Rajiv govt freed Warren Anderson: CIA papers Confirm to bring forth the FDI FII Truth Forward!
Now US to 'evaluate' Indian request to bring Anderson to justice!
Mukesh Ambani back in telecom with a bang!
Mukesh Ambani back in telecom with a bang
True, Infotel would be offering high-speed data services, and not specifically voice services. Does this mean that it would not offer voice?
In a technologically advanced communication network, all information is first broken up into a large number of discrete packets, which then are transmitted over the network according to protocols together called an internet protocol (IP) suite.
At the receiver's end, these packets of information are put together in the right order, to reproduce the original information. In an all-IP network of the kind being planned by Infotel, it doesn't matter what that information is.
It could be video, text, music or, of course, voice. Voice is a subset of the communication services that can be rendered by a high-speed data network.
It would be a waste of resources to restrict the data network to delivering just voice, but since voice packets would occupy very little space, in comparison with, say, a high definition video, voice can be transmitted at very little cost as well.
In other words, there is no technological constraint on the BWA spectrum being used to deliver the full range of 2G and 3G services, and then some.
This technology would not be cheap, at current volumes of customer premise equipment (CPE is jargon for what consumers use - phone, modem, etc to receive the data signals).
But volumes can go up dramatically, as Reliance demonstrated when it originally entered telecom in 2003 and brought the cost of owning and using a wireless phone crashing down. So the cost restriction is a function of scale. And scale is something that the Ambanis are good at.
Is there a regulatory restriction? There is, sort of. Regulation does not allow domestic calls from a phone to another phone using voice over IP. But calls can be made from a computer to another computer.
Since all 3G and more evolved phones are all miniature computers, whether this regulatory restriction would apply to them is open to question.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6039071.cms
Rajiv govt freed Warren Anderson: CIA papers Confirm to bring forth the FDI FII Truth Forward! I have been writing the Global Phenomenon had nothing to do any singular Regime, it is a continuous policy of Exclusionand Economic Ethnic Cleansing since 15th August 1947 and every regime pursued the policy to sustain Zionist Manusmriti Regime. Ruling Zionist Dynasty and Loyalty Brigade led by the Anti National Gestapo Heads tried their best to kill Humanity, Truth and Justice, but BHOPAL Tragedy exposed everything which indicates Greater TRUTHs of Genocide Culture, US WAR Economy, Post Modern Manusmriti Apartheid Order, Ethnonationalism, Terror Strikes and Insurgency, Calamities, Pandamics, Migration,Exodus, Holocaust, Famine, Jobloss, Recessionand Eurozone Crisis as Cupboards spill the SKELETONS and Blood Afresh.Then prime ministerial aide P.C. Alexander's indication that the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had helped Warren Anderson,is FURTHER Confirmed by the CIA documents! Whoever followed the Topmost level Governance and administarion, PMO working during INDIRA GANDHI Tenure, may understand the integrity of Alexander. I as a teen ager in 1973 witnessed his Toughness in the PMO as we were DENIED to meet INDIRA Gandhi who was in her office. At the Door, Alexander read the documents and heard everything and convinced everyone that everything would be O.K. It was not that the SCREENING meant Security chek at that time of Peace and Neither Indira Gandhi hated Interactions during that period. Seeing the role of Alexander in Indira Regime, we may simply guess his influence inRajiv`s PMO.He had been loyal beyond question, the defenders of the Hegemony nowhere stand incamparison the old guy!The controversy over the culpability for the surprise release of Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson after the Bhopal gas tragedy took a serious turn on Friday, with the Congress leadership moving in vigorously to absolve the Rajiv Gandhi government of any responsibility in the shameful episode.
The CCPA, which met at 3am on December 10, 1984 (three days after Anderson's release) at Prime Minister's house, did not discuss Anderson's release at all. "No question was raised by anybody about Anderson," he said. The meeting was attended by the five seniormost ministers in the cabinet including the Prime Minister, finance minister, home minister and external affairs minister, he said.
Then MP chief minister Arjun Singh was a special invitee to the CCPA meeting, Alexander recalled, adding he was not aware if Rajiv Gandhi and Singh had separate discussions on Anderson's release either before or after the CCPA meeting. Alexander, leading a quiet, retired life in Chennai, has found himself in the spotlight due to media reports recalling the circumstances under which Anderson was released on bail and allowed to fly out of the country. The role of Arjun Singh, in particular, in the Anderson affair needed more clarity, he said.
Doubts about Rajiv's role also persist owing to the fact that the PMO did not even pull up the state government for aiding Anderson's hasty release. "I was in the Prime Minister's office till January 18, 1985 (45 days after the tragedy). Till I left, the PMO did not raise the issue of Anderson's release with the state government. I do not know whether the PMO raised the issue with the state government after I left prime minister's office," he said. Recalling the CCPA meeting, Alexander said, "Rajiv had just returned from an election tour. When I reached Prime Minister's house, Arjun Singh was already there."
Meanwhile, as we did expect,the Congress party Friday strongly rejected a former prime ministerial aide P.C. Alexander's indication that the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had helped Warren Anderson, the CEO of Union Carbide Corp in 1984, escape from the country within days of Bhopal gas tragedy.
Crowley, however, reiterated he would make "no comment" on any request for extradition of Anderson by the Indian Government arguing that all such issues are confidential.
"I'm not in position to verify, the fact, whether we have such requests or whether we have responded to it. We have an extradition treaty with India. And if India makes an extradition request to us, we will give it fair consideration," he said.
The statement comes days after an External Affairs Ministry official said in New Delhi that the US had rejected India's extradition plea for want of more evidential links.
Maintaining that the ministry has "renewed the request for an extradition on a number of occasions from the time it was first made in 2003 to September 2008, when the last request was made," the senior official said the MEA will "proceed on the basis of the collective decision of the government" on the issue.
On the US response to India's request for extradition of Anderson, the official said, "They have been saying that it is not possible to execute our request as it doesn't meet the relevant provisions of India-US extradition treaty and basically it is evidential links they are looking for.
"We have been requesting the investigating agency to give us the needful additional information that would enable us to press for a review of American decision and thereby expedite the case for extradition," the official said.
Early this week, US Congressman Frank Pallone, the founder and former co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, supported the extradition demand.
"All those responsible for this disaster, including the former chairman of Union Carbide Warren Anderson, should stand trial in India and receive punishment that reflects the devastation and pain they have caused for thousands of people.
"Warren Anderson absolutely deserves to be extradited from the US and punished for the full extent of his crimes. As chairman of Union Carbide at the time of the Bhopal gas disaster, Anderson was ultimately responsible for his company's actions," Pallone said.
She said the Group of Ministers for Bhopal gas tragedy would 'gather all information and put it before the people'.
The GoM is headed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram and includes Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers M.K. Alagiri, Minister for Urban Development Jaipal Reddy, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Minister of Housing and Tourism Kumari Selja
Times of India reports:
The central government was "quick to release the Union Carbide chairman from house arrest yesterday", said the report going back to December 8, 1984. Giving an explanation for Centre's intervention, it says: "New Delhi believes state officials were overly eager to score political points against the company."
Interestingly, it refers to media reports to conclude that both Centre and state governments were looking to "deflect the blame on the subsidiary", the observation suggesting that the American intelligence agency did not hold the MNC primarily responsible for the worst-ever industrial disaster.
Though the report, not surprisingly, skips any reference to diplomatic intervention as has been alleged in some quarters, it makes a strong suggestion that in releasing Anderson, Arjun Singh, the then CM of Madhya Pradesh, acted on the Centre's orders.
The report notes that criticism over the Bhopal disaster was directed at the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide and the central government for inadequate safety measures and poor relief, and that a case of negligence has been filed.
Since the note is written some 26 years ago and declassified only in January 2002, it reflects what must be the honest assessment of the CIA station in New Delhi.
Digvijay, who has attracted the displeasure of the central leadership with remarks that were interpreted to suggest that Anderson was released at the instance of the Centre and the US, has already got the hint.
In statements to agencies and channels on Friday, he forcefully claimed that Rajiv Gandhi had no role to play in Anderson being set free hours after his arrest.
'If Indira defied Nixon, how could her son succumb?'
Warren just added to CBI website
-
- Alexander hints at Rajiv's role; angry retort from R.K. Dhawan
- Arjun Singh should explain, says Shivraj Chauhan
New Delhi: The Congress, pushed to defend its record in dealing with the Bhopal gas tragedy case, was once again in firefighting mode. On Friday evening, its core committee — consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel, Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram and A.K. Antony — decided that "the government, not the party, would have to clarify" on the various aspects of the case, as "the facts are only with the government," highly placed sources told The Hindu.
The party was concerned, the sources said, that the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi's image should not be tarnished by the controversy.
There was also anxiety that the continuing attempt to "isolate" and "humiliate" the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Arjun Singh, might provoke him into breaking his silence on the chain of events — and phone calls — that led to Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson being given safe passage out of Bhopal and the country.
The BJP, smelling blood, has naturally pitched in: Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan has written to Mr. Singh asking for an explanation on Mr. Anderson's "flight" from Bhopal and also for a panel of legal experts to examine the trial court judgment.
Earlier, a Cabinet Minister told The Hindu that the government had hoped that the announcement of the reconstituted Group of Ministers (GoM) on Bhopal, with its wide ranging mandate, would help to quell public anger and Opposition fire. But with the controversy continuing to rage in the media, and a growing dramatis personae stepping on the stage with revelations and accusations, the Minister said, the Congress was being compelled to answer questions. The Minister also stressed the need to ensure that Rajiv Gandhi was not dragged into the mire.
'Facts will be unearthed'
Indeed, party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan on Friday emphatically stated that there was "no question of the Rajiv Gandhi government being implicated," and that the GoM would unearth all facts about the case. "All facts need to be brought out about how Warren Anderson escaped," she said, adding, "all avenues should be explored to arrive at the truth."
The sources said the Congress might also go on the offensive and question why the NDA government, which was in power for six years, did nothing to push for his extradition.
Defending Mr. Chidambaram and his Cabinet colleague, Kamal Nath — who reportedly advised the government not to press Dow Chemicals for remediation charges as the company was prepared to invest in India — Ms. Natarajan said: "It is not right to cast aspersions on Ministers who gave an opinion on an issue, without knowing the context."
However, P.C. Alexander, then Principal Secretary to Rajiv Gandhi, hinted that Rajiv Gandhi might have released Mr. Anderson in consultation with Mr. Singh. His remarks drew an angry response from Congress leader R.K. Dhawan, private secretary to Rajiv Gandhi when he was Prime Minister. Mr. Dhawan alleged that since the Congress had not backed Mr. Alexander's BJP-sponsored candidature for President, he was now taking revenge. Defending Rajiv Gandhi, Mr. Dhawan squarely blamed Mr. Singh, saying Rajiv Gandhi would never have put pressure on any Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh too modified his statement about the possibility of "U.S. pressure": "I was campaigning and really don't know the events which led to the bail and release of Mr. Anderson," he said. Those who could answer questions were Mr. Arjun Singh, and the then senior officials of the State government, he pointed out, stressing that Rajiv Gandhi had left his campaign and rushed to Bhopal to meet the families of the victims.
