Bharat Rakshak

Many Indian Fijians have been moving to New Zealand and Australia. This needs to stop. Indian Fijians should feel secure in Fiji itself. GoI needs to start a strong outreach program towards native Fijians.

Stating that the policy change was aimed at cultivating good ties with the rising Asian power, Rudd added that it "won't automatically translate into a beginning of sales," according to Australian news agency AAP reported today.

"India will first have to make strong commitments under a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement," he said.

"I take my non-proliferation responsibilities deadly seriously," he said.

"This will require fundamental commitments from the Indian government in a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement with Australia of an identical type that we have with the 20 other countries to whom we export uranium at present."

Rudd said he would be taking a "hard line" as Australia's principle negotiator on any such agreement.

He said India currently had no "crushing need" for Australian uranium but rather the policy change was aimed at cultivating good relations with the rising Asian power.

"The strategic relationship with India for the decade ahead is of great important to our national interests."

Meanwhile, Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said Rudd's comments made Gillard's announcement even more extraordinary.

"If Kevin Rudd is the principle negotiator for uranium sales to India why was he not included in any discussion prior to the prime minister making her announcement?" Bishop said.

Gillard recently announced her plans to push for lifting a ban on uranium sales to India as it is outside Non-Proliferation Treaty.

an energy price crisis could see one built in less than the 15 to 20 years it might take now to pave the way with policy, legislation and infrastructure.

Their comments came as legislation to clear the way for the world's largest open-cut copper, gold and uranium mine to be developed in South Australia's north was passed in SA parliament.

Big win for PM Gillard on opening up Australian uranium exports to our democratic friend and ally India - vexnews

Gillard/Weatherill Uranium amendment has been carried. 206 votes in favour 185 against

Delicious butter chicken smackdown on know-all lefty delegates at Australian Labor Party National Conference.

Australia's ruling Labor party voted to lift its long-standing ban on exporting uranium to India Sunday following a passionate debate on nuclear proliferation and environmental fears.

The change, proposed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, was agreed by delegates at Labor's national policy summit by 206 votes to 185, after a lengthy argument which saw strong views put both for and against.

Standen was a principal in the plot to import the pseudoephedrine from Pakistan in a container of rice, which arrived in Sydney in April 2008.

In fact, the cargo did not contain the drug, but the judge said Standen and his co-conspirators had believed it would be in the shipment.

The co-conspirators were Standen's informant, James Kinch, an international drugs trafficker, and foodstuffs businessman Bakhos "Bill" Jalalaty.

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith on Thursday strongly denied any move to set up a trilateral strategic dialogue among India, Australia and the U.S.

Reports of such a move had led to speculation about another military bloc in the making with the unstated aim of containing China in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. Smith's focus during his meeting with Defence Minister A.K. Antony, National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and the Service chiefs was to build India-Australia bilateral defence ties by adding “practical cooperation” to the Strategic Partnership and Security Framework pact inked by the two countries.

Both Australia and India agreed that it is “absolutely essential” for maritime issues to be sorted out in accordance with laws of the sea.

At the same time, Mr. Smith did not want the media to excessively focus on China and the South China Sea “because there are maritime disputes in the world that don't involve China.”

The bulk of the time was spent on discussions on maritime issues and some on the situation in Afghanistan, where Australia had a presence in the restive Uruzgan province, the Minister told journalists.

The two sides also touched upon the prospect of increasing their interaction at regional and multilateral institutions such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, the CHOGM discussions on piracy and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus.

Mr. Smith said China's response to the U.S. military basing itself in Australia was “moderate, appropriate and mature.”

He termed reports of the move to hold an India-U.S.-Australia trilateral strategic dialogue “misreporting,” which arose from some think tanks coming out with a paper proposing such a course.

The only government-level formal expression in terms of trilateral engagement was a communiqué issued at the end of Australia-U.S. Ministerial consultations, which said given the importance of India and the Indian Ocean Rim, there should be more cooperation in humanitarian operations and disaster relief.

Mr. Smith said India was briefed in advance about plans to base a U.S. military contingent in Australia. A beginning would be made with a 250-strong complement of U.S. Marines at Australian training facilities, which will increase to 2,500 in five years.

What does all this mean for Australia? Canberra has absolutely no desire to get into the middle of any argument between New Delhi and Beijing. But Beijing looks askance at the growing strategic intimacy between Canberra and New Delhi.

Beijing tried to stop the Nuclear Suppliers Group endorsing the India-US nuclear agreement and was unhappy about Australia's decision to sell uranium to India.

Beijing has a rooted objection to any "outside" powers getting involved in Asian security.

But while Canberra certainly continues to pursue a constructive relationship with Beijing, it is unashamedly intensifying its relationship with the US. And it is also slowly and methodically building a strategic relationship with India.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith has been in India this week, his fourth visit as a government minister. I caught up with him in Delhi, where he told me: "What we have agreed to is to substantially enhance our practical co-operation on the military front starting with maritime and naval co-operation, understanding that this is a step-by-step process."

