Indian news & views briefly

NEW YORK, NOV 25. Indian government's special envoy Virendra Dayal sent to obtain crucial documents from the United Nations Independent Inquiry Commission (IIC) regarding alleged Oil-for-food payoffs to India's External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and the Congress, told reporters Thursday that he has secured all essential documents he had sought from the Commission.

Mr Dayal, himself a retired UN official, has an inside track at the world body. He was sent to obtain documents from IIC headed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, which is investigating the scandal ridden Iraqi oil for Food program .

The IIC which ended its investigations had alleged that some 2,200 companies doing business with UN's oil for food program were involved in giving kickbacks and bribes to Iraqi and UN officials. It named some 133 Indian companies which had obtained such contracts from the UN program. Most of them allegedly paid bribes to Iraqi officials to obtain lucrative contracts.

In an appendix, the report charged that Mr Natwar Singh and the Congress Party had received as "non contractual" beneficiaries eight million barrels of oil, that equals $240 million worth of oil if calculated at approximately $30 a barrel, which was the crude oil price roughly during 1999-2000.

Volcker

Mr Dayal told reporters that these documents would now be examined by experts in New Delhi to see what more is required. If necessary, he might come to New York once more to seek information.

He said the Volcker Committee had handed over all documents which were in its capacity to do so and only after their analysis would a decision be taken as whether India needs to contact some other countries.

The Committee, he said, was convinced that the documents on which it had based its findings were authentic but all aspects would be examined the Indian investigators to arrive at their own conclusions.

Mr Dayal said the Committee was sorting out some other documents, implying that he had sought more information. But he repeated his assertion that he has been able to get all essential documents he had sought.

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Monica 'divorces' Salem

NOV 25: Monica Bedi has taken another step towards de-linking herself from mafia don Abu Salem.

Six days after announcing that she was not married to Salem, Monica is now angling to divorce even her legal battle from that of Abu Salem.

Monica has hired a new lawyer with the help of her uncle from Hoshiarpur, Purushottam Bedi, who met her for 10 minutes at the women's prison in Hyderabad.

"Monica has signed the papers. Ruchir Batra will be her lawyer," said Bedi.

The meeting behind bars was reportedly emotional. The last time the two had met was at a wedding seven years ago.

"She did not ask me for anything. She said she was doing fine. I gave her fruit and juice," said Bedi.

Monica will be presented before a Bhopal court on Saturday. Her bail application will be heard in Hyderabad on Monday.

Salem beaten up during interrogation

It�s been two weeks since gangster Abu Salem has been appearing in court and all through, he appeared calm and collected. However, yesterday afternoon when he made an hour�s appearance at the special sessions TADA court of P V Bavkar, the man seemed markedly different, reported Mid-Day on Friday.

All through the proceedings, Salem was seen anxiously eyeing the various papers that lay spread on the advocates� table. At other times, with his back hunched, he looked around aimlessly.

Salem�s fear and apprehension became apparent, when he trembled so much that he dropped his pen, while signing an application that his lawyers handed him.

The application said that he does not want to make any confession in the case, and does not want the police to torture him in custody.

Embarrassed and pale, Salem turned to the court clerk who handed the pen back to him and murmured politely, �Thank you very much,� and returned the document after signing it. Court attendees say that every time Salem was made to write or was asked a question, he appeared nervous.

Bedding application

Salem

An application demanding better bedding for Salem turned out to be a damp squib, when the judge asked Salem about the exact nature of bedding that his lawyers were demanding for him. Instead of stating clearly what he needed Salem mumbled, �Jo bhi normal hai, wohi chahiye.�

The court rejected the plea that his brother Abu Lais should meet him. It also turned down Salem�s request for homemade food, but instructed the police to provide good quality food.

Salem was remanded to police custody in a 1995 murder case of real estate developer Pradeep Jain. He told his lawyers who met him early on Friday that he was beaten up on Thursday night at the police station lock up, defence lawyer Ashok Sarogi said.

The lawyers also demanded that police may place Salem in judicial custody instead of police custody in view of alleged assault. They further demanded that Salem may be sent for medical check up immediately.

Sarogi said that his colleague Rashid Ansari met Salem in Bhoiwada jail on Friday morning, where he is lodged after he was remanded to police custody by special TADA court on Thursday, and told him the interrogators beat him up.

Salem had told the court on Thursday that he apprehended torture by Mumbai police and had sought the court�s protection. Hearing his plea the court directed the police not to subject him to third degree methods during interrogation.

Sex, Skirts � and Sania
By Jasmeen Dugal

NOV 22: Already under Islamist ire for wearing a short skirt and midriff-baring top on court, Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza�s reported comments that she supported Tamil actress Khushboo's views on pre-marital sex stirred a hornet�s nest.

Due to her candid endorsement of pre-marital safe sex, the 19-year-old Muslim then came under attack from both Islamists and Hindu fundamentalists and was forced to retract her opinion when an irate mob burned effigies of her.

Sania reacted to a question by a journalist at a recent press conference in Cochin, and walked out of it after she was questioned on premarital sex, a subject that has already gotten her in trouble with orthodox Islamic clergy in India.

