INFORMATION CENTRE: 2007

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

India’s Role in Tackling Climate Change.

observing World Environment Day, the Government announced the setting up of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. The high-level advisory body has been constituted to “coordinate National action plans for assessment, adaptation and mitigation of climate change”. The move comes at a crucial juncture after the Inter-Government Panel on Climate Change had submitted its Fourth Assessment Report in April, 2007; the G8 summit to be held later this month is also expected to deal extensively on the issue.

“Climate Change”, a term used in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC), pre-supposes an involvement of the human element in contributing to, say, a specific instance like global warming. India, with its significant population count is no doubt a contributor, albeit lesser in degree, to greenhouse gas emissions, industrial and automobile fuel-pollutants and consequently, to global warming. Furthermore, it is extremely critical that the ideal of sustainable development be attained as the problem of rapidly vanishing forest belts (along with it, natural resources of water, minerals etc) in India cannot be ignored anymore.Ours being an agrarian economy, climate change is of all the more concern in that ever-rising temperatures and depleting irrigation sources can be fatal to the agro-sector.

The PM’s Council, therefore, has a significant role in shaping the future course of activities to tackle the problem of climate change. GreenhouseGases Online has annexed a very informative slideshow on Climate Change Mitigation and the Kyoto Protocol on their website. The Presentation may be viewed here: www.ghgonline.org/sacpress2003/mitigatekyoto/sld001.htm

Contempt of Court: the Mid-day case

The Supreme Court has stayed the Contempt of Court sentences of the four mid-day journalists. This comes as good news to those who thought the Delhi High Court acted in a hasty manner in passing sentences on those who published allegations against former Chief Justice YK Sabharwal once he had retired from office, even still when they had proof of the same.

The Delhi High Court judgment is a fascinating read. It is evident of the extent to which our Courts can go to protect themselves from any allegations. The judgment may be seen here

I wonder what is going to happen to free speech in this Country with the Courts taking such a stand.

Reviewing the Shah Bano Legacy.

On June 5, the Supreme Court of India in a significant ruling, held that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 would not hinder a divorced Muslim woman’s right to maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Prior to delving into the importance of this judgment, it is imperative that the gamut of events, triggered with the Shah Bano verdict, be explained. In 1985, the Supreme Court in Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, upheld the maintenance claim of Shah Bano, a divorced Muslim woman of 60 years, under S.125 of the CrPC; the Section provides for relieft to a wife (among others), “unable to maintain herself”. However, this judgment created a huge outcry from the Islamic orthodoxy in India. The Rajiv Gandhi-led Government in power, passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, to appease the outraged sentiments. The Act, quite ironically, curtailed the rights of Muslim women rather than protecting them. It limited the Muslim husband’s responsibility to maintain his divorced wife to the period of iddat. Over the past decade, the Act has challenged over various grounds of Constitutional validity. The apex Court’s decision in Daniel Latifi v. Union of India was instrumental in clearing the fog of confusion. The Court in that instance, gave a liberal interpretation of the Act,(specifically S. 3(1)) in so far as the “fair and reasonable” provisions to the divorced Muslim woman shall include maintenance for her future extending beyond the iddat period.
Earlier this month, the two judge-bench comprising Justic Arijit Pasayat and D.K. Jain in the case of Iqbal Bano v. State of Uttar Pradesh overruled the Allahabd High Court’s order on the same matter; the H.C had held that the divorced wife is not entitled to maintenance under the CrPC in lieu of the existing Act of 1986. There were questions raised as to whether the divorce effected was proper; to which the Court answered in the negative. While the Act only deals with divorced women the CrPC, in the opinion of the Hon’ble Court, is of broader ambit. A relevant passage from the judgment is quoted below:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

SITUATION IN NANDIGRAM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/regionalnews/story/2007/03/070316_analysis_nandigram.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/regionalnews/story/2007/04/070401_nandigram_violence.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/regionalnews/story/2007/11/071113_nandigram_update.shtml

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/ws/thread.jspa?forumID=4618

Monday, November 12, 2007

quotes

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." (aesop)

"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." (ALBERT AINSTEIN)

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow )

Train yourself to let go of the things you fear to lose. (George Lucas )

Talent is nothing but a prolonged period of attention and shortened period of mental assimilation. (Konstantin Stanislavsky )

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Theo van Gogh
Born
23, 1957(1957-07-23)The Hague, Netherlands
Died
November 2, 2004 (aged 47)Amsterdam, Netherlands Murdered
Occupation
Film director
Religious stance
Atheist
Children
Lieuwe (born 1992)
Website
http://www.theovangogh.nl/

Life
Part of a series on Controversies related to Islam and Muslims
Criticism
Islam Muhammad Qur'an
Issues
Apostasy in Islam Dhimmi Eurabia Islam and antisemitism Islamism Islamophobia Islamist terrorism Persecution of Muslims Qutbism Women in Muslim societies
Notable critics
Afshin Ellian Ayaan Hirsi Ali Ahmad Kasravi Daniel Pipes Ibn Warraq Philippe de Villiers Robert Spencer Theo van Gogh
Muslims
List of Guantánamo Bay detainees Moazzam Begg Osama bin Laden

Events since 2001
September 11, 2001 attacks Guantanamo Bay detention camp Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons Qur'an desecration controversy 2005 beheadings of Christian girls CPT hostage crisis Fox journalists kidnapping Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse Egyptian ID card controversy Flying Imams controversy French headscarf ban Imam Rapito affair Knighthood of Salman Rushdie Pope Benedict XVI controversy Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings
v • d • e
Theo Van Gogh was born in The Hague. His great-grandfather was art dealer Theo van Gogh, brother of Vincent van Gogh. His father, Johan van Gogh, was a member of the Dutch secret service ('AIVD', then called 'BVD'). Theo's uncle, also named Theo, was executed as a resistance fighter during the German occupation.
After dropping out of law school, Theo van Gogh became a stage manager. His self proclaimed passion was the making of movies, and he debuted as a director with the movie Luger (1981). He received a Gouden Kalf ("Golden Calf", the Dutch equivalent of the Oscar) for Blind Date (1996) and In het belang van de staat ("In the Interest of the State", 1997). For the latter, he also received a "Certificate of Merit" from the San Francisco International Film Festival. As an actor he appeared in the production De noorderlingen ("The Northerners", 1992). After that, he worked for television and wrote provocative columns for Metro and other newspapers.
Van Gogh was a writer of polemic prose. His often aggressive tone and personal animosities got him involved in a number of public lawsuits against other writers and public figures, and got him fired as a columnist at a succession of magazines and periodicals. This forced him to seek refuge at his own website, called De Gezonde Roker ("The Healthy Smoker").[1] The site's name, which is also the title of one of his books, was an allusion to his notorious chain smoking and to the 'politically correct' negative stance towards smoking in society. In general, Van Gogh had a strongly nihilistic outlook on life, as displayed by episodes of heavy drinking, his open use of the drug cocaine and a cynical view of love relationships. (Later on in life, he would adopt a healthier lifestyle, for the sake of his son, he explained.)
Although he seemed to enjoy his life, he said he would not mind dying, if it were not for his young son, Lieuwe van Gogh. His last book (2003) was Allah weet het beter ("Allah Knows Best") in which, in his typical cynical, mocking tone, he presented his views on Islam. He was a well-known critic of Islam, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He supported the nomination of the liberal (former PvdA Labour Party), Somalian-born female politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali for Dutch parliament.

[edit] Political views
Van Gogh was a member of the Dutch republican society Republikeins Genootschap which advocates the abolition of the Dutch monarchy, and a friend and supporter of the controversial Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn who was assassinated in 2002. He was also a staunch supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, although he revised his stance to a more neutral one in 2004.

