Dec/29/2011

Siberian court throws out case against Gita commentary

iberian court has thrown out a petition that sought to ban a translation of the Bhagavad Gita as “extremist” literature.

Judge Galina Butenko of the Leninsky District Court in Tomsk ruled on Wednesday that there were no grounds for recognising Bhagavad Gita As It Isas extremist because the book was “one of the interpretations of the sacred Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita.”

The defence side said it was fully satisfied with the court verdict.

“This court decision shows that Russia is indeed becoming a democratic society,” said lawyer Alexander Shakhov, who represented at the trial the local branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

India's Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra, who had fiercely opposed the trial, welcomed the court ruling.

“The verdict of the Honourable Judge in Tomsk in dismissing the case pertaining to the Bhagavad Gita deserves to be applauded,” said the envoy. “It is very nice to see that this issue has been conclusively resolved and is now behind us.”

State prosecutors had filed the petition against Bhagavad Gita As It Is, claiming it sowed “social hatred” and called for “violence against non-believers.” The case was built on expert testimony from local professors of philosophy and philology, who said the book expresses religious hatred and discriminates on the basis of gender, race, nationality and language. Prosecutors offered no comment as they left the court after the verdict.

“We are happy that the court showed reason and competence in passing the correct verdict,” said Sergei Zuyev, vice-president of ISKCON in Russia. “It is not right for secular courts to try religions.” On the eve of Wednesday's hearing, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna had summoned the Russian Ambassador in New Delhi, Alexander Kadakin, asking the Russian government to provide all possible help to resolve the issue.

Russia's Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin welcomed the court decision. “I think the Russian government must draw the right conclusions from this incident. It should fight terrorism by exposing terrorist plots and outfits, not by passing judgment on ancient sacred scriptures,” he said.

The case against the book had been filed on the basis of the 2002 Russian anti-extremism law, criticised in Russia for its very loose definition of extremist activity. Human rights activists said the law had been used to suppress legitimate criticism of authorities. The Russian Christian Orthodox Church has also been accused of using the law as a tool to fight “non-traditional religions”, such as Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Hare Krishna movement in Russia.

In a particularly bizarre case, a court in Rostov Region two years ago accused Leo Tolstoy of extremism for his denunciation of the Russian Orthodox Church teaching as “a crafty and evil lie” and “a concoction of gross superstition and witchcraft.” Tolstoy was expelled from the Church nine years before his death for his repudiation of Jesus Christ and the Russian Church.

‘INDIA HAPPY'

New Delhi Special Correspondent writes:

“We are happy to learn that the case has been dismissed by the Hon'ble Court in Tomsk in the Russian Federation. We appreciate this sensible resolution of a sensitive issue and are glad to put this episode behind us. We also appreciate the efforts of all friends in Russia who made this outcome possible,” said the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

‘Severe’ cyclone looms, fishermen asked to stay away from sea

A “very severe” cyclonic storm lay centered about 250 km of Chennai, with the weather office forecasting winds touching up to 135 kph and advising fishermen against venturing into sea for the next two days.

“The very severe cyclonic storm ‘THANE’ over southwest Bay of Bengal moved west-southwestward and lay centered about 250 km east-southeast of Chennai, 270 km of Puducherry and 420 km north-northeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka).

“The system is likely to move westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Chennai, close to Puducherry around early morning of December 30th,” the regional Meteorological department said.

It forecast rainfall at most places with isolated heavy rainfall over north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south coastal Andhra Pradesh, saying the intensity of the rainfall would increase from heavy to very heavy, with the likelihood of even recording 25 cm or more over North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next 48 hours.

Squally windsspeed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph is likely along and off north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts.

The windspeed will increase, gradually touching 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph along and off north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast from tonight onwards, it said.

Storm surge of about 1 meter height above the astronomical tide would inundate low lying areas of Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Villupuram districts in the State at the time of landfall, the department said.

