Shared cultural and historical roots connected Namphake village, about 500 km off Guwahati in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district, with Thailand on Wednesday when Royal Kathina robes were offered at the Buddhist monastery here on behalf of the Thai royal family.
The village here is populated with the Tai-Phake community. This community is rooted in Yunan province of China and Myanmar and is about 650 years old.
A 23-member Royal Thai delegation headed by Kiattikhun Chartprasert, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought Royal Kathina robes and other gifts sent by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej for the monks of Namphake Buddhist monastery.
The robes were handed them over to the chief Abbot of the Namphake Buddhist temple Gyanpal Mahathera.
Mr Chartprasert also handed over to Mr Mahathera a donation of Rs 5.07 lakh given by the King of Thailand for undertaking renovation of the monastery.
The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been organising the Royal Kathina Ceremony in several countries, including India since 1995. The Kathina offering ceremony, or Poi Kathin, is an ancient Buddhist tradition of offering special robes and other necessities to monks who maintain strict discipline of retreat during the rainy seasons.
In a particular year the Royal Kathina ceremony is observed in only one Buddhist temple outside Thailand and for this year, the Namphake Buddhist temple was selected. Earlier in February 2009, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn also visited Namphake village.
“The main purpose of the ceremony is not merely for religious belief but also to strengthen the relationship between Thailand and other countries. This year, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has designated me to present the Kathina robe to the congregation of Buddhist monks who have gathered here today at Namphake Buddhist temple in Namphake village, the home of the Tai-Phake people whose identities, traditions and cultures are very much similar to the Thai people,” Mr Chartprasert said in his speech during the ceremony.
He said the Royal Kathina ceremony is in line with the policies of both India and Thailand in promoting Assam and the Northeast India as the gateway to Southeast Asia and vice versa. The proximity between the two regions and culture would be the key factors to strengthen and deepen India-Thailand relations.
Thai-Phake men and women in their traditional attire welcomed the Thai delegation with flowers. Young village boys beat traditional drums and cymbals while young girls danced.
Namphake village chief Aisheng Weingken told The Hindu that the Tai-Phake people of the village, along with four other groups of Tai roots, migrated from Kunming in Yuanan to Howkong valley in Myanmar about 650 years ago and subsequently they came to Assam from Myanmar in 1775.
“We migrated from one place to another before finally settling down at Namphake on the banks of the river Burhi-dihing in 1850. The Namphake monastery was also established in the same year,” he said.
There are 80 Tai-Phake families with about 1400 population in Namphake village who speak both Tai-Phake language and Assamese. He said the Tai-Phake people share the cultural similarities and root with Thai people in the northern part of Thailand.
He hoped that following the observance of the Royal Kathina Ceremony in the village monastery, more people from Thailand would come to know about Namphake village and the Tai-Phake community.
He said tourists from Thailand would be keen to visit the village. The Tai-Phake people are spread across nine villages, including Namphake village in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of upper Assam.
“The most important milestone to be set at Warsaw is on climate finance,” says Jayanthi Natarajan , Union Environment and Forests Minister, ahead of the climate negotiations beginning November 11. Excerpts from the interview with The Hindu .
What are your thoughts on the view that historical emissions should not play a role in deciding responsibilities under the 2015 agreement?
India has consistently held the view that historical emissions are a very important pillar of issues of equity under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Even today, those countries, which are responsible for historical emissions, have not made any attempt or are not even inclined to make any attempt to cap their emissions. They only talk about the world at large working towards the goal of capping the global temperature rise at two degree Celsius. So yes, historical emissions and the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR) are non-negotiable pillars of Indian strategy.
What outcome do you foresee from the Warsaw COP?
What I wish comes out of Warsaw is a timeline for the 2015 agreement and the establishment of important milestones towards the agreement. The most important milestone would be climate finance and capitalisation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has not happened at all. Importantly, the linkage of the new agreement with the 1992 UNFCCC is absolutely crucial. Along with G77+China and Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), we have also been insisting that current efforts, which are now underway, should not be an attempt to rewrite the framework convention but to forge an agreement under it.
Tell us about the role and fluid nature of the LMDC group
The flexibility of the group is the strength of the group. The fact that we are like-minded in terms of the needs of developing countries is important and binds us together. I think the best group that will survive is a group that comes together on issues such as CBDR, capitalisation of the GCF, no unilateral trade measures or trade measures disguised as climate change action, such as the aviation emissions issue.
What are the complimentary and supplementary actions outside the UNFCCC?
In the context of pre-2020 complimentary and supplementary initiatives and actions, we are of the strong view that any so-called complimentary initiative should be voluntary, based on country specific priorities and not prescriptive in any way.
I don’t think I would be wrong in saying that India has taken far more initiatives and we are internally very proud of these. We are by no means nay-sayers. We only object to any prescriptive policies that are dictated to us by others who are actually not doing anything to combat climate change. Second, the countries that talk about these complimentary and supplementary initiatives are not willing to talk at the same table about transfer of technologies, about capitalisation of the GCF and sharing the benefits of new clean technologies.
Which brings us to HFCs. What is your position after the recently concluded Montreal Protocol meeting?
The UNFCCC is the forum where HydroFlouroCarbons (HFCs) should be discussed. The attempt to take it to the Montreal Protocol is something that has a long way to go because HFCs are not ozone depleting substances. Therefore even to talk about bringing it anywhere near the Montreal Protocol would involve amending the Vienna Convention at a Conference of Parties, which would only happen next year. Secondly, once it’s taken up at the Montreal Protocol, it can no longer be discussed at the UNFCCC, which would be very wrong as the issue of CBDR and equity would then immediately come into play because they are confined to the UNFCCC.
In the spirit of carrying forward the climate change dialogue, we have agreed at the G20 to discuss this in the task force with the U.S. and this also figured in the Prime Minister’s talks with President Obama. We have every intention of talking seriously about this in a way that does not impact our economy and country.
Nineteen countries, including some G20 countries, have opposed the U.S. and Micronesia proposal at the recent Montreal Protocol meeting. These included China, Argentina Brazil, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The BASIC too took the same view at its recent meeting in China.
There are countries that say national circumstances and capabilities of countries have changed since the UNFCCC was agreed upon and the 2015 agreement should reflect this when it comes to apportioning responsibilities. What is your view on this?
I do see that there has to be a balance. India is not a nay-sayer. This government is very anxious that we work with the rest of the world to make sure that the two-degree mark is not breached. Equally, there is no doubt that for some developing countries — of which India is not one — emissions have increased exponentially and they have to be taken into account. But the fact remains that if you look at historical emissions which are going to be swirling around the world for hundreds of years — the question of CBDR will have to be taken into account along with respective capabilities.
What form and content is necessary in the 2015 agreement for the world to reach the required ambition?
I cannot say anything before the cabinet decides on this issue.
SC-appointed panel to speak to Sreesanth next
The Supreme Court-instituted three-member committee probing the IPL spot-fixing scandal will speak to banned pacer S Sreesanth, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra and a few others, including commentator Harsha Bhogle, when it meets for three days here starting November 16.
The committee, headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal, met here on November 5 and 6 during which it spoke to top officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch and BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ravi Sawani.
“The Committee met in Mumbai on 5th and 6th November 2013 and interacted with Mr. Ravi Sawani, Director -- ACU of BCCI on 5th November 2013.
“The Committee further interacted with Mr. Himanshu Roy, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Mumbai and his team comprising Mr. Niket Kaushik, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime, Mr. Nandkumar Gopale, P.I., Crime Branch, Shri Dnyaneshwar Wagh and Shri Manohar Ipalpalli of the Mumbai Police, on 6th November 2013,” Vidushpat Singhania, Secretary to the Committee, said in a statement issued by the BCCI.
“The Committee will further interact with the Mumbai Police on 7th and 8th December 2013.”
The next in line are Sreesanth, former IPL CEO Chirayu Amin, Rajasthan Royals co—owner Raj Kundra and actor Vindoo Dara Singh, who is out on bail after being arrested for alleged betting.
“The Committee will next meet in Mumbai on the 15th, 16th and 17th of November 2013, when it intends to interact with Mr. Sundar Raman, COO, IPL, Mr. Chirayu Amin, Mr. Harsha Bhogle, Mr. Ankit Chavan, Mr. S. Sreesanth, Mr. Harmeet Singh, Mr. Raj Kundra and Mr. Vindoo Dara Singh,” the statement said.
The three-member panel also comprises Additional Solicitor General L Nageshwar Rao and senior advocate Nilay Dutta and has been asked to investigate allegations of betting and spot-fixing against former Chennai Super Kings Team Principal and BCCI president N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, some cricketers and owner of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The committee was appointed after a petition was filed against the BCCI probe panel, which exonerated Meiyappan and other team owners but handed out varied bans to cricketers.
The Committee is specifically focusing on the alleged roles of Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals’ players in two IPL scandal cases registered by Mumbai and Delhi Police.
Meiyappan was chargesheeted on September 21 along with actor Vindoo Dara Singh and 20 others by Mumbai Police in the IPL betting case, four months after the scandal rocked the cricketing world.
They have been charged with forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy, among others. Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf and 15 alleged bookies from the neighbouring country have been named as “wanted accused” in the 11,500-page chargesheet filed in a Mumbai court.
The Crime Branch shared the chargesheet copy with the panel, besides the telephonic conversations between Vindoo and Meiyappan which showed the two were involved in betting
Mullah Fazlullah is new Pakistani Taliban head
The move came almost a week after Mehsud was killed in the drone attack in North Waziristan on Friday.
Mullah Fazlullah, the militant commander who ordered the assassination of teenage activist Malala Yusufzai, was on Thursday named by the Pakistani Taliban as its new chief to replace Hakimullah Mehsud, killed in a U.S. drone strike last week.
The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan elected Fazlullah as its new chief, commander Asmatullah Shaheen was quoted as saying by Pakistani news channels. The move came almost a week after Mehsud was killed in the drone attack in North Waziristan on Friday.
Fazlullah, nicknamed “Mullah Radio” for his fiery sermons on an illegal FM station, led a parallel administration in the northwestern Swat Vally till the Pakistan Army sent troops into the region to flush out militants in early 2009.
He fled with hundreds of his fighters to Afghanistan, from where he ordered the attempt on the life of Malala Yusufzai.
The teenager survived despite being shot in the head by a Taliban fighter and was taken to Britain for treatment.
Fazlullah came to prominence as a leader of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah-e-Mohammadi and later became the head of the Taliban in Swat Valley, located 160 km from Islamabad.
He led a brutal rule in the region during 2007-09 and was accused of personally ordering the killing of scores of people, including women. He often announced his fatwas and orders for executing people on his radio broadcasts.
The Taliban Shura or council had initially agreed on Khan Syed alias Sajna as the new chief during a meeting in South Waziristan but later withheld the decision due to opposition from commanders belonging to Nuristan.
The Taliban then named Shehryar Mehsud and Asmatullah Shaheen as caretaker chiefs before Fazlullah was named the new head of the TTP.
Rakhmon reelected Tajik President
Tajikistan’s President Imomali Rakhmon has won re-election by a landslide on Wednesday, extending his 20-year-long rule by another seven years.
Mr Rakhmon received 83.1 per cent of the votes, the Central Election Commission announced on Thursday. Almost 87 per cent of the country’s 4 million eligible voters cast their ballots.
The 61-year-old leader ran against five little-known and largely loyal candidates, none of who garnered more than 5 per cent of the votes. The only credible challenger, rights activist Oinihol Bobonazarova, was disqualified for failing to collect the signatures of 5 per cent of the nation's eligible voters.
Several opposition parties, including the popular Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, boycotted the election, accusing the government of campaign violations and intimidation.
Mr Rakhmon has ruled Tajikistan since 1992 and is credited with winning a five-year civil war against Islamic militants relying on Russia’s support. Mr Rakhmon’s new presidential term must be his last under the Constitution, which has been changed twice to enable him to prolong his stay in power.
Tajikistan is one of the poorest states in the former Soviet Union, with more than one million Tajiks earning a living in Russia.
In the run-up to Sunday’s election Tajikistan signed an agreement with Russia on a 30-year extension of the Soviet-era 201 military base, which Moscow considers as a bulwark against Islamist insurgency and drug trafficking from Afghanistan. The Tajik Parliament ratified the deal after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin promised to support Mr Rakhmon’s re-election for another presidential term. Moscow has also allowed Tajik migrant workers to stay in Russia for three years running, against one year for the citizens of other former Soviet states.
India helped Tajikistan refurbish an air base at Ayni in the past decade in the hope of securing a bridgehead in the strategically located region
Saudi banks on Pak for nukes: BBC report
Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects and believes it could acquire atomic bombs “at will”, the BBC reported on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia’s quest has often been set in the context of countering Iran’s atomic programme though it is now possible that the Saudis might be able to deploy nuclear devices more quickly than Pakistan, said the report that quoted unnamed Western and Pakistani officials and intelligence operatives.
“Earlier this year, a senior NATO decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery,” said Mark Urban, diplomatic and defence editor of BBC’s Newsnight programme.
Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, “the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring”.
Since 2009, when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia warned visiting U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross that if Iran crossed the threshold, “we will get nuclear weapons”, the country has sent the U.S. numerous signals of its intentions.
Gary Samore, who was President Barack Obama’s counter-proliferation adviser until March, said, “I do think that the Saudis believe that they have some understanding with Pakistan that, in extremis, they would have claim to acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan.”
The report said the story of Saudi Arabia’s project — including the acquisition of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long ranges — goes back decades.
Mamata launches ‘Safe Savings Scheme’
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a government-backed savings scheme to keep the common man off ponzi schemes. “Please do not deposit your money in ‘cheat funds’,” she said adding that the Safe Savings Scheme (3S) launched by the government on Wednesday will help the common man meet his life’s goals.
“I was in no way accountable for all this, but I had made a commitment to my people that I will return at least some of the money that they had lost in the Saradha scam and I had also promised to float a government savings scheme to wean people away from such funds,” she said adding that she has been able to keep that promise.
Pointing out that this scheme will earn people returns that are higher than the National Small Savings Schemes run by the Centre through the post offices, she said the depositors’ money was totally secure in this scheme. “One needs the permission of the Reserve Bank of India for this — the government will not touch your money,” she said.
One can make deposits in multiples of Rs. 1,000 for 1 year to 5 years earning interest rates varying between 9 and 9.25 per cent. The interests would be paid by the West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd., which is a government outfit.
However, of the four banks nominated by the government to act as depositories to the scheme, only one — the United Bank of India — has so far agreed to the proposal with the others saying that they would be in a position to participate in the scheme only after getting some clarifications from the RBI.
On the issue of returning depositors money, Ms. Banerjee said the government will resume doing so after getting names of more applicants from the Shyamal Sen Commission which was probing the Saradha scam.
Defence Minister asks DRDO to focus on high end research
Facing bitter criticism from Parliamentarians for long delays in the development of Main Battle Tank (MBT), Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the Kaveri engine, the Defence Research & Development Organisation was on Wednesday asked by the Defence Minister A. K. Antony to complete its programmes within the prescribed time-limit.
Speaking at a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, attached to him ministry, Mr. Antony said the DRDO should invest mainly in “critical and strategic” areas. He said the research organisation should concentrate on high-end research and utilize resources in fundamental research, lay more emphasis on major mission-mode programmes for armed force. He asked the DRDO to pool together resources and talent available in academic and other R&D institutions.
Cutting across party lines, the MPs were "bitterly critical of delays in the development of Arjun, LCA and the Kaveri engine," a release of the Defence Ministry said.
The DRDO is presently working on 532 projects including those relating to mission-mode, technology demonstrator and infrastructure facilities and they are in various stages of implementation. "While some projects have been completed, others are in different stages of production and induction, as well as in stages of development and trial," the release said.
Mr. Antony also complimented DRDO for developing latest technology as well as strategic and tactical defence systems. He lauded it for the recent successful launch of Agni V missile. Speaking at the meeting, DRDO chief and Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister, Avinash Chander said structural changes have been brought about from September this year in the functioning of DRDO in line with the recommendations of the Rama Rao Committee Report for greater efficiency and accountability.