There is nothing inevitable about unpleasant strategic competition between China and India. But at the very least, it is an intense and central dynamic in the power politics of the 21st century.

Is it Kevin Rudd's exit that has made the difference to the Aussie opinion, or has something actually spooked them into their present policy?

'Those Aussies who are saying it is un-Australian will be the same ones who pretty much supported the White Australia policy back in the day, you are never going to get away from that kind of stuff.'

Joab said while most Australians were tolerant and respectful, he still faced bouts of racism.

'I faced racism myself, from the early years in primary school all the way up to recent times. Sometimes it's just blatant,' he said.

Before lifting the Uranium ban, Australia had floated the idea of a trilateral strategic dialogue with India and the US in October 2011. The idea was proposed to India through high-level diplomatic channels on the lines of the then proposed India-US-Japan tripartite talks, the first round of meeting of which was finally held in Washington on December 19, 2011, to discuss the India-Pacific strategic environment.

Australia has noted that China is ambitiously claiming South China Sea as its backwaters and the PLA Navy is acquiring long legs through surface platforms. The India-Pacific powers, including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and the US have expressed their concerns over an assertive China. India has been engaging the US Pacific Command in Hawaii, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam through high-profile bilateral visits but Australia somehow has not figured in India’s strategic calculus prominently. There seems to be some reluctance in India to engage Australia seriously as the latter often tends to punch above its weight.

Australia may get caught in the US-China crossfire as it agrees to host nearly 2,500 US marines in the north, thereby escalating political and military tension in the region....In fact, one can also argue that the Australian decision to strengthen the US presence in the region may in due course force China to shift its attention away from the Indian borders towards the South China Sea. From India’s strategic interests, increased US military presence in the region could be a balancing factor. It is to be noted that India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) is involved in exploring oil along with Vietnamese oil firms in the South China Sea.

While some Indian commentators feel that India’s participation in such trilateral mechanisms increases it space vis à vis China, the depth of India’s engagement will ultimately depend less on Chinese behavior and more on what an Indo-Pacific strategic architecture can yield in economic terms. India’s engagement with Japan is therefore clear enough: Both countries believe they can gain by facilitating India’s entry into the East Asian supply ecosystem through major Japanese investment in India’s new manufacturing corridors. So, too, is the Australian decision to sell uranium, given that it will increase Indian confidence in Australia’s willingness to act as a premier resource-supplier to power India’s industrialization drive.

Indeed, both developments tie in well with Obama’s pivot, which is ultimately an effort to articulate the geo-economic future that Washington envisages for itself in this century. This vision is encapsulated in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade area that seeks to expand eventually to include both India and China. If the TPP comes to pass, it will be the greatest liberalized economic zone in history, leaving any trans-Atlantic formulation behind. Naturally, the South China Sea will then become the world’s most important navigation channel, and any proprietary claims on it will be unacceptable by other parties. Ultimately, Washington is hoping to create consensus on its vision of a new rules-based system for a seamlessly linked Indo-Pacific region. India’s willingness to be part of that system will be focused on securing business rather than on incrementally balancing China. After all, China is the No. 1 trading partner for Japan, Australia and India, and second after Canada for the U.S.

Defence said it was in the final stages of considering the recommendations of the reviews that were ordered last year.

"The secretary and the chief of the defence force are developing a comprehensive response to the reviews that is consistent with the wider defence reform agenda."

THE Australian Defence Force has been urged to build a new naval base at Brisbane as part of a dramatic boost to its presence in northern Australia.
A new report also calls for big upgrades to key northwestern ports and airfields to deter potential aggressors and protect billions of dollars' worth of energy infrastructure.

The recommendations came yesterday in a progress report on the government's Force Posture Review, which is considering how to best configure Australia's defence assets to meet modern needs, particularly the growing strength of China and India.

Chanting of the Sanskrit poems, verses, and slokas mingled in the air of Australia when little nightingales of BSK Flemington sung it in a very Indian way. The occasion was to inaugurate a new Sanskit school at Homebush Boy’s High School premises on 5 February 2012. Australia’s Vishwa Hindu Parishad took efforts to start first Sanskrit school in the Australia (first school outside India) which will teach Vedic chanting and Vedic mathematics and science in Vedas to the children.

VHP of Australia President Brij Pal Singh has inaugurated another Sanskrit school on 5 February 2012 at Waitara Public School, Hornsby. BSK is currently operating in more than 6 suburbs in Sydney – Hornsby, Baulkham hills, Moorebank, Carlingford, Homebush, and Toongabbie. Interstate in Melbourne and in Brisbane as well, in one suburb each, starting last year.

MINING giant Rio Tinto says it plans to invest $2 billion in an iron ore project in eastern India.

The company said it would be Australia's "largest investment" in the South Asian nation.

Sam Walsh, chief of the Australia-based company's global iron ore operations, said the project in the mineral-rich eastern state of Orissa would supply clients in India and abroad.

