10:57
http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19970611/16250853.html
Wednesday, June 11 1997
Manoj Prabhakar -- patriot for a price
H Natarajan
MUMBAI, June 10: Manoj Prabhakar's claims of being patriotic has a hollow ring to it. Indeed, had he been in the army, he could have been tried for treason. If concealing the identity of an enemy within one's own camp is a virtual abetment of a crime, then the cheek to attach a price tag for espousing a national cause only heightens the gravity of the offence.
``Since I could never tolerate the quirky ways of the people in command, I never could get to serve my country better... as a cricketer, the game is foremost on my list of priorities and, if need be, I will fight to my last drop of blood to purify the system,'' Prabhakar writes in the latest issue of Outlook.
Prabhakar was always seen as a rebel without a pause -- an image he could have refurbished belatedly had he spilt the beans about the team-mate who who made the Rs 25-lakh offer to him to sabotage India's Singer Cup match against Pakistan in 1994 at Colombo. But instead of rising in stature as a national hero, he has emerged as the villain of the piece -- like a soldier demanding an unfair price to protect his motherland.
What is Prabhakar's interest in his belated, part disclosure ? There are two possibilities. Either he has used the media to get wide publicity that he is willing to sell the story or he scents an opportunity to make an international comeback by trying to extract the price of silence. Either way he can rake in the moolah.
The latest issue of the Outlook carries another damning statement by Prabhakar when he makes a not-so-veiled statement about the Colombo episode: ``Also, at the time of the incident, I had made all efforts to inform the concerned persons and they had advised me to forget it and carry on with the game. I do hope everybody understands what this means.''
While a nation is outraged by the accusations to sell the country's interests, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mandarins have shut their eyes, ears and mouth to the alleged unholy nexus between players and bookies. Indeed, Jagmohan Dalmiya has emerged as a modern day Nero. The BCCI secretary is fiddling in the Garden of Eden while Indian cricket and its honour is in flames.
Dalmiya, any cricket writer will vouch, is an artful dodger. Evasive when facing bumpers from the media, non-committal at best, non-communicative in the worst of times and a master at buying time.
While rumours of bookies-players nexus have been raging over the years, it's for the first time that a player is making accusation against a team-mate. Even the Salim Malik controversy pales in comparison. In that case, the accusations were made by opponents.
An enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), comprising men who have no known liking for the game and its players, will help in bringing the culprits to book. The BCCI owe it to protect the innocent players who are suffering in the general suspicion.
Of course, if Prabhakar's final salvo in the latest Outlook is any indication, then there are hardly any innocents. Says the the angry young man: ``In fact, if I could ever reveal all that I have gone through and seen, you would see that in this hamam (communal bathing area) of Indian cricket, almost everyone is naked.''
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
http://www.rediff.com/sports/1998/dec/24a.htm
December 24, 1998The Rediff Interview / Manoj Prabhakar
'I will reveal the names to the CBI!'
After being widely abused and blackballed for revealing how he was offered a Rs 2.5 million bribe by a team-mate to play badly in the Indo-Pak match during the 1994 Singer Cup, the bad boy of Indian cricket, Manoj Prabhakar now stands vindicated!
A journalist confessed last week that he had overheard the entire conversation from the next room. In the wake of confessions by Mark Waugh and Shane Warne that they took money from bookies, it is suddenly open season for charges of match fixing.
Prabhakar tells Pritish Nandy how he has been living under the shadow of death for daring to speak out against the impossibly powerful cricket mafia.
Now that you have been vindicated by the fact that an independent journalist from Eenaadu has suddenly come out of the closet and revealed the fact to the media that he had overheard your entire conversation from the next room, when you were offered a Rs 2.5 million bribe by a team-mate of yours to play badly during the Indo-Pak match in the 1994 Singer Cup in Colombo, do you feel that your credibility and honour has been restored?
I tried my very best even at that point of time. I went to all the concerned people, but they were just not bothered. Then I came to know that they were also involved in it. That's why I am out of cricket. Otherwise, I could have played for three or four more years.
That is the main reason why I find myself out in the cold -- the fact that I came to know that these people were all involved in a big way. That got me into so much trouble!
When did you first suspect that there was so much of bribery and match-fixing going on?
When we were in Sri Lanka in 1994. A person came to me at a party, someone very senior in the Indian cricket team, and said it in a very roundabout way, as if he was joking with me. I replied: 'Sir, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.' Sitting next to me was one of India's finest and most honest cricketers. He said: 'But some of them live in bullet proof glass houses!'
Everybody knew who was doing what and why. But they got angry when I exposed it.
Why was there this conspiracy of silence after you broke the story?
Because I could not prove it. Tell me, how can I prove such a thing until and unless there is someone ready to stand beside me? I was alone when I raised this. Everybody was blaming me. Some people said: Look, what you have done is not good for our country, our cricket! So many people criticised me for it. Now I hope they will realise what has been going on for so long.
Do you think all the evidence will come out now?
Some people have all the evidence. That is why they are sticking to their story. What Rashid Latif said is not false. He said it on record. He named so many people. You can't mention each and every guy's name.
People like Azhar, Jadeja, Sidhu? Latif called Kapil Dev the biggest gambler of them all? What do you think is the extent of the malaise?
Someone will get killed one day! I will tell you why. What happens nowadays is that a player like Sachin Tendulkar can win a match on his own. You cannot stop him, whatever you may do. So what happens to these three or four people who are involved (in match fixing)? It is not their fault (that the match moves in a different direction, despite their concerted efforts). At the same time, think of the people who are putting in so much money. They can kill them.
Look, everyone is not involved. Those who bat down the order are not involved. They do not even know what is going on. If the bookie who has lost a package on the match insists that these three or four people again try a repeat performance in the next match and they refuse, it can be very dangerous for them. Because the chap has already lost a huge packet of money in the earlier match and he has to recover it somehow and pay off his dues. He has no choice. This is a very bad game now.
And you think this is very largely because of Indian bookies?
No, Indian and Pakistani bookies. They can do anything. My life was twice under threat. Even my family was under threat.
Believe me, sir, I still live in constant fear of being killed by those whom I have exposed and even those who fear that I will expose them one day. They will not let me go easily.
But how did it happen? How did it first happen?
Someone came and put a gun to my neck. That was the first time, in July or August 1997, just after I had written my column and I had said: If the time comes, I will also take the name (of the person who had tried to bribe me). Someone stopped me on the road near my house and I thought he wanted to ask me the way. Then suddenly this big hand came from nowhere and pushed my face away. I could feel the gun against my neck. He also pushed the mirror away. I could not see his face but he told me clearly: First it was your career; now your life is at stake! If you even attempt to turn around, he warned me, I will shoot you! I was so scared, I drove away without looking back. I reported it to the police, of course, but nothing much came out of it, frankly.
Then they came and threatened my family. This time, I got security for two weeks. That's when I realised that one shouldn't say anything. Just keep quiet. Nobody is going to save you.
Any more threats?
Yes, immediately after a television interview I gave. Someone came and threatened to force his way up to my flat. My chowkidar resisted and was beaten up. By that time a crowd had collected from the locality and the chap fled.
The same night, someone tried to drive over my chowkidar. The police guard given to me told the chowkidar: Look, I am going. If you want to die, you can stay here…
Did you report this to the Chandrachud commission?
He asked me nothing. He did not even ask me to name the guy who offered me the bribe! Now he says I did not tell him the name. My lawyer was sitting there all through. When we came out of the room, he looked at me and I looked at him. He told me: Are you thinking the same thing that I am thinking? Yeah, I said, he never asked me the real question.
I have asked for the report, but they have not sent it to me and yet they have filed a case against me. They say the report is totally confidential and only for the eyes of the President of the Cricket Control Board of India. We cannot give it to anybody, they say. They have stopped my benevolent fund also.
Why don't you name the guy who offered you the bribe and face the consequences?
Sir, I want the CBI to take this case over. I am ready to give them all the facts. I will reveal all the names involved in this racket, all the names. There is huge money changing hands every time a match is won or lost. The Government cannot turn a blind eye to it. They should get to the bottom of it.
They should, in fact, take over these private cricket bodies and use the huge money at their disposal to promote sports in India. All sports -- not just cricket. It will do wonders for Indian sports. If they remain disinterested, it will only harm the game, and our reputation, worldwide.
http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980806/21850794.html
Thursday, August 6, 1998
Jain panel debate -- Cong rejects ATR, call it a political document
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, Aug 5: The first day of the two-day debate in the Lok Sabha on the Jain Commission's final report on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and the accompanying ATR, was on expected lines with only the Congress providing a slight twist to the proceedings.The party's speakers referred to traitors within the Congress who didn't want Rajiv as Prime Minister and that was the only intrigue in the day-long discussions. For most part, all parties took known stances.
For example, the Congress rejected the ATR calling it a political document, the CPI hit out at the Congress for pulling down the United Front government, the DMK spoke of its innocence and the Congress' dealings with the LTTE, the AIADMK wanted an FIR against M Karunanidhi and Subramanian Swamy said he was being targeted because he wanted the BJP government out.
Union Home Minister L K Advani and Urban Affairs Minister Ram Jethmalani spoke on the government's behalf, both promising a full probe into the wider conspiracy in Rajiv's killingand the involvement of a foreign hand. But the Congress hit out at the government with its Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha P Shiv Shanker saying the BJP was playing politics with a sensitive issue.
It appeared as though the Jain Commission report was being used to score political points by all parties which spent a long time hitting out at each other's rivals. The AIADMK and the DMK spent a fair amount of lung power shouting each other down even after CPI leader Indrajit Gupta warned against such a thing in his speech.
Curiously, Shiv Shanker and Ajit Jogi of the Congress referred to people within their own party who could have played a role in Rajiv's assassination. There was no immediate clarity on whom they were referring to with some party MPs suggesting it could be P V Narasimha Rao. However, another point of view was that the party might have been trying to take a moral approach to the issue to show it wasn't bothered who would be indicted as long as the truth was out.
Shiv Shanker said his partydidn't want any witch-hunting for Rajiv's killing and was only interested in getting the truth out. He alleged the governments at the Centre after 1991 did not want the Jain Commission to unravel the truth and put hurdles in its path. He also criticised bureaucrats for not doing much on the issue and converting the ATR on the final report into a cover-up document.
Stress was laid on why no effort was made to decode the LTTE messages including one on June 18, 1988, which said that LTTE was making garlands of bullets for Rajiv Gandhi. These were decoded only before the Commission and not earlier, Shanker added.
Indrajit Gupta spoke of how some documents couldn't be provided to the Jain Commission as they too sensitive. He also referred to how the Congress played slow on the Thakkar Commission report which probed the Indira Gandhi assassination, saying the Congress had thus set a bad precedent.
Subramanian Swamy felt there was nothing controversial about his visit to London enroute to Monte Carlo tocollect some documents on Jethmalani. He said he met Chandraswami whom he knew for a decade in Monte Carlo and not in London as stated by the Jain Commission.
Laloo Prasad Yadav contributed his bit calling the ATR an ``action tarnished report'' which exposed the BJP's incompetence. Murasoli Maran claimed the DMK had not given tacit support to the LTTE but in fact gave open support as it was the Centre's stated policy then. Jogi intervened to protest saying Rajiv didn't want the DMK's to weaponise the LTTE but only wanted the DMK's help to sort out the problem in a peaceful manner.
Advani is slated to reply tomorrow to the debate in the afternoon after which the Lok Sabha is scheduled to be adjourned.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rajender.razdan/IndiaVacationDelhiAgraJammuLadakhManaliAugust2007/
photo#5107853247408443714
sindhu darshan
Issued in 1999 to mark the Sindhu Darshan Festival http://www.indiapicks.com/stamps/Geography/GMO_1855_Sindhu_Darshan.htm
28-7-1999.SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP ON SINDHU DARSHAN
The Department of Posts (DoP) has brought out a special postage stamp on the 'Sindhu' on the occasion of the Sindhu Darshan Festival (Abhiyan). The Stamp is in the denomination of Rs.3/-.
The project 'Sindhu Darshan', was started to focus attention on the heritage of the ancient Indian Civilization and Culture that 'Sindhu' symbolizes. It aims to celebrate the Sindhu as a symbol of this country's ethnic diversity and to promote communal harmony. Further, attention is sought to be focussed on cultural and topographical beauty of the landscape of Ladakh. These aspects are sought to be blended in the design of the First Day Cover which also carries inscription of the hymn 'mantra', chanted by Buddhists in the area, a prayer in praise of God. The stamp depicts a landscape in the upper reaches of the Sindhu with an inset of the famous 'Vrishabha' (bull) seal of the Indus Valley Civilization and a line, from the 'Rig Veda', describing the Sindhu.
The mighty Sindhu (Indus) river, symbolizes the power and permanence of the ancient Indian Civilization which evolved over a period of thousands of years. The archaeological discovery of the Indus Valley civilization which flourished along its banks has reinforced the antiquity of the Indian Civilization.
The First Day Cover alongwith the information sheet is available on sale at all Philatelic Bureaux/Counters and at selected PostOffices.
‘5’
UNION HOME MINISTER CHAIRS SINDHU DARSHAN ABHIYAN COMMITTEE MEETING
Shri L.K. Advani, Union Home Minister chaired a meeting on Sindhu Darshan Abhiyan, here today.
It has been decided in the meeting that this year the festival will be held from 28th July to 29th July. Home Minister, Shri L.K. Advani will inaugurate the Festival. Minister of Communication, Shri Jagmohan announce that a postal stamp on Indus will be released at Leh on 28th July. Minister of State for Tourism of J&K, Shri T. Namgyal said that Sindhu Darshan Festival will be included in the annual calender of Tourist Festival of J&K. Director General, Tourism of the Union Government, Shri Ashok Pradhan said that a new website on the subject by the Ministry would be launched on this occasion.
The two day Sindhu darshan Festival which started in 1997 is aimed to strengthen national integration and to convey the respect and admiration of the country for the jawans defending the border.
Sindhu Darshan
Sindhu Darshan Festival, as the name suggests, is a celebration of river Sindhu, also known as the Indus. People travel for a Darshan and Puja of the River Sindhu (Indus) which originates from the Mansarovar in Tibet. The Festival aims at projecting the Sindhu river as a symbol of multidimensional cultural identity, communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in India. Whilst promoting tourism in this area, this festival is also a symbolic salute to the brave soldiers of India who have valiantly fought the odds at Siachen, Kargil and other places.
It is also an opportunity for people from around the country and overseas to visit the beautiful regions of Leh and Ladakh. Celebrated first time in the year 1997, the festival is organised annually at Leh in the month of May-June by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir with the support of the Ministry of tourism and culture, Government of India. The festival is kaleidoscope of Indian culture and showcases an exciting array of performing arts being brought together at an exciting place. As part of the celebrations, various groups from different states in India bring water from the other mighty rivers in the country in earthen pots and immerse these pots in the Sindhu river, thereby mingling the river water with other waters of the land.