TN wants the Centre to give citizenship to Tamil refugees
The DMK government’s proposal to grant citizenship rights for 100,000 Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu has triggered a heated debate in the state, with some political parties saying the actual Sri Lankan ethnic issue will be sidelined.
Congress MP Sudharasana Nachiappan fears that this would
encourage the Lankan government to settle the Sinhalese in Tamil areas. Calling the move a politically motivated one, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa says: “The CM knows that the Centre would not grant citizenship to Tamil refugees because this would encourage refugees from Bangaladesh, Myanmar and Tibet to demand it too.” Says the state’s BJP vice president H Raja: “The Tamils should be rehabilitated in the island. Efforts to give them citizenship only reinforces Rajapaksa’s plan of ethnic cleansing.” Raja and Nachiapapan are being backed by a large number of refugees who are languishing in 115 camps across TN.
Unhappy with their lot in India, where their movements are also restricted due to security reasons, most of them want to go back home. They fear that once they get Indian citizenship the Lankan government will confiscate their lands. “Our country is important for us... We can’t stay here for ever”, says Nakulesh — a refugee. He told TSI that he has left behind two acres of cultivable land and a big house with a two-acre garden.
Another refugee Rajkumar says: “If all of us go back, our number will increase. We will be in a position to ask for our rights”. Fearing that the government may toss all the Tamils out of the island, Rajkumar wants all the refugees to return.
But the refugees are divided over the issue. Some want to stay put while others are keeping their fingers crossed. An MLA from the Viduthalai Siruthaigal party, Ravikumar — who in 2007 studied the conditions of the refugees in TN camps — has welcomed the move. “In my report I had recommended citizenship for the refugees. I am happy with the development.
Citizenship rights should be given to willing refugees,” he says.
SC Chandra Hassan, the son of late Selva, who runs the Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, praises the government for its positive move. “We are interacting with the refugees to get their views.” All eyes are now on the Centre.
The DMK government’s proposal to grant citizenship rights for 100,000 Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu has triggered a heated debate in the state, with some political parties saying the actual Sri Lankan ethnic issue will be sidelined.
Congress MP Sudharasana Nachiappan fears that this would
encourage the Lankan government to settle the Sinhalese in Tamil areas. Calling the move a politically motivated one, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa says: “The CM knows that the Centre would not grant citizenship to Tamil refugees because this would encourage refugees from Bangaladesh, Myanmar and Tibet to demand it too.” Says the state’s BJP vice president H Raja: “The Tamils should be rehabilitated in the island. Efforts to give them citizenship only reinforces Rajapaksa’s plan of ethnic cleansing.” Raja and Nachiapapan are being backed by a large number of refugees who are languishing in 115 camps across TN.Unhappy with their lot in India, where their movements are also restricted due to security reasons, most of them want to go back home. They fear that once they get Indian citizenship the Lankan government will confiscate their lands. “Our country is important for us... We can’t stay here for ever”, says Nakulesh — a refugee. He told TSI that he has left behind two acres of cultivable land and a big house with a two-acre garden.
Another refugee Rajkumar says: “If all of us go back, our number will increase. We will be in a position to ask for our rights”. Fearing that the government may toss all the Tamils out of the island, Rajkumar wants all the refugees to return.
But the refugees are divided over the issue. Some want to stay put while others are keeping their fingers crossed. An MLA from the Viduthalai Siruthaigal party, Ravikumar — who in 2007 studied the conditions of the refugees in TN camps — has welcomed the move. “In my report I had recommended citizenship for the refugees. I am happy with the development.
Citizenship rights should be given to willing refugees,” he says.