-
http://www.thehindu.com/2010/06/12/stories/2010061259910100.htm
If superior force alone could prevail against determined, entrenched guerrillas fighting on their own terrain, Vietnam would not have become the emblem of American hubris. Use of the army has not quelled insurgency either in the Northeast or in Kashmir. On the other hand, tough policing, in combination with a coherent political drive to include the alienated support base of the armed insurgents into the base of growth and development, has virtually wiped out Maoist activity in Andhra Pradesh.
Security experts might rue the AP strategy of chasing the insurgents out of its own backyard, without caring whether they would carry on their activity in some other state. But that is a result of failure to coordinate operations across states. Hopefully, the right lessons have been learnt on that front. But there can be no scope to be woolly-headed on the choice of the instrumentality of force to be used against the Maoists.
Local policemen, who know the terrain, the people, the language and the mind of the political leadership well, are the viable option. Sure, they need special training and equipment. Providing them with both will take time, true. But to hope that the Maoist problem can be finished off in a flurry of air raids and infantry wizardry would be a mistake. The police forces are sadly undermanned in the states where the Maoists run amok and the government has been doing the right thing by recruiting large numbers of the local people. The task is to recruit even more, train them, demonstrate political commitment to local welfare and deploy the trained regular police against the Maoists. It worked in Andhra Pradesh, it will work elsewhere.
Market
 |  | |
| US will consider plea for Anderson's extradition US said it will give consideration to plea for extradition of the Anderson. US yuan bill against WTO rules: China Proposed US legislation aimed at punishing China unless it lets the yuan rise would not be in line with World Trade Organisation rules, China's Ministry of Commerce said.
| |||
| Pre-Budget | |||
| Economic Survey | |||
| Rly Budget | |||
| Union Budget | |||
| News By Company | |||
| News By Industry | |||
| Economy | |||
| International Business | |||
| SMB | |||
| Politics/Nation | |||
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ET Cetera FIFA battles ambush marketers targeting WC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interviews
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Only-a-support-role/articleshow/6039781.cms
SEZ contiguity norms may be relaxed for 'non-tax sops' areas
The existing guidelines, which stipulate continuity within SEZs, would have forced developers to invest in building bridges and flyovers over railway lines or water bodies falling within such zones, even if they are located in the non-processing areas where there is no production activity.
"Since tax sops are not given for operations in non-processing areas, the board of approval for SEZs is of the view that the government could relax contiguity norms there," a commerce department official said, requesting anonymity.
In areas where maintaining contiguity would be mandatory, the government may offer tax-breaks on inputs needed for constructing bridges or flyovers, he said.
The BoA, comprising officials from the ministries of commerce, finance, agriculture and home, clears SEZ proposals and takes decisions concerning operation of such zones.
The decision, if implemented, could benefit the Rs 5,000-crore Navi Mumbai SEZ promoted by Anand Jain, a close associate of Reliance Industries' chief Mukesh Ambani, and the Rs 2,400-crore Iffco Kisan SEZ. These SEZs have highways and railway lines passing through them.
"The idea behind the contiguity norms is to have control over the processing area as tax exemptions are given for that area. Even if the rules are relaxed for non-processing areas, there wouldn't be any issue of tax evasion," said Hitender Mehta, a Gurgaon-based consultant and SEZ expert.
The board of approval for SEZs is of the view that relaxing contiguity norms for developers cannot be ad hoc and there has to be some established criteria in place, said another government official, who also asked not to be named.
"Formal instructions on the matter may be issued so that people can't say that decisions are being taken to favour a particular developer," he said. He said the commerce ministry is trying to convince the revenue department to offer tax breaks on building material in cases where contiguity is mandatory. "The bridges and flyovers would also be part of the SEZ, so should be eligible for tax breaks," he said.
Mr Mehta, however, said since contiguity of the zone would be established only when the bridges and flyovers are built, they may not be ineligible for tax sops.
An SEZ is an area within a country where the economic laws are more liberal. Such zones are created to encourage export-oriented industrialisation.
- NRIs step up investment in India on euro pain
- 25% float: Cos may have to revise IPO size
- Intelenet bags UID call centre deal; outbids Wipro
- Raza's work fetches record Rs 16.4 cr at Christie's
Mamata as chief minister? Jury still out
Mamata Banerjee's ascent is based on an unrehearsed, inchoate, impulsive political movement, which has surged ahead of other parties in recent years in acquiring close grassroots links. As the name of her party, Trinamool (or grassroots) Congress, shows, she did not bank on any ideological conviction or organisational strength to reach her present position where she is regarded as the next chief minister of West Bengal.
The nature of her party, which is essentially a one-person outfit with Mamata wielding dictatorial powers, is in striking contrast to its main adversary, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The latter has unshakeable faith in its dogma of 'scientific socialism' and depends heavily on its cadres, known for their militancy.
Mamata probably realised, therefore, that she had to project a model which was the exact opposite of what the Marxists represented. Her emotional slogan - ma, mati, manush (mother, earth, people) - underlines her nebulous political creed, which has nothing to do with codified belief.
In any event, she had no alternative but to chalk out her own undefined path because she had set out on her political journey virtually alone after her expulsion from the Congress in 1997. Since the ideology of the Congress is far less easy to grasp than that of the Marxists, she had to formulate her own tenets.
Her success depended, however, not on a well-defined set of beliefs, but on challenging the Marxists whenever they acted in a high-handed manner, which was often. Before she appeared on the scene, the ordinary people had no option but to abide by the dictates of the cadres, whether in the matter of contributing monthly subscriptions or accepting their choice of contractors to build a house or seeking their help for admissions to schools and colleges and even for employment.
Since the police were in the grip of the ruling Left Front, and mainly the CPI-M, the common man could not but follow what the cadres said. The fact that the latter were mostly anti-socials ruled out any question of defiance.
Mamata was the first to take up cudgels against the cadre raj. The Congress' failure in this respect can only be explained by a curious loss of nerve after its comprehensive 1977 defeat. The reason perhaps was that none of its leaders, except the late A.B.A Ghani Khan Chaudhury, had any solid base. Khan Chaudhury's influence too was limited to Malda in north Bengal.
The other top-ranking leader, Pranab Mukherjee, could not win a Lok Sabha election till 2004 while the others - Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Subrata Mukherjee, Somen Mitra and others - did not have the stature to offer a credible challenge to the Left Front, which was led by the charismatic Jyoti Basu.
They were also unnerved by Mamata's belligerence, presumably because they sensed that she was gaining in popularity. She too must have realised that the Congress was suffering because of its meekness. Ridiculing the century-old party as the CPI-M's 'B' team, she decided to form her own outfit.
It was a courageous, even foolhardy, decision, for, ostensibly, she had little going for her. She was not known for her intellectual or organisational ability. Nor was she of any account as a minister at the centre between 1991 and 1993. As her rather stormy tenure in the Congress had shown, she found it difficult to get along with her colleagues. This trait of an aggressive loner has persisted to the present day.
Not surprisingly, it took more than a decade for her to reach her present position when she is regarded as some kind of an icon because of her ground-level popularity. One reason for her slow rise is her mercurial temperament, which saw her first align with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and become railway minister at the centre in 1999, then with the Congress in 2001, then back to the BJP and then teaming up again with the Congress.
Such a topsy-turvy course would have been ruinous for the reputation of any other politician. But if Mamata survived her swings of loyalty, the explanation lay, first, in her single-minded opposition to the CPI-M which enabled her to retain and expand her base of support. It has to be remembered that the non-Left vote in West Bengal is considerable and that the Trinamool routinely grabs a major portion of it.
In the 2006 assembly elections, for instance, the combined vote of the Trinamool and the Congress was 41.2 percent, of which the former's share was 26.3 percent. In the 2009 parliamentary polls, the two parties received 44.7 percent of the votes, of which the Trinamool's share was 31.2 percent. Between 1997 and now, it is the Trinamool which has become the 'real' Congress.
The second reason for her success is she is trusted by the ordinary people who see her as the only bulwark against the depredations of Marxist cadres. She also highlights her proximity to the common folk by dressing casually and living in a lower middle class locality in Kolkata. This side of her personality shows that she is aware of the reasons for her popularity.
Mamata has also been helped in the last few years by the CPI-M's blunders. Although the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government's efforts to reverse the earlier flight of capital by wooing the industrialists back to the state were noteworthy, it went about doing the right thing in the wrong manner.
By unleashing its cadres on the protesters in Singur and Nandigram, who were unhappy about the acquisition of their land, the CPI-M showed it was still intent on ruling the state via the cadres with police acting as bystanders. This egregious policy of the government helped Mamata to organise protests as never before and whip up a frenzied opposition to the ruling parties, which has led to their defeats in successive elections from 2008.
What kind of a chief minister will she be? The jury is still undecided. As her unwavering anti-CPI-M focus shows, she pursues one-dimensional politics which has its pitfalls. Nothing emphasises this more than her toing and froing between the 'secular' and 'communal' camps in the last 10 years.
Clearly, her lack of ideological convictions enables her to be unabashedly opportunistic, which is also shown by her ambivalence about the Maoist threat. Such a person can be quite unpredictable in a position of power as her West Bengal-centric policies as the railway minister suggest.
Her 'open mindedness' about politics, if her cynicism can be so described, is accompanied by a limited understanding of economics. After the eviction of the Tatas, one of the most respected industrial houses in India, from Singur, the scope for investment in West Bengal has been sharply reduced. She may resort to vague 'socialistic' enterprises to create employment opportunities, but that will be tantamount to repeating the mistakes which the Left made.
It isn't that the people are unaware of these deficiencies. But at present, they seem to be more intent on replacing the Communists than thinking about the future.
(12.06.2010 - Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)
Sat, Jun 12 10:04 AM
Enlarge Photo Residents celelebrate South Africa first goal in the 2010 World Cup opening match against Mexico... Argentina's Lionel Messi, potentially the tournament's most exciting player, takes the stage for the first time on Saturday after South Africa launched a spectacular opening to the continent's first World Cup.
The globe's most watched sports event met all expectations on Friday with an outstanding opening match between the hosts and Mexico as South Africans revelled in the pride and excitement of defying the sceptics who said they could never organise a successful soccer spectacular.
The mood of national euphoria was only dampened by sadness over the death in a car crash of the 13-year-old great granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, beloved father of post-apartheid South Africa, whose mourning forced him to miss the opening match.
Even though South Africa were robbed of a dream victory to start the tournament, their thrilling 1-1 draw with Mexico outshone the second match between France and Uruguay which produced a lacklustre goalless draw in the graceful new Green Point stadium in Cape Town, known as the "Mother City."
But that did little to dent a day of national joy when the deafening blare of vuvuzela trumpets echoed from Table Mountain to Soweto as hundreds of thousands of people crammed bars, homes and special fan parks.
Saturday offers more excitement with the appearance of world player of the year Messi in the first Group B match at 1400 GMT in Johannesburg's Ellis Park, where Argentina meet Nigeria.