Earlier this month, while speaking at a leadership summit in Delhi, advocating safe sex, Mirza had said, "You don't want me to tell you that you have safe sex, whether it is before or after marriage. Everyone must know what he or she is doing."

With affronted Muslim clerics issuing a fatwa against her dress code and insisting she "covers up" and keeps her mouth zipped on touchy topics � and the contemporary generation supporting her freedom of speech and the right to wear what she deems fit � the debate seems unlikely to end anytime soon.

In a statement to the media, Women's WORLD (India), expressed grave concern over the vicious public crusade against these women: "Personal opinions on the existence or non-existence of premarital sex cannot be taken as insults to communities or cultures. This kind of culture policing and mob censorship has serious implications for freedom of expression � this trend towards targeting women for speaking their minds is a retrogressive step � It is a sign of the bankruptcy of our political action that a remark like this is blown out of proportion to generate hate and rouse public anger when far more important issues of injustice, corruption, livelihoods, and survival are not touched upon ... Forced apologies � should be seen as a blow to a democratic culture of freedom of thought and expression."

In a recent interview, veteran Indian actress Shabana Azmi told Rediff.com, "The Jamiat-e-Ulemai Hind and the Muslim Law Board have both distanced themselves from this. Why should every utterance of a non-entity be projected, as the voice of the Muslim majority? � A fatwa is only an opinion that is sought from a mufti who is considered so well versed in the Shariyat that he should be able to give his opinion. A fatwa is not a diktat, it's not binding."

And so the controversy ploughs on � We conducted a straw poll cutting across age, region and strata and asked people across India and Pakistan for their opinion on the whole sordid controversy.

Here�s what they said:

Emmad Irfani, supermodel, Pakistan: "She [Sania Mirza] has the right to say anything she feels like because it is her point of view. After all, we have the freedom of speech. I cannot comprehend the double standards of mullahs. They are okay with Muslim girls like Tabu and Nigar Khan dancing in minis in movies. But they aren�t okay with a professional tennis player in a sports kit."

Manav Chandna, student, Pune: "Well, she is in trouble because of a few idiots in Hyderabad and that is sad. That said, she is a celebrity and celebrities have to be careful as to what they say publicly. She being a brand ambassador for leading brands cannot afford to let her public image down. So I guess if it makes people happy, her retracting the statement is fine. On the short skirt controversy, as long as she can playing well and keep winning, she can keep their mouth shut! As far as their protests are concerned, she needs to tell them that bombing the whole damn world is unislamic too. Her skirt is not destroying the world!"

Ashwin Sokke, web consultant, Bangalore: "She is Indian first � and a Muslim later � and all she said was �practice safe sex.� AIDS is on a high note in India. I think she should continue to speak her mind! At least the drama around this issue and the media hype will get enough attention on �safe sex� per se and send the message across to the youth."

Sandhya Chhib, television actress, Mumbai: "It�s her [Sania] personal belief, and just as you can have a radical view on anything from sex to Superman, the same should apply to Sania Mirza too. Being a celebrity does not mean you lose your right to express your thoughts! As for people being �allowed� to have pre-marital sex, well, nothing can stop them anyways! It is these stingy, hypocritical norms of society, which encourage people to covertly go to prostitutes, watch porn and create MMS scandals. Did the punishment stop the MMS brigade? No! It only worked to enhance it!"

Suhana Shridhar, legal transcriber, New Delhi: "The self-appointed morality brigade may be objecting to Sania Mirza's wardrobe, but there's nothing in the Indian law that prohibits a woman from dressing the way she wants. It is entirely up to the individual. A woman should use her own discretion to decide whether she should wear a salwar kameez, jeans, miniskirts or shorts."

Yatin Malik, fashion stylist, Kolkata: "Are we still living in the Dark Ages that women are taking such treatment lying down? And why are religious bodies interfering in the sports arena? If the rules say that you must wear a skirt while playing tennis, then what is one supposed to do? Sania Mirza is a national level player and cannot go on court wearing a salwar kameez! This is ridiculous! If she caves in to pressure, it is only a matter of time before someone prohibits swimmers from wearing a bikini."

Amin Kuttir, student, Bangalore: "I am appalled by the media's obsession to turn a non-issue into an issue. I personally feel Sania�s opinion was not wrong. If India calls itself a developing nation, one has to move along with the changing times and accept such things."

Kidnapped driver found dead

NOV 23: The body of M Raman Kutty has been found in southern Afghanistan.

Ramankutty Maniyappan, a driver with state-run Border Roads Organization, went missing in the Afghanistan's southern province of Nimroz on Saturday. The Taleban said on Tuesday they killed him.

Three Afghans were also seized.

Maniyappan's body had been dumped by the roadside. India's government called the killing "inhuman and barbaric".

State-run Border Roads Organization are building a strategic 218km road linking Delaram on the motorway connecting Kanadahar and Herat and Zaranj on the Iran border. Some 300 Indians, mostly from southern India are working on the $83m road project.