Shahrukh Khan's strong message to Pakistan

Shah Rukh Khan has issued a statement regarding the controversy surrounding his column for the Outlook Turning Points Magazine (Agenda 2013) in association with The New York Times:

"According to me, all our lives we are defined by three identities.

Two of which are fortunately acquired by birth and are a matter of unconditional love and acceptance.

The first identity is acquired by where one is born. Our Motherland. That defines us. So foremost all of us here like me are proud Indians.

Second the family name and upbringing that our parents give us. Mine is Khan, like some of us here. I am very proud of my parents, like all of us are here. I love them unconditionally.

The third is the profession we choose that defines us. By some quirk of fate I am a celebrity...a public figure in the fields of art and media. Like most of us are here today.

As I said being an Indian and my parents' child is an unconditional accepted truth of my life and I am very proud of both.

The third...being a public figure makes me open to any kind of questioning, adjectives good and bad and or sometimes makes me an object of controversy as people use my name and statements to attach any positive or negative sentiment to it. I accept all the above because this is the life I chose and will stand by it. I am what I am, because of the love and admiration that comes with being who I am in my profession...so I thank everyone for making me the star I am.

Now to address this whole issue, with regards to my article, that has taken an unwarranted twist . I do not even understand the basis of this controversy.

Ironically the article I wrote (yes its written by me) was actually meant to reiterate that on some occasions my being an Indian Muslim film star is misused by bigots and narrow minded people who have misplaced religious ideologies for small gains....and ironically the same has happened through this article...once again.

The reason for this primarily is....I think some of the people have not even read it and are reacting to comments of people, who in turn have also not read it. So I implore you all to first read it.

Second if you read it, nowhere does the article state or imply directly or indirectly that I feel unsafe...troubled or disturbed in India.

It does not even vaguely say that I am ungrateful for the love that I have received in a career spanning 20 years. On the contrary the article only says that in spite of bigoted thoughts of some of the people that surround us...I am untouched by skepticism because of the love I have received by my countrymen and women.

I will paraphrase the beginning and the end of the article to clarify and substantiate my stand.

"Then, there is the image I most see, the one of me in my own country: being acclaimed as a megastar, adored and glorified, my fans mobbing me with love and apparent adulation...

So I am a Khan, but no stereotyped image is factored into my idea of who I am. Instead, the living of my life has enabled me to be deeply touched by the love of millions of Indians. I have felt this love for the last 20 years regardless of the fact that my community is a minority within the population of India. I have been showered with love across national and cultural boundaries, they appreciate what I do for them as an entertainer - that's all. My life has led me to understand and imbibe that love is a pure exchange, untempered by definition and unfettered by the narrowness of limiting ideas.

Sometimes, they ask me what religion they belong to and, like a good Hindi movie hero, I roll my eyes up to the sky and declare philosophically, "you are an Indian first and your religion is Humanity", or sing them an old Hindi film ditty, "tu hindu banega na musalmaan banega - insaan ki aulaad hai insaan banega" set to Gangnam style.

Why should not the love we share be the last word in defining us instead of the last name? It doesn't take a superstar to be able to give love, it just takes a heart and as far as I know, there isn't a force on this earth that can deprive anyone of theirs.

I am a Khan, and that's what it has meant being one, despite the stereotype images that surround me. To be a Khan has been to be loved and love back..."

Please I implore everyone here to read the article and convey through your respective mediums of communications, all the good things that it expresses to youngsters and my fellow Indians. It is a heartfelt and extremely important aspect of my life, an appreciation of love that all of you have bestowed upon me and also a point of view from my being a father of two young children

I would like to tell all those who are offering me unsolicited advice that we in India are extremely safe and happy. We have an amazing democratic, free and secular way of life. In the environs that we live here in my country India, we have no safety issues regarding life or material. As a matter of fact it is irksome for me to clarify this non-existent issue. With respect I would like to say to anyone who is interpreting my views and offering advice regarding them, please read what I have written first.

Also some of the views that I have been made to read are just an extension of soft targeting celebs and creating an atmosphere of emotional outbursts and divisiveness based on religion...in the minds of some. I implore everyone to understand, that my article is against exactly this kind of giving in to propaganda and aggressiveness. Lets not be misled by tools which use religion as an anchor for unrest and a policy of divide and rule.

