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The only European Journalist - who can fluently speak Urdu, and born in Calcutta colonial India.



We need a Line of Peace in Jammu and Kashmir: Mark Tully

Saturday, 11 August 2007

Kashmir, August 11: Sir Mark Tully of BBC has become a household name in India. Over the years, he has created a space for himself in the hearts of the people. Sixty years of Indian independence has its own meaning for the Calcutta-born Tully.

He received the ‘Order of the British Empire’ in 1985, followed by the Padmashri in 1992 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005. In conversation with Ajay Sharma, Tully reviews the past 60 years of India and its future.

How would you describe the journey of half century?

The best and most important thing about India is that it became a republic 60 years ago, has remained a republic and will remain one in the future too. Look at China on the other hand.

The basic nature of India is democratic and I do not see any danger to this arrangement. India has made tremendous economic progress, but has not been able to poverty. The country has failed to control its population. India’s root problem is poverty.

Where does India stand on the world platform today?

Indians give too much importance to international acceptance. I would say to them, first think how to fight internal problems. You tell me, does a rickshaw puller care what is India’s image in the world?

Even whether it has an image or not! Even if India manages to get a place in the Security Council, the question would still remain, whether everything inside the country is peaceful.

--Agencies






The Siasat Daily, 2004.
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Tel: +91-40-24744180, Fax: +91-40-24603188
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Geelani put under house arrest

Friday, 10 August 2007

Srinagar, August 10: Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was today placed under house arrest as he was planning to lead an anti-US protest.

A police posse was deployed at the Hyderpora residence of Geelani on Srinagar-airport road this morning and asked not to allow the separatist leader to venture out, official sources said.

Geelani-led faction of Hurriyat had called for peaceful protests today against what it called "nefarious designs of America and to express solidarity with the people of holy cities of Mecca, Madinah (Saudi Arabia) and Pakistan."

Expressing serious concern over US intentions in Mecca, Madinah and Pakistan, the Hurriyat spokesman alleged that "America had virtually declared a war against the ummah (Muslim world)."

Geelani was supposed to address the Friday congregation at Machoo area on the outskirts of Srinagar before leading protestors.

Meanwhile, a group of Hurriyat activists assembled at Badshah chowk in the heart of the city and staged a peaceful protest.

The nearly two dozen slogan-shouting protestors dispersed peacefully when police arrived on the scene, the sources said. PTI



The Siasat Daily, 2004.
Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Abids, Hyderabad - 500001, AP, India
Tel: +91-40-24744180, Fax: +91-40-24603188
contact@siasat.com