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Top Stories
High Court strikes down
job quota for Muslims
What is India News Service, Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 2200 hrs IST
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday struck down the new Congress Government's decision to provide five per cent reservation in jobs to Muslims.
A full Bench, headed by Justice B Sudarshan Reddy, quashed the government order on the grounds that the report submitted by the Minorities Commission was "not in order" and the state had not consulted the Backward Classes Commission before issuing the order.
The court directed the government to constitute a Backward Classes Commission within three months to identify eligible candidates among the minorities for reservation.
It also told the state government to identify and evolve a mechanism to eliminate the creamy layer to keep reservations within the 50 per cent limit.
Patil asks states to address political inequities to tackle Naxalism: Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Tuesday asked state governments to address the "widespread socio-economic, political and regional inequities" in extremist-affected regions and work for their integrated development.
Tackle globalisation effectively, says Manmohan: The PM in his message to UN has said challenges of globalisation should be taken up in a constructive way.
BJP MPs court arrest: Led by Sushma Swaraj, 150 BJP MPs and MLAs today marched carrying a plaque containing Veer Savarkar's quotation demanding its restoration in the Cellular Jail here.
Education satellite placed in orbit: India once again demonstrated that it is a world leader in space when its Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-FO1) raced into the sky from the spaceport at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
Honour for activists: Swami Agnivesh, social activist, and Asghar Ali Engineer, scholar and activist, have been jointly selected for this year's prestigious Right Livelihood Honorary Award in recognition of their justice and harmony.
Spotlight
Manmohan on tour
Britain has given its unqualified backing for India\92s claim to a seat as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Britain\92s Prime Minister Tony Blair declared, \93Yes, we do support Indian membership of the Security Council.\94 He added that he hoped the G8 group of countries, of which the UK is a member, would find a way of including both India and China in future discussions on key issues such as climate change.
Singh promises positive approach: Manmohan Singh pledged on Monday to engage constructively with Pakistan over disputed Kashmir as long as "terrorists" operating in the Himalayan region were brought to heel.
No equivocation, says Blair: Welcoming the incipient India-Pakistan peace process, British Prime Minister Tony Blair today condemned "totally and absolutely" Pakistani-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir.
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States
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Allies field separate bypoll candidates: Coalition partners Janata Dal (S) and the Congress are fielding separate candidates in Bidar, but Chief Minister Dharam Singh has said there is still time for one of the candidates to withdraw.
Will Lalu's daughter contest from Madhepura? Rashtriya Janata Dal sources say that Misa Bharti, a doctor, is under pressure from the party to throw her hat into the ring.
NCP-Congress joint manifesto soon: The Nationalist Congress Party chief and Union Minister, Sharad Pawar, said his party would release a joint election manifesto with the Congress in Maharashtra soon.
Neighbours
Tighter security around US embassy, consulates: Security has been further beefed up around the already heavily-guarded American embassy in Islamabad and its consulates in Karachi and Lahore, following threats of suicide bombings by women of Central Asian origin.
LTTE bent on crushing all dissent, says rights group: UTHR-J says LTTE seems hell-bent on eliminating all traces of dissent among Tamils before resuming talks.
Afghan vice president escapes bomb attack: An Afghan vice president on Monday escaped a bomb attack which slightly injured his driver while travelling in northeast Afghanistan days after President Hamid Karzai escaped a rocket attack in the south.
View from abroad
Indian scientist challenges Einstein's theory of relativity: A Canadian journal is publishing a research paper by Himachal-based Ajay Sharma that claims to have found shortcomings in the theory.
Seven NRIs among world's top 100 young scientists: Seven scientists of Indian origin were named among world's top 100 young researchers by Technology Review, published by MIT in US.
Overall:
Court struck down quota for Muslims: It told the Andhra Pradesh government to make sure only the poor among the minorities got preferential treatment.
UK supported India: Tony Blair said his country would support India's claim to a UN Security Council seat.
Afghan vice president survived attack: He escaped a bomb attack, but his driver was injured.
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