CONGRESS SANDESH COMPLETES ITS SEVEN YEAR

Rs. 10Vol. VII No. 11July, 2005CONGRESS SANDESH COMPLETES ITS SEVEN YEAR

Congress President with Foreign DignitariesCongress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi with Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin during her visit to Russia on15th June 2005. Also seen is Minister of Extrernal Affairs Shri K. Natwar SinghCongress President and UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Mr.Lee Hsien Loong at herresidence in New Delhi on 30th June 2005Photo Courtesy: PTI

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singhat the G8 Summit in ScotlandRNI Regd.No. 69364/98DL-11525/2003-05Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh arrives for the ceremonial reception atthe Prestwick Airport, Glasgow, United Kingdom on 7th July.Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh being greeted by the children at theceremonial reception.Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh with G8 LeadersPrime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh addressing media personsWorld leaders listen to British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he reads the Group of Eight’s statement at Gleneagles, Scotland.Photo Courtesy: PTI

Letter to Congress WorkersDear friends,Terrorism has raised its ugly head once again. In India by the attack in Ayodhya andin London, in a series of blasts that left fifty dead and several hundred injured. Onceagain, these terrorist attacks emphasise the need for a united front against thenetworks of terrorism amongst all the world’s countries. The loss of innocent lives isunforgivable and the work of cowards. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pointedout at the G-8 Summit, India has been dealing with terrorism for a long while, andonce again calls upon all world leaders to take a consistent and united stand againstterrorism. In India, we were lucky since the loss of life was minimal at Ayodhya andour brave soldiers showed their willingness to sacrifice their lives rather than allowterrorists to take any lives or destroy anything. In England, alas, innocent lives werelost. Our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones.Apart from man-made terror, the monsoons have also brought floods and devastation in its wake. Large parts of Gujarat,Himachal, Harayana, and other areas along the banks of the Sutlej and Beas have been inundated, leading to loss of lifeand property worth crores. The government has already made relief funds available and the task is being handled on awar-footing. Here, the Bill leading to the creation of a National Disaster Management Committee, that has been passed inthe last Parliament Session, will lead to better preparedness in the face of natural calamities.Today India is party to the G-8 Summit and that shows the strength both of its economy and of its democracy. That is whywe need to emphasize fundamental values again. For India it is particularly important since terrorism in our country canoften take on religious overtones. The issue of Ayodhya must not be over-politicized or used in any way to whip upcommunal hate. It is here that the ideas and strategies formulated by Gandhiji are worth studying and emulating. Gandhijishowed us long ago that there are methods of agitation, other than violence, that can lead to regime change and an endto discrimination of class, colour and creed.The Congress Party has always based itself on three fundamental principles. These were honed through the experience ofthe Freedom struggle and the lead provided by Gandhiji, through his own personal life and actions. These are first, secularism.Secondly, respect for the rights of an individual as an equal citizen irrespective of caste or religion. Finally, we stand for anend to all forms of social discrimination of caste and gender.We firmly believe that it is only the principles of respect for each other as human beings that progress and harmony canbe maintained in society and in the world at large. Our goals are development oriented. And for genuine development tooccur we need both social sector development and economic development. The two go hand in hand. India cannot progressinto a global power if its innards remain torn by inequalities and violence. In our budget and in the CMP we have tried toensure this balance.In the past it was found that subsidies and schemes meant to redress social imbalances fail to deliver because thetargeted groups were unaware of them. Making them aware of the benefits being provided is an urgent task and here theCongress’s frontal organizations can play a major role. Our youth wings, our women’s wings can activate their members toreach out to the people and make them aware of government schemes. They can also play a watch-dog role in ensuringthat targeted amounts are utilized by districts and panchayats. In this way, the party and the government strengthen eachother.At last, let us pray for a good monsoon.July, 2005Congress Sandesh1

Letter to the EditorDismiss Raje Govt.The people of Rajasthan are fed up with the BJP government in thestate for its mal-administration. Few days back the farmers in Tonk,who were demanding water in a democratic way, were fired upon.Five farmers died and dozens were injured. Earlier, farmers werefired upon by the police when they too were demanding water toirrigate their field. This attitude of the BJP government in the stateshows that it is anti-farmers. This government had also increasedthe rates at which electricity is supplied to farmers. These farmershad brought victory for BJP during the last assembly elections byvoting for them and now the same BJP Govt. is giving them bulletsin return. Secondly, the law and order situation in the state hasdeteriorated and corruption is also flourishing. Therefore, thisgovernment in Rajasthan should bedismissed immediately.- Pusa Ram Chauhan,Bidasar, Churu, RajasthanMajor AccomplishmentThe UPA Government, under thePrime Ministership of Dr. ManmohanSingh, in its one-year of governancehas heralded a new phase ofdevelopment in the country. One ofthe major accomplishment of thisgovernment is the termination ofcommunal violence that madeheadway during the NDA regime.Moreover, far reaching strides havebeen achieved in our foreign affairswith the consolidation of ties withPakistan and China. In domesticsector also the common man isgradually benefiting from the variousprogrammes and policies initiated bythe UPA Government. I feel, thisgovernment under the chairmanshipof Smt. Sonia Gandhi will definitely set a precedent in the sphere ofgovernance and will live upto the trust of the people who voted thisgovernment to power in the last general election.- Bishal Das,JNU, New DelhiCredit to Sonia Gandhi, Arjun & PMUttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) congratulates UPAChairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Union HRD Minister, Shri Arjun Singhand Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh for their efforts in pavingthe way to granting Allahabad University a Central University status.The inclusion of all the associated Degree Colleges, MLN MedicalCollege, SRN Hospital, Kamla Nehru Hospital, GB Pant Social ScienceInstitute, Engineering College and other prestigious institutions inthe Allahabad University fold has given room for overall developmentand progress of Allahabad.- Kishore Varshney,AllahabadWrong PracticeThe Samajwadi Party’s birth in Karnataka took place on the 5 th ofJune after its state president, Shri Bangarappa won in the justconcludedby-election held for Shimoga seat. Due to some negligenceof our party leaders and for not taking into confidence the youthsand the minorities we have lost both the by-elections giving way toSamajwadi Party’s birth and also JD(S) has opened its account inBangalore by winning the Chamrajpet election. Its time that ourleaders take initiatives in building up the party specially the YouthCongress by consulting the localleaders and also the senior Congressworkers. Of late our leaders areencouraging only those with moneypower as well as those who are alwayswith them serving either their familiesor their kith and kin. I strongly condemnthis so that in future our leaders takeinto the confidence Congress workersand ignore those who have come fromthe other party␣␣just before electionsfor their personal gains.- Abdul Wajed,President, Bangalore (North),Youth CongressA SYMBOL OF HUMBLE-NESSPraise be to you, Smt. Sonia Gandhiand blessed be your parents. The Godalmighty has honoured you to havewedded to Rajiv Gandhi and tocontinue the task left behind by him.It is destiny that brought you to India and to the Gandhi family toserve the people and the Congress party in particular. You are asymbol of humbleness and sacrifice because what you haverelinquished, no other person in this world would ever think of doingso. Your children too are a gift to India. Rahul Gandhi, has become ayouthful MP from Amethi and is loved by all in the party. I pray thatGod showers his blessings on you and your family to lead theCongress party in the interest of the people and the progress of thenation. The way Shri Rahul Gandhi has taken up the cause of thepeople in his parliamentary constituency will be aped by our otheryoung leaders of the party. I wish him long life and pray that he leadsthe nation from the fore in the very near future.- Srichand Makhija,Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi2Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

ContentsCongress SandeshPublished in Hindi & EnglishVol. 7 No. 11, July, 2005Editorial BoardChairmanK. Natwar SinghMembersMani Shankar AiyarSalman KhursheedDr. Girija VyasSarvjit SinghPoonam SahiEditorAnil ShastriManaging EditorKVS Rama SarmaAssociate EditorDr. Ravni ThakurEditorial TeamRam Naresh SinhaRattan FrancisBipin SharmaManager (Admn. & Circulation)Kamal ShahuDesign & LayoutBenchmark Graphic (P) Ltd. & Kamal ShahuComputergraphicsMohan Singh KatyuraAcknowledgementsThe Hindu, Hindustan Times, India Today. TheEconomics Times, The Indian Express, NationalHerald, The Times of India, R.K.Laxman, Ravi Gulati(Photographer) Press Trust of India.Editorial & Correspondence officeCongress Sandesh,24 Akbar Road, New Delhi-110 011.Phone: 2301 9080 Extn: 429, Fax: 2301 7047Published byVasant Sathe on behalf of ‘Sandesh Trust’Printed at : National Herald Press, 5A BhahadurShah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110 002Edited by : KVS Rama SarmaWebsites : www.congresssandesh.com &http\\:congresssandesh.netSubscription RatesMonthly Rs. 10/-One Year Rs. 100/-Two Year Rs. 175/-Three Year Rs. 250/-DD/Cheques may be sent in favour of ‘Sandesh Trust’The criticism of the Prime Minister’s speechin Oxford while receiving an honorarydoctorate by the right and the left such asthe CPIML is bogus to say the least. ThePrime Minister’s speech reflected anobjective assessment of both the good andthe bad of British Colonialism. It certainlydid not condone colonial rule. The Prime-Minister rightly pointed out the economicexploitation that underlay the colonialenterprise. But he was rightly able to pointout the inadvertent positive aspects ofcolonial rule. The critical look that Indianswere able to make of their own culture andsome of its more unequal structures ofcaste and gender. It also gave us thebenefits of a secular and stableconstitutional Democracy.Attacking the Prime Minister’s speechthought, the BJP, would help deflectattention from the mess their own PartyPresident is in for his speech on Jinnah.Just like Mr. Advani thought championingthe cause of the Ram Mandir would againwin him back his Hindu backers. Alas thatdoes not seem to be the case. Mr.Advaniis still facing harsh criticism from the RSSand one wonders what will change, the BJPpresident, or their ideology. Or is this justanother ploy of the BJP’s attempt to returnto power as a non-sectarian party. Can aleopard change its spots?HONOUREDPrime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh conferredwith honorary degree by Oxford University 5CP’S RUSSIA VISITUPA Chairperson and Congress President, Smt.Sonia Gandhi pays 4-day visit to Russia 8CP’S ADDRESSThe Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi callsfor a ‘Dialogue of Civilisation’ at the Centre ofNational Glory of Russia in Moscow 9COVERSTORYDr. Ravni Thakur talks about the underlyingprinciples of the Congress Party11VITAL PROJECTIt is a project that will benefit lakhs of peoplethrough creation of new jobs, says Smt. SoniaGandhi12CANAL PROJECTPrime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singhinaugurates the Sethusamudram Project atMadurai13AYODHYA ATTACKSmt. Sonia Gandhi condemns terrorist attack andasks people to unite and fight divisive forces 14TONK FIRINGThe Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhicondemns police firing on farmers in Tonk andcalls it a barbarous act15SHOWERS OF RAIN AND EMPATHYViews of Praveen DavarSTRIDES IN LOOK EASTViews on Indias foreign PolicySTATES WATCHSandesh YatraCall to dalitsUPA govt. hailedMAHILA CONGRESS REPORTAICC DIARYPHOTOFILETo Our Readers / SubscribersIn view of the increased cost of paper and printing we are compelled to raise the per copy price ofCongress Sandesh to Rs. 10/- w.e.f. June 2002. Subscritpion charges for fresh subscirbers: forOne Year Rs. 100/-, Two Years Rs. 175/-, Three Years Rs. 250/ Outstation cheques should includeRs. 20 towards realization charges. Cheques may be sent in favour of ‘Sandesh Trust’Editor1619222324293032July, 2005Congress Sandesh3

Terror Struck AgainThe timing of the latest terrorist attack in the heart of Londonto coincide with the G-8 + 5 summit, being held atGleaneagles in Scotland was definitely not a coincidence. Itwas designed to show the world’s most powerful nations howvulnerable they are and how helpless. Once again, ithighlighted the need for united action amongst the countriesof the world, a cooperative war not unilateral decisions. PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh quite rightly pointed out that Indiahas been facing terrorism for the past twenty five years andjust a few days before the attacks in London six terroristswere shot down in Ayodhya.The G-8, like India, faces two major issues today. Terrorismand Trade. And both are a questions of ideology. These aretied to, on the one hand ideologies, that believe in democracyand constitutionally, legally given freedoms and others thatbelieve in a one over generalizing ideology of faith, ofrevolution as the only correct way. One society is exclusive,the other inclusive and broad based. Open societies workwith the large participation of civil society and where everybody has a right to express their differences, in religion,colour and language but peacefully. The other is ideologiesthat create and constantly find enemies. Ideologies offanaticism where violence is justified and legitimized. TheJehadi Islam of today, the VHP and the RSS for example orthose who take to the ‘revolutionary ideology’ of the Naxalsin India and the Maoist in Nepal, the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Theseare ideologies that see no harm in using human shields ortargeting civilians, they are terrorist and totalitarian ideologiesand organizations.Yet, although nothing justifies violence, these ideologies donot come up in a vacuum. They also reflect the aspirationsof the disenfranchised. We all accept today that the war inIraq was unjustified. American and British public opinionaccepts it. Thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians have died.President Bush and Tony Blair have to answer why they wentto war with Iraq, why instead of finishing the roots of Al Qaedain Afghanistan and its networks in Pakistan it decided to chasea lie. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq andinstead of Democracy, more people have died in Iraq since␣␣EditorialSaddam was captured than when he was alive. For educatedyouth with European citizenships, the targeting of Iraq wasseen as the targeting of Islam. Will civil society and opensocieties be forced to change as the enemies materializewithin? If open societies are to survive, then the war onterrorism internally and externally, it has to be fought in unityand preferably under the leadership of the United Nations.The war on terrorism must also examine and solve the issuesthat create terrorism.The other issue facing both India and the G-8 countries areissues of trade and protectionism. The ‘No’ to the EuropeanUnion Constitution in France and the Netherlands is also seenas a vote against globalisation and further integration. Todaythere is massive dissension within the European Union onthe nature of subsidies with England arguing for an end toan internal European subsidies where forty percent is givento agriculture and that to large farmers growing crops thatcan be produced cheaply in the third world. India hasconsistently advocated the doing away with agriculturalsubsidies in the west. The G-8 cannot ask us to open up ourmarkets and then follow protectionist measures where theirown economies are concerned. We, in the third world, needtrade and fair trade practices, not aid or charity.And within our country we need economic reform to continuewithout it being held ransom to populism. The Congress Partyhas always had the interests of all its people and all itsgenerations at heart. Like our Petroleum Minister, Mr. ManiShanker Aiyar argued in his plea to hike the rates of fuel, “Tosatisfy one generation should we sacrifice the next?” Longterm planning and generational planning is necessary if Indiais to change its mindset. Old ideologies and their shibbolethsare not an answer. We need open minded people who respectan open society and who can assess India’s national interestover the next decade. People within the party willing to moveahead, taking the best from our democratic institutions andour capacity to gain from the global integration of markets.The Congress believes it can look for new ways to achieveequality and justice through constitutional and peacefulmeans. ❖4Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

