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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JPR who wrote (1202)	6/1/1998 12:45:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 12475

'Paradise Lost'- From The Daily Telegraph-London. Paradise lost under the threat of war By David Graves in Srinagar ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nuclear Tests: Kashmir conflict is of the main reasons for Indo-Pak arms race - Jammu & Kashmir: Islamic Gateway AS Pakistan carried out a second round of nuclear tests at the weekend, Indian security forces in Kashmir continued what they call their "proxy war" against Pakistani-backed Muslim separatists, in which an estimated 30,000 Kashmiris and security forces have died. Yesterday, officials said Indian troops had killed seven Muslim guerrillas. Muslim militants had killed a relative of a former Indian home minister, the police said, adding that a brother of the politician was reported missing. Six of the guerrillas, members of the Afghan-dominated Harkat-ul-Ansar separatist faction, were killed when Indian troops cordoned off a village in the Poonch district yesterday, according to a military spokesman in Srinagar. The seventh Muslim guerrilla had been shot by soldiers in the southern Kashmiri district of Anantnag, he said. Meanwhile, a state government spokesman said that during the night Pakistani troops had opened fire on a civilian bus and a village in Kashmir from across the border. The region is on the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan; two of the three wars they have fought since independence 51 years ago have been over Kashmir. Tens of thousands of troops from both sides now face each other across mountain tops and rugged valleys. Artillery and mortar exchanges are regular occurrences. In the troubled state that both countries claim, boatmen ply the Dal Lake in the Kashmir Valley in gondola-like vessels used for fishing and carrying fresh vegetables to markets. They eke out a meagre existence 50 miles from the border. After seeing Dal Lake, the Mogul emperor, Jehangir, is said to have written: "If there is a paradise on earth, this is it." One boatman, Lassa, said: "This should be such a peaceful place on Earth. To think that Pakistan and India are carrying out nuclear tests in the name of fighting here is crazy." During the Raj period, the British escaped the searing heat of the North Indian plains to the hundreds of houseboats there, which are still moored on the lake. With names such as Clermont, Buckingham Palace and Clifton, these creaky, chintz-filled floating cottages evoke memories of a bygone era. But many of the boats are now empty, their paint peeling and the livelihoods of their owners at risk. Tourists have been scared away because of the fighting. Until 1989 when the violent disturbances that have scarred Kashmir broke out, the Himalayan state was India's greatest tourist attraction after the Taj Mahal. Some 600,000 Indian and 60,000 foreign visitors went there every year. Now, wary of the violence and the kidnapping of foreigners - six tourists, including two Britons, were abducted in 1995 by an extreme Muslim group called Al-Farah while trekking in the hills - they have stayed away from Kashmir. Senior Indian officers said there were signs of Pakistani troop movements on the border of the Muslim-dominated state last week before Islamabad announced the first of its nuclear tests on Thursday. The situation has since stabilised. They also claimed that they were winning the "proxy war" against the extremists in Kashmir, many of whom were mercenaries from Afghanistan and Sudan. Curfews had been lifted, schools reopened and shops were staying open beyond nightfall, although there was still a heavy military presence in the shops, mosques and alleys in Srinagar, the state's summer capital. A lieutenant at the field headquarters of the elite 70 Brigade, whose commandos have been hunting down the extremists in the hills surrounding the Kashmir Valley, said it was only a matter of time before they had elminated them completely. He said: "We have them well and truly on the run."

To: JPR who wrote (1202)	6/1/1998 1:59:00 PM
From: Rational	Respond to of 12475

JPR and Mohan: In short, American policy-makers are stupid to presume that they can treat India as a banana republic. Why are they sitting on piles of nuclear weapons while advocating others to give up? Why are they not imposing sanctions against China that supplied the nuclear/missile technology to Pakistan? When the dust settles, India will emerge stronger because, as Bajpayee has said, India has the sanctions of her proud history and culture to emerge powerful based on the help of Indians. The "punitive" measures mean very little for India. Rational

To: JPR who wrote (1202)	6/1/1998 7:44:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12475

Persons of Indian origin cards to be issued to NRIs holding foreign passports. JPR: Say have you any opinion on this IOC cards for NRIs stipulated in the new budget??? I guess it eliminates the need for a visa every time and NRI who is a foreign national goes to India,eh? Here is what Mr.Murthy MD for Infosys has to say while giving his opinion on the new budget. "Introduction of non-visa identity card for non-resident Indians is a good move forward and will lead to the dual passport scheme for NRIs." I also liked the increase in resources in the budget for education and agriculture.It is good somebody is doing something for the rural folks.