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To: The Wharf who wrote (22763)	3/28/2005 8:17:55 AM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81130

Darleen > I wonder what India is thinking right now? They are thinking about that carcinogenic Sudan IV dye which they put in the all the chilli powder to make it nice and red. Now they have been found out. foodnavigator.com >>“Sudan red has arguably been the single biggest crisis that the food industry has faced during this year. It is definitely one of those occasions where a little bit of routine testing could have saved an awful lot of money and embarrassment for a great many food producers,"he added. According to the Indian Spice board, an estimated 500,000 tonnes of spices and herbs valued at €1.2 billion are traded each year around the globe – of which 46 per cent is supplied by India. The board, which regulates all exports, says it has the Sudan situation under control and four companies whose products fell foul of the testing procedures for the potential carcinogen have had their licences revoked.<<

To: The Wharf who wrote (22763)	3/29/2005 3:24:34 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 81130

Re: I wonder what India is thinking right now? Here you're: India doesn't need lessons from America Ramesh Thakur International Herald Tribune Tuesday, March 29, 2005 A visa denied TOKYO In the same week, Washington announced it would not be seeking a resolution criticizing China's human rights record at the annual UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva this year, and denied an entry visa to Narendra Modi, the head of government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The reason? His failure to protect 2,000 Muslims killed by rampaging Hindu mobs three years ago. The State Department decision, which plays to Indian prejudices about American ignorance and arrogance, has already proved counterproductive. Modi had been widely criticized throughout India for the Gujarat government's failure to protect innocent Muslims. As a result he was a political pariah even for his own Bharatiya Janata Party in the rest of India. I witnessed last month's general elections in India's second-most populous state, Bihar. The BJP had forbidden Modi from campaigning there. Thanks to the State Department, Modi has now been rehabilitated as a political victim. All parties have expressed dismay at this insult to India. The government has been compelled to protest on a point of principle, rejecting judgments made on the basis of allegations without due process. On March 19, the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, unanimously condemned the denial of a visa to "a constitutionally elected authority" of the country. Although 80 percent of Indians are Hindus, India has a Sikh prime minister and army chief, a Muslim bachelor as president, and an Italian-born Roman Catholic widow as the power behind the throne. Nor was this the result of backroom deals: Sonia Gandhi was the Congress Party's star campaigner in last year's general elections. Indians are fiercely proud of this quirky historical confluence, and really do not think they need lessons on religious tolerance and political pluralism from countries that are yet to have elected heads of government who come from outside the majority religion - or women as heads of government. The State Department's sense of timing is also intriguing: Condoleezza Rice had just paid her first visit to India as secretary of state. Indians were quick to recall that Pakistan was declared a major non-NATO ally right after Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit. Modi has been barred from entering the United States for a sin of omission. Should Indians conclude that this is a more heinous crime than acts of commission by leaders of other countries visited by Rice on the same trip, none of whom have been barred? Someone at the State Department should be asked to do research on the number and proportion of Hindus in Pakistan at independence in 1947 and today, and the same with Muslims in India. They might find the answer enlightening. If the Bush administration really believes in the lofty vision and soaring rhetoric of the president's second inaugural speech, they should be lauding India at every opportunity as the most shining example of third world democracy taking firm root amid extreme poverty and widespread illiteracy. Many Americans fail to grasp the power of the metaphor of the shining city on the hill, the hypnotic pull of the American Declaration of Independence, the stirring inspiration of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. These are not just American treasures; they are the common heritage of mankind. America's commitment to promoting democracy and protecting human rights is commendable. Of course this has to be tempered with concerns about not cutting across other national interests in dealings with many foreign powers. Surely the sensitivity to fellow democracies should be greater, not less. India is a vibrant, rambunctious and resilient democracy. Indians had already been repudiating the central planks of the BJP's anti-Muslim ideology of Hindutva, or Hindus first. The 2002 riots, and the question of culpability by politicians and officials, have been investigated by the national human rights commission, which is genuinely independent. A new central government inquiry has cast serious doubt on the veracity of accounts about Muslims locking Hindu pilgrims in a train carriage and burning them alive, an inflammatory allegation that led to the anti-Muslim riots. In other words, India was well on the way to demonstrating one of the great virtues of democratic governance: its self-correcting mechanisms. Americans should know that the genius of democracy is that over time people do work out what is good and what is bad for them - and learn that they have to live with the consequences of their choices. iht.com