DESI - NEWS LETTER

April 04 , 2004 NEWS LETTER Vol. 010404

In this and the next few editions of the newsletter, we will discuss how technology is used to transform the villages in India. This week, we discuss a project called E-choupal.

Choupal in Hindi stands for village square, or gathering place. E-choupal is an initiative launched by the International Business Division of ITC in June 2000. Under this initiative, ITC has set up Internet kiosks in villages to help farmers access crop-specific websites created by the company as well as price trends, weather forecast, farm practices etc. MORE

Failing State

By P.G. Rajamohan

Through two major attacks within a span of 20 days, the Maoist insurgents have put the entire Himalayan Kingdom on notice. On March 20-21, 2004, in their biggest strike since the beginning of the 'People's War', insurgents ransacked Beni Bazaar, headquarters of the Myagdi District, completely destroying the district administrative offices, police station and army barracks. Earlier, on March 3, some 1,500 Maoists overran the Nepal Telecommunications Office, District Administration Office and a branch of the National Bank at the Bhojpur District headquarters, where at least 29 security force personnel and more than 50 insurgents were killed, and 10 SF personnel were abducted as 'war captives'.

Through these two attacks, the Maoists have clearly demonstrated that they had not weakened after the collapse of the ceasefire on August 27, 2003, as was widely presumed, and that they remain capable of major operations in any part of the country, including strong Army positions and security installations. MORE

(P.G. Rajamohan is a Research Associate in The Institute of Conflict Management)

Indology and Racism

By Subhash Kak

Our narratives about the past are scraps of evidence joined with the glue of imagination. So there can be many narratives and many retellings as the vocabulary changes with time. This is all ancient history can be and we should be satisfied with that. It is sensible to accept that our reconstructions of the past are subjective.

But what does one do if a narrative is at variance with the evidence and yet, because of endless repetition, it has become entrenched in popular imagination as well as in scholarly discourse? And what if such a narrative is accepted as the only truth?

Here I am talking of the fabrication of the narrative of Aryan invasions of the 2nd millennium BC. All evidence we have goes against it: There is biological continuity in the skeletal record for 4500-800 BC; the archaeological record has been seen to belong to the same cultural tradition from 7000 BC to historical times. So what should we do if some textbooks continue to repeat this fabrication? MORE

(Dr. Subhash Kak is a professor in EE at LSU)

Editor & Composer: Saurabh Jain

Develop Empower and Synergize India, College Park, MD 20742, USA


April 04 , 2004 NEWS LETTER Vol. 010404
In this and the next few editions of the newsletter, we will discuss how technology is used to transform the villages in India. This week, we discuss a project called E-choupal. Choupal in Hindi stands for village square, or gathering place. E-choupal is an initiative launched by the International Business Division of ITC in June 2000. Under this initiative, ITC has set up Internet kiosks in villages to help farmers access crop-specific websites created by the company as well as price trends, weather forecast, farm practices etc. MORE
Failing State By P.G. Rajamohan Through two major attacks within a span of 20 days, the Maoist insurgents have put the entire Himalayan Kingdom on notice. On March 20-21, 2004, in their biggest strike since the beginning of the 'People's War', insurgents ransacked Beni Bazaar, headquarters of the Myagdi District, completely destroying the district administrative offices, police station and army barracks. Earlier, on March 3, some 1,500 Maoists overran the Nepal Telecommunications Office, District Administration Office and a branch of the National Bank at the Bhojpur District headquarters, where at least 29 security force personnel and more than 50 insurgents were killed, and 10 SF personnel were abducted as 'war captives'. Through these two attacks, the Maoists have clearly demonstrated that they had not weakened after the collapse of the ceasefire on August 27, 2003, as was widely presumed, and that they remain capable of major operations in any part of the country, including strong Army positions and security installations. MORE (P.G. Rajamohan is a Research Associate in The Institute of Conflict Management)	Indology and Racism By Subhash Kak Our narratives about the past are scraps of evidence joined with the glue of imagination. So there can be many narratives and many retellings as the vocabulary changes with time. This is all ancient history can be and we should be satisfied with that. It is sensible to accept that our reconstructions of the past are subjective. But what does one do if a narrative is at variance with the evidence and yet, because of endless repetition, it has become entrenched in popular imagination as well as in scholarly discourse? And what if such a narrative is accepted as the only truth? Here I am talking of the fabrication of the narrative of Aryan invasions of the 2nd millennium BC. All evidence we have goes against it: There is biological continuity in the skeletal record for 4500-800 BC; the archaeological record has been seen to belong to the same cultural tradition from 7000 BC to historical times. So what should we do if some textbooks continue to repeat this fabrication? MORE (Dr. Subhash Kak is a professor in EE at LSU)
Editor & Composer: Saurabh Jain
Develop Empower and Synergize India, College Park, MD 20742, USA