AK Srivastava (SriAKS)

--- " EVERYONE AT ONE POINT or OTHER, is an "IDIOT" [ Could be for short duration & may not prolong ]. 'Idiot' is a grossly misused word and an oversimplified epithet, if one goes by the Supreme Court's brand new definition of the term. It is almost impossible for a person to qualify as an idiot, says the Court and therefore, few can expect to get a reprieve for an offence. To be legally accepted as an 'idiot', one has to be so dumb as to be unable to count till 20, list the days of the week, or fail to remember the names of one's parents, the Court said on Friday. Under Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code, a person is not liable to be prosecuted if they are of unsound mind, or incapable of comprehending the nature of the criminal act and the fact that it is against the law. The Supreme Court identified just four kinds of people who could be classified mentally unsound — idiots, the very ill, lunatics and drunks. "An idiot is one who is o...

KOLKATA: In a rare show of solidarity for a fellow industrialist, Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday came out in support of Ratan Tata's Nano venture at Singur by terming the small car project one of "national importance" which deserved to be allowed to function without any hindrances. In a statement, the Reliance Industries chairman said: " The Nano project is an unique and innovative initiative which will establish India's position as a small car hub. Indian industry must be encouraged to make such large investments in order to build the country's competitiveness as well as support job creation ." Claiming that a "fear psychosis" is being created to slow down a few projects of national importance, Ambani said this would be counter-productive for the country's economic growth, its global image as well as its ability to attract investments from across the world. "Indian industry and the political leadership in the country need to work together...

- NEW DELHI: India is home to roughly one-third of all poor people in the world. It also has a higher proportion of its population living on less than $2 per day than even sub-Saharan Africa. That is the sobering news coming out of the World Bank's latest estimates on global poverty. The fine print of the estimates also shows that the rate of decline of poverty in India was faster between 1981 and 1990 than between 1990 and 2005. This is likely to give fresh ammunition to those who maintain that economic reforms, which started in 1991, have failed to reduce poverty at a faster rate. India, according to the new estimates, had 456 million people or about 42% of the population living below the new international poverty line of $1.25 per day. The number of Indian poor also constitute 33% of the global poor, which is pegged at 1.4 billion people. India also had 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population living below $2 a day. Sub-Saharan Africa, considered the world's poorest re...

America holds crucial leverage over both, the Pakistan nuclear weapons & Musharraf America holds crucial leverage over both, the Pakistan nuclear weapons & Musharraf The recent political unrest in Pakistan has again revived the old debate. How secure are the nuclear weapons of Pakistan? One thing is clear. Protecting Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, either through coercion or through inducement, have occupied the centre-stage of the Bush Administration’s South Asia policy in the post-9/11 order. Fuelling the debate, a well-referred intelligence journal recently claimed that the US took control of the Pakistan nuclear assets soon after September 11. In what could open a Pandora’s Box in US- Pak strategic affairs, the journal stated that Pakistan was given an ultimatum by the US to either allow the Americans to take control of the nuclear weapons or to be prepared to face the consequences. If Pakistan protested, “the US would be left with no choice but to destroy those facilities, p...

. NEW DELHI: Although Muslims are safer in this country than in other parts of the world because they have a stake and space in Indian democracy, Indian democracy is unfair to Muslims, says Shabana Azmi, actor and former MP. In an interview to a private TV channel, Azmi said, "I think there is not enough understanding of the fact that in a democracy how you treat the security of the minority must be a very important part for the success of a democracy. You can't only make token gestures and actually let them be in the state that they are as the Rajinder Sachar Committee report shows. So what happened is token gestures are made but real issues are never addressed." Shabana Azmi said Indian politics has been unfair to Muslims and despite Indian secularism Muslims are discriminated against. She said she couldn't buy a house in Mumbai because she was a Muslim. "I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn't given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same a...

Becoming PM: Mayawati !!! LUCKNOW: Unfazed by the failure of efforts to pull down the UPA government that may have pitchforked her into national centrestage, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today said that "nobody can stop her from becoming Prime Minister". In a show of strength a fortnight after the attempt in Parliament floundered, the BSP leader addressed a huge gathering of her party workers and supporters and a surprise presence in the stage was that of suspended Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh. Singh and his son Jagat Singh, an expelled Congress MLA in Rajasthan, are expected to join the BSP. "If I can become chief minister of UP four times...why cannot I become the Prime Minister. If people from sarv samaj (all castes) continue to support the BSP nobody can prevent her from becoming the Prime Minister," she said addressing the party's National Workers Convention here. Mayawati accused the "casteist" forc...