Dear Palas BiswasIn an earlier mail I requested you not to send mails to me any more. It is not clear how you could collect my e-mail ID.As I don't know you, YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND ANY MAIL TO ME HEREAFTER.Yours truly,D PANDA....On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 12:30 AM, Palash Biswas <palashbiswaskl@gmail.com> wrote:Gorshkov Defence Scam and Kargil Martyres. Nuke Submarine Launched to FLEX Muscles of Strategic Realliance invoking Blind nationalism to Cover up the Mass Destruction.
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 301
Palash Biswas
For details, updates, related Articles, documents and links Pl Visit my Blog:
http://nandigramunited.blogspot.com
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Kargil War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The wife of the Indian prime minister breaks a coconut on the hull of the submarine
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Mothers journey to the mountains where sons became martyrs: (Left) Against the backdrop of the mountains where the Kargil war was fought a decade ago, mothers of two Indian soldiers who died in action arrive at the Umba La (pass) in Drass on Saturday to take part in a programme organised by the Indian Army to observe the 10th anniversary of Operation Vijay that recaptured the hills from Pakistan. (right) Mohini Pandey wipes a tear in Drass after inaugurating a memorial named after her son, Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey, who died while recapturing the Khalobar ridgeline, where Pakistani troops had built one of the most dominant positions in Kargil in July 1999. (PTI pictures)
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090726/jsp/frontpage/story_11283945.html
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India launches nuclear submarine
![Manmohan Singh speaks during the launch ceremony of India"s first nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arihant at Vishakhapatnam in India, Sunday, July 26, 2009.]()
Mr Singh said 'we do not seek to threaten anyone'India has launched its first nuclear-powered submarine, becoming only the sixth country in the world to do so.
The 6,000 tonne Arihant was launched by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a ceremony on the south-east coast.
It was built entirely in India with Russian assistance and a second one is due to be constructed shortly.
It will undergo trials over the next few years before being deployed and will be able to launch missiles at targets 700km (437 miles) away.
Until now, only the US, Russia, France, Britain and China had the capability to build nuclear submarines.
'China threat'
Launching the INS Arihant, Mr Singh said India had no aggressive designs on anyone.
![Indian workers (L) paint the conning tower of the INS Kursura, on display as a part of the INS Kurusura Submarine Museum, at Rama Krishna Beach in Visakhapatnam, some 800 kilometers from Hyderabad, on July 25, 2009.]()
India has relied mainly on Russian-built submarines until nowBut the sea was becoming increasingly relevant to India's security concerns, he added.
"It is incumbent upon us to take all measures necessary to safeguard our country and to keep pace with technological advancements worldwide," he told the ceremony in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says until now India has been able to launch ballistic missiles only from the air and from land.
Nuclear submarines will add a third dimension to its defence capability.
When it is eventually deployed, the top-secret Arihant will be able to carry 100 sailors on board.
It will be able to stay under water for long periods and thereby increase its chances of remaining undetected.
By contrast, India's ageing conventional diesel-powered submarines need to constantly surface to recharge their batteries.
Our correspondent says the launching of the Arihant is a clear sign that India is looking to blunt the threat from China which has a major naval presence in the region.
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Tololing (Kargil) Ten years after Captain Neikezhakuo Kenguriise sacrificed his life when he led a platoon to re-capture Tololing from Pakistani troops during the Kargil war, his family has come all the way from Nagaland to salute the place of their son's martyrdom."We have to come to see and salute the place of the martyrdom of our son. It was a dream for us to visit the holy place and pray for our son", the late captain's father Neiselie Kenguriise told a visiting correspondent in Tololing on Saturday.
As they took a glimpse of Tololing ridgeline captured by their son and his platoon, tears welled in the eyes of Neiselie, his wife Dinuo and daughter.
Captain Neikezhakuo led his platoon to Tololing ridgeline overlooking an important army formation, ejected Pakistani regulars and re-captured the ridgeline in a five-day-long battle. But he lost his life in mortar shelling on June 18, 1999.
Captain Neikezhakuo, who hailed from Kohima in Nagaland, was awarded Mahavir Chakra (MVC).
"My son did his duty to the nation with utmost dedication. We have come here to pay homage to him along with other martyrs, who defeated the enemy in one of the most difficult wars", the captain's parents said.