Saturday will also bring an intriguing match between England, one of the tournament favourites and United States, who could be one of its most dangerous outsiders, in Group C's first match near the sleepy town of Rustenburg northwest of Johannesburg.
The England-U.S. match will probably be the most closely guarded of the World Cup after police said they would be paying it particular attention in case of a terrorist attack -- although they say there is no indications one is planned.
Argentina are clear favourites to win their group with a team crammed with talent headed by the outstanding Messi, although Nigeria have many players from European leagues.
MESSI EAGERLY AWAITED
Together with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi's astonishing ball skills are one of the most eagerly awaited sights of this World Cup.
Interest in Argentina, who some pundits say could surprise the favourites if they hit their stride, is equally focused on ever-controversial manager Diego Maradona.
In his time considered the world's greatest player, Maradona is an inexperienced and quixotic coach whose questionable decisions were blamed for Argentina's shaky road to World Cup finals qualification.
England, who some pundits put behind only Spain and Brazil as potential tournament winners despite the loss through injury of captain Rio Ferdinand, and who are notoriously slow starters, face awkward opponents in the much improved U.S. side under seasoned coach Bob Bradley.
They will want to avoid this difficult early hurdle breaking their stride in a year widely seen as their best chance to win the World Cup since their only victory in 1966.
Saturday's other match is between South Korea and Greece in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth where the main question may be whether fans will fill the beautiful new lakeside stadium -- FIFA has expressed concern that it may be a badly attended match with little local interest.
The opening of the World Cup on Friday was seen by South Africans as a triumphant vindication of their potential to cement a nation that is still riven by racial and wealth disparities 16 years after the end of apartheid.
Tormented by years of scepticism that Africa would not be able to handle the huge logistical challenge of the World Cup, millions of fans were scarcely able to contain their pride at being in the world spotlight.
"It has united the nation ... the Rainbow Nation has gathered together," said 36-year-old teacher Disebo in the central city of Bloemfontein.
(Editing by Jon Bramley)
Fri, Jun 11 03:42 PM
Enlarge Photo Former South African President Nelson Mandela hugs his great granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Diepkloof, Soweto... Nelson Mandela cancelled his appearance at the opening of the World Cup on Friday after his great granddaughter was killed in a car crash, casting a cloud over South Africa's day of joy in hosting the continent's first edition of the tournament.
Mandela, 91, is the much beloved father of post-apartheid South Africa and confirmation this week that he would attend had topped a frenzy of patriotic anticipation over the opening game, when the host side meets Mexico at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT).
Mandela, who is in frail health, pulled out after hearing the news that his great granddaughter Zenani, 13, had been killed on her way home from the World Cup kickoff concert on Thursday night.
The driver was arrested and police said they were investigating a case of culpable homicide.
Zenani was one of the nine great-grandchildren of Mandela, whose vast charisma and prestige is credited with helping South Africa win the World Cup bid in 2004.
"We are sure that South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy," the former president's foundation said.
The death cast a shadow over the unprecedented excitement in South Africa, which was tormented for years by negative and even domestic pessimism that the world's most watched sporting event was too big for Africa to handle.
That pessimism has been transformed in recent weeks and South Africans of all races can scarcely contain their pride at being in the world spotlight.
"We have been waiting for years for this moment, praying that it would happen," said local fan Nicolas Sello, 54. He came to Soccer City at dawn a full 10 hours before kickoff wearing a specially-tailored shirt resembling the national flag.
He was not alone making an early start. Vuvuzela trumpets could be heard before dawn around the nation.
Pumping up the atmosphere, scores of Mexican fans dressed as mariachi singers in wide-brimmed hats joked with the South Africans outside the stadium, vowing to ruin their big day.
HIGH STAKES FOR SOUTH AFRICA
Successfully hosting this tournament for the first time in Africa will mean much more for the hosts than just sport.
Racial reconciliation, the affirmation of an often troubled post-apartheid nation, future investment and millions of tourist dollars could be at stake.
It is also a symbol of Africa's emergence from decades stereotyped as a continent of disaster, conflict and failure into a dynamic region winning ever-more foreign investment.
The once-improbable dream kicks off later on Friday when in Johannesburg's 90,000-seat Soccer City stadium, shaped like a calabash or local cooking pot.
The Mexicans have to contend not only with a frenzy of patriotic fervour but also the ear-splitting din of the vuvuzela trumpets, so loud they can make communication between players and coaches almost impossible.
Once mocked even by their compatriots as hopeless under-achievers, and still one of the lowest-rated World Cup hosts, at 83rd in the rankings, South Africa come off a run of 12 unbeaten matches and are new national idols.
CRIME AND TRAFFIC RISKS
A string of comparatively minor crimes against journalists and three Greek players in recent days have highlighted risks in one of the globe's most violent countries outside a war zone.
Six people were injured in a crowd crush at Cape Town's main World Cup fan zone on Thursday when thousands tried to get in.
The death of Mandela's great grand-daughter, a day after three British tourists died in a bus crash, highlighted the fact visitors face as much danger on the roads as from crime.
But the biggest distractions for the South African team are the weight of expectation and joyful street parades.
Their Brazilian manager, Carlo Alberto Parreira, said they could understand the euphoria. "I don't want my players to be affected by all of that," he said. "Now we have a World Cup game ... we want to make this country proud."
Mexico's confidence has been boosted by victory over defending champions Italy last week.
In Friday's other Group A game, France will be under pressure against Uruguay in Cape Town after unimpressive warm-up games, culminating in a worrying 1-0 defeat by China.
Les Bleus look a far cry from the dominant team that won the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000. Uruguay, though unfancied, have had impressive wins against Switzerland and Israel.
- Additional reporting by Reuters reporters across South Africa
(Writing by Barry Moody and Andrew Cawthorne, editing by Jon Bramley)
Rajiv Gandhi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rajiv Gandhi | |
 | |
| | |
| In office 31 October 1984 – 2 December 1989 | |
| President | Giani Zail Singh Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Indira Gandhi |
| Succeeded by | V. P. Singh |
| | |
| Born | 20 August 1944 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India |
| Died | 21 May 1991 (aged 46) Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Spouse(s) | Sonia Gandhi |
| Children | Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi |
| Profession | Politician, Airline pilot |
| Religion | Adi Dharm Sect of Hindu religion [1] |
| Signature |  |
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991), the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, was the 7th Prime Minister of India, serving from his mother's death on 31 October 1984 until his resignation on 2 December 1989 following a general election defeat. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.
Rajiv Gandhi was a professional pilot for Indian Airlines before entering politics. While at Cambridge, he met Italian-born Sonia Gandhi whom he later married. He remained aloof from politics despite his mother being the Indian Prime Minister, and it was only following the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1980 that Rajiv entered politics. After the assassination of his mother in 1984 after Operation Blue Star, Indian National Congress party leaders nominated him to be Prime Minister.
Rajiv Gandhi led the Congress to a major election victory in 1984 soon after, amassing the largest majority ever in Indian Parliament. The Congress party won 411 seats out of 542. He began dismantling the License Raj - government quotas, tariffs and permit regulations on economic activity - modernized the telecommunications industry, the education system, expanded science and technology initiatives and improved relations with the United States.
In 1988, Rajiv reversed the coup in Maldives antagonising the militant Tamil outfits such as PLOTE. He was also responsible for first intervening and then sending Indian troops (Indian Peace Keeping Force or IPKF) for peace efforts in Sri Lanka in 1987, which soon ended in open conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group. In mid-1987, the Bofors scandal broke his honest, corruption-free image and resulted in a major defeat for his party in the 1989 elections.
Rajiv Gandhi remained Congress President until the elections in 1991. While campaigning, he was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) group. His widow Sonia Gandhi became the leader of the Congress party in 1998, and led the party to victory in the 2004 elections. His son Rahul Gandhi is a Member of Parliament and the General Secretary of All India Congress Committee.[2]
Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously awarded the Highest National Award of India, Bharat Ratna, joining a list of 40 luminaries, including Indira Gandhi.
Rajiv Gandhi was an active amateur radio operator, and used the callsign VU2RG.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Early life
Rajiv Gandhi was born into India's most famous political family. His grandfather was the Indian independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the India's first Prime Minister after independence.
Rajiv is not related to Mahatma Gandhi, although they share the same surname. Rajiv's father, Feroze, was one of the younger members of the Indian National Congress party, and had befriended the young Indira, and also her mother Kamala Nehru, while working on party affairs at Allahabad. Subsequently, Indira and Feroze grew closer to each other while in England, and they married, despite initial objections from Jawaharlal due to his religion (Zoroastrianism).
Rajiv was born in 1944 in Mumbai, during a time when both his parents were in and out of British prisons. In August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru became the prime minister of independent India, and the family settled in Allahabad, and then at Lucknow, where Feroze became the editor of The National Herald newspaper (founded by Motilal Nehru). However, the marriage was faltering and, in 1949, Indira and the two sons moved to Delhi to live with Jawaharlal, ostensibly so that Indira could assist her father in his duties, acting as official hostess, and helping run the huge residence. Meanwhile, Feroze continued alone in Lucknow. Nonetheless, in 1952, Indira helped Feroze manage his campaign for elections to the first Parliament of India from Rae Bareli.
After becoming an MP, Feroze Gandhi also moved to Delhi, but "Indira continued to stay with her father, thus putting the final seal on the separation."[3] Relations were strained further when Feroze challenged corruption within the Congress leadership over the Haridas Mundhra scandal. Jawaharlal suggested that the matter be resolved in private, but Feroze insisted on taking the case directly to parliament:
- "The Parliament must exercise vigilance and control over the biggest and most powerful financial institution it has created, the Life Insurance Corporation of India, whose misapplication of public funds we shall scrutinise today." Feroze Gandhi, Speech in Parliament, 16 December 1957.[4]
The scandal, and its investigation by justice M C Chagla, lead to the resignation of one of Nehru's key allies, finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari, further alienating Feroze from Jawaharlal.
After Feroze Gandhi had a heart attack in 1958, the family was reconciled briefly when they vacationed in Kashmir. However, Feroze died soon afterwards from a second heart attack in 1960.
[edit] Education
By the time of his father's death, Rajiv was away at a private boarding school for boys: initially at the Welham Boys' School and later The Doon School. He was sent to London in 1961 to study his A-levels. In 1962, he was offered a place at Trinity College, Cambridge to study engineering. Rajiv stayed at Cambridge until 1965 and left the university without a degree mainly because he did not appear in the final Tripos examinations. In 1966, he was offered a place at the Imperial College London. He again left Imperial College after a year without a degree.
In the January of 1965, he met Italian Antonia (Sonia) Maino in Varsity restaurant in Cambridge. Sonia was studying English at Lennox School of Languages (which was not associated with the University of Cambridge.) Maino's family opposed the match, but Maino came to India with Rajiv and they were married in 1968.
He began working for Indian Airlines as a professional pilot while his mother became Prime Minister in 1967. He exhibited no interest in politics and did not live regularly with his mother in Delhi at the Prime Minister's residence. In 1970, his wife gave birth to their first child Rahul Gandhi, and in 1972, to Priyanka Gandhi, their second. Even as Rajiv remained aloof in politics, his younger brother Sanjay became a close advisor to their mother.
[edit] Entry into politics
Following his younger brother's death in 1980, Gandhi was pressured by Indian National Congress party politicians and his mother to enter politics. He and his wife were both opposed to the idea, and he even publicly stated that he would not contest for his brother's seat. Nevertheless, he eventually announced his candidacy for Parliament. His entry was criticized by many in the press, public and opposition political parties. He fought his first election from Amethi Loksabha seat. In this by-election, he defeated Lokdal leader Sharad Yadav by more than 200,000 votes.
Elected to Sanjay's Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh state in February 1981, Gandhi became an important political advisor to his mother. It was widely perceived that Indira Gandhi was grooming Rajiv for the prime minister's job, and he soon became the president of the Youth Congress - the Congress party's youth wing.
[edit] Premiership
Gandhi was in West Bengal when his mother was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by her bodyguards. Top Congress leaders, as well as President Zail Singh pressed Rajiv to become India's Prime Minister, within hours of his mother's assassination by two of her Sikh bodyguards. Commenting on the anti-Sikh riots in the national capital Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi said, "When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes";[5] a statement for which he was widely criticised. Many Congress politicians were accused of orchestrating the violence.[6] Soon after assuming office, Rajiv asked President Zail Singh to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections, as the Lok Sabha completed its five year term. Rajiv Gandhi also officially became the President of the Congress party. The Congress party won a landslide victory — with the largest majority in history of Indian Parliament[7]— giving Gandhi absolute control of government. He also benefited from his youth and a general perception of being Mr. Clean, or free of a background in corrupt politics. Rajiv thus revived hopes and enthusiasm amongst the Indian public for the Congress.
Gandhi began leading in a direction significantly different from his mother's socialism. He improved bilateral relations with the United States — long strained owing to Indira's socialism and close friendship with the USSR — and expanded economic and scientific cooperation.[8]
[edit] Economic policy
He increased government support for science and technology and associated industries, and reduced import quotas, taxes and tariffs on technology-based industries, especially computers, airlines, defence and telecommunications. He introduced measures significantly reducing the License Raj, allowing businesses and individuals to purchase capital, consumer goods and import without bureaucratic restrictions. In 1986, he announced a National Policy on Education to modernize and expand higher education programs across India. He founded the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System in 1986 which is a Central government based institution that concentrates on the upliftment of the rural section of the society providing them free residential education from 6th till 12 grade. His efforts created MTNL in 1986, and his public call offices, better known as PCOs, helped spread telephones in rural areas.
[edit] Security policy
Rajiv authorized an extensive police and Army campaign to contain terrorism in Punjab. A state of martial law existed in the Punjab state, and civil liberties, commerce and tourism were greatly disrupted [citation needed]. There are many accusations of human rights violations by police officials as well as by the militants during this period. It is alleged that even as the situation in Punjab came under control, the Indian government was offering arms and training to the LTTE rebels fighting the government of Sri Lanka. The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed by Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President J.R.Jayewardene, in Colombo on 29 July 1987. The very next day, on 30 July 1987, Rajiv Gandhi was assaulted on the head with a rifle butt by a young Sinhalese naval cadet named Vijayamunige Rohana de Silva, while receiving the honour guard. The intended assault on the back of Rajiv Gandhi's head however glanced off his shoulder. Though the embarrassed Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene initially attempted to pass off the bizarre assault as "Rajiv tripped a little and slightly lost his balance", Rajiv Gandhi while en route to New Delhi asserted to J.N. Dixit "Of course, I was hit." Rajiv's government also suffered a major setback when its efforts to arbitrate between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE rebels backfired [citation needed].
With his speech while addressing the Joint Session of the US Congress and India, he famously said, "India is an old country, but a young nation; and like the young everywhere, we are impatient. I am young and I too have a dream. I dream of an India, strong, independent, self reliant and in the forefront of the front ranks of the nations of the world in the service of mankind."[9]
[edit] Currency crisis
During the late 1980s, Gandhi's administration failed to slow the 30 percent fall in the value of the Indian Rupee from 12 to 17 to the US Dollar.
[edit] Bofors scandal
Gandhi's finance minister, V. P. Singh, uncovered compromising details about government and political corruption, to the consternation of Congress leaders. Transferred to the Defence ministry, Singh uncovered what became known as the Bofors scandal, involving tens of millions of dollars - concerned alleged payoffs by the Swedish Bofors arms company through Italian businessman and Gandhi family associate Ottavio Quattrocchi, in return for Indian contracts. Upon the uncovering of the scandal, Singh was dismissed from office, and later from Congress membership. Rajiv Gandhi himself was later personally implicated in the scandal when the investigation was continued by Narasimhan Ram and Chitra Subramaniam of The Hindu newspaper. This shattered his image as an honest politician; he was posthumously cleared over this allegation in 2004, however.[10]
Singh's image as an exposer of government corruption made him very popular with the public [citation needed], and opposition parties united under his name to form the Janata Dal coalition. In the 1989 elections, the Congress suffered a major setback. With the support of Indian communists and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Singh and his Janata Dal formed a government. Gandhi became the Leader of the Opposition, while remaining Congress president. While some believe that Rajiv and Congress leaders influenced the collapse of V. P. Singh's government in October 1990 by promising support to Chandra Shekhar, a high-ranking leader in the Janata Dal, sufficient internal contradictions existed, within the ruling coalition, especially over the controversial reservation issue, to cause a fall of government. Rajiv's Congress offered outside support briefly to Chandra Sekhar, who became Prime Minister. They withdrew their support in 1991, however, and fresh elections were announced.
[edit] Sri Lanka policy
Then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa opposed the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord, but accepted it due to pressure from then President Junius Richard Jayewardene. In January 1989 Premadasa was elected President and on a platform that promised that the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) leave within three months.[11] In the 1989 elections, both the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and United National Party wanted the IPKF to withdraw, and they got 95 percent of the vote.
The police action was unpopular in India as well, especially in Tamil Nadu, as India was fighting the Tamil separatists.
Gandhi refused to withdraw the IPKF, believing that the only way to end the civil war was to politically force Premadasa and militarily force the LTTE to accept the accord. In December 1989, Singh was elected Prime Minister and completed the pullout. The IPKF operation killed over 1100 Indian soldiers,5000 tamils and cost over 2000 crores.[12][13]
[edit] Shah Bano case
In 1985, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favour of Muslim divorcee Shah Bano, declaring that her husband should give her alimony. Muslim fundamentalists in India treated it as an encroachment in Muslim Personal Law and protested against it. Gandhi agreed to their demands.[14] In 1986, the Congress (I) party, which had an absolute majority in Parliament at the time, passed an act that nullified the Supreme Court's judgement in the Shah Bano case. This was viewed by many in India, including the Bharatiya Janata Party as appeasement of Muslims. Some Congressmen too believed the same and they influenced Rajiv, to either revoke the act or to pacify Hindu Sentiments too. The infamous opening up of the gates of the Ram Janmabhoomi - Babri Masjid Gates for worship of the Ram Lala Idols at Ayodhya was an event which would go on to haunt India for several years.
[edit] Assassination
Rajiv Gandhi's last public meeting was at Sriperumbudur on 21 May 1991, in a village approximately 30 miles from Madras, Tamil Nadu, where he was assassinated while campaigning for the Sriperumbudur Lok Sabha Congress candidate.[15] The assassination was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber Thenmozhi Rajaratnam also known as Gayatri and Dhanu.
At 10:10 p.m., the assassin Dhanu approached him in a public meeting and greeted the former Prime Minister. She then bent down to touch his feet (an expression of respect among Indians) and detonated a belt laden with 700 grams of RDX explosive tucked under her dress.[16] The former Prime Minister along with many others were killed in the explosion that followed. The assassination was caught on film through the lens of a local photographer, whose camera and film were found at the site. The cameraman himself also died in the blast but the camera remained intact.
The Rajiv Gandhi Memorial was built at the site recently and is one of the major tourist attractions to the small industrial town.
The Supreme Court judgement, by Judge Thomas, confirmed that the killing was carried out due to personal animosity of the LTTE chief Prabhakaran towards Mr Rajiv Gandhi arising out of his sending the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka and the alleged IPKF atrocities against Srilankan Tamils. However, it should be noted that the Rajiv Gandhi administration had already antagonised other Tamil militant organisations like PLOTE for reversing the military coup in Maldives back in 1988.
The judgment further cites the death of Thileepan in a hunger strike and the suicide by 12 LTTE cadres in a vessel in Oct 1987.
