Interesting articles of the day 2/23/2009

आप सब को शिवरात्रि की हार्दिक बधाई। Aap sab ko Shivratri ki hardik badhai। Very Happy Shivratri to you all. ॥ॐ नमः शिवाय॥ ॥Om Namah Shivay॥

Following are interesting articles of the day (February 23, 2009) which affect Hindus and their rights directly or indirectly. Also, some general articles. All the articles with my views on some of them.

1. शिवरात्रि पूजा विधि / How to do Shivratri Puja


2. 2000 years old God Shiv ji's Mandir/Temple found and excavated

   Believed to be among the oldest brick shrines in India, Lucknow University’s department of ancient Indian history and archaeology has unearthed a 2,000-year-old Shiva temple as part of its excavation project recently in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district.
   
   ‘‘It’s actually a complex comprising five temples,’’ Prof D P Tewari of the Lucknow University said. ‘‘While four temples belong to the Kushana period (1st-3rd century AD or 2,000 years ago), it appears that the primary temple was constructed during the Sunga period (2nd century BC to 1st century AD or 2,200 years ago).’’
   
   Spread across an area of 600 acres, the temple is made of baked bricks. In India, most of the brick temples were built in the Gupta period which existed in the fourth century AD. The temple’s architecture is ‘apsidal’ (semi-circular or u-shaped) in nature.
   
   The LU has many artifacts to conclude that Lord Shiva was worshipped in this temple. Prof Tewari said, ‘‘A terracotta seal bearing the legend of ‘Kaalanjar peeth’ in Brahmi script was found from the site in Dec 2008.’’
   
   A shivling, trishul, nandi bull, and a river are inscribed over the seal. The legend of ‘Kaalanjar peeth’ is inscribed just below the river.

   Congratulations to all the Hindus and Bharatvaasi around the world.
   
   
   ॐ
   पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते।
   पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते॥
   
   ॐ शांति शांति शांति।


3. Media ridicules VHP's demand for fatwa against terror


4. Video: Advani @ Campus: Arun Shourie Speaks at JNU


5. Government's Aam Aadmi bill may be inflated: CAG

   Punching a hole in the UPA government's campaign of Bharat Nirman and other flagship schemes, its official auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in a report released on Friday that the government had been overstating the expenditure.
   
   Over Rs 51,000 crore was allocated for these flagship schemes in 2007-08 which got transferred to the bank accounts of NGOs, autonomous bodies and district authorities. However, the government has told CAG that it was not aware of the actual expenditure by these organisations.

   आम आदमी को इन ख़ास आदमी द्वारा उल्लू बनाने वाला यह बिल एक फुगा अर्थार्त एक गुब्बारा है जिस की हवा CAG ने निकाल दी। Aam Aadmi ko in Khaas Aadmi dvara ullu banane wala yeh bill ek phuga arthart ek gubara hai jis ki hawa CAG ne nikaal di. The Congress led UPA Government has lied and mislead the people again.


6. Modi's new admirer: Ahmedabad's Imam

   Mufti Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui, the Imam of Ahmedabad's biggest mosque, has found himself alone among the city's Muslim clerics. What has landed the 52-year-old Imam in trouble in his own community is his admiration for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
   
   Siddiqui, a native of Sirsa in Bihar, has been living in Ahmedabad since 1982. The hardliners in the community feel he is soft on the state government with which he has been building bridges in turbulent times.
   
   But Siddiqui is unabashed about his admiration for the CM and would like Modi, already popular among Shia muslims, to gain acceptance among the Sunnis too. The Jama Masjid Imam calls the 2002 riots an "atrocity'' but adds that the projection of the riots was "much graver'' than what had actually happened. "The time has come now to move on. It is seven years since the riots and people have already started forgetting what had happened,'' he told TOI.
   
   The Imam says Modi has ensured peace after 2002 and feels the chief minister has "lived up to the expectations''. "Muslims too have an opportunity to prosper in the peaceful environment that the Modi government has created. Modi has provided an atmosphere which is conducive for those who want to do business in Gujarat,'' he says.
   
   According to Siddiqui, Modi does not need Muslim votes to win the elections. It is up to the Muslims to make friends with the chief minister, he says.

   So the Imam flip-flopped again. Just two days ago on 2/21/2009 he was questioning Modi's decision to appoint Mr. Sabir Khandwawala as DGP of Gujarat and now he says he supports Mr. Modi. Do I hear Øystein alert?


7. Bangalore IT park defrauds Rs 75.8cr

   On paper, this tech park had 37 units functioning on its premises — all entitled to income tax concessions. What they turned out to be were nothing less than maintenance rooms located in the car park! And the tech park owner stashed away Rs 75.8 crore that he had claimed as tax concessions for three assessment years.



8. Our officials run slum racket: BMC

   In this city, where over half of the 15 million-plus residents live in slums, an army of unscrupulous officials, slumlords and politicians is engaged full-time in the ‘business’ of taking possession of government land, extorting money and renting out illegal structures in slum enclaves. This has been proved by the latest figures given by the BMC to the state-appointed Committee for the Prevention of Slums last week.
   
   According to the figures, 89 slumlords and local politicians were found to be active in the business of abetting unauthorised construction in the last year alone, up from 70 in 2007. Worse, last year, a departmental enquiry was initiated against 133 officials—including BMC ward engineers and mukadams—for abetting and delaying action against unauthorized construction.