Daily Times India

Bhopal, Aug 1 (IANS) Two years after introducing ’surya namaskar’ in schools, the Madhya Pradesh government has now directed that students in state-run schools have to recite a ‘bhojan mantra’ – perceived by many Muslims as a Hindu chant – before partaking of midday meals.

“The schoolchildren in the state will have to recite the ‘bhojan mantra’ before their midday meals. This will come into force from Sep 5 – Teacher’s Day this year,” says a notice from state School Education Minister Archana Chitnis.

The directive has stirred controversy as many Muslims say the imposition of such a chant is against the religious freedom of minorities.

The mantra is, “Anna grahan karne se pehle, vichar man mein karna hai; Kis hetu se is sharir ka rakshan poshan karna hai; Hey parmeshwar, ek prarthana nitya tumhare charnon mein; Lag jaaye tan man dhan mera, matr bhumi ki sewa mein.”

Translated into English it means: “Before eating, let us think why we have to nourish and take care of our bodies. Oh lord, this is a daily prayer to you that my body, mind and wealth be used in the service of the motherland).

Minister Chitnis said, “The mantra would be recited in all schools without any discrimination on grounds of caste and creed. It will be made mandatory for all wards availing themselves of government-run midday meals,” she said.

“First the teachers would be taught the mantra at training sessions, so they can propagate it correctly among students,” Chitnis told IANS over phone.

She denied the charge that the mantra had a ’saffron’ agenda.

An education department official said: “The minister has already directed her department which, without losing any time, has started preparing for teaching the mantra to teachers in August and September.”

“Preparations are on and about 1,000 teachers of higher secondary (up to Class 12) and 3,000 teachers of high school (up to Class 10) will participate in the training,” said the official.

But Muslims in the state are not amused.

“Asking children to recite the mantra before midday meals is unconstitutional. It is unacceptable not only to Muslims but also to other religious minorities,” said Irshad Ali Khan, member of the Majlis-e-Shoora, a Muslim body.

“We will urge the government to withdraw such a diktat.”

Muslim Tehwar Committee chief Ausaf Shahmiri Khurram also opposed the directive saying, “The order infringes the religious freedom of minorities.”

Madhya Pradesh Jamaat-e-Islami Hind spokesman Anwar Shafi claimed it was against the belief of Muslims. “The Muslim community recites ‘Bismillah’ before having meals and under no circumstances would recite the ‘bhojan mantra’ as directed by the minister,” he said.

Several Muslim organisations and leaders – including Hafiz Saghir Jilani Chishti of Jamiat Ulema Chishtia, Maulana Javed of Jamiat Ahle Quraish and Muslim Raeen Panchayat’s Noorul Islam – have decided to opppose the move unitedly.

Describing it as an attempt to saffronise the education system, the opposition Congress has also criticised the move. “India is a secular country where every individual has the right to live as per his/her religious beliefs,” Congress spokesman Arvind Malviya said.

“The midday meal is a central scheme and the state government has no right to implement its agenda on it by asking teachers and students to recite bhojan mantra,” he said.

“Instead of dividing the community, the government should focus on providing quality and nutritious food to children and check malnutrition deaths in the state,” he said.

Another Congress leader, Noori Khan, said, “Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Education Minister Archana Chitnis could recite whatever they like while taking lunch at their homes, but they don’t have any right to impose their will on students.”

The decision to introduce the yogic exercise of surya namaskar in schools had also been opposed by minority community organisations. Later, it was made optional.

(Sanjay Sharma can be contacted at sanjay.s@ians.in)

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Nirupama Rao took charge as India’s foreign secretary Saturday morning, the second woman to head India’s foreign service.

Rao succeeded Shivshankar Menon at a brief ceremony in South Block. Chokila Iyer was the first woman to serve as India’s foreign secretary in 2001.

A topper of the 1973 Indian Foreign Service batch, Rao also became the first woman spokesperson of the external affairs ministry in 2001. She then went on become the Indian envoy to Sri Lanka and then China before returning to New Delhi.

