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Singing carols in the capital this week will be victims of last year’s violence in Kandhamal, Orissa. Even as they put the past behind and spread Christmas cheer, celebrations have begun in right earnest at Rashtrapati Bhavan!

The presidential palace echoed with “jingle bells, jingle bells” as choir groups from India’s northeast and Delhi sang one carol after another at a function organised by President Pratibha Patil. Representatives of all Christian groups in India were invited. So were Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur.

“It was a beautiful function,” said a senior Catholic priest, who attended the celebrations at Rashtrapati Bhavan Dec 17. The programme featured carol singing by choir groups from Meghalaya, Delhi and Nagaland.

The Christmas message was delivered by Vincent Concessao, the archbishop of Delhi. The festival will be observed all over the country Friday. As part of its Christmas celebrations, the Delhi Archdiocese is organising a carol singing programme at India Gate on Christmas Day.

“What makes it special is that part of the carols will be sung by the victims of Kandhamal riots who would like to let the world know that Jesus’ birthday is a good occasion to be reconciled with all and to share his message of love,” said an Archdiocese message here.

Christmas carols are based on Christian lyrics and were introduced as part of church services by St. Francis of Assisi in the 12th century, say Catholic historians.

The word “carol” is derived from the French word caroler, which means dancing around in a circle.

According to a post on share-christmas.com, “Christmas music sure sounds good again, always brings back those memories of years before. Everyone can enjoy some good Christmas music along with their favourite warm drink.”

“I wish a happy Christmas and New Year to everybody,” said Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas, who hails from Kerala but will celebrate Christmas in New Delhi this time.

“My children and grandchildren are coming Delhi to celebrate Christmas. For me, it is a get-together,” Thomas told IANS.

India has nearly 25 million Christians in a population of 1.2 billion.

New Delhi/Chandigarh, Nov 3 (IANS) The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Tuesday sought a report from Chandigarh’s Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on the death of a kidney patient, who could not enter the hospital because of security measures in place for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit.

“The PMO is saddened at the death of a patient at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research today during the visit of the prime minister. A full report has been asked for,” said a senior official.

Sumit Prakash Verma, 32, died after the vehicle carrying him could not enter the emergency area of the PGIMER in time for treatment, his relatives said.

They alleged that their vehicle carrying Verma from Ambala, 45 km from Chandigarh, was stopped at different gates of the institute due to which crucial time was wasted.

“We came near the PGIMER when the prime minister’s motorcade was entering. The road near the emergency was sealed by police and we were told to use another gate. At that gate we were told to go to a third place and then directed to go to the original gate. This delayed our reaching the hospital and he died,” Richa Verma, a relative, told reporters.

Sources in the PMO told IANS that security personnel could not gauge how critical Verma was as he was not travelling in an ambulance.

Verma was suffering from a major kidney ailment and had breathing trouble. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Manmohan Singh was here for the 44th convocation of the PGIMER.

Hospital officials were not available for comment as they were busy with the prime minister’s visit.

New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) India seeks to live in peace with all its neighbours and the “world at large”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Friday.

Stressing that India sought good relations with all its neighbours, the prime minister said: “We sincerely wish to resolve all outstanding issues with our neighbours through dialogue… that should characterise our relations.”

His comments at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit comes two days after he offered Pakistan a “hand of friendship” while addressing crowds in the Kashmir.

In his opening remarks, he noted that former US president George W. Bush, “a good friend of India”, was also speaking at the summit.

He said the opening day of the summit coincided with the 100th birth anniversary of the “great Indian scientist” Homi J. Bhabha. He added that in “concluding the civil nuclear agreement”, we sought to realise “Bhabha’s dream”.

Srinagar, Oct 29 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday ended a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir saying that curbing terrorism by Pakistan was not a precondition but “a practical way” to create an atmosphere conducive for peace talks.

“India’s and Pakistan’s destinies are very closely interlinked. If negotiations to deal with all outstanding issues are to make any headway, it is essential that the terrorist elements should be brought under control,” Manmohan Singh told reporters here, referring to Pakistan and the anti-India Islamist groups based there.

