Tag Archives: border
Bengal gets Rs 158 crore for border development – Darjeeling Hills to receive 2.16 crores
FROM TIMES OF INDIA
BY AJANTA CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a fortnight ago seems to be bearing fruits slowly and steadily. The Centre has started loosening its purse strings. It has granted Bengal special central assistance (SCA) of Rs 158.35 crore for border development. That’s higher than the allocations for Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan which border Pakistan.
Officials at Writers’ Buildings are upbeat over the small yet significant gesture since they have been provided with a list of allocations for 17 states by the ministry of home affairs (MHA), which shows that Bengal’s share is the biggest.
The letter to chief secretary Samar Ghosh reveals that Rs 2.16 crore has been allocated for “the hilly areas of the border blocks in Darjeeling”. CM Mamata Banerjee has been campaigning for special funds for Darjeeling after last year’s earthquake and to strengthen her efforts to restore peace in the Hills.
Only 24 hours ago in Parliament, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had resolved to look into Bengal’s distress along with the other two debt-stressed states of Punjab and Kerala. He talked about special packages but officials at Writers’ Buildings feel that Mamata’s recent talks with the Prime Minister were more effective.
DEFENCE WATCH: Boost security on China border: Himachal Pradesh
FROM TIMES OF INDIA
SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to request the Centre to strengthen security infrastructure on the Indian side of the border after China violated Indian airspace from Lepcha border in Spiti region of Lahaul-Spiti district on March 16.
While China constructed an airfield at Shigatsay closer to Lepcha post in May 2010, India has yet to seriously take up Manali-Leh rail project meant to supply arms and ammunition.
India has its air force base in Ambala. On March 16 around 9am, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel were shocked when they saw two Chinese army choppers entering the Indian side through Kaurik pass and flying over Indian soil for around 15 minutes before ensuring their return. This was the second such instance in the area during the last four months, sources said. As both choppers conducted recce in Sumdoh area, where Indian army has its base, the security agencies and Himachal Pradesh government are worried.
OPINION: Opponents of education are the enemies of Islam
THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE]
BY TANVEER JAFRI
Tanveer Jafri
Reports such as blowing up of school buildings and torturing school going children by the Taliban are common in Afghanistan and Af-Pak border region. They are particularly opposed to the education of girls. According to an estimate, the Taliban have attacked and destroyed more than 500 educational institutions in the last five years. On 13 September this year, they attacked a school van carrying students. Five innocent kids were killed by these cruel Taliban in that terror attack. Similarly, last month they blew up a school, just 75-kms from Pakistani capital Islamabad. Notably, the Taliban takes responsibility for all these strikes and also warns of such attacks on education in future. Certainly, their main objective is to keep the Muslims, especially girls, bereft of modern education.
Does the Islam, the holy Quran or the holy Hadith (set of instructions) of the Prophet suggest any opposition to education? Or rather this kind of deplorable and inhuman act on the part of the Taliban is due to their own version of Islam? The Prophet said that those who have a daughter should respect her and treat her no less than a son. Female education in Islam is stressed upon because an according to the Islamic beliefs, educated woman is an integral part of a happy home and a developed society. No society can expect to be developed unless its women are educated. True Islam not only endorses women education; it also spreads the message of peace and wellness for all. Education is important for the progress of Islam itself.
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