The move, announced on Tuesday, will see 119 technology jobs in Australia's second-biggest bank by market capitalization outsourced to India and a further seven jobs cut from its collections office.

RICH Indians hallucinating about India becoming a superpower have had delivered a much-needed thump on the head courtesy of a study by the London School of Economics, which found that it's doubtful if the country can ever become a superpower.
The whole notion that India is an ''emerging superpower'' has always been ridiculous and whoever first mooted the idea - Bill Clinton or George Bush - during the excess of goodwill that invariably accompanies a state visit, should have been bundled off to a laboratory to have his brain dissected to locate the precise site of the raving lunacy.

Even more preposterous has been the uncritical alacrity with which rich Indians embraced the notion when all they have to do is drive a few kilometres outside the big cities to rural India for a flashback to the 18th century or, even closer to home, to a nearby slum to see disease, hunger and misery that beggars belief.

The LSE study by nine India experts concludes that, despite ''impressive'' achievements, India is unlikely to become a superpower for many reasons including "the increasing gap between the rich and the poor; the trivialisation of the media; the unsustainability, in an environmental sense, of present patterns of resource consumption; the instability and policy incoherence caused by multi-party coalition governments''.

The study adds: "India still faces major developmental challenges. The still-entrenched divisions of caste structure are being compounded by the emergence of new inequalities of wealth stemming from India's economic success.''

These inequalities take your breath away. While the rich consume luxury goods and the middle class buys fancy cars and gadgets and holidays in Bangkok, they blind themselves to the reality for 700 million or so immiserated Indians. In their vainglorious dinner-table talk about ''superpower'' status, they forget that a country that cannot meet a poor person's most basic needs - enough food, clean drinking water, and electricity - has no business aspiring to superpower status.

One has always heard that Indians have traditionally lacked a certain respect for the facts but this wilful disregard of reality is disturbing. Affluent Indians have bought the superpower fantasy not just because of a contempt for the facts, but from pride and vanity and a tendency to get all puffed up the moment the country manages any achievement.

So an obscure international award for some Indian film, a bronze medal in a sport that no one watches, an Indian company's takeover of a foreign company, or an Indian kid topping a maths exam in the US, are all trumpeted as evidence that India has conquered the world.

This is the reality: about 400 million Indians have no electricity; India has more mobile phones than toilets; millions of children are not in school; most cities have no sewage treatment systems; no major city has a continuous water supply; disease is rampant; infrastructure is pitiful; and a UNICEF report released this month says there is acute malnutrition and hunger among the urban poor, with 54 per cent more infants dying from among the urban poor than from the urban non-poor. Another UNICEF report found that 93 million Indians live in urban slums, on pavements and construction sites.

Yet should anyone plead that the poor have been left behind they will be subject to heated criticism. It hurts the pride of Indians to be reminded of the country's poverty. But the existence of poverty itself does not hurt their pride.

Economic growth rates of about 8-9 per cent over the past few years have been justifiably praiseworthy. But the benefits of this growth have been confined to the middle class and the rich.

The poor still do not have homes, basic sanitation, decent schools or nutritious food. As a young girl in American author Katherine Boo's much-acclaimed new book Behind the Beautiful Forevers, about life in a Mumbai slum, says: "We try so many things but the world doesn't move in our favour."

Middle-class Indians need to read Boo's book about life in a rat-infested hovel, near a sewage lake, with rampant dengue fever, malaria and tuberculosis, with scraps for meals, a single toilet for 100 families and then try claiming that India is becoming a superpower. There are many criteria for defining a superpower, but for India an extra one should be added. Let no one utter the world ''superpower'' till every Indian family has a toilet in their home.

Amrit Dhillon is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi.

Is Amrit Dhillon a male or female name ?

SMH: Why India is not a superpower
Amrit Dhillon
<snip>

Amrit Dhillon is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi.

I think it could be either, but the language feels masculine to me.

FOURTH RULE
When a black person or group makes a statement or takes an action that the white community or vocal components thereof deem "outrageous," the latter will actively recruit blacks willing to refute the statement or condemn the action. Blacks who respond to the call to condemnation will receive superstanding status. The blacks who refuse to be recruited will be interpreted as endorsing the statements and action and may suffer political or economic reprisals.

The chief executive of Melbourne's Chinese Museum Marcus Schutenko said that in response to concerns from European gold diggers the Victorian government implemented a poll tax in 1855 which applied exclusively to the Chinese.

"This led many to disembark in South Australia and walk to Ballarat because they didn't have the ten pounds that they didn't know they would have to pay."

The tax was copied by New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia as Chinese miners began moving away from Victoria to avoid paying.

Some scholars have argued the poll tax and the anti-immigrant sentiment that spawned it provided the impetus for the Immigration Restriction Act (1901) and later the White Australia Policy, which prevented many Chinese from re-uniting with their families in Australia.

they need to stop being complacent turds, start working hard