“We are a democracy. If day in and day out terrorist attacks continue to take precious lives, we cannot create the requisite ‘maahol’ (atmosphere) for meaningful negotiations. It is not a precondition (for talks). It is a practical way of looking at things,” he said, a day after extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan.

He said for confidence building measures to take root, “we require the cooperation of the government and people of Pakistan. We will be happy to discuss… these issues with Pakistan. I sincerely hope that Pakistan will create an atmosphere in which negotiations (can take place)”.

The prime minister took questions on a variety of issues at his media interaction in Srinagar, the urban hub of a dragging separatist drive that has left thousands dead in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. These ranged from Maoist insurgency to Kashmir’s infrastructure.

At the same time, Manmohan Singh said he was not satisfied with the action taken by Pakistan against the masterminds of the Mumbai terror attack of November 2008 that left some 170 people dead in India’s financial capital.

“We are not satisfied. That goes without saying,” he said. “We hope Pakistan will take effective measures to bring to justice all the perpetrators of 26/11.”

Manmohan Singh denied Islamabad’s allegations that India was backing the insurgency in Balochistan and the Taliban to destabilise Pakistan. “What was said about the Indian role in Balochistan has no basis. Those who are levelling these false charges know it jolly well.

“The same applies to the accusation of India supporting the Taliban. Nothing can be far fetched, far from the truth. We are victims of terrorism aided and abetted from the Pakistan side. Both, references to Balochistan and what is said about Taliban, are widely false,” he said.

A day after declaring he was ready to embrace anyone to win peace in Kashmir, he voiced hope that “my appeal for dialogue will be reciprocated in the same spirit in which it was made” and asked separatists to give up the gun and begin talks”.

“We are willing to engage in serious discussions with every group provided they shun the path of violence. We are willing to carry all stakeholders with us,” he said.

The prime minister, who Wednesday inaugurated a railway link between Anantnag and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, said he was “satisfied” with his Kashmir visit. He told the state government that New Delhi would “extend full support” for peace and development of the state.

“I had fruitful discussions with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his cabinet colleagues. I had wide-ranging discussions with various political parties and sections of the civil society,” he said, announcing a slew of measures initiated by the central government for the state.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who also heads the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), accompanied Manmohan Singh to the Kashmir Valley. For the first time, both addressed a mammoth rally together in Anantnag without using the customary bullet-proof screens.

The prime minister pledged to provide support to economic reconstruction, employment generation and infrastructure building in the only Muslim-majority state. He said Jammu and Kashmir had the potential to become one of the world’s greatest tourist destinations.

The central government, he said, would provide additional 500 MWs of power to the state during the winter — a step likely to bring relief to the people in the power-starved state.

About escalating Maoist violence, the prime minister said it needed to be dealt with “in a holistic way”.

“Every state has to maintain and enforce law and order. Law and order is a precondition for any sustained social and economic development,” he said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arrived in Thailand to attend the India-ASEAN and EastAsia Summits which will discuss Asia’s response to the global economic slowdown and climate change among other important issues.

In a departure statement he said that climate change, agriculture, human resource development, education, science and technology will be other areas of focus.

India will discuss with ASEAN leaders new initiatives to accelerate the process ofengagement in areas such as greater economic integration.

Dr Singh will also participate in 4th East Asia Summit comprising ASEAN nations along with China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Korea.

During the three day visit, the Prime Minister will meet important leaders on the sidelines including his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao.

Dr Singh will also have separate meetings with his counterparts from Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam besides meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The Prime Minister said he will discuss with ASEAN leaders new initiatives to accelerate the process of engagement in areas such as greater economic integration.

The other areas include agriculture, human resource development, education, science and technology and information and communications technology, he said.

News Content from ddinews.com

New Delhi: Obama administration has been repeatedly propping up Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but PM Manmohan Singh on Tuesday stated that for any non-proliferation attempt to be successful it was important to link it with complete nuclear disarmament.

“It is a matter of regret that the global non-proliferation regime has not succeeded in preventing nuclear proliferation. Its deficiencies in fact have had an adverse impact on our security. Global non-proliferation, to be successful, should be universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory and linked to the goal of complete nuclear disarmament,” said Singh.