In her 36-year-long career, she has served also as ambassador in Peru and deputy chief of mission in Moscow.

Rao’s tenure as foreign secretary will end in December 2010, when she will retire from the foreign service.

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Nagesh Kukunoor plans to make a biopic on legendary singer-actor-director Kishore Kumar and is considering Shreyas Talpade for the lead role. The young actor says it would be be an “honour” to step into the singer’s shoes for the movie.

“Nagesh had asked me a year-and-a-half back about doing Kishore-da’s part and I had immediately said yes, but nothing is official as of now… personally speaking I’m really looking forward to it,” Shreyas told IANS over telephone from Mumbai.

“I haven’t been able to speak with Nagesh about it yet, but I’d love to portray Kishore-da without any doubt… I’m a big fan of his and as an actor it’ll be a huge honour for me as well as a challenge to enact him in a film,” he added.

Apparently Kukunoor, who had launched the actor in Bollywood with his critically-acclaimed 2005 movie “Iqbal”, wants to cast him in the biopic for two reasons – first, a Kishore Kumar bio-pic cannot be attempted with a star who has a strong image and, secondly, Shreyas is a huge Kishore Kumar fan himself.

If Kukunoor signs Shreyas for the film, it will be his fifth project with the director after “Aashayein”, “Bombay to Bangkok” (2008), “Dor” (2006) and “Iqbal” (2005).

Asked if he would be crooning the hitmaker’s numbers if roped in, Shreyas said: “You wouldn’t like to mess around with Kishore-da’s voice. I keep humming his songs, but you can’t really call me a singer. His voice has been god’s gift and I’ll try (to sing in his voice), but if I cannot then we’ll pick a singer who can do justice to his songs.

“But as far as the performance part is concerned, it is totally under my control and I’ll make sure that I pull that perfectly… I wont leave any room for any finger to find anything missing,” he added.

Kukunoor’s narrative in the film would be propelled forward on the strength of Kishore Kumar’s songs and he is also in the process of acquiring the rights to the original numbers.

The filmmaker has spent hours with Kishore Kumar’s son Amit Kumar and wife Leena Chandravarkar – they gave Kukunoor enough anecdotes to make the biopic authentic.

Interestingly, two more directors – Sudhir Mishra and Shoojit Sircar -

are also set to wield the megaphone on the life and songs of the multi-faceted Kishore Kumar.

While Mishra is looking forward to casting Kishore Kumar’s younger son Sumit provided he can act, Sircar’s film, which is being penned by Rensil D’Silva, is currently on hold.

Washington, August 1 (IANS) Obamamania may still be sweeping the world, but not most Muslim nations, says a survey by the Pew Research Center here.

Called Global Attitudes Project, the survey of 24 countries and the Palestinian territories shows that the Muslim world remains largely immune to Obamamania, said Richard Wike, associate director, Pew Global Attitudes Project, in an article for CBS News Friday.

Thanks to the new president, America’s image is on the rebound throughout much of the world, with more than nine-in-ten in France and Germany posing faith in Obama’s leadership, he said.

Because of Obama, ratings for the US itself are up dramatically, with sizeable increases in Latin America, Africa, and much of Asia, Wike wrote.

However when it comes to Muslim nations, Obama is viewed more positively there than George Bush, but America’s overall image remains unchanged, the survey says.

In Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian territories, even less than 30 percent people have a positive view of America, according to the survey.

In Egypt and Jordan there has been a slight rise in favorable views about the US since 2008. But in Pakistan, Turkey and the Palestinian territories, America continues to be viewed as negatively as in the final years of the presidency of George Bush whose wars in Iraq and Afghanistan antagonized Muslim nations.

“Although a new team is now in the White House, much of the distrust persists. For example, the 2009 poll finds that in predominantly Muslim nations, there is generally little support for US-led anti-terrorism efforts,’ said Wike.