Sea condition was ‘very rough’ and it would gradually become very high to ‘phenomenal’ along and off north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts.

Fishermen along north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts are advised not to venture into sea during the next 48 hours, it added.

“Extensive damage” to thatched roof and huts and minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large trees and flooding of escape routes were the “expected damage” it said, adding standing crops could also be affected.

The weather office suggested total suspension of fishing activities besides asking coastal hutment dwellers to move to safer places.

Unconstitutional, unethical, unscientific

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, if passed, will adversely affect agriculture, health of humans and animals, and the environment, causing unparalleled harm.

It is now widely accepted that the existing procedure in India (and even elsewhere) for regulation of genetic engineering technology is faulty and insufficient. It was for this reason that Jairam Ramesh, then Minister for Environment and Forests, put an indefinite moratorium on the open release of genetically engineered Bt brinjal, which was approved by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the Ministry on October 14, 2009.

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, proposed to be put up to Parliament, claims to take care of the deficiencies in the existing system of approval of genetically modified (GM) crops. As it turns out, the Bill is unconstitutional, unethical, unscientific, self-contradictory, and not people-oriented. It suffers from greater flaws and deficiencies than the present system. If passed, it will seriously and adversely affect agriculture, health of humans and animals, and the environment, causing unparalleled harm.

BRAI will consist of three full-time and two part-time members. It will have three divisions, each headed by a Chief Regulatory Officer. It will be supported by a Risk Assessment Unit, an Enforcement Unit, a Monitoring Office, a Product Ruling Committee, an Environmental Appraisal Panel, Scientific Advisory Panels, an Inter-ministerial Governing Board, a Biotechnology Advisory Council, and State Biotechnology Regulatory Advisory Committees. These bodies would consist mostly of bureaucrats who are likely to have little knowledge of the highly complex issues that arise in today's biotechnology. No civil society participation is proposed anywhere. Even the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Appellate Tribunal will not accept complaints from civil society, in spite of the fact that the Bill directly or indirectly affects every citizen. It is not even clear which department of the Government of India will service BRAI. The Convener of the Selection Committee for members of BRAI will be from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which is a vendor of genetic engineering (the technology that BRAI is supposed to regulate) in the country. The Bill says the members of BRAI will be persons of integrity. There is, however, no requirement of integrity for members of any of the other committees mentioned above!

The Bill is unconstitutional as agriculture is a State subject, and it takes away from the State government the authority to take decisions on GM plant products. In this connection, it is noteworthy that more than 10 States cutting across political affiliations formally told Mr. Ramesh in 2009-2010 that they would not permit Bt brinjal to be released in their territories.

No public consultation

Article 28 of the Bill states the information declared by BRAI “confidential commercial information” will not come under the RTI Act, and there is no way civil society can challenge its decision to declare any information confidential. In spite of the fact that BRAI encompasses activities that would virtually affect every Indian, there is no mention in the Bill of public consultation.

Articles 81, 86 and 87.2, which allow BRAI to override any existing law in the areas covered by BRAI, contradict Article 86, which says “the provisions [of BRAI] shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.”

The definition of modern biotechnology in Article 3 (r) is absurd as it excludes a large number (over 25) of areas such as peptide synthesis, immuno-technology, tissue culture, stem cells and nano-biotechnology that are an integral part of today's biotechnology. Not only that, it would make techniques that are used in everyday research in modern biology such as isolation or sequencing of DNA and the PCR technique illegal, unless approved by BRAI in every specific case. So every university in the country teaching these extremely widely used techniques will have to get BRAI permission for teaching them to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Funnier is the inclusion in Schedule I (which lists organisms and products “which should be regulated by the Authority”) of cloned animals, DNA vaccines, and stem cell-based products. There is no mention of them in the main text of the Bill. Schedule 1 also includes “products of synthetic biology for human or animal use.” I have been in the business of modern biology for six decades and seen the modern biological evolution from very close quarters with more than 20 of my friends having won Nobel prizes but, for the life of me, I cannot make out what is meant by “products of synthetic biology.”

