Eathquake Hits India And Pakistan

veeresh,

I think it`s a good idea. we talk a lot here... its time for some actions... please elaborate on your plan.

Re: Asim Hayat

Point well taken and yes, the comment could have been said else where. The only problem is that one should use correct terminology or chronology, because if another person decides to use the information as a reference, s/he suffers as a result!

The disaster in India should not be an excuse to overlook factual errors! More earthquakes will continue to happen and more people will continue to die accordingly and life will continue to move forward perpetually.

Right now everyone is shocked and horrified at how slender is the thread of life and emotions of care and affinity are being uttered and there is a sense of bon homme between Indians and Pakistanis, but this will pass with time and we will once again forget how delicate life really is, as we once more threaten each other with nuclear annilation.

We browns are a sentimental lot and once we shed our baleful buckets of tears, we will revert back to tearing each other to shreds like always! :)

...old habits die hard in India and Pakistan! :)

Ciao!

I was just considering this . . . but time for action . . . Cheques/Money Orders could be drawn in favor of ``Prime Minister`s National Relief Fund`` and can be sent to me at : Veeresh Malik, chowk, D-61, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024, India.

tel 91-11-4644012

The rest is upto chowk editorial staff . . . I wil provide them with a list of names and amounts . . .

Very sad news.My thoughts and prayers are with the suffering families.May Allah [swt] help in rehabilitating the people so unfortunately struck by this great tragedy , physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.[Aameen ]

It is a very good idea to start a chowk fund , and i second the proposition all the way !

Shirin

Aftershocks or Preshocks

The U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, put the magnitude of the Indian Republic Day quake at 7.9 and said aftershocks could be expected for days or even weeks.



Seismologists recorded more than 80 aftershocks, one of which measured 5.6 on the Richter scale.

In Ahmedabad, thousands of residents, fearful of further aftershocks, still opt to stay outdoors.



Has the time not come for mankind to fear ALLAH and repent for the mischief on Earth? Are not these ``preshocks`` to warn the Final Convulsion before the Day of Judgement?

Th following verse from Quran highlights the divinic justice done to rejectors of ALLAH`s Message

To the Madyan (people) (We sent) their brother Shu`aib. Then he said: ``O my people!

Serve Allah, and fear the Last Day: nor commit evil on the earth, with intent to do mischief.``

But they denied him, and the dreadful earthquake took them, and morning

found them prostrate in their dwelling place.(Surah Al-Ankabut Verses 36-37)

The richest country in the world gives 25,000 donation for earthquake victims. Even Aga Khan a single person gave 500,000. Countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bangladesh have given more than US.

The Kuwaiti Red Crescent announced Sunday 250,000 dollars in emergency relief for the victims of the earthquake in India, which is believed to have claimed at least 20,000 lives.

Quoted by the official KUNA agency, Kuwaiti Red Crescent president Barjas Hamud al-Barjas said his organisation will coordinate its action with the Kuwaiti authorities to send the financial aid to India ``as quickly as possible.``

In Riyadh, Saudi King Fahd gave instructions to send two cargo planes of relief goods to India.

Qatar also announced it was sending emergency humanitarian aid to India, where the Gujarat state was hit by an earthquake on Friday, the worst the country witnessed in 50 years.

On Saturday, Oman shipped relief goods to India for the quake victims and announced another shipment of food and medical supplies for Sunday.



President Bush offered condolences to the victims and said the United States is willing to provide assistance ``as needed and desired by the governments`` of both India and Pakistan. As an initial donation, the U.S. ambassador to India, Richard Celeste, provided $25,000 from a fund for emergencies.

these are children as dear to me as my daughter . . . they have been (this little team of 4 girls and 3 boys) together since nursery and i`ve just finished 2 days of helping de-trauma Umang`s parents . . . the big line here is ``all the people I knew in Anjar are dead`` . . .

----- Original Message -----

From: Sudha & Veeresh Malik

To: N.Madhavan

Cc: umangbhatta@yahoo.com ; Veeresh Malik ;

Sent: 28 January 2001 22:19

Subject: Re: Back from Anjar - alive.

Mr Madhavan,

this is umang.I am using Veeresh uncles account .

