Indian Team crashed out of T20 worldcup

Ten reasons why Team India crashed out of T20 World cup.


1.The sudden and dramatic exit of Team India from the race for the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty- 20 Cup 2009 has shocked onlookers and confounded experts. Being the joint favourites along with South Africa for winning the Cup, the defending champions displayed a lack of innovation as also the absence of sheer desperation that resulted in their amazing success in South Africa in 2007 when they lifted the trophy as rank outsiders. The ten main reasons that led to their shocking elimination are - Complacency - There seemed to be an air of 'nothing-can-go-wrong' in the team's approach. They appeared to feel all along that the Cup was rightfully theirs and that no other team had the fire power to gun them down. That they lost to both the West Indies and England, two of the less formidable teams in the draw, indicated a sense of false superiority which did not result in runs on the board or wickets in the bag.

2.Sehwag's unavailability - Despite a star-studded line-up, India had no other batsman who could scare the wits out of the opposition bowlers quite like Virender Sehwag does. Yuvraj Singh is India's batting hero in this version of the game, but the task proved too much even for him, in the absence of the Sultan of Multan, whose shoulder injury cost India dear.

3.Wrong team selection - India bungled by playing an extra bowler in a batsman oriented format of the game. As a result, there was not enough ammunition in the late middle order to test the opposition seriously enough. Dinesh Karthik should have played instead of Ravinder Jadeja in the match against England. Yusuf Pathan and Rohit Sharma could have bowled spin along with Yuvraj Singh to fill the breach. Ishant Sharma could have been dropped in favour of Praveen Kumar whose swing bowling was suited to English conditions. RP Singh should have played all the matches, given that he was the highest wicket taker in the IPL, and the in-form bowler in the team!

4.Fielding lapses - In the match against the West Indies especially and also on some other occasions, misfielding hurt India badly. Two clear boundaries went through the legs of the fielders against the Windies, and could have made the difference in a close match. More over, India's field placing was such that the slower fielders in the team found the ball coming towards them on more occasions than did the best fielders. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan were cases in point!

5.Easy early matches - A factor that Team India could not do anything about, given their top-seeded billing! They had Bangladesh and Ireland for company in their group and found them to be easy meat. But the lack of serious opposition at that stage meant that they had to suddenly up the ante against better teams in the super-league, which they could not manage!

6.Jadeja's dilemma - By pushing green-horn Ravinder Jadeja up the order the team management exposed him to some accurate and hostile bowling from the England pacers in the crucial tie at Lords. Jadeja is a talented player and had claimed two key wickets with his left-arm spin earlier in the match but he appeared to be overawed by the occasion and could not really handle the pressure. In a match that India lost by just 3 runs, Jadeja's 22 off 30 balls was surely a match-losing effort.

7.Short-pitched challenge - The manner in which the West Indian fast bowlers, followed by their English counterparts, tested India's top order with short-pitched bowling was revelatory. Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina just could not get going and were tied down and then forced to find ungainly ways of hitting out or getting out while facing the bouncy stuff. India's top order has seldom looked as ruffled as it did in this tournament. Perhaps a realization that the conditions in England are such that they require pure cricketing shots in the first few overs may have done the trick.

8.Dhoni was out of sorts - Captain cool, MS Dhoni kept wickets reasonably well, and marshalled his forces to the best of his ability, but his batting was a let down. Even in the match against England when he and Pathan almost chased down the target, he could not really get the big shots going. His bat seemed to have lost its potency, for his shots simply lacked the explosiveness that they are known for.

9.Media trouble - Another factor was surely the off-the-field distraction especially the manner in which the Sehwag issue was dealt with. The media flayed the present Captain's attitude for the first time ever and the foolhardy attempt at displaying a sense of camaraderie by presenting the whole team at a Press conference was most bizarre.

10.Too much cricket - The current Indian team plays all around the year and big matches obviously lose their aura for the players when so much cricket is played. This was the World Cup after all, but from the look of them, Team India could well have been playing any other international series. Gautam Gambhir, who has been the most prolific scorer in world cricket in the past one year, looked totally jaded, and exemplified the mal-effects of excessive international cricket. Fans of the Indian team are distraught and shocked at their early exit from the ICC World Twenty 20. Let's see if the team can re-group from here and win back next coming Caribbean Tour, our admiration in the coming months.