In the Jain Commission report, various people and agencies are named as suspected of having been involved in the murder of Rajiv Gandhi. Among them, the cleric Chandraswami was suspected of involvement, including financing the assassination.[17][18][19] The interim report of the Jain Commission created a storm when it accused Karunanidhi of a role in the assassination, leading to Congress withdrawing its support for the I. K. Gujral government and fresh elections in 1998. LTTE spokesman Anton Balasingham told the Indian television channel NDTV that the killing was a "great tragedy, a monumental historical tragedy which we deeply regret."[20][21] A memorial christened Veer Bhumi was constructed at his cremation spot in Delhi. The International Airport constructed at Hyderabad has been named after Rajiv Gandhi and was inaugurated by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
[edit] Further reading
- Sachi Sri Kantha; Pirabhakaran Phenomenon, Lively Comet Imprint,2005;641 pp (chapters 24 to 35, pp. 207–352, cover in detail the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi)
- "Working with Rajiv Gandhi" by R.D. Pradhan
- Mani Shankar Aiyar "Remembering Rajiv", Rupa, New Delhi, 1992
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://image.guim.co.uk/Guardian/world/gallery/2007/may/09/india/U955687INP-989.jpg
- ^ In UP village, Miliband, Rahul Gandhi spend a night in a Dalit woman's hut, The Indian Express, 16 January 2009
- ^ Tariq Ali. The Nehrus and the Gandhis: An Indian dynasty. Pan Books, London 1985, Revised edn 1991.p. 134
- ^ Shashi Bhushan, M.P. (1977). Feroze Gandhi: A political Biography. Progressive People's Sector Publications, New Delhi,.p. 75
- ^ "Back to the dynasty". Frontline. Hinduonnet.com. 1998-03-06. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1504/15040190.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ "World | South Asia | Leaders 'incited' anti-Sikh riots". BBC News. 2005-08-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4130962.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ ]
- ^ "Rajiv Gandhi Biography - Rajiv Gandhi Life & Profile". Culturalindia.net. http://www.culturalindia.net/leaders/rajiv-gandhi.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ "Untitled-6" (PDF). June 2005. http://www.congresssandesh.com/june-2005/june2005.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ "Rajiv Gandhi cleared over bribery". BBC News. 2004-02-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3458319.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ Sri Lanka Truth[dead link]
- ^ K T Rajasingham. "Sri Lanka: The Untold story Chapter 43: Aftermath of the Indian withdrawal". Asia Times Online. Atimes.com. http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DF08Df01.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ BBC India's Sri Lankan predicament
- ^ "Shah Bano - Rajiv Gandhi". Homepages.uc.edu. http://homepages.uc.edu/thro/shahbano/sb-rajiv.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ N Sathiya Moorthy (January 1998). "Sonia checks her emotions, but her interpreter goes full throttle". Rediff On The NeT. Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/11soni1.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ Ramesh Vinayak (1999-02-01). "The Nation: Terrorism: The RDX Files". India-today.com. http://www.india-today.com/itoday/01021999/rdx.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ outlookindia.com
- ^ Rtiu Sarin (July 11, 1998). "Probe Chandraswami's role in Rajiv case - Jain report". Expressindia.com. http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19980711/19250694.html. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "We deeply regret Rajiv's death: LTTE". Expressindia.com. 2006-06-27. http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=70062. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
- ^ "Tamil Tiger 'regret' over Gandhi". BBC News. 2006-06-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5122032.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
[edit] External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rajiv Gandhi |
- A Profile
- Press Brief in
- Supreme Court Judgement by Judge Thomas
- Supreme Court Judgement by Judge Quadari
- Supreme Court Judgement by Judge Wadhwa
- TERRORIST AND DISRUPTIVE ACTIVITIES (PREVENTION) ACT, 1987
- QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - VU2RG
- Rajiv Gandhi Memorial SEANET Convention
| Preceded by Indira Gandhi | Prime Minister of India 1984–1989 | Succeeded by V P Singh |
| Preceded by Indira Gandhi | Minister for External Affairs of India 1984–1985 | Succeeded by Bali Ram Bhagat |
| Preceded by Narayan Dutt Tiwari | Minister for External Affairs of India 1987–1988 | Succeeded by P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| |||
| ||
| |||
Sonia Gandhi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sonia Gandhi | |
 | |
| | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2004 | |
| | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1998 | |
| | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2006 | |
| In office 2004 – 23 March 2006 | |
| | |
| In office 19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004 | |
| Succeeded by | Lal Krishna Advani |
|---|---|
| | |
| In office 1999–2004 | |
| | |
| Born | 9 December 1946 Lusiana, Veneto, Italy |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Rajiv Gandhi (1969-1991) |
| Children | Rahul Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi |
| Residence | 10 Janpath, New Delhi, India |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Sonia Gandhi (Hindi: सोनिया गांधी; born Edvige Antonia Albina Maino[1][2] in Lusiana, Italy on 9 December 1946) is the Italian-born President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi. She also serves as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party.
Gandhi was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004[3] and was ranked 6th in 2007.[4] She was also named among the Time 100 most influential people in the world for the years 2007[5] and 2008.[6]
Contents[hide] |
Early life
Born to Stefano and Paola Maino in contrà Màini not far from Lusiana, a little village 30 km from Vicenza in the region of Veneto, Italy, she spent her adolescence in Orbassano, a town near Turin being raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family and attending a Catholic school. Her father, a building contractor, died in 1983.[7] Her mother and two sisters still live around Orbassano.[8]
In 1964, she went to study English at The Bell Educational Trust's language school in the city of Cambridge. She met Rajiv Gandhi, who was enrolled in Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, in 1965 at a Greek restaurant.[9] Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi married in 1968, following which she moved into the house of her mother-in-law and then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.[10]
The couple had two children, Rahul Gandhi (born 1970) and Priyanka Gandhi (born 1972). Despite belonging to the influential Nehru family, Sonia and Rajiv avoided all involvement in politics. Rajiv worked as an airline pilot while Sonia took care of her family.[11] When Indira was ousted from office in 1977 in the aftermath of the Indian Emergency, the Rajiv family moved abroad for a short time.[citation needed] When Rajiv entered politics in 1982 after the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash on 23 June 1980, Sonia continued to focus on her family and avoided all contact with the public.[12]
Political career
Wife of the Prime Minister
Sonia Gandhi's involvement with Indian public life began after the assassination of her mother-in-law and her husband's election as Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister's wife she acted as his official hostess and also accompanied him on a number of state visits.[citation needed] In 1984, she actively campaigned against her husband's sister-in-law Maneka Gandhi who was running against Rajiv in Amethi. At the end of Rajiv Gandhi's five years in office, the Bofors Scandal broke out. Ottavio Quattrocchi an Italian business man believed to be involved, was said to be a friend of Sonia Gandhi, having access to the Prime Minister's official residence.[13]
Congress President
After the assassination of her husband Rajiv Gandhi and her refusal of becoming Prime Minister, the party settled on the choice of P. V. Narasimha Rao who became leader and subsequently Prime Minister. Over the next few years, however, the Congress fortunes continued to dwindle and it lost the 1996 elections. Several senior leaders such as Madhavrao Sindhia, Rajesh Pilot, Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Arjun Singh, Mamata Banerjee, G. K. Moopanar, P. Chidambaram, Jayanthi Natarajan were in open revolt against the incumbent President Sitaram Kesri and quit the party, splitting the Congress into many factions.
In an effort to revive the party's sagging fortunes, she joined the Congress Party as a primary member in the Calcutta Plenary Session in 1997 and became party leader in 1998[14].
Within 62 days of joining of a primary member, she was offered the party President post which she accepted. She contested Lok Sabha elections from Bellary, Karnataka and Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in 1999. In Bellary she defeated veteran BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj. In 2004 and 2009, she was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
Leader of the Opposition
She was elected the Leader of the Opposition of the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
When the BJP-led NDA formed a government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, she took on the office of the Leader of Opposition. As Leader of Opposition, she called a no-confidence motion against the NDA government led by Vajpayee in 2003.
She holds the record of having served as Congress President for 10 years consecutively.
2004 elections and aftermath
In the 2004 general elections, Gandhi launched a nationwide campaign, criss-crossing the country on the Aam Aadmi (ordinary man) slogan in contrast to the 'India Shining' slogan of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance. She countered the BJP asking "Who is India Shining for?" In the election, she won by a large margin in the Rae Bareilly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Following the unexpected defeat of the NDA, she was widely expected to be the next Prime Minister of India. On 16 May, she was unanimously chosen to lead a 15-party coalition government with the support of the left, which was subsequently named the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
After the election result, the defeated NDA protested once against her 'foreign origin' and senior NDA leader Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head and "sleep on the ground", among other things, should Sonia become prime minister [15]. The NDA also claimed that there were legal reasons that barred her from the Prime Minister's post.[16] They pointed, in particular, to Section 5 of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, which they claimed implied 'reciprocity'. This was contested by others[17] and eventually the suits were dismissed by the Supreme Court of India.
A few days after the election, Gandhi appointed Manmohan Singh as prime minister. Her supporters compared it to the old Indian tradition of renunciation[18], while her opponents attacked it as a political stunt.[19].
UPA Chairperson
On 18 May, she recommended noted economist Dr. Manmohan Singh for the Prime Minister's post.
On 23 March 2006, Gandhi announced her resignation from the Lok Sabha and also as chairperson of the National Advisory Council under the office-of-profit controversy and the speculation that the government was planning to bring an ordinance to exempt the post of chairperson of National Advisory Council from the purview of office of profit. She was re-elected from her constituency Rae Bareilly in May 2006 by a huge margin of over 400,000 votes.
As chairperson of the National Advisory Committee and the UPA chairperson, she played an important role in making the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Right to Information Act into law.[20][21]
She addressed the United Nations on 2 October 2007, Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary which is observed as the international day of non-violence after a UN resolution passed on 15 July 2007.[22]
Under her leadership, India returned the Congress-led-UPA to a near majority in the 2009 general elections with Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister. The Congress itself won 206 Lok Sabha seats, which was the highest total by any party since 1991.
Austerity drive
Sonia Gandhi advocated austerity for all the congress MPs and set an example by travelling in economy class on her 14 September 2009 travel from New Delhi to Mumbai. She saved Rs 10,000.[23][24] She also advocated for contribution of 20% of MPs salary (An MPs monthly salary is Rs 16,000) for the drought affected victims in India.
Personal life
Sonia is the widow of the late Rajiv Gandhi, elder son of Indira Gandhi. Her son, Rahul Gandhi, was elected to Parliament from the Amethi constituency (UP) in 2004. Her daughter Priyanka Gandhi has not stood for office, though she has worked as a Congress campaign manager. There has been considerable media speculation about their future in the Congress.
Controversies
1980s voting registration
In 1980 her name appeared in the voter's list for New Delhi prior to her becoming an Indian Citizen. At the time she was still holding Italian Citizenship.[25] A violation of Form 4 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which states that "Only the names of those who are citizens of India should be entered on the electoral rolls."[26] When she did acquire Indian Citizenship, in April 1983, the same issue cropped up again, as her name appeared on the 1983 voter's list when the deadline for registering had been in January 1983.[27][28]
Swiss accounts
Swiss magazine Schweizer Illustrierte in 1991 revealed that she was controlling accounts worth $2 billion dollars in her minor son's name.[29][30]
Harvard scholar Yevgenia Albats cited KGB correspondence about payments to Rajiv Gandhi and his family, which had been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov,[31] which shows that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov sought in writing an "authorization to make payments in U.S. dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi" from the CPSU in December 1985. Payments were authorized by a resolution, CPSU/CC/No 11228/3 dated 20 December 1985; and endorsed by the USSR Council of Ministers in Directive No 2633/Rs dated 20 December 1985. These payments had been coming since 1971, as payments received by Sonia Gandhi's family and "have been audited in CPSU/CC resolution No 11187/22 OP dated 10/12/1984.[32] In 1992 the media confronted the Russian government with the Albats disclosure. The Russian government confirmed the veracity of the disclosure and defended it as necessary for "Soviet ideological interest."[31]
In 2008 her party appointed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh was the only international leader to initially refuse data provided by the German authorities during 2008 Liechtenstein tax affair.[33][34] However, the Germans had no information on any Indian politician's accounts.,[35][verification needed] although after 17 years of investigation by a Janata Dal and United Front and National Front and a BJP government, there has been no evidence to link Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi to the Swiss accounts.[citation needed]
All this was in the wake of the 2006 Swiss Banking Association report revealing that the combined deposits of Indian citizens were far greater than any other nation, a total of $1.4 trillion dollars,[36] a figure exceeding the nominal GDP of India.