Like Captain Neikezhakuo, another soldier Captain Manoj Pandey achieved martyrdom by beating back Pakistani troops and re-capturing Khalobar ridgeline, one of the most dominant positions captured by the Pakistani troops in Kargil sector. He died on July 3, 1999 in this sector.
"He is my hero as well as the nation's hero. He braved enemy fire and re-captured Khalobar ridgeline and pushed back Pakistani troops. He was given Param Vir Chakra (PVC) posthumously," his brother Manmohan Pandey, who had come to visit the memorial from Lucknow, said.
Flanked by his mother, Manmohan said, "I had come here to pray at the place where my brother sacrificed his life in the line of duty. This place is a temple for me".
"My father and mother have visited the memorial several times and it was my dream to visit the place," he said.
Praising his junior Captain Vikram Batra for his bravery in the battle front in Drass sector where he laid down his life, Colonel Gurpreet Singh, Commanding Officer of 13 Jammu and Kashmir (JAK) rifles said his unit won many awards.
"Our unit 13 JAK rifles achieved the title of brave among the bravest as it won two PVCs in Kargil battle", Col Singh, who was then Major and was directly looking after the battle front in Drass, said.
Captain Batra and Lance Naik Sanjay Kumar had won PVCs for their gallantry and both belonged to 13 JAK rifles. As many as 533 jawans and army officers laid down their lives and 86 of them got PVCs, MVCs and VCs for the Kargil war.
While four soldiers, Captain Batra and Captain Pandey were awarded PVCs (posthumously) respectively, two PVCs were awarded to Lance Naik Joginder Yadav of grenadier and Sanjay Kumar of 13 JAK rifles.
The two-day "Operation Vijay" celebrations from today will mark the victory of Indian forces over their Pakistani army regulars ten years ago.
All re-captured heights would be lit up during the celebrations.
HC slams govt on 26/11
;Statesman News Service
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=262031
MUMBAI, 24 JULY: A Bombay High Court Division Bench comprising chief justice Mr S Kumar and Mr Justice A Khanvilkar virtually ripped apart the Maharashtra government yesterday on discovering its callous and lackadaisical attitude in addressing the security concerns of its citizens prior to the 26/11 terror attack.
A series of searching and searing questions by the judges in the open court exposed the state government's claims about tightening the capital's as well as the overall security around the state. The lawyers representing the state government could not come up with any satisfying answers. "We are appalled and are at loss of words," said the Bench when informed officially that 461 officers and junior staff of the Anti-Terrorism Squad have just four helmets and 27 bullet proof jackets .
"Is this a joke? What is the administration doing? These are the people who have to face bullets and not the babus sitting at the Mantralaya," the Bench retorted adding: "Common sense dictates that each of these 461 should be equipped with jackets, helmets and guns."
The judges were angered when they found that Intelligence Bureau inputs affirmed more terror threats on the city as the the government counsel failed to answer how many times the security council, constituted after 26/11, has met to review the internal security. When the government counsel argued that the government was making provision for the purchase of these essentials the court shot back: "Will the attackers wait for you?" The bench also directed the government to submit in a sealed cover the report of Pradhan-Balachandran panel into the causes and the aftermath of 26/11 attack.
CAG exposes Russian 'junk' sale
The CAG on Friday (July 24) strongly criticised the Defence Ministry and the Navy for mismanaging the acquisition of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, now INS Vikramaditya. According to the CAG report the objective of inducting the aircraft carrier in time to fill the Gap in Indian Navy not been addressed.
The cost of acquisition has almost doubled to Rs 7,207 crore in four years after the Navy brought it from Russia in January 2004. At best, the Navy would be acquiring a second hand ship by paying significantly more than what it would have for a new ship.
Giving details of the report, A K Awasthi, additianal deputy from the CAG said, "It is 60% more expensive than the new one. The government is now likely to pay USD 1.82 bn for the carrier as against the original contract amount of USD 875 million. Most substantial increase is on account of sea trials which were originally contracted for USD 27 million. This has increased by almost 20 times creating doubts about the diligence exercise while estimating and negotiating cost."
He further said, "Given the expected force level of the Indian Navy by the time the air craft carrier is inducted it is not clear as to how the Navy would provide adequate compliment battle group to the carrier. Monitoring and supervision was surprisingly lax, with no committee adhering to the frequency prescribed. As a result the enormity of the situation could not be foreseen till the vendor presented his revised costs.