Racist Attack

Harbhajan Singh's kin alleges son killed in Australia

Jalandhar/Melbourne/New Delhi, May30: Cricketer Harbhajan Singh's cousin on Saturday alleged than an Australian taxi driver had killed his son in Melbourne. Mr. Jagjit Singh claimed that his 26 year-old son Upkar Singh Babbal, who went to Australia in 2004, was killed in a racist attack in Melbourne on May 7. Mr. Jagjit Singh said that according to Babbal's friends in Australia, he was killed by an Australian taxi driver who threw his body on the railway tracks. Babbal's body was sent by Indian boys who were known to him, after the Australian police refused to conduct a post-mortem, Mr Jagjit Singh claimed. "We were informed by the Australian police that Babbal had committed suicide," Mr.Jagjit Singh said. But Babbal's body, which was cremated here on May 15, bore only a scar near his eye. Mr Singh pointed out that if he was hit by a train then there should have been more injury marks. In Melbourne, after surviving a murderous attack, a 25-year-old Indian student asked his countrymen not to go to Australia. "My advice to every Indian student who wants to come to Australia is please dont come and that there's is no life here," said Mr. Baljinder Singh.


Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan said he had rejected an honorary doctorate offered to him by the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Bachchan had earlier accepted the honour, offered for his contribution to the world of entertainment, he said in his blog.

Elections 2009(AP)

Win or Lose, Andhra Pradesh Politicians promise to work for people.

Even as the winning Congress Candidates credited party's welfare policies for their success. Opposition leaders said that they will continue to work for the common man.

JaganMohan Reddy Congress winner from Kadapa (LS)

Eenadu's Ramoji Rao and Andhrajyothi's RadhaKrishna should learn a lesson. They should publish thing that are of use to people. I will not ask for a ministerial post at the Centre. I would rather work with the people, said by JaganMohan Reddy after winning in elections.

Jayasudha Congress winner from Secunderabad (Assembly)
It is God's blessings. People trust Dr. Y.S. Rajashekhar Redddy. Despite so many parties contesting against us, we managed to emerge victorious. This is a positive vote for good governance said by Jayasudha after Winning in elections.

Chandrababu Naidu
President of Telugu Desam party
We accept people's verdict and congratulate the Congress. The results are not as we expected but we will analyse the reasons of our defeat and come out with a detailed response. We will still work for people as a responsible Opposition. Also, the TD would continue to work with Left parties in the future. I have to discuss with others whether or not a meeting of the Third Front should be held in New Delhi said by Chandrababu Naidu after losing in elections.

Kashmir Death Border

Maimed at Kashmir Death Border

JAMMU — From his small home, Mohammed Sadiq can see the barbed, wired border area separating the two sections of Kashmir, where he lost a leg to one of the many planted death traps.

"I was working in my fields in April 2003, when suddenly I got stuck in a landmine planted near a shrub," the Kashmiri farmer told IslamOnline.net.

"When I tried to move, it went off," he added painfully, recalling the day he was disfigured for life.

Sadiq is one of thousands of Kashmiris falling prey to anti-personnel landmines planted across the Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of disputed Kashmir.

The landmines, planted by both countries during their three wars since independence, are taking a heavy toll on villagers, many of whom have lost limbs and had their bodies disfigured for no fault other than living in border villages.

Mohhammed Aslam, a resident of Bandi Chechiyan village which lies along the Line of Control (LOC), the de facto border between the two countries, fell victim to landmines planted inside his land.

"I was going to the land along with my cousin and my brother when I accidentally stepped on a landmine planted by the army many years back during the Kargil conflict," he said referring to the 1999 war between India and Pakistan in the Kargil district of Kashmir.

"I lost one of my lower limbs."

According to Indian army sources, about three thousand people have been trapped in Kashmir border landmines.

Many of them suffered fatal casualties, an army official told IOL on condition of anonymity.

Kashmir is divided into two parts and ruled by India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars since the 1947 independence over the disputed Himalayan region.

Pakistan and the UN back the right of the Kashmir people for self-determination, an option opposed by New Delhi.

More than 60,000 people have been killed since Kashmiris took up arms against the Indian rule in 1989.

Death Traps

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, army officials describe planting landmines in border areas as a routine practice to stave off unwanted movement. However, they insist there has been no mining in areas where civilians live.

"No civil residential areas have been mined so far," a retired army officer who is an expert on mining told IOL, requesting not to be named.

But farmers' scarred bodies are telling a different story.

Mohammed Javid, 29, from Shahpur village, was going to his field when he stepped on a mine and lost both of his lower limbs.

"I was told by my father about the mines but never knew their location," he says bitterly.

Javid's father says that his son is not the only victim of landmines in the family.

