Unique Request

Military Strategy

The simultaneous visits of senior army officers of Bangladesh and Pakistan to China is being watched very keenly by the Indian military brass. On Tuesday,a top Bangladeshi army officer,Lt Gen Abdul Wadud,who is the Principal Staff Officer of the Bangladesh Army,met several top military leaders in Beijing. On the same day,Lt. General Waheed Arshad,Chief of General Staff of the Pakistan Army,also met the same set of Chinese leaders in Beijing. While the agenda of the meetings has not been disclosed,both Pakistan and Bangladesh source a major chunk of their arms from China. What has raised eyebrows is that these meetings come barely weeks after an Indian delegation visited China to restore military ties after almost a year of thaw following the controversy over the denial of visa to a top Indian General.

Change of Heart

HER husband shared a hostile relationship with the Sultans of Bengal but former Rajmata Bibhu Kumari Debi of Tripura seems determined to undertake a different route on her upcoming visit to Dhaka. I plan to gift vast lands belonging to my familys Roshanabad zamindari in Bangladesh to the government there for setting up projects for the welfare of the disabled,women,children and the aged,when I meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she said. Obviously,it is never too late to turn a new leaf.

Troubled Environment

NEW Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajans first one-on-one meeting with a cabinet colleague is said to have been an unpleasant experience for her. She was completely upstaged by her senior colleague Commerce Minister Anand Sharma who is learnt to have done most of the talking during the meeting to discuss manufacturing policy and other issues. But what upset Natarajan the most is the fact that a press release issued by the Commerce Ministry after the meeting was hardly reflective of the discussions. While her views were largely ignored,the press release claimed agreements on certain issues which are far from having been resolved.

Priceless Advice

AFTER passing an order for forming a committee to make an inventory of the treasures found in the vaults of Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple,Justice R V Raveendran had a piece of advice for the temples custodian,the royal family of Travancore,which is opposing any government intervention in the management of the temple. Wondering why the family never thought of including any member from the public in the temples trust to make it more broad based,the judge said such a step would have obviated the need for any litigation in the matter.