“The specter of nuclear terrorism is a formidable challenge facing the entire global community. At the UN General Assembly India has been sponsoring a resolution calling for measures to address this threat,” he added.

Though India supports Obama’s “timely initiative” to convene a global summit on nuclear security in 2010, Singh’s strongly-worded remarks coming so close after the US sponsored UNSC resolution on non-proliferation passed recently are being seen as India’s warning against any attempt to, as a participant in the conference put it, shove NPT down its throat.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asserted once again that India’s role in Afghanistan is appreciated by all.

According to the reports, India has invested $1.5 billion to help reconstruction. He told reporters Friday when asked about a top US general’s suggestion that India’s growing influence in Afghanistan could “exacerbate” regional tensions.

In a recent report to Pentagon, General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has said India’s growing influence in Kabul could “exacerbate” regional tensions and encourage Pakistani “countermeasures” in Afghanistan or even India.

Prime Minister said, “We have not supplied any arms, we are also helping them in construction and financing of projects in power, health and education sectors,”

Manmohan Singh said noting to date India has committed $1.5 billion in Afghanistan, “I think to my knowledge there US and other European powers are appreciative of the role played by India in Afghanistan.”

Mumbai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Minister of State for
External Affairs Tharoor’s Cattle Class remark a joke, but the matter
may not end soon.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded Tharoor’s
resignation. “Such statements by Tharoor are bound to evoke
reactions,” said party spokesperson Manish Tewari about Gehlot’s
demand.
Tiwari said, “The Congress will take appropriate action at appropriate
time.” The message on the social networking site may have made his
“followers” smile but politicians didn’t find it witty.
In the mean time, the BJP alleged “cattle class” and “holy cows” were
derogatory and insensitive to Indians.
Meanwhile, others don’t find the joke serious as cattle class is not
derogatory to passengers–if it is derogatory to anyone at all, it is
to airlines.
At the same time holy cow is a term with a specific meaning–it
doesn’t literally mean a holy cow.

With the growing infiltration in the country through LoC, the situation has worsen with Maoists entering the country through alternate routes via Nepal, Bangladesh and now the sea as well.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is concerned about the situation and describes the trend to be “worrisome”. A month after expressing his concern over increasing infiltration from

A tensed Singh said: “The intention apparently is to create an impression of widespread turmoil in the state. We must not and I repeat we must not allow such a situation to develop.”

The Naxal violence has increased and affected the states especially Manipur and Assam despite of the ongoing efforts to curtail them. It seems to be the “gravest internal security threat”.

Singh also said, “We have discussed this in the last five years and I would like to say frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace.” It seems like dealing with Maoists requires a “nuanced” strategy, a “holistic approach”.

The penetration of fake currency notes and the coastal security are amongst the other various concerns for internal security.

The infiltration via sea route brought attention after the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai city last year, where terrorists found their way into the city via the sea route. PM pointed out at the same and the issue was discussed.

However, states expressed their concerns of setting up coastal police stations saying the Indian waters should be guarded by the Navy or by the Coast Gaurd and the police should be kept out of it.

At a joint session with representatives of Navy and Coast Guard, the police chiefs from various coastal states said it was practically impossible to maintain speed boats and continue with the required training for longer period of time.

They also spoke about multiplicity of authorities in handling coastal security issues.

India signed a civil nuclear agreement with Mongolia on Monday for the supply of uranium. The agreement is for peaceful uses of radioactive minerals and nuclear energy. It is signed along with 4 other pacts.

Mongolia is the sixth nation with which India has signed this agreement the earlier being U.S., Russia, France, Kazakhstan, and Namibia.

The pacts were signed after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the visiting Mongolian President, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, reviewed the entire scenario of bilateral relations and discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest.

“We have today decided to update our bilateral ties to the level of a ‘Comprehensive Partnership.’ We have signed agreements in the field of peaceful uses of radioactive minerals and nuclear energy, health, culture, and statistics. India will provide Mongolia a soft loan of $25 million to help it stabilise its economy in the wake of the global financial crisis,” Dr. Singh said.

Mr. Elbegdorj’s visit to India has opened a new chapter in India-Mongolia relations. Dr. Singh said he accepted an invitation by Mr. Elbegdorj to visit Mongolia.