He also said that the initial cost of refitting the ship was 4,025 crore rupees. The cost has gone up by 137 per cent to 1.2 billion dollars at least.
"Financial control by Indian side was diluted as payment terms were not linked to physical outflows. Thus even though 66% of the contracted cost of re payer and refit has been paid, only 35% of the work has been completed."
The Navy reports in 1995 and 1999 said the ship was deteriorating very quickly and the state of the machinery was likely to deteriorate even more.
Buying a new aircraft carrier instead of a used one damaged by fire has been financially a wrong decision. The ship delivery has also been delayed by 52 months.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090725/jsp/frontpage/story_11280957.jsp
SUJAN DUTTA
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The Gorshkov New Delhi, July 24: Floating in the waters of the Sevmash Shipyard in faraway north Russia is India's single-largest weapons platform. But today it is India's biggest defence scam.
India is buying the Gorshkov, a used, gutted carrier that is being refitted at more than the price of a new carrier after its cost doubled in the four years since it was contracted in January 2004 to more than $1.82 billion (Rs 7,207 crore), audit findings have revealed.
The figure of Rs 7,207 crore is just about half the size of the total central budgetary allocation for higher education for 2009-2010. Or, more than 100 times the amount of the kickback in the Bofors scam that followed the Howitzer deal of March 1986.
The tardiness that goes with the Gorshkov was known. But this is the first time an audit investigation has revealed the amount of public money that is being wasted. In exasperation, in November 2007, even the navy chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, had wondered aloud: "Where are our relations with Russia going?"
India contracted 12 single-seater MiG 29K and four twin-seater MiG 29 KUB aircraft as part of a $1,465-million package deal with the Gorshkov (which has been rechristened the INS Vikramaditya) on January 20, 2004 ($650 million for the refit of the vessel and $815 million for the aircraft, including helicopters).
India's only other aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat, is being operated at the end of its service life with extensive refits.
The Russians are now asking for even more. A team of officials from India and Russia are at work to redraft the contract with an escalated price. The total price of the Gorshkov package has now gone up to $2.9 billion. India is trying to get it down to about $2.2 billion.
"The objective of induction of the ship... as an aircraft carrier in time to bridge the gap in Indian Navy capabilities has been defeated," the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) has concluded. The auditors have written that the defence ministry did not co-operate with them.
"We were not given any documents after September 2007 and not allowed to photocopy documents, either," said Gautam Guha, the director general (audit), defence services.
The CAG report tabled in Parliament today also unearths irregularities in acquiring the French-origin Scorpene submarines that caused delays and led to an increase in project cost by Rs 2,838 crore.
The Gorshkov is a rusty old tub, the audit findings show, but India is sinking public funds into it for a worthless cause. The ship was originally scheduled for delivery in August 2008. There is little chance the navy will get it before 2013.
"It is unprecedented, it could be the largest," admitted additional deputy comptroller and auditor general Arvind Kumar Awasthi when asked if his office had ever found such a waste of funds in any single defence project.
India concluded the contract in January 2004 with a "guess" estimate of $27 million for sea trials. The amount under this head had gone up by September 2007 by almost 20 times to $550 million.
In 2004, the navy compared the cost of a new carrier with that of the Gorshkov. A new carrier with a life of 40 years and deliverable in eight years would cost $1,145 million when the Gorshkov was priced at $974 million.
The Gorshkov is projected to have a life of 20 years. But by September 2007, the cost had gone up to $1.82 billion.
"Thus, it can be seen that Indian Navy was acquiring a second hand, refitted aircraft carrier that had half the life span of and was 60 per cent more expensive than a new one," the CAG report says.
When the Gorshkov was contracted, the NDA government was in power and George Fernandes was the defence minister. Subsequent negotiations for the escalated price have continued in the successive UPA governments when the defence portfolio has been held by Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony.
The CAG says the defence ministry also contracted six Scorpene submarines, of French origin, after nine years of negotiations in October 2005, despite the navy's depleting force level. The delay led to a cost increase by Rs 2,838 crore.
The contract for the six submarines to be made under technology transfer from DCNS Thales and Armaris at Mazgaon Docks was concluded for Rs 18,798 crore.