According to the survey, the American disapproval ratings are as high as 64 percent in Pakistan and 77 percent in the Palestinian territories.

Majorities in six of the seven Muslim nations surveyed feel the US is a military threat to their country.

Though respondents in most countries thought Obama will take a multilateral approach to foreign policy and be fair in his dealings with the Israelis and Palestinians, Muslim nations thought otherwise.

In the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon, more than six-in-ten doubted whether Obama will be fair on the Middle East issues, according to the survey.

However, the US ratings are up to 61 percent among Muslims in Nigeria in Africa – the continent where Obama’s Kenyan Muslim father came from – and 63 percent in Indonesia where Obama spent many years as a child.

While Indonesia is the world’s biggest Muslim nation, Muslims constitute 50 percent of the Nigerian population.

But what was surprising was a 90 percent approval rating for the US among Lebanon’s Sunni Muslims as against juts 2 percent among Lebanese Shias who are aligned with Shiite Iran and Syria.

The survey said Obama’s election may not have brought about a sea change in Muslim attitudes towards the US, but he may be laying the groundwork for improvement.

Toronto, Aug 1 (IANS) Fungal infections can be deadly as fungus germs have developed resistance to drug treatment. But now researchers have found a way to make drugs more effective in clearing all fungal infections.

Led by Toronto University professor Leah Cowen, an international team has discovered that the fungal pathogen or germ called Candida albicans, resists drug treatment because of an associated protein called heat shock protein 90 or Hsp90.

Candida albicans can cause from superficial infections such as yeast infections to life-threatening infections in the bloodstream.

These fungal infections can be deadly for people with compromised immune systems, such as AIDS patients or those undergoing treatment for cancer or organ transplantation.

Doctors say Candida albicans are the fourth leading cause of hospital acquired infectious diseases.

But the researchers have now found a way to fight fungal infections by knock out its associate protein, a Toronto University statement said Friday.

The researchers say that compromising Hsp90 protein makes the fungal-fighting drugs (known as echinocandins) more effective in killing fungal germs or Candida albicans.

“Our results suggest that interfering with Hsp90 function provides a powerful and much-needed strategy to render existing antifungal drugs more effective in the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections,’ the statement quoted Cowen as saying.

The researchers discovered that impairing the function of germs’ protein Hsp90 by using potent drugs or genetic techniques made the fungus much more prone to killing by echinocandins.

They said this strategy was found effective in both lab experiments and mouse models.

The researchers said treating patients with a drug that inhibits Hsp90 along with an echinocandin will have major benefits for people with life-threatening fungal disease.

The study was published Friday in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

Considering the ease with which anti-Pakistani feelings can be ratcheted up in India by the opposition parties and sections of the media, it takes a great deal of courage to try to reduce tension and move towards peace. In this respect, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s initiatives in Sharm-el-Sheikh were a bolder venture than even Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s bus journey to Lahore a decade ago.

The boldness was all the greater because the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting was preceded by 26/11 whereas Vajpayee’s excursion was followed by the Kargil conflict, the Kandahar hijacking and the attack on parliament. Had it been the other way round, Vajpayee would not have travelled to Lahore at all.

Yet, Manmohan Singh praised his predecessor’s overtures to a duplicitous neighbour during his address to parliament. The reason was that Vajpayee had to overcome the strong lobby of Pakistan-baiters in his own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in the RSS-led Sangh Parivar, a member of which advised him to go to Lahore in a tank and not in a bus.

The same group in the BJP was active yet again in parliament with a former minister, Yashwant Sinha, even accusing Manmohan Singh of walking over to the Pakistani side.

At the end of the parliamentary debate, however, the reference to Balochistan in the Sharm-el-Sheikh document remained the only point which gave the BJP some solace. Otherwise, Manmohan Singh’s reiteration that a return to the negotiating table was not possible till Pakistan acted against its supposedly “non-state” terrorists left the opposition without any substantial talking point.

