Sheela Bhatt narrates the behind-the-scenes action in the Delhi headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat that finally forced the religious sect's compliance with the coronavirus shutdown.
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin will celebrate its Convention 2009 in Chennai, India, January 6 and 7 at the Trident Hotel, just before the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2009 event.
In the first part of an interview to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Arun Jaitley spoke of his party's election campaign and the performance of the United Progressive Alliance government.
Even though he doesn't say it in enough words, Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi wants people to take the H1N1 pandemic in their stride and not go by the coverage in electronic media.
'The priority at the moment should be to strengthen our internal security arrangements and improve coordination among the intelligence agencies, state governments and military authorities,' says Naresh Chandra, India's former ambassador to Washington.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, now on the side of two leading ladies -- Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati -- thinks Anna Hazare ditched the Bengal chief minister, resulting in the poor turnout at Didi's Delhi rally on Wednesday.
The second and concluding part of Sheela Bhatt's eyewitness account of one of the most talked-about trials in the country, that of Ajmal Kasab, lone surviving terrorist accused in the dreaded Mumbai terror attacks of 26/11
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha teams up with the Madhya Pradesh CM. What's cooking?
'Generally people say the terrorists come from madrasas or slums. But that is not the case. Those who have been recently nabbed, they had very good schooling in towns of India and there are some technocrats and IT-savvy people. By and large women are generally not found in the modules, or in planting or making of bombs'
"So far, conclusive evidence has not been obtained but in any terrorism case the turning points in investigations always come only after the confessional statements of the accused," a senior officer said.
Strategic thinker and former bureaucrat, K Subrhamanyam says that India is not doing enough, just yet, to respond to Mumbai attacks.
'"The end" depends on two things.' 'Either you develop a vaccine which is effective or if you have a drug, you can terminate this infection very quickly.' 'Otherwise, you have to depend on herd immunity.' 'I think it should happen earlier. Far earlier, than we can imagine or achieve 'herd immunity'.'
'We have gone through the entire CCTV coverage of Taj Mahal, Oberoi and CST, that count gives us the figure of 10. When Kasab was arrested in the morning of November 27 we immediately interrogated him and he told us they were 10 people. This confusion is more or less a creation of the media,' says Mumbai's Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Rakesh Maria
Managing Editor Sheela Bhatt provides an inside view of the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that culminated in the trust vote in India's Parliament last week
Vijay Jolly, who is contesting against Delhi chief minister Sheela Dikshit in the assembly polls, blamed Dikshit for using extra-constitutional means to fight her battle against him.
'There is an understanding between the people of two countries that violence is not going to solve the Kashmir issue. A final understanding will take time,' says former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra.
'Don't panic. Believe in yourself.' 'This is a preventable illness. Only you can prevent it.'
The best-case scenario -- to which Morgan Stanley attaches 30 per cent probability -- pegs the S&P BSE Sensex at 41,500 levels in the next 12 months.
'This indoctrination of uneducated youth that is going on in Pakistan is a danger to the whole world, not just to India.' Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria, the lead investigator in the attacks case, in his first interview on the acts of terror. Exclusive to rediff.com
Kasav is no phantom in police custody -- he is for real and was captured a couple of hours after his career as serial murderer began.
'If the mandis were not working in Delhi, or the onion market in Nashik got affected, or there were disruptions because of unloading or loading in any sector in south India, we intervened.'
In an exclusive interview, former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra argues why he has changed his earlier opposition to the India-US nuclear deal.
Here are some helpful tips to follow in case you are in trouble.
Was Ajay Rai put up just to hobble Kejriwal in Varanasi?
'From one seat to a majority in the assembly in 20 years. The evolution of the BJP in Karnataka is a script in itself,' says Arun Jaitley, the party's strategist for the election.
The real story why the finance minister is not fighting the Lok Sabha election.
Riding against all odds, Narendra Modi has won convincingly. In one line, the victory shows that it is a people's mandate for his personality. It's the clear vote for a person and leader called Narendra Modi.
Sitting MP Pawan Kumar Bansal faces two dimpled beauties. Which one will the city choose?
Although Parugu does not match up to Bommarillu, it is made watchable by the good performances of Prakash Raj and Allu Arjun. A stereotyped storyline is given some good treatment particularly in the first half.
Dr Shirin M Mazari, an Islamabad-based analyst, speaks of terrorism and violence in Pakistan and what Pervez Musharraf's presidency has done for the country.
'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government. 'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.' 'He needs a visionary script to perform.' Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.
Managing Editor Sheela Bhatt stands by her story
Is this 'Yashpal Kapoor' the late Congress leader, one of Indira Gandhi's closest aides in the 1970s?
'There is absolutely no reason for India and China to even contemplate a conflict! Yes, but we are rivals.' says National Security Adviser M K Narayanan.
'The lockdown was for both: To flatten the curve or more correctly, delay the rapid spread of COVID outbreak, and to create healthcare infrastructure.'
From Kutch to Itanagar, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, there is only one emotion, it seems. Fear. Of coronavirus.
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