The CAG says: "The ministry/naval headquarters scaled down the original technical specifications and extended undue financial benefit to the vendor."
The first submarine is to be delivered by 2012. But since construction began in December 2006, only 9.34 per cent of the work has been done, against a targeted 27.43 per cent, by September 2008.
more by Manmohan Singh - 2 hours ago - BBC News (160 occurrences)
India launches first nuclear-powered submarine(AFP) – 2 hours ago
NEW DELHI — India launched its first nuclear-powered submarine on Sunday, officials said, underlining the military advances made by the rapidly developing nation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it a "historic milestone in the country's defence preparedness" as the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) was named in the southern city of Visakhapatnam.
The submarine, the first of five planned, is powered by an 85-megawatt nuclear reactor and can reach 44 kilometres an hour (24 knots) underwater, according to defence officials.
It will be armed with torpedoes and ballistic missiles, and carry a crew of 95 men.
"We don't have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone," the Press Trust of India quoted Singh as saying at the launch.
"We seek an external environment in our region and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful development and protection of our value systems."
India is now part of an exclusive group of nations -- including China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia -- which own nuclear-powered submarines.
The vessel will undergo two years of sea trials in the Bay of Bengal before being commissioned for full service, according to PTI.
India previously leased a Russian-built nuclear submarine, and in 2005 signed contracts worth 2.4 billion euros (three billion dollars) to receive six diesel-electric Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines.
The launch came as India marked the tenth anniversary of the brief but bloody Kargil conflict with arch-rival Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region.
More than 1,100 people, mostly Indian and Pakistani soldiers, died in the high-altitude offensive in the spring and summer of 1999 when Pakistan-based infiltrators crossed the icy frontier that separates the two countries.
At a service earlier in New Delhi, Singh paid tribute to the Indian troops who died during the conflict.
"They sacrificed their lives in defence of Indian unity and integrity," he said.
A year before Kargil, India conducted nuclear weapons tests and Pakistan responded with its own tests a few days later.
I had been once again in RISRA, Hugli, accompanied by Sabita in TORRENTIAL rain! The South Bengal SC, ST, OBC and Minority org representatives, most of which belong to the Industrial belt across HUGLI, from Jute Mills, Cotton Mills and even Tea gardens, Closed and Locked out fctories, the Safai mazddor Unions and balmiki samaj gathered togethered in Ambedkar Bhawan Guakhana. Thy do relate themselves to differnt political paties and socila Organisations!
Opening the debate I appealed all of them to concentrate on AMBEDKARITE Ideology and EMPOWERMENT and awakening! I informed them that our Maharashtra friends already launched a Trade Union Structure named Rashtriya Mulnivasi Majdoor Sangha along with different forums and orgs of social and Prducive forces as Professionals, Students, Women and so one.
The Gathering was full of Enthuism! We expected intense Interactions most necessary for Mass Mobilsations. But it had not to be. As so called trained cadres debated intensely on IDEOLOGY and objective indulging in personal fight. At a point some one pointed out that they have to get Intellectuals, employees and Professionals for social movement, not the Masses! Senor Citizens were insulted! We felt Embrassed. We later managed it very well and Convinced our friends person to person what we do want happens to be a NATIONAL Mass Liberation Movement which remains impossible without the active particiapation of the masses!
I am getting wild phone Calls from Differents parts of Bengal as the Activists complain against the Cadres Ambedkarite as well as Idelogues and their BETRAYALS!
I have explained my friends in different shaeres and those who are active in Mass Movements and amongst the nationalities, How we should Stand Rock solid to lead the nation in Resistance against the Mass Destruction, Ethnic cleansing, repression and Monopolistic Aggression!
I appeal little Pragmatism and the Knowledge of History and Folk ! Please!
The situation is very Complex as the most Anti National who always tend to sell of their own Mothers, do play with Public sentiments and their Genuine patriotism.
kargil victory invoked is another DIMENTION of the ILLUMINATI Rule living on Wars and civil wars and Committed to the War Economy of United States of America!
The West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday held a meeting with Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the NSC Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
The Power Axis of PRANAB Adwani and BUDDHA remains INTACT nevertheless Mamata Banerjee being projected as the Human face of the manusmriti Hegemony. The Brahamins of bengal as well as India join together to kill the majority Eighty Five percent Population and it is no Secret!
