170 temples damaged in Kashmir in past 20 years

170 temples damaged in Kashmir in past 20 yrs

PTI, 27 Mar 2010

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir government today admitted in the State Assembly that 170 temples had been damaged in the militancy-related incidents in Kashmir valley in past 20 years.

Replying to a question from Jugal Kishore of BJP, Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla said in written reply that as many as 170 temples had been damaged during past two decades of militancy in Kashmir valley.

He further said there were 430 temples in the valley before the migration of Kashmiri pandits (KPs) in wake of eruption of terrorism in 1989.

Bhalla said 90 temples have also been renovated in the valley for which Rs 33 lakh have been spent.

The ex-gratia relief is provided for renovation of temples which suffered damage as result of militancy related incidents, he said.

The district administration and police authorities ensure that religious places and temples are protected, the minister said.

“The Government has exposed to protect temples as it has admitted that 170 temples have been damaged. The temples were subjected to attacks, bomb blasts etc during militancy,” Kishore said.

On the issue, All Party Migrant Coordination Committee President Vinod Pandit said, “Cultural and religious identity of KPs has been vandalised in valley. The government should issue a white paper on damage of temples, shrines of KPs and land encroachments.

Sania Mirza’s wedding to Islamic extremist Shoaib Malik

Outrage in India over Pak skipper’s Muslim remark

Link

Shoaib Malik exposed!

New Delhi, March 31, 2010

News channel Headlines Today claims to have found a video in which Shoaib admits to getting married and even accepts congratulations.

The video which was recorded on March 30, 2005 shows Shoaib admitting that he was married and playing in his wife’s city. He says so in public after a cricket match in Hyderabad.

The video has come as an embarrassment for Shoaib, who is marrying tennis star Sania Mirza in Hyderabad on April 15.

The video shot at the Hyderabad cricket stadium shows former Indian cricketer Arun Lal mentioning about Shoaib’s return to form, to which Shoaib replies: “I was a little disappointed, but I am fine now as I just scored 82 runs. This is my wife’s home, so I am so happy.”

Shoaib even accepts Lal’s congratulations on his marriage with a “thank you”, as reported by a website.

Undoubtedly, the “wife” Shoaib mentions in the video is not Sania but Ayesha.

“He was widely condemned when following the 2007 Twenty20 cricket world cup he claimed all Muslims in the world support Pakistan.”

The Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik wedding will rock the Muslim world – but will it last?

Dean Nelson is the Telegraph Media Group’s South Asia editor. He has been based in New Delhi for four years. He is @DelhiDean on Twitter.
By Dean Nelson World March 31st, 2010

Sania Mirza plans to wed Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik (Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Is there a more rock and roll match in the Muslim world than the forthcoming marriage of saucy Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricket bad-boy Shoaib Malik? Ms Mirza was due to marry her childhood friend Sohrab Mirza until her family announced the engagement was off, citing their “incompatibility”.

She had been previously denounced by India’s conservative Mullahs for her short sports skirts and tight rising crop tops which reveal her taught abs when she swings a double-handed shot. In India she is more a busty sex symbol than a role model for pious muslim girls. Her new intended has sought to pitch himself as an Islamic sporting icon, but with little success. He was widely condemned when following the 2007 Twenty20 cricket world cup he claimed all Muslims in the world support Pakistan.

His call to the Muslim Ummah was always laughable. He still faces a legal action in Hyderabad for allegedly abandoning another Muslim girl he denies marrying in 2002, and has been seen dating a number of Bollywood beauties, including the Hindu former Miss India Sayali Bhagat.

Cynics have suggested the match may be a marriage of convenience for two national stars with flagging careers. Sania Mirza appears to be slipping from her 2007 career peak, while Malik is currently disgraced in Pakistan where he is serving a year’s ban from the national cricket team for sabotaging this year’s disastrous winter tour of Australia, where they failed to win a single match. Malik, a former national captain was singled out by the Pakistan Cricket board for undermining team support for his successor.

The newlyweds will make their home in Dubai, the traditional bolthole for wealthy Indian and Pakistani muslims. Whether the emirate can stand them remains to be seen. They have the potential to be the Muslim world’s Katie Price and Peter Andre.

Jihad in Moscow train: Blast Kills 39, Wounds 130

A huge explosion blasted apart a subway car packed with morning rush hour commuters Friday, killing 39 people and wounding more than 130 in what some officials said was a suicide attack on the Russian capital’s transport lifeline.

Read rest here