"Soon after he lost his legs, another one of our relatives narrowly escaped a mine that went off and killed two cattle he was taking to the fields."

Army officers admit that they are not always informed about the exact locations of the landmines.

"There is always a change of command and shifting of units," the army officer said.

"The next unit never knows the exact number of mines and the lands having been cleared so far."

Abandoned

As if being disfigured is not enough, the victims of landmines suffer from official neglect.

"Army authorities had announced a fixed amount [of compensation] for victims of the landmines but the authorities linger on the cases for unknown reasons," the father of Mohhammed Aslam told IOL.

He affirmed that despite his efforts, no money has been given to his maimed son.

The father of Mohammed Javid said the family has been promised compensation for their mined land, but the promises remain ink on paper.

"We were assured that there will be a compensation for the land but nothing has been done so far."

Adding insult to injury, the victims also suffer from poor medical care in their villages, something that complicates their plight.

"There is no adequate medical facility here in the border district and we have to go to Jammu or Srinagar," fumes Shah Muneer Alam, a relative of one of the victims.

Aid and rights groups are trying to help out.

"We in association with other national organizations arrange camps to educate these villagers and provide them with psychological and financial support," B. L. Kapur, chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Watch, told IOL.

However, the aid workers acknowledge that even with their help, villagers still need financial assistance from the government.

"Those who suffer due to the landmine blasts are in need of government aid."

Varun says not Sorry

The Pilibhit police on Tuesday registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Varun Gandhi for his allegedly inflammatory speeches on the directions of the Election Commission.

Station Officer of the Barkhera police station registered the case against Gandhi for allegedly making speeches with an intention to create enemity among people on the basis of religion.

The case was filed under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act and for violations of the model code of conduct. Pilibhit SP R K Chaturvedi said a team has been sent to Bareilly to arrest Gandhi.

The three-member Commission which met today and discussed the speeches of Varun, a member of the Gandhi-Nehru family, in Pilibhit in which he had made inflammatory comments against the members of a minority community. The comments drew sharp criticism from within his party and allies and outside.

In a slew of decisions, the EC directed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer to file a case under Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act against Gandhi. It ordered issue of notice to BJP and Gandhi for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct. The EC also ordered transfer of district officials and suspended two others for alleged dereliction of duty.

Earlier, the District Magistrate and the ditrict election officer had sent Gandhi a notice seeking his explanation on the speeches in which he had made allegedly made rabid remarks against members of a minority community. However, the official was not satisfied with the explanation, sources said.

Under the Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 125 of the RPA, promoting enmity between different groups on various grounds including religion is punishable by imprisonment which may extend upto three years.

Any person convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for over two years shall be disqualified from contesting elections. The EC's action came as Congress met the Commission and complained about Gandhi's speech. Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh said the speech "is highly deplorable and deserves proper action".

Terming Gandhi's comments as 'shocking', BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain demanded an unconditional apology from him while the party asked all its poll nominees to 'practice caution' in their speech. BJP's ally and Janata Dal - United leader Shivanand Tiwari said that the Election Commission should take cognisance of Gandhi's speech and that there should be a 'legitimate' inquiry.

The 29-year-old Gandhi, whose mother Maneka Gandhi is also a BJP Member of Parliament, today said the CD of his speeches has been tampered with. He said he would address a press conference at the party forum on Wednesday to clarify the position.

Phone virus

Phone Virus that steals money


Moscow, Feb 8: A virus that attacks mobile phones in Russia and "steals money" by sending unauthorised SMS text messages to gain control over the bank account, could spread global, experts here have warned.

The virus that had only previously been seen in Russia, has now been found on an Indonesian cell phone, a leading anti-virus lab here said.
"The unauthorised operating of mobile phone users accounts will gain momentum in future, and spread across the world." Denis Maslennikov, a virus analyst for the Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab was quoted as saying by Russia Today TV. The virus gains unauthorised control over the cell account and then sends an SMS to a service number, requesting a money transfer from the victim's bank account. The yet unnamed virus is a Trojan and takes control of the victim's mobile account, and steals money from it. Those at risk are phones which run the Symbian file system for mobile devices and have SMS money transfer enabled. As wireless phones and PDA networks become more numerous and more complex, it has become increasingly difficult to secure them against viruses. Though a major mobile epidemic is sitll to come, a few viruses are already active.

Hell Fire in Australia

93 Charred in Australia hell fire.

Kinglake(Australia), February 8: Atleast 93 people were killed and entire towns razed in the worst wildfire disaster in Australian history, described by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Sunday as "hell in all its fury".

