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Established in 1999 |
Global Cities
ASIA
New Delhi
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Checking Account
2002
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Leftist rebels may have been behind a train derailment in the state of Bihar in eastern India that left about 100 people feared dead, the country's junior railway minister said yesterday.(Straits times 11 Sep 2002) (9) |
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Professor A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a poor boatsman's son who rose to become the architect of India's missile programme, pledged unflinching commitment to secularism as he was sworn in as the country's 12th President yesterday. (Straits Times 26 Jul 2002) (3) |
| More than 22 million people of Indian origin scattered across the world are to be offered dual citizenship by India. Mr Bhismha Agnihotri, appointed India's "ambassador at large for non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin", said during a visit to London that he expected the Indian Cabinet to approve han amendment to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955 "by January next year", the Electronic Telegraph reported. The change would then be ratified by Parliament. (Straits Times 15 Jul 2002) (3) |
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India yesterday ordered most of its warships deployed in the northern Arabian Sea pulled back in a major move to de-escalate the current crisis with Pakistan over Kashmir. The 20-odd ships pulled back included an aircraft carrier. According to reports, New Delhi had also designated its next High Commissioner to Pakistan and a move to formally assign him to Islamabad is expected within days. (Straits Times 12 Jun 2002) (4) |
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With increasing tension between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, the United Nations and several Western countries have begun to evacuate their staff and advise many of their citizens to leave the countries. (Straits Times 2 Jun 2002) (1) |
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India warned Pakistan yesterday that New Delhi's options were narrowing after Islamabad test-fired a third ballistic missile despite international condemnation of two earlier tests. Pakistan said it successfully test-fired a 180-km-range missile, the third in four days and last in a series. (Straits Times 29 May 2002) (1) |
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Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated yesterday as Islamabad ignored international concerns and fired off a second test missile while Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee warned that New Delhi's patience was running out with militants across the Kashmir border. (Straits Times 27 May 2002) (1) |
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India is unlikely to launch a full-scale war against Pakistan, but is poised to strike at terrorist camps and facilities in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, as both sides edge closer to a confrontation. The Indian Navy yesterday moved five warships from its western fleet to the Arabian Sea, closer to arch-rival Pakistan. (Straits Times 23 May 2002) (1) |
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Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday arrived in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir just minutes after moderate Muslim separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone was shot dead by unknown assailants. (Straits Times 22 May 2002) (6) |
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India is sending 2,000 anti-riot troopers and elite commandos to riot-hit Gujarat to help "supercop" K.P.S. Gill put down an eruption of sectarian violence that has claimed more than 900 lives, officials said yesterday. (Straits Times 10 May 2002) (10) |
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In the first such attack of its kind, a suicide squad of militants stormed a temple, tossing grenades and firing at worshippers in the northern Indian city of Jammu yesterday. Eleven people were killed and 25 injured in the attack on the Raghunath temple in the bustling Residency Road shopping centre of the city, which is Jammu and Kashmir state's winter capital. (Straits Times 31 Mar 2002) (10) |
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With 100 pilots killed in crashes between 1991 and 2000, India could ill-afford to carry on with its ageing fleet of MiG-21 fighter jets - the backbone of the Indian Air Force (IAF) - any longer, the public accounts parliamentary committee said. Of the 221 IAF aircraft lost in accidents during the period, 100 were Mig-21 fighters which have been in service since the mid-60s. (Straits Times 25 Mar 2002) (9) |
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An explosive situation was defused in the town of Ayodhya yesterday when hardline Hindus steered clear of a disputed site where they planned to hold preliminary rituals for building a temple. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court banned any ceremony from being held on the 67 acres of disputed land - the site of a 16th century mosque that was torn down by Hindu fanatics in 1992. Agency reports said that 18,000 people were detained in a countrywide security crackdown to prevent violence from breaking out. (Straits Times 16 Mar 2002) (4) |
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Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee condemned the eruption of Hindu-Muslim clashes as a national disgrace yesterday as a third day of violence brought the death toll to nearly 400. (Straits Times 3 Mar 2002) (1) |
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India's government struggled to control spiralling violence in the western Gujarat state that has left nearly 250 dead, even as the military fanned out across over 30 cities to control rampaging Hindu and Muslim mobs and put down two days of rioting. (Straits Times 2 Mar 2002) (1) |
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India put its army on standby yesterday as widespread sectarian riots broke out in western Gujarat state, where Hindu gangs went on the rampage, attacking mosques and Muslim-owned businesses.(Straits Times 1 Mar 2002)(6) |
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Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has eased concern about an imminent conflict with neighbouring Pakistan by declaring that there would be no war between the two countries. (Straits Times 30 Jan 2002)(10) |
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Five policemen were killed and at least 20 others injured, several critically, when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on security personnel at the United States Information Centre in the heart of Calcutta early yesterday morning. No American citizens were injured and there were no US staff in the building when the attack came at 6.30am. The American Consulate is located a few hundred metres away. (Straits Times 23 Jan 2002)(1) |
2001
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India and Pakistan deployed their missile systems and moved their warplanes to forward bases as authorities in Islamabad said they were cracking down on militant groups blamed for the Dec 13 attack on the parliament building here. (Straits Times 27 Dec 2001)(1) |
| Pakistan President Musharraf promised to crack down on a Pakistan-based Islamic group yesterday, as tensions escalated with a military build-up along the Indo-Pakistan border. (Straits Times 25 Dec 2001)(1) |
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Heavily-armed terrorists launched an unprecedented attack on Parliament House here yesterday morning, leaving 12 dead after an hour-long gun battle. The group of five terrorists breached the outer security ring but were unable to enter the main building and none of the 400 or so members of Parliament and ministers were hurt. (Straits Times 14 Dec 2001)(3) |
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At least 80 children have been married in a mass wedding in the northern desert state of Rajasthan, despite a government ban on underage nuptials. The brides and grooms, some less than a year old, slept or fidgeted in their parents' laps as Hindu priests read out long marriage vows. The ceremony took place in Bali village, near the city of Jodhpur on Saturday. (Straits Times 4 Sep 2001)(11) |
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A 16-year-old girl in an Indian village near Gorakhpur has been stoned to death for having sex before marriage. Sanju Harak gave birth to a son two weeks ago. Her boyfriend was ready to marry her, but village elders beat her with canes before stoning her to death, online news service Sify news said. (Straits Times 20 Aug 2001)(13) |
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Bhubaneswar, Orissa: A man jumped into his wife's funeral pyre and ended his life on Friday, in the first reported instance of a husband committing sati. Sati, or self-immolation by widows, was once a ritualistic practice in parts of India. It has been banned since the 1800s when India came under British rule. (Straits Times 7 Aug 2001)(10) |
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Former outlaw Phoolan Devi, immortalised in the film, Bandit Queen, and who contested and won a parliamentary seat in the 1996 election, was shot dead outside her residence here yesterday afternoon. Two unidentified gunmen shot the 37-year-old legislator at 1.30pm local time as she emerged after lunch. Her bodyguard was critically injured in the shooting. (Straits Times 26 Jul 2001)(6) |
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Madras: Indian film star Sivaji Ganesan, considered a major icon in southern Indian cinema, died on Saturday evening following a heart and kidney ailment. He was 77. Mr Ganesan was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Madras after complaining of breathlessness. (Straits Times 23 Jul 2001)(10) |
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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf arrived in India yesterday for a landmark peace summit, saying he came with an open mind, but stressing that progress on Kashmir was the key to a normal relationship with its neighbour. (Straits Times 15 Jul 2001)(4) |
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India will spend a staggering US$95 billion (S$172 billion) on military equipment and weapons over the next 15 years, latest estimates suggest. The amount includes US$15 billion for nuclear weapons research and development and US$5 billion for the development of nuclear command and control structures, for a total of US$36 billion, according to the Times of India. (Straits Times 16 Jun 2001) |
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India began its largest military manoeuvres in 13 years on 5 May 2001, saying one of the main objectives of the exercise along Pakistan's border is to train troops in a nuclear conflict. Codenamed "Complete Victory", the five-day war games involved more than 60,000 troops, heavy armour, such as Russian-built T-72 tanks and about 100 transport and combat aircraft. (Straits Times 6 May 2001) |
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The Indian capital was plunged into chaos on 3 Apr 2001 as furious commuters torched buses to protest against a lack of public transport after a court order forced thousands of smoky vehicles off the roads. A crowd of 2000 burnt six public buses and broke the windows of ten more on the outskirts of New Delhi. (Straits Times 4 Apr 2001) |
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Moving swiftly to limit the damage from a scandal which has threatened India's political and military establishment, the authorities on 14 Mar 2001 suspended four top officials from the army and the Defence Ministry. The scandal broke after a team of journalists, posing as arms dealers, secretly videotaped talks with senior politicians, civil servants and army officers during a seven-month sting operation. The journalists, from the website Tehelka.com said they could fix arms deals for the Indian military in exchange for kickbacks. (Straits Times 15 Mar 2001) |
