People throng Rajghat to support Hazare's fast

NEW DELHI: Thousands of people have gathered at Rajghat here to take part in the day-long hunger strike called by Anna Hazare to protest against police crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters during their agitation against corruption.

Anna Hazare will begin his day-long fast at the Rajghat at 10 am.

A number of youths wearing Gandhi caps and elderly people were seen at the spot waving the tricolour amidst a heavy posse of security personnel.

A man dressed like Mahatma Gandhi was the centre of attraction as he sang Gandhi's favourite bhajan 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram'.

With Delhi Police refusing permission for the day-long hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, Hazare had decided to shift the venue to Rajghat to avoid a confrontation.

Civil rights activists had contended that denial of permission to hold peaceful protest was against the basic Constitutional rights of citizens.

The Hazare-led protest will be accompanied by an all-religion prayer meeting and a debate on Lokpal Bill.

A senior police official said on Tuesday that they have refused permission for the fast at Jantar Mantar due to prohibitory orders at the site after the police action against Baba Ramdev in Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.

TOI

Agni-V test scheduled for December

NEW DELHI: India finally plans to test its most ambitious strategic missile Agni-V, with near ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capabilities, this December after some delay.

With high road mobility, fast-reaction ability and a strike range over 5,000 km, Agni-V would even bring China's northernmost regions within its nuclear strike envelope if it is ever required.

The armed forces are already inducting the two-stage 3,500-km Agni-III after completion of its developmental and pre-induction trials last year, having earlier operationalised the Pakistan-specific Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (over 2,000-km) missiles.

The Agni-V, in turn, is meant to add some much-needed credible deterrence muscle against China, which has a massive nuclear arsenal with missiles like the 11,200-km Dong Feng-31A capable of hitting any Indian city.

For one, it will be quite easy to store and swiftly transport the 17.5-metre tall Agni-V by road since it's a canister-launch missile system, unlike the earlier Agni missiles. If fired from the North-East, for instance, it would be able to hit China's northernmost city of Habin.

For another, Agni-V would also carry MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) payloads being concurrently developed. A single MIRVed missile can deliver multiple warheads at different targets even if they are separated by long distances.

"We have tested the three (solid-propellant composite rocket motor) stages of Agni-V independently...all ground tests are now over. The integration process is now in progress. We want to test the missile in December, not let it spill over to 2012," DRDO chief V K Saraswat told TOI on Friday.

This came after defence minister A K Antony, addressing the annual DRDO awards ceremony, asked defence scientists to "demonstrate" the 5,000-km missile's capability "at the earliest".

With a "launch mass" of around 50 tonne and a development cost of over Rs 2,500 crore, Agni-V will incorporate advanced technologies involving ring laser gyroscope and accelerator for navigation and guidance. It takes its first stage from Agni-III, with a modified second stage and a miniaturized third stage to ensure it can fly to distances beyond 5,000 km.

An ICBM, incidentally, usually denotes a missile capable of hitting targets over 5,500 km away, and has largely been the preserve of the Big-5 countries till now.

DRDO is also gearing up for another test of its two-tier BMD (ballistic missile defence) system, designed to track and destroy hostile missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth's atmosphere, around this August with a new interceptor missile called PDV to add to the existing ones.

Antony, on his part, said, "The interceptor missile development programme has taken India into an elite club of nations that possess the capability to demonstrate and deploy missile defence. DRDO should now also work towards developing a credible BMD for our country."

toi

Baba Ramdev begins fast against black money

NEW DELHI: Baba Ramdev launched his indefinite fast against corruption and blackmoney here this morning after the government failed to persuade him to call off his protest.

The yoga guru began the protest along with thousands of his followers at the Ramlila maidan here as he was joined by Swami Sadhavi Ritambhara and other religious leaders from the Sikh, Jain and Muslim communities.

Before launching the fast, Ramdev held a yoga and 'bhajan' session during which he told the gathering that the protest was intended to save the country from corruption and ensure that the poor get a good life.

"Nothing is impossible, everything is possible and we are not going to be defeated," the saffron-clad Baba seated on on an elevated platform, told the gathering, referring to bringing back of black money stashed in tax havens abroad.

Ramdev arrived at the stage at around 0450 hrs today to a huge round of applause from his followers.

Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay had held a marathon meeting yesterday with Ramdev to persuade him to not go ahead with his indefinite fast. However, the talks failed to reach any breakthrough with the yoga guru insisting that all his demands be met with completely.

Ramdev reiterated that his fight was against black money and he would carry his campaign to its logical conclusion. He warned his followers against making any personal attacks on individuals and urged them to remain focussed on the issue.

The yoga guru also hinted that there was a conspiracy against him, which he would reveal at a later stage.

Ramdev announced to his supporters on Friday that the government had agreed on 90 per cent of his demands.

There are indications that Ramdev may end his fast early.

toi

Baba Ramdev’s followers prepare ground for protest

Baba Ramdev’s followers in the city are busy making preparation for the yoga guru’s indefinite hunger strike that commences in New Delhi on Saturday. Arrangements are being made at Azad Maidan to accommodate thousands of his supporters. On Friday, waterproof pandals with high platform for seating and roof cover were being installed.

“We have arranged for 1.5ft high platforms to seat people so that if it rains the water would flow out without affecting the protesters,” said Suresh Naik, Mumbai president, Bharat Swabhiman. “Also, we have made arrangements for tarpaulin roof covers to make it rain and sun proof.”

According to Naik, though they have received permission to accommodate 1,000 people, they are expecting a crowd of nearly 3,000 to 4,000 supporters.

Naik said 51 people, of which 22 are women, would also be going on an indefinite hunger strike from Saturday. “More than 400 people had offered to fast, but we requested them not to as it would be difficult to manage so many people if anything went wrong,” he added.

Arrangements for food, sanitation and drinking water have also been made by the organisers. The first day of fast will start with yoga shibir at 5am on Saturday and the fasting will start from 10am.

“As a student I always wanted to stop corruption, but didn’t know how to,” said Sachin Bidwai, a resident of Nagpur who will be participating in the hunger strike. “Baba once told me that 80% of the Indian population earned only Rs20 per day and that according to a survey an Rs400 lakh crore was in the foreign countries that is saved and invested illegally. I was shocked and then decided to join the movement.”

the hindu