People died in their cares as they attempted to escape the inferno - smouldering wrecks on roads outside this town told a tale of horror while others were burnt to death in their homes.

While the deadly fires and a heatwave raged in southeast Australia, floods from torrential rains claimed lives in the north, with one victim a five-year-old boy feared snatched by a crocodile as he walked his dog.

The death toll from the fires jumped from 84 to 96 early on Monday, the Australian Associated Press said, quoting the police. However, the figure was later revised to 93.

But there were fears it could rise yet as medics treated badly burned survivors and emergency crews made it through to more than 700 houses destroyed by the fires, some of which have been blamed on arsonists.

Thousands of survivors jammed community halls, schools and other makeshift accommodation as troops and firefighters battled to control huge blazes fed by tinder-box conditions after an intense heatwave.

The fires have affected nearly 3,000 sq.km. an area nearly three times the size of Hong Kong.

"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Mr. Rudd told reporters, deploying army units to help 3,000 firefighters battling the flames.

"Dad, I'm Dying"

Some 350 children have been killed by Israel in 20 days. (Reuters)

GAZA CITY — "Dad, I'm dying."

The words keep echoing in Kamal Awaga's ears, sending jolts of pain into his feeble, wounded body.

These were the last words uttered by his 9-year-old son, Ibrahim, before he ended up as a practicing target for Israeli soldiers.

"They killed my son in cold blood," says the grief-stricken father, still in a state of shock.

Ibrahim joined more than 350 children killed by Israel in its three-week onslaught on the coastal enclave.

But while others fell victim to killer bullets or deadly bombs, Ibrahim's fate was even more tragic.

He became a shooting practice for a squad of Israeli soldiers.

"The Israelis did not show mercy for his innocence," said his tearful father from his bed at the Al-Shefa hospital in Gaza City.

"They had no pity for his tiny body," added the heart-broken father.

A Sunny Day

Nothing in the day prepared the Awaga family for the tragic twist of events that unfolded.

They woke up to a sunny morning after days of being locked in one small room to escape the massive Israeli bombardment.

"Mom, let's have our breakfast out in the garden. I'm tired of staying in this room," the grieved mother recalls Ibrahim's plea.

An hour later, the table was set in the garden and the family was hoping to enjoy rare moments of peace, unaware of the eyes watching them from a distance.

A first missile stole the family's job before another destroyed their house.

"Dad, I am dying," cried Ibrahim to his father who rushed frantically to his side.

"Hurry, let's go," Awaga told his wife and two other children while carrying bleeding Ibrahim.

But even before they could reach the gate, a flood of bullets showered them.

One bullet hit the mother's leg and another hit the father's waist.

Ibrahim's two frightened brothers ran for cover behind the rubbles of their bombed-out house.

Shooting Practice

As the firing died down, the family thought their misery was over. But the Israeli soldiers were not finished yet.

"When the soldiers came closer, I thought they will kill me," said Awaga who faked being dead.

"But they were aiming at my young child," he said choking at the bitter memory.

One soldier came close to Ibrahim's body, turning him by his leg and laughing while another fired his gun to the dead boy's head.

Laughs got louder as they carried the body to a higher place to start their party.

For a whole hour, the father hushed his cries of pain as he watched the Israeli soldiers compete in sniping on his dead son's body.

"They were using his bullet-ridden, bleeding body as a shooting practice.

"With each bullet, they were humming with words I could not figure out, but it sounded full of rapture. It was as if they were celebrating."

When they finally had enough "practicing," the Israelis took their guns and left the house.

Four complete days passed before emergency doctors were able to find their way to the family and rush them to hospital.

"What did my son do to deserve that?" Awaga asks, shaking his head in disbelief.

"The Israelis killed my kid, not once or twice but a thousand times."

Gaza schools reopen after one-month suspension

Special report: Palestine-Israel Conflicts

GAZA, Jan. 24 - In the aftermath of the 22-day Israeli military offensive on Gaza Strip, which unilaterally ended a week ago, schools run by the Hamas-ruled Ministry of Education and the UN were back to work on Saturday.

Gaza children pose for photos during their break in the Beit Loliya Boys Elementary School in Gaza city Jan. 24, 2009. Some 200,000 Gaza children returned to school for the first time since Israel's offensive.


Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire last week following a three-week air and ground offensive on the enclave, killing and wounding thousands of people. Thousands of homes, mosques and schools were also destroyed by Israeli missiles, bombs and shells, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna has earlier said that some 36 schools that his humanitarian organization runs were opened to shelter around 40,000 people, who had their homes being destroyed or evacuated during the war.