In fact, if one strictly followed item 2(d) of Schedule 1, no organ transplantation would be possible in the country without BRAI permission!

One would also have expected that the Bill, if it was people-oriented, to state the procedure to be adopted before approval of a GM product. The first step should be to determine the need for the product through a socio-economic survey and analysis. If there is need, then one should determine if there are cheaper, better and well-established alternatives such as smart or molecular breeding, organic agriculture, or use of Integrated Pest Management or bio-pesticides in the case of GM products containing a foreign pesticidal gene. If it is concluded that there is no alternative to, say, a GM crop, one would need to state a mechanism for deciding what tests the GM crop would need to undergo, and a statement of who will do the tests to ensure public credibility. There is no provision in the Bill for an independent testing laboratory for GM crops, in which civil society would have confidence.

No mention of mandatory labelling

There is no mention of mandatory labelling of GM food products, and there is no protection provided to, say, farmers whose fields growing, for example products of organic agriculture, get contaminated with a GM product of the neighbouring farm.

Article 62 under “Offences and Penalties” is unprecedented. It implies that anyone making a statement about a GM crop which BRAI decides is false or misleading, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three months and also with a fine which may extend to Rs. 5 lakh. BRAI will not be obliged to state the basis of its decision which is not challengeable by any member of civil society. The Bill thus assumes that all the wisdom of biotechnology lies with the five members of the Authority, and what thousands of leading scientists say will cut no ice with the members of BRAI.

One may justifiably ask why this Bill. The reasons are clear. Food business is the biggest in the world. Whosoever controls it will control the world. To control food production, one needs to control just seed and agrochemicals production. This is what a handful of multinational seed companies, which are also producers of agrochemicals such as pesticides and weedicides, are attempting to do through patented GM crops. These companies are located in the United States, and liaise closely with the U.S. government.

In fact, one of the biggest quarrels between the U.S. and Europe is that Europe, by and large, does not allow GM crops and requires appropriate labelling of all food products that contain more than 0.9 per cent of GM material. No such labelling is required in the U.S. where, therefore, a person today does not know if he is consuming GM food.

Till a few years ago, there was no significant opposition to GM crops in India. In fact, the mechanism set up by the Government of India, ostensibly to regulate GM products, largely worked as a vendor of GM products, serving the interests of seed and agrochemical MNCs.

But, then, people of India became wiser and better-informed. Consequently, against all odds and expectations of the MNCs, and of the U.S. government and the rulers in India, we had an indefinite moratorium on Bt brinjal, and the opposition to GM crops became a force to reckon with. Some components of the existing regulatory system have also begun to assert themselves. As of today, at least five States (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh) have formally declared that they will not allow field trials and/or open release of any GM crop. So, the present system had to be disabled, and roadblocks to fulfilling the ambition of the U.S. and the seed MNCs removed. What better way to achieve this than by BRAI — so the government thought. But, I believe, the GoI has again underestimated the collective wisdom of the people of India!

Ratan Tata calls on Narendra Modi along with Cyrus Mistry

Ratan Tata, the outgoing chairman of over USD 80 billion conglomerate, on Thursday introduced his successor Cyrus P. Mistry to the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during a courtesy visit at his residence in Gandhinagar, a top state official said.

“Mistry has evinced interest in strengthening business ties with Gujarat,” official sources said.

The 43-year-old Mistry, the son of Pallonji Mistry, Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group that holds 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons, holding company of Tata Group, will take over the reins from Tata after he retires in December, 2012.

On invitation of Gujarat government, Tata Motors had relocated the mother plant of Nano to Sanand from Singur in West Bengal in 2008, after it faced stiff opposition there.