HonouredOxford University Honours Prime MinisterConferment of Honorary Degree on PM, Dr. ManmohanSingh by Oxford University on July 8, 2005 (PMESJL-47)New Delhi: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has beenconferred with a honorary degree by the Oxford Universityon July 8. Following is the text of the acceptance speech bythe Prime Minister on that occasion :“I must at the outsetexpress my deep senseof shock and anger atthe terrorist attacks inLondon yesterday. Onbehalf of the people ofIndia and on my ownbehalf I convey my ownsincere condolences tothe families andfriends of thedeceased and thosewho have been injured.I also extend thesympathy andsolidarity of the peopleof India with the peopleof the United Kingdomin particular the citizens of London.I arrived here in the United Kingdom after dealing with theaftermath of yet another terrorist attack in India. It is clearonce again that terrorism is a global threat. Terrorismanywhere is a threat to peace, freedom, human dignity andcivilization every where. Terrorism is cowardice aimed at theinnocent people . It is fed on hatred and cynicism.Every time terrorists strike anywhere all of us who believe indemocracy and the rule of law must stand together and affirmour firm commitment to fight this scourge resolutely andunitedly. I sincerely hope that all of those who cherish andvalue open and free societies will join hands in the war againstterrorism wherever it is fought. I wish the people of Londonwell. I pray that their lives will soon return to normal andthey can resume their celebrations for having been chosenthe venue for the 2012 Olympics. This is an emotionalmoment for me. Oxford brings back many fond memories thatI cherish. For this reason, as much as for the intrinsic valueof the honour you bestow upon me, I am truly overwhelmed.I am grateful to you, Mr. Chancellor, and to your colleagues,for this honour. I have had the good fortune of receivingseveral honorary degrees. However, there can be nothingmore valuable than receiving an honorary degree from one’sown alma mater. To be so honoured by a university whereone has burnt theproverbial midnightoil to earn a regulardegree, is a mostfulfilling experience. Ithank you for it. Thisis a day I will trulycherish.The world haschanged beyondrecognition since Iwas a student here.Yet, some age-oldproblems endure.Developing countrieshave found a newvoice, a new statusand have acquired anew sense ofconfidence over the last few decades. As an Indian, I see arenewed sense of hope and purpose. This new optimism givesus Indians a sense of self-confidence and this shapes ourworld view today. It would be no exaggeration to suggest thatthe success of hundreds of young Indian students andprofessionals in Universities like Oxford, and elsewhere acrossthe world, has contributed to this renewed self-confidenceof a new India.The economics we learnt at Oxford in the 1950s was alsomarked by optimism about the economic prospects for thepost-War and post-colonial world. But in the 1960s and1970s, much of the focus of Development economics shiftedto concerns about the limits to growth. There wasconsiderable doubt about the benefits of international tradefor developing countries. I must confess that when I returnedhome to India, I was struck by the deep distrust of the worlddisplayed by many of my countrymen. We were influencedJuly, 2005Congress Sandesh5

Honouredby the legacy of our immediate past. Not just by the perceivednegative consequences of British imperial rule, but also bythe sense that we were left out in the cold by the Cold War.There is no doubt that our grievance against the BritishEmpire had a sound basis. As the painstaking statistical workof the Cambridge historian Angus Maddison has shown,India’s share of world income collapsed from 22.6% in 1700,almost equal to Europe’s share of 23.3% at that time, to aslow as 3.8% in 1952. Indeed, at the beginning of the 20thCentury, “the brightest jewel in the British Crown” was thepoorest country in the world in terms of per capita income.However, what is significant about the Indo-Britishrelationship is the fact that despite the economic impact ofcolonial rule, the relationship between individual Indians andBritons, even at the time of our Independence, was relaxedand, I may even say, benign.This was best exemplified by the exchange that MahatmaGandhi had here at Oxford in 1931 when he met members ofthe Raleigh Club and the Indian Majlis. The Mahatma was inEngland then for the Round Table Conference and during itsrecess, he spent two weekends at the home of A.D. Lindsay,the Master of Balliol. At this meeting, the Mahatma was asked:‘How far would you cut India off from the Empire?’ His replywas precise – ‘From the Empire, entirely; from the Britishnation not at all, if I want India to gain and not to grieve.’ Headded, ‘The British Empire is an Empire only because of India.The Emperorship must go and I should love to be an equalpartner with Britain, sharing her joys and sorrows. But it mustbe a partnership on equal terms.’ This remarkable statementby the Mahatma has defined the basis of our relationshipwith Britain.Jawaharlal Nehru echoed this sentiment when he urged theIndian Constituent Assembly in 1949 to vote in favour ofIndia’s membership of the Commonwealth. Nehru set the tonefor independent India’s relations with its former master whenhe intervened in the Constituent Assembly’s debate on Indiajoining the Commonwealth and said:‘I wanted the world to see that India did not lack faith inherself, and that India was prepared to co-operate even withthose with whom she had been fighting in the past providedthe basis of the co-operation today was honourable, that itwas a free basis, a basis which would lead to the good notonly of ourselves, but of the world also. That is to say, wewould not deny that co-operation simply because in the pastwe had fought and thus carry on the trail of our past karmaalong with us. We have to wash out the past with all its evil.’India and Britain set an example to the rest of the world inthe way they sought to relate to each other, thanks to thewisdom and foresight of Mahatma Gandhi and JawaharlalNehru. When I became the Finance Minister of India in 1991,our Government launched the Indo-British PartnershipInitiative. Our relationship had by then evolved to a stagewhere we had come to regard each other as partners. Today,there is no doubt in my mind that Britain and India are indeedpartners and have much in common in their approach to awide range of global issues.What impelled the Mahatma to take such a positive view ofBritain and the British people even as he challenged theEmpire and colonial rule? It was, undoubtedly, his recognitionof the elements of fair play that characterised so much ofthe ways of the British in India. Consider the fact that animportant slogan of India’s struggle for freedom was that ‘SelfGovernment is more precious than Good Government’. That,of course, is the essence of democracy. But the slogansuggests that even at the height of our campaign for freedomfrom colonial rule, we did not entirely reject the British claimto good governance. We merely asserted our natural right toself-governance.␣␣Today, with the balance and perspective offered by thepassage of time and the benefit of hindsight, it is possiblefor an Indian Prime Minister to assert that India’s experiencewith Britain had its beneficial consequences too. Our notionsof the rule of law, of a Constitutional government, of a freepress, of a professional civil service, of modern universitiesand research laboratories have all been fashioned in thecrucible where an age old civilisation met the dominantEmpire of the day. These are all elements which we still valueand cherish. Our judiciary, our legal system, our bureaucracyand our police are all great institutions, derived from British-Indian administration and they have served the country well.The idea of India as enshrined in our Constitution, withits emphasis on the principles of secularism, democracy,the rule of law and, above all, the equality of all humanbeings irrespective of caste, community, language orethnicity, has deep roots in India’s ancient civilisation.However, it is undeniable that the founding fathers of ourrepublic were also greatly influenced by the ideasassociated with the age of enlightenment in Europe. OurConstitution remains a testimony to the enduringinterplay between what is essentially Indian and what is6Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Honouredvery British in our intellectual heritage.The idea of India as an inclusive and plural society, draws onboth these traditions. The success of our experiment ofbuilding a democracy within the framework of a multi-cultural,multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious society willencourage all societies to walk the path we have trodden. Inthis journey, both Britain and India have learnt from eachother and have much to teach the world. This is perhaps themost enduring aspect of the Indo-British encounter.It used to be said that the sun never sets on the BritishEmpire. I am afraid we were partly responsible for sendingthat adage out of fashion! But, if there is one phenomenonon which the sun cannot set, it is the world of the Englishspeaking people, in which the people of Indian origin are thesingle largest component.Of all the legacies of the Raj, none is more important thanthe English language and the modern school system. That is,if you leave out cricket! Of course, people here may notrecognise the language we speak, but let me assure you thatit is English! In indigenising English, as so many people havedone in so many nations across the world, we have made thelanguage our own. Our choice of prepositions may not alwaysbe the Queen’s English; we might occasionally split theinfinitive; and we may drop an article here and add an extraone there. I am sure everyone will agree, however, that Englishhas been enriched by Indian creativity as well and we havegiven you R.K. Narayan and Salman Rushdie. Today, Englishin India is seen as just another Indian language.No Indian has paid a more poetic and generous tribute toBritain for this inheritance than Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.In the opening lines of his Gitanjali, Gurudev says:“The West has today opened its door.There are treasures for us to take.We will take and we will also give,From the open shores of India’s immense humanity.”To see the India - British relationship as one of ‘give andtake’, at the time when he first did so, was an act of courageand statesmanship. It was, however, also an act of greatforesight. As we look back and also look ahead, it is clearthat the Indo-British relationship is one of ‘give and take’.The challenge before us today is to see how we can take thismutually beneficial relationship forward in an increasinglyinter-dependent world.I wish to end by returning to my alma mater. Oxford, sincethe 19th century, has been a centre for Sanskrit learningand the study of Indian culture. The Boden professorship inSanskrit, and the Spalding professorship in Eastern Religionsand Ethics, stand testimony to the university’s commitmentto India and Indian culture. I recall with pride the fact thatthe Spalding professorship was held by two very distinguishedIndians: Dr S.Radhakrishnan, who later became the Presidentof India, and by Dr. Bimal Krishna Matilal. In the context ofthe study and preservation of Indian culture, I also wish torecall the contribution of another Oxonian, Lord Curzon, aboutwhose project to preserve and restore Indian monuments,Jawaharlal Nehru said, “After every other Viceroy has beenforgotten, Curzon will be remembered because he restoredall that was beautiful in India.”Many of those who were to rule India set course from Oxford.Some stayed behind to become India’s friends. Men likeEdward Thompson, Verrier Elwin and many others areremembered in India for their contribution to our life andsociety.I always come back to the city of dreaming spires and of lostcauses as a student. Mr Chancellor, I am here this time in allhumility as the representative of a great nation and a greatpeople. I am beholden to you, Mr Chancellor, and to my olduniversity for the honour that I receive today.Thank you.” ❖July, 2005Congress Sandesh7

Putin, Sonia Gandhi For BringingPeople CloserCP’s Russia VisitMOSCOW: The UPA Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi paid a fourdayvisit to Russia from 13 June on personal invitation of RussianPresident, Shri Vladimir Putin. In Moscow airport she wasaccorded a warm welcome.Deputy Foreign Minister, Shri Alexander Saltanov and DeputyRailway Minister, Shri Vladimir Yakunin gave her a red-carpetreception at the VVIP Vnukovo-2 airport. External Affairs Minister,Shri K. Natwar Singh accompanied her.In Moscow, she interacted with Russian Prime Minister, ShriMikhail Fradkov and addressed function at the elite “Centre ofNational Glory of Russia.” India’s Ambassador to Russia, ShriKanwal Sibal described the visit as “an exceptional gesture offriendship on the part of President, Shri Putin that reflects thehigh importance both sides attach to their relations.” The levelof reception is the highest Smt. Gandhi has been given abroad.On 13 June, Smt. Gandhi paid a visit to a place in Vladimir Region,east of Moscow where her father had been kept as PoW duringWorld War II.On 15 th June, Smt. Gandhi and Shri Putin held a meeting attendedby the External affairs Minister, Shri K. Natwar Singh. During themeeting, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Russian President, Shri VladimirPutin agreed to put greater emphasis on cultural exchangesbetween India and Russia to promote people-to-people contactand closer relations between the two societies.Welcoming Smt. Gandhi in the presidential KonstantinovskyPalace outside St. Petersburg, Shri Putin proposed holding a “Yearof Russia” in India in 2008 and a “Year of India” in Russia in2009. The numerous activities that would form part of thefestivals would help in bringing the people of the two nationstogether and further strengthen the relations, he said.Smt. Gandhi hailed the festival ideas as “wonderful,” adding: “Iwill personally involve myself in these activities.” She said thatalong with high-level official interaction between India and Russia,people-to-people contacts were very important as they helpeddevelop relations between civil societies of the two countries.Smt. Gandhi said the meeting with Shri Putin was the “highlight”of her visit to Russia, a first P-5 nation she is visiting after beingelected the UPA Chairperson. Shri Putin described Indo-Russianrelations as “developing in the best way possible” and noted thepacked political agenda between the two countries.The two leaders held discussion on many issues of mutualconcern, a statement from Smt. Gandhi said after the talks.The statement noted that India and Russia saw eye-to-eyeon the United Nations reforms and on making the SecurityCouncil more representative and reflective of contemporaryrealities.“As victims of terrorism, both India and Russia accept theneed to combat it without any compromise,” the statementsaid. “The need to control the proliferation of weapons ofmass destruction is manifest. The importance of the effectivegovernance of globalisation so that it delivers benefits to thepoor and the deprived is shared by both governments.” Smt.Gandhi hailed relations between India and Russia as “the only␣␣example in the post- World War II history of two major nationsmaintaining close and unbroken cooperation and friendshipover decades.”While noting that the cooperation in defence was traditionallystrong, she said the two Governments were exploring theopportunities in new sectors, such as energy and informationtechnologies. She supported Prime Minister, Dr. ManmohanSingh’s proposal to set up an Indo-Russian study group toexplore potentialities in bilateral cooperation.Smt. Gandhi said she was “taken aback” by the beauty ofRussian orthodox churches in Vladimir which she is visitingfor the first time. She said she wished her children couldcome with her. Even though they had been twice to thecountry, it has changed so much she was sure that they wouldwant to come again. Shri Putin warmly invited Smt. Gandhi’schildren and their families to visit Russia. Diplomatic sourcesdescribed the meeting as most cordial and fruitful.After lunch, Shri Putin in a gesture of exception, warmth andrespect took Smt. Gandhi on a boat trip to the Peterhoff, anarchitectural jewel of St. Petersburg famous for its imperialsummer palaces. There he personally conducted a guidedtour of historical gardens for her. ❖8Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

CP’s Russia VisitA Dialogue of CivilizationCP’s Address at the Centre of National Glory of Russia inMoscow on 13 June, 2005Mr. Yakunin,Mr. Melnik,Distinguished Guests,the Russian Federation, are home to a religion whose founder,Gautama Buddha, was born in India.The three Indians who have most shaped our vision ofnationalism were deeply influenced by your culture. TheFather of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, derived inspirationfrom Leo Tolstoy. India’s first Nobel Laureate, the great poetRabindranath Tagore often expressed his admiration forAlexander Pushkin. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehrumaintained life-long fascination with your achievements. Infact, he made his debut as an author with his book Travels inthe Soviet Union after his visit to Moscow in 1927.Closer to our times,- I know how much my mother-in-lawIndira Gandhi and my husband Rajiv Gandhi cherished thefriendship of our nations. President Putin has been to Indiathree times in the past four years and has himself experiencedour feelings and sentiments towards Russia.Ladies and Gentlemen,Thank you for your warm words of welcome. I am touchedby the affection that I have always received in Russia. I havebeen here many times over the past three decades and everytime I have been struck by the enormous goodwill that existsbetween the people of our two countries.In less than a decade, the Centre for National Glory hasestablished a prominent niche for itself in the globalintellectual arena. The initiative on the dialogue ofcivilizations, one session of which was held in India two yearsago, is most timely. It reminds us that the so-called “clashof civilizations” is not mankind’s fate or destiny. The dialogueis as ambitious as it is imperative. It is continuing voyageamidst many squalls and storms, but there is simply noalternative to being determined in our pursuit.As deeply multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-linguistic andmulti-cultural societies, we are both defined by our pluralities.We are both societies where modernity co-exists withtradition, where our respective histories still play a profoundrole. Both our countries have remarkably vibrant traditionsin literature, music, arts and architecture. We are economiesin transition and transformation. Both have emphasized therole of science and technology in promoting public welfareand well-being. We are countries facing the scourge ofextremism, separatism and terrorism. We agree that terrorismmust be fought collectively, resolutely and consistentlywithout any double standards. We speak in one voice on theRussia and India have been bound together for decades by aspecial relationship. This relationship has been one ofunusual resilience, stability and continuity despite greatchanges in the international and domestic environments. Andwhy just decades? The famous merchant-adventurer AfanasiyNikitin of Tver traveled extensively across India half amillennium ago. The Kalmyk, Buryat and Tuva Republics inJuly, 2005Congress Sandesh9

CP’s Russia Visitneed to strengthen the forces of multilateralism in the conductof world affairs. We are working together to make the UnitedNations truly representative so as to enhance its politicalcredibility and moral authority.Sonia Gandhi InauguratesMankapur FacilityIndia’s experience as a nation-state over the past five and ahalf decades, demonstrates that diversities can be managedbest in the framework of parliamentary democracy. Ourexperience also demonstrates that these diversities canflourish while maintaining the bonds of national unity. Ofcourse, we have to battle prejudice and confront bigotry. Butbecause the underlying spirit of mutual amity andaccommodation is so very strong amongst the Indian people,we have been able to be one and many at the same time.We are home to all of the religions of the world and as aresult the foundations of secularism are firmly embedded inour soil. In every respect, India is a living embodiment of notjust the dialogue but also the confluence of civilizations.There are forces of divisiveness and hatred in the world,forces that don’t want people and nations to live in peaceand harmony with one another. Violence and conflagrationsare widespread, in which women and children in particularare hapless victims. The spectre of weapons of massdestruction continues to loom large and global disarmamentremains a mirage. In this connection, I recall that my latehusband Rajiv Gandhi had unveiled a detailed plan to achievethis objective in 1988 at the United Nations. That planremains relevant even today. Globalisation, in the absenceof effective institutions for its governance, poses grave socialrisks as much as it offers tangible economic benefits. Thepace of scientific and technological advance is spectacular.The spread of communications spells the demise of bothdistance and time. Yet, it is precisely at such a time ofawesome material progress, that the world is most urgentlyin need of rediscovering the wellsprings of compassion,conciliation and co-operation.With so much in common between Russia and India, civilsociety and the intellectual community in both countries arenatural partners in this “dialogue of civilizations”. Thiscollaboration will, I am sure, illuminate the way out of thedark tunnels of animosities and antagonisms, of conflicts andconfrontations.Once again, may I thank you for the opportunity of being withGONDA (MANKAPUR): The National Advisory Councilchairperson and Congress President, Smt Sonia Gandhion 7 July inaugurated a mobile equipment manufacturingyou this morning. ❖10Congress SandeshJuly, 2005␣␣unit of ITI here in Gonda district. Smt. Gandhi is on a threedaytour of Uttar Pradesh.Smt. Gandhi said that, “the thrust to technologyenhancement is very essential for the growth of thecountry. The revival package for ITI is aimed to help thecountry move ahead in the science and technology sector”.Later, Smt. Gandhi handed over the first base terminalstation (BTS) manufactured by ITI in association withFrench major Alcatel at Mankapur to Bharat Sanchar NigamLimited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited.French telecome giant Alcatel will invest up to 500 millionEuro (about Rs. 2,650 crore) in India over the next fouryears and take the headcount at its research anddevelopment facility here to 2,000.“Alcatel will invest 400 to 500 million euro in India in thenext three to four years,” Union Communications and ITMinister Dayanidhi Maran told reporters after theinauguration of the GSM mobile phone equipmentmanufacturing facility. The investments by Alcatel in Indiawill be in manufacturing, research and development andallied activities. ❖

CoverstorySecularism, Harmony and DevelopmentDr. Ravni ThakurJawahar Lal Nehru writing in the Discovery of India pointed outhow India’s cultural and civilisational history is a wonderful mosaicof different philosophies, languages and of course religions. Indiais a celebration of difference. India’s constitutional Secularism isfundamental to the continuation of this multi- harmoniousintermingling that creates the composite nation India. It is thecrucial link for achieving harmony and development.Under the NDA regime Secularism was constantly attacked bythe BJP and its frontal organizations. They attacked it on thegrounds that India was a Hindu majority country and should begoverned by the rules laid down in the religious shastras. HinduDharam ki Raksha against the Muslims and Christians. They didnot just attack secularism, they demonstrated in action in Gujaratand in the murder of Graham Staines and his children what theymeant by a Hindu Rashtra. They showed their grossly distastefuland personalized attacks on Smt. Sonia Gandhi. They attackedthe Left for being anti-religious and anti-national and theCongress of being minority appeasers.All fascist, totalitarian and ideologically driven parties divide theworld into a us and them model. The ‘us’ is, depending on theflavour of the ideology, those of the same religion, those of thesame caste, those of the same class, etc. The ‘them’ is the enemy,constantly to be demonized through propaganda. Within the nationstate this hampers both harmony and development. It createscleavages where none exist. It creates enemies where none exist.A look at history shows us that totalitarian ideologies are basicallyflawed because they attempt to brainwash people into believingin only one truth, one God or one leader. Perhaps they have beensuitable in other countries, but in India they go against the veryethos that makes India a successful democracy and today a risingeconomy.Secularism and Democracy stand at the opposite ends oftotalitarian ideologies. For the BJP it represents its antithesis.Let me quote Pundit Nehru from a 1961 speech of his where hesays:We talk of a secular state in India. It is perhaps not very easyeven to find a good word in Hind for ‘secular’. Some people thinkthat it means something opposed to religion. That obviously isnot correct. What it means is that it is a state which honours allfaiths equally and gives them equal opportunities; that is as astate, it does not allow itself to be attached to one faith or religion,which then becomes the state religion.Nehruji spells out what secularismmeans clearly here. It is not adisrespect for religion but equalrespect for all religions. India hasalways been a welcoming and opensociety. That is why since timesimmemorial we have given shelterto all those who came to our shores.Be they Parsis, Christians orMuslims and more recently Tibetans. In turn we have exportedour religions to the world. South- East Asia, China and Japantook to Buddhism and practice it even while the faith has dieddown in India. Indian secularism is tied to India’s ethos of peaceand harmony. We have never been a military power and haveinstead conquered the world through our trade and our spiritualityand free expression.India’s sense of nationhood is inextricably linked to its ownphilosophical history. A mode of viewing society, one’s own cultureand those of others that is closely tied to how we envisage theidea of India. While some want the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,some want a Hindu Rashtra, the Congress Party wants to maintainthe status quo. A system that has proved to be resilient and strong.A system built on the four pillars of a free judiciary, a free press,multi-parties and the separation of the army from politics. In otherwords India as a Democracy. Today the BJP finds itself at crossroadsonce again. Advani the main ideologue of the Hindutvahard-line seeks to reinvent not just himself but also the BJP. TheBJP wants to turn away from RSS. Does this also mean that theBJP will respect secularism. Mr. Advani who feted Modi, will henow take Modi to task. Ideological parties do not change theirstripes unless they see a gain at the other end.This does not mean that social contradictions and differences donot exist in society. India is a country of huge inequalities. Thoseof caste being closely linked to poverty and deprivation. The dalitsand tribals still count as the largest section of the poor and everyday we hear stories of atrocities committed against them as acommunity. The Congress realizes that true democracy alsomeans a fight against economic and social deprivation. This isclearly stated in our CMP and put in practice in the allocationsmade for the social sector in the budget. Democracy must survivebut poverty must be eradicated. ❖July, 2005Congress Sandesh11

Economically Vital ProjectSpeechSonia GandhiFollowing is Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi’sspeech during the inauguration of the SethusamudramProject on Saturday, 2 nd July 2005 at Madurai, Tamil Nadu.Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singhji,Thiru Karunanidhiji,Governor SS Barnalaji,Thiru TR Baalu,Distinguished guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,Today, we realize a 150-year old dream.The Sethusamudram project has been talked about all theseyears, but little was done to make it a working reality.Now, the Congress-led UPA governmentat the Centre, a government in which theDMK, the PMK and the MDMK are alliesand partners, has moved ahead decisivelyto bring to realization this technologychallenging and economically vitalproject. It is a project that will benefitlakhs of people through the creation ofnew jobs. It will stimulate trade andnavigation, and encourage tourism andother economic activity.The ambitious project has important national, regional andstragetic implications as it provides a continuous navigablesea lane running within our territorial waters. Tamil Nadu,particularly its southern districts, stands to gain significantly.Its coastal economy and its maritime trade will be boosted.I am aware that environmentalists have raised some issues.Fears have been expressed about the impact on coral reefs,for example. I am confident that the project authorities arealive and sensitive to these concerns and will implement theproject in a manner that protects and preserves the localecology.The fishermen communities also will need to be paidparticular attention. These communities, as the recenttsunami tragedy starkly reminded us, are amongst the mostvulnerable sections of our society. They need our care andconcern, and we must make sure that their interests areIt is a project that willbenefit lakhs of peoplethrough the creation ofnew jobs. It willstimulate trade andnavigation, andencourage tourism andother economic activity.protected, and that their welfare is central to our endeavours.When the tsunami struck the southern coast, we shared inyour sorrow and worked hard to ensure that the lakhs offamilies affected by the unprecedented calamity wereprovided adequate relief as quickly as possible. Our countryhad not seen a natural disaster of this magnitude and theprocess of rehabilitation and reconstruction is a continuingone. We are committed to implementing these plans speedily.Today’s youth is very keen on IT. We have ensured thatsoftware is now available in Tamil so that young boys andgirls from all over the state can acquire computer skills andliteracy. Our Government has already give Tamil the statusof a classical language.Our UPA government under theleadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh hasinitiated a food for work programme in anumber of districts in Tamil Nadu.Desalinization Plant␣␣for drinking water inChennai. Cotton yarn and garment havebeen exempted by ‘cenvat’ which shouldhelp millions of weavers. A majorAutomobile Testing Institute has beensanctioned. It is a project of 2000crores. Special schemes for leatherdevelopment has also been announced. Tamil Nadu has beencovered by the National Rural Health Mission.I could enumerate other programmes and projects that theUPA has introduced in Tamil Nadu but this is not the occasionto do so. What I do want to convey is the special positionthat Tamil Nadu occupies in the UPA. Dr. KalaignarKarunanidhi himself is one of the main architects of the UPAand he has helped guide our coalition over the past year.Once again, let me say how happy I am that theSethusamudram project is being launched today. Icongratulate and thank Thiru TR Baalu and all thoseassociated with this historic project. It is truly a day ofsatisfaction, a historic moment for Tamil Nadu and for thecountry.Thank you. ❖12Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Sethusamudram ProjectPM Inaugurates Sethusamudram ProjectMADURAI: As Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh pressed the buttonhere on 2 July, signalling the beginning of work on the Rs. 2,427.40crore Sethusamudram channel.Three-and-a-half years from now, the project expected to act as acatalyst of industrial development, spur trade and commerce, promotecoastal shipping and generate employment, will be ready to receivethe first vessel.The project, whose first proposal dates back to 1860, is also ofstrategic importance. “This channel will be a bridge with ourneighbours,” said the Prime Minister. “I hope this project will benefitnot only us but (also) our neighbours. All of us have a common andshared destiny. Their prosperity is our prosperity; their welfare isour welfare.”Dr. Singh describedthe project as “one ofthe most ambitiousever to be conceivedin the Indian portsector” and said theinauguration of thework constitutedfulfillment of one ofthe promises madein the CommonM i n i m u mProgramme. “I amcertain that thepeople of this regionwill, in a few yearstime, see their livestransformed for thebetter by this project,” he said.The Centre was keen on developing ports with all forms of investment,from both the private and public sectors. “Over the next few years,we expect to see major transformation of all our ports, large andsmall, whether for shipping or for fishing,” he said.Dr. Singh announced the setting up of a world-class automobiletesting facility near Chennai. “This will be a major project that willattract huge investment both directly and indirectly. It will give aboost to Tamil Nadu’s already developed automotive sector. Let TamilNadu be a rival to Detroit in future,” he said.United Progressive Alliance chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi said thecoastal economy and maritime trade would receive a boost once theproject was complete.Describing the project as “technologically challenging andeconomically vital,” she said it would benefit lakhs of people throughthe creation of new jobs. “It is truly a day of satisfaction, a historicmoment for Tamil Nadu and for the country.”Smt. Gandhi said she was aware of the environmental issues involvedand added that she was confident that the project authorities were“alive and sensitive” to these concerns.“The fishermen communities also will need to be paid particularattention … They need our care and concern, and we must makesure that theirinterests areprotected, and thattheir welfare iscentral to ourendeavours,” shesaid.She said Tamil Naduhad a specialposition in the UPA.“What I do want toconvey is thespecial position thatTamil Naduoccupies in theUPA. Dr. KalaignarKarunanidhi (DMKpresident) himself isone of the main architects of the UPA and he has helped guide ourcoalition over the past year,” she said.Shri M. Karunanidhi detailed the long struggle from the time C.N.Annadurai was Chief Minister before the project was taken up forimplementation.The project envisages dredging of a ship channel in the shallowposition of the sea to the south of Tamil Nadu to connect the Gulf ofMannar and the Bay of Bengal through the Palk Strait so that shipsmoving between the east and west coasts could have a straightpassage within India’s territorial waters, instead of having to go aroundSri Lanka. ❖July, 2005Congress Sandesh13

Congress Condemn Terrorist AttackAyodhyaNEW DELHI: Condemning the terrorist attack at Ayodhya on 5July, the Congress said it was clearly designed to inflamecommunal passions. Congress urged the people to maintain calmand criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party for trying to politicizethe incident.Expressing the nation’s gratefulness to the paramilitary forcesfor foiling the terrorist attempt, the Congress said it always treatedsuch incidents as a threat to the secular fabric of the country,and acted in the best interests of the country’s integrity and unity.The Congress Media Chairpersons, Smt. Ambika Soni said thatthe nation is grateful that our para-military forces have once againproved their mettle and foiled the attack of terrorists at Ayodhyaand thereby prevented a serious situation being created. Thisattempt by the terrorists was a blatant effort to disturb the peaceand tranquility of the country.The Congress Party has at all times treated such incidents as athreat to the secular fabric of the country and has acted in thebest interests of the country’s integrity and unity. This wasdemonstrated when terrorists attacked the Parliament of India,the J&K Assembly, the Akshardham Temple, the RaghunathTemple, many army camps and other vulnerable places, killinglarge number of our innocent citizens. Congress Party neverUnite and Fight Divisive ForcesMANKAPUR(UP): National Advisory Council chairperson, Smt. SoniaGandhi on 7 July asked the Opposition parties not to politicize theattack at Ayodhya and urged the people to maintain communalharmony.“What has happened at Ayodhy␣ a is not a political issue but anissue that concerns the entire country and harmony. Acts like thishurt the very soul of India. The perpetrators of this act are enemiesof this country and society,” she said.Smt. Gandhi was speaking at a function held here to inaugurate amobile equipment manufacturing unit of ITI at Manakapur in Gondadistrict. Everyone should unite and stand like a rock against thedivisive forces so that their evil designs were throttled and theycould not rear their ugly heads again.Smt. Gandhi complimented the security personnel who foughtvaliantly. “I wish {them} speedy recovery so that they can onceagain serve the nation with their head held high.” ❖- Sonia Gandhipoliticized such dastardly acts of terrorism. The Congress Partyunder the leadership of Smt. Sonia Gandhi always kept thenational interest supreme. It always extended categorical supportto the then government in office to take necessary steps forpreserving peace and national security, said Smt. Soni.The Congress Party appeals to all the citizens of the country to standunited and consolidate the democratic and secular ethos of the nation.The Congress Party resolves once again to carry on its relentlessfight against terrorism, added Smt. Ambika Soni. ❖Do Not Politicise Attack: PMNEW DELHI: Condemning the militant attack on “the disputedsite” at Ayodhya as an act of terrorism, Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh on 5 th July mobilized government resources toensure that “communal harmony, peace and public order” weremaintained, especially in view of the Bharatiya Janata Party’splan to organize nationwide protests.Soon after the attack, Dr. Singh cancelled his trip to Gujarat to␣␣assess flood damage and summoned the Cabinet Committee onSecurity. It was decided to alert the State Governments toincrease protection and security at religious places, securityinstallations and monuments. He spoke to Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav and offered all help in copingwith the aftermath of the incident.After a late night meeting of the Cabinet’s Political AffairsCommittee, Dr. Singh described the attack as one aimed at“destabilizing our society and polity.” He said “the Governmentis determined to deal firmly with all such acts␣ ” and “there willbe no compromise on terrorism. Let there be no doubt on thisaccount in anybody’s mind.”According to Defence Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, at theCCS meeting Dr. Singh expressed the hope that the incident wouldnot be politicized.There is satisfaction that the security forces acted effectivelyand foiled the attack. The Government’s thinking was bestreflected in Mr. Mukherjee’s statement: “We have been able toprotect the place, and all the attackers were killed. The CRPFwas in the inner circle and they ensured not a single attackerwas allowed to escape. Efforts are on to establish their identityand in between we should dissuade all those who attempt todisrupt peace and tranquility.” ❖14Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Tonk Firing A Barbarous ActReportSonia GandhiMeena, and Congress general secretaries, Shri Ashok Gehlotand Shri Mukul Wasnik. The Pradesh Congress Committeepresident, Shri B.D. Kalla, and former Deputy Chief MinistersSmt. Kamla and Bhanwarilal Bairwa were also present.Smt. Gandhi’s visit came as a good augury to the griefstrickenvillages like Bhawdi, Jheerana and Sehola as it wasaccompanied by torrential pre-monsoon showers. Theparched fields all along the 100 km stretch of NationalHighway 12 from Jaipur to Tonk too got their share of waterby the time her helicopter took off around 2 p.m.At Jheerana, outside the residence of Ramnarain, Smt. Gandhiasked former Minister, Shri Harendra Mirdha what “else wecould do for the family”. When Shri Mirdha pointed it out toher that Bhanwarlal, the son of the deceased, was a graduate,she sought details. At other places also Smt. Gandhi saidshe would try to do something to provide jobs to the kin ofthe victims.TONK (RAJASTHAN): The Congress President, Smt. SoniaGandhi on 23 June termed the police action on farmers whichled to five deaths here last week as a barbarous act whichdeserved condemnation.The way they were fired upon … it is shocking. One cannotunderstand why and how it was done,” Smt. Gandhi saidtalking briefly to media persons outside the district hospital,the last destination during her visit to Tonk.The people to whom Smt Gandhi talked complained to her ofwater scarcity in the fluoride-affected district and the breachof promise made by the State Government on providing themwith the water of Bisalpur project. They also told her aboutthe false cases being registered against the local people afterthe cathartic agitation of June 13. ❖Smt. Gandhi, who visited the families of the deceased in theirvillages, handed over Rs. 1 lakh in cash and draft of Rs. 1lakh each – as an equal contribution from the All IndiaCongress Committee and the Pradesh Congress Committee.She promised to look into the chances for providing jobs tomembers of the families of the victims.Smt. Gandhi also visited the Tonk district hospital to meetpersons who were admitted with serious injuries in the policefiring and handed over Rs. 10,000 to each of the injured.Observing that there was an enormous need of water in thearea, she said if the local authorities or the State couldformulate any project on drinking water, the Centre wouldsupport it.Smt. Gandhi was accompanied from Delhi by two UnionMinisters from Rajasthan, Shri Sisram Ola and NamonarainJuly, 2005Congress Sandesh15

Showers of Rain and EmpathyOpinionPraveen DavarFor a people reeling under drought the whirlwind visit of CongressPresident to Tonk on June 23 was a divine gift. Within minutes of Smt.Sonia Gandhi’s arrival in this central eastern district of Rajasthancommenced a heavy downpour, not only in Tonk, but almost all over thestate. “Soniaji aayin, barish laayin” became more of a reality than amere slogan amongst the rural folk.The Congress President decided to visit Tonk to console families offarmers killed in police firing in Sohila village on June 13 as also makean on-the-spot assessment of the water scarcity being faced by thefarmers. As the Vasundhara Raje government failed to take any steptowards fulfillment of its election promise, the farmers felt cheated anddecided to launch a peaceful agitation against the state government onJune 13. It was during this agitation that police resorted to unprovokedfiring to disperse the crowd that killed four young farmers and one womanstanding in a balcony, a hundred metres from the spot.Soon after the tragic incident the Pradesh Congress led by its President,Dr. B. D. Kalla swung into action and demanded a compensation of Rs.5 lakhs and a job per family of each killed. Demonstrations were held allover the state under the leadership of DCC Presidents which yieldedthe desired result: the Vasundhara Raje government acceded to thedemand of the Pradesh Congress in totality.The Congress President, who visited the families of each of the fivevictims spread over three villages – Bawari, Jharana and Sohila – arrivedfrom Jaipur in the morning. Nearly 5000 people, far above theexpectations of the organizers and security agencies, greeted Smt. SoniaGandhi at the Bawari helipad.Overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the crowd, the Congress Presidentwent around the whole barricade encircling the helipad and spoke tothe rural folk, halting regularly after every few steps, exhibiting greatconcern and sympathy. “We want water from Bisalpur” was the demandof everyone who managed to have his voice heard by the CongressPresident. Many others, including women, demanded penal actionagainst policemen who fired the fatal shots.Smt. Sonia Gandhi, who was accompanied by AICC General Secretaries,Shri Ashok Gehlot and Shri Mukul Wasnik, was received at the helipadby the PCC President, Dr. B. D. Kalla, Union Ministers, Shri Shish RamOla and Shri Namo Narain Meena, the DCC President, Shri Banwari LalBairwa and Capt. Praveen Davar, Secretary AICC, besides Zila Pramukhand local Congress leaders.From the helipad the Congress President drove to Bawari village andmet the family of the deceased Om Prakash Malli (40) who was thefather of 5 children. Condoling Om Prakash’s widow Soniaji said: ”HumPani Layenge, and gave her Rs. 2 lakhs raised by the party for providingrelief to the victims families.” From Bawari the Congress President’scavalcade motored to Jhirana village where it started raining heavilythe moment Smt. Sonia Gandhi left the house of the first victim, MadanJat (22), whose death at a young age of 22, was perhaps the mosttouching and unfortunate of all the five victims. By the time Smt. SoniaGandhi left Jhirana, where she consoled families of two other victims.Ram Narain (48) and Ram Kishan (32) – the␣␣village was flooded withknee deep waters. Completely drenched the Congress President andher team left Jhirana for Sohila village where she met the family ofHansa Devi, who was killed by a stray bullet.The Congress President wound up her visit by meeting all the injuredadmitted in the District and made enquiries about their treatment. Shealso sought details about the incident from injured who told her that thepolice had fired without any warning.Speaking to the media, later, Smt. Sonia Gandhi described the policefiring as “barbaric” and “shocking”. In reply to another question sheassured that the central government would provide all assistance if thestate government sent any worthwhile proposal for irrigation.The Congress President presented Rs. 2 lakhs each to the families ofthe five killed and Rs. 10,000 each to the eleven injured. “Spend thismoney for educating your children”, she advised the widow of RamNarain.This was Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s first visit to Rajasthan after the last LokSabha elections. Besides providing renewed hope to the farmers whoconsidered her coming as “auspicious”, the Congress President’s visitbreathed new life in the rank and file of the Pradesh Congress which,under a new leadership, is gearing up to fight the anti-farmer and antipoorpolicies of the Vasundhara Raje government with renewed vigourand determination. ❖16Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Sow The SeedsChina’s economic reforms started with the aim of substantiallyincreasing agricultural production and raising peasant incomes.India has much to learn from this model.In 1978 when Deng Xiaoping started on his economic reforms, it was toagriculture that he turned. He had already supported limited privateplots along with Liu Shaoqi in 1961-62 after the Great Leap Forward of1958 failed to deliver on its promises. The communes floundered largelybecause of unrealistic targets and even more unrealistic claims.The ideological hype of catching up with Britain, the practice of meltingpots to make steel in the backyard steel furnaces just left the peasants,weary and starving. This coupled with a drought led to hundreds dyingof famine. China’s much touted commune model was first called afailure by none other than the great Eighth Route army general andMao’s comrade-in-arms, Marshal Peng Dehuai, at the LushanConference of 1959. He of course, lost his job. During this period, andduring the Cultural Revolution, all that mattered was quotations fromthe Red Book. The economy could go hang itself. And it did.Deng’s reform started in a limited fashion with what came to be calledthe household contract responsibility system, where peasant familieswere expected to provide the State with a fixed amount of produce andwere allowed to sell the rest in the open market. The aims of thereformers were to revitalize and substantially increase agriculturalproduction and to raise peasant incomes by making the householdresponsible for its own welfare and success. This was the first stage,where land remained in the name of the State but peasants were allowedto contract land and effectively use them as family plots.The combined efforts of these reforms was to increase rural incomesby a factor of three. The year 1983-84 saw the first 10,000 yuanhouseholds. Suddenly, the peasants were rich if one keeps in mind thefact that urban private enterprise remained limited to the free tradezones along China’s east coast. These successful peasant families werefeted in the press and almost overnight, it became glorious to be rich.For the first time, rural incomes were higher than in urban areas.Here Deng was far-sighted. He went in for economic reforms beforepolitical reforms. This small scale privatization was followed by consistentattempts to develop town and village enterprises. It is this sector thatIndia can learn from – the development of small towns from a cluster ofvillages, the diversification of the rural economy by creating commercialenterprises, especially small scale manufacturing units which service alargely local economy; encouraging and supporting the manufacturesector at all levels wherever possible. China was able to do this, becauseViewpoint- Dr. Ravni Thakurits free trade and industrial zones were catering largely to an exportmarket while its old industrial areas in the North West – towns likeShenyang – were tied down by inefficient State management and theunwillingness of the State to continue supporting loss-makingenterprises.The State provided exactly what it should be providing – an expandingand efficient development of infrastructure such as highways, ruralconnectivity, fast trains and avenues for training manpower in differentsectors. China’s rural reform strategy served a dual purpose. It allowedthe creation of new areas of development, created surplus labour for itsmassive industrial and manufacturing sector and took industrialdevelopment into smaller areas. Second, it kept a check on rural tourban migration.China always maintained its urban cradle-to-grave welfare scheme bykeeping 80 percent of its peasants confined to rural areas through whatwas known as the household registration system (Hukou Zhindu). Thissystem was further maintained by the coupon system for grain, cottonand other daily necessities. One could only get coupons if one wasregistered as a native of the place. Thus in Beijing, you would need aBeijing registration. This too has changed today. China’s floating ormigrant population made up of millions of surplus rural labour, providesthe manpower for its rapid economic advancement.Small towns are fast turning into big towns and cities like Beijing andShanghai compete with the best in the world. China’s aim with ruralindustrialization is to turn its 70:30 rural-urban population into a 50:50.Two things stand out in this reform process. A single-mindeddetermination coupled with China not being afraid of foreign investment.Land still hasn’t been privatized. It is leased by the State on long-termleases and can be further leased. A 1999 land use law also restrictsthe conditions under which land can be taken out of cultivation of grainfor commercial purposes. Unfair and hidden taxes also remain a problem,where in some areas they can go as high as 50 percent of the householdincome. But there is debate in China about how soon peasants andrural entrepreneurs will be able to legitimately buy land, like they cannow buy urban houses, leading to the final re-emergence of ‘privateproperty’.These debates are further accompanied by grassroots democracy, whereelections have been held directly at the village and county levels. China’sexperiment with democracy, like its experiments with the liberalizationof the economy, are also starting from the rural areas. And if the economyis anything to go by, this too will succeed. ❖July, 2005Congress Sandesh17

India’s Contribution AcknowledgedVisitPRETORIA: India’s significant contribution to South Africa’sliberation struggle was warmly and publicly acknowledgedat the public function here on 26 June to mark the 50 thanniversary of the ‘Freedom Charter’. The celebration washeld in kliptown in Soweto where this remarkable documentwas adopted and was attended by about ten thousandpersons, including Cabinet Ministers, provincial leaders,veterans, diplomats and media. India was the only foreigncountry invited to participate and was represented by ShriAnand Sharma, MP and official spokesperson of INC, whohad been actively involved in India’s efforts to support theanti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. He was given thesignal honour of addressing the large gathering which wasalso addressed by President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki.In his remarks, Shri Sharma paid tribute to the sacrifices madeby the courageous South African people to win their freedom.He said that Indian people and its Government had felt a natural“sense of solidarity with the just cause of a struggle for humandignity and freedom”. India had been in the forefront of itssupporters, being the first to impose sanctions against theApartheid regime – a remark greeted by wide applause. Manyothers in the international community had also taken up SouthAfrica’s cause. He, thus, felt privileged to be representing allthose who had supported South Africa from outside. The newSouth Africa symbolized the “triumph of human spirit over therepressive apartheid regime which had been rightly describedas a crime against humanity” and India was proud of having hadthe chance to contribute to this triumph.President Mbeki acknowledged the special solidarity betweenIndia and South Africa warmly in his address. He said that ShriSharma represented the “solidarity and support of the peoplesof the world, as exemplified by the Indian people”. He mentionedthat his presence was symbolic of the fact that ‘the Indian andSouth Africa people can and do claim parentage of a most eminentand historic human being, Mahatma Gandhi”. He reaffirmed “theunbreakable ties of solidarity that unite the peoples and liberationmovements of India and South Africa”. He spoke of the shared“commitment to join hands with the poor of the world to achievethe objective of a better life for all, globally”, referring to thesubstantial potential for cooperation between the two countriesbilaterally as well as multilaterally. ❖Sonia Gandhi Inaugurates NewMetro Corridor␣␣NEW DELHI: The United Progressive Alliance chairpersonand Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi on 2 Julyinaugurated the 7-km long Central Secretariat- KashmereGate underground corridor of the Delhi Metro.Smt. Gandhi lauded the role of all Metro workers andofficials in doing a fine job and said that Delhi’s face wouldchange with the expansion of the Metro network. Metrowould help in reducing congestion and ensuring thatpeople reach their places of work on time, Smt. Gandhisaid.Smt. Gandhi also made a fervent plea to the people toensure cleanliness, safety and upkeep of the system sothat it attains real succes and the coming generationsbenefit from it. ❖Ramesh Chennithala is NewKerala PCC ChiefThe Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi on 24 th Junehas approved the name of Shri Ramesh Chennithala, ex-MP, as the new President of Kerala Pradesh CongressCommittee in place of Shri T. Balakrishna Pillai withimmediate effect, according to a press release signed byAICC general secretary, Shri Janardan Dwivedi, MP. ❖18Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Strides in Look East PolicyReport- Rejaul Karim LashkarThe end of the Cold War has necessitated a profound shift in India’sforeign policy orientation. During the heydays of the Soviet Union, Indiacould bank, reliably, on the strong support of the former although it gotsubstantial support from the western world too, thanks to its policy ofNon-Alignment. But the collapse of the Soviet Union has made itimperative for India to look elsewhere to fill the vaccum created by thestoppage or at least substantial reduction in economic and strategicsupport it got from the former. Hence, apart from strengtheningeconomic and strategic cooperation with US, Israel, EU and China, theushering in a new chapter of relationship with the Southeast Asiancountries has become one of the most important goals of India’s foreignpolicy since the end of the cold war. The ‘Look East Policy’ is theframework through which this goal is sought to be achieved.The ‘Look East Policy’ was unveiled by the Congress Government inthe early nineties. There is a three-pronged approach in the ‘Look EastPolicy’. First, to renew political contacts with the ASEAN-membernations; second, to increase economic interaction with South East Asiain trade, investment, science and technology, tourism, etc.; and third,to forge strategic and defence links with several countries of SouthEast Asia. The success of the foreign policy of the Congress Governmentis indicated by the way this ‘Look East Policy’ bore fruit quickly. InJanuary 1992, India was able to establish the first institutional linkagewith ASEAN by becoming a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in specificareas like trade, investment, science and technology and training. Theinstitutional linkage was upgraded in 1995 when India became a fulldialogue partner of ASEAN. In 1996, the institutional linkage was furtherupgraded when India was admitted in ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) asa full dialogue partner. Since this ARF deals with security issues andhas a tremendous clout in Asia Pacific region, its membership is ofimmense strategic significance.But unfortunately, the NDA Government could not upgrade India’sinstitutional linkage with ASEAN significantly. Though it tried to getIndia included in the ASEAN+3 but the member countries of the ASEANturned down the request on the plea that India did not fall under the‘Geographical scope of East Asia’. This lackluster performance of NDAgovernment’s Foreign Policy is due to, among other things, imbalancesin the foreign policy whereby it concentrated excessively on somecountries to the neglect of others.But the present UPA Government, which commits itself by the commonminimum programme to promote multi-polarity in world relations andto intensify relationships with the East Asian countries, has alreadystarted to remove this imbalance in foreign policy. This is evident fromthe way this government is giving due attention to India’s relation withASEAN. Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh himself came to Guwahatito flag off the India-ASEAN car rally. This car rally, which passed throughMayanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singaporebefore concluding at Batam, Indonesia, will apart from generatinggoodwill between India and the members of ASEAN will provideopportunity to explore road linkage between India and ASEAN countries,attract commercial interest in the infrastructure along the route andpromote investment, tourism, etc., and will ultimately lead to economicintegration between India and ASEAN. Economic integration betweenIndia and ASEAN, apart from being conducive to the economicdevelopment of the country, is critically important for the developmentof North East India.In addition to the obvious economic benefits of closer cooperationbetween India and ASEAN, the strategic benefits are not less significant.Since India has defined its region of strategic importance as extendingfrom Malacca Straits to the Persian Gulf, the relationship with ASEANhas got substantial strategic significance. The need to ensure that arising China does not geopardise India’s interest has further enhancedthis significance.The UPA Government, true to its commitment towards national interest,understands this significance. And this is the reason Prime Minister,Dr. Manmohan Singh has concluded the historic ‘ASEAN-IndiaPartnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity’ pact with leadersof the ASEAN countries at the third India- ASEAN summit at Vientine onNovember 30, 2004. This agreement – which outlines a multi-prongedaction plan for boosting trade, investment, tourism, culture, sports andpeople to people contacts – will not only go a long way towards economicintegration between India and ASEAN but will also further India’s multifacetedstrategic interest. The plan to “build institutional linkages forintelligence and information sharing, exchange of information andcooperation in legal and enforcement matters” and to “exploredeveloping anti-terrorism cooperation and assistance packages coveringamong others immigration controls, customs cooperation, land, air andsea safety” will contribute immensely to India’s national security fromthe menace of international terrorism. The agreement “to foster closercooperation in reforming and democratizing United Nations andinstitutions under it by making them more reflective of the contemporaryrealities” will greatly help India in its endeavour to get a permanentseat in the UN Security Council with veto power. Hence, it is clear thatthe UPA Government is not only making great stride in the ‘Look EastPolicy’, it is also ensuring that this policy contribute substantially to theultimate objective of promoting national interest. ❖(The writer is spokesman of Assam Pradesh Youth Congress. Theviews expressed here are his own.)July, 2005Congress Sandesh19

Rahul Gandhi’s BirthdayRemeberenceSpecial Poojas Performed • Blood Donation CampHYDERABAD: The National Students union of India, under theleadership of its AP unit general secretary, Shri M. Anil KumarYadav and son of Shri Anjan Kumar Yadav, MP from Secundrabad,conducted a blood donation camp at Narayanaguda here on 19June on the birthday of Rahul Gandhi. ␣Arjuna Awardee and the captain of India Women’s Cricket teamMithali Raj graces the occasion and inaugurated the camp byherself donating blood and thereafter cutting a cake. Also presentwere APCC secretaries, Shri Balapochaiah and Shri Allam Bhasker,Hyderabad City Congress general secretaries, Shri MadhusudanGupta, Shri Narsing Kaka, Shri P. Yadaiah Yadav and Shri S. RajeshYadav, NSUI leaders Shri Nagraj Gaud, Shri Jai Raj besides stateYouth Congress leader, Shri A. Gyan Sunder.Congressmen celebrated the 36 th birthday of our young leaderand MP, Shri Rahul Gandhi in Bishtupur here on 19 June. A cakewas cut in his honour and people prayed for his long life. ShriShukla distributed fruits among the inmates of the governmenthospital and stationery to the school children.Also present were INTUC working committee member, Shri SunilKumar Shukla, Pradesh Youth Congress␣␣general secretary, ShriVijay Khan, Shri Sanjeev Srivastava, Shri Sanjay Singh, Shri JohnRodriques, Shri Vipin Samad and Shyam Charan Yadav. DCCgeneral secretary, Shri Ravish Kumar Sehgal gave the vote ofthanks.PATNA: The Bihar Pradesh Youth Congress celebrated the birthdayof Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP, here on 19 June by distributing sweetsamong the party workers and among the poor people. BPCCspokesman, Shri Rajesh Kumar Sinha distributed sweets at afunction organized at the party headquarters here. Present onthe occasion were Shri Tanvir Akhtar, Shri Brijesh Prasad Munnan,Shri Musharaf Ali, Shri Uma Shankar Gupta, Shri Vijay Krishna,Shri Vashisht Narayan Tiwari, Shri Santosh Srivastav, Shri SunilKumar Nirala and Shri Arvind Lal Rajak.JAMSHEDPUR: The Jharkhand Pradesh Congress CommitteeLabour Cell celebrated the birthday of Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP,who turned 34, at the Gandhi Ghat here on 19 June. Labour Cellpresident, Shri Vishnu Kumar Kamat and East Singhbhum DistrictCongress Committee Labour Cell president, Shri M. Georgedistributed cake to the office-bearers and those present at thefunction. The function was convened by pradesh vice-presidentand party spokesman, Shri Krishan Khanna.NOTE BOOKS DISTRIBUTEDThe Pradesh Youth Congress and the Rahul Gandhi Youth Brigadeorganized jointly a function in front of the Patna Junction at thePandit Nehru round-about by distributing sweets and thereafterbursted crackers.JAMSHEDPUR: Under the leadership of AICC member and seniorCongress leader of Jharkhand, Shri Rajesh Kumar Shukla, the20Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

States WatchMUMBAI: The Mumbai Pradesh Youth Congress celebrated the36 th birthday of Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP, here on 19 th June. Onthis occasion free note-book to around 4,000 school children ofMunicipal schools were distributed. Such note books distributionprogramme will continue for about a month so that around 50,000students benefit from it.The function was attended by local MP, Shri Eknath Gaikwad,Shri Jagannath Shetty (MLA), Minister of State for Tourism, ShriSuresh Shetty and Shri P.U. Mehta, MLA.SRIRANGAM (TRICHY): The 36 th birthday of Shri Rahul Gandhi,MP, was celebrated by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in aunique way. Special poo␣ arranged by Shri Balasubramanian,general council member (PCC member), Tamil Nadu CongressCommittee.Shri S.K. Karvendan, MP from Palani, also arranged special poojasat Sri Palani Andavar temple and also at the Madurai temple.VARANASI: The Mahanagar Sonia Gandhi Brigade celebrated thebirthday of Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP, here on 19 June by organizing afunction at the Care and Career School premises. Brigade president,Shri Pramod Verma, who presided over the function, distributed cakeand sweets among the people present at the function.Senior party leaders including Shri Manishanker Pandye, ShriNew PCC PresidentsNew Delhi: Following names have been cleared by theCongress President for the Presidentship of theirrespective Pradesh Congress Committees as perresolutions passed by the PCC delegates, according to ShriJanardan Dwivedi, general secretary, AICC, upto 13 July:Arunachal Pradesh - Shri Mukut Mithi; Jammu &Kashmir - Sh. Peerzada Mohd. Sayeed; Maharashtra -Smt. Prabha Rau; Rajasthan - Shri B.D. Kalla; UttarPradesh - Shri Salman Khurshid; Andhra Pradesh - ShriKeshav Rao; Assam - Shri Bhubaneshwar Kalita; Goa -Shri Ravi Naik; Meghalaya - Shri O.L. Nongtudu;Mizoram - Shri Lalthanwala; Nagaland - Shri HoketoSumi; Orissa - Shri Jayadev Jena; Sikkim - Shri NarBahadur Bhandari; Andaman & Nicobar - Shri KuldeepSharma; Daman & Diu - Shri Ketan Patel; Lakshadweep- Sh. Moosa Manikfar Kallikagothi; Mumbai RegionalCongress Committee - Shri Gurudas Kamat; Bihar - ShriSadanand Singh; Delhi - Shri Ram Babu Sharma; MadhyaPradesh - Shri Subhash Yadav; Jharkhand - Shri PradeepBalmuchu; Karnataka - Shri Mallikarjun Kharge; Punjab- Shri Shamsher Singh Dullo; Tripura - Shri Samir RanjanBurman and Dadar & Nagar Haveli - Shri Vikram SinghParmar. ␣ ❖Remembering Abbas TayyabjiS.M. Sultan, Shri Haren Pandye, Shri Ganga Sahay Pandye, Smt.Krishna Singh, Veena Pandye Indira Gupta, Shri Sarfaraz Ahmed,Shri Anand Kishore Mishra, Shri Mukand Yadav, Shri AmitBhattacharya, Shri Rajkumar Verma, Shri Rajkumar Singh, ShriChangur Lal, Shri Dinesh Singh, Shri Kushwha Manoj Gupta, ShriDharmendra Gupta and Shri Sanjay Shah Laddu. The programmewas convened by Shri Harendra Pandye and Shri Shakeel Ahmadgave vote of thanks. ❖NEW DELHI: The FreedomMovement Memorial Committee ata meeting held on 12 June, 2005at Secular House here decided toobserve 150 th birth anniversary ofShri Abbas Tayyabji in the year2005. Shri Shashi Bhushan, ex-MP, a veteran freedom fighter,presided over the meeting.Tayyabji was a veteran freedom fighter who was arrested inCivil Disobedience Movement in 1932. After his release fromjail, he presided over the Eleventh Session of Praja Mandalat Amroli. He presided over the Baroda session of PrajaMandal in 1936. It was also pointed out that he had thedistinction of being nominated Acting President of IndianNational Congress after the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi indefiance of Salt Act on May 4, 1930. ❖July, 2005Congress Sandesh21

ANDHRA PRADESHSandesh Yatra Appeal to MaoistsThe Gandhi Sandesh Yatra of the Congress concluded on 15June with the leaders asking Maoists to give up violence andjoin the mainstream. The Chief Minister, Dr. Y.S. RajasekharReddy, flagged off the final leg of the yatra from near theMahatma Gandhi statue in the Assembly premises. He alsowalked seven kilometres along with the APCC president, Dr.K. Keshava Rao, and other party leaders till the yatra reachedthe Charminar.Ironically, even as the yatra ended with speeches about thefutility of the armed struggle, the Maoists threatened TRSleaders with violence if they did not break off ties with theCongress. The yatra had been flagged off by the former unionminister for sports, Shri Sunil Dutt, more than a month ago.He passed away before it reached its conclusion. Speakingat a function organized at the Charminar, Dr. RajasekharReddy, renewed his appeal to the Maoists to give up armsand join hands with the government to bring aboutdevelopment. “We have done everything demanded byMaoists,” he said. “We are committed to the welfare of thepoor and the downtrodden. The Maoists should give up theiroutdated ideology. Even four more decades of armed strugglewill be an exercise in futility.” Though the Congress had lostseveral of its leaders to extremist violence, it was committedto peace, he said. All the Congress leaders who spoke in thefunction heaped praises on Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi,Rajiv Gandhi and Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Dr. Keshava Rao saidhis dream was to see the state free itself from factionalism,caste wars and communalism. Several leaders including ShriMukul Wasnik, Smt. Margaret Alva and Shri Oscar Fernandesspoke on the occasion.Diet Money RaisedStates WatchHAJIPUR: Various organizations in Vaishali district havethanked the National Human Rights Commission and formergeneral secretary of the Bihar Pradesh Youth CongressBackward Class Cell, Shri Vijay Kumar Gupta for havingpersuade the cause of the poor people who do not get properdiet in government hospitals in the state of Bihar. With theefforts of Shri Gupta, the Health and Family Welfaredepartment of Bihar has now increased the amount of moneyspent every day on the diet of the patients. The present dietmoney is Rs. 25/- per patient compared to just Rs. 10/-earlier.Congratulations to Sonia GandhiHAJIPUR: The Youth Congress workers organized a meetinghere on 4 June to express their happiness over the re-electionof the Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi for the thirdsuccessive term. Sweets were distributed. The meeting waspresided over by Bihar Pradesh Youth Congress CommitteeBackward Class Cell’s former general secretary, Shri VijayKumar Gupta. He said the re-election of Smt. Sonia Gandhiis the result of her sacrifices. By her sacrifice Smt. Gandhihas earned a good reputation in India and abroad.Homage to Dr. Hardikar␣␣Those who participated in praising were Shri ShailendraKumar Singh, Shri Jagdish Thakur, Shri Ravindra Nath Singh,Shri Harihar Patel, Shri Anil Kumar and Shri Vinay Kumar.MUZAFFARPUR: The Bihar Pradesh Congress Sewa Dalcommemorated the birth anniversary of Shri (Dr.) NarayanRao Subbarao Hardikar, the founder of the Sewa Dal, here on7 May. On the occasion the Sewa Dal workers offered floraltributes to Dr. Hardikar by placing garlands to his photograph.Pradesh Sewa Dal chief organizer, Shri Dalit Kumar, presidedover the function.The meeting also condoled the death of Maj. Gen. Jagjit SinghAurora, the hero of the 1971 Indo-Pak war.DELHITree Plantation Drive on Sanjay’s␣AnniversaryNEW DELHI: The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committeeorganized tree-plantation drive on the occasion of the 25 thdeath anniversary of Shri Sanjay Gandhi here on 23 rd June.22Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

States Watchhas formed working teams in several affected areas and areassisting official machinery by distributing food packets,utensils, medical kits and water. The frontal organizationsactivists are keeping strict vigil over the on-going reliefmeasures undertaken by the Gujarat state governmentmachinery to control irregularities if any.Shri Sudhakar Reddy personally monitored the reliefoperations by the Congress frontal organizations and alsoparticipated in the meeting conducted by the Baroda CongressCommittee for flood relief programme.On the occasion, the DPCC president, Shri Ram Babu Sharmaexhorted the health. This happened to be the pet project ofShri Sanjay Gandhi.The tree-plantation drive was launched on the banks of riverYamuna near Chandgiram Akhara at the ISBT in North Delhi.The drive was inaugurated by Shri Sharma by planting asapling of Pilkhan tree.The programme at the Chandgiram Akhara was moderated by ShriJagjivan Sharma. Nehru Brigade Chairman, Shri Ramesh Dutta anda large number of Congress functionaries were also present at thefunction. Besides Shri Ram Babu Sharma, other prominent leaderspresent were DPCC vice president, Shri Raj Kumar Kohli, ShriDheerender Tyagi, Shri Sunil Bajaj, Shri Parasram Sharma, ShriRakesh Verma, Shri Sudershan Awasthi, Shri Tinkle Singh Bindra,Shri Ajit Yadav, Ms. Alka Lamba, Dr. Banarasi Dass, Shri Zakir Beg,Shri Arun Malik, Shri Rajiv Behl, Smt Razia Inshallah, Shri SatishMittal, Shri Dharmender Tomar, Smt. Vimmi Ghai and Shri SanjayJain. At the tree-plantation drive organized by the Block CongressCommittees the MP, area MlAs, Municipal Councillors and prominentlocal leaders participated. At over 100 places, the tree-plantationdrive was simultaneously launched on June 23.Frontal Organisations Help in ReliefOperationNEW DELHI: AICC secretary and incharge of Frontal organizations,Shri P. Sudhakar Reddy visited the flood-affected Gujarat statefrom 4 to 6 July. During his visit to averse the flood-reliefprogramme he visited Ahmedabad, Dehgam, Kheda, Anand,Baroda, Nadiad and some interior villages.The flood-relief programme of the Congress frontalorganization was specially carried out by NSUI, YouthCongress, Sewa Dal and Mahila Congress. The state NSUIShri Reddy also received complaints that state minister foreducation, Shri Anandi Patel and state Law Minister, ShriAshok Bhatt were putting RSS and VHP labels on the reliefmaterial collected by the voluntary agencies beforedispatching them to affected areas.Shri Reddy alleged that in Dehgam, where over 10,000families have been affected, no revenue official or ministerhas visited the area or given any cash assistance. The reliefmaterial has also not reached interior villages of Nadiaddistrict, he alleged.Call to Dalits to Unite Under CongressNEW DELHI: The SC, ST (Dalit) Congress leaders from UttarPradesh organized a meeting at the AICC headquarters here on18 June. The meeting was addressed by Union Minister, ShriMahavir Prasad, UPCC president, Shri Salman Khursheed, ShriJai Kishan, secretary incharge of UP, Shri Raj Bahadur, Shri MataPrasad, Shri Ram Lal Rahi, Shri Prabhu Dayal Kathariya, ShriNaresh Balmiki, Shri A.P. Gautam, Shri Ram Khelawan, Shri RamSewak Dhobi, Smt. (Dr.) Lalti Devi, Shri Shiva Balak Pasi, ShriBansi Pahadiya, Shri Devi Dayal, Smt. Reena Chaudhary, ShriShyam Lal Poojari and Smt. Satya Bahan.July, 2005Congress Sandesh23

States WatchThe speakers reiterated their commitment to the upliftmentof the weaker section of society and gave the call to thepeople of these classes to unite under the Congress partyand to discard all such leaders who are misguiding the poorpeople for their own political advantage.AICC general secretary, Shri Satyavrat Chaturvedi, said thatin its 120-year old history, the Congress has always stoodby the poor and fought for their cause and upliftment.AICC secretary, Shri Jai Kishan said that during the last 14years the leaders from the BJP, BSP and SP were misguidingthe dalits for their own political ends. He said that in UPthousands of posts are lying vacant in the government andsemi-government departments, reserved for dalits.Dalit Chetna RallyPUNJABBATHINDA: Speaking at the Dalit Chetna Rally at Bathindaon 4 th June, 2005, Minister for Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation, Shri Oscar Fernandes said that the CongressParty was committed towards the upliftment of Dalit masses.He said the UPA govt. had earmarked Rs. 450 crores, to bespent on various welfare schemes for the people belongingShri Jai Kishan expressed hope that the future of dalits isnow safe in the hands of Shri Rahul Gandhi, MP, and saidthat time will come when Congress party will certainly cometo power under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.The meeting also wanted to examine why the dalits had driftedfrom the Congress and what should be done to bring themback. The office-bearers of all frontal organizations, districtand block presidents and representatives of dalitorganizations were present in the meeting.JHARKHANDSonia Gandhi’s Re-election HailedJAMSHEDPUR: Sweets were distributed by the EastSinghbhum district Congress Committee Labour Cell at theTinplate Chowk here on 10 June on the occasion of reelectionof Smt. Sonia Gandhi as the president of CongressParty for the third term.Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee Labour Cellpresident, Shri Vishnu Kumar Kamat, while addressing thegathering, said that we all congratulate Congress president,Smt. Sonia Gandhi for being re-elected AICC president andalso request her to bring young and youthful leaders in theparty forefront so they too feel encouraged and work for theparty with more dedication. We also ask Smt. Sonia Gandhito strengthen and galvanise the party, which has becomeweak and inefficient in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar andJharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa by deputing a good leaderwho has a mass following and who can give positive directionto the party workers so that the Congress once again fluttersits tricolor in these states.␣␣to SC/ST communities. He said, while 3% of the aboveamount would be utilized for various developmental projectsfor these communities, an amount equivalent to 7% of theabove amount would be spent on education of these people.The target he said, was to ensure that all the members ofthese communities attain literacy.The organizer of the rally, Shri Sunil Kumar, co-chairman SC/ST Department, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, saidthat an all-out effort would be made to educate the massesabout the reversals committed by NDA and the Akalis vis-àvisvarious dalit specific programmes initiated by theCongress Governments of the past. And no efforts would bespared to unmask the hypocrisy indulged in by parties likeBSP, etc. He also castigated the NDA for having initiatedproceedings to review constitution of the country.Five Killed in Police FiringRAJASTHANCHOMU: The Congressmen of the Gobindgarh Block CongressCommittee condemned the Vasundhara Raje government forindiscriminate firing by the police on farmers who wereprotesting against lack of water for irrigation from the Bilaspur24Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

States Watchdam. Five people, including a pregnant women, died in thefiring in Sahela village in Tonk district on 13 June. Theyalleged that the Vasundhara government was acting likeGeneral Dyer who ordered indiscriminate firing on innocentpeople at the Jallianwala Bagh and she lost the moral rightto be a chief minister. The families of the dead farmers willnever forgive her for her brutal act.According to Chomu Block Congress president, Shri ShankerLal Chaturvedi, Rajasthan is moving away from peace. Thisincident is a big blot on humanity when in the 21 st centurythe world is progressing with scientific achievements. It isshameful that when farmers were asking for water they wereshowered bullets by the police. For this brutal act the chiefminister Raje should quit immediately.Firing on Farmers CondemnedJAIPUR: The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee heldstate-wide protest demonstration and condemned the brutalfiring by the police on farmers on Sahela in Tonk district whowere asking for water.In Kota, the Kota Urban District Congress Committee broughtout a rally on 21 June in protest against the firing on farmersand also for hiking tarrif on electricity. The rally was led byKota DCC president and former minister, Shri RamkishanVerma. Later, the Congressmen handed out a memorandumaddressed to the Governor to the District Collector.The memorandum demanded the dismissal of the Rajasthangovernment, who in their 18 months rule had resorted to firingon innocent farmers eight times as a result 14 people losttheir lives. That compensation be paid to the kin of thosedead, at least, Rs five lakhs to each of the dead and that onenquiry be held into this barbaric incident by not less thanthe judge of the High Court.Former MLA of Ladpul, Smt. Poonam Goel, former presidentof City Congress Committee, Shri Pankaj Mehta, formerpresident of the City Trust, Shri Ravindra Tyagi, formerpradhan, Shri Munnalal Gurjar, District Council member, Smt.Rukmani Meena, Councillor, Smt. Radha Sachdeva, Smt.Gayatri Sisodia and Rajendra Sankhla participated in thedemonstration.In Sri Ganganagar, the Congressmen observed the day as‘black day’. The Congress took out a rally through city roadsby wearing black bands on their hands. They demanded thedismissal of the BJP Government in the state, which was anti-people and anti-farmers, in their memorandum addressed tothe Governor and which was handed over to the DistrictCollector.Prior to this, a condolence meeting was held at the Congressoffice to condole the death of five farmers who died in thepolice firing. The speakers spoke against the dictatorialattitude of the BJP government in the state. The speakersincluded PCC secretary, Shri Surendra Dadri, DCC president,Shri Prithipal Singh and Shri Rajkumar Gaud.The Bikaner Urban District Congress Committee criticized theBJP government in the state for its insensitivity andcommitment towards its people and towards the oppressionof the farmers. They also demanded that the increase inelectricity tarrif be rolled back.Similar protests were organized in all the 38 districts ofRajasthan which received wide coverage in both the electronicand print media.Congress Seeks Dismissal of Raje Govt.JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee on June19 sought the dismissal of the Bharatiya Janata Partygovernment in the State for the police excesses and onaccount of the breakdown in the law and order situation here.A high level delegation of the Coordination Committee of thePCC, which called on Governor Pratibha Patil, said the partywas left with no other option than asking the Centre toexercise its powers under Article-356 of the Constitution todismiss the Government.PCC president, Shri B.D. Kalla, who led the delegation whichhad former Chief Ministers, Shri Shiv Charan Mathur and ShriJagannath Pahadia as members, told the Governor that theState government, which came to power 18 months back,had used brute police force against the people as many times.There was an increase of 7 percent in the overall crime ratewhich included murders, dacoities, rapes and looting, besidesseveral instances of communal violence, he said.With the Congress too joining the demand, almost all theOpposition parties in Rajasthan, including the Left parties,which form part of the United Progressive Alliance governmentat the Centre, have sought the dismissal of the Stategovernment in the wake of the latest police action – firing onfarmers in Tonk on June 13, which led to the death of fivepersons.July, 2005Congress Sandesh25

States WatchAddressing newspersons in the PCC office, Shri Kalla said inthe past one-and-a-half year the police had opened fire eighttimes on farmers and other innocent people killing 14persons. “This kind of response from the State Governmentto the genuine demands of the public like water have exposedits insensitivity and irresponsibility to the people’s problems,”Shri Kalla charged.The farmers were agitated over water for drinking andirrigation all over the State but the Government did not evenhad got prepared a contingency plan or water policy for thesummer days, Shri Kalla said.The PCC chief said the dis-contentment among the farmersin Tonk district was fomented by the Ministers in the StateGovernment and Chief Minister, Smt Vasundhara Raje herself,who had given them false promises of making available thewater from Bisalpur dam during the election campaign.UTTAR PRADESHPramod Tiwari is Adarsh VidhayakALLAHABAD: Uttar Pradesh Congress Legislature Partyleader, Shri Pramod Tiwari was conferred with the “AdarshVidhayak”, according to UPCC spokesman Shri KishoreVarshney.A feliciation function was held at the Plaza Palace, Pratapgarhunder the chairmanship of former MP, Smt. Rajkumari Ratnaand was awarded a citation certificate which was receivedby Shri Pramod Tiwari, his wife, Dr. Alka Tiwari and hisdaughter.Shri Varshney said that to mark 25 years of his successfulpolitical life, a garland of 25 links made of gold was alsopresented to him. Representatives from all seven assemblysegments, blocks, wards, teachers and advocates’associations including representatives from different politicalparties were present. Shri Pramod Tiwari distributed sewingmachines to poor women.Raje’s Effigy BurntLUCKNOW: UP Mahila Congress activist burnt the effigy ofRajasthan chief minister, Smt. Vasundhara Raje Scindia forencouraging the sati custom in the state. City MahilaCongress president, Smt Farhaa Malika led the activists atHussainabad area and burnt the effigy of Vasundhara Rajehere on June 3. Sati, which is looked upon as a curse andcrime, is being encouraged by Smt. Raje.Later on 10 June, while speaking in a seminar, UP MahilaCongress president, Smt. Lalti Devi said that ‘Bal Vivah’(marriage at young age) is not proper both for the coupleand the country, therefore, marriage should be only at theripe age which allows the couple to understand and decideabout a happy family.UPA Government HailedALLAHABAD: Congressmen hailed the UPA␣␣Government, headedby Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, for competing its oneyear in office. A meeting of partymen presided over by UttarPradesh Congress Committee spokesman, Shri Kishore Varshneywas held here on 24 May. Addressing the meeting UPCC generalsecretary, Shri Ram Yagya Dwivedi said that the performance ofUnion Government has been very positive. He said India’srelationship with Pakistan, China, US had improved and withtraditional friends like Russia and Arab countries.UPCC Secretary, Shri Fuzail Hashmi praised the economic stability,rural and urban development and implementation of severalschemes for the welfare of the masses. Shri Varshney appreciatedUPA Chairperson and Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi’srole in combating the forces of communalism and thanked UPAconstituents resolved for carrying forward its secular image.The speakers thanked the UPA Government’s efforts especiallyUnion HRD Minister, Shri Arjun Singh for getting AllahabadUniversity a Central status.Among those who spoke at the meeting were ex-MLA Shri VijayPrakash, Ch. Jitendra Nath Singh, PCC members including ShriHarikesh Tripathi, Mohd. Asad Khan, Shri Vinay Dubey, ShriSudhaker Tiwari, Shri Ajay Mishra, Shri Keshav Lal, Nusrat SalmanSarwar, Shri Rajendra Jaiswal, Shri Rajesh Mishra, Shri RajendraKesari, Shri Javed Urfi, Shri Shiv Baran Yadav and many others.26Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Duplicity of Tripura Left FrontGreetings- Tapas DeyPolitics in Tripura during the past a little more than two decadeshas been marked by militancy by a section of misguided tribalyouths, and sharp ethnic polarization. Tripura was rocked bylarge ethnic riots in May 1979 and then in June 1980. Insurgents’movement followed the riot by a group called TNV. However,“Peace” returned to Tripura after the Congress – TUJS coalitioncame into power in February 1988 as a tripartite ‘Peace Accord’on August 12, 1988. Within one month TNV as an␣ insurgentoutfit ceased to exist and after the wholesale surrender of all themilitants.However, a brief period of relative peace in the state was shatteredby the emergence of ATTF and NLFT militants who continue tospread terror in the state. It is quite on cards that these outfits,banned since April 1997, stop their activities before the electionswhether it is Assembly or Autonomous District Council.However, the scenario mentioned above has a historicalbackground. It is now hardly remembered that the undividedCommunist Party of India (CPI) had declared “war” on the infantIndian state by a resolution passed in the Calcutta Congress ofthe party. The tiny Tripura was a major theatre of this “war”euphemistically called “armed struggle” by the Marxist even now.The purpose of this so-called “armed struggle” in Tripura was todisrupt the new administration and its logical fall-out was thekilling of a large number of tribal or non-tribal people by thekiller squad of the Communist Party. Even though theCommunist’s avowed policy was to protest the interest of theindigenous tribal, they started practicing the policy of ethnicismand ‘divide and rule’ in order to nurture vote bank. Communistleaders spoke of the interest of the tribal in public meetings inthe context of influx of refugees from East Pakistan (nowBangladesh) but in their secret party conclaves they passedresolution demanding ‘proper rehabilitation of refugees’.While the activities of communists of the so-called armed struggleperiod have been recorded in late Dasharath Deb’s book ‘MuktiParishader Itibritta’, their duplicity was reflected in the resolutionpassed by the party in their state conference held in 1952. Theykeep up the policy of paying lip service to tribal interest andespousing the cause of the refugees in action. The former chiefminister of the left front, Mr. Nripen Chakraborty, launched ‘fastunto death’ program on several occasions demanding properrehabilitation of non-tribal refugees of East Pakistan. The CPI-M’s duplicity in respect of tribal community is also proved by theJuly, 2005Congress Sandeshfact that they show no interest in the demand for AutonomousDistrict Council for Tribals based on 6 th Schedule of theConstitution, raised first by the TUJS (Tripura Upajat Juba Samity),an exclusive tribal organization formed in 1969, now a majorconstituent of INPT.It was only after the TUJS movement for Autonomous DistrictCouncil gained momentum that the CPI-M lent support to it. Theethnic riots of 1979 and 1980 were yet again an eloquentcommentary on the total failure of the left front’s administration,which failed to save the lives of innocent people. However, thereal face of the Left Front came to fore only after they had lostthe Assembly elections. In order to destablize the Congress –TUJS coalition government the CPI-M formed the ATTF militantsin May 1990 which was proved by confessions made by severalnabbed ATTF militants. The ATTF group selectively killed a largenumber of Congress – TUJS leaders and helped the CPI-M rigthe Assembly election held in 1993, quite predictably, a part ofATTF surrendered within 6 months of the left front’s rigged victoryin the elections of 1993.But the larger group of ATTF remained underground and continueto indulge in murder and mayhem at the behest of the CPI-M.More than 5000 innocent people, including women and childrenbelonging to both tribal and non-tribal community, have lost theirlives during the past decade of the 3 rd and 4 th Left Front regimesand the CPI-M-led Left Front have only presided over theliquidation of the lives of innocent people completely shirkingtheir constitutional responsibility.The CPI-M’s unholy alliance with banned insurgent outfits alsoproved by the fact that the former leader and chief minister, ShriNripen Chakraborty had once made a press statement, “had Ibeen tribal, I would also have become a militant”. Besides, afteraccepting the surrender of ATPLO militant in 1983, the then LeftFront government, led by Shri Nripen Chakraborty directlyinducted six of the senior ATPLO rebels in the Central Committeeof Ganamukti Parishad (GMP), the tribal frontal organization ofthe CPI-M of Tripura. Even now a former ATPLO rebel, ShriKhagendra Jamatia and Shri Jasbir Tripura, whose name figuredin the Secret Circular issued by the then Chief Secretary as acorroborator with the underground acting in the administration,are MLAs of CPI-M.Undivided Communists used to regularly raised demands suchas ‘right to self-determination’ for tribals in Tripura. A little knownContinued on Pg 2927

