Asia Times - South Asia

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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030401124309/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DI20Df06.html"><font size="2"><font color="aliceblue"> China ready for Indian invasion</font><br> </font></a> <br> <font color="#ff0000"><font size="2"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030401124309/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DK28Df01.html"> <font color="aliceblue">India's little gems</font><br> </a></font></font> <br> <br> <a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/others/Getting_Saddam.html"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #003366"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//images/Saddam-small-2.gif" border="0"></font></a><br> <font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #003366">  </font></font> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/others/Osama.html"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//images/Osama-logo-small-4.gif" border="0"></strong></a><br> <br> <a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/others/untold_story.html"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/Untold-small.gif" border="0"></strong></a></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> </table> <p align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS" color="white" size="2"><br> <br> </font><strong></strong> </p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030401124309/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/untold_story.html"><strong></strong></a> </td> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" height="31" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top" background="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/images/f_images/top_bg.gif"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr align="middle" valign="top"> <td width="25%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/archive.asp"><img height="18" 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<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="64%" valign="top"><font class="subhead"><strong class="head">South Asia</strong></font></td> <td width="36%"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="51" align="middle"> <div align="right"><font class="time"><strong> <script language="javascript"> function showDate(){ var monthArray=["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"] var days=["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"] var d=new Date(); var month=d.getMonth() var day=d.getDate() var year=d.getYear() // document.write("Today is " + days[d.getDay()] + "<BR>") document.write(monthArray[month]) document.write(" ") document.write(day) document.write(", ") if(d.getYear()<2000){document.write(year+1900)} if(d.getYear()>2000){document.write(year)} } </script> <script language="javascript">showDate()</script> </strong></font> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="100%" border="0" align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="65%" valign="top"> <table width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="WIDTH: 311px"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#000000"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED02Df01.html"><strong>Kashmir problem muddies India's stand on Iraq</strong></a><br>New Delhi, ever mindful that it needs Western support in its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, refuses to come out too strongly against the US-led war in Iraq, even though this stance is at odds with the views of the majority of India's people. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Apr 1, '03)</font><br></font><br><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//images/bestofbe4[1].gif" border="0"><br><br><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED01Df02.html "><strong>Korean brands invade India</strong></a><br>South Korean brands are storming in and taking over the markets in each of their product categories in India as firms such as Hyundai Motor, Samsung and LG Electronic use innovative strategies to catch the Indian consumer's eye. <b>- Indrajit Basu</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 31, '03)</font><br></font><br><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED01Df01.html"><strong><font size="2">China and the Indian experience<br></font></strong></a><font size="2">China has followed a different path than India on the way it has opened up its markets, and up until now the Chinese have won nothing but accolades for their economic performance. The timing of the latest round of opening, however, could turn this trend around. <b>- Jayanthi Iyengar</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 31, '03)</font></font><br><br><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC29Df01.html"><strong>The sense behind Delhi's silence<br></strong></a>India's has not been one of the voices raised in criticism of the United States over its Iraq policy, despite domestic pressure to do so. The rewards, New Delhi hopes, will be an important role in the reconstruction of Iraq, in addition to more grandiose diplomatic gains. - <b>Sudha Ramachandran</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 28, '03)</font><br><br> </font><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC28Df01.html "><strong>Seeing God through another's eyes<br></strong></a></font><img align="left" border="0" height="101" hspace="1" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//South_Asia/images/mosque-sm-blk.gif" vspace="1" width="109">The roots of Islam's reputation as a religion of jihad lie both in the distant past, when Mughal emperors used religious persecution as a tool of political power, and the present day, when Muslims everywhere feel themselves under attack by quasi-religious Western colonialism. But whatever the cause, the effect is the same: a widening chasm dividing those of different faiths.<font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 27, '03)</font><br><br></font><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC27Df01.html"><strong><font size="2">US IT legends make a beeline to India <br></font></strong></a><font size="2">Despite the war clouds in their own country, the heads of United States IT giants Dell Computer and Sun Microsystems recently went ahead with visits to India during which, no surprise, they blew their own trumpets and took a few shots at the opposition, while confirming that India is one market that they simply cannot afford to ignore. - <b>Raju Bist</b>  <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 26, '03)</font></font><br><br><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC26Df02.html "><strong>One-eyed policy poses danger to India</strong></a><br>The biggest failures of Indian policymakers are in not realizing that Pakistan is the cornerstone of Washington's global "war on terrorism", and that by aligning with the anti-Islam cabal (such as Israel), New Delhi will never be able to interact successfully within the region and beyond. - <b>Ramtanu Maitra</b> <font size="1"> <font color="#999999">(Mar 25, '03)</font><br></font></font><br><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><strong><font color="#ff0000">KASHMIR IN FOCUS <br></font></strong><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC26Df03.html"><strong>A body-blow for moderation<br></strong></a>Despite New Delhi's best attempts to woo and protect "moderate militants" in Kashmir, hardliners have struck back, this time with the assassination of one of their former colleagues, in the process sending a strong message that the gun still rules in the troubled region. - <b>Sudha Ramachandran</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 25, '03)<br><font face="Arial" color="#000000" size="2"><br></font> </font></font></font></font> </font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">   <img hspace="0" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes//images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC26Df04.html ">More pressure on the peaceful approach</a><br></font></font><br></font></font><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC26Df01.html "><strong>China, India weigh war costs </strong></a><br>Asia's leading countries in terms of GDP growth, China and India, are watching events in the Middle East with particular concern, as they cannot afford to see their stellar figures falter, although China is the more vulnerable of the two should the war drag on. - <strong>Jayanthi Iyengar <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 25, '03)</font><br><br> </strong></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font><font size="2"><font size="2"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC20Df02.html "><strong>Sea clash sorted out, collapse averted <br></strong></a><img align="left" border="0" hspace="1" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/atimes/images/Tigers-logo.gif" vspace="1">Negotiators for Sri Lanka's government and the Tamil Tigers used the first day of peace talks on Tuesday to iron out tensions surrounding a sea clash between the navy and the rebels - and to prevent similar incidents that could threaten the peace process. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Mar 19, '03</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> </td> <td width="35%" valign="top"> <table width="188" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#ff9900" style="WIDTH: 188px; HEIGHT: 389px"> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top" bgcolor="#fdf0c6"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><img height="5" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> </table> <div align="center"><img height="22" src="/web/20030401124309im_/http://atimes.com/images/f_images/bin_sa.gif" width="174"> </div> <div align="center"> </div> <table width="174" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"> <p><br><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED02Df02.html "><strong><font size="2">India hopes to catapult exports through SEZs</font></strong></a><br><font size="2">The Indian government will treat sales from Domestic Tariff Areas to Special Economic Zones as exports in a bid to attract more foreign direct investment, which could turn out to be an engine of growth.<br><br></font><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED02Df04.html "><strong><font size="2">State-owned TCIL plans to offload 25% stake</font></strong></a><br><font size="2">State-owned Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd plans an initial public offering to offload a 25 percent stake in the domestic market, subject to government nod. <br><br><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED02Df05.html "><strong>NASSCOM offers help with Indian visas<br></strong></a>Against a backdrop of recent swoops on Indian IT professionals abroad, the National Association of Software Services Companies will explore the possibility of serving as an "independent referral point" for embassies with regard to the verification process for individuals applying for visas.<br><br></font><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ED02Df03.html "><strong><font size="2">Japan's Nihon Unisys ties up with Mascot<br></font></strong></a><font size="2">Nihon Unisys is teaming up with Indian systems development and administration firm Mascot Systems Ltd to start an application software outsourcing service. </font> </p> </font></font> </td> </tr> </table> <p align="left"> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <div align="center"><font size="3"><strong><font color="darkorange">Markets</font></strong></div></font> <div align="center"> <table class="" id="table1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="95%" border="1"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" align="left" height="0"><strong>BSE Sensex</strong></td> <td class="" valign="top" align="left" height="0">3080</td> <td class="" valign="top" align="left" height="0"> <p align="left"> +1.06%</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" align="left" height="0"><strong>NSE Nifty</strong></td> <td class="" valign="top" align="left" height="0">984</td> <td class="" valign="top" align="left" height="0">+0.62%</td> </tr> </table></div> <div align="center"> <font size="1"><strong><em> Closing indices of  April 1 </em></strong></font></div> <div align="center"><font size="1"><strong><em> <p> <table border="3" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 192px; HEIGHT: 274px" width="192"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="left" bgcolor="gainsboro" bordercolor="darkorange" class="" height="0" valign="top"> <p align="left"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="red" size="2"><strong>SPEAKING FREELY<br></strong></font><font color="#000000"><font size="2"><strong>An occasional column in which guest writers have<br>their say. <br><br></strong><a href="/web/20030401124309/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC21Df01.html "><strong>Islamists and Bangladesh<br></strong></a>After flatly denying their existence, the Bangladesh government is slowly coming to terms with the fact that Islamic extremists and terrorists are active in the country. - <b>Anand Kumar </b><br><br><strong>(Please </strong></font><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030401124309/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/DK29Aa01.html"><strong><font size="2">click here</font> </strong></a><strong><font size="2"> if you are interested in contributing.)</font> </strong></font></p></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font> </td> </tr> </table> <br></p></div> <div align="center"> <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 191px; HEIGHT: 274px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="191" align="left" border="3"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="darkorange" align="left" bgcolor="gainsboro" height="0"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><font size="2"><strong> NOTES and QUOTES<br></strong></font><font color="#000000"><font size="2"> In its annual report, the Committee to Protect Journalists says that the Indian government's actions to curb press freedom in 2002 indicate the political leadership's growing intolerance.<br> </font><font size="2"><strong><br> "The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government seems to target its critics in the media as a matter of policy and largely gets away with it."<br> </strong></font><em><font size="2"> - Committee to Protect Journalists</font> </em></font></font> </p> </td> </tr> </table></div></em></strong></font> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030401124309/http://www.milligazette.com/" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" 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