Asia Times - South Asia

<html> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://www.atimes.com:80/atimes/South_Asia.html","20030801094913","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1059731353"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <title>Asia Times - South Asia</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1250"> <meta name="keywords" content="Asia Times Asian news Online india pakistan south trade economy"> <meta name="description" content="Asia Times Online. The Asia News Hub providing the latest news and analysis regarding economics, events and trends in business, economy and politics throughout Asia."> <meta name="AUTHOR" content="Asia Time Online"> <meta name="COPYRIGHT" content="Asia Times Online"> <meta name="EXPIRES" content="0"> <meta name="Distribution" content="Global"> <meta name="Resource-Type" content="Document"> <meta name="Revisit-after" content="1 days"> <meta name="Robots" content="index, follow"> <meta name="Language" content="en-us"> <meta name="Rating" content="general"> <meta http-equiv="Cache-Control" content="no-cache"> <meta http-equiv="Pragma" content="no-cache"> <link href="/web/20030801094913cs_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atimes.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link rel="SHORTCUT ICON" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/favicon.ico"> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="/web/20030801094913js_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atimes.js"></script> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#003399" vlink="#003399" alink="#003399" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <table width="782" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="775" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="284" height="81"><img height="81" alt="Asia Time - Daily News" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atime_logo1.gif" width="284"></td> <td height="81" align="middle" valign="center"> <table width="468" height="60" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="468" height="60"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/global-banner.gif" border="1"></a></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="284"><img height="53" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/atime_logo2.gif" width="284"></td> <td><img height="53" alt="Asia Times Online" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/mid_top.jpg" width="492" usemap="#Map" border="0"></td> </tr> </table> <map name="Map"> <area shape="RECT" coords="347,3,488,47" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.asiatimes-chinese.com/" target="_blank"> </map> </td> <td width="7" background="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/sha.gif"><img height="7" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="7"></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="118" align="middle" valign="top" bgcolor="#003366"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"> <table width="118" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img height="7" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_01.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html"><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/frintpage.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_03.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China.html"><img height="13" alt="People&apos;s Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/china.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia.html"><img height="14" alt="Southeast Asia - Thailand, Myanmar [Burma], Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/southeasta.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia.html"><img height="14" alt="South Asia - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/southa.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan.html"><img height="15" alt="Japan" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/japan.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea.html"><img height="13" alt="Korea" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/korea.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia.html"><img height="14" alt="Central Asia" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/cen_a.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="15" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_10.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East.html"><img height="13" alt="Middle East" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/mideast.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/War_and_Terror.html"><img height="14" alt="War on Terrorism" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/wandt.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="15" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_13.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Business_in_Brief.html"><img height="14" alt="Business in Brief" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/binb.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy.html"><img height="14" alt="Asian Economy" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/asiane.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy.html"><img height="14" alt="Global Economy" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/globale.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="14" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_17.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Letters.html"><img height="12" alt="Letters to the Editor" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/letters.gif" width="118" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img height="7" alt="" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/main_links_19.gif" width="118"></td> </tr> </table> <br> <table class="" id="Table14" height="130" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="65" align="center" border="1"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="darkorange" align="left" bgcolor="#000000" height="0"> <p align="center"></form></form> <form id="Form2" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/cgi-bin/es/esearch.asp"> <font size="1"><font face="Arial" color="#99ccff">Search Asia Times</font> </font> <input id="Hidden5" type="hidden" size="1" value="0" name="start"> <input id="Hidden6" type="hidden" size="1" value="10" name="perPage"> <input id="Hidden7" type="hidden" size="1" value="yes" name="summary"> <input id="Hidden8" type="hidden" size="1" value="rank" name="sort"> <center> <input id="Text2" size="11" name="search"></center> <br> <center> <input id="Submit1" type="submit" value="Search" name="submit" d="Submit1"></center> <p align="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/search.asp"><font color="#99ccff" size="1">Advanced Search</font></a></p> </td> </tr> </table></form> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="top"> <a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/War_and_Terror.html"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/WOT-small-logo 3.gif" border="0"></a><br> <img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> </td> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/others/newsletter.htm"><img height="49" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/register_button.gif" width="111" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="top"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/whatsnew.html"><img height="49" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/what_news.gif" width="111" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="top"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"><a href="javascript:Currency();"><img height="49" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/currency-logo.gif" width="111" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="top"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/book_reviews.html"><img height="49" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/books_logo.gif" width="111" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> <br> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <div align="center"><font face="Trebuchet MS" color="white" size="2"><strong>South Asia<br> Specials</strong> </font><font color="white"> <br> <br> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/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/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DK28Df01.html"> <font color="aliceblue">India's little gems</font><br> </a> <br> <img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/mosque-sm-blk.gif" border="0"><br> </font></font><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EC28Df01.html "><font color="white" size="2"> Seeing God through another's eyes</font></a> <br> <br> <a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/Getting_Saddam.html"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #003366"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.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/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/Osama.html"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/Osama-logo-small-4.gif" border="0"></strong></a><br> <br> <a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/untold_story.html"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.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/20030801094913/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/20030801094913im_/http://www.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/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/archive.asp"><img height="18" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/archive.gif" width="110" border="0"></a></div> </td> <td width="25%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/about.html"><img height="18" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/about.gif" width="110" border="0"></a></div> </td> <td width="25%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/contact.html"><img height="18" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/contact.gif" width="110" border="0"></a></div> </td> <td width="25%"> <div align="center"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html"><img height="18" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/advertise.gif" width="110" border="0"></a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="10"> <p> </p> <p> </p></td> <td align="left" valign="top" width="510"> <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> </tr> <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="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font size="2"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH01Df03.html"><strong>Pakistan and the US: The odd couple</strong></a><br><font color="#000000">The contrast between the two nations could hardly be starker. Nevertheless, the US has regretted its former policy of benign neglect toward Pakistan and the two countries are now attempting to forge some kind of rapprochement. The gulf between them, however, may be too deep to cross. - </font><strong><font color="#000000">Ehsan Ahrari <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 31, '03)</font><br><br></font></strong><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH01Df02.html"><strong>Vajpayee claps with one hand on border dispute</strong></a><br>Even as Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was on his "path-breaking" visit to China last month, Indian intelligence personnel ran afoul of Chinese security forces inside territory claimed by both countries. While it is true that such incidents are common and serious clashes no longer occur, the decades-old border dispute remains an emotional issue for Indians, and the Chinese are doing little to help matters. - <b>Sultan Shahin</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 31, '03)</font><br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH01Df01.html"><strong>Sri Lankan government's muddied Tiger policy</strong></a><br>After the anniversary of the killings and race riots that preceded twenty years of violence that have yet to fully end, Sri Lanka has a government which seems incapable of formulating a clear policy on how to deal with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 31, '03)</font><br><br><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/bestofbe4[1].gif" border="0"><br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/EG30Ag01.html "><strong>Why the US needs the Taliban</strong></a><br>It may sound unbelievable, but the United States is prepared to permit the return to rule in Afghanistan of its erstwhile arch-enemies, the Taliban. The reason, <b>Ramtanu Maitra</b> explains, is that Washington needs Pakistan as a friend more than it needs the Taliban as an enemy. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 29, '03)</font><br> <br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG30Df01.html"><strong>India's stock markets go gray </strong></a><br>Outlaw trading on India's stock markets has grown so big that last week the authorities stepped in and shut down a nationwide securities firm. Some officials are concerned that such trading could threaten legitimate markets.<b> - Indrajit Basu <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 29, '03)</font><br></b><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG30Df02.html "><strong>Vipassana changes the spirit of business</strong></a><br> <b> Raja M </b> goes with the flow and and practices Vipassana, an ancient Indian self-observation technique to clear up the thinking of the hardest-headed Western businessmen. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 29, '03)</font> <br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EG30Ak01.html "><strong>WMD threats as political football</strong></a><br>Trumpeting nuclear threats where none exist (Iraq) and downplaying nuclear programs where the threats are all too genuine (India and Pakistan), all for the sake of political points on the domestic front, would seem the height of folly, yet the Bush and Blair administrations play this dangerous game - abetted by US media - as a matter of policy. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 29, '03)</font><br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG29Df01.html "><strong>Indian defense policy in major transition</strong></a><br> India, tied to Russia for major arms purchases for decades, may be about to switch to Western suppliers, a break with Moscow's arms salesmen that would transform global defense relationships. <b> - Stephen Blank </b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 28, '03)</font> <br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG26Df01.html"><strong>The time's ripe for Pakistan and Israel</strong></a> <br>Very strong arguments can be raised against Pakistan recognizing Israel, from the nuclear issue to Arab reaction, but in the hard world of realpolitik, they count for very little, as Islamabad well realizes. - <b>Ramtanu Maitra <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 25, '03)</font></b><br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG25Df01.html"><strong>Kashmir: A Shi'ite voice in the wilderness</strong></a> <br>Unlike the majority Sunni Muslims in Kashmir, the dominant sentiment among Shi'ites in the region is pro-India. The election of a Shi'ite as head of the umbrella grouping of Kashmir separatist organizations raises the possibility, therefore, of a change in the group's direction. - <strong>Sudha Ramachandran </strong> <font color="#999999" size="1"><strong>(Jul 24, '03)<br><br></strong><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG25Df03.html "><font size="2"><strong>India hits the fashion parade</strong></font></a><br><strong><img style="WIDTH: 30px; HEIGHT: 97px" height="97" hspace="3" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/fash-2-small.gif" width="40" align="left" vspace="3" border="0"><img style="WIDTH: 27px; HEIGHT: 100px" height="91" hspace="3" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/fashion-1-small.gif" width="35" align="right" vspace="3" border="0"></strong><font color="#000000" size="2">Jibagaboodle? That's the commotion that <strong>Raja M</strong> found at the fourth India Fashion Week in Mumbai, where homegrown designers are seeking to show that the country has something besides saris.<font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 24, '03)</font></font><br> </font><br><br> <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 313px; HEIGHT: 360px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="313" border="1"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="red" align="left" height="0"><strong><font size="3">When a hawk talks peace</font></strong><font size="2">  <br><br></font><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG24Df08.html"><strong><font color="background" size="2">India sits up and listens</font> </strong></a><font size="2"><br><img hspace="2" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//South_Asia/images/Rahman.gif" align="left" vspace="2" border="0">Widely known as the "father of the Taliban", religious leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman's almost unbelievable conciliatory tone earned him red carpet treatment during his recent visit to India, showing that New Delhi is now tempted to deal with Pakistani fundamentalists, even though this was a fatal mistake made by Mahatma Gandhi more than 80 years ago. - </font><b><font size="2">Sultan Shahin <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 23, '03)</font></font></b><br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG24Df06.html"><strong><font color="background" size="2">Just who is fooling whom?</font> </strong></a><font size="2"><font color="background"><br></font>If there is any method in the seeming madness of India soliciting the support of the firebrand Fazlur Rahman in the resolution of problems with Pakistan, it can only be premised on the belief that the hawk truly has become a dove. Otherwise, disaster looms. - </font><b><font size="2">B Raman <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 23, '03)</font></font></b><br><font size="2"><br>   <img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/arrow.gif" border="0"></font><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG24Df07.html"><font color="background" size="2">Suspicion and skepticism</font> </a><font color="background"><font size="2"></font><br></font></td></tr></table><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG23Df05.html "><strong>Indian mutual funds ignore small investors </strong></a><br>Mutual funds are supposed to be vehicles for small investors. In India most aren't, which has regulators upset.<b>- Indrajit Basu</b> <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 22, '03)</font><br><br><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG19Df01.html"><strong>US won't take India's 'No' for an answer<br></strong></a>With Washington refusing to accept that the Indian government's decision not to send troops to Iraq is the final word on the subject, the United States' carrots and sticks have come out into the open. New Delhi, it seems, is going to have to confront the thorny issue again, and it's unlikely that the US carrots will take away the nasty taste in India's mouth. - <b>Sultan Shahin <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 18, '03)</font></b></font></font></font></font> </font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p> </td> </tr> </table> <p>  </p> </td> <td width="35%" valign="top"><font size="3"><strong><font color="darkorange"> <center><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/search.asp"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/search-2.gif" border="0"></a></center> <div align="left"> <img height="5" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></div> <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 183px; HEIGHT: 224px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="183" align="center" border="3"> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="midnightblue" align="left" bgcolor="navajowhite" height="0"><font color="black" size="2"><img hspace="3" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/window2.gif" align="right" vspace="3" border="0"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG31Df01.html"><strong>Actor's star shines ever brighter<br></strong></a><br>Actors come and go, but Amitabh Bachchan stands apart, having charmed viewers with his charisma for decades. And now he has been <img hspace="3" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/Amitpic-small.gif" align="left" vspace="3" border="0"> chosen to be brand ambassador for high-profile firm Reid & Taylor, replacing Pierce "James Bond" Brosnan. <b>Sanjiv Kumar</b> interviews the living legend of Indian cinema. <font color="#999999" size="1">(Jul 30, '03)</font> </font> </td> </tr> </table> <div align="left"> <img height="5" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></div> <div align="center"> <table style="WIDTH: 181px; HEIGHT: 508px" bordercolor="#ff9900" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="181" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="middle" bgcolor="#fdf0c6"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td><img height="5" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> </table> <div align="center"><img height="22" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/bin_sa.gif" width="174"> </div> <div align="center"></div> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="174" align="center" border="0" style="WIDTH: 174px; HEIGHT: 182px"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="left"><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><font color="#999999"><font color="#000000"> <p><br><font size="2"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH01Df04.html"><strong>Challenges loom for<br> India's IT boom <br></strong></a> India's information technology services industry has seen robust growth over the past two years despite the global economic showdown. But new challenges, including an anti-outsourcing wave in the United States, loom. -<b>Anil Sharma</b></font><br><br><font size="2"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH01Df05.html"><strong>IT optimism in India</strong></a><br>India's information technology market, both domestic and exports, is projected to grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 27.9 percent to reach US$42.5 billion in 2006.