mohan@sbcs.UUCP (Chilukuri K. Mohan) (11/19/85)
The following news bulletin circulated on iitnet, was compiled by KAPUR%ge-crd.arpa@CSNET-RELAY who cannot access net.nlang.india directly. -------- News Bulletin 11/16/85 I. India- China Talks Despite considerable hope, the sixth round of talks between Indian and Chinese governments concluded on Nov. 11 without making any headway on the crucial issue of the border dispute. The two sides however agreed to continue their discussion on the boundary issue at a seventh round to be held in Beijing next year. According to a spokesman, the two sides started with a survey of the eastern sector and achieved clearer understanding of each other's position. II. Assam poll The state of Assam will have elections on December 16 for the state assembly as well as 12 parliament seats. This was announced by the Election Commissioner RK Trivedi on Nov. 6. He also said that the Assam chief Election Commissioner and other concerned officials that he had been assured of foolproof security arrangements for the one-day poll. Elections to the state assembly were last held in February 1983 after Mrs. Gandhi suddenly broke the 3-year old negotiations between the Assam agitation leaders and the government. These elections were held against the wishes of the agitation leaders and despite warnings of bloodbath. Over 4-5 thousand people were subsequently killed in police firings and riots among various communities over a period of 2 weeks prior to and following the election. The election was boycotted on a large-scale, with less than 10% of eligible voters participating. One of the points of the agreement signed by the Assam agitation leaders and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi last August called for the dissolution of the assembly which the agitation leaders always considered illegal. The state assembly was subsequently dissolved on August 18. For this election, the electoral rolls have been revised and those who entered the state between 1966-1971 are not being allowed to vote. The All Assam Students Union and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad have recently launched a new party Asom Gana Parishad to participate in the elections. III. The London-based Human rights organization and a winner of Nobel Peace Prize, Amnesty International in its report for 1984 has charged Indian government with holding large numbers of political detainees without trial under preventive detention or under special legislation permitting secret trials. Its recently released annual report also said that the organization was concerned about allegations of torture, resulting in death in custody. The report disputes Indian goverment's figure of 493 casualities during the army attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Instead, it cited Indian press reports of at least 1000 killed. It also said that it had reports that many Sikhs were killed by army troops after they were captured, with some tied and shot. In regards to the riots directed against the Sikh community following Mrs. Gandhi's assassination, the Amnesty said that several police officers failed to oppose the killings of innocent people, and that some even encouraged the killers. It added that several Congress members allegedly instigated and furthered the violence. The report also said that the organization continues to receive reports from nearly all Indian states that political prisoners and criminal suspects are tortured, especially in Andhra and Punjab. IV. Well-known Hindi film star Sanjeev Kumar died of a heart attack in Bombay on Nov. 6. He was 48 and he had recently undergone open-heart surgery in the United States. Sanjeev Kumar acted in more than 100 films and started the film career with stunt roles. He won the National Film Award 3 times during a career, two best actor awards in Dastak and Koshih. He also acted in Satyajit Ray's film Shatranj Ke Khiladi. V. Laborers hired by private contractors earn less than Rs 7 after working 12 hours a day in Ahmedabad's 60 textile mills. At least 10,000 workers, half of them women, have been employed as contract laborers and are made to do all kinds of odd jobs. This was quoted in the Indian Express from a Union Labor Ministry study. According to the report, the Textile Labor Union, the only recognized union, encouraged the contract system after engaging private contractors to supply workers. Another study by Renana Jhabwala reportedly said that the contractors had been bribing union representatives and officials of the Labor ministry with some union leaders themselves acting as contractors. Further, many contractors employed child labor. According to Jhabwala, there was an urgent need to organize the contract labor to insure them a fair deal. VI. Over 80 people were killed and 30 injured when a bus plunged off a mountain road in Himachal Pradesh. VII. Over 30 people were killed in torrential rains in Tamil Nadu early this week. The neighbouring state of Karnataka is suffering from a severe drought, which according to its Chief Minister Hegde has practically crippled the state financially. Sources: India Now, India Abroad, and the Illustrated Weekly. -------- *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
raghu@ut-sally.UUCP (Raghu Ramakrishnan) (11/20/85)
In article <19@sbcs.UUCP> mohan@sbcs.UUCP (Chilukuri K. Mohan) writes: >The following news bulletin circulated on iitnet, >was compiled by KAPUR%ge-crd.arpa@CSNET-RELAY >who cannot access net.nlang.india directly. > >-------- A vote of thanks to Mohan and Kapur for these bulletins!