SC Chandra Hassan, the son of late Selva, who runs the Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, praises the government for its positive move. “We are interacting with the refugees to get their views.” All eyes are now on the Centre.
allowed to choose one, just one, soldier to fight for you, who would you choose? The Incredible Hulk? Wolverine? Arjuna? Iron Man? It has been a long cherished dream of every army in the world to build the ‘super soldier’, a warrior whose abilities border on the superhuman. With the latest advances in technology, the concept of the super soldier seems poised to leap out of the pages of science fiction, graphic novels and Hollywood screenplays straight into our midst. A soldier who is virtually indestructible or almost immortal would be undoubtedly the ultimate fighting machine. Major Gen. Sheru Thapliyal tells TSI, “To crack the code of being immortal doesn't seem to be a possibility but there is special training that exists, which does not aim at making soldiers immortal, but to train them and incorporate certain skills in them which cannot be performed by an average human being. There are para-troopers in India who are trained to perform special actions and perform them at great speed with huge destructive ability.” Back in May this year, the US Army’s Soldier Research Design and Engineering Centre released a white paper titled ‘Future Soldier 2030 Initiative,’ which outlined the various areas (performance and training, soldier protection, soldier lethality etc.) that the soldier of the future will be enhanced on. Quite a few of the concepts have been inspired by popular fictional characters like the “Hulk” or “Wolverine”. Talk about life imitating art! More specifically, comic book art.
I had to 'restructure' the organisation and focus on the 'vision' of the House of Mewar. It was a tough job to make the transition, while building upon the platforms that one had inherited. I understood how important it was to remain 'loyal' to values, especially the core value of custodianship that’s defined the character of our House for centuries.
celebration of Ram’s return to Ayodhya after he had defeated Ravan and wrested back Sita. The people of Ayodhya, it is said, had lit up the entire city and burst crackers. Apart from being a Hindu festival, Diwali is of relevance to some other religions as well. For the Jains, Lord Mahavir had passed away in the month of Kartik on amavasya day, which is why the Jains light lamps and perform pujas and pray on Diwali. As for the tradition of gambling on Diwali, during samudra manthan by devtas and asuras, while the devtas were hoping for Lakshmi to appear, what they got was ‘Alakshmi’, the opposite of Lakshmi. So they gambled away that ‘Alakshmi’ 
tea gardens and monitor its production, which they then buy from auction at a price than Rs 15000 per kg. Tea is indeed the world's most preferred non-alcoholic beverage. The world’s passion, Indian tea, comes in three varieties based on geographical locations — Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. Highly flavoured Darjeeling tea is of Chinese bush, 20,000 of which were smuggled out of China about 150 years back by a British physician, Robert Fortune. Assam tea dominates in the Indian market as far as quantity goes, but Darjeeling leads in terms of price and global presence. Nilgiri tea was first grown on the grave of coffee, affected by ‘leaf rust’. 
Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. In India, as part of the movement, credit societies were formed. They received contributions and gave loans to its members. 1949, milk producers of Gujarat shaped a cooperative union that later came to be known as Amul. Corruption in some cooperative banks has given the concept a bad name but the movement still survives across the country. 
basin. Back then, women used to consider wearing diamonds unlucky. For centuries, it adorned the crowns of the Mughals. When Nadir Shah invaded India and routed the Mughals in 1739, it travelled to Persia. It was later offered to Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab. The British East India Company snatched it from the Sikhs. It was offered to the British ruler, Queen Victoria, in 1849 on the completion of 250 years of the company.
of bowling with broken jaw in Antigua Test? Former West Indian captain Sir Vivian Richards later said, "It was one of the bravest things I've seen on the field of play." On the other hand, his 10-wicket haul in an innings against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla (1999) was an amazing show of craftsmanship. After equalling the world record of Jim Laker, Kumble once told me, “I never anticipated it. After getting the 7th wicket, I started dreaming about world record.” Today, a retired Jumbo is the highest Indian wicket taker in Test matches. In coming days, someone may break his records but Jumbo is always great, both on and off the field. 
hits, including K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam and Kamal Amrohi's Pakeezah. Mughal-e-Azam ran in the theatre for four years. Pakeezah, on the other hand, had a slow start, but its heroine, Meena Kumari, passed away a week after the release of the film. The footfalls increased steadily thereafter and history was made. Maratha Mandir's claim to fame today rests on 'Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge', a Shahrukh Khan-Kajol starrer that has been running here for 14 years. 
is one of the biggest stars that the subcontinent has ever seen. Every release of his to this day is a major media event, and his fans - they are a legion - hang on to virtually every word that he utters on the screen and off it. The charismatic Rajnikanth is pushing 60, but his appeal only seems to grow brighter with age. He is a supernova in the real sense of the word - his films make or break the Tamil movie industry.