I would also like to add here, that my profession as an actor makes me, liked beyond the borders of my nation and culture. The hugs and love that I am showered upon by nationalities all around the world, make me safe all over the globe, and my safety has genuinely never been a matter of concern to me...and so it should not be a matter of concern to anyone else either.

We are all educated and patriotic people. We do not have to prove that time and again because of divisive politics of a few.

My own family and friends, are like a mini India...where all religions, professions and a few wrongs included, all are treated with tolerance and understanding and regard for each other. I only sell love...love that I have got from millions of Indians and non Indians...and stand indebted to my audience in my country and around the world. It is sad that I have to say it to prove it, in my country, which my father fought for, during the Independence struggle.

That's my piece and having said all this...I would like to request all of you present here...that henceforth ask me questions regarding...my next movie. The songs that I have recorded. The release date of my film. The heroines cast in it. The Toiffa awards in Vancouver, because I am an actor and maybe I should just stick to stuff that all of you expect me to have a viewpoint on. The rest of it...maybe I don't have the right kind of media atmosphere to comment on. So I will refrain from it.

And please if you can...put all I have said on your channels, or mediums of communication, in the exact same light as I have said it and meant it in. 24 hrs of unrequired controversy is more than enough for all of us I assume. So do not sensationalize and hence trivialize matters of national interest and religion any further and drag a movie actor in the middle of it all...and let me get back to doing what I do best...making movies."

-Shah Rukh Khan

Rehman Mallik of Pakistan asks India to protect Shahrukh Khan !

Shaharukh Khan is the richest celebrity in India (according to Forbes Magazine) while Mehandi Hassan (King of Gazzal) who migrated to Pakistan where he lived with severe financial hardship and worked as cycle, car and tractor mechanic; above all he died without getting proper treatment and care by Pakistan. This is the difference between India and Pakistan. Indians love their stars and iconic personalities. Despite getting all these SRK is not happy in India and let Pakistanis, who even can't protect their own civilians (no need to say the situations of minorities there), to comment on India to give protection to SRK which he already has been given. Pakistanis are inviting SRK, let him go and die as Mehandi Hassan. If I say boycott his movies and all related matters, some would pronounce me as narrow minded. Therefore, I need your suggestions about the issues.

As in the news, after SRK's interview, Pakistani home minister Rehman Mallik demanded from Indian government to provide security to SRK. SRK told that being muslim as his name is "Khan" he gets threats time to time in India. Hafeez Sayed, most wanted terrorist associated with Mumabi attack 26/11, invited SRK to Pakistan.

The question is, does SRK face such kind of problem in India? Should he deliver such statements that give chance to our enemies to comment on us? In my opinion, if he faced any problem it's just as every Indian faces. I do not believe that being a muslim he would have been victimized ever. During IPL as he behaved, if there would be any person of any religion, he would have been treated similarly. If SRK links it with his religion, it shows his ill mind only.

Arvind Kejriwal's letter to Mukesh Ambani

श्री मुकेश अंबानी

रिलायंस इंडस्ट्रीज़ लिमिटेड

मेकर्स चैम्बर्स - IV 

नरीमन पाइंट,

मुंबई - 400021

 

श्री मुकेश अंबानी जी,

 

अभी हाल ही में आपने देश के सभी टी.वी. चैनलों को मानहानि का नोटिस भेजा है। इनका जुर्म यह है कि इन्होंने 31 अक्टूबर, 2012 और 9 नवम्बर, 2012 को मेरी और प्रशांत भूषण की प्रेस कांफ्रेंस का सीधा प्रसारण किया था। हमने अपनी प्रेस कांफ्रेंस में देश के लोगों को बताया था कि किस तरह से आपने गैरकानूनी तरीके से सरकार पर दबाव डालकर गैस के दाम बढ़वाए। हमने लोगों को यह भी बताया कि आपके, आपके साथियों के और आपकी कंपनियों के स्विस बैंक में खाते हैं जिनमें कालाधन जमा किया गया था। हमