Amnesty International today issued an urgent call for independent, impartial and thorough investigations into at least 31 unlawful killings, including those of so-called "terrorist" suspects reported to have been carried out by police officers in Gujarat (western India) since 2002.

The call follows an admission by the Gujarat state government that senior officers of the state police, who were part of an anti-terrorist squad, were directly involved in the killing of a 38-year-old man, Sohrabuddin Shaikh, and his wife, Kausar Bi, in 2005.

The admission came as a result of the intervention of India's Supreme Court which ordered continued investigations into this case. While welcoming these efforts, Amnesty International remains concerned that the vast majority of other reported unlawful killings have yet to be effectively investigated by independent and impartial bodies.

In the case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, the Gujarat state government disclosed to the Supreme Court that he was shot dead by Anti Terror Squad (ATS) officers, and that although he had been facing criminal charges including extortion, he had not been linked to terrorism. After his killing in 2005, the ATS branded him a terrorist member of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), an armed organisation in Kashmir, and accused him of conspiring to kill senior leaders of the former ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

The state government also admitted that the ATS officers shot dead his wife, Kausar Bi, possibly because she had witnessed her husband's killing, and later burnt her body. There is concern she may also have been sexually assaulted. Another key witness in the case, Tulsiram Gangaram Prajapati, was also shot dead by ATS officers - who were already under investigation for the killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh. Six police officers have been arrested in connection with the case.

Human rights organisations and opposition parties have accused the Gujarat authorities of attempting to undermine the Sohrabuddin Shaikh investigation, after reports emerged claiming the perpetrators were under the orders of a criminal gang linked to the mining industry in neighbouring Rajasthan. The Supreme Court also sought an explanation from the Gujarat government as to why Geeta Johri, an investigator from the state crime branch police assigned to the case, had been relieved of this responsibility. Geeta Johri was subsequently reassigned to the investigation.

Unlawful killings since 2002

The unlawful killings in Gujarat since 2002 include both so-called "terrorist" suspects, and those accused of ordinary criminal offences (see Appendices A and B). The government of Gujarat has stated that 21 such killings took place in the state during 2003-2006. A petition filed by a journalist, B. G. Verghese, seeking independent inquiries into these killings, is pending at India's Supreme Court.(1)

Amnesty International is gravely concerned that the common features of the killings reveal a systematic pattern:
· At least 16 of the 31 killings, including those of two women, were carried out by the present or former ATS officers.(2)
· Almost all of the victims were killed in the early hours of the day.
· The majority of these killings took place at Ahmedabad.
· Thirteen of those killed belonged to the minority Muslim community.
· The ATS claimed that those it had shot dead were "terrorists", conspiring to either kill the chief minister or state and national BJP leaders or intending to set off explosions in Gujarat; and at least six of them hailed from Pakistan.

During the same period, at least 15 other killings were carried out by the Gujarat police elsewhere in the state.(3)

· All of the killed faced criminal charges and four belonged to the Muslim community.
· The police versions of these killings were similar in nature: police claimed that all of them died after police fired in self-defence in the course of a "confrontation" either at the time of arrest, or in custody.
· Of the 16 killings, only one appears to have been fully investigated, resulting in the conviction of the police officer concerned in a court of law.

Gujarat: entrenching a climate of impunity

The recent upswing in such killings by the Gujarat police began after communal violence in March 2002 - in which 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, lost their lives - and an armed attack on Akshardham temple in September 2002, in which 37 Hindu devotees and three security personnel were killed.

During this period, the Gujarat government repeatedly claimed it was taking action to foil a series of conspiracies against the state. It had alleged that Islamic fundamentalist militants backed by Pakistani intelligence services had planned these conspiracies in retaliation for the mass killings of Muslims during the March 2002 communal riots.

In late 2003, however, Amnesty International extensively detailed human rights violations - including illegal detentions in Ahmedabad and elsewhere -- which were fostering a climate of impunity.(4)

The climate of impunity strengthened over this period. Police and other security personnel believed to be responsible for widespread violations of human rights against the Muslim minority, especially the youth, in Ahmedabad and elsewhere in Gujarat, could operate without fear of investigation or prosecution.

Persistent failures to heed calls for investigations (see also Appendix A)

In 2006, the Supreme Court ordered the Gujarat police to conduct an inquiry into the killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, following which six police officials including the former head of the ATS were arrested. Till then, demands for investigations into reported killings by the ATS were routinely ignored.

In one of the cases (that of Samir Khan Pathan killed in 2002), 12 persons were arrested following Samir Khan Pathan's "confession" while he was in detention. After his killing, they were all released by courts. Subsequently, the state crime branch police had submitted a report questioning the ATS' version of Samir Khan Pathan's killing; the same was seconded by another wing of the Gujarat police, but no action was taken.

In two instances where those killed hailed from other states, those of Ishrat Jahan and Javed Shaikh (2004), police from these states launched their own investigations which went on to reveal that they had no criminal or terrorist record as alleged by the ATS. However, the Gujarat government chose to ignore these findings and failed to pursue its own investigations into the killings.

In the case of the two of the killings, those of Samir Khan Pathan (2002) and Ishrat Jagan (2004), India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought reports from the Gujarat government as to whether the NHRC guidelines for investigating such incidents were being followed.(5). The Gujarat government failed to order such investigations until the intervention by the Supreme Court. This is despite the fact the NHRC guidelines clearly stipulate: "In cases where the police officers belonging to the same police station are members of the encounter party, it is desirable that such cases are made over for investigation to some other independent investigating agency, such as the state crime branch police".