Gaza children have physical exercise class in the Beit Loliya Boys Elementary School in Gaza city Jan. 24, 2009. Some 200,000 Gaza children returned to school for the first time since Israel's offensive.

Gaza education officials estimated that 250,000 pupils went back to their classrooms in 384 schools spread all over the enclave, amid a status of sadness, shock and despair. According to official reports, Israel has also destroyed 35 UNRWA and governmental schools.

Dona Matta, a 16-year-old Gaza Christian pupil who studied at Gaza City's Holy Family School said she was "completely shocked" when she went back to school this morning.

"I discovered that my classmate Christine al-Torok was killed during the war," Matta said, adding "It's nice to get back to school after all what happened. I'm happy to be back, but I'm very sad at the same time to see that Christine's vacant."

Gaza now Israeli weapons testing lab?

Israel has turned Gaza into a research laboratory to test out its new "extremely nasty" weapons on Palestinians, a medical expert says.

After working for 10 days at the Shifa Hospital in the war-torn Palestinian territory, Dr. Mads Gilbert, a member of a Norwegian triage medical team in Gaza, blasted Israel for conducting experimental military work in the impoverished strip.

"There's a very strong suspicion I think that Gaza is now being used as a test laboratory for new weapons," Gilbert told reporters at Oslo's Gardermoen airport upon his return home on Monday.

Dr. Gilbert said the kinds of injuries he and his colleague Erik Fosse had seen during their ten-day aid work in Gaza had proven that Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME) was being used in the embattled territory.

DIME, which is an experimental kind of explosive, is believed to have strong biological effects in those who are hit by the "low lethality" weapons.

Survivors close to the lethal range may have their limbs amputated as their soft tissues and bones are shredded to pieces. The victims may also subsequently contract cancer from the micro-shrapnel embedded in their body tissue within just four to six months.

"This is a new generation of very powerful small explosives that detonates with an extreme power and dissipates its power within a range of five to 10 meters (16-98 feet)," said Gilbert.

"We have not seen the casualties affected directly by the bomb because they are normally torn to pieces and do not survive, but we have seen a number of very brutal amputations... without shrapnel injuries which we strongly suspect must have been caused by the DIME weapons," he added.

The weapon "causes the tissue to be torn from the flesh. It looks very different (from a shrapnel injury). I have seen and treated a lot of different injuries for the last 30 years in different war zones, and this looks completely different," said Fosse, 58.

"If you are in the immediate (vicinity of) a DIME weapon, it's like your legs get torn off. It's an enormous pressure wave and there is no shrapnel," he explained.

Israel had also used the weapon in the 2006 war with Lebanon and previously in Gaza.

"We are not soft-skinned when it comes to war injuries, but these amputations are really extremely nasty and for many of the patients not survivable," he added.

Following reports on the use of suspected chemical weapons in Gaza, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to dispatch a fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations committed in the territory.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Tuesday that "Accountability must be ensured for violations of international law," suggesting that the Council consider a mission to assess violations committed by both sides in the conflict.

The latest casualty figures according to Health officials have topped 940 since the operation began on 27 December, while some 4,400 others have been wounded.

Senior United Nations officials have expressed grave concern about reports that over 40 per cent of the Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive, and almost half of the wounded, are women and children.

The new report comes on top of earlier reports which revealed the Israeli military had used controversial white phosphorus shells on Gazans.

The Times said on Thursday that it had identified stockpiles of M825A1, a US-made White Phosphorus munition, from high-resolution pictures taken from Israeli artillery units on the Gaza border.

A phenomenon characteristic of the chemical -- also known by the military as WP or Willie Pete is that it can burn through flesh to the bone and leave bodies "entirely shriveled with black-green skin."

Earlier last week, Gilbert's team, told Press TV that medics had found depleted uraniumin some Gaza residents.

The reports of profound human sufferings come as Israel continues to reject the fact that it has imposed a humanitarian crisis among the battle-hardened 1.5 million population of Gaza.

Source: Press TV

Scams that Rocked the City

KRUSHI BANK(AUGUST 2001): Krushi Bank chief K.Venkateswara Rao fled the country in 2001 after allegedly duping 8,300 depositors of nearly Rs.32 crores. The Interpol arrested him in Thailand in October 2005 and was extradited to India in July 2006.

CHARMINAR BANK(MAY 2002): The bank chairman Syed Alamdar Hussain Sajjad Aga commited suicide after the scam came to light. Board members of the bank borrowed Rs.445 million from the bank. The CID booked the auditors for giving a rosy picture of the fuctioning of the bank that attracted large number of depositors.