I came back from gujrat this morning.I realy would like to speak with you at the earliest. I am on phone 98100-14643 and/or 914538375-grandparents and/or 6465128-parents . . . Anjar is still not connected by telephone and all the people I knew there are dead . . . sorry about being so brutal about it but that is the truth . . .

thank you for getting in touch,

sincerely/Umang

----- Original Message -----

From: N.Madhavan

To: Veeresh Malik Personal

Cc: umangbhatta@yahoo.com

Sent: 28 January 2001 19:18

Subject: Re: Back from Anjar - alive.

hi umang.

i write this after a mail from my friend veeresh malik. i work for reuters and we would certainly like to get intouch with the people in anjar who can talk abt the old building and also you.

can u mail back to narayanan.madhavan@reuters.com??

please provide us with your phone numbers andalso any number for the anjar contacts.

many thanks and all the best. madhavan.

----- Origi nal Message -----

From: Veeresh Malik Personal

To: veeresh@vsnl.com ; Forbes Naushad ; Hormazd Sorabjee ; Malati Puranik ; Murad Ali Baig

Cc: umangbhatta@yahoo.com ; devashis@vsnl.com

Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2001 6:23 PM

Subject: Back from Anjar - alive.

Umang Bhattacharya is all of 20 years old, and a childhood friend of our daughter, Shauravi. He was in Old Anjar, near Bhuj, on a school trip from the Bangalore based ``Shristi School of Art Design``. On the morning of the earthquake he along with half of the 27-member group, was on the road from Old Anjar to Bhuj. The other half of the group was still in the old family home of one of the students.

The reason they are alive today is because the old home had wooden ceilings, traditional and sensible. This is the only house from Anjar where 100% survival was reported.

Umang is in copy on this email to some of my friends in the media, most in bcc, in case you would like to get in touch with him. Please do pass this message on.

Veeresh Malik

First,my condolences to all Pakistani families affected by the earth quake. A group of students including me has decided to contribute whatever meagre funds we can manage to help the people of Gujrat. I urge the others also to contribute to the affected people of their respective countries.

For Indians, I guess the best route is to contribute through someone who lives near Gujrat so that he can make sure the money goes into the proper hands. The other options are to contribute to the PM welfare fund, Redcross society etc.



Sincerely

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/280101/dtlnat27.asp

Hindus, Muslims turn blood-brothers

PTI

(Ahmedabad, January 28)

THE EARTHQUAKE has proved to be a mighty leveller, both literally and metaphorically, with people donating and receiving blood, cutting across the communal divide between Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

Over 100 Muslim youths camping at the Municipal Corporation run V S Hospital in the city have not slept since January 26, when the state was rocked by the earthquake.

The Muslim youths hailing from Behrampura, Jamalpur and Kagdiwad localities of the walled city have saved the lives of nearly 100 Hindu quake victims by donating their blood.

Aslam Rangira Bagchi, a Muslim youth from Jamalpur, said ``of the 100 Muslim youths camping here since January 26, at least 35 have donated blood a number of times so as to avoid shortage of blood at the V S Hospital, which continues to witness an unending stream of quake victims, who are mostly Hindus.``

To a question on the first reaction of the Hindu victims on seeing them at the hospital, he said ``undoubtedly they seem to get reassured on seeing us. (Unhe tasalli ho jati hai hume dekh kar) I have somehow managed to have some winks, my friends even didn`t have that luxury. Some of them have not slept for 24 hours.``

Leelatwai Daniel, assistant matron at the V S Hospital, said ``quake has bridged the gaps between hearts. Of the 153 quake victims admitted to hospital, many had suffered serious injuries in heads and other parts and required surgeries. If the Muslims had not volunteered to donate blood, the situation would have been critical.``

I`d like to add here that I was extremely disappointed to see that despite all the devastation that happened in India, television channels had the insensitivity to air Femina Miss India and the constant parade of stupid senseless songs! I expected a bit more humanity...thousands and thousands of people died and people are too busy hooting and whistling at anorexic, semi-naked girls who will `represent` India! It takes a special kind of ignorance and insensitivity to be so indifferent to the sufferings of people in your very own country!

Assalmlaikm,

Its indeed very sad. I hope all those who have lost something or someone have the strength and courage to go on.