| Nearly 15,000 people may have died in the earthquake which hit the state of Gujarat on Friday 26 Jan 2001, Indian officials said on 27 Jan 2001 as rescuers fought against time to pull survivors from the rubble. Bimah Shah, the state Transport Minister, said the death toll in Kutch district alone could be more than 10,000. (Straits Times 28 Jan 2001) |
| More than 1,000 people are feared dead after a powerful earthquake rocked western India on 26 Jan 2001. The quake - which the US Geological Survey measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale - was the strongest to hit India in the last 50 years. (Straits Times 27 Jan 2001) |
2000
Bombay: Popular Hindi film actor Salman Khan has been questioned by police as they widen a probe into allegations that his latest movie, Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke, was financed by the underworld. Authorities are now investigating reports that alleged mafia leader Chotta Shakeel, now living in Pakistan, financed the movie. (Straits Times 19 Dec 2000)
Mumbai, India: Actress Twinkle Khanna and Bollywood star Akshay Kumar were engaged at a ceremony held in Juhu, north-west Mumbai, on Tuesday 12 Dec 2000. (Straits Times 15 Dec 2000)
Bombay: Indian cinema's hottest property, Hrithik Roshan, is set to marry long-time girlfriend Suzanne Khan, his family said on 8 Dec 2000. Hrithik, 26 and a Hindu, and Suzanne, 24, a Muslim, have been dating for about five years. Suzanne is the daughter of well-known Bollywood producer-director Sanjay Khan. (Straits Times 9 Dec 2000)
Riot police ringed the Supreme Court and Parliament on 27 Nov 2000 as New Delhi braced itself for another round of protests against the court's order that polluting factories and businesses be relocated away from the city. Schools and offices shut down on 27 Nov 2000, for the third time in five days, for fear of violence as tens of thousands of factory workers downed tools. (Straits Times 28 Nov 2000)
India can design and build a 200-kiloton nuclear bomb with data obtained during its five underground tests in May 1998, said Atomic Energy Commission chairman Rajgopal Chidambaram. (Straits Times 1 Nov 2000)
Indian police have arrested a company executive on charges of murdering his private secretary with an overdose of chloroform while trying to rape her, a police spokesman said on 21 Oct 2000.
India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh in the north, will offer free condoms with mail deliveries in a bid to stem a population boom, The Indian Express newspaper said on 15 Oct 2000. The state's population is estimated to have grown from 120 million to 170 million in just a decade.
Former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was sentenced on 12 Oct 2000 to three years of "rigorous imprisonment" for bribing lawmakers to back his government on a crucial confidence vote that saved his government in July 1993. Buta Singh, who served as his Home Minister, received the same sentence. Judge Ajit Barihoke released both men on bail until 8 Nov 200, giving them a chance to appeal.
The wide-ranging defence agreement with Russia - including equipment deals worth US$3 billion (S$5 billion) - announced this week will put new backbone in India's military preparedness, analysts said. "The new equipment will enhance India's strike capabilities substantially," said The Economic Times. (Straits Times 6 Oct 2000)
India's long-distance and overseas communications network ground to a halt yesterday after several days of erratic telephone services spawned by technical problems and compounded by an unofficial strike by telecom workers opposed to privatisation. (Straits Times 22 Sep 2000)
A long-standing demand for dual citizenship by several million Indians living outside India may be finally met when the government tables a new Foreigners Bill later this month. Dual citizenship is one of the issues covered by the Bill, which is sure to be hotly debated in the Indian parliament. (Straits Times 8 Sep 2000)
Guwahati, India: Indian defence scientists say they have identified the world's hottest chilli, with a kick that makes the previous Mexican contender to the title, Red Savina Habanero, seem positively bland by comparison. "Laboratory tests have confirmed that Naga Jolokia, a speciality from the north-east, is now the world's hottest chilli," said laboratory deputy director S.C. Das. Measured for pungency in Scoville units, the Naga Jolokia powered in at 855 units, compared with the 577 units of its rival. (ST 6 Sep 2000)
A court held 35 people, including some politicians, guilty of kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old girl kept captive for more than a month four years ago, said a news report. The convicts, which include three women, are in police custody in Kottayam in Kerala state, 2150 km south of New Delhi. The rape case rocked Kerala and became a major political issue during parliamentary elections last year. (ST 5 Sep 2000)
The newly appointed president of the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr Bangaru Laxman, represents a break with tradition in a party so far led by the elite upper caste Hindu right wing. The appointment is a move towards the middle ground for the BJP whose meteoric rise to power has taken place in just a little over 10 years after 40 years of domination by the Congress party. (ST 2 Sep 2000)
India's obsession with the Gandhi name erupted again yesterday as the media greeted the arrival of Mrs Priyanka Vadra's baby boy, born in a New Delhi hospital in the afternoon of 29 Aug 2000. The 2.76 kg infant is the grandson of Rajiv Gandhi. Mrs Vadra is the 28-year-old daughter of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi. She is married to businessman Robert Vadra.
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