PRUDENTIAL BANK(APRIL,2003): The biggest urban coop bank scam in the city was that of the Prudential Bank, which had a bad loan portfolio of about Rs.550 crore. The scam fully exposed the nexus between the managements and the defaulters. The police booked all the directors(even the former directors) of the bank following the scam. The Reserve Bank and Registrar of Co-opertaives have serious lapses in loan disbursals.

GLOBAL TRUST BANK(JULY 2004): Ramesh Gelli's Global Trust Bank, which collapsed in 2004 after fudging figures, had Pricewaterhouse Coppers. In the GTB case, PWC had shown fewer non-performing assets, making the bank seem stronger than it was.

NAGARJUNA FINANCE LIMITED(DECEMBER 2008): The promoter of the company, KS Raju, was lodged in Chanchalguda jail after being arrested in a criminal case pertaining to payments to depositors. Raju who was allegedly involved in siphoning of hundreds of crores of rupees from the Nagarjuna Finance depositors , is now in Gandhi Hospital. NFL had collected money from people in the form of deposits. They have 94 cases filed against them.

SATYAM COMPUTERS(JANUARY 2009): The chairman of Hyderabad's Satyam Computers confessed to fudging the company's books to the tune of over Rs. 7000 crores.

Fitness Czar

Some tips for fitness of your body...Just do it... but get it right!!!

1.Make fitness part of your life. Pick your fitness regime with care and make it a regular part of your routine.

2.Breathe correctly; most of us do it all wrong. Follow this rule, when working with weights any movement away from gravity involves exhaling, and vice versa.

3.Switch off your phone during a workout session.

4.Eat right, which translates into six small meals a day carbs during the day and proteins at night.

5.Nurture any activity which works as a stress-buster.

Shooed Away

Iraqi TV journalist Muntazer Al-Zaidi throws a shoe at US President George W.Bush during a news conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki on Sunday in Baghdad. The man threw two shoes at Mr.Bush, shouting, "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," after the first shoe and, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq," after the second. Mr Bush ducked both throws, and neither man was hit.

Words of Wisdom

1. A day without sunshine is like night.

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.


6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines

19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

20. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the hell happened?"

22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos.

The Gigantic trees

Introduction of Moghul dynasty

Humayun

The second Moghul emperor, Humayun (1508-1556) lost and regained his kingdom to continue Moghul rule at the expense of Muslim rule in India.

Deficient in diplomacy, resolution, and noblesse oblige, Humayun was the knight-errant of the Moghul dynasty. Childish but endearing, he was versed in the arts and may be described as a cultivated gentleman in the Persian style. But his love of pleasure periodically got the better of his natural energy and good sense. Humayun was, in essence, an attractive dilettante, who found himself playing the role of empire builder during complicated and hazardous times.

While growing up in Afghanistan, Humayan learned Turki, Arabic, and Persian and was interested in mathematics, philosophy, and astrology. To further train his son, the emperor Babur appointed him governor of Badakhashan at the age of 20. In one significant battle, Humayan defeated Hamid Khan, an Afghan chief. Subsequently, the young governor fought at Panipat and Khanua, two decisive battles in Indian history, and was granted jagir (landlordship) of Sambhal. In 1530, while on his deathbed at Agra, Babur named Humayan his successor. Even though Humayan had been trained as an administrator and a warrior, he could not keep pace with the rapidly changing political events in northern India.

Inheritance of a Divided Empire

The Hindustan (India), which Babur had bequeathed to Humayun was a magnificent but shaky inheritance. Notes Kulke and Rothermund: "His succession was by no means a foregone conclusion: according to Mughal custom all royal princes were equally entitled to inherit power, which led to many rivalries in later years when Mughal princes fought each other until the most competent, the most ruthless, or simply the luckiest ascended the throne."

Within his own circle was Humayan's brother Kamran, who was consistently faithless. The Moghul presence was still nothing more than a military occupation, and Babur had been able to sustain the empire largely by his personal reputation and by the loyalty of his own followers. Humayun had none of these advantages. More interested in opium and astrology than political power, the second Moghul ruler was challenged by his younger brothers and by Afghan generals, who had served under his father. His enemies were not Hindus but his own Muslims.

At the time of Babur's death, Kamran treacherously took the Punjab and the Indus Valley. The other two brothers, Hindal and Askari, were weak and shifty tools in the hands of Humayun's opponents. His cousins also opposed him. Instead of dealing with his enemies firmly one after another, he divided his forces, weakened them and wasted time in merry making. The loss of Kabul and Qandahar deprived Humayun of the most important recruiting grounds for the Moghul army.