Foreign birth
Gandhi's foreign birth has sparked intense debate and opposition.[15][37][38] Although Sonia Gandhi is actually the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947.[39]
Early in her leadership, there was even criticism from within the Congress Party. In May 1999, three senior leaders of the party (Sharad Pawar, Purno A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar) challenged her right to try to become India's Prime Minister because of her foreign origins. In response, she offered to resign as party leader, resulting in a massive outpouring of support and the expulsion from the party of the three rebels who would go on to form the Nationalist Congress Party.[40]
A senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said that she surrendered her Italian passport to the Italian Embassy 27 April 1983. Yet surrendering a passport does not amount to the loss of citizenship as commented by President of Janata Party.[28][41][42] However, Italian nationality law did not permit dual nationality until 1992. So by acquiring Indian citizenship in 1983 she would automatically have lost Italian citizenship.[43]
The Italian citizenship law of 1992 did open a window of opportunity for those who lost their citizenship prior to 1992 to reregister as Italian citizens until the deadline of 31 December 1997.[44] No comment or evidence has been put forward by Sonia Gandhi to confirm that she did not re-register post 1992, presenting implications to her position as an elected member of Parliament. At present the Government of India does not allow dual citizenship.[45]
Notes
- ^ Sonia Gandhi - Britannica
- ^ Divided we stand: India in a time of coalitions. Los Angeles : SAGE Publications, 2007.. 2007. pp. 148. ISBN 978-0761936633.
- ^ Sonia Gandhi 3rd most powerful woman. Retrieved on 23 March 2007.
- ^ Sonia Gandhi in Forbes' list for 2007 Retrieved on 31 August 2007
- ^ Sonia Gandhi among Time's 100 for 2007. Retrieved on 14 May 2007
- ^ Sonia Gandhi among Time's 100 for 2008. Retrieved on 1 May 2008.
- ^ In Maino land. Retrieved on 23 March 2007.
- ^ Italy heralds 'first woman PM'. Retrieved on 18 July 2007.
- ^ "The Sonia Shock". Time. 17 May 2004. http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501040524/story.html. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
- ^ The name game of the rich and famous. Retrieved on 18 July 2007.
- ^ BREAKING THE SILENCE Retrieved on 20 July 2007.
- ^ Sonia Gandhi, pressured congress, to return as Congress Party's Leader
- ^ Who is Quattrocchi? Retrieved on 23 March 2007.
- ^ Sonia Gandhi, Indian National Congress Party Chairman
- ^ a b Religioscope: India: politics of renunciation, traditional and modern - Analysis
- ^ Pioneer News Servic. "Whose inner voice?". CMYK Multimedia Pvt. Ltd. http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=VOTE_2004&file_name=vote941.txt&counter_img=941. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
- ^ Venkatesan, V (June 1999). "Citizen Sonia". Frontline 16 (12). http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1612/16120300.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
- ^ BBC NEWS (2004-05-19). "Indian press lauds Gandhi decision". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3727591.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
- ^ BBC NEWS (2006-03-23). "Profile: Sonia Gandhi". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3546851.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ Employment Bill not a populist measure: Sonia. Retrieved on 13 July 2007.
- ^ After RTI success, it's right to work. Retrieved on 13 July 2007.
- ^ "Sonia Gandhi raises disarmament issue at UN meet". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sonia_raises_disarmament_issue_at_UN_meet/articleshow/2422950.cms. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ "Sonia leads by example, flies economy to Mumbai". CNN-IBN. 14 September 2009. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sonia-leads-by-example-to-fly-economy-to-mumbai/101327-37.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Why austerity? Coz you need money to keep some people poor". MSN. 15 September 2009. http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3226867. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Sonia's candidature challenged in Madras high court". Rediff.com. 25 August 1999. http://www.rediff.com/election/1999/aug/25sonia.htm. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "BJP accuses Sonia of flouting law". The Indian Express. 12 May 1999. http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990512/ipo12039.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Elevenses". Rediff.com. 13 May 1999. http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/may/13varsha.htm. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Citizen Sonia". Frontline Magazine. 5–18 June 1999. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1612/16120300.htm. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ http://www.zeenews.com/news528156.html
- ^ http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/09/sonia_gandhis_reluctant_war_on_1.html
- ^ a b Can Corrupt Politicians Preserve Freedom?
- ^ Albats. KGB: The State Within a State. Translated from the Russian by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. 1995. ISBN 1850439958, ISBN 9781850439950. First edition in 1994, ISBN 0374527385, ISBN 9780374527389.
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3057422,prtpage-1.cms
- ^ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3058947.cms
- ^ http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/paranjoy-guha-thakurta/why-indians-stash-money-abroad.aspx
- ^ http://www.millionface.com/l/is-india-a-poor-country-revelation-on-swiss-bank-accounts/
- ^ "BJP sees Gujarat ammo in Sonia origins". The Telegraph. 30 August 2002. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020830/asp/nation/story_1151052.asp. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "Uma Bharti does not want to be CM". Rediff.com. 18 May 2004. http://www.rediff.com/election/2004/may/18uma.htm. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "On being foreign and being nationalist". Frontline Magazine. 22 May-4 June 1999. http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1611/16110920.htm. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "India's Congress Party rallies for Sonia Gandhi". CNN. 17 May 1999. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9905/17/india.gandhi.01/index.html. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "Sonia gave up Italian passport 16 yrs ago, says Congress". The Indian Express. 24 May 1999. http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990524/ipo24068.html. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "A citizenship question". Frontline Magazine. 29 September-12 October 2001. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1820/18200340.htm. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ "Citizenship: How to lose it?". Trentini Nel Mondo. http://www.trentininelmondo.it/cittadinanza/come_si_perde_en.asp. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
- ^ http://www.consmelbourne.esteri.it/Consolato_Melbourne/Menu/I_Servizi/Per_i_cittadini/Cittadinanza/
- ^ http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/acsdualnation.html
See also
References
- S. R. ET AL. BAKSHI (1998) Sonia Gandhi, The President of AICC South Asia Books. ISBN 81-7024-988-0
- Rupa Chaterjee (1999) Sonia Gandhi: The Lady in Shadow Butala. ISBN 81-87277-02-5
- C. Rupa, Rupa Chaterjee (2000) Sonia Mystique South Asia Books. ISBN 81-85870-24-1
- Moro, Javier "El sari rojo" (Ed. Seix Barral, 2008) "Il sari rosso" (Il Saggiatore, 2009)
External links
- Official websites
- Others
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sonia Gandhi |
- Profile by BBC News dated 23 March 2006
- QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - VU2SON
- Rajiv Gandhi Memorial SEANET Convention
- Sonia Gandhi
Nehru–Gandhi family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nehru-Gandhi family | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| Information | ||||||
| Notable members | Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Varun Gandhi | |||||
The Nehru-Gandhi family or Nehru - Feroze Gandhi family is an Indian political family which has been dominant in the Indian National Congress for most of India's history since independence. It is to be noted that they do not belong to Mahatma Gandhi's family.
Three members of the family (Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi) have been Prime Minister of India, two of whom (Indira and Rajiv Gandhi) have been assassinated. A fourth member of the family, Rajiv's widow Sonia Gandhi, is currently Congress President, while her and Rajiv's son, Rahul Gandhi, is the youngest member of the family to enter active politics when he contested and won a seat in the lower house of the Parliament of India in 2004; he was re-elected in 2009.
Contents[hide] |
Incomplete family tree
| | | | | | | Motilal Nehru | | Swaruprani | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kamala Nehru | | Jawaharlal Nehru | | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit | | Ranjit Sitaram Pandit | | | Krishna Hutheesing | | Gunottam Hutheesing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | Indira Gandhi | | Feroze Gandhi | | Nayantara Sahgal | | Harsha Hutheesing | | Ajit Hutheesing | | Helen Armstrong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | Rajiv Gandhi | | Sonia Gandhi | | | | | | Sanjay Gandhi | | Maneka Gandhi | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | Rahul Gandhi | | Priyanka Vadra | | Robert Vadra | | | | Varun Gandhi | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | Raihan Vadra | | Miraya Vadra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Origins
The Nehru family has connection with Allahabad city of present day Uttar Pradesh state of India. In Allahabad, Jawaharlal Nehru was born, this is the Constituency he represented in Parliament, and where childhood of Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi and grandchildren Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi was spent. However Nehru's father Motilal Nehru was of Kashmiri Brahmin descent. The name "Nehru" is derived from the Hindi "nehar", meaning canal.
The family's political fortunes were founded by Motilal Nehru (1861–1931), who was a prominent lawyer and early activist in the Indian independence movement. Motilal was succeeded as President of the Congress by his son, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), in 1929. Jawaharlal then became one of the most prominent Indian nationalist leaders, in close alliance with the movement's spiritual leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Rise to power 1947-1991
In 1947, India became independent and Jawaharlal Nehru became Prime Minister, holding this post until his death in 1964. Nehru's sister, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–1990), was also prominent in Congress politics. She became a diplomat, serving as ambassador to the USSR, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and later as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953.
Nehru encouraged his only child, Indira Gandhi (1917–84) to be active in Congress politics. She entered the Cabinet in 1964 when Lal Bahadur Shastri became Prime Minister upon Nehru's death. Then in 1966, following the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, she became Prime Minister, holding the position until her defeat in the 1977 elections. During her Prime Ministership her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi (1946–80), wielded enormous political influence without holding any accountable government office. His alleged abuse of power was one of the reasons for the government's 1977 defeat. Sanjay died in a plane crash in 1980.
Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980 and remained in office until her death in 1984. After she ordered an invasion of the Sikh religion's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, on 6 June 1984 to flush out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his supporters, she was assassinated by two of her bodyguards on 31 October 1984; the remaining bodyguards killed one of the assassins and captured the other. She was succeeded by her elder son, Rajiv Gandhi (1944–91), an airline pilot, who was initially reluctant to enter politics, but was persuaded by the Congress that no-one else could lead it. He was defeated at elections in 1989, but was about to return to office when he was assassinated in 1991 by a suicide bomber, suspected to be linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was survived by his widow Sonia, and two children, Rahul and Priyanka.
Sanjay's legacy
Sanjay Gandhi's widow Maneka and their son Varun were excluded from power in the Congress after Sanjay's death, and are now members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Maneka fell out with her mother-in-law Indira, following Sanjay's death, and was even thrown out of her home. She joined the opposition Janata Dal and became a Union Minister in the VP Singh Government which followed Rajiv Gandhi's electoral defeat in 1989. She continued to contest from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, with a defeat in 1991 and victory in 1996. She left the Janata Dal, and during the 1998 and 1999 elections, contested as an Independent supported by the BJP. She supported the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre and became a Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. During the 2004 General Elections, she formally joined the BJP along with her son, Varun Gandhi. Maneka won her seat again, but Varun did not meet the age requirement to contest, and spent his time campaigning. In October 2006 Varun Gandhi was tipped to contest the by-elections to the Lok Sabha parliamentary Constituency of Vidisha (the vacancy was necessitated by the resignation of the incumbent, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chauhan who was elected as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister). Varun Gandhi could not succeed in getting nomination from the BJP national executive and instead the party nominated Mr. Rampal Singh a minister in the Madhya Pradesh. In 2009 Lok Sabha election, Varun Gandhi elected as a MP from Pilibhit seat of Uttar Pradesh.
The rise of Sonia Gandhi
Arun Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi's cousin, was Minister for Power and then Minister for Internal Security in Rajiv Gandhi's government, but later defected to the rival Janata Dal.