``You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.``

Jeannette Rankin

Wassalam.

Aisha

Indians and Pakistanis are working together

Members of the Indian and Pakistani community are working together to lend a helping hand to the thousands who lost their home in Friday`s deadly earthquake.

Rescue workers in the Indian province of Gujarat are losing hope, and officials fear that more than 15,000 people are dead.

One city has literally been reduced to rubble, and hundreds of soldiers continue to search by hand, hoping that someone may still be alive under the debris.

Residents of the Bayou City are trying to help those that survived.

Houston`s Indian community is rich in culture and strong in number. Independent businesses have flourished as immigrant families have settled into Houston.

Only two weeks ago Harshad Patel was in western India before the 7.9 earthquake hit. He belongs to an organization that is trying to unite other organizations for earthquake relief.

``We are together and supporting our loved ones back at home,`` Patel said.

Organizers are trying to come together as one relief effort.

Houston`s Indian community has more than 109,000 people.

The Indian community will gather for an emergency meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Gandhi Community Center.

Several international organizations are doing their part to help victims of the earthquake.

The Red Cross is accepting donations for the relief effort at (800) HELP-NOW.

The aid organization ``CARE`` is also taking donations at (800) 521-CARE.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/kprc/20010128/lo/300364_1.html

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/807958

It`s a sad story. Everyone has sympathy for the victims. There are mixed feelings. This is Republic Day, a celebration of our independence day. At the same time, it is a chance for us to come together and console each other,`` said Shamsuddin Shaikh, 38, a research scientist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Re: FerozK #18

``We browns are a sentimental lot and once we shed our baleful buckets of tears, we will revert back to tearing each other to shreds like always! :)

``

Sad but very true! But then again, we have our inherent flaws, and shortcmings that have historically prevented us from becoming ``malaika``. :)

Your averge brownie friend,

Asim

P.S It is indeed ironic to see that the nuclear superpowers such as ours(india and Pakistan) are unable to deal with such crises, on its own, and aid has to be flown in to help the unfortunate people, from those with whom they have eternal scuffles.

A masterpiece -- with an equally stunning title.

More -- more.

veeresh Look forward to seeing your proposal for a Chowk fund. A couple of thoughts in the meantime:

For the earthquake relief, we should not wait for the fund. There are enough agencies (as published by chowk) already available thru which funds may be channelled. For longer term relief, a chowk fund may be useful. Some possible modalities for that fund could be as follows:

a. Chowk maintains Bank Account, maintains uptodate on-line data on sources and uses of funds and audit reports.

b. Fund has the following goal incorporated in it`s charter: Promote peace and understanding between Indians and Pakistanis.

c. Fund identifies one or two organizations which already has on-the-ground activities in both countries. My choice would be SOS which runs orphanages in both Pakistan and India. The immediate focus could be children who have been orphaned by the earthquake in Gujrat.

d. Take it from there.

These are just a few thoughts that you may use as input, not a replacement for what you come up with to which I look forward to.

Re: Zahra, #25

Any formula for interest based on assumptions could lead to extortion in a closed, not free, economy. Say if the interest incorporates only discounted rate and not risk, then what inflation rate should be ``assumed`` to arrive at a discounted rate? And by all accounts, any rate, discount or not, is ``interest.``

In an ``Islamic Economy,`` to make a distinction between what is reasonable and what is not, interest rates charged on loans can have a legal ceiling such as, for example, no more than fifteen points above the Prime Rate or Libor, both set by the free market. I don`t think anybody would argue that fifteen points above Libor is ``usury`` or ``unreasonable`` for a high-risk borrower.

I feel sorry for the financial policy makers in Pakistan. I cannot wait for Pakistan to try to borrow money from the IMF or the World Bank and tell them that Pakistan will pay no interest on it, or try to raise funds in the international bonds market! I bet the investors will flock to the bonds issued by Pakistan Government that pays no interest!

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think an interest-free economy has never existed throughout human history, simply because it cannot. Interest-free economy is a lunacy. But, again, lunacy has been the corner stone of Pakistan`s policy makers for a long time. That is why Pakistan is in such a pitiful state today, at war within and without. Pity the common people of Pakistan