In contrast to the BJP’s politically-motivated obduracy, what was evident was the reasonableness of Manmohan Singh’s stand that, first, war was not an option and, second, that channels of communication could not be shut down even if the interlocutor was perceived to be mendacious.

Hence the prime minister’s reference to Ronald Reagan’s “trust, but verify” directive in the context of the American peace initiatives with the Soviet Union. Arguably, the Indian efforts to reach an understanding with Pakistan face even greater obstacles than the Reagan-Gorbachev dialogue.

The reason is that the US knew who it was dealing with in Moscow. India, however, cannot be sure whether President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani are really calling the shots in Islamabad, and not army chief General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani.

India cannot forget that even as Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif were meeting in Lahore, then Pakistani army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf was preparing for his Kargil misadventure.

Similarly, Kayani’s recent comment that the army will bring the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) under “control” if India stopped “messing around” in Balochistan indicates that the links between the military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with the LeT remain intact.

The same impression is conveyed by Pakistani objections to the proposed American “surge” in the anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan since this can lead to the influx of terrorists into Balochistan and elsewhere in Pakistan. Their arrival will compound the situation for the army because it is unwilling to move its troops from the Indian border to fight the internal menace.

It is this suspicion of dualism which probably made Manmohan Singh express the hope that the “leadership in Pakistan will have the courage to defeat those who want to destroy peace”. His reference may not have been only to the terrorists but also to their backers in the military and ISI.

At the same time, the resultant uncertainty about whether it is worthwhile to negotiate with those who do not have real authority in Pakistan explains the prime minister’s remark that while he shares Vajpayee’s “vision”, he also feels “his frustration in dealing with Pakistan”.

Although this is the fundamental difficulty of interacting with Pakistan, it is a point not raised by parties like the BJP because it will dilute their criticism of the government and the prime minister’s supposed weakness, on which it is again focussing even though this line of attack was of no help to it in the elections.

If, on his part, Manmohan Singh was able to dispel much of the misgivings about delinking acts of terrorism from resumption of the dialogue, this could not be said about the reference to Balochistan in the document even if it was due to bad drafting, as Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon conceded.

But if Pakistan believes that allegations of Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing’s (RAW) involvement in Balochistan will balance the Indian charges against ISI, it is still a kind of self-goal for Islamabad because it underlines the prevalence of serious unrest in a large province a la the former East Pakistan before 1971.

Whether RAW is funneling funds to the Balochistan Liberation Army or not, as a well-known Pakistani television journalist, Hamid Mir, has mentioned in a recent article, Baloch separatism is another indication of Pakistan’s fragility, which is also exemplified by the continuing influence of the Islamic fundamentalists in the north-west.

India’s willingness, therefore, to talk to Pakistan if it can rein in terrorism not only entails propping up the somewhat more dependable civilian leadership vis-à-vis the military and ISI for the sake of peace but also to ensure that the latter’s flirting with religious extremists does not further destabilise the failing state.

(01-08-2009 – Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)

Jakarta, Aug 1 (DPA) Young Indonesians are sending a defiant message to extremists behind the deadly July 17 bombings of two Jakarta hotels: “We are not afraid.”

An internet campaign against terrorism in response to the attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels has come into vogue among young, technology-savvy Indonesians with its slogans “Indonesia unite!” and “We are not afraid”.

A profile for IndonesiaUnite on the popular social-networking site Facebook has picked up nearly 200,000 members, and IndonesiaUnite also became the most popular topic for some time on the microblogging site Twitter.

National television channels have also amplified the message by inviting key people behind the movement to speak on their shows.

The hotel attacks — which killed nine people, including two suspected suicide bombers and six foreigners — sparked fears of a return of turmoil to Indonesia after a few years of calm.

But analysts said Indonesia’s economic and political stability is strong enough to overcome the fallout from the bombings.

“Say and show that we are not afraid of all acts of terrorism,” said a message on the campaign’s website, indonesiaunite.com. “Go about your business as usual, but stay alert.”

The website also urged Indonesians to raise national flags and buy local products.