Various issues related to the state and the Centre were discussed during the meeting, official sources said
The details of the meeting were, however, not made available to the media.
After the meeting, Mukherjee left for New Delhi in a special flight.
Gorshkov Defence Scam and Kargil Martyres!
The story is all about the India Inc run Political Economy, manusmriti Rule and ethnic cleansing!
Indian Ocean Peace Zone is Undermined with Nuclear arms race creating CHINA PHOBIA False! As the Recession false bailed out the Ruling Class and fed the Killed Money Machine with our Meat and Flesh! ICICI net profit, Auto Boost, Consumer culture, FII, FDI, foreign Borrowing and ROCKETING defence Expenditure and NUCLEAR Mania tell a DIFFERENT story Diluted by the TOILET Media indulged in REalty and Reality Shows! Shining India showcase and cup bords are full of Skeletons scattered over the DIVIDED Bleedin geopolitics across the Political Borders!
Nuke Submarine Launched to FLEX Muscles of Strategic Realliance invoking Blind nationalism to Cover up the Mass Detruction.
India tagged with United states of America and Israel, ruled by ILLUMINATI, LPG Mafia and India Inc flexes its NUCLEAR Muscles once again celebrating Kargil Victory. GROSHKOV Zunk is the only tip of the ICE BERG which was COVERED with PROXY war of Kargil which betrayed the Martyres as well as the Masses of India fighting for SUSTENANCE against Manusmriti Rule on the on hand and on the other hand the Global Monopolistic aggression by Tri Iblis Satanic Order of Zionist US Corporate Imperialism.
The Brahamincal Hegemony and the Immoral Imposters leading the Country use best BLIND Nationalism to hike DEFENCE EXPANDITURE and CONTINUE the Economic reforms of Mass Destruction!
Pranab Mukherjee is the Key man in the Zionist power Axis. His Budget is all about Defence Expenditure, Bailout , Sixth Pay Commission and Fiscal defecit created with Bail Out and Stmulus itself. Flagship progrrammes are only the eye washing! His ally, the face of change and Resistance in Bengal, Ms Mamata Bannerjee inserts FICCI Scretary Amit Mishra to decide on Public Private joint Ventures in railway opening the Flood gates of Privatisation of Indian Railway.
All on the name of national sovereignity, unity and Integrity and development!
The massacre masters feel no SHAME to DODGE so openly in the manner of COFFIN scam related to kargil Victory! And it is the BASTARDISED Parliamentary Politics!
India's first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine was launched here Sunday as the country marked the 10th anniversary of the victory over the Pakistani intruders in Kargil - and the coincidence was not lost on National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan.
"Both were successes for us," replied Narayanan when asked if the launching of the submarine on the 10th Kargil Victory Day signified anything.
The 110-metre long submarine, resembling a giant black shark, was tugged out of the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. The Indian Navy flag fluttered atop the vessel and the sailors in snow-white uniform proudly saluted the dignitaries present to witness the momentous occasion.
It was on July 26, 1999, that India finally wrested the peaks in Jammu and Kashmir from the Pakistani intruders.
Meanwhile, CAG has rapped the Indian Air Force for buying the Hawk advanced trainer aircraft in 2004 on the basis of its requirements in 1987, compromising operational and training requirements of the service.
"The supply and production of the aircraft was based on air staff requirements that were not reviewed since their issue in 1987. The restriction in utilisation of aircraft would compromise operational and training requirements," the report said.
India had signed a contract with BAE Systems in 2004 to supply 66 trainer aircraft, 24 of which were to be supplied in the fly-away condition and the rest license-manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).
The report also slammed the IAF for taking 22 years to finalise the deal for the aircraft, the need for which was felt in 1982 itself.
"Inordinate delay in acquisition of these trainer aircraft, which is essential for improving the skills of IAF pilots graduating from lower speed aircraft to advanced high performance fighter aircraft, has affected pilot safety," it said.
The CAG said due to pending integration of electronic weapons suite, the aircraft could not be used for tactical weapon training, limiting the operational use of the aircraft.
The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said steps were being taken to raise the buying power of average Indians to offset the effects of global recession.
"Apart from NREGA, other schemes will be introduced to augment the buying power of poor people so that production by companies are not affected because of less demand," Mr. Mukherjee said at the inauguration of the 28th conference of the West Bengal unit of the INTUC.