The Tata group companies like Tata Chemicals Limited and Tata Consultancy Services already have operations in Gujarat, while Tata Power Limited is setting up an ultra-mega power plant at Mundra in Kutch district.

The making of a nuclear scientist

The orientation course conducted at BARC Training Schools provides a wonderful launching pad for candidates to realise their dreams of a career in nuclear research.

After a 30-year pursuit of excellence in nuclear research that includes a number of research papers, scientist M. Sai Baba, says scientists like him have started to play an “integrating role.”

The upcoming competitive exam for the one-year Orientation Course for Engineering Graduates and Science Post-Graduates (OCES) conducted at BARC Training Schools is likely to be yet another opportunity.

Dr. Sai Baba's team has been shouldering the responsibility of mentoring selected students who are future scientists at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research in Kalpakkam. “The young scientists are from various parts of the country. We have to integrate them. This is the most fulfilling experience,” says Dr. Sai Baba.

Stressing the need for collective efforts in the country for research in strategic and civilian uses, he says “There are only around 300 world class research papers pertaining to nuclear research in the country every year. We want to inspire more students towards a rewarding career in nuclear research.”

The OCES conducted at BARC Training Schools is likely to be a stepping stone for such students.

In the backdrop of protests in various parts of the country against nuclear plants, the exam is likely to generate more enthusiasm among students of engineering and postgraduate programmes in physics and chemistry.

Those selected would also have the opportunity to be part of a team that tries to balance the energy needs of our developing nation and safety concerns of the common man pertaining to nuclear installations, say scientists who are part of Dr. Sai Baba's team that shaped the training module for young scientists.

“When we address safety concerns of the young scientists we say that the training is an opportunity to make nuclear technology safer for the common man,” said a scientist.

According to a statement from IGCAR, an aspirant who scores a minimum of 50 per cent aggregate marks on completion of the training programme is declared to have passed the course. Successful trainees would be posted as scientific officers in any of the units of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) such as the Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration and Research (AMD), Hyderabad; Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai; Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), Kalpakkam; Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT), Mumbai; Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore; Heavy Water Board (HWB), Mumbai; Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam; Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad; Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), Jaduguda; Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, (NPCIL), Mumbai, and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata.

Allocation of a successful OCES trainee to a DAE unit is done based on the merit at the end of the OCES programme.

They also earn a Post-Graduate Diploma of Homi Bhabha National Institute, a Deemed-to-be University. This could also be an opportunity for earning a Ph.D for young scientists who are motivated.

The successful students would get an opportunity to work in various branches of basic, applied and engineering sciences that have a bearing on Nuclear Technology. This includes structural mechanics, heat and mass transfer, material science, fabrication processes, non-destructive testing, chemical sensors, high temperature thermodynamics, radiation physics and computer science.

The trainees would also get to lead research teams in various frontier subjects like quasi crystals, oxide superconductors, nano-structures, clusters, SQUID fabrication programmes, exopolymers and experimental simulation of condensed matter using colloids.

They would in future emerge as key contributors to vital sectors such as defence and space to develop techniques for reliable solutions to specialised problems. They would also have to prepare for collaborations with educational, research and development institutes.

A few of the successful young scientists would steer the country's High-Technology Nuclear Programme.

The success of the second stage of Indian Atomic Energy Programme, which is aimed at preparing the country for utilisation of the extensive thorium reserves and providing means to meet the large demands of electrical energy in future, depends on the teamwork of such bright young minds.

The details of the exams and training programme are available at www.igcar.gov.in.

Aspirants can have direct interaction with mentor scientists through email at msb@igcar.gov.in and tcpas11@gmail.com.

Even though the programme is rigorous, the mentors say they will be with the young scientists through the programme.

“Every birthday of the young scientist at the programme is celebrated with a sharing of life stories that motivates them towards their goal,” said Dr. Sai Baba. Technological breakthrough comes not because of a single human; it is surely because of good teamwork, he adds.