Nasreen regrets violence, denies writing article

New Delhi: Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on Tuesday denied writing an article for a Kannada newspaper which has led to violent protests in Shimoga and Hassan towns and said there has been a "deliberate attempt to malign" her.

Nasreen said in a statement made available to PTI that she had never written an article for the Kannada Prabha newspaper in Karnataka. "The incident that occurred in Karnataka on Monday shocked me. I learned that it was provoked by an article written by me that appeared in a Karnataka newspaper. But I have never written any article for any Karnataka newspaper in my life," she said.

"The appearance of the article is atrocious. In any of my writings I have never mentioned that Prophet Muhammad was against burkha. Therefore this is a distorted story," Nasreen said.

"I suspect that it is a deliberate attempt to malign me and to misuse my writings to create disturbance in the society. I wish peace will prevail."

Kannada Prabha claims the article was reproduced from a book written by Nasreen and printed in its Sunday supplement on February 28.

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Nasreen regrets violence, denies writing article

New Delhi: Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen on Tuesday denied writing an article for a Kannada newspaper which has led to violent protests in Shimoga and Hassan towns and said there has been a "deliberate attempt to malign" her.

Nasreen said in a statement made available to PTI that she had never written an article for the Kannada Prabha newspaper in Karnataka. "The incident that occurred in Karnataka on Monday shocked me. I learned that it was provoked by an article written by me that appeared in a Karnataka newspaper. But I have never written any article for any Karnataka newspaper in my life," she said.

"The appearance of the article is atrocious. In any of my writings I have never mentioned that Prophet Muhammad was against burkha. Therefore this is a distorted story," Nasreen said.

"I suspect that it is a deliberate attempt to malign me and to misuse my writings to create disturbance in the society. I wish peace will prevail."

Kannada Prabha claims the article was reproduced from a book written by Nasreen and printed in its Sunday supplement on February 28.

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Fresh attack on Indian, Sri Lankan in Australia

In a fresh incident of violence against Asians in Australia, a Sri Lankan man and his Indian wife were attacked and racially abused by a group of drunken men at their home here.

A group of 25 drunken thugs bashed up 60-year-old Ranjit Sahasranaman, who is married to Indian-origin Agalya Sahasranamn, outside his own home in Carrams Down suburb on Sunday morning.

Sahasranaman, a Sri Lankan national, revealed his over two-and-a-half hour ordeal of how he fought back with the thugs till police arrived and dispersed them, the Herald Sun reported today.

Sahasranaman, who has lived in Australia for 19 years with his wife and two kids, said he was assaulted and racially abused by the gang of mostly white men who damaged his back fence and gained entry to his yard.

He said he was forced to fight back with a bar when the intruders got within centimetres of his back door.

Interestingly, this time the police dropped home one of the injured offender who allegedly got hurt by Sahasranaman.

“They were throwing punches at me,” Sahasranaman said, adding “they were calling names and told me to get lost from this country.”

The attack came at a time when Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith is in India to discuss with authorities there the security preparation for the Commonwealth Games and the issue of attacks on Indians here.

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Posted in: International

Fresh attack on Indian, Sri Lankan in Australia

In a fresh incident of violence against Asians in Australia, a Sri Lankan man and his Indian wife were attacked and racially abused by a group of drunken men at their home here.

A group of 25 drunken thugs bashed up 60-year-old Ranjit Sahasranaman, who is married to Indian-origin Agalya Sahasranamn, outside his own home in Carrams Down suburb on Sunday morning.

Sahasranaman, a Sri Lankan national, revealed his over two-and-a-half hour ordeal of how he fought back with the thugs till police arrived and dispersed them, the Herald Sun reported today.

Sahasranaman, who has lived in Australia for 19 years with his wife and two kids, said he was assaulted and racially abused by the gang of mostly white men who damaged his back fence and gained entry to his yard.

He said he was forced to fight back with a bar when the intruders got within centimetres of his back door.

Interestingly, this time the police dropped home one of the injured offender who allegedly got hurt by Sahasranaman.

“They were throwing punches at me,” Sahasranaman said, adding “they were calling names and told me to get lost from this country.”

The attack came at a time when Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith is in India to discuss with authorities there the security preparation for the Commonwealth Games and the issue of attacks on Indians here.

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Posted in: International

PM asks Saudi to persuade Pakistan to desist from terror path

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said he had asked Saudi Arabia to use its "good offices" to persuade Pakistan to desist from the path of terror.

Singh was asked by reporters on his way back home from Riyadh whether India would like to see Saudi Arabia as a credible interlocutor in dealing with some Indo-Pak issues, an apparent reference to remarks made by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor that created a flutter.

"I know Saudi Arabia has close relations with Pakistan," Singh said, noting that he had discussed Indo-Pak relations with King Abdullah on a one-to-one basis and explained to him the role that terrorism aided, abetted and inspired by Pakistan is playing in India.

"I did not ask him to do anything other than to use his good offices to persuade Pakistan to desist from this path," he said.

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Posted in: International

PM asks Saudi to persuade Pakistan to desist from terror path

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said he had asked Saudi Arabia to use its "good offices" to persuade Pakistan to desist from the path of terror.

Singh was asked by reporters on his way back home from Riyadh whether India would like to see Saudi Arabia as a credible interlocutor in dealing with some Indo-Pak issues, an apparent reference to remarks made by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor that created a flutter.

"I know Saudi Arabia has close relations with Pakistan," Singh said, noting that he had discussed Indo-Pak relations with King Abdullah on a one-to-one basis and explained to him the role that terrorism aided, abetted and inspired by Pakistan is playing in India.

"I did not ask him to do anything other than to use his good offices to persuade Pakistan to desist from this path," he said.

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Posted in: International

India Celebrates HOLI

A boy sells colour on the eve of Holi in New Delhi on Sunday. The festival of colours is a popular spring festival observed in India at the end of winter season.

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Posted in: Wishes