“What IndonesiaUnite aims to achieve is to reach the heart of every Indonesian who cares about driving the nation forward and doing something about it,” said Aulia Masna, a blogger and one of the key proponents of the campaign.

“Terrorism can be extinguished through education, tolerance, welfare and understanding because people who don’t have these things could be crazy enough to murder their fellow countrymen,” he said.

The IndonesiaUnite movement has also distributed T-shirts printed with the slogan “We are not afraid” and composed a theme song of the same title to spread the message of defiance against terrorists.

Supporters were planning to bring the campaign offline by organising events across the country in the run-up to Indonesia’s independence day Aug 17, Aulia said.

To do so could widen the reach of the campaign because only about 30 million of Indonesia’s 230 million people have access to the internet.

Police said they suspect the attacks two weeks ago were carried out by Islamic extremists linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional militant group blamed for a string of deadly bombings in Indonesia this decade, notably the 2002 Bali bombings, in which 202 people were killed.

No suspect has been arrested in the latest bombings, but police have launched a nationwide hunt for Malaysian-born fugitive Noordin Mohammed Top, who is believed to be the leader of a violent Jemaah Islamiyah splinter group.

Noor Huda Ismail, an expert in Islamic militancy in Indonesia, said the IndonesiaUnite campaign signalled increasing willingness among Indonesians to openly confront radicalism.

“In the past, there was silence and the voice of the moderate majority was drowned out by the radical minority fringe,” Noor Huda said. “It’s good to see that people speak up. It’s fascinating.”

Militants have also used the internet to get their message across.

An internet statement purportedly signed by Noordin on behalf of a group calling itself Tandzim Al-Qaeda Indonesia said the hotel attacks targeted “top businessmen and intelligence operatives linked to the US economy” bent on “plundering Indonesia’s resources”.

The statement, posted on the internet blog mediaislam-bushro.blogspot.com, said the attacks were tributes to two militants killed in police raids in 2005 and 2006, bomb-maker Azahari bin Husin and Jabir. Experts said they were unsure whether the statement is authentic.

Indonesia’s anti-terrorism police force, which has received assistance from Australia and the US, has not only won praise for its crackdown on militants involved in past attacks but also for its de-radicalisation approach, which includes employing reformed militants to wean radicals away from terrorism.

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Director Tarun Mansukhani made his debut with the hit “Dostana” under Karan Johar’s banner and he has no plans to shift to any other production house despite being flooded by offers. He says his loyalty to Dharma Productions is “too strong” to be bought.

“I received several calls from several producers (post ‘Dostana’)… But everyone in the industry knows my loyalty to Karan is too strong. No amount of money or fame can buy that,” Mansukhani told IANS in an e-mail interview.

“Karan gave me freedom to make the film I wanted… with no pressures of budgets and market expectations and for that I’m eternally grateful,” he added.

Mansukhani plans to stick with the 37-year-old filmmaker.

“It’s been 12 years in films now… and all those years have been spent in one institution, in one family – the Johars. And they´ve always taught me to dream big. And I have.

“But what surprises me every now and then is Karan. He seems to have bigger dreams for me than I have for myself. So I hope both our dreams come true… and we can continue to make films together till our sanity remains,” said Mansukhani, who started his career as an assistant director to Karan for “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” (1998).

In “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” (2001) and “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna” (2006) Mashukhani worked as first assistant director. He credits the success of his comical hit to Karan.

“The only reason that ‘Dostana’ happened, got the buzz, the opening, the reaction was because it was a film presented by Karan Johar. That name stands for quality wholesome entertainment. And that name backs me. There´s nothing more thunderous than that,” he said.

The 33-year-old admits that he is in awe of his mentor.

“Karan is amazingly clear about his films. He is aware of its strengths, its weaknesses and its requirements. He lives, eats and breathes his film… and whilst doing that he manages to be stylish, entertaining and business-minded.