Though on the defensive, Humayun managed to introduce some reforms. To increase the glory of his court, he heightened its ceremonial aspects, rituals meant to attract learned and pious men from adjacent countries. The emperor wrote verses and encouraged discussion, while Persian became the language of the court. It became a magnificent court, worthy of a great Timurid sovereign.

In 1533, the new emperor personally laid the foundation stone for a new city in Delhi—an area rivalled only by Troy. It was to be called Din-panah (Asylum of Faith). Remains of Humayun's Din-panah can still be seen in New Delhi, specifically the high walls of the citadel, called the Purana Qila, or the Old Fort. Delhi's founding gave notice to the Muslim world that here was the capital of a new liberal empire where philosophers and poets of any Islamic sect would be welcome. This was in contrast to the bigotry and persecution practiced by rulers in Persia and Turkey.

Humayun was no different then earlier Delhi sultans, however, in his dealings with the Hindus. Though it would prove to be highly injurious to his interests, he refused to attack fellow Muslims engaged in war with the Hindus. He also demolished Hindu temples at Kalinjar. But he was not a bitter persecutor and followed no systematic policy of Hindu repression. Like his father, he was free from sectarian bigotry and had little ill-will toward the Shia's.

But all the while, Humayun struggled to defend his dominion. Unfortunately, he had no grand strategy. On the suspicion that its raja was in sympathy with the Afghans, he besieged the fort of Kalinjar in Bundelkhand but had to withdraw to deal with the Afghan menace in the east. After gaining a decisive victory over the Afghans, he drove out Sultan Mahmud Lodi from Jaunpur. He then besieged Chunar, held by the Afghan chief Sher Shah, but soon abandoned it. Without suppressing the rising chief, Humayan accepted "a purely perfunctory submission" and allowed Sher Shah free scope to develop his resources and power. Humayan would live to regret it.

Muslim Against Muslim

He then marched against Bahadur Shah in the west who was pursuing a policy of expansion. In 1535, with determination worthy of his father, Humayun defeated the Shah at Gujrat. Though the Moghuls were temporarily relieved of their most dangerous enemy in the west after Bahadur's death, there soon appeared various pretenders to the Shah's throne, causing internal confusion in Gujrat. Humayun, while enjoying "his pleasure" in Agra, could only dream of the reconquest of the western kingdoms and the re-establishment of his glory. But when, after long months of idleness, he at last assembled his army for a new campaign, it was not for the reconquest of the west, but to break the continually rising power and the dangerous ambitions of Sher Shah in the east. The most powerful of the Afghans, Sher Shah established himself as an independent ruler to challenge the Moghul rule. After 1536, Sher Shah claimed the resourceful and wealthy province of Bengal. Though Humayun managed to oust Sher Shah temporarily from Bengal's capital of Gaur, he was soon trapped by the monsoon and lost part of his army to bad weather before facing defeat by Sher Shah's cleverly deployed force at Chausa in 1539. In the battle, 8,000 Moghul troops perished.

Following Chausa, the Muslim Sher Shah drove the Moghul Humayun to the west, defeating him again at Kanauj on the Ganges River in April 1540. In the battle of Bilgram that same year, the Afghan attack was so vigorous that the Moghul troops, whose movement was impeded by the presence of unruly camp-followers, began to flee, and Humayun's efforts to rally them came to nothing. Compelled to quit the battlefield, Humayun fled to Agra. When the Afghans followed him, the emperor abandoned the city and hurried west to Lahore. Hardly had he reached Lahore when news came that the Afghans had taken the capital city of Agra. Meanwhile, Sher Shah reached the Punjab and sent his general in pursuit of Humayun, instructing him not to capture the emperor but to drive him out of India.

In this moment of crisis, Kamran blocked his brother Humayan's access to the Punjab and Kabul. Thus, Humayun had no choice but to make his way toward Sindh, beginning his march through the most inhospitable part of the country. While on his way to conquer Sindh with the help of Rana Virsala, a Hindu ruler, Humayan received the happy news of the birth of his son Akbar. Having no money, he could not give presents to the nobles on this happy occasion. He also failed to capture Sindh.

Exile in Persia

Narrowly escaping his brother's forces, Humayun reached Persia, where Shah Tahmasp offered him a hearty reception. Humayun had brought about his own downfall. First, he should never have divided his kingdom among his treacherous brothers. Second, he seems to have believed, until as late as the early months of 1539, that Sher Shah was a mere upstart and could easily be stopped. Third, on reaching Gaur, Humayun had wasted more than eight months during which Sher Shah occupied the country from Teliagarhi to Kanauj. Humayun had shown little determination in bringing down his greatest rival.