After Rajiv Gandhi's death, the Congress was led by P. V. Narasimha Rao, who became Prime Minister. After his defeat in India's 1996 General Elections, the power in the Congress party shifted to Sitaram Kesri, an aging loyalist of Indira Gandhi. During this period, Sonia kept herself and her children out of the public limelight, not wanting them to face the fate of her husband and mother-in-law.
The party loyalists always wanted a member of the Nehru- Feroz Gandhi family to lead the party, as its fortunes slipped in elections around the nation. Despite her reluctance, Sonia Gandhi was eventually persuaded to become active in the Congress Party, and she quickly became its center of power, forcing Kesri's resignation and allowing her uncontested assent to the party's Presidency in 1998.
The following period saw her becoming increasingly visible in politics (She is attributed to engineering the downfall of the Vajpayee government in 1999, in an unsuccessful attempt to install a Congress government). During India's 2004 General Elections, Sonia was projected the Congress's Prime Ministerial candidate, and the party and its allies emerged as the largest group in the Lok Sabha, with the Communist parties supporting the coalition from outside. Initially, every coalition partner and the Communist parties had accepted her as the Prime Minister. The opposition BJP held nationwide protests against a 'foreigner' ascending the Prime Minister's post.
On 18 May 2004, Sonia Gandhi declined the Prime Ministerial position, passing it on to Dr. Manmohan Singh. At these elections Rahul Gandhi was elected to the Parliament for the first time, representing a fifth generation of the family in politics from a traditional Gandhi stronghold, Amethi (Uttar Pradesh). Her daughter, Priyanka Vadra, did not contest the elections, but campaigned for the party. Many Congress leaders and supporters have vocally promoted her future as the party's leader, but she has not accepted a life in active politics, so far.
See also
External links
| |||||||||||||||||
India – United States relations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Indo-American relations | |
  | |
 | |
| India | United States |
Indo-American relations refers to the bilateral relations between the United States of America and the Republic of India.
Despite being one of the pioneers and founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, India developed a closer relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. India's strategic and military relations with Moscow and strong socialist policies had an adverse impact on its relations with the United States. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, India began to review its foreign policy in a unipolar world following which, it took steps to develop closer ties with the European Union and the United States. Today, India and the U.S. share an extensive cultural, strategic, military and economic relationship.[1][2]
During the tenure of the Clinton and Bush administration, relations between India and the United States blossomed primarily over common concerns regarding growing Islamic extremism, energy security and climate change.[3]
According to some foreign policy experts, there was a slight downturn in India-U.S. relations following the election of Barack Obama as the President of the United States in 2009. This was primarily due to Obama administration's desire to increase relations with China,[4] and Barack Obama's protectionist views on dealing with the economic crisis.[5] However, the leaders of the two countries have repeatedly dismissed these concerns.[6]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Country comparison
 United States |  India | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 307,721,000 | 1,171,000,000 |
| Area | 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,066 sq mi) | 3,287,240 km2 (1,269,210 sq mi) |
| Population Density | 31/km² (80/sq mi) | 356/km² (922/sq mi) |
| Capital | Washington, D.C. | New Delhi |
| Largest City | New York City - 8,363,710 (19,006,798 Metro) | Mumbai - 13,922,125 (21,347,412 Metro) |
| Government | Federal presidential constitutional republic | Federal parliamentary constitutional republic |
| Official languages | English (de facto) | Hindi and English, 21 other constitutionally recognized languages |
| Main religions | 75% Christianity, 20% non-Religious, 2% Judaism, 1% Buddhism, 1% Islam | 80% Hinduism, 13.4% Islam, 2.3% Christianity, 1.9% Sikhism, 0.8% Buddhism, 0.4% Jainism |
| Ethnic groups | 74% White American, 14.8% Hispanic and Latino Americans (of any race), 13.4% African American, 6.5% Some other race, 4.4% Asian American, 2.0% Two or more races, 0.68% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.14% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | See Ethnic Groups of India |
| GDP (nominal) | $14.441 trillion ($47,440 per capita) | $1.209 trillion ($1,016 per capita) |
| Indian Americans | 2,765,815 Indian born people living in the USA | 60,000 American born people living in India |
| Military expenditures | $663.7 billion (FY 2010) [7] | $32.7 billion (FY 2009-10) [8] |
[edit] History
The historic relationship between India and the United States was very strong. One event is the visit of Swami Vivekananda who introduced Yoga and Vedanta to America. Vivekananda was the first known Hindu Sage to come to the West, where he introduced Eastern thought at the World's Parliament of Religions, in connection with the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1893]. Here, his first lecture, which started with this line "Sisters and Brothers of America," [7] made the audience clap for two minutes just to the address, for prior to this seminal speech, the audience was always used to this opening address: "Ladies and Gentlemen". It was this speech that catapulted him to fame by his wide audiences in Chicago and then later everywhere else in America, including far-flung places such as Memphis, Boston, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.
After Indian independence until the end of the cold war, the relationship between the two nations has often been thorny. Dwight Eisenhower was the first U.S. President to visit India in 1959. He was so supportive of India that the New York Times remarked "It did not seem to matter much whether Nehru had actually requested or been given a guarantee that the U.S. would help India to meet further Chinese communist aggression. What mattered was the obvious strengthening of Indian-American friendship to a point where no such guarantee was necessary."
During John F. Kennedy's period as President, he saw India as a strategic partner against the rise of communist China. He said "Chinese Communists have been moving ahead the last 10 years. India has been making some progress, but if India does not succeed with her 450 million people, if she can't make freedom work, then people around the world are going to determine, particularly in the underdeveloped world, that the only way they can develop their resources is through the Communist system."
From 1961 to 1963 there was a promise to help set up a large steel mill in Bokaro that was withdrawn by the U.S. The 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani wars did not help their relations. During the Cold War, the U.S. asked for Pakistan's help because India was seen to lean towards the Soviet Union. Later, when India would not agree to support the anti-Soviet operation in Afghanistan, it was left with few allies. Not until 1997 was there any effort to improve relations with the United States.
Soon after Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Indian Prime Minister, he authorized a nuclear weapons test in Pokhran, which got the immediate attention of the US. The Clinton administration and Vajpayee exchanged representatives to help build relations. In March 2000, President Bill Clinton visited India. He had bilateral and economic discussions with Prime Minister Vajpayee. Over the course of improved diplomatic relations with the Bush administration, India has agreed to allow close international monitoring of its nuclear weapons development while refusing to give up its current nuclear arsenal. India and the U.S. have also greatly enhanced their economic ties.
During the September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush chose India as the country to control and police the Indian Ocean sea-lanes from the Suez to Singapore. The December 2004 tsunami saw the U.S. and Indian navies cooperating in search and rescue operations and reconstruction of affected areas. An Open Skies Agreement was made in April 2005. This helped enhance trade, tourism, and business by the increased number of flights. Air India purchased 68 U.S. Boeing aircraft, which cost $8 billion.
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have made recent visits to India as well. After Hurricane Katrina, India donated $5 million to the American Red Cross and sent two plane loads of relief supplies and materials to help. And on 1 March 2006, President Bush made another diplomatic visit to expand relations between India and the United States.
[edit] Military relations
The U.S.-India defense relationship derives from a common belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and seeks to advance shared security interests. These interests include maintaining security and stability, defeating terrorism and violent religious extremism, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and associated materials, data, and technologies and protecting the free flow of commerce via land, air and sea lanes.
In recent years India has conducted joint military exercises with the U.S. in the Indian Ocean. Despite this the Indian government sees the sole U.S. base in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia, and the permanent presence of the U.S. military there, as a potential escalation point in a future war, especially because of the current U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Recognizing India as a key to strategic U.S. interests, the United States has sought to strengthen its relationship with India. The two countries are the world's largest democracies, both committed to political freedom protected by representative government. India is also moving gradually toward greater economic freedom. The U.S. and India have a common interest in the free flow of commerce and resources, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean. They also share an interest in fighting terrorism and in creating a strategically stable Asia.
There were some differences, however, including over India's nuclear weapons programs and the pace of India's economic reforms. In the past, these concerns may have dominated U.S. thinking about India, but today the U.S. views India as a growing world power with which it shares common strategic interests. A strong partnership between the two countries will continue to address differences and shape a dynamic and collaborative future.
In late September 2001, President Bush lifted sanctions imposed under the terms of the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act following India's nuclear tests in May 1998. The nonproliferation dialogue initiated after the 1998 nuclear tests has bridged many of the gaps in understanding between the countries. In a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Vajpayee in November 2001, the two leaders expressed a strong interest in transforming the U.S.-India bilateral relationship. High-level meetings and concrete cooperation between the two countries increased during 2002 and 2003. In January 2004, the U.S. and India launched the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP), which was both a milestone in the transformation of the bilateral relationship and a blueprint for its further progress.
In July 2005, President Bush hosted Prime Minister Singh in Washington, DC. The two leaders announced the successful completion of the NSSP, as well as other agreements which further enhance cooperation in the areas of civil nuclear, civil space, and high-technology commerce. Other initiatives announced at this meeting include: an U.S.-India Economic Dialogue, Fight Against HIV/AIDS, Disaster Relief, Technology Cooperation, Democracy Initiative, an Agriculture Knowledge Initiative, a Trade Policy Forum, Energy Dialogue and CEO Forum. President Bush made a reciprocal visit to India in March 2006, during which the progress of these initiatives were reviewed, and new initiatives were launched.
In December 2006, Congress passed the historic Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Cooperation Act, which allows direct civilian nuclear commerce with India for the first time in 30 years. U.S. policy had opposed nuclear cooperation with India because the country had developed nuclear weapons in contravention of international conventions and never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The legislation clears the way for India to buy U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel for civilian use.
In July 2007, the United States and India reached a historic milestone in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the "123 agreement." This agreement, signed by Secretary of State Rice and External Affairs Minister Mukherjee on October 10, 2008, governs civil nuclear trade between the two countries and opens the door for American and Indian firms to participate in each other's civil nuclear energy sector. The U.S. and India seek to elevate the strategic partnership further to include cooperation in counter-terrorism, defense cooperation, education, and joint democracy promotion.
[edit] Economic relations
The United States is also one of India's largest direct investors. From 1991 to 2004, the stock of FDI inflow has increased from USD $11.3 million to $344.4 million, totaling $4.13 billion. This is a compound rate increase of 57.5% annually. Indian direct investments abroad were started in 1992]. Indian corporations and registered partnership firms are allowed to invest in businesses up to 100% of their net worth. India's largest outgoing investments are manufacturing, which account for 54.8% of the country's foreign investments. The second largest are non-financial services (software development), which accounts for 35.4% of investments.
[edit] Trade relations
The United States is India's largest trading partner. In 2007, the United States exported $17.24 billion worth goods to India and imported $24.02 billion worth of Indian goods.[9] Major items exported by India to the U.S. include Information Technology Services, textiles, machinery, ITeS, gems and diamonds, chemicals, iron and steel products, coffee, tea, and other edible food products. Major American items imported by India include aircraft, fertilizers, computer hardware, scrap metal and medical equipment.[10][11]
The United States is also India's largest investment partner, with American direct investment of $9 billion accounting for 9% of total foreign investment into India. Americans have made notable foreign investment in India's power generation, telecommunications, ports, roads, petroleum exploration/processing, and mining industries.[11]
In July 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh created a new program called the Trade Policy Forum. It is run by a representative from each nation. The United States Trade Representative is Rob Portman and the Indian Commerce Secretary is Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath. The goal of the program is to increase bilateral trade which is a two-way trade deal and the flow of investments.
