Indian Kashmir calls for reinforcements to control the wave of civil violence

New Delhi, Aug. 2. - The Government of Indian Kashmir Tuesday called reinforcements to the central executive at the increasing wave of violence in the troubled region, where 21 people have died since Friday in protest.
"The Home Office has assured me that they will consider our request to increase the number of troops to handle the situation," he said at a press conference in Delhi on Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Abdullah met with urgency, with Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and the Ministers of Finance, Foreign, Interior and Defence, with a view to finding ways to "restore" normalcy in the region.
The Kashmir valley is engulfed in a wave of violence since mid-June, following the death of a teenager at the hands of security forces during a demonstration, which led to a spiral of further protests and police repression .
Since then they have killed about 35 people, six of them today, police said, in anti-Indian protests, with constant curfews and movement restrictions in major towns, measures, said Abdullah, remain in force so " strict. "
Locals accuse security forces of killing innocent civilians, but police said they resorted to firing only after trying to disperse protesters with tear gas and charges.
"We are caught in a spiral of violence in the protests that lead to deaths that lead to further protests," said Kashmiri Prime Minister, who acknowledged that "clearly" need "increase strength" to restore order.
Kashmir has over twenty years of sporadic violence that have claimed thousands of lives, but the activity of insurgents seeking independence for the territory or its annexation to Pakistan had decreased in recent times.
Today, however, Indian Minister of Home Affairs, Palaniappan Chidambaram, admitted to Parliament that the situation has taken "serious bias in recent days," the prime minister and Kashmiri called it "extremely difficult".
Although Abdullah described the Kashmiri problem as a "political issue", new measures relied resolution of that conflict prior to a return of normalcy and an end to the wave of protests, and asked the public to stop "to take the law into his hand. "
Under a massive deployment of troops and security forces, thousands of Kashmiris, mostly youths and adolescents, often defying curfews and facing stones against Indian troops in the streets of major cities.
"Peace? We do not want peace. What we want is a solution. Peace has served only to forget that the Indian Government and our problems and delayed tape solutions, "told Efe alleged leader of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, Umar Farooq.
His training, which has several of its leaders imprisoned, has called on his followers to further protests and marches, and Farooq predicted today that if India sends more forces to this historic region near the Himalayas, the situation "will only worsen."
Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region of India, is the main dispute between India and Pakistan, who dispute their sovereignty from the independence of both in 1947 and have since fought two wars for control of territory.
Both powers have proved incapable of moving towards a satisfactory solution, and India accuses Pakistan of helping insurgents to cross the LoC border for attacks and attacks in Indian Kashmir.
"We have 20 years with the same problem. Everyone should take a step forward to reach any agreement acceptable to all, "he told Efe the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kashmir, Nadir A. Dar.
The curfews and the constant protests are causing local industry daily losses of about $ 20 million, according to his calculation, and damage to the two regional economic pillars: the craft and cultivation of apples.

"Bollywood" dares to Osama Bin Laden despite threats

New Delhi, July 16. - Osama Bin Laden is the center of a new production of films made ​​in Bombay, known as "Bollywood", which opens today, despite the threats, the controversial story of a chicken farmer that simulates be the most wanted terrorist.
The argument of "Tere Bin Laden" ("Without you, Bin Laden") develops in the town of Karachi in southern Pakistan, and is about a small-time journalist trying to sell a mock interview to Bin Laden emigrate to America.
"Not a biography but a satire. I wanted to show the world after the 11-S from the perspective of ordinary people. And I used a symbol of terror, but turning it over. It's time to turn to humor, "said Efe from Bombay director, Abhishek Sharma.
Tired of seeing the United States rejected his requests for a visa, journalist, played by Ali Zafar Pakistani singer, is overheard a chicken farmer who keeps a questionable resemblance to Bin Laden.
So both conchaban to mount an interview with the alleged presence of the most wanted criminal and send then to U.S. networks to take advantage of certain media notoriety and finally get access to the country.
"The idea was very rare. I had a headache and I tied a handkerchief round it to happen to me. As he had a beard, my wife joked that bin Laden appeared. And that made me think, why not do something? "Said Sharma, who wrote the script ten times.
Bin Laden is the subject of ongoing jokes throughout the film, which however has not been immune to controversy: the producer, Walkwater Media, has received an anonymous letter threatening "consequences" if the film opens.
And in Pakistan, where he had removed the word "Laden" title - "Without You", was to be called, to avoid disputes, the Film Censorship Committee finally decided on Tuesday to ban the film for fear of terrorist attacks occurring .
"I do not think it's offensive. We are not glorifying anyone. With satire can say certain things you could not say with the film seriously, "defended Sharma, who has filed an appeal against the decision and hopes that the Pakistanis" have fun ".
"Tere Bin Laden" premieres in India, the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries with strong presence of Indian immigrants, but surprised by the absence in the list of United States: "First we want to see the answer in these areas," he apologized Sharma.
Although Indian cinema is dominated by love stories and action movies in recent years has been gaining momentum the genre of the sitcom, with rather little brainy arguments that seek to connect with the likes of the new middle class.
The film trailer gives clues as to what will be the moviegoers, with shoddy Bin Laden devoted to raise or pursue their chickens, trying to remove the pin on a grenade or be convincing based on a world map in front of dolls and Ak- 47.
But in this case, satire also serves as an example of the new roads that are taking the makers of "Bollywood", usually glued to the formulas for success and more attentive to the dance and sentimental scenes that quality scripts.
"The multiplex culture has given an opportunity for filmmakers, who know that their film will be released. The audience gets bored of the same faces, the old formula ... "said the director.
"Tere Bin Laden" follows "My Name Is Khan", a drama bollywoodiano on the effects of 11-S among Muslims, and preceded by several months to another biography of Adolf Hitler bold promises to be the subject of heated debates.
In Indian multiplexes, satire on the chicken farmer put bin Laden coincides with the premiere of "Lamhaa" ("Time"), a vision of violence in the historic region of Kashmir which has been prohibited in turn in various Middle Eastern countries.
The pre-release of "Lamhaa" was to take place in the Indian part of Kashmir region, which are disputed by India and Pakistan since the partition of the subcontinent (1947), but producers backed down to avoid hurting the feelings of the population.

Drink cow-tail, cow urine to sharpen the mind and combat indigestion

Kanpur (India), July 9. - The Hindu has good and your local alternative against the "useless" western soft drinks: the cow-tail, a drink made ​​from cow urine, according to its creators maintain, enhances memory and combat indigestion.
"The Coca-Cola and other soft drinks are not useful for India (...) The Coca-Cola is very harmful to health, while we produce the 'go-tail' (cow-tail), which contains three or four the best herbs and cow urine and is now very popular, "says Purushottam Toshniwal Efe, secretary of the society that promotes drinking.
Every morning, dozens of workers of Kanpur Goshala Society (KGS) are busy in a ramshackle farmhouse on the outskirts of that city in northern India for the raw material of its products: the urine and dung of this animal sacred .
Managers undergo a dizzying urea distillation process, and, after filtering, are put to work with the mixtures, which follow the principles of Ayurveda for healing drinks, lotions, soaps or powders against diabetes.
His latest creation is "goloca" (purple cow in Sanskrit), a drink made from cow urine, sugar and herbs like basil and bacopa trying to compete with Western soft drinks so popular in India.
"We have several flavors of 'goloca', orange, lemon, rose and vetiver (...). Urine also has medicinal uses: as an analgesic, for general use for infections ... "he says in the laboratory of Dr. VD Chandel center.
The urine is a traditional ingredient in Indian Ayurvedic medicine: the former Prime Minister Morarji Desai used to drink his own urine daily, and several important gurus argue that even cow pee helps cure cancer, diabetes or hypertension.
"Hindus think the cow is the most important animal. It is our goddess and as such we protect. The gifts we get from it are useful for health. The urine and dung, in that sense they are a godsend, "maintains the secretary of the KGS.
But the objectives of "goshalla" (stable) go much further: the KGS used to power batteries rust able to "give 24 hours of light," which could "change the lives of many peasants", and gas transport processes using cow dung.
That manure is used as raw material for no less than 80 products such as tiles, fertilizer, paper, mosquito repellent, Toshniwal said, smiling holding a figurine of the god Ganesh lightweight molded with excrement.
In recent decades, parties have become more conservative Hindu flag of the worship of the cow and have intensified their campaign for total prohibition of slaughter cattle, practiced, they think, by the lower castes and the Muslim minority.
"The cows we have here would be killed, but police discovered them and gave them to us so that protegiésemos. And some Hindu parties save the cows from the hands of butchers, "says the secretary.
Radical Hindu movements like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also expressed a dislike open and always free to use violence against Westerners, like Christianity, liberation of women or multinational corporations.
Fruit of the mixture of religion and nationalism emerging initiatives such as farm Kanpur, where all cows are Indian because, unlike Westerners, says Toshniwal, have a "vein that connects to the sun" and gives her special qualities milk.
The farm, linked to the Department of Vaccine RSS, offers educational seminars on the benefits of the cow and guided tours that show how two oxen tied to a wheel can generate enough energy to light a room.
And as it comes to protecting the welfare veal, workers manipulated by hand sweating like chicken droppings in the sun, while the cows swish their tails lazily lie under sheds or watered regularly.
"This cow is life for the people," Toshniwal said, sitting on a plastic chair next to a statue of Krishna, before entertaining the visitors with a glass of lemon cow-tail to alleviate the rigors of the heatwave .

Judgment to unworthy victims of the Bhopal tragedy after 26 years of waiting

New Delhi, June 7. - An Indian court sentenced today to two years imprisonment to eight directors of the company responsible for the toxic leak in Bhopal, in a statement that, after 26 years of waiting, has outraged victims of this tragedy caused about 25,000 deaths, according to medical organizations.
District Judge P. Mohan Tiwari considered the eight defendants, former executives of Union Carbide, guilty of having "caused death through negligence" and "non-degree murder guilty of murder", but hours later granted bail.
Among the convicted is the head at the time of the Indian subsidiary of the company, Keshub Mahindra, which already has 85 years, but not the chairman, Warren Anderson, 89, who is a fugitive from justice in India.
Those convicted will have to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees ($ 2,120), while Union Carbide will face pay 500,000 (about $ 10,600), according to the judgment, which has been described by victims of "scam" and "injustice ".
"Verdict: too little too late. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has done a poor job of putting those charges on the accused so weak, "assessed Efe activist Satinath Sarangi, Group for Information and Action, Bhopal.
At 00.05 the December 3, 1984, 40 tons of metisocianato from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide in Bhopal filled the air from nearby neighborhoods with devastating effects.
Thousands of terrified citizens poured into the streets to escape the gas and reach hospitals, medical centers but were soon overwhelmed and many people agonized for hours in the streets, with their lungs full of air toxic.
According to the Supreme Court of India, some 3,000 people died immediately, but, according to several medical associations, are about 25,000 people have since died, victims of the aftermath of the rear exhaust or pollution in the area.
In the 23 years since the start of the trial, while not uncommon in the Indian judicial system collapsed, the court examined the testimony of 178 witnesses for the prosecution and eight defense and has developed a total of 3,008 documents.
The defendants were initially charged with culpable homicide, but in 1996 the Indian Supreme Court reduced the charges to "wrongful death" between strong criticism from the victims that were repeated today upon hearing the sentence.
"The best we can sentenciarles is two years imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 rupees (about $ 105) for bail. It was a slap to all and a shameful decision, "said Efe activist Rashida Bee, the association Chingari.
"People have waited 25 years this verdict. Only the Indians have been charged. Foreigners have been protected. Warren (Anderson) is free and no action against him (...). Take the matter to the High Court, "clinched Bee.
The authorities had banned Bhopal Today gatherings of more than four people in a radius of one kilometer around the court, in anticipation of incidents, after spokesmen for the victims asked yesterday the death penalty for defendants.
Despite the time elapsed since the disaster in Bhopal continues to show his scars to the Indian public opinion: years of cleanup efforts have not stopped there are still some 5,000 tons of toxic waste in the area affected by the leak.
The current owner of the plant, Dow Chemical, denies any responsibility for the accident, as Union Carbide in 1989 accepted a settlement to pay $ 470 million, which were used to compensate victims.
In November last year, authorities in the region of Madhya-Bhopal-announced they would open the floor to the public to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the accident to prove it was safe, but then backed down.

The Indians remember the 150 years of the great Rabindranath Tagore

New Delhi, May 9. - Processions, cultural events and educational train in India today mark the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore, who remains the most universal and Indian author still has millions of followers.
Although Tagore was born on May 9, 1861, Indian authorities believe that today's date marks the beginning of 150 years of Bengali poet, hence they have prepared a wide range of cultural events to celebrate the event properly.
"Tagore developed a spontaneous and imaginative visual vocabulary, which displayed a magnificent sense of vitality and rhythm", declared Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh.
Singh spoke at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, where he inaugurated an exhibition of 70 paintings of Tagore, a discipline that the poet took in his later years with a passion that led him to conclude some 3,000 drawings and paintings.
In more official line, the Government of India has joined forces with three national academies to remind the prolific poet, in three days of events that have included samples of books, performances and academic discussions.
The program, dubbed "Rabindra Pranati" concludes today with a puppet, dances and songs by a choir of Calcutta and a gathering of poets - "Kavyanjali" - in the capital building Ravindra Bhavan, the government said in a statement.
As icing on the Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee is planning to launch a special train, the "Sanskriti Express", due out from Bengal, northeast India, and tour the country today to show the life and Tagore's work.
The poet still passionate about diversity and depth of his work, and also the new dimension that reached its thinking in a society, India, which in the early twentieth century still struggling their way in their struggle to get rid of colonial servitude.
He used the Bengali, but poems as "Gitanjali" (1912) broke the boundaries poetic - "these prose translations blood moved me like nothing in years," said the poet WB Yeats book-and earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
It was the first Asian to do so, but his imprint goes far beyond the prize, guided by a spirit of universalism that sometimes clashed with "Mahatma" Gandhi, Tagore successfully hit drama, essays, novels, stories, philosophy.
"I think the mission is to attract a poet's voice still is not heard in the air, inspire faith in the dream failed, bringing the first wave of the unborn flower to a skeptical world," said the poet in Shanghai in 1924.
And, Tagore wrote 2,230 songs, folk and classical mixture, still singing in his native Bengal and synthesize the musical traditions of the subcontinent, and with such impact that two of them are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.
Yesterday, the citizens of the capital of Bengal, Calcutta, went ahead in one day to the official celebrations, and marched in two processions to remind the poet.
His followers recited poems, sang songs and recited excerpts from some of the liveliest plays the author, who died in 1941, just before India gained independence from the hands of the British Empire.
Attendees waved his arms in cards with verses and portraits of Tagore, while several groups of school girls, dressed in elegant saris and floral bands, dancing to the songs created by the Bengali more universal.
"I've been a fan of Rabindranath since the day I gained respect. Rabindranath is a way of life ", told IANS agency during marches india actor Sabyasachi Chakroborty.
There will also be activities in Santiniketan, where Tagore Bengal where did most of his compositions and where he created a school, Visva-Bharati, which still provides today a college education.
India news agency reported PTI, students and teachers had expected there to remember the songs of the poet, while the ancestral home of the Tagore family in Bengal, Jorasanko mansion has been decorated with flowers.
"I am a traveler on the road without end," Tagore once said, his words still getting forms after 150 years in the mouths of the Indians.

Corruption scandal tarnishes the Indian cricket league and reach the Government

New Delhi, April 26. - Employers powerful actors of Bollywood and political officials are the faces of the biggest corruption scandal in the world of cricket in India, which have already shot two heads, including a deputy minister.
In just three years, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has grown like wildfire to be the global standard of cricket, but the alleged goings of their leaders and allegations of tax evasion have put in a fix even the government of the country.
The scandal came to the point that the Committee of Control of Cricket (BCCI) just waited for the awards ceremony of the IPL held in Mumbai last night to suspend the head of the IPL, Lalit Modi, in the public eye for two weeks .
"The alleged individual criminal acts by Mr. Lalit K. Modi, IPL Chairman and BCCI vice-president, have tarnished the name to the administration of cricket and the sport itself, "argued the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar.
Modi, who had said that today would be presented to the meeting in Mumbai on the governing council of the IPL to tell your side, instead received within 15 days to defend against the charges, a total of 22 - and avoid disciplinary action .
But his suspension will surely spur allegations of irregularities in the IPL, Modi empire that began three years ago.
The scandal, paradoxically, began when Modi revealed through "twitter" that a close friend of the Indian Foreign Deputy Minister Shashi Tharoor had received free shares in new equipment, valued at $ 15.7 million.
Under pressure from the opposition, Tharoor was forced to resign last day 19, but the Indian media continued to pull the rope cover to cover and the government ended up launching raids by tax inspectors in the headquarters of the equipment, but has dodged a parliamentary inquiry.
"The IPL is the biggest fraud of the century. It has become a channel for money laundering in the country, "a spokesman said Sunday's main opposition party, the BJP.
The controversy that has engulfed the IPL shows "how the spirit of sport is destroyed when it becomes a business," said meanwhile the popular holy man Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
In recent weeks, have transcended the names of the team owners, big business, popular Bollywood stars-and their connections with various political leaders and the Modi family, associated in turn with the TV rights pingües IPL.
He said the Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, Tharoor gave inside information about the value of the franchises of the IPL, the daughter of the first scheduled flights delayed for athletes traveling teams, and Modi himself manipulated the auction for teams to fall into the hands related.
Even Modi's detractors acknowledge his ability to build an empire that falls to the masses and, supported by a marketing effectively tripled the value of the equipment.
Composed of eight squadrons, the IPL is a franchise model, with links concentrated in one month and only behind astronomical salaries than those paid by U.S. basketball league NBA.
According to data provided by the press, the IPL moving a business rather than the 4,000 million dollars.
Modi ha sabido conectar con las nuevas tendencias de los jóvenes urbanos con ayuda de las “glamourosas” estrellas de cine: varios actores poseen equipos y otros han firmado contratos de imagen, lo que ha disparado las audiencias y atraído masas de capital.
Fiel a ese principio, la organización no dudó en aderezar la final de anoche con un gran espectáculo, con bailes de los populares actores Shahid Kapoor y Bipasha Basu y números de animadoras y bailarinas embozadas en trajes inspirados en el carnaval brasileño.
También habló Modi, que se puso emotivo y prometió asumir responsabilidades, si las hubiera: “Hemos tenido muchas insinuaciones, medias verdades y filtraciones intencionadas (…) Me gustaría aseguraros a los seguidores de todo el mundo que la IPL es limpia y transparente”.
Entre confetis, fuegos artificiales y ante 50.000 espectadores tan excitados como decepcionados, la final de la IPL en Bombay arrojó una sorprendente victoria de los Superkings de Chennai, que derrotaron a los Indians de Bombay por 168 a 142. Poco después, Modi fue suspendido.

Anonymous immigrant parks to sports heroes in India

New Delhi, April 6. - A group of Indian immigrants who meet on Saturday in a park in Barcelona made ​​the first "selection" Spanish for "kabaddi", a curious sport that attracts these days to tens of thousands of spectators in the northwest India.
The captain, Malkit Singh and his boys have traveled to the Punjab region of India, where his "selection" is dealing with solvency but with no luck to powerful computers in the discipline, such as Canada and Pakistan in World Cup Kabaddi- Punjab 2010.
"We played in a park near the Plaza of Spain in Barcelona. Our nationality is Indian. What happens is that the Government of Spain does not help us. In Spain, only interested in football, and I like, but my sport is kabaddi, "he told Efe the captain, contacted by telephone.
All team members "Spanish" name is Singh, as usual among the faithful of the Sikh religion, concentrated in the Punjab, and divide their residence between Barcelona, ​​Alicante and Palma de Mallorca.
His hobby, "kabaddi" is a contact sport in which, in turn, a team of five to seven members arranged in a midfield attacker tries to catch a lone opposing team, whose task is to "eliminate" with a "touch" to each of his opponents.
During your opponent's field maneuvers, the attacker must hold his breath, so it is traditional that the player constantly repeat the word "kabaddi" as a way of showing who is not breathing, before returning to their camp.
This sophisticated version of "cop-cop" is attracting Hispanic stages, according to the Punjab Cup, an average of 22,000 to 25,000 spectators, fans concitará a game that, if anything, the attention of some curious in parks in Barcelona.
And maybe because its only requirement is to have an open field, the "kabaddi" is popular especially in rural areas of Punjab, where the regional government has decided to organize the first global "youth away from drugs," according the organization.
"There are villages where 50 percent of young people use drugs, so we thought in the sport as an alternative. In addition, so we can unite our people in the diaspora, "he told Efe by telephone Punjab sports director, Pargat Singh.
According to the director, the organization was forced to contact non-professional teams in areas of the world with significant presence of Punjabi community as the "kabaddi" long tradition in parts of Asia, remains unknown in the West.
So says the organization, teams fit like a glove to areas of the world with over Punjabi immigrants, and apart from India and Pakistan come from the traditional recipients of this ethnic group, such as Canada or the U.S..
Although decent, the journey of these "Spanish for adoption" is still insufficient: the team lost to Canada 68-28 in the opening match of the championship and was later defeated by the United Kingdom, but with a tighter 37-28.
"Yes, we lost the first two games, but we had problems with the equipment. Many could not come because they have lost their jobs, "lamented the captain, who has spent three years in Spain but still has difficulties with the language.
The tournament began on day 3 and end on 12 with a cool prize of ten million rupees (about 167,000 euros) for the winner, although the team will pocket Malkit Singh 500,000 rupees for the sake of participating.
And then will return to their lives: "I like playing kabaddi, but what we really need is help getting a job," the player told Efe "Spanish" Shamsher Singh, a few hours before facing today's "kabaddistas" of Pakistan

Cricket enzarzar excuse for India and Pakistan

Nueva Delhi, 30 ene.- Manifestaciones, protestas contra actores y suspensiones de visitas bilaterales son las caras de la última polémica entre la India y Pakistán , a raíz de un boicot de la Liga india de críquet (IPL) contra los jugadores paquistaníes.
El críquet, indiscutible “ deporte rey ” en el sur de Asia, ha servido en el pasado para limar asperezas y reducir tensiones bilaterales a ambos países, que disponen del arma atómica y se han enfrentado en varias guerras desde su independencia del Imperio Británico , en 1947.
Pero la “ diplomacia del críque t” quedó torpedeada la semana pasada durante la subasta de jugadores para la popular IPL, cuando ninguno de los criqueteros paquistaníes -de calidad contrastada- fue seleccionado por los clubes indios.
“En cualquier sociedad civil debería haber un diálogo, y jugar al críquet como parte del diálogo con Pakistán es importante”, valoró a la agencia india IANS el ex secretario de Exteriores paquistaní Shyam Saran durante una visita a la India.
El jefe de la IPL, Lalit Modi , se apresuró a desmentir cualquier “conspiración” y más tarde la organización dejó entrever que los clubes no pujaron porque temían no disponer de los jugadores, a causa de las malas relaciones entre la India y Pakistán.
Pero sus explicaciones no parecieron convencer a decenas de paquistaníes que se manifestaron en las calles de Lahore (este) y quemaron muñecos con la figura del ahora non grato comisario, al que consideran el auténtico responsable de lo sucedido.
Y, lejos de contribuir como hasta ahora en la distensión de las relaciones bilaterales, el boicot ha traspasado las fronteras deportivas y ha llevado a un nuevo rifirrafe a los Gobiernos de Pakistán -cabreado por la “falta de respeto”- y de la India .
“India o cualquier otro país que no respete a Pakistán será tratado por nosotros de la misma manera”, dijo en caliente el titular de Interior , Rehman Malik , a varios canales paquistaníes tras conocer el resultado de la subasta liguera.
“Si existe un deseo para mejorar la amistad indo-paquistaní, hay que dar respeto a los deportistas paquistaníes”, añadió.
Desde la India compareció el ministro de Exteriores, SM Krishna , quien afirmó que el país concedió visados a 17 jugadores paquistaníes y dijo que su Gobierno no tuvo “nada que ver con la IPL ni la selección de los jugadores”.
“No sé por qué los equipos de la IPL han actuado así. Los amantes del críquet están enfadados. Podría haberse evitado”, terció al canal Timesnow el ministro indio de Interior, P. Chidambaram .
La nueva controversia del críquet ha dificultado las perspectivas de un diálogo bilateral, ya muy debilitado tras el ataque terrorista de Bombay en noviembre de 2008, atribuido por la India a grupos insurgentes que operan desde Pakistán.
Tras la subasta del críquet, Pakistán ha cancelado la prevista visita a la India de una delegación parlamentaria porque, según dijo la presidenta del Parlamento paquistaní, Fahmida Mirza , los jugadores fueron víctimas de una “conspiración planeada”.
Y la posible última -y curiosa- víctima colateral de la polémica ha sido la feria del libro de Nueva Delhi, que comienza hoy en la capital india pero sin la presencia de la Fundación Nacional del Libro de Pakistán, que se descolgó a última hora.
Sobre el boicot del críquet se han pronunciado escritores y activistas destacadas, como la paquistaní Asma Jahangir , y, por supuesto, los actores de Bollywood, el otro gran imán para las masas del subcontinente.
Se han mostrado tibiamente a favor del boicot Shilpa Shetty y Preity Zinta , actrices co-propietarias de dos equipos de la liga, pero lo ha criticado otro actor, Shah Rukh Khan , que se ha ganado de paso un boicot de los integristas hindúes de la formación Shiv Sena.
En una ocasión y en pleno auge de la diplomacia del críquet, el primer ministro indio, Manmohan Singh , afirmó ante el Parlamento de su país que nada acercaba tanto a la gente del subcontinente como su “ amor por el críquet y Bollywood “.
Pero Nueva Delhi e Islamabad se han visto obligados estos días a hilar fino para no romper su curioso canal de diálogo en las pistas y dejar que las cosas, como ha dicho el primer ministro paquistaní, Yusuf Razá Guilani , “vuelvan a estar bien con el tiempo”.

México destapa sus encantos en la Feria del Libro de Calcuta

Nueva Delhi, 25 ene.- México y su cultura son los grandes protagonistas de la tradicional Feria del Libro de Calcuta , inaugurada hoy en esta ciudad del noreste de la India a la que se ha desplazado una nutrida delegación de creadores y representantes mexicanos.
“Nos espera un misterio, pero venimos con lo mejor y nos han dicho que por esta feria pasarán casi dos millones de personas”, resumió la directora de publicaciones del Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes de México ( CONACULTA ), Laura Emilia Pacheco , contactada por Efe telefónicamente.
Han viajado a la India escritores, artistas y cocineros de elite, con el objetivo de dar a conocer por primera vez las artes, las letras y la cocina mexicanas en este masivo escaparate asiático, que abre al público el miércoles tras el paréntesis festivo de mañana, Día de la República .
“Hemos construido un pabellón espectacular, hecho de seda y completamente redondo, obra del arquitecto Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta. Circular porque remite al sol, muy importante en nuestra cultura”, añadió Pacheco, que espera albergar a “unos 500 visitantes por minuto”.
Con el objetivo de afianzar un “puente” con la India, el país azteca, invitado especial de la feria -en la que se presenta con el lema “ México significa cultura “- ha organizado en Calcuta conferencias con autores “de primera”, como Jorge Volpi, Alberto Ruy Sánchez, Margo Glantz, David Toscana o Cristina Rivera.
“He venido para hablar de la diversidad mexicana. En la India existe la sensación de que la literatura latina está inmersa en el realismo mágico, y lo cierto es que ya no lo está”, dijo a Efe Jorge Volpi , encargado de pronunciar la conferencia inaugural.
“La India y México son dos sociedades de tradición cultural milenaria, diversidad cultural, modernización acelerada y desigualdades. Esto permite un reflejo”, agregó el escritor, quien presenta el miércoles la versión en inglés de “ No será la tierra “.
A lo largo de la Feria, los asistentes podrán conocer la gastronomía mexicana -de la mano de la chef Sylvia Kurczyn -, ver películas o aplaudir danzas del grupo de baile Mexcaltitan mientras se pasean por una instalación plástica obra de Betsabée Romero.
La delegación ha traído consigo 3.300 ejemplares de libros para exposición que prevén entregar después a la Biblioteca Indo-Hispánica de Calcuta , y ha colocado pantallas que proyectarán estampas de la cultura o el patrimonio mexicanos, como el Día de los Muertos.
Esta es la primera vez que México es el foco de la Feria del Libro de Calcuta, que ya dedicó monográficos a otros países del ámbito hispano, como Chile, España, Brasil o Cuba, y en la que este año habrá presencia, entre otros, 15 países latinoamericanos.
Con su desembarco calcutí, México espera también retomar el legado del escritor y poeta Octavio Paz , que pasó varios años en Nueva Delhi como diplomático y plasmó sus experiencias en obras inolvidables como “Ladera este ” o “ El mono gramático “.
“Querríamos retomar ese vínculo que se fue diluyendo”, reconoció Pacheco, quien mencionó el “propósito” de editar una antología de escritores indios traducida al español para el público mexicano, con vistas a fomentar los intercambios culturales.
Ya en su trigésimo cuarta edición, la Feria de Calcuta es una de las citas literarias más importantes del continente asiático, y cuenta cada año con cientos de puestos en sus casi 60.000 metros cuadrados de espacio.
Para México, el lejano viaje hasta la India marca el inicio de un año en el que el país, inmerso en sus festejos de los 200 años de independencia y los cien desde la Revolución, será protagonista en distintas ferias literarias del mundo.
Según comentó Pacheco, la literatura mexicana también tendrá un papel central en el Salón del Libro de Québec (Canadá) en abril, y más tarde en sendos certámenes librescos en la República Dominicana y en la ciudad de Miami (EEUU), este último ya en noviembre.
Como la Feria misma, el gran pabellón redondo que el arquitecto Gómez-Pimienta ha levantado en Calcuta echará el cerrojo el próximo 7 de febrero, fin de la oportunidad para los calcutíes de seguir los ritmos, conocer las letras y probar los platos mexicanos.

Del “call center” a las nuevas BPO: la India fortalece sus servicios

Nueva Delhi, 12 may.- Los brotes verdes en la economía mundial han traído mejores perspectivas para los centros de llamadas y las compañías indias de externalización de negocios (BPO) , que buscan crecer por encima del 15 por ciento de aquí al año 2020.
Las compañías del sector lograron arraigar en el país a finales de la década pasada, beneficiadas por la ausencia de regulaciones, y sólo este año sus exportaciones cayeron por debajo de los dos dígitos (+6 por ciento), debido a la crisis internacional.
La coyuntura es a priori complicada: su mercado depende en gran medida de Occidente, sobre todo Estados Unidos, y el sector afronta aumentos en los costes, falta de profesionales cualificados y la competencia de otros países emergentes, como Filipinas.
Pero, dijo en su último informe la asociación del ramo, Nasscom , 2010 ha supuesto la “reactivación” del sector, y el crecimiento de las empresas estará comprendido entre el 15 y el 18 por ciento, como media anual, hasta 2020.
Y si se da respuesta a los presentes desafíos, afirmó Nasscom, el sector alcanzará los 225.000 millones de dólares en exportaciones en 2020, frente a los 50.000 millones actuales.
“Creo que el crecimiento de la industria continuará a este ritmo mucho tiempo”, dijo en entrevista con Efe Pramod Bhasin , presidente de la mayor compañía BPO de la India, Genpact.
“Las compañías continúan mirando hacia nosotros para buscar la efectividad y la productividad. Proteger trabajos en EEUU no resolverá nada”, añadió en su despacho de la ciudad de Gurgaon , uno de los núcleos de servicios de la India.
En Occidente ha cuajado la idea de los “ centros de llamada s” como espacios donde trabajadores indios con sueldos ínfimos imitan el acento inglés de EEUU para prestar servicios de bajo coste a sus clientes, afincados a miles de kilómetros de distancia.
Y aunque la mayoría de las compañías mantienen este perfil, el crecimiento sostenido ha permitido el nacimiento de auténticas multinacionales que han diversificado su negocio y tienen ya presencia en varios continentes.
Incluida Latinoamérica: a fin de servir a los clientes hispanos de EEUU, la propia Genpact tiene sedes en México y Guatemala y va a instalarse en Colombia, mientras que su principal competidor, la bombaití WNS , tiene uno de sus centros de negocios en Costa Rica.
Según Bhasin, el sector indio del software y los servicios se beneficia del cambio demográfico en Occidente -”a mayor edad, más población necesita cuidados”-, así como del talento disponible en la India y, para empresas como la suya, en otras partes del mundo.
Gurgaon , sede central de su empresa, era casi una aldea junto a la capital de la India hasta que en 1997 Bhasin convenció a los estadounidenses de General Electric , para que deslocalizaran negocios en EEUU y se establecieran en la localidad india.
Hoy, decenas multinacionales se apilan a ambos lados de las carreteras de acceso a Gurgaon, aunque las empresas se quejan de las deficientes o nulas dotaciones públicas, como la ausencia de transporte público o de suministro seguro de electricidad.
Las compañías de Gurgaon mantienen su propio servicio de transporte -todoterrenos o furgonetas que unen cada día a miles de jóvenes con sus puestos de trabajo en viaje de ida y vuelta- así como costosos generadores eléctricos para los frecuentes apagones.
Los problemas se extienden a otros núcleos importantes, como Bangalore o Hyderabad , en el sur, pero esto no ha impedido al sector convertirse en la punta de lanza que ha guiado el crecimiento de los servicios en la India en las últimas décadas.
Las BPO y, sobre todo, las IT, dan trabajo en el país a casi 2,3 millones de personas -8,2 millones, si se cuentan los empleos indirectos- y sus exportaciones han pasado a ser el 26 por ciento del total nacional, frente al 4 por ciento de 1998.
“No había nada. La gente se trajo cortinas de casa para usarlas como barreras de sonido. Y entonces, cuando les escuchabas hablar con clientes de EEUU, pensabas '¡oh Dios, podemos llegar a cualquier sitio!'”, rememoró Bhasin su desembarco en Gurgaon.

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