Eventually, Humayan would conquer his brothers. When Kamran was later arrested, Humayun had him blinded and exiled to Mecca. Kamran would die in Arabia in 1557. Humayun's other brother Askari would also be sent to Mecca, while an Afghan would kill Hindal. Thus, Humayun would finally be free of his dangerous rivals, who had been an important link in his expulsion from India.

During his exile in Persia, Humayun's great rival Sher Shah, who had established a vast and powerful empire supported by a wise system of administration, died in 1545. But Sher Shah's son, Islam Shah could not keep his Afghan nobles in check. When Islam Shah died in 1553, the Afghan Empire was well on its way to decay. Aware of this disintegration, Humayun was eager to return to India with newly recruited armies. Shah Tahmasp of Persia offered him a force of 14,000 men on Humayun's promise to conform to the Shi'a creed. When Humayun crossed the Indus River, Bairam Khan, the most efficient and faithful of his officers, joined him. Many commanders from Qandahar came to help. While all around there was frequent strife, its governor maintained Qandahar as the undisputed base of Moghul operations. Thus with Persian help and Bairam Khan's support, Humayun was in a position to capture lost provinces. In February of 1854, he occupied the Punjab, including Lahore, without any serious opposition. At the news of the Moghul success, the Afghan leader Sikandar Shah sent detachments against the Moghuls, but at every encounter the Afghans were beaten. According to Moghul historians, Sikander's armies were larger than the Moghuls, but the superior Moghul tactics gave Bairam Khan a resounding victory on June 22, 1555. That same year, after an interval of 15 years, Humayun reconquered the Punjab, Delhi, and Agra, and reoccupied the throne of Delhi. He now appointed Akbar, his young son and heir apparent, governor of Punjab and assigned Akbar's private tutor, Bairam Khan, to assist him. This step was necessary in order to put down Sikandar Sur whose army had swelled and who was carrying on expeditions in the Punjab.

Restoration of Moghul Power

Humayun's second reign lasted only seven months. Still surrounded by Afghan enemies, the supporters of the Sur dynasty, he had recovered only part of his dominion. The most difficult task was that of establishing a firm system of administration and winning the sympathy of the people. There was now one advantage. With his brothers dead or banished, there was nowhere for the loyalty of his followers to swerve. He rewarded his friends and supporters. Bairam Khan was then created Khan-Khanan, the lord of lords.

During this time, Humayun selected sites for several observatories. With poetry almost the lingua franca of court life, discussions took place in the building called the Sher Mandal that was turned into a library. Here his valuable manuscripts were kept in safe custody; here Mir Sayyid Ali taught drawing to Akbar. In fact, both Humayun and Akbar took lessons in drawing. It was under two Persians, Khwaja Abdus Samad and Mir Sayyid Ali, that Indian artists undertook the Dastan-i-Amir-Hamzah, the first great series of paintings in what is now known as the Moghul school of art.

During Humayun's five-year absence, Sher Shah had greatly improved the system of provincial government and revenue collection. Humayun wanted to recreate the system, maintaining Sher Shah's village and district administration, while dividing the domain into provinces, each with its own capital. But, on January 24, 1556, in pious response to the sacred call of the muazzin for evening prayer, Humayun, while hurriedly descending from his library in Delhi, stumbled down the stairs. Two days later, in the words of historian Lane-Poole, he "tumbled out of life as he had tumbled through it." Since Humayun had not had time to introduce reforms, it was now left to his 13-year-old son Akbar to fulfil his intentions, building an enduring administrative edifice on Babur, Sher Shah, and Humayan's foundations.

Among the first six Great Moghuls, the image of Humayun is that of the nonentity, the one obvious failure. He was impetuous as well as indecisive. With all his weaknesses and failings, Humayun deserves a significant place in Indian history. The restoration of Moghul power paved the way for the splendid imperialism of Akbar. The Indo-Persian contact, which Humayan stimulated and reinforced, was of far-reaching consequence in the history of Indian civilization. Humayun also added to the development of Moghul architecture. Aesthetically inclined, he undertook in the early years of his reign, the building of a new "asylum of the wise and intelligent persons." It was to consist of a magnificent palace of seven stories, surrounded by delightful gardens and orchards of such elegance and beauty that its fame might draw the people from the remotest parts of the world.