There are five main sub-divisions of the Trade Policy Forum which include: Agricultural Trade group- This group has three main objectives: agreeing on terms that will allow India to export mangoes to the United States, permitting India's Agricultural and Process Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) to certify Indian products to the standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and executing regulation procedures for approving edible wax on fruit.
Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers group- Goals of the group include: agreeing that insecticides that are manufactures by United States companies can be sold throughout India. India had agreed to cut special regulations on trading carbonated drinks, many medicinal drugs, and lowering regulations on many imports that are not of agricultural nature. Both nations have agreed to discuss improved facets on the trade of Indian regulation requirements, jewelry, computer parts, motorcycles, fertilizer, and those tariffs that affect the American process of exporting boric acid.
The two nations have discussed matters such as those who wish to break into the accounting market, Indian companies gaining licenses for the telecommunications industry, and setting polices by the interaction of companies from both countries regarding new policies related to Indian media and broadcasting. This group has strived to exchange valuable information on recognizing different professional services offered by the two countries, discussing the movement and positioning of people in developing industries and assigning jobs to those people, continuation of talks in how India's citizens can gain access into the market for financial servicing, and discussing the limitation of equities.
The two countries have had talks about the restriction of investments in industries such as financial services, insurance, and retail. Also, to take advantage of any initiatives in joint investments such as agricultural processing and the transportation industries. Both countries have decided to promote small business initiatives in both countries by allowing trade between them.
The majority of exports from the United States to India include: aviation equipment, engineering materials and machinery, instruments used in optical and medical sectors, fertilizers, and stones and metals.
Below are the percentages of traded items India to U.S. increased by 21.12% to $6.94 billion.
- Diamonds & precious stones (25%)
- Textiles (29.01%)
- Iron & Steel (5.81%)
- Organic chemicals (4.3%)
- Machinery (4.6%)
- Electrical Machinery (4.28%)
Major items of export from U.S. to India: For the year 2006, figures are available up to the month of April. Merchandise exports from U.S. to India increased by 20.09.26% to U.S. $2.95 billion. Select major items with their percentage shares are given below
- Engineering goods & machinery (including electrical) (31.2%)
- Precious stones & metals (8.01%)
- Organic chemicals (4.98%)
- Optical instruments & equipment (7.33%)
- Aviation & aircraft ( 16.8%)
[edit] Ties under Obama administration
Despite much gains in Indo-American relations during the tenure of the Bush administration, India was not one of the Asian countries U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited in February 2009. The Foreign Policy magazine reported that even though Foreign Policy Staff of the previous administration had recommended India as a "key stop" during any such official tour of Asia, Hillary Clinton had struck New Delhi from her itinerary.[12][13] The exclusion of India from the Asian tour was regarded as a "mistake" by some analysts.[14] India was not even mentioned once in the Obama administration's official foreign policy agenda.[15] Former US ambassador Robert D. Blackwill warned that Indo-US relations faced a "downgrade" in the short term, as the Obama administration places China "on a substantially higher plane in US diplomacy than India". However, he remained optimistic about the long-term prospects for Indo-US relationship.[16][17] The Forbes magazine alerted U.S. President Barack Obama on the need to prevent United States' new-found alliance with India from erosion.[18]
The initial approach of the Obama administration towards ties with India raised concerns of a downturn in Indo-American relations.[19] In an editorial, the National Interest suggested that the Obama administration could possibly damage "the foundations underlying the geostrategic partnership" between India and the United States.[20] Another editorial published by the Taipei Times highlighted the importance of India-U.S. relations and urged Barack Obama to give "India the attention it deserves".[21] Terming India to be United States' "indispensable ally", the Christian Science Monitor argued that the Obama administration needs India's cooperation on several issues, including climate change, Afghanistan war and energy security and therefore, Obama cannot risk putting ties with India on "back-burner".[22]
In an attempt to bolster relations between the two countries, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India in the second half of July 2009.[23] Calling India a "key partner" of the United States, Clinton said that the United States wants India "to succeed as an anchor for regional and global security". She also mentioned four platforms for building future U.S.-India relationship — "global security, human development, economic activity, science and technology".[19]
[edit] Foreign policy issues
According to some analysts, India-U.S. relations have strained over Obama administration's approach in handling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[24][25] India's National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan, criticized the Obama administration for linking the Kashmir dispute to the instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan and said that by doing so, President Obama was "barking up the wrong tree".[26] The Foreign Policy too criticized Obama's approach towards South Asia saying that "India can be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem" in South Asia and suggested India to take a more proactive role in rebuilding Afghanistan irrespective of the attitude of the Obama administration.[27] In a clear indication of growing rift between India and the U.S., the former decided not to accept a U.S. invitation to attend a conference on Afghanistan.[28] Bloomberg reported that since 2008 Mumbai attacks, the public mood in India has been to pressure Pakistan more aggressively to take actions against the culprits behind the terrorist attack and this might reflect on the upcoming general elections in May 2009. Consequently, the Obama administration may find itself at odds with India's rigid stance against terrorism.[29]
Robert Blake, assistant secretary of United States' Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, dismissed any concerns over a rift with India regarding United States' AfPak policy. Calling India and the United States "natural allies",[6] Blake said that the United States cannot afford to meet the strategic priorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan at "the expense of India".[30]
[edit] Economic relations
India strongly criticized Obama administration's decision to limit H-1B visas and India's External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said that his country would argue against U.S. "protectionism" at various international forums.[31] The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a close aide of India's main opposition party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that if the United States continues with its anti-outsourcing policies, then India will "have to take steps to hurt American companies in India."[32] India's Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, said that India may move against Obama's outsourcing policies at the World Trade Organization.[33] However, the outsourcing advisory head of KPMG said that India had no reason to worry since Obama's statements were directed against "outsourcing being carried out by manufacturing companies" and not outsourcing of IT-related services.[34]
In May 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated his anti-outsourcing views and criticized the current U.S. tax policy "that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York."[35] However, during the U.S.-India Business Council meet in June 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton advocated for stronger economic ties between India and the United States. She also rebuked protectionist policies saying that "[United States] will not use the global financial crisis as an excuse to fall back on protectionism. We hope India will work with us to create a more open, equitable set of opportunities for trade between our nations."[36]
In June 2009, United States provided diplomatic help in successfully pushing through a US$2.9 billion loan sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, despite considerable opposition from the People's Republic of China.[37]
[edit] Strategic and military relations
| " | "As part of that strategy, we [India and U.S.] should expand our broader security relationship and increase cooperation on counterterrorism and intelligence sharing." | " |
In March 2009, the Obama administration cleared the US$2.1 billion sale of eight P-8 Poseidons to India, the largest military deal between the two countries.[38]
India expressed its concerns that Obama administration's non-military aid to Pakistan will not be used for counter-insurgency, but for building up its military against India.[39] However, Robert Blake, assistant secretary of Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, said that the Pakistani Government was increasingly focused at fighting the Taliban insurgency and expressed hope that the people of India would "support and agree with what we are trying to do".[30]
Concerns were raised in India that the Obama administration was delaying the full implementation of the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal.[40] The Obama administration has also strongly advocated for the strengthening of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and has pressurized India to sign the agreement. India's special envoy, Shyam Saran, "warned" the United States that India would continue to oppose any such treaty as it was "discriminatory".[41] In June 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the Obama administration was "fully committed" to the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement.[42]
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen encouraged stronger military ties between India and the United States and said that "India has emerged as an increasingly important strategic partner [of the U.S.]".[43] U.S. Undersecretary of State William Joseph Burns said, "Never has there been a moment when India and America mattered more to each other." [44]
[edit] See also
- India as an emerging superpower
- Embassy of India in Washington
- Foreign relations of India
- Foreign relations of the United States
- United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act
[edit] Notes
- ^ India-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations
- ^ The Evolving India-U.S. Strategic Relationship
- ^ [1]
- ^ India frets over Obama's Chinamania
- ^ India renews criticism of "Buy American" drift
- ^ a b Reflections on U.S. - India Relations - Robert O. Blake
- ^ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/pdf/budget/defense.pdf
- ^ Australian Department of Defence (2009). Defence Portfolio Budget Statements 2009-10. Table 5, Page 19.
- ^ Foreign Trade Census
- ^ India - U.S. Trade and Economic Relations
- ^ a b India (10/07)
- ^ [2]
- ^ A U.S. Asia strategy for Hillary Clinton's trip
- ^ Mrs. Clinton Goes To China
- ^ THE AGENDA • FOREIGN POLICY
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ Obama Should Visit India--Soon
- ^ a b Clinton to visit India
- ^ Ignoring India
- ^ The U.S. and India can't put off a strategic partnership any longer
- ^ India: America's indispensable ally
- ^ Clinton plans to visit India in second half of July
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ Obama should not link Kashmir with Pak's problems: NSA
- ^ India needs a lot more love from Obama
- ^ India not to attend conference on Afghanistan with Pakistan, U.S.
- ^ India's Terror Stance Vexes Obama Amid Voter Ire at Pakistan
- ^ a b New Strategic Partnerships Robert O. Blake
- ^ India says it will oppose U.S. 'protectionism'
- ^ Anger Grows in India over U.S. Visa Rules
- ^ India may contest Obama's move against outsourcing in WTO
- ^ 'Obama on outsourcing is no reason to panic'
- ^ U.S.-India Relations Strained under Obama
- ^ a b Remarks at U.S.-India Business Council's 34th Anniversary "Synergies Summit"
- ^ The China-India Border Brawl
- ^ U.S. OKs record $2.1 billion arms sale to India
- ^ Indian Vote May Revive Stalled U.S. Defense, Nuclear Exports
- ^ Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in jeopardy
- ^ India warns Obama on nuclear test ban treaty
- ^ Hillary: fully committed to nuclear deal
- ^ India has emerged as a strategic partner for U.S.: Mullen
- ^ http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100602_6708.php
[edit] Sources
- Blake, Jr., Robert O. "U.S.-India Relations: the Making of a Comprehensive Relationship." U.S. Embassy India. Army War College, Indore, India. 23 August 2004, 6 October 2006 <www.state.gov>.
- "India - U.S. Economics Relations." Embassy of India - Washington DC. 8 October 2006
- Kronstadt, K. A. India-U.S. Relations. Library of Congress. 2006. 17–19. 8 October 2006.
- Roy, Dr. P. C. Indo-U.S. Economic Relations. Rajouri Garden, New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications, 1986. 73–125.
- Indian Embassy India – U.S. Relations: A General Overview
- U.S. Department of state The Future of US-India Relations
- [8]
- U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S.–India Trade Relations
| |||
| |||
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment