th 1984, on the birthday of Indira Gandhi, “Some riots took place in the country following the murder of Indiraji. We know the people were very angry and for a few days it seemed that India had been shaken. But, when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it does shake a little.”.^[2][3][4] His widow, Sonia Gandhi and current President of the Congress Party, officially apologized in 1998 for the events of November, 1984. The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi.

Many ordinary Indians of different religious dispositions made significant efforts to hide and help Sikh families.^[5]

GUJARAT 2002

The 2002 Gujarat violence describes a series of communal riots between the communities of Hindus and Muslims that took place in the Indian State of Gujarat between February and May 2002.

The riots occurred after the Godhra train burning. In September 2008 the Godhra Commission confirmed that there was an attack on the train, by a Muslim mob.^[1] Going further, the report claims that one Hassan Lalu had thrown burning objects into the train and 140 litres of petrol had been used to put the train on fire, adding stones were thrown on passengers to stop them from fleeing. ^{[2] [3]} According to official figures more than a thousand people were killed in the violence after the train incident. Independent estimates by rights groups and NGOs place the figure higher, nearer to 2000. More than one hundred and fifty thousand people were displaced.

Organisations such as Human Rights Watch criticised the Indian government for failure to address the resulting humanitarian condition of people, "overwhelming majority of them Muslim," who fled their homes for relief camps in the aftermath of the events. ^[4] Many of the investigations and prosecution of those accused of violence during the riots have been opened for reinvestigation and prosecution.^[5][6] According to an official estimate, 1044 people were killed in the violence - 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus including those killed in the Godhra train fire. Another 223 people were reported missing, 2,548 injured, 919 women widowed and 606 children orphaned.^[7]

The large-scale, collective violence has been generally been described as riots or inter-communal clashes.^[8] The perpetrators of the violence as well as Sangh parivar leaders^[9] and the Gujarat government^[10][11][12] maintain that the violence was a spontaneous, uncontrollable reaction to the Godhra train burning. Others have termed it a massacre^[13] and an attempted pogrom or genocide^[14] of the Muslim population, emphasizing that the violence was largely directed against defenceless people, indiscriminate with regard to age or sex and alleging that it was pre-planned, organised and aided by the local authorities and political leaders.^[15]

Corruption in India

From The Economist (9th Oct 2003) an article on the perceived corruption of countries.

Finland remains the least-corrupt country in the world, according to the latest annual index compiled by Transparency International, a Berlin-based organisation. The index, which measures perceived levels of corruption, focuses on the misuse of public office for private gain. The United States ranks as the 18th least-corrupt country, only a little less so than Chile. Botswana is reckoned to be less corrupt than Italy.

India ranks 83 in the list of least-corrupt countries. Finland is the least corrupt and ranks first; Singapore is fifth; Botswana is ranked 30th — thus leading India by about 50 places.

In the Indian neighborhood, there are no clean countries. On a scale where 10 is the cleanest, India gets a score of 2.8 (with a standard deviation of 0.4, a fairly low standard deviation.) Compared to that, China scores marginally higher at 3.5 but has a greater standard deviation of 1.0 and therefore the estimated error is larger.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Bangladesh both score — surprise, surprise — lower than India. Pakistan gets a 2.5 with a large 0.9 standard deviation, and Bangladesh has the dubious distinction of being the least uncorrupt country of the 133 surveyed by Transparency International and has a score of 1.3 (std deviation 0.7).

I suppose if Sri Lanka were in that list, it would get a higher score than India. And I also suppose that the northern states of India (UP, Bihar, etc.) would be more found to be more corrupt than the southern states (Kerala, AP, TN).

Corruption and Underdevelopment

It is no mystery that underdevelopment and high degrees of corruption are highly correlated. There are causal links between the two and most likely these are bi-directional. Corruption is endogenous in most systems and clearly reflect the dominant cultural traits.

In India, the web of corruption probably has a bureaucratic core. A vast bureaucracy that is instituted to control every aspect of economic life creates the incentives for individual and institutionalized corruption. Then the “democratic” political system uses that bureaucracy to extract rents that are used for fueling the vast political machinery.

Dismantling the bureaucracy would be the first step to fixing the problem of corruption in India, followed by reduction of the public sector. This would lead to reduced rents that political parties could extract through the bureaucratic machinery and have the salutary effect of getting rent-seeking thugs out of the political system in India.

India’s development is critically dependent on reducing corruption.