[edit] Controversial statements
Although Van Gogh was known as a friendly, tolerant character in person, in the 1980s, he became a newspaper columnist, and through the years he used his columns to vent his anger at politicians, actors, film directors, writers and other people he considered to be part of "the establishment".
He incurred the anger of leading members of the Jewish community by making comments about what he saw as the Jewish preoccupation with Auschwitz. This quote from a 1991 magazine interview is a typical example of such commentary. Van Gogh explained a "smell of caramel" by stating that "today they're only burning diabetic Jews". When he was criticized by the Jewish historian Evelien Gans, he wrote in Folia Civitatis magazine: "I suspect that Ms. Gans gets wet dreams about being fucked by Dr Mengele." He also expressed the wish that she would sue him so that she would have to explain in court why his remarks were false.
Van Gogh rejected every form of religion. In the late 1990s he started to focus on Islam. He caused widespread resentment in the Muslim community by consistently referring to them as geitenneukers (goat-fuckers). Although it is not clear whether Van Gogh actually coined the term geitenneukers, he certainly popularised it. He felt strongly that political Islam is an increasing threat to liberal western societies, and said that, if he'd been younger, he would have emigrated to the U.S.A., which he considered to be a beacon of light in a darkening world.
One of the few politicians who seemed to be exempt from Van Gogh's criticisms was the conservative leader Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated in 2002. Van Gogh usually referred to him as the divine baldhead. After the death of Fortuyn, Van Gogh continued attacking the remaining members of the Lijst Pim Fortuyn as he did other politicians. His political idol from then on was Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

[edit] The film Submission
Working from a script written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, van Gogh created the 10-minute movie Submission. The movie deals with the topic of violence against women in Islamic societies; telling the stories of four abused Muslim women. The title itself, "Submission", is the translation of the word "Islam" into English. In the film, women's naked bodies are veiled with semi-transparent shrouds as they kneel in prayer, telling their stories as if they are speaking to Allah. Qur'anic verses unfavourable to women are projected onto their bodies in Arabic. After the movie was released in 2004, both van Gogh and Hirsi Ali received death threats. Van Gogh did not take these very seriously and refused any protection, reportedly telling Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "Who would want to kill the village idiot?"[citation needed]

[edit] Van Gogh's murder

Place where Van Gogh was assassinated

Demonstration at the Dam square after Van Gogh was assassinated

Demonstrators
Mohammed Bouyeri assassinated van Gogh in the early morning of Tuesday November 2, 2004, in Amsterdam, in front of the Amsterdam East borough office (stadsdeelkantoor) on the corner of the Linnaeusstraat and Tweede Oosterparkstraat, while he was bicycling to work. He shot him eight times with an HS 2000 handgun, and Van Gogh died on the spot. Bouyeri then cut van Gogh's throat, nearly decapitating him, and stabbed him in the chest. Two knives were left implanted in his torso, one attaching a five-page note to his body. The note (Text) threatened Western governments, Jews and Ayaan Hirsi Ali (who went into hiding). The note also contained references to the ideologies of the Egyptian organization Takfir wal-Hijra.
The killer, Mohammed Bouyeri, a 26-year-old Dutch citizen, was apprehended by the police after being shot in the leg. Although born in Amsterdam, well-educated and apparently well-integrated, Bouyeri has alleged terrorist ties with the Dutch Hofstad Network. He was also charged with the attempted murder of a police officer and bystander, illegal possession of a firearm, and conspiring to assassinate others, including Hirsi Ali. He was convicted on July 26, 2005 and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Imam Fawaz of the as-Sunnah Mosque in The Hague gave a sermon several weeks before the murder in which he called Theo van Gogh, "a 'criminal bastard' and beseech[ed] Allah to visit an incurable disease upon the filmmaker.[1]"
A few days after the assassination, one of Van Gogh's intimate friends delivered an open letter to "Mohammed B. and his friends" on Dutch television.[citation needed]
Van Gogh was cremated on November 9, 2004 in Amsterdam. During the memorial service, Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" was played; a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of liquor were placed on the coffin.

[edit] Aftermath
The day after the murder, Dutch police arrested eight Muslim radicals belonging to a group later referred to as the Hofstad Network. Six detainees were Dutch-Moroccans, one was Dutch-Algerian and one had dual Spanish-Moroccan nationality.
Following the murder, the Dutch Complaints Bureau for Discrimination on the Internet (MDI) received many complaints about websites praising the murder and making death threats against other people.[2]
At the same time, starting with four attempted arson attacks on mosques in the weekend of 5-7 November, a significant number of apparently retaliatory violent incidents and arson attacks took place.[3] The Dutch Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia recorded a total of 106 violent incidents against Muslim targets in November. The National Dutch Police Services Agency (KLPD) recorded 31 occasions of violence against mosques and Islamic schools between 23 November and 13 March 2005.[4] The case that drew most attention was an arson attack that led to the destruction of a Muslim primary school in Uden in December 2004.[5]
By November 8, Christian churches were in turn targeted in vandalism and arson attacks. A report for the Anne Frank Foundation and the University of Leiden, which counted a total of 174 violent incidents in 2-30 November, specifies that mosques were the target of violence 47 times, and churches 13 times.[6]
The murder widened and polarized the debate in the Netherlands about the position of the more than one million Muslims, and how they would be affected. Some Dutch citizens fear that Holland will lose its traditional tolerance and Western liberalism, becoming increasingly influenced by Islamic viewpoints. These fears are fueled by population growth studies and projections that show the Muslim community growing much faster than that of the "autochtonen" (autochthonous Dutch). On the other hand, many Islamic Dutch residents feel discriminated against and singled out. The increasing polarization has led to calls from many religious leaders and politicians for calm and improved communication between the communities.
In an apparent reaction against controversial statements about the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish religions, such as those Theo van Gogh was renowned for, the Dutch Minister of Justice, Christian Democrat Piet Hein Donner, suggested the existing Dutch blasphemy laws should either be applied more stringently or made stricter. This had led to a counter call by the liberal D66 party to scrap the blasphemy laws altogether. This was rejected in parliament by the Dutch Christian parties and the Dutch Labour Party.
Independent Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilders (who was previously forced to leave the right-wing VVD party because of his views) advocated a five-year halt to non-Western immigration in the wake of the murder of Theo van Gogh, stating: "The Netherlands has been too tolerant to intolerant people for too long. We should not import a retarded political Islamic society to our country".[7] In opposition to such anti-Islamist sentiments, campaigns for a kleurrijk Nederland [colorful Netherlands], such as Stop de Hetze were started.
Geert Wilders and Ayaan Hirsi Ali went into hiding for several weeks. They have been under the protection of bodyguards ever since.
Lieuwe van Gogh, Theo van Gogh's son, claims he has been attacked on several occasions by young people of Moroccan and Turkish descent, and that the police did not provide him with any help or protection.[2] The police deny receiving any report of attacks.[3][4]

De Schreeuw (The Scream) Memorial commemorating Theo van Gogh and a symbol of the freedom of speech
On March 18, 2007, a sculpture in memory of Theo van Gogh was unveiled in Amsterdam, De Schreeuw (The Scream). It is located in the Oosterpark, just a short distance from where van Gogh was murdered.

[edit] Van Gogh's murder and Index on Censorship
There was controversy in the English-speaking world after an article was published in the magazine Index on Censorship that to many readers seemed to condone or attempt to justify van Gogh's murder. The article, by the magazine's Associate Editor Rohan Jayasekera, claimed that van Gogh was a "free-speech fundamentalist" who had been on a "martyrdom operation[,] roar[ing] his Muslim critics into silence with obscenities" in an "abuse of his right to free speech". Describing van Gogh's film Submission as "furiously provocative", Jayasekera concluded by describing his death as:
A sensational climax to a lifetime's public performance, stabbed and shot by a bearded fundamentalist, a message from the killer pinned by a dagger to his chest, Theo van Gogh became a martyr to free expression. His passing was marked by a magnificent barrage of noise as Amsterdam hit the streets to celebrate him in the way the man himself would have truly appreciated.
And what timing! Just as his long-awaited biographical film of Pim Fortuyn's life is ready to screen. Bravo, Theo! Bravo![8]
There were many protests from both left- and right-wing commentators at the article, and Nick Cohen of The Observer (London)' wrote in December 2004, that:
When I asked Jayasekera if he had any regrets, he said he had none. He told me that, like many other readers, I shouldn't have made the mistake of believing that Index on Censorship was against censorship, even murderous censorship, on principle -- in the same way as Amnesty International is opposed to torture, including murderous torture, on principle. It may have been so in its radical youth, but was now as concerned with fighting 'hate speech' as protecting free speech.[9]
Nick Cohen's opinion was repudiated by the editor of Index on Censorship in a letter to The Observer.[10] Jayasekera himself has indeed expressed regrets and has put his own case for speaking his mind on Van Gogh's life legacy on the Index website.

[edit] Works

[edit] Publications
Van Gogh contributed to various newspapers and magazines, often leaving these jobs after a quarrel.
He published the following books:
Engel ("Angel", 1990)
Er gebeurt nooit iets ("Nothing Ever Happens", 1993)
Sla ik mijn vrouw wel hard genoeg? ("Do I Beat My Wife Hard Enough?", 1996)
De gezonde roker ("The healthy smoker", 2000)
Allah weet het beter ("Allah Knows Best", 2003)
De tranen van Mabel ("The tears of Mabel", with Tomas Ross, 2004)

[edit] Filmography
Luger (1982)
Een dagje naar het strand ("A Day at the Beach", 1984)
Charley (1986)
Terug naar Oegstgeest ("Back to Oegstgeest", 1987)
Loos ("Wild", 1989)
Vals licht ("Fake Light", 1993)
Ilse verandert de geschiedenis ("Ilse Changes History", 1993)
06 (1994)
Reunie ("Reunion", 1994)
Eva (1994)
Een galerij: De wanhoop van de sirene ("A Gallery: The Despair of the Siren", 1994)
De Eenzame Oorlog Van Koos Tak ("Koos Tak's Lonely War", 1995)
Blind Date (1996)
Hoe ik mijn moeder vermoordde ("How I Killed My Mother", 1996)
In het belang van de staat ("In the Interest of the State", 1997)
Au ("Ouch", 1997)
De Pijnbank ("The Rack", 1998)
Baby Blue (2001)
De nacht van Aalbers ("Aalbers's Night", 2001)
Najib en Julia (2002) television play based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet about the love between a white upper-class girl and a pizza delivery man of Moroccan descent.
Interview (2003), cynical journalist interviews society actress.
Zien ("Seeing", 2004)
Submission (2004)
Cool (2004) a film about young offenders, some of them of Moroccan descent. In the movie the offenders play themselves.
06/05 (2004), a film mixing fact and fiction around the assassination of Pim Fortuyn.
Medea (2005), a modern day adaptation of Medea.

[edit] Unfinished projects
Bad (A "lesbian road movie") Production was planned for 2005
Duizend en één Dag ("Thousand and One Days"). A drama series about young Muslims struggling with their faith. Although this project had not even reached preproduction, Van Gogh had already found a broadcaster for the series: Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Organisation NMO

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

ATROCITIES ON WOMEN

GANGRAPED & KILLED BY SOLDIERS OF ALLAH

Monday, October 22, 2007

इस्लाम पर फिल्म बनाने वाले की हत्या

विवादास्पद फिल्मों के लिए जाने जाते थे वैन गॉह
इस्लामी संस्कृति पर विवादास्पद फिल्म बनाने वाले हॉलैंड के फिल्म निर्देशक थियो वैन गॉह की एमस्टरडम में छुरा मारकर ह्त्या कर दी गयी है.
हॉलैंड के पुलिस अधिकारियों ने बताया कि इस मामले में एक व्यक्ति को गिरफ्तार किया गया है. वैन गॉह के शरीर पर चाकू के निशान थे और उन्हे गोली भी मारी गयी है.
गॉह ने इस्लामी समाज में महिलाओं के ख़िलाफ होने वाली हिंसा को अपनी फिल्म के ज़रिए लोगों के सामने लाने की कोशिश की थी. जब से 47 वर्षीय गॉह की यह फिल्म डच टेलिविजन पर दिखाई गई, उसके बाद से उन्हें फोन पर जान से मारने की धमकी मिलने लगी थी.
यह फिल्म गॉह ने सोमालिया से भाग कर आयी अयान हिरसी अली के साथ मिलकर बनाई थी. राजनीति में सक्रिय भूमिका निभा रही हिरसी अपने पति का घर छोड़ कर हॉलैंड आयी थी.
जब से फिल्म बनी है उसके बाद से हिरसी को भी धमकी भरे फोन आने लगे थे और वो पुलिस सुरक्षा में हैं. हिरसी ने इस्लाम धर्म भी छोड़ दिया है.

अली की कहानी पर फिल्म थी गॉह की
वैन गॉह की कंपनी ने हॉलैंड की संवाद समिति एएनपी को बताया कि गॉह को गोली मार दी गयी है. इस मामले में गिरफ्तार किए गए संदिग्ध और गिरफ्तार करने वाले पुलिसकर्मी को गोली लगी है और दोनों अस्पताल में हैं.
प्रसिद्ध चित्रकार वैन गॉह के वंशज थियो वैन गॉह ने बाहरी लोगों के हॉलैड में नागरिकत लेने का विरोध करने वाले नेता पिम फोरट्यून पर भी एक फिल्म बना रहे थे.
फिल्म पर विवाद
वैन गॉह की फिल्म " सबमीशन " एक ऐसी मुस्लिम महिला की कहानी है जिसकी जबरन शादी कर दी जाती है. महिला का पति न केवल उसे परेशान करता है बल्कि महिला के चाचा भी उसका बलात्कार करते है.
फिल्म की रिलीज के बाद इस पर हॉलैड में काफी हंगामा हुआ था. हॉलैंड में क़रीब दस लाख मुसलमान रहते हैं जो पूरी आबादी का क़रीब पांच प्रतिशत है.
हॉलैंड के प्रधानमंत्री जैन पीटर बालकेनेंदे ने गॉह की मौत पर कहा कि अगर कोई अपनी राय सामने रखे और उसकी इस तरह से नृशंस हत्या कर दी जाए. सभ्य समाज में इसे बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जा सकता.
संवाद समिति एएफपी के अनुसार हॉलैंड की महारानी बीटरीक्स ने भी इस घटना पर गहरा शोक जताया है.

हॉलैंड में फ़िल्म पर महिलाओं की आपत्ति

फ़िल्म में मुस्लिम महिला पर अत्याचार की कहानी दिखाई गई है
हॉलैंड की महिलाओं ने राष्ट्रीय टेलीविज़न पर प्रसारित उस फ़िल्म को लेकर आपत्ति व्यक्त की है जिसमें एक मुसलमान महिला के बारे में एक काल्पनिक कहानी दिखाई गई है.
फ़िल्म में दिखाया गया है कि उस महिला की शादी ज़ोर-ज़बरदस्ती करके करवाई जाती है.
अंगरेज़ी भाषा में बनी 'सब्मिशन' नाम की इस फ़िल्म की पटकथा एक दक्षिण पंथी राजनीतिज्ञ अयान हिरसी अली ने लिखी है. वह मूल रूप से सोमालिया की नागरिक हैं.
वह ख़ुद इस्लाम से संबंध तोड़ चुकी हैं मगर उनका कहना है कि 11 मिनट की ये फ़िल्म किसी की भावनाएँ भड़काने के लिए नहीं बनाई गई है.
ये फ़िल्म दरअसल एक ऐसी महिला के बारे में है जो घरेलू हिंसा की शिकार है. उसका ही एक संबंधी उससे बलात्कार करता है और फिर अवैध संबंध बनाने के आरोप में उसे बर्बर तरीक़े से सज़ा दी जाती है.
फ़िल्म में उस महिला की भूमिका निभाने वाली कलाकार पर्दे में ही रहती दिखाई गई है जिसके शरीर के कुछ हिस्से ही दिखते हैं न कि चेहरा.
फ़िल्म की निर्देशक अयान हिरसी अली ने कहा कि ये प्रतीकात्मक रूप से ईरान, सोमालिया और सऊदी अरब की महिलाओं के लिए बनाई गई फ़िल्म है जिन्हें इस्लामी क़ानून शरिया के अनुरूप रहना पड़ता है.
मुस्लिम महिलाओं के एक समूह ने फ़िल्म को बेहद अपमानजनक बताया है जबकि कुछ अन्य महिला संगठनों और अख़बारों ने इसे उथला और भड़काने वाला बताया है.
अयान हिरसी अली हॉलैंड के समाज में इस्लामी रीति-रिवाज़ों की आलोचना को लेकर लगातार मुसलमानों के ग़ुस्से का शिकार हो चुकी हैं.
देश के कई दक्षिणपंथी राजनेता कड़े आव्रजन नियमों की वकालत करते हैं और देश में बसे मुसलमानों से उनकी अपील रहती है कि वे समाज में घुलने-मिलने के और गंभीर प्रयास करें.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

रूबिया ने मंदिर में नृत्य किया तो मुल्लाओं ने समाज से निकाला

-प्रदीप कुमार
केरल में मलप्पुरम की 18 वर्षीय रूबिया और उसके परिवार को मुस्लिम समाज के कठमुल्लाओं ने जिहादी फरमान जारी करके समाज से बहिष्कृत करने का ऐलान किया है। उसका कसूर क्या है? उसका कसूर केवल इतना है कि उसे भरतनाटयम नृत्य से लगाव है और वह यह नृत्य सीखती है। बस इस 'जुर्म' के लिए स्थानीय मस्जिद कमेटी (महाल्लू) ने उसके परिवार से किसी भी तरह का व्यवहार न करने का 'फतवा' जारी कर दिया है।

स्थानीय महाल्लू से जुड़े रहना यहां के हर मुस्लिम परिवार के लिए आवश्यक होता है क्योंकि इस कारण उसे कुछ अधिकार मिलते हैं, जैसे, स्थानीय कब्रिस्तान में किसी परिजन के इंतकाल के बाद दफनाने की इजाजत। रूबिया के परिवार को यहां 'इजाजत' नहीं है और न ही उसके निकाह को समाज 'मान्य' ही करेगा।

हाल ही में केरल उच्चतर माध्यमिक विद्यालय उत्सव में वी.पी. रूबिया भरतनाटयम नृत्य में प्रथम रही थी। वह मुस्लिम बहुल मलप्पुरम के मोरायूर स्थित वीरन हाजी मेमोरियल हायर सेकेन्डरी स्कूल की नृत्य प्रतियोगिता में भी सर्वश्रेष्ठ घोषित की गई थी। उसके पिता सैयद अलविकुट्टी कहते हैं कि उसे मशहूर नृत्यांगना मृणालिनी साराभाई की नृत्य संस्था 'दर्पण' से न्योता भी मिला है।

मलप्पुरम के मुस्लिम बहुल क्षेत्र वल्लुवमबरम में अपने जीर्ण-शीर्ण घर में इस संवाददाता से बातचीत में श्री अलविकुट्टी ने बताया, 'यहां की मस्जिद कमेटी मेरी बेटी की इस उपलब्धि से खुश नहीं है। अगर वह 'ओप्पाना' और 'माप्पीला पट्टू' जैसी पारम्परिक मुस्लिम कलाओं में ईनाम जीतती तो अब तक उसे ढेरों पुरस्कार मिले होते। आज हम समाज-बाहर कर दिए गए हैं मगर महाल्लू नेता खुलकर यह नहीं स्वीकारेंगे कि भरतनाटयम के कारण उन्होंने ऐसा 'आदेश' दिया है।

रूबिया के घर की बैठक की दीवारें उसके नृत्य की तारीफ में मिले प्रमाण पत्रों, ट्राफियों और स्मृति चिन्हों से पटी पड़ी थीं। रूबिया तमिलनाडु की प्रसिध्द चेन्नै नृत्य अकादमी की ओर से जारी प्रमाणपत्र सगर्व दिखाते हुए बताती है, 'जब मैं वहां मयलापुर के पास हिन्दू बहुल क्षेत्र में एक मंदिर में नृत्य करने गई तो वहां के ब्राह्मणों को हिन्दी देवी-देवीताओं के भजनों पर एक मुस्लिम लड़की के नृत्य से कोई आपत्ति नहीं थी। कार्यक्रम के बाद उन्होंने मुझे बधाई दी। मगर समझ नहीं आता कि यहां मेरे घर के पास मेरे माता-पिता को दुत्कारा क्यों जाता है।' रूबिया की आंखें डबडबाने लगी थीं।

जब वह महज तीन साल की ही थी, तब उसने नृत्य सीखना शुरू किया था। आज भी वह पढ़ाई के बीच समय निकाल कर स्थानीय मंदिरों में नृत्य प्रदर्शन के लिए जाती है। परिवार पैसे वाला नहीं है अत: रूबिया के नृत्य कार्यक्रमों से सहारे के लिए कुछ पैसा मिलता है तो राहत महसूस होती है। कुछ समय पहले रूबिया की अम्मी का कैंसर के कारण इंतकाल हो चुका है। घर में उसके पिता के अलावा एक बड़ा भाई और एक छोटी बहन भी है। स्थानीय मुल्लाओं की नाराजगी उसे पहली बार तब झेलनी पड़ी थी जब वह प्रसिध्द गुरुवायूर मन्दिर के सामने नृत्य प्रदर्शन करके लौटी थी। तब स्थानीय 'महाल्लू' ने उस पर जमकर लानतें भेजी थीं। उन्हें रूबिया के एक हिन्दू मंदिर में भजन पर नृत्य करने से चिढ़ छूटी थी। 'मगर', रूबिया के पिता आगे कहते हैं, 'इस नाराजगी ने मेरे इरादे को और मजबूत ही किया और मैंने रूबिया के साथ उसकी छोटी बहन मनसिया को भी इस नृत्य में पारंगत करने का फैसला कर लिया।' वे बताते हैं, रमजान के बाद महाल्लू की ओर से पूरे इलाके में चावल और दूसरे खाद्य पदार्थ बांटे गए, केवल हमारा ही घर छोड़ दिया गया।'

यह पूछने पर कि हिन्दू समाज ने उसकी क्या मदद की, रूबिया कहती है, 'हिन्दुओं ने बहुत मदद की है। कई मंदिरों से मुझे नृत्य प्रदर्शन के निमंत्रण आते हैं। स्कूल के मेरे दोस्त, शिक्षक, गुरु सबको मुझ पर नाज है।'

रूबिया इस नृत्य में पारंगत होने के लिए गुरुओं से सीखना चाहती है, मगर अपनी गरीबी के कारण ऐसा कर पाएगी, इसे लेकर दुविधा में है। स्थानीय महाल्लू के बारे में अलविकुट्टी कहते हैं, उनके दिमागों में बहुत जहर भरा है। हम अगर पैसे वाले होते तो कोई हम पर अंगुली नहीं उठाता, हम भूखे रह लेंगे मगर रूबिया का नृत्य प्रशिक्षण जारी रखेंगे। रूबिया के कमरे में नटराज के बगल में ही शिव की एक अन्य मुद्रा 'कीरतमूर्ति' लगी है जिसकी वह नमाज के साथ-साथ पूजा करती है। वह बताती है, 'हर नृत्य से पहले मैं इस शिव प्रतिमा के आगे कुछ कुछ मिनट बैठती हूं। इससे मुझे ताकत मिलती है। नटराज से ही तो नृत्य की की भंगिमाएं उपजी हैं। मैं चिदम्बरम के प्रसिध्द नटराज मंदिर में भी गई थी।'

अम्मी अमीना की याद में रूआंसी होकर रूबिया कहती है, 'उन्होंने ही मुझे नृत्य के लिए प्रेरणा दी थी। मेरी अम्मी के कैंसर के इलाज के लिए हमारे मिलने वालों ने पैसे भेजे थे, मगर मस्जिद के मुल्लाओं ने हमारी मदद के सारे रास्ते बंद कर दिए थे। जब उनका इंतकाल हुआ तब उन मुल्लाओं ने यहां के कब्रिस्तान में उनको दफनाने की इजाजत नहीं दी।' रूबिया और उसके अब्बा गरीब हैं मगर झुकने को तैयार नहीं हैं। उन्हें उम्मीद है कि वल्लुवमबरम से बाहर के लोग उनकी मदद को आगे आएंगे। रूबिया का पता है-
द्वारा-वी.पी. अलविकुट्टी, गांव-पोस्ट-वल्लुवमबरम, जिला मलप्पुरम, केरल-673651, दूरभाष-09387507601

communists: exposed

real face of left-gang

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

तसलीमा नसरीन की "लज्जा

अपनी पुस्तक का विमोचन करने आयी प्रख्यात बांग्लादेशी लेखिका और नारीवादी तसलीमा नसरीन को बीते ९ अगस्त को कट्टरपंथियों की बदसलूकी का सामना करना पडा । यदि कार्यक्रम के आयोजक व पत्रकार नसरीन के सामने नहीं आये होते तो हमलावर लेखिका का बुरा हाल कर सकते थे, तसलीमा को बचाकर बाहर निकालने में एक तेलगू साहित्यकार और कई पत्रकार घायल हो गये।
हमलावर की अगुवाई मजलिस इत्तिहादुल मुस्लमीन (एमआई एम) के तीन विधायक कर रहे थे। प्रतिबन्धित उपन्यास "लज्जा" के बाद कट्टरपंथी मुस्लिम संगठनों के निशाने पर आई नसरीन ने कहा कि " यह हमला उनकी हत्या की साजिश भी हो सकता है लेखिका भारत में निर्वासित जीवन व्यतीत कर रही हैं।
नसरीन की हालिया पुस्तक " शोध" के तेलगू अनुवाद का विमोचन समारोह समाप्त होने को ही था कि विधायक अफसर खान , अहमद पाशा व मौजुम खान के अगुवाई में एम आई एम के करीब ४० कर्याकर्ता अचानक विमोचन
समारोह स्थल प्रेस क्लब परिसर मे घुसे और लेखिका के खिलाफ नारेबाजी करने लगे तथा नसरीन पर किताबें और कागज फेकें । तसलीमा ने कोलकाता जाते हुए कहा कि " अन्ततः कट्टपंथियों की हार होगी और लोकतंत्र तथा अभियक्ति की आजादी कि जीत होगी उन्होंने कहा कि " छोटे से समूह का प्रतिनिधित्व करने वाला समूह मुझे शारीरिक रूप से नुकसान पहँचा सकता है पर उन्हें भ्रम है कि वे ऐसा कर मेरी आवाज भी दबा देगें लेकिन वे गलती कर रहे हैं।
इस हमले की निदां मुख्यमंत्री राजशेखर रेड्डी, सूचना प्रसारण मंत्री प्रियरंजन दास मुंशी तथा भाजपा प्रवक्ता प्रकाश जावडेकर आदि समेत पूरे भारत ने किया तथा भविष्य में ऐसी धटनाऐं ना हो क्योंकि यह हमला स्त्री समाज के आधुनिक सोच पर था पर क्या ये लोग सफल हो पायेगें? कभी नही

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

nauheed: my favourite actress

Bon vs Bien, Mauvais vs Mal

The French words bon and bien, mauvais and mal are often mixed up. This is because the two pairs have similar meanings: bon and bien are positive while mauvais and mal are negative. In addition all four of these words can be adjectives, adverbs, or nouns. Bon and mauvais are usually adjectives, while bien and mal are usually adverbs.

The following table summarizes the differences between each pair; click the links below for more information.

	Bon	Bien	Mauvais	Mal
adjective	good	well	bad	wrong
adverb	nice	well	bad	badly
noun	form	good(s)	bad part	evil

French verb faire

Everything you need to know about the irregular French verb faire

Faire is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular in conjugation and literally means "to do" or "to make." Faire is also used in numerous idiomatic expressions and in the causative construction.

To Do / To Make

Faire means "to do" and "to make" in most senses that these verbs are used in English:

Notes

When "to make" is followed by an adjective, it is translated by rendre:
That makes me happy - Ça me rend heureux
"To make a decision" is translated by prendre une décision:
I made a decision - J'ai pris une décision
Lesson on translating "to make"

Expressions with Faire

Faire is used in a number of idiomatic expressions, including some related to weather, sports, and math.

Everything you need to know about the irregular French verb venir

Venir is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular in conjugation and literally means "to come." It is also used in some idiomatic expressions and to conjugate the recent past.

To Come

Venir means "to come" in most senses that verb is used in English.

Il vient à midi

Je viens de Paris

Veux-tu venir avec nous ?

Viens vite !

Elle ne vient jamais aux réunions

Expressions with Venir

Venir is used in several idiomatic expressions:

Tu dois faire venir le médecin

Dans les années à venir...

De là vient que...

Recent past

Venir is commonly used to express the recent past - the idea that one has just done something.

Bernard Shaw "Maxims for Revolutionists" from Man and Superman (1903)

Note
Bernard Shaw has sometimes been a naïve person as far as political attitudes are concerned, giving support to Soviet communism even when its authoritarian aspects were already amply manifest and being briefly sympathetic to Italian fascism. Nevertheless, he has also been, most of the time, a witty and unconventional thinker and many of these “Maxims for Revolutionists” are a clear sign of it.

THE GOLDEN RULE

Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.

Never resist temptation : prove all things : hold fast that which is good.

Do not love your neighbor as yourself. If you are on good terms with yourself it is an impertinence : if on bad, an injury.

The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.

IDOLATRY

The art of government is the organization of idolatry.

The bureaucracy consists of functionaries; the aristocracy, of idols; the democracy, of idolaters.

The populace cannot understand the bureaucracy : it can only worship the national idols.

The savage bows down to idols of wood and stone : the civilized man to idols of flesh and blood.

A limited monarchy is a device for combining the inertia of a wooden idol with the credibility of a flesh and blood one.

When the wooden idol does not answer the peasant’s prayer, he beats it : when the flesh and blood idol does not satisfy the civilized man, he cuts its head off.

He who slays a king and he who dies for him are alike idolaters.

LOYALTY

Kings are not born : they are made by artificial hallucination. When the process is interrupted by adversity at a critical age, as in the case of Charles II, the subject becomes sane and never completely recovers his kingliness.

The Court is the servant’s hall of the sovereign.

Vulgarity in a king flatters the majority of the nation.

The flunkeyism propagated by the throne is the price we pay for its political convenience.

DEMOCRACY

If the lesser mind could measure the greater as a footrule can measure a pyramid, there would be finality in universal suffrage. As it is, the political problem remains unsolved.

Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.

Democratic republics can no more dispense with national idols than monarchies with public functionaries.

Government presents only one problem : the discovery of a trustworthy anthropometric method.

IMPERIALISM

Excess of insularity makes a Briton an Imperialist.

Excess of local self-assertion makes a colonist an Imperialist.

A colonial Imperialist is one who raises colonial troops, equips a colonial squadron, claims a Federal Parliament sending its measures to the Throne instead of to the Colonial Office, and, being finally brought by this means into insoluble conflict with the insular British Imperialist, “cuts the painter” and breaks up the Empire.

LIBERTY AND EQUALITY

He who confuses political liberty with freedom and political equality with similarity has never thought for five minutes about either.

Nothing can be unconditional : consequently nothing can be free.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

The duke inquires contemptuously whether his gamekeeper is the equal of the Astronomer Royal; but he insists that they shall both be hanged equally if they murder him.

The notion that the colonel need be a better man than the private is as confused as the notion that the keystone need be stronger than the coping stone.

Where equality is undisputed, so also is subordination.

Equality is fundamental in every department of social organization.

The relation of superior to inferior excludes good manners.

EDUCATION

When a man teaches something he does not know to somebody else who has no aptitude for it, and gives him a certificate of proficiency, the latter has completed the education of a gentleman.

A fool’s brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education.

The best brought-up children are those who have seen their parents as they are. Hypocrisy is not the parent’s first duty.

The vilest abortionist is he who attempts to mould a child’s character.

At the University every great treatise is postponed until its author attains impartial judgment and perfect knowledge. If a horse could wait as long for its shoes and would pay for them in advance, our blacksmiths would all be college dons.

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

A learned man is an idler who kills time with study. Beware of his false knowledge : it is more dangerous than ignorance.

Activity is the only road to knowledge.

Every fool believes what his teachers tell him, and calls his credulity science or morality as confidently as his father called it divine revelation.

No man fully capable of his own language ever masters another.

No man can be a pure specialist without being in the strict sense an idiot.

Do not give your children moral and religious instruction unless you are quite sure they will not take it too seriously. Better be the mother of Henri Quatre and Nell Gwynne than of Robespierre and Queen Mary Tudor.

MARRIAGE

Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity.

Marriage is the only legal contract which abrogates as between the parties all the laws that safeguard the particular relation to which it refers.

The essential function of marriage is the continuance of the race, as stated in the Book of Common Prayer.

The accidental function of marriage is the gratification of the amoristic sentiment of mankind.

The artificial sterilization of marriage makes it possible for marriage to fulfil its accidental function whilst neglecting its essential one.

The most revolutionary invention of the XIX century was the artificial sterilization of marriage.

Any marriage system which condemns a majority of the population to celibacy will be violently wrecked on the pretext that it outrages morality.

Polygamy, when tried under modern democratic conditions, as by the Mormons, is wrecked by the revolt of the mass of inferior men who are condemned to celibacy by it; for the maternal instinct leads a woman to prefer a tenth share in a first rate man to the exclusive possession of a third rate one. Polyandry has not been tried under these conditions.

The minimum of national celibacy (ascertained by dividing the number of males in the community by the number of females, and taking the quotient as the number of wives or husbands permitted to each person) is secured in England (where the quotient is 1) by the institution of monogamy.

The modern sentimental term for the national minimum of celibacy is Purity.

Marriage, or any other form of promiscuous amoristic monogamy, is fatal to large States because it puts its ban on the deliberate breeding of man as a political animal.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

All scoundrelism is summed up in the phrase “Que Messieurs les Assassins commencent!”

The man who has graduated from the flogging block at Eton to the bench from which he sentences the garotter to be flogged is the same social product as the garotter who has been kicked by his father and cuffed by his mother until he has grown strong enough to throttle and rob the rich citizen whose money he desires.

Imprisonment is as irrevocable as death.

Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men.

The assassin Czolgosz made President McKinley a hero by assassinating him. The United States of America made Czolgosz a hero by the same process.

Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of assassination, because there it is invested with the approval of society.

It is the deed that teaches, not the name we give it. Murder and capital punishment are not opposites that cancel one another, but similars that breed their kind.

Crime is only the retail department of what, in wholesale, we call penal law.

When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport : when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. The distinction between Crime and Justice is no greater.

Whilst we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells.

The most anxious man in a prison is the governor.

It is not necessary to replace a guillotined criminal : it is necessary to replace a guillotined social system.

TITLES

Titles distinguish the mediocre, embarrass the superior, and are disgraced by the inferior.

Great men refuse titles because they are jealous of them.

HONOR

There are no perfectly honorable men; but every true man has one main point of honor and a few minor ones.

You cannot believe in honor until you have achieved it. Better keep yourself clean and bright : you are the window through which you must see the world.

Your word can never be as good as your bond, because your memory can never be as trustworthy as your honor.

PROPERTY

Property, said Proudhon, is theft. This is the only perfect truism that has been uttered on the subject.

SERVANTS

When domestic servants are treated as human beings it is not worth while to keep them.

The relation of master and servant is advantageous only to masters who do not scruple to abuse their authority, and to servants who do not scruple to abuse their trust.

The perfect servant, when his master makes humane advances to him, feels that his existence is threatened, and hastens to change his place.

Masters and servants are both tyrannical; but the masters are the more dependent of the two.

A man enjoys what he uses, not what his servants use.

Man is the only animal which esteems itself rich in proportion to the number and voracity of its parasites.

Ladies and gentlemen are permitted to have friends in the kennel, but not in the kitchen.

Domestic servants, by making spoiled children of their masters, are forced to intimidate them in order to be able to live with them.

In a slave state, the slaves rule; in Mayfair, the tradesman rules.

HOW TO BEAT CHILDREN

If you strike a child, take care that you strike it in anger, even at the risk of maiming it for life. A blow in cold blood neither can nor should be forgiven.

If you beat children for pleasure, avow your object frankly, and play the game according to the rules, as a foxhunter does; and you will do comparatively little harm. No foxhunter is such a cad as to pretend that he hunts the fox to teach it not to steal chickens, or that he suffers more acutely than the fox at the death. Remember that even in childbeating there is the sportsman’s way and the cad’s way.

RELIGION

Beware of the man whose god is in the skies.

What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.

VIRTUES AND VICES

No specific virtue or vice in a man implies the existence of any other specific virtue or vice in him, however closely the imagination may associate them.

Virtue consists, not in abstaining from vice, but in not desiring it.

Self-denial is not a virtue : it is only the effect of prudence on rascality.

Obedience simulates subordination as fear of the police simulates honesty.

Disobedience, the rarest and most courageous of the virtues, is seldom distinguished from neglect, the laziest and commonest of the vices.

Vice is waste of life. Poverty, obedience, and celibacy are the canonical vices.

Economy is the art of making the most of life.

The love of economy is the root of all virtue.

FAIRPLAY

The love of fairplay is a spectator’s virtue, not a principal’s.

GREATNESS

Greatness is only one of the sensations of littleness.

In heaven an angel is nobody in particular.

Greatness is the secular name for Divinity : both mean simply what lies beyond us.

If a great man could make us understand him, we should hang him.

We admit that when the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and comprehensible we crucified it.

To a mathematician the eleventh means only a single unit : to the bushman who cannot count further than his ten fingers it is an incalculable myriad.

The difference between the shallowest routineer and the deepest thinker appears, to the latter, trifling; to the former, infinite.

In a stupid nation the man of genius becomes a god : everybody worships him and nobody does his will.

BEAUTY AND HAPPINESS, ART AND RICHES

Happiness and Beauty are by-products.

Folly is the direct pursuit of Happiness and Beauty.

Riches and Art are spurious receipts for the production of Happiness and Beauty.

He who desires a lifetime of happiness with a beautiful woman desires to enjoy the taste of wine by keeping his mouth always full of it.

The most intolerable pain is produced by prolonging the keenest pleasure.

The man with toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man.

The more a man possesses over and above what he uses, the more careworn he becomes.

The tyranny that forbids you to make the road with pick and shovel is worse than that which prevents you from lolling along it in a carriage and pair.

In an ugly and unhappy world the richest man can purchase nothing but ugliness and unhappiness.

In his efforts to escape from ugliness and unhappiness the rich man intensifies both. Every new yard of West End creates a new acre of East End.

The XIX century was the Age of Faith in Fine Art. The results are before us.

THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN

The fatal reservation of the gentleman is that he sacrifices everything to his honor except his gentility.

A gentleman of our days is one who has money enough to do what every fool would do if he could afford it : that is, consume without producing.

The true diagnostic of modern gentility is parasitism.

No elaboration of physical or moral accomplishment can atone for the sin of parasitism.

A modern gentleman is necessarily the enemy of his country. Even in war he does not fight to defend it, but to prevent his power of preying on it from passing to a foreigner. Such combatants are patriots in the same sense as two dogs fighting for a bone are lovers of animals.

The North American Indian was a type of the sportsman warrior gentleman. The Periclean Athenian was a type of the intellectually and artistically cultivated gentleman. Both were political failures. The modern gentleman, without the hardihood of the one or the culture of the other, has the appetite of both put together. He will not succeed where they failed.

He who believes in education, criminal law, and sport, needs only property to make him a perfect modern gentleman.

MODERATION

Moderation is never applauded for its own sake.

A moderately honest man with a moderately faithful wife, moderate drinkers both, in a moderately healthy house : that is the true middle class unit.

THE UNCONSCIOUS SELF

The unconscious self is the real genius. Your breathing goes wrong the moment your conscious self meddles with it.

Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does.

REASON

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world : the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

The man who listens to Reason is lost : Reason enslaves all whose minds are not strong enough to master her.

DECENCY

Decency is Indecency’s Conspiracy of Silence.

EXPERIENCE

Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.

If we could learn from mere experience, the stones of London would be wiser than its wisest men.

TIME’S REVENGES

Those whom we called brutes had their revenge when Darwin shewed us that they are our cousins.

The thieves had their revenge when Marx convicted the bourgeoisie of theft.

GOOD INTENTIONS

Hell is paved with good intentions, not with bad ones.

All men mean well.

NATURAL RIGHTS

The Master of Arts, by proving that no man has any natural rights, compels himself to take his own for granted.

The right to live is abused whenever it is not constantly challenged.

FAUTE DE MIEUX

In my childhood I demurred to the description of a certain young lady as “the pretty Miss So and So.” My aunt rebuked me by saying “Remember always that the least plain sister is the family beauty.”

No age or condition is without its heroes. The least incapable general in a nation is its Caesar, the least imbecile statesman its Solon, the least confused thinker its Socrates, the least commonplace poet its Shakespear.

CHARITY

Charity is the most mischievous sort of pruriency.

Those who minister to poverty and disease are accomplices in the two worst of all the crimes.

He who gives money he has not earned is generous with other people’s labor.

Every genuinely benevolent person loathes almsgiving and mendicity.

FAME

Life levels all men : death reveals the eminent.

DISCIPLINE

Mutiny Acts are needed only by officers who command without authority. Divine right needs no whip.

WOMEN IN THE HOME

Home is the girl’s prison and the woman’s workhouse.

CIVILIZATION

Civilization is a disease produced by the practice of building societies with rotten material.

Those who admire modern civilization usually identify it with the steam engine and the electric telegraph.

Those who understand the steam engine and the electric telegraph spend their lives in trying to replace them with something better.

The imagination cannot conceive a viler criminal than he who should build another London like the present one, nor a greater benefactor than he who should destroy it.

GAMBLING

The most popular method of distributing wealth is the method of the roulette table.

The roulette table pays nobody except him that keeps it. Nevertheless a passion for gaming is common, though a passion for keeping roulette tables is unknown.

Gambling promises the poor what Property performs for the rich : that is why the bishops dare not denounce it fundamentally.

THE SOCIAL QUESTION

Do not waste your time on Social Questions. What is the matter with the poor is Poverty : what is the matter with the rich is Uselessness.

STRAY SAYINGS

We are told that when Jehovah created the world he saw that it was good. What would he say now?

The conversion of a savage to Christianity is the conversion of Christianity to savagery.

No man dares say so much of what he thinks as to appear to himself an extremist.

Mens sana in corpore sano is a foolish saying. The sound body is a product of the sound mind.

Decadence can find agents only when it wears the mask of progress.

In moments of progress the noble succeed, because things are going their way : in moments of decadence the base succeed for the same reason : hence the world is never without the exhilaration of contemporary success.

The reformer for whom the world is not good enough finds himself shoulder to shoulder with him that is not good enough for the world.

Every man over forty is a scoundrel.

Youth, which is forgiven everything, forgives itself nothing : age, which forgives itself everything, is forgiven nothing.

When we learn to sing that Britons never will be masters we shall make an end of slavery.

Do not mistake your objection to defeat for an objection to fighting, your objection to being a slave for an objection to slavery, your objection to not being as rich as your neighbor for an objection to poverty. The cowardly, the insubordinate, and the envious share your objections.

Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get. Where there is no ventilation fresh air is declared unwholesome. Where there is no religion hypocrisy becomes good taste. Where there is no knowledge ignorance calls itself science.

If the wicked flourish and the fittest survive, Nature must be the God of rascals.

If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience!

Compassion is the fellow-feeling of the unsound.

Those who understand evil pardon it : those who resent it destroy it.

Acquired notions of propriety are stronger than natural instincts. It is easier to recruit for monasteries and convents than to induce an Arab woman to uncover her mouth in public, or a British officer to walk through Bond Street in a golfing cap on an afternoon in May.

It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid.

The Chinese tame fowls by clipping their wings, and women by deforming their feet. A petticoat round the ankles serves equally well

Political Economy and Social Economy are amusing intellectual games; but Vital Economy is the Philosopher Stone.

When a heretic wishes to avoid martyrdom he speaks of “Orthodoxy, True and False” and demonstrates that the True is his heresy.

Beware of the man who does not return your blow : he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.

If you injure your neighbor, better not do it by halves.

Sentimentality is the error of supposing that quarter can be given or taken in moral conflicts.

Two starving men cannot be twice as hungry as one; but two rascals can be ten times as vicious as one.

Make your cross your crutch; but when you see another man do it, beware of him.

SACRIFICE

Self-sacrifice enables us to sacrifice other people without blushing.

If you begin by sacrificing yourself to those you love, you will end by hating those to whom you have sacrificed yourself.

Expressions with prendre Using prendre

Prendre usually means "to take," both literally and figuratively:

He took me by the arm

You can take it out of the drawer

I'm going to take a picture

Take your time

Prendre has a number of other meanings as well:

1. to come over, strike

I was overcome with anger

What's come over you? What's the matter with you?

2. to catch

I caught him cheating

3. to take in, dupe, fool

They won't fool me again!

4. to handle, deal with

There are several ways to deal with the problem

5. to set

The cement hasn't set yet

6. to do well, catch on, be successful

This book is going to be a great success

7. to catch, start

I hope the wood catches on fire

Prendre can also mean "to pick up" or "to fetch," especially when used with another verb:

Come (by and) pick me up at noon

Can you pick me up tomorrow?

Se prendre

Se prendre has several possible meanings as well:

1. to consider oneself

He thinks he's an expert

2. to get caught, trapped

My sleeve got caught in the door

3. s'en prendre à - to blame, challenge, attack

You've only got yourself to blame

He took it out on his dog

4. s'y prendre à - to do something about it

We have to do something about it, We have to take care of it

Expressions with prendre

prendre sa retraite

prendre une décision

prendre un pot

Qu'est-ce qui t'a pris ?

More expressions with prendre

Learn everything about the French word si

The French word si can be an adverb or a conjunction. Either way, si has several meanings and is used in numerous French constructions.

Si = if
Si is the French word for "if":

Je ne sais pas si je veux y aller

Dis-moi si ça te conviendra

Et si je ne suis pas fatigué ?

Si j'étais riche, j'achèterais une maison

si clauses

Si = so

Si can be used as an intensifier:

Je suis si fatigué

J'ai si faim

Je ne savais pas qu'il était si mignon

Si = as, so
Si can make a comparison:

Il n'est pas si intelligent qu'il pense

Ce n'est pas si facile

Si = while, whereas

Si can put two clauses in opposition:

S'il est beau, sa femme est laide

Si tu es gentil, ton frère est méchant

Si = however, no matter how

Si can be followed by a subjunctive clause to express a concession:

Si beau qu'il fasse, je ne peux pas sortir

Si gentil que tu sois, je ne t'aime pas

Si = yes
Si means "yes" in response to a negative question or statement:Tu ne vas pas venir ? Si (je vais venir)
You're not going to come? Yes (I am going to come)

N'as-tu pas d'argent ? Si, j'en ai
Don't you have any money? Yes, I do

Jeanne n'est pas prête.

Monday, October 15, 2007

link to indian universities

Orissa

S.No.	Name of Institution	Concerned Authority VC: Vice Chancellor Reg:Registrar
1.	Berhampur University Bhanja Bihar Distt. Ganjam, Berhampur 760 007	VC: 91- 6812- 202322 PBX: 91 -6812 - 200615-616
2.	Orissa University of Agricultre and Techonolgy Bhubaneswar 751 003	VC: 91 -674- 402677 Reg: 91- 674- 404124 FAX: 91- 674- 407780 PBX: 91 -674- 402868 /402729
3.	Sambalpur University Jyoti Vihar, Sambalpur 768 019	VC: 91- 663- 430158 FAX: 91- 663 - 430158
4.	Shri Jagannath Sanskrit Visvavidyalaya Puri 752 001	VC: 91- 6752- 22663 Reg: 91- 6752- 22669
5.	Utkal University Vani Vihar, Bhubaneshwar 751 004	VC: 91- 674 -481850 Reg: 91- 674- 481387 FAX: 91- 674- 481850 PBX: 91- 674 -480735

Pondicherry

S.No.

Name of Institution

Concerned Authority
VC: Vice Chancellor
Reg:Registrar

Pondicherry University
R.V. Nagar, Kalapet,
Pondicherry 605 014

VC: 91 -413- 655175
Reg: 91- 413- 655176

FAX: 91- 413- 655265
PBX: 91- 413- 655177,
655184

Punjab

S.No.	Name of Institution	Concerned Authority VC: Vice Chancellor Reg:Registrar
1.	Baba Farid University of Health Sciences 26-GGS Medical College Campus, Faridkot 151 203	VC: 91- 1639 -56252 FAX: 91- 1639- 56234
2.	Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar 143 003 Emai : hhsoch@gndu.ernet.in admn@gndu.ernet.in	VC: 91 -183- 258811 Reg: 91- 183- 258855 FAX: 91 -183 258820, 258819 EPBX 91- 183- 258802-09
3.	Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana 141 004	VC: 91 161 401794 Reg: 91- 161 -400955 FAX: 91- 161 -400945 PBX: 91 -161- 401960-79
4.	Punjab Technical University PO Regional Engineering College, Jalandhar 144 011 E-Mail: ptunet@nda.vsnl.net.in	VC: 91 -181 -297045 Reg: 91- 181- 297046 FAX: 91- 181- 290079
5.	Punjabi University Patiala 147 002	VC: 91 -175 -822418 Reg: 91- 175- 852416 FAX: 91- 175- 822881 PBX: 91- 175 -822461-65
6.	Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology P.B.No.32, Patiala 147 001 E-Mail: dir@tietlp.ren.nic.in	VC: 91- 175- 212007 Reg: 91- 175 -216228 FAX: 91- 175 -212012, 212002, 214498

Rajasthan

S.No.	Name of Institution	Concerned Authority VC: Vice Chancellor Reg:Registrar
1.*	Banasthali Vidyapith Banasthali 304 022 E-Mail: mailto:ds@bv.eernet.in	VC: 91 -1438- 28371 Reg: 91- 1438 - 28359 FAX: 91- 1438- 28365 EPBX: 91- 1438- 28341/28324
2.*	Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani 333 031 E-Mail: Director: svenkat@bits.pilani.ac.in Registrar: regist@bits.soft.net	VC: 91- 1596- 42090 Reg: 91- 1596 -42192 FAX: 91 -1596- 44875
3.	Jai Narain Vyas University Jodhpur 342 001	VC: 91 - 291- 432947 Reg: 91- 291- 31733 FAX: 91- 291- 33733, 432947
4.*	Jain Vishwa Bharati Institute Post Box No.6, Ladnun 341 306 Rajasthan	VC: 91 -1581- 22116 Reg: 91- 1581- 22230 FAX: 91 -1581-- 22116
5.	Kota Open University Rawatbhata Road, Akhelgarh, Kota 324 010	VC: 91- 744- 421254 Reg: 91- 744- 426971 FAX: 91- 744 -426451
6.	Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University Pushkar Bye Pass Ajmer 305 001	VC: 91- 145 -423601 Reg: 91- 145- 33580 FAX: 91 -145-423601/427153 PABX: 91 -145 -33570/33553
7.	Mohanlal Sukhadia University Udaipur 313 001 E-Mail: vc@mlsu.ernet.in/adm@misu.ernet.in	VC: 91- 294 -413597 Reg: 91- 294 -414166 FAX: 91- 294 -413150
8.	Rajasthan Agricultural University Bikaner 334 002 E-Mail: 1.root-raub.raj.nic.in	VC: 91- 151- 523977 Reg: 91 -151- 61709 FAX: 91 -151- 522092
9.	University of Rajasthan Jaipur 302 004 E.Mail: clibrary@jpl.vsnl.net.in	VC: 91- 141- 512465 Reg: 91 -141- 511206 FAX: 91- 141- 511799 EPBX: 91 -141- 511070
10.	Rajasthan Vidyapeeth Udaipur 313 001	VC: 91- 294 -492440 Reg: 91 -294 -492441 FAX: 91- 294- 492490

Sikkim