Recently during Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s maiden visit to Orissa, once again it was re-established that the most powerful word that drives the politicians and bureaucrats in contemporary Orissa is the infamous three-letter word KBK (Kalahandi–Bolangir–Koraput). It has been more than a decade that KBK area has been showered with specially designed programmes, grants, and so many high profile visits. Unfortunately, the benefits of all these assistances are yet to reach the people of the region.

The recent Havana initiative by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh depicts a marked shift in India’s Pakistan policy. Manmohan Singh at Havana had announced on the sidelines of the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) summit that India and Pakistan are proposing to handle the threat of terrorism jointly. This novel concept of resuming formal peace negotiations with Pakistan (frozen after 11 July Mumbai train blasts) and setting up of a joint agency to tackle terrorism appears to be an ‘atypical’ step as compared to the earlier ‘cautious’ approach.

At least 37 people were killed and over a hundred injured in two powerful bomb explosions in the communal sensitive Malegaon town, located in the Nasik district of Maharashtra, on September 08. 2006. Many of those killed and injured were minors. The explosions occurred outside the Bada Kabristan (Large cemetery), a burial ground for Muslims where people gathered to offer prayers for their dead relatives on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat (night of salvation). The second blast took place near Noorani mosque.

Expert: Dr. Molly Charles, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.                                                   

Q.1: IS INDIA BECOMING A MAJOR TRANSIT POINT OF INTERNATIONAL ILLICIT DRUG TRADE?

In January 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that HIV/AIDS has killed 25 million people since it was first identified twenty-five years ago, in 1981. In India, the first case of HIV was detected in Chennai in 1986. Now, as per the UNAIDS estimate, HIV affected people in India is staggering 5.7 million. NACO (National Aids Control Organisation) has put the figure to be 5.2 million. India is second only to South Africa in terms of the overall number of people living with the disease. Although, the statistics vary with various reports, the threat within persists.

In comparison to the indiscriminate violence perpetrated by Islamic terrorists, the Naxal menace (also infamous as Left-wing Extremist or Maoist) has been plaguing India for quite some time as one of the biggest internal security challenges. The most affected Chattisgarh state has witnessed one of the worst ever massacre on 17 July when armed Naxalites attacked the Errabore Relief Camp in Dantewada district, killing some 30 unarmed civilians and injuring scores. The attackers have abducted more than 45 people in that fateful night.

The peace process between the Government of India and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is in a fix. While the process of direct negotiation between the ULFA and Union government has started to become a reality, several untoward incidents have posed question marks. The third round of talks between the ULFA appointed PCG (People’s Consultative Group) and the Government of India on 22 June in New Delhi ended on a positive note with both parties agreeing to work out the modalities for direct talks between the ULFA and the Union government.

On 11 July, India’s commercial hub, Mumbai (in Maharastra) and Jammu & Kashmir State witnessed series of bomb and Grenade attacks, perpetrated by suspected Islamic terrorists.

In Mumbai, over 170 people were killed, and over 400 people have been injured in a string of seven powerful blasts that targeted suburban trains. The toll is increasing every hour. The timing of the blasts coincided with the peak hour traffic when the commuters return from their work around 6 PM in the evening.

The recent illegal drug hauls in various parts of India and couple of high profile drug abuse cases involving people in power brought the spotlight back onto illegal drug issues in the country. India’s Anti Narcotics Bureau and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence have seized drugs ranging from Cocaine to Heroine and other opiates worth millions of dollars in the international market within the last few months. The fact is drug trafficking and illegal drug abuse have been taking place in the subcontinent for very long but have been relatively ignored.

Last May, Singari, a young mother, of Kharijhola village in Koraput district, Orissa, died just after giving birth to her son. The reason is the lack of access to basic health amenities. This is not an isolated case. Every second hour a woman dies due to pregnancy-related complications in Koraput. From the time of conception, death chases women like a shadow. The story of Singari is an imposing symbol of the high maternal mortality rate that grips India. While Orissa has the highest rate of maternal mortality rate in India, Koraput has one of the highest rates in the state.