The duty to protect the right to life and to conduct effective investigation into all unlawful killings

Following the Gujarat government's recent disclosures in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh case, relatives of at least three of those killed by ATS officers, and branded as "terrorists" intend to petition the judiciary for independent inquiries into the killings.

The state of India (the Union government) and the government of Gujarat have an obligation to protect the right to life as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution(6) and in international human rights law.

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person". Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a party, states: "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life". Article 4 of the ICCPR states that this right cannot be waived "even in times of public emergency threatening the life of the nation". Unlawful and extrajudicial killings clearly contravene the right to life.

Under Article 2(3) (a) and (b) of the ICCPR, State parties are obliged to ensure that remedies are available to the victims of human rights violations and that those remedies are effective.

The Indian government ratified the ICCPR in 1979. By ratifying an international treaty which enshrines the right to life, India is obliged not only to respect that right in principle, but also to ensure it is not violated in practice. The ICCPR imposes a clear duty on states to investigate alleged violations of the right to life "promptly, thoroughly and effectively through independent and impartial bodies".(7)

Such investigations are a critical factor in the prevention of further unlawful killings. Without adequate investigation of complaints of extrajudicial killings, there can be little hope of prosecuting and convicting the perpetrators.

Recommendations

Amnesty International calls on the government of Gujarat and the Union government to:

· set up prompt, thorough and impartial judicial inquiries urgently into all the reported unlawful killings by Gujarat police since 2002;
· to make the terms of reference of such inquiries available publicly;
· and ensure that the inquiries comply fully with the requirements of Principle 18 of the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extralegal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.(8)

Under India's Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the Union or state government needs to sanction the arrest or criminal prosecution of public servants, including police officers and members of the civil or armed forces. This law has not been amended to ensure that public officers who violate human rights are no longer protected from prosecution, despite repeated calls to do so from human rights organisations.

Amnesty International calls for

· Assurances from the government of Gujarat that state sanction/permission will be given for the prosecution of public servants responsible for unlawful killings
· All those responsible for such killings to be afforded due process and brought to justice in trials which comply with international standards of fairness
· Those convicted not to be given the death penalty as this punishment contravenes the right to life and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
· The family and dependents of all the victims to be adequately compensated in accordance with Principle 20 of the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extralegal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.(9)

Amnesty International is concerned that the NHRC and the Gujarat Human Rights Commission have been unable to ensure that that all the complaints and reports of unlawful killings in Gujarat are adequately investigated. The NHRC has also been unable to ensure that the guidelines issued by it are fully respected by the authorities in Gujarat.

· The NHRC must review urgently its current policy and practice of monitoring unlawful killings, to ensure its guidelines on investigations are followed by the authorities.

APPENDIX A
LIST OF UNLAWFUL FILLINGS OF SO-CALLED "TERRORISTS" IN GUJARAT 2002-2006

APPENDIX B
LIST OF OTHER REPORTED UNLAWFUL KILLINGS IN GUJARAT 2002-2006

********

(1) Reply to Question No. 16840, Details of encounters with police in the state 2003-2006, from the Proceedings of the Gujarat assembly, cited in Writ Petition (Criminal) 31 of 2007, B. G. Verghese vs. Union of India, State of Gujarat and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

(2) Those killed included persons hailing from the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala. The age of those killed wherever one finds a mention, was between 19 and 38.

(3) Those killed included persons hailing from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala

(4) See Amnesty International Report, India: Abuse of the law in Gujarat -- Muslims detained illegally in Ahmedabad, AI Index 20/029/2003, 6 November 2003). Hundreds of persons, almost all of them Muslims, suspected of involvement in a range of alleged conspiracies against the state, had been detained. Those who faced incommunicado detention had to endure torture or degrading treatment at Gaekwad Haveli and other places in Ahmedabad. Those formally arrested numbered 240, including 239 Muslims, and the various human rights violations against them were facilitated by provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) under which they were charged. Many of them had spent long periods in illegal detention prior to their formal arrest. This widespread use of illegal detention and discriminatory use of POTA against members of the Muslim minority was reported to have intimidated the Muslim community who were too scared to make official complaints. The condition was such that only a handful of habeas corpus petitions were filed on behalf of those illegally detained, because of the overwhelming fear of retribution amongst relatives and even lawyers. Also, there was persistent harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders working with members of the Muslim community in the state. For example, see Amnesty International's Urgent Action update, Fear for the safety of Teesta Setalvad, Rais Khan Azeezkhan Pathan, Suhel Tirmizi and other human rights defenders in Gujarat state, AI Index: ASA 20/024/2003, 2 September 2003).

(5) See http://nhrc.nic.in/ for Letter dated 29 March 1997 from NHRC chairperson Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah to chief ministers regarding the procedure to be followed in cases of deaths in police encounters and Letter dated 3 December 2003 from NHRC chairperson Justce A. S. Anand on Revised guidelines/procedures to be followed in deaths occurring in police encounters.

(6) Courts in India have repeatedly held that the right to life guaranteed by the Article 21 is inviolable. See Challa Ramkonda Reddy vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, All India Reporter, 1989 AP 235 and All India Reporter 2000 SC 2083.

(7) Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31, "Nature of the legal obligation on States Parties to the Covenant" para.15.

(8) Under the Principles, the inquiries should seek to determine the cause, manner and time of death, the person(s) responsible, and any pattern or practice which may have brought about the deaths. They should include an adequate autopsy, collection and analysis of all physical and documentary evidence and statements from witnesses.

In accordance with Principle 17 written reports shall be made within a reasonable time on the methods and findings of each inquiry. These shall be made public immediately and shall include the scope of the inquiry, procedures and methods used to evaluate evidence as well as conclusions and recommendations based on findings of fact and on applicable law. The reports shall describe in detail specific events that were found to have occurred, and the evidence on which such findings were based.

(9) The NHRC guidelines states that the ''question of granting of compensation to the dependents of the deceased would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case''.

(कित्येक देशविघातक कारवायांत सिमी गुंतली असल्याची वृत्ते सातत्याने प्रसिद्ध होत असतात. त्यांचा गांभीर्याने अभ्यास करून सिमीच्या विरोधातील बंदी वाढवण्यासाठी केंद्र सरकार पुरावे कधी सादर करणार आहे ? - संपादक) केंद्र सरकारने संघटनेवर घातलेल्या बंदीला आव्हान देणारी याचिका सिमीने विशेष लवाद न्यायालयात दाखल केली आहे. सिमीवरील बंदीच्या संदर्भात नव्याने अधिसूचना काढतांना शासनाने वस्तूस्थितीची पडताळणी करून ती काढावी. तिच्यातील कारणे ही लवादाच्या दृष्टीने समाधानकारक असण्याची गरज आहे, असे न्या. मित्तल यांनी म्हटले आहे.

देशभरात सिमीचे ४०० पूर्णवेळ कार्यकर्ते, तर २० हजार सदस्य ! मुंबई - देशभरात सिमीचे ४०० पूर्णवेळ कार्यकर्ते कार्यरत आहेत. त्यांना `अन्सार', असे संबोधले जाते. तसेच देशभर सिमीचे २० हजार सदस्य असून त्यांना `इख्वान' म्हणतात, अशी माहिती पोलीस अटकेत असलेला सिमीचा प्रमुख सफदर नागोरी याच्याकडून पोलिसांना मिळाली आहे. २००१ नंतर सिमीत फूट पडली. आता सिमीचे शहीद बदर फलाह गट व सफदर नागोरी गट, असे दोन गट देशभर कार्यरत आहेत. शहीद बदर फलाह याला उत्तरप्रदेशमध्ये २००१ साली अटक करण्यात आली होती, तर सफदर नागोरी याला मार्च महिन्यात पोलिसांनी उज्जैन येथे पकडले होते. २००१ साली सिमीवर बंदी घातल्यापासून तो फरारी होता. नागोरीकडे सिमीचे संघटन मजबूत करण्याची जबाबदारी होती. त्यासाठी त्याने पाकिस्तान, तसेच पॅलेस्टाईनमधील हम्मास या आतंकवादी संघटनेशी संबंध प्रस्थापित केले होते.

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  निगडीत वृत्त : देशद्रोही मुसलमान

सिमीच्या दहशतवाद्याला अटक

३० जण ताब्यात

अहमदाबाद, २७ जुलै (वृत्तसंस्था / प्रे.ट्र.) - सुरत येथे पोलिसांना स्फोटकांनी भरलेल्या दोन चारचाकी गाड्या सापडल्या. आज शहरातील पूनागम रुग्णालयाच्या नजीक डिटोनेटर्सने भरलेली काळया रंगाची वॅगनआर् गाडी सापडली, तर वरच्छा परिसरामध्ये स्फोटकांनी भरलेली लाल रंगाची मारुती सापडली. या दोन्ही गाड्यांवरील क्रमांकाच्या पट्ट्या बनावट असल्याचे पोलिसांनी सांगितले. (सर्वपक्षीय राज्यकर्त्यांनी काश्मीरमधील दहशतवाद वेळीच निपटला असता, तर आज सर्वत्र दहशतवाद फोफावला नसता ! - संपादक)
``काल रात्रीपासून पूनागम रुग्णालयाच्या नजीक चारचाकी गाडी उभी होती'', अशी माहिती स्थानिकांनी दिली. ``बाँब तयार करण्यासाठी लागणारे सर्व साहित्य या गाडीमध्ये उपलब्ध आहे'', अशी माहिती पोलिसांनी दिली. आज अहमदाबाद व सुरत या शहरांमध्ये सापडलेले जिवंत बाँब निकामी करण्यात आले. या घटनेमुळे गुजरातमधील जनता अजूनही भीतीच्या सावटाखाली वावरत आहे.
काल अहमदाबादमध्ये झालेल्या १६ बाँबस्फोटांमधील मृतांची संख्या ४५ वर गेली असून बाँबस्फोटांमध्ये १६२ जण जखमी झाले आहेत. (निष्पाप नागरिकांचे बळी घेणार्‍या दहशतवादाचे दुष्टच्रक थांबवू न शकणारे नाकर्ते राज्यकर्ते वैचारिक क्रांती अपरिहार्य करतात ! - संपादक) आज अहमदाबादमध्ये लष्कराने ध्वजसंचलन केले.

संशयिताचे रेखाचित्र तयार
आज अहमदाबादमधील पोलिसांनी एका संशयिताचे रेखाचित्र तयार केले. एका प्रत्यक्षदर्शीच्या सांगण्यावरून हे रेखाचित्र काढण्यात आले आहे. संबंधित प्रत्यक्षदर्शी संध्याकाळी चार वाजता तेथील सरकारी रुग्णालयामध्ये गेला होता. त्या वेळी सदर संशयिताचे भ्रमणध्वनीवरील संभाषण त्याने ऐकले. ``बंगळुरूमधील चुका येथे होणार नाहीत. आम्ही येथे चुकणार नाही'', असे संशयित भ्रमणध्वनीवरून सांगत होता. प्रत्यक्षदर्शी म्हणाला,``मी या संभाषणाकडे गांभीर्याने घेतले नाही; मात्र बंगळुरू व अहमदाबाद येथील बाँबस्फोटांच्या नंतर मला सदर व्यक्‍तीचा संशय आल्याने मी पोलिसांना माहिती दिली.''

लालकृष्ण अडवाणी यांची जखमींना भेट
आज भाजपचे वरिष्ठ नेते श्री. लालकृष्ण अडवाणी यांनी जखमींची सरकारी रुग्णालयामध्ये जाऊन भेट घेतली. मुख्यमंत्री श्री. नरेंद्र मोदी त्यांच्यासोबत होते.

 |  मित्रांना पाठवा |  67 - वाचक संख्या |  छापील प्रत

  निगडीत वृत्त : दहशतवादाने पोखरलेला भारत

Sadly, Diwali has arrived early in India - with the solitary difference being that Naragasuras are doing the bursting of heavy-duty, high-impact crackers this time and Krishnas are looking about haplessly, trying to understand what has hit them.

Numbers never tell the true tale. 50 people are dead in the bomb blasts - that is nothing compared to the 2002 carnage in Gujarat. In fact, Blueline buses kill more people every year in Delhi and more people die of cracker-shop accidents on the Diwali eve. So, why all this fuss, in a country that is so accustomed to death?

Every celebrity, worth his/her salt, says police intelligence needs to be improved. Terrorists have to be found and punished. Strong punishment will be the only deterrent. Security needs to be tightened. Technology has to be embraced. Well, well, well. Deep within, each of these celebrities knows, none of these matter; none of these will save them from the unknown, unseen terrorist.

This is the time for introspection and not the time for investigation and interrogation. At best, we will catch hold of the terrorists who planted the bombs; so, what? Will it make life safer for us? Will improving police intelligence, stop the emergence of newer terrorists? Will frisking the common man at the hospitals and malls, ever help avert a single blast. The terrorist does not have a target. Rigid measures can help save a target that is known, like a Prime Minister or a President? But, how would you deal with an enemy for whom, any one of the billion people can be the target; who doesn't differentiate much between the Parliament and a hospital?  He is not after the impossible; he is happy to kill anybody who can be killed as long as the collective psyche of the common man is shattered. Sometimes, unlike most orthodox fundamentalists, he is not even bothered about whether his voice is heard; he doesnt seek to justify his motives to others; he cannot be lured by money or limelight. How can punishment become a deterrent to a person who is willing to die, to be able to kill.

Why does someone or so many, so badly want to destroy us? A good free democracy is inherently vulnerable to terrorist attacks. But the vulnerability is hardly exposed or exploited, if the democracy has a conscience. What we need to strengthen, is not the police intelligence but our collective conscience. It is no coincidence that terrorism has been getting more intense with the rise of the fascist right over the last 20 years. It is no mere coincidence, that the worst was reserved for Ahmedabad, the fortress of the worst- ever-fascist to have come to power in India. It is no coincidence that the feeling that arose foremost on hearing the news of blasts in Ahmedabad was fear for those who are alive, ahead of sympathy for those who were grotesquely torn apart - will we stand mute witnesses to one more carnage? (gasp of relief! no reports of violence yet - is it because, the power in Centre has shifted and Modi does not have the license to incite anymore, or the fascist-ultimate has reformed?).

It is absolutely no coincidence that the global terrorism has been strengthened because of a fascist controlling the world's only superpower. History also teaches the same - the imperialist Churchill, the nuclear-terrorist Truman and the tyrannic Stalin all rose to prominence, fuelled by the fear for the fascist Hitler.

Fascism breeds terrorism and unfortunately, feeds on terrorism. But fascism can never stamp out terrorism. Only the end of fascism can make terrorism irrelevant and thereby end it. It is time we discard the Modis and re-discover Gandhi in Gujarat and the rest of India.

आणखी किती नागरिक बाँबस्फोटांत मेल्यावर राज्यकर्ते दहशतवादाबाबत आक्रमक भूमिका घेणार ?

१३ बाँबस्फोटांत १४ ठार

दहशतवादग्रस्त भारत !

अहमदाबाद, २६ जुलै - काल बंगळुरू येथे बाँबस्फोटांची मालिका घडल्यानंतर आज अहमदाबादमध्ये साखळी बाँबस्फोट झाले. हाती आलेल्या अंतिम वृत्तानुसार एकापाठोपाठ एक असे १३ बाँबस्फोट होऊन त्यात १४ जण ठार झाले, तर ७० हून अधिक जण गंभीर जखमी झाले. (षंढ राज्यकर्त्यांच्या निष्क्रीयतेचे फलीत ! आणखी किती नागरिक बाँबस्फोटांत मेल्यावर राज्यकर्त्यांचे मन शांत होणार आहे ? लोकहो, अशा षंढ राज्यकर्त्यांना हटवा. - संपादक) या बाँबस्फोटांबाबतचे संगणकीय पत्र गुप्‍तचर संघटनेला आज सायं. ६ वा. मिळाले होते; मात्र यासंदर्भात तपास सुरू असतांनाच सायं. ६.३० वा. हे स्फोट झाले. यापैकी दोन बाँबस्फोट मुख्यमंत्री श्री. नरेंद्र मोदी यांच्या मतदारसंघात झाले आहेत, तर एक बाँबस्फोट विहिंपतर्फे गरिबांसाठी चालवण्यात येणार्‍या धन्वंतरी रुग्णालयात झाला. (हिंदूंना लक्ष्य करणारे मुसलमान `दहशतवादी कोणत्याही धर्माचे नसतात', असे म्हणणार्‍यांना याबाबत काय म्हणायचे आहे ? यातून देशाची सुरक्षायंत्रणा किती कमकूवत आहे, हे स्पष्ट होते. अशा सुरक्षायंत्रणेच्या हातात देश सुरक्षित काय रहाणार ?- संपादक)
काल बंगळुरू येथे ९ ठिकाणी बाँबस्फोट झाले. यानंतर संपूर्ण देशभरातील अतीसंवेदनशील शहरांत अतीदक्षतेचा इशारा देण्यात आला होता; मात्र या दक्षतेलाही न जुमानता दहशतवाद्यांनी आज सायंकाळी मणिपूर, सरदार पटेल हिराबाजार, सरनपुर ब्रीज, इसनपूर, हटकेश्‍वर सर्कल, रायपूर, बापूनगर, नरोल व अन्य ठिकाणी एका पाठोपाठ एक बाँबस्फोट केले. हे स्फोट अत्यंत गर्दीच्या ठिकाणी झाले असल्याने संपूर्ण शहर हादरले आहे. हे बाँब सायकलवर जेवणाच्या डब्यात ठेवण्यात आले होते. यापूर्वीही विविध ठिकाणी झालेल्या बाँबस्फोटांत सायकलचा वापर करण्यात आला होता. या स्फोटांत १४ ठार, तर अनेक गंभीर जखमी झाले आहेत. हे स्फोट कमी शक्‍तीशाली असल्याचे म्हटले जाते. (जनतेचा जीव घेणारे बाँबस्फोट म्हणे कमी शक्‍तीशाली ! - संपादक) या पार्श्‍वभूमीवर संपूर्ण देशभरात तिहेरी अतिदक्षतेचा इशारा देण्यात आला आहे.
गुप्‍तचर संघटनेला इंडियन मुजाहिद्दीन (सिमी या बंदी असलेल्या संघटनेचे धारण केलेले नवीन नाव) या संघटनेने पाठवलेल्या संगणकीय पत्रात म्हटले आहे, ``अहमदाबाद व गुजरात येथे ठिकठिकाणी आम्ही बाँबस्फोट करू. तुम्हाला हे स्फोट थांबवून दाखवायचे असेल, तर थांबवून दाखवा. जातीयवाद्यांना आमचा विरोध आहे. ही आमची सुरुवात आहे.'' (भारतीय सुरक्षा यंत्रणेला इस्लामी दहशतवाद्यांचे आव्हान ! सिमीवर बंदी घालूनही तिच्या कारवाया चालू आहेत, ही सरकारला बसलेली चपराकच होय. - संपादक)

दहशतवाद्यांचे षडयंत्र - तोगडिया
विश्‍व हिंदु परिषदेचे आंतरराष्ट्रीय सरचिटणीस श्री. प्रवीण तोगडिया यासंदर्भात प्रतिक्रिया देतांना म्हणाले की, हे दहशतवाद्यांचे षडयंत्र आहे. पूर्व अहमदाबाद हा हिंदुबहुल परिसर असून त्याला लक्ष्य करण्यात आले आहे.

 |  मित्रांना पाठवा |  14 - वाचक संख्या |  छापील प्रत

  निगडीत वृत्त : दहशतवादाने पोखरलेला भारत

How many more blasts will it take for our fuddy-duddy politicians to get their acts together? May be we need to pray God that a few of their wives, daughters, relatives die first so that these bigots can act.
Today again, India has been attacked. Now is not the time for contemplation, now is the time to fight. Where is our Krishna & who will be Arjuna?

I wrote this for the Washington City Paper Music Blog, Black Plastic Bag

X.O. is an MC from uptown D.C. off Georgia Ave. He’s been tearing up the D.C. hip-hop scene since he was a high schooler, straight murking sessions at the legendary Tru Skool cipher at Capitol City Records. A self described “De La Wu/Tupac Pun” he’s a witty, innovative lyricist who puts the D.C. street life in a unique perspective that has rarely been captured in hip-hop prose. The authenticity of his flow stands out in an era where every local MySpace rapper claims to be the repping the DMV to the fullest. When he shouts out shoot-outs, it strikes you as “all facts on tracks..check the resume, my number you can call that.” This is the work of a rising star putting his street experiences into a transformative experience, which also happens to be a free download mixtape. Featuring Wale, and beats by Oddisee, Judah, The Unknown, YU. Cop that, it’s big on the internets.

गांधीनगर, १६ जुलै (प्रे.ट्र.) - जबरदस्ती, प्रलोभन किंवा फसवणूक यांद्वारे धर्मांतर घडवून आणणार्‍यांच्या विरोधात कडक कारवाईची तरतूद असलेला गुजरात धर्मस्वातंत्र्य कायदा राज्यात आजपासून लागू करण्यात आला. गुजरात धर्मस्वातंत्र्य कायद्याविषयीचे विधेयक २००५ मध्ये विधानसभेत संमत करण्यात आले होते.

काही पंथांनी सदर विधेयकाला विरोध केल्याने राज्यपाल नवलकिशोर शर्मा यांनी त्यावर स्वाक्षर्‍या करण्यास नकार दिला होता. राज्यपालांनी सूचवलेल्या दुरस्त्यासह राज्य सरकारने हे विधेयक अर्थसंकल्पीय अधिवेशनात पुन्हा संमत करून घेतले व राज्यपालांकडे पाठवले. राज्यपालांनी अर्थसंकल्पीय अधिवेशन आटोपताच त्यावर स्वाक्षरी केली, असे राजभवनाच्या सूत्रांनी सांगितले. या कायद्यानुसार एखाद्या व्यक्‍तीला धर्मांतर करण्याची इच्छा असल्यास तिला जिल्हाधिकार्‍यांकडे अर्ज करावा लागेल. जिल्हाधिकार्‍यांनी एका महिन्याच्या आत संमती दिल्यास त्या व्यक्‍तीची धर्मांतराची वाट मोकळी होईल. त्यानंतर त्या व्यक्‍तीला १० दिवसांच्या आत बदलेल्या धर्माची माहिती जिल्हाधिकार्‍यांना द्यावी लागेल.

दैनिक सनातन प्रभात

• CopyBot does not need permissions to copy an object. The copier does not even need to own the object.
• CopyBot cannot copy scripts.
• CopyBot can only copy objects it can directly see. It cannot enter a shop and copy all of the products because all it can see is the vendors.
• CopyBot is not an object in Second Life, nor a script. It is a program which a person runs on their computer instead of running the regular Second Life. It logs in as an avatar.
• Using CopyBot or any other software to make copies of avatars, objects, or textures that you do not own is a breach of the Second Life Terms of Service and will result in being banned.
• If an object of yours is copied, you can Abuse Report the copier and file a DMCA notice against them.
• Help or Mentors will not tell you where to get the CopyBot.
• The CopyBot Defeater tries to get rid of CopyBots by sending the message "!quit" over and over again to everyone in range. This did work for a few hours as the CopyBot would interpret it as a command to quit, but CopyBot was quickly patched to ignore it. These objects only serve a historical purpose now and do not have any real effect except to annoy everyone.

How can I stop the messages from CopyBot Defeater ?

1. Go to your chat history window by click on "Chat" near the bottom left corner of your interface next to "IM".
2. In the chat history window go to the box at the top with the down arrow in it and click on the arrow.
3. Scroll through the list of names and find the one called copybot and click on it then go to the Mute Resident button in your chat history window. NOTE: There may be more than one bot so you might have to do this several times to stop them all.

ATTENTION:Doing this can in most cases mute the owner of the land you muted the copybot defeater in so if you can't hear the owner of the land you might want to temporarily unmute the copybot defeater.

If it still doesn't stop after this you should contact the owner of the object and point them to this page, explaining that their script does not have any functional purpose. As a last resort you can file a Help Request to attempt to mediate the issue. If you are familiar with libsecondlife programming, there is source code for a program available at http://libsecondlife.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/IMResponder/ to log a bot in that automatically responds to !quit messages from objects and informs the owner of the issue and where the object is located.

SECOND LIFE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A software tool called CopyBot that can clone avatars, objects and textures is stoking the ire of Second Life business owners who fear their creations could be illicitly copied and sold.

“This product has caused tremendous worry among content creators who want to understand how its use may possibly affect their business,” Community manager Robin Linden said in a blog post after meeting with concerned residents. “In particular, they are concerned about theft of their creations, and the potential for unscrupulous people to undercut their prices and essentially take away their business.”

Linden Lab has attempted to make the protection of intellectual property a cornerstone of Second Life, giving residents ownership rights for the content they create in-world, and setting up a mechanism for residents to file claims of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

CopyBot was originally created by libsecondlife, a Linden Lab-supported open source project to reverse engineer the Second Life software. It allows the copying of any avatar or object, including those that are designated as “no copy” by their creators.

Amid increasing criticism, the group moved to pull the Copybot source code, but on Monday evening Copybot was put up for sale on the online marketplace SLExchange, raising the prospect that it could become widespread.

In a comment on the Official Linden Blog, apparently written before CopyBot was made available for sale, libsecondlife member Baba Yamamoto said: “CopyBot is not a product that we sell or distribute. It’s a debugging tool and silly demo with a [now] obviously bad choice of name. Hopefully you won’t be seeing copy bot on SLex any time soon.”

Yamamoto was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

Prim Revolution, the resident who has put CopyBot up for sale, said he has had made less than a dozen sales at L$3,000 each. In an in-world interview with Reuters, he demonstrated CopyBot by making a perfect replica of the Adam Reuters avatar (above).

“You’ll never get around the potential for abuse and the negativity associated with this particular app,” he said. “But I think the idea of clones and bots is very cool and i’ll be adding more new features for things like automated go-go dancers at clubs.”

“Even if I pull this program, plenty of other people out there have it or have the knowledge to create something bigger and better,” Revolution added. “My advice is to offer the whole package when you sell something. Don’t just offer a couch, but a couch that has several custom poses … work one-on-one with people to create unique things, and offer customization services instead of throwing up some prims for sale and forgetting about it.”

Revolution’s avatar was created on Nov. 13, but he said that he has been in Second Life for about two years. He declined to provide any additional information, including his real-life identity, citing “the nature of the (CopyBot) program.”

Robin Linden said that content creators who feel their copyrights have been violated “have the option of using the DMCA process to file a complaint. It’s a difficult process, but it is one that we’re willing to pursue on your behalf because we agree that copying is a disincentive to creation.”

Linden Lab is also considering other measures, including a “first use” tag that would signal who created an item, similar to a brand name garment label. But the company’s plans to open-source Second Life have raised concerns among in-world businesses that protecting intellectual property may become increasingly difficult in the future.

Timeless Prototype,creator of the popular Multi Gadget, told Reuters in an interview earlier this month: “If the server is put in control of users, they can reverse engineer everything,” he said. “If they had access to that source, they could take (the Multi Gadget scripts) in 10 seconds — it’s a big worry.”

The virtual world Second Life is having to contend with a new piece of software that makes it easy to copy in-game artifacts. Most virtual worlds claim total ownership and control of anything created in the game, but Second Life allows players to claim a copyright in their creations. Players can sell (or refuse to sell) their in-game tchotchkes, or give them away under Creative Commons licenses. Second Life has a thriving economy based on the trading of user-created objects.

An open-source tool called CopyBot allows players to cruise around copying the objects sported by other players. Many SL players are upset by this, and demanding action. Second Life's proprietors, Linden Labs, are trying to figure out what to do. They've ruled out eliminating third-party programs from Second Life, and they are on record as refusing to become copyright enforcers for their community. They are offering to temporarily adjudicate questions of infringement to see if they violate the Second Life terms of service, but they're seeking better solutions, including reputation systems.

This is a hard problem. As a practical matter, it's just not feasible to control copying in an environment like Second Life, which means that SL entrepreneurs are going to need businesses that don't collapse when copying takes place. But there are much gnarlier problems here -- for example, in real life, questions of copyright infringement are adjudicated on the basis of law passed by elected lawmakers, while in Second Life, these questions are adjudicated by a company based on its non-negotiable terms of service. You can fire law-makers who make bad copyright, but you can't fire companies that make bad terms of service. You can take your business elsewhere, but if all your "assets" live in a proprietary virtual world, you have to go away empty handed, without any of your "copyrighted works."

Second Life's management is doing an exemplary job of coping with this, but benevolent dictatorships aren't the same thing as democracies. If a game is going to declare that its players are citizens who own property, can the company go on "owning" the game?

This isn't a criticism -- it's a question. Linden Labs walks a fine line between "government" and "owner" (or, if you prefer, "God"). They're pushing some hard boundaries.

These are important features because the implications of copying should not be about Linden Lab’s approach to copyright enforcement. We are not in the copyright enforcement business. The communities within Second Life should have the tools and the freedoms to decide how and when they deal with potentially infringing content. Many will decide on less restrictive regimes in order to maximize innovation and creativity. Others will choose more restrictive options and ban visitors who do not respect them. Consumers, creators, and all residents need to have the final say about which approaches work best for them.Please recognize that using the Terms of Service is not a permanent solution. Nor is it shift in Linden Lab’s support of libsecondlife (who have removed CopyBot from their Subversion repository), machinima creators, or others who have explored Second Life beyond the features of the Second Life client. I continue to feel that libsecondlife is an incredibly important part of Second Life’s development and community.

it's the age of murders nowadays, any newspaper\mag\website u pick up only wants to talk about the latest murders on the block, nowadays suicides are not left unexploited in the hunt for TRP's, in the war to win the affections of the basest instincts of Man.

earlier this year, I was involved in two incidents that exposed me to the obsessive tendencies present in human beings. I was stunned and a bit paralyzed when i came face to face with this powerful emotion. in one incident , i was able to use reason and logic and the other i was not.
i was reminded of Rahu( i know i have written abut him before but then I never explained what he stood for). what does he stand for? Obsession, compulsion, dysfunctional tendencies, blind tendencies, everything that is considered taboo in life, that what is perceived unconventional by society. Rahu plunges that area of our life, mind and soul into chaos and leads us down to those paths...

rahu is desire- dark albeit- and since desire is powerful; so is Rahu.

Kama on the other hand, is known as the god of love. he is the beautiful embodiment of desire. Accompanied by his wife, Rati who stands for passion and lust, and his friend Vasanta, the spring, he traverses the three worlds on his parrot ( another symbol of spring), shooting shafts of love into unaware, hapless human beings.

so, then i thought - what are the examples that I know of when Rahu and Kama have morphed to yield disastrous results?

the most famous case, i have already blogged about: Nanavati..but wait- there is another case that fills the bill as well.

Ameeta Modi, syed modi and Dr. Sanjay Singh. Syed Modi was a  badminton player who was shot dead in 1988 by assailants after he came out of a stadium following a practice session. The CBI took over the case and built a case of a love triangle: Ameeta Modi , Sanjay Singh the Jan Morcha leader and the former UP transport minister. Evidence surfaced between a "close relationship" between Dr Singh and Ameeta Modi and in no time both were charged for conspiring to murder Syed Modi. Both were released bail and barely few months later, they got married.

Passion can't wait , can it ?  :)

oh yeah....as is the case with politicians, they never went to jail and were acquitted.

As i did a google search, I learned that Ameeta and Sanjay are now challenging the Gandhis in their bastion- Amethi. Yay, our future leaders...

Kama the god of love making his entrance, and then Rahu, the significator of dark desire,obsession and chaos takes over....and the story has a tragic ending.

of course, what happened to me  was totally unrelated an different to this incident but I just remembered this famous case.

so, have any of you been exposed to this awe inspiring, sweet yet terrifying cosmic dance?

obsession, impulsive behavior can be exhibited by anyone- a boss, a friend, the neighbor-similarly as Love is manifested in different forms. the line between these 2 emotions is so thin...its fascinating to watch this psychological power dance.

who won- Kama or Rahu?
i'll sign off- its july 4th so will try to see the fireworks today.

can't wait to get my skateboard. i hope i break a bone. that's never happened to me, i admit that it is a regret I have...i know, I know..i warned u guys, I have a wierdly wired brain! :) :)

skateboarding reminds me of this quote  by James Dean (i had a poster of him and this quote in college)

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

ahhhhh...i wish i had paid more heed to it then...no matter , i'll put in practice today.

flying on a trapeze i something I want to do next(they have a place in nyc that gives classes), if only i can find similar crazy spirits :) :)... my friends have forsaken me for this outing....if you're it, let me know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJF3LBREabk

Downloads:

• Binaries: http://www.patrioticnigras.org/downloads/Copybot22Alpha.zip
• Unstable Sauce: svn co svn://www.patrioticnigras.org/Copybot/branches/nexis/Copybot/ Copybot
• Stable(r) Sauce: svn co svn://www.patrioticnigras.org/Copybot/trunk Copybot

Introduction

You should know what a copybot is. If not, gtfo.