</font><br><br><font size="2"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EH01Df06.html"><strong>Steel prices rise</strong></a> <br>Buoyed by an upsurge in demand, public sector Steel Authority of India and other producers have recently increased steel prices.</font> </p> </font></font></font></font> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p align="left"> </p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div align="center"> </font></strong></font> <font size="1"><strong><em><br> <table class="" id="table1" style="WIDTH: 186px; HEIGHT: 229px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" width="186" border="3"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="" valign="top" bordercolor="darkorange" align="left" bgcolor="gainsboro" height="0"> <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"><br><font size="2"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EG22Df05.html "><strong>India's right move <br>in a wrong war</strong></a> <br> Much to New Delhi's credit, common sense prevailed and the United States' request for Indian troops to go to Iraq was turned down. For after all, why should the country risk the lives of its soldiers in an unjust war? - <strong>Raja M</strong><br><br><strong>(Please </strong></font><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/DK29Aa01.html"><strong><font size="2">click here</font></strong></a><font size="2"><strong> if you are interested in contributing.)</strong> </font></font></p></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font> </td> </tr> </table><br><br><br></em></strong></font></div><font size="1"><strong><em> <div align="center"> </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/20030801094913/http://www.milligazette.com/" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/milligazette-banner.gif" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="10" valign="top" background="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/line.gif"><img height="1" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="9"></td> <td width="130" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="117" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html" target="_blank"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5"><img height="5" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.wsicorporate.com/business.asp?id=5292" target="_blank"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/Big-Button-new.gif" border="0"></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://192.168.9.94/atimes/advertise.html" target="_blank"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table width="117" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" height="484"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#000000"><font color="#ff9900" size="2"><strong>Affiliates<br> </strong><font size="2"><a href="/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/advertise.html#AF"><font color="#ff9900" size="1">Click here to be one</font></a><font color="#000000">)</font></font> </font> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="top" bgcolor="#000000"> <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><font size="2"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://southasiaworld.com/" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/southasiainfocus.gif" border="0"></a></font></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><font size="2"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.dhamakanews.net/"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/dhamaka-news.gif" border="0"></a></font></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><font size="2"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.kashmirobserver.com/"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/kashmir-ob.gif" border="0"></a></font></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><font style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><font size="2"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://sulekha.com/"><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/Sulekha-small-opt.gif" border="0"></a></font></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://news.google.com/"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/google.gif" border="0"></strong><strong></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://news.yahoo.com/"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/yahoo.gif" border="0"></strong><strong></strong></a></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle" valign="center"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.milligazette.com/"><strong><img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/milligazette100px-3.gif" border="0"></strong><strong></strong></a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.milligazette.com/"><strong></strong><strong></strong></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" align="middle" valign="center"><img height="10" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="1"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p> </p> </td> </tr> </table></td></tr></tbody></table></td> <td background="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/sha.gif"><img height="7" src="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="7"></td></tr> <tr> <td height="50" align="middle" valign="center" bgcolor="#003366"> <div align="center"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="table-text"> <tr> <td height="17"> <div align="center"></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="17"> <div align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">No material from Asia Times Online may be republished in any form without written permission.</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="13"> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="1">Copyright 2003, Asia Times Online, 4305 Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd, Central, Hong Kong</font></div> <div align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font> </div> <div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff" size="2"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/policies.html"> <font color="#ffffff">Privacy and Legal Policies</font></a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801094913/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/south-asia.xml"> <font color="#ffffff">Newsfeed</font></a></font></div> <div align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="2"></font> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p><font color="#ffffff" size="1"></font><font color="#ffffff" size="2"> </font> </p> </div> </td> <td background="/web/20030801094913im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/sha.gif"> </td> </tr></tbody></table> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Asia Times - South Asia