The minister said he had a talk with Congress president Sonia Gandhi who had asked him to talk to INTUC president G Sanjeeva Reddy to hear the workers' position and expectations before formulating the future economic policy.
"We will sit in Delhi next week and discuss the issue of 'aam admi's' needs before formulating the policies," he said to a full-house at the Rabindra Sarobar stadium here.
Mr. Mukherjee said that the government would take steps and decide on economic policies keeping in mind the interests of general people and the working class.
"Though we want that exports to Europe and America rise, we can not wait till their economies look up in the present world economic scenario. So to keep our economy vibrant, we have to ensure that the buying power of people in our country rise," he said.
Expressing concern over rise in prices of essential commodities, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday asked authorities to take steps to contain the trend.
"The price of arhar is Rs 90 per kg and the price of green chillies is Rs 100 per kg. I am concerned at the price rise. I think the authorities have a responsibility to look into this," the Trinamool Congress chief said, without fixing responsibility on anyone while inaugurating a passenger reservation system (PRS) at New Alipur station in kolkata.
On the current employment trends "which do not guarantee job security", she said, "Earlier, a government employee could work upto the age of 60 years. Now, the younger generation are working in an environment where there is no guarantee that their jobs will remain secure tomorrow."
Ms. Banerjee said that in a situation where life was becoming more difficult for the common people, the Railways were decentralising its facilities for their benefit.
Stating that 100 new PRS would be set up country-wide, she said divisional railway managers have been asked not to delay implementation of projects in their respective areas.
Three 'Duranta' class trains, announced by her in the Railway budget, would be introduced from August, she said.
These would run between Delhi and Pune, Mumbai and Howrah and Sealdah and Delhi.
"These will be faster than Rajdhani Express trains and the fare will also be cheaper," she said.
Meanwhile,the Pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Muhammad, who brokered a now-defunct peace deal between the authorities and insurgents, was today arrested in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar for his links to militants and his role in fomenting unrest in the lawless Swat valley.
Sufi, who heads the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi, was arrested with his sons Ziaullah and Rizwanullah and an accomplice by a large police contingent during a raid in the City Town area of Peshawar. The four men were taken away to an unknown location.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the Information Minister for North West Frontier Province, told a news conference that Sufi Muhammad was arrested for speaking against the government and encouraging violence and terrorism in Malakand division, which includes Swat valley.
The head of India's ambitious project to build a nuclear powered submarine, Vice Admiral (retd) D.S.P. Verma, Sunday said that the vessel is ready and now they have to make its heart, the nuclear reactor, tick.
INS Arihant, the country's first indigenous nuclear powered submarine, was Sunday launched at the Ship Building Centre here, catapulting India into the league of five elite nations.
"The air, oil and water are the fluids running in a submarine and the nuclear reactor is the heart. We have fitted everything and now we have to get the fluids to flow and the heart tick," Verma told IANS on the sidelines of the launching ceremony.
It will take two years of sea trials before the submarine is commissioned in the Indian Navy.
The top secret Advanced Technology Vessel project, which built the vessel, was conceived in 1984 and the steel for the submarine cut in 1998.
"This is the first time that such a project was conceived and undertaken in the country. ... All the facilities and the infrastructure had to be set up from scratch," said Verma.
The ATV project has been the result of the active collaboration of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Department of Atomic Energy and other public and private sector undertakings. Private industrial players like Larsen and Tourbo and Tata Power helped in making the project a reality.
"The second submarine will have more indigenous components," Verma told IANS.
According to sources, construction on the second submarine has already begun.
"The trials will have to be undertaken to establish the reliability. Design is only the dream of a person and implementing it is different," Verma said, adding that "11 years to construct a submarine is not bad at all".
The project had to face initial hurdles like technology denial and miniaturising the nuclear reactor to fit the 110-metre long and 11-metre wide submarine, which has a surface displacement of 6,000 tonnes.
The nuclear power will help the submarine to remain underwater for longer durations - a factor that will help increase the geographical reach and endurance of the Indian Navy.
The submarine will be manned by a crew of roughly 100 sailors trained in India.
The launch ceremony was performed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur in Visakhapatnam.
Dismissing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claim that his government had all the relevant answers to questions raised on the
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Palash Biswas
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