“He knows his job and more often than not, he knows other people’s jobs as well… but just like his father (Yash), he never blames, yells or puts anyone down. No matter how many mistakes one makes, he always corrects them and pushes one further…”

“I know I’m making him sound too good to be true… but the truth is he is. And yes… I’m in awe of him,” he explained.

Noteworthy is that despite being major successes abroad, most of Karan’s films have been tagged by critics as “plastic cinema” courtesy the superficiality of its entire set-up and narrative and larger-than-life lavishness.

But Mansukhani doesn’t agree with the critics.

“There is no set norm for the films we make. We at Dharma are just doing our job, just like the critics are. It’s our job to make films we are proud of and think an audience would enjoy watching.

“It’s critics’ job to see those films and give their opinion on the film so that an audience can decide whether they want to see the film. The critics might call our films plastic… but, hey, everyone seems to like plastic,” he remarked.

Mansukhani’s future projects includes animation film “Koochie Koochie Hota Hain” with voice-overs from Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji and a sequel to “Dostana” – both with Dharma Productions.

Manila, Aug 1 (DPA) Philippine democracy icon and former president Corazon Aquino died Saturday after battling colon cancer for more than a year, her family said. She was 76.

Cory, as people fondly called her, had been hospitalized in the Makati Medical Centre in Manila since late June after her health deteriorated and the cancer spread to other parts of her body.

“Our mother peacefully passed away at 3.18 a.m. Augt 1, 2009, of cardio-respiratory arrest,” Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said.

“She would have wanted us to thank each and everyone of you for all the prayers and your continued love and support,” he added. “It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country.”

All of Aquino’s five children were at her bedside, according to close family friend Boy Abunda.

“Her kids were praying the rosary when she peacefully passed away,” he told reporters outside the hospital. “They were praying the Sorrowful Mystery when she breathed her last.”

“Everyone quietly cried,” he added.

Abunda said Aquino was “basically asleep most of the time” for the last few days before her death.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo mourned the death of Aquino, who was critical of Arroyo’s administration and expressed regret over supporting a mass uprising that catapulted her to the presidency in 2001.

Arroyo was in the US on an official visit when Aquino passed away.

“(On) behalf of a grateful nation, President Arroyo extends her most sincere condolences to the family of the late president,” her spokesman Cerge Remonde said in a radio message from the US.

“A period of national mourning will be formally declared in honour of the late president Aquino,” he added.

Remonde said Arroyo would discuss with her delegation if she would should cut short her trip and immediately return to the Philippines. She was scheduled to return Wednesday.

Early masses were offered for the repose of Aquino, who led a four-day bloodless “people power” revolution in 1986 that toppled the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos.

Filipinos in and outside the Philippines had been offering prayer vigils and masses for Aquino since she was hospitalized.

Yellow ribbons were also tied on street lamps, trees, fences and buildings throughout the Philippines. Yellow was Aquino’s symbol in her fight against Marcos.

New York, Aug 1 (DPA) A federal jury in Boston Friday ordered a graduate student to pay $22,500 per song to four record labels, who sued him for illegally downloading and sharing music.

Joel Tenenbaum, 25, was found to have illegally downloaded 30 songs and ordered to pay a total of $675,000 to the plaintiffs.

He was only the second person in the US to have been sued for downloading music over the Internet.

In the previous case, a Minnesota jury ordered Jammie Thomas-Rasset to pay $80,000 for infringing 24 songs, totalling $1.92 million.

Lawyers for the record companies had argued that Tenenbaum was a “hardcore and habitual infringer” who had started downloading music in 1999 and continued even after he was sued.

During the trial, Tenenbaum admitted under oath that he used KaZaA, LimeWire and other peer-to-peer software to download and distribute music to others.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which has taken the lead against file sharing systems, welcomed the verdict. “We are grateful for the jury’s recognition of the impact of illegal downloading on the music community,” the association said in a

statement.

“We appreciate that Mr Tenenbaum finally acknowledged that artists and music companies deserve to be paid for their work. From the beginning that’s what this case has been about.”