Basic Setup

1. Open up the Copybot GUI. If using the stable sauce, you will get errors. Continue to the next step anyway.
2. Register a new account with copybot by clicking the New Account button (The (+) button in the toolbar).
   1. Fill in the account details.
   2. Add in the IRC channel you wish to connect to. Leave the defaults there if you don’t care.
   3. Master Name = Firstname Lastname of master
   4. Master Nick = IRC Nickname of master.
3. Select the bot in the list and click Login in the toolbar.

Using the Bot

• One can copy a prim by using the export PrimUUID filename.xml command. (v2.2 saves these XMLs in CopyXML/.) Then, to build a copy in SL, use the import filename.xml command.
• Want to clone some faggot? clone Firstname Lastname (Currently does not include attachments)
• Type “follow me” to have the bot follow you around

It's *not* capable of a lot of what you may have heard,  but it can be a useful app in the right hands.

Please do NOT ask me for tech support, I cannot provide it!

Ask the guy who ,make

Liberato Lindman from SOUL

You need in our computer Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0  for work 100%

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&DisplayLang=en

http://rapidshare.com/files/123669207/CopyBot4.0BinarieWindows.zip | 745 KB

Pass:

2. Modi reacts saying only a meagre 5% of the tax paid by Gujarat's people is given as funds from the centre and says that they are relying on falsehoods. He goes one more step ahead and says that the centre is more dependent on the state's taxpayers. - in some rally

3. Issue blown over - The congress says that the data is not true as there was no data of taxes paid by states and calls for modi to be tried for treason (probably inspired by similar such calls from Nawaz Sharif recently), and says that Modi is questioning the very existance of the nation. They question the nationalism of the nationalist leader.

4. Modi asks them to go ahead with the absolutely ridiculous idea of the treason trial.

5. Congress says that Modi does not know the facts and produces facts to show that the Congress govt. did indeed give more funds to gujarat in their time than the NDA govt. did. The figures compare NDA contribution in 2002-03 and theirs in the last year showing about 25% increase over 4 years. This when the growth of Gujarat has been about 10% every year then. Also congress refutes the claim that the aid given to Gujarat is paltry, by discovering the amount taxes paid by the state to centre. One does not even know which taxes have been considered.

This is one of the better dramas unfolding in the recent past, the strong dialogues by Congress "leaders" (read sycophants like Manish Tiwari) like "trial for treason" have been interesting indeed. The congress have really given a good drama for a long time, its time they bowed out.

As for Modi, he should try and make sure he is quoted right and in correct context (he was only speaking at a rally). And he has a point, the state people work hard to produce some results in their neighbourhood. People work hard hoping that roads and infrastructure in their part of the world would improve and if any funds are going to the centre to put into sachar committees and to institute fudging experts and contract killers to maintain the sanctity of flagship pogroms oops sorry programs like NREGA.

The simple speech of Modi can shake the congress so much to call treason is testimony to the stature of Modi.

This take on recent polls, is my take on you and all the Gujaratis. Gujaratis are far far behind from the thought of nationalism where the nationalism is the principal and has to prevail in every member of the democracy. We are very much at the individual level; you ought to rip off that cover. Gujarat is still more of a shame to India than a proud of India in all over the world. Do not ask those money minded gujjus in London or New Jersey how they feel about the Gujarat and Modi, but asks the world. Even you can ask the other states of India. It is not the benchmark to believe that you are the best person if papa, mama and didi believe so, you should ask neighbors, friends, colleagues and even the society. Put the self on the surface - let it be commented it self. People want to look Modi, people
want to dance Modi. I am heart-ripped because of this selfish, stiff and soulless mindset of Gujjus. Modi is a good leader and knows the ways to win the elections. Getting the top rank in the school examination and being a scholar are completely diverse. Being an ideal leader and winning the election to become chief minister are also completely different.

The definition of the development is completely diverse for India in every manner. Centralization does not work for us; Distribution is the must for us. We don't need to raise 5 malls in every area; we need to raise 5 farmers in every village. There are lots of things that I am and you are (not personally you) not enough sensible to say, but we can at least comprehend the things and not just follow the mass. Also the so called development and economic growth are coming down to Gujarat because of the individual business endeavors, outsourcing and over all India's product dominance in the market.
India is having intelligence overflow (Giddens: International social science author) and that has resulted in an economic growth and we have gone through this process over more than 40 years not just last 10 years. And the 'malai' we professionals and executives are eating now, is the outcome of this stirring process of the Indian global injections. I will say hundred times – it does not coexist with development to filter the growth areas and the growing mass. If you don’t get it, I reiterate in simple words, “It is not possible to talk about hindutva & development together. Any development is futile without the intact harmony and rational environment.” It is not the development of Gujarat what you see. It will not be the Gujarat you may be wanting.

Sneh Bhavsar
Ahmedabad | 27 December 2007