ReportMahila CongressDuring May and June, the Mahila Congress took up important issuesat the national level, besides the normal organizational activities.Following is a summarized report of the activities.POLITICAL TRAINING CAMPS AND CONVENTIONS:Exhaustive political training camps are being held by the MahilaCongress in various zones of the country for cadres from states andzone, which would produce trainers for their states. The aim is totrain about 25 lakh Mahilas per state. The first such three-day campwas held at Delhi from 21 to 23 June, divided in 7 sessions, forDelhi, Haryana, UP, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Chandigarh, subjectsvarying from History of Congress and Mahila Congress, to womenrelated issues, to economic policies and foreign policy were taughtby a highly competent panel.The first-ever Mahila Congress convention for Kashmir was held inSrinagar on May 22, attended by over 2,000 women. The AIMCpresident, Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi was the chief guest, with PCCpresident Shri Peerzada Md. Sayeed, AIMC incharge of the stateSmt. Alka Lamba, Smt. Neeva Konwar (Member NCW) and Shri G.M.Surari amongst the honorable guests.A two-day political training camp for Rajasthan Mahila Congresswas held at Pushkar on 14 and 15 May, 2005. Inaugurated by AICCgeneral secretary, Shri Ashok Gehlot. AIMC president addressed aMahila meeting at Guwahati, presided by the PMC president, Smt.Neeva Konwar. A conference on atrocities against women wasorganized at Indore. The Tamil Nadu PMC organized a conferencein Chennai attended by more than 1,000 women from self-helpgroups. Smt. Jayanti Natrajan, MP was chief guest. In UP, PraurhaShiksha Jagrukta meeting for women was organized at Bangarmauby Smt. Arti Bajpai. In Gujarat, a district level Sammelan was held atSimaliya for Dahod/ Godhra, while the Amreli, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar,Kutch and Patan/ Mahesana sammelans are due in July.FOR WOMEN’S RESERVATION BILL:The AIMC president, Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi met presidents ofwomen’s wings of political parties in the UPA in regard to the Women’sReservation Bill so that a joint consensus could be achieved. ACongress Women Leaders Forum was convened and an interactivesession with Shri Shivraj Patil was held on May 11 at Delhi. Smt.Sheila Dikshit, Smt. Mohsina Kidwai, Smt. Urmila Ben Patel, Smt.Satya Behn, Smt. Kumud Ben Joshi, Smt. Renuka Chaudhary, Smt.Meira Kumar, Smt. Prabha Rao, Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Smt. HemaGomang, Smt. Ranjana Kumari, Smt. Nandini Azad, MPs, MLAs,discussed the suggestions. Unanimously the Forum passedresolution demanding this Bill to be placed and passed in the presentsession of the Parliament.AGAINST ALARMINGLY INCREASING RAPES:The Mahila Congress has actively taken up the issue of women rapeafter Mumbai Court’s judgment on 5 th May. A seminar and interactivesession, “Rape, Law And Society: Is Marriage␣␣An Alternative?” heldon June 6 in Delhi was inaugurated by Smt. Sheila Dikshit. In otherstates also Mahila Congress units will hold awareness andsensitivising seminars, demonstrations, etc., against rape and otheratrocities against women. The DMC at Hissar (Haryana) held onsuch meeting on June 29.IN THE IMRANA RAPE AND FATWA CASE:The AIMC president, Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, accompanied by Dr.Jaya Shukla, Mrs. Renu Poswal and Mrs. Husna Subhani, visitedMuzaffarnagar (Kudana) on July 3, met Mrs. Imrana and to help hera cheque of Rs. 50,000 was given on behalf of AIMC. The AIMC alsopledged to have her deaf-dumb son treated. The Rajasthan PMChas taken up the case of a rape victim, mother of a 7-month-old girlin hospital. The victim is not able to feed her baby due to malnutrition.AGAINST CHILD MARRIAGE:The Mahila Congress under guidance of its national president, Dr.Rita Bahuguna Joshi, observed Akshay Tritiya (May 11) as ‘Bal VivahVirodhi Diwas’. The Mahila Congress presidents of Rajasthan, UP,Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Uttaranchal, Haryana andChandigarh, where this practice is in use, observed the same throughmeans like awareness meetings, processions, etc. The JharkhandPMC, led by its president, Smt. Pratibha Pandey, took out processionsand burnt effigies against this practice. Awaren␣ ess meetings were28Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Reportas chairperson, Delhi Social Welfare Board.The Mahila Congress held homage meetings of our departed leadersShri Sunil Dutt, Shri O.P. Jindal and Shri Surendra Singh Chaudhary.A memorial mass was held for the Pope by the Goa PMC. ❖Sonia Gandhi stresses for Girl Educationheld in Delhi (Krishnanagar), Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh, Haryana(Gurgaon & Karnal, etc.) and MP. In U.P., Smt. Arti Bajpai organizeda dharna against this at Bangaramau. The M.P., PMC took up theissue of Smt. Shakuntala Verma’s hands being chopped off as aresult of her addressing a Bal Vivah Virodhi meeting, its presidentSmt. Shobha went to Dhar and Delhi, persuing the case for justice.AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF SATI:After the Banda Sati case and highly irresponsible and womeninsensitive Rajasthan Tourism’s new line “Welcome to the state ofSati”, the Mahila Congress staged a demonstration near BJPheadquarters, burnt Vasundhara Raje’s effigy and courted arrests.MAHILA CONGRESS ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS:The AIMC president, Dr. Rita Joshi had two national office bearer’smeetings, chalking out future programmes. Delhi PMC meetingswere called on 12 & 19 May.MAHILA CONGRESS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE:The acting president of Maharashtra PMC Smt. Shyamala Sonawanesubmitted Rs. One Lakh towards Mahila Congress membership fromher state. Membership meetings were held in all states. The lastdate for ending the membership drive was postponed, hence someof the collected fees are still awaited.RAJIV GANDHI’S BALIDAN DIWAS:All centers of the Mahila Congress observed Rajiv Gandhi’s martyrdomday through suitable socio-political activities. Tamil Nadu PMCmembers went to Sriperumbadur on the day. Smt. Asha Sharma(Gurgaon) distributed textbooks to children selected from variousschools. Mahilas donated blood in Karnataka.The Mahila Congress feels gratified to the cabinet for drafting theDomestic Violence Bill. The Mahila Congress is also gratified at theappointment of its VP, Mrs. Neeva Konwar as member NCW, itsnational secretary, Smt. Renu Poswal as the chairperson, HaryanaSocial Welfare Board and its Delhi PMC president, Smt. Motia GargRAI BAREILLY: While stressing on the need to educate the girlchild, the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi said thatunless our women is educated, the country will not makeprogress, Smt. Gandhi said this while laying the foundationstone of the Ryan International School here on 8 July whenshe was on a three-day tour of her Parliamentary constituencyfrom 7 to 9 July.Smt. Gandhi said that education and health have special placein our Common Minimum Programme, which is the agenda ofthe UPA Government.Continued from Pg 27but significant fact is that after loosing power in the Assemblyelection held in 1988 the former chief minister and veteran triballeader of CPI-M, Shri Dasarath Deb had raised the demand forextension of Article 370, of Constitution of Tripura in a seminarat Delhi in the year 1989. It is another matter than the demandhad been raised quite ignorantly without any knowledge of thehistorical background in which Article 370 had been incorporatedin the Indian constitution. The fact however, remains that themindset of the CPI-M leadership is tuned only to electoralconsideration. Mysteriously, for only electoral gain, during theAssembly election 2003 they took a stand like “Amra Bangalee”a parochial Bangalee organization in the state only to woo theBengali vote, as a political imperative as they realized they areunable to retain the hold over the tribal support.Author is vice president, Tripura PCCJuly, 2005Congress Sandesh29

AICCDiaryCODE OF ETHICS03.06.2005: Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media.Shri Abhishek Singhvi said that the speaker of the Lok Sabha hasrecently issued a circular which reiterates certain norms and rulesregarding the conduct of business by parliamentary committee. Thenorms are substantially a reiteration and reinforcement of existingrules and regulations on the subject with a few additions here andthere. Since the circular seeks to promote austerity and discipline inpublic life, the Congress party, under the initiative and leadership ofthe Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, have our own set ofrules and guidelines on issues of austerity, simple living and a codeof ethics in public life.The circular is thus well-intentioned and we are sure that the Hon’blemembers of Parliament, cutting across the political spectrum, willsee it in that correct light and perspective. It goes without sayingthat and details or issues of nitty-gritty changes which may involveeither a genuine grievance or which may actually seem to behampering the discharge of duty as Members of Parliament willalways be open for discussion with the appropriate authority.ADVANI CALLS JINNAH SECULAR06.06.2005: Shri Abhishek Singhvi addressed the media.Shri Abhishek Singhvi said that it is truly ironic and astonishingthat Shri Advani considers Jinnah secular. Perhaps Advaniji wouldlike to explain to the nation his new definition of secularism. ForShri Advani and for Shri Jinnah, as indeed for Veer Savarkar,secularism can justify a two-nation theory. It can mean separateelectorates divided on the basis of religion which, as you knowJinnah advocated and supported. It can mean a division of Indiaon religious basis, something which the Congress always opposedwhich Jinnah demanded and which Shri Advani now supports.Perhaps Shri Advani desires Jinnah’s brand of secularism in India.One, August 11, 1947 speech does not make Jinnah secular,just like one swallow does not make a summer. The secularismof India’s independence movement, the secularism of Gandhiji,of Nehruji cannot possibly be compared to Jinnah. Shri Advanicalls secular a person, like Shri Jinnah, who on the death ofGandhiji referred to him as a Hindu leader. Shri Advani’s supportof Jinnah’s secularism is just like his hypocrisy on the Ayodhyaissue. His tears at the demolition of the Babri Masjid are nothingbut crocodile tears. After Shri Advani’s several speeches duringthe yatra and on 1 st of December, 1992 when he started fromVaranasi to Ayodhya and after his own presence at the demolition,such expressions of pain are nothing but the political chameleonchanging calours for political purposes and for the lust of power.ABVP VANDALISM08.06.2005: Smt. Jayanti Natarajan addressed the media.Smt. Jayanti Natarajan said that I would like to strongly condemnthe vandalism indulged in by the ABVP cadre in destroying publicproperty and creating total havoc at a meeting held to decide theNCERT circulam. This kind of action totally negates not just theprinciples of democracy, a democratic dissent that India hasalways stood for, but also goes against the grain of any kind ofeducation this country is justly famous for. If there is any dissent,it should be expressed in a most democratic way at the forumitself and indulging in hooliganism␣␣and vandalism thesedispleasing acts of hooliganism and vandalism of petty level bythe BJP and its friendly colleagues, the AVBP is totallycondemnable in any civilized society.OPPOSITION IN DISARRAY13.06.2005: Shri Anand Sharma addressed the media.Shri Anand Sharma said that the BJP, the principal oppositionparty and that it is a matter of concern that the main OppositionParty is in a state of disarray, its leadership is confused anddirectionless. The party which claimed to be one with a differencehas become a party with differences. It is unable to speak in acoherent voice on issues which generally concern the people ofthis country. BJP leadership collectively has demonstrated itsinability to perform its designated role as on Opposition in ourdemocracy. During the Parliament session, the Opposition wasabsent and failing to take up issues which should have beendebated or discussed and after the session it is still unable toraise those matters which do affect the people of this country.BRUTAL REPRESSION15.06.2005: Smt. Jayanti Natarajan addressed the media.Smt. Jayanti Natarajan said that for the second time there hasbeen a brutal repression of issues raised by farmers and this is30Congress SandeshJuly, 2005

Diarythe second incident of police firing upon demonstrating farmers.This attitude of brutal repression by the government of Rajasthanseeking to stifle the voice of farmers and leading to police firingand death is total anathema to our democracy. The Congressparty would like to condemn the Rajasthan government for thishigh-handedness.CONDEMNABLE20.06.2005: Shri Anand Sharma addressed the media.Shri Anand Sharma said that regarding the statement made by theRSS chief Shri Sudershanji, has a penchant of making strangeobservations, sometimes pertaining to those who appear to beslipping out of their control, but yesterday’s observations andcomments, some of those surely are highly objectionable. ShriSudershan had sought to present a distorted version of history whichnegates all known facts of our freedom struggle. His comments onPandit Jawaharalal Nehru and claim, when he attributes his statementor a claim to Pandit Nehru, about his being the last Englishman torule India is preposterous and condemnable. Jawaharlal Nehru wasa front-ranking leader of India’s freedom struggle. He had given hisentire life to the cause of India’s people, to liberate our motherland.He had long stints in the British prisons but he never compromisedwhen it came to the ultimate objective of liberating this country. So,such on observation coming from RSS chief, an organization whichhad no role, no contribution to India’s national movement deservesto be condemned. RSS chief should stand out and count thoseinstances where the founders of his organization, his colleagueshad participated in movements for which a clarion call was given byGandhiji.TRUTH TURNS OUT24.06.2005: Smt. Jayanti Natarajan addressed the media.Smt. Natarajan said that shocking allegations have been madeby former Union Minister and senior BJP leader, Shri YashwantSinha about corruption against the anti-people government ofShri Arjun Munda in Jharkhand. The Congress party is notconcerned with the internal affairs of the BJP however, this is avery serious charge of corruption against a chief minister andthe government leveled by a senior leader of the same party andseveral other senior BJP leaders in Jharkhand. Allegations thathave been made against the Chief Minister of Jharkhand relatesto very important public issue which have not been addressedand about corruption at every level of the government inJharkhand. The Congress party will therefore, call upon, firstly,the CM of Jharkhand to come out with an exhaustive reply onthe charges made against him and convince the nation and thepeople of Jharkhand about the remark made by Shri YashwantSinha and other BJP leaders.DRAFT BILL WELCOMED27.06.2005: Smt. Jayanti Natarajan addressed the media.Smt. Jayanti Natarajan said that the Congress party welcomesthe draft bill on Social Security for Workers in the unorganisedsector that has been finalized two days back by the NationalAdvisory Council under the chairmanship of Smt. Sonia Gandhi.The Bill is in keeping with the Congress’s manifesto commitmentsas well as that of the National Common Minimum Programme.The Congress appreciates that this social security package willcover life, health and permanent disability insurance, maternitybenefits and pensions. 92% of workers in our country are in theunorganised sector and the draft legislation proposed by the NACis a historic step forward in ensuring the welfare and well-beingof crores of these workers across the country, particularly women.The Congress party is confident that the UPA government willsoon bring forward legislation in this regard in Parliament.THE MASK IS OFF29.06.2005: Shri Anand Sharma addressed the media.Shri Anand Sharma said that I was commenting about the alliance,the National Democratic Alliance, which had unfortunately anopportunity to govern India for a period of six years and which hadclaimed to be different, independent, moderate, removed from thedivisive and communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar. We hadthroughout maintained that even in the past it was an opportunisticalliance which was formed only to capture power and to mislead thepeople in order to sustain the power when they were in office. Now,the mask is off. The BJP as a political party which is the dominantfactor of the NDA is in any case is in a state of utter chaos. Itsleadership, as we have maintained, which earlier was confused onreconciled to its rejection and now it is not only a question of relevancebut the very credibility of that party which is their own deed. TheNDA could not have remained insulated from the pathetic state ofaffairs within their dominant partners. Yesterday, the convener ofthe NDA, Shri George Fernandes, who was the defence minister inany case stood discredited and exposed, had gone to the RSSheadquarters. It underscored the fact that despite tall claims of theBJP leadership and the NDA constituents, be it the RSS whichdictates, which directs, which reprimands, which removes and whichappoints, yet claims to be a cultural organization. George Fernandeswas not only present there and we have no objection as to where hegoes but it confirms one thing, that it was merely a desperate dashto consult how to save a ship which is definitely sinking.Tom VadakkanSecretary, AICCJuly, 2005Congress Sandesh31

Photofile1 23 4␣␣5 671. TNCC general secretary and Traders’ Cell chairman, Shri H. Vasanthakumar presenting cashaward to a student of P.A.K. School, Washermenpet, Chennai who topped the publicexamination.2. Shri Sajjan Kumar, MP, former deputy Mayor Shri Ramesh Dutta, Shri Ashok Ahuja and hospitalsuperintendent, Shri Ramtek and Shri R.V. Singh distributing fruits and sweets to the inmatesof Loknayak Jaiprakash Hospital on the occasion of Rahul Gandhi’s birthday on 19 June.3. Congressmen in Trichy, Tamil Nadu celebrate the re-election of Smt. Sonia Gandhi as partypresident for the third time by garlanding her photograph in Srirangam on 30th May.4. Union Minister, Shri Oscar Fernandes being welcomed on his arrival at Jalandhar by stateministers and DCC office-bearers on 4 June.5. Minister of State for Surface Transport, Shri H. Muniappa, Shri Prakasam and AICC secretary,Dr. K. Jayakumar with the Rajiv Jyoti at Sreeperumbudur on the 14th death anniversary ofRajiv Gandhi on 21st May.6. Trichirappalli Youth Congress general secretary, Shri N. Nalla Sekar and other office-bearerspay tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on his 14th death anniversary on 21st May.7. Inauguration of Trichi Youth Congress office by former MP, Shri Adikalaraji on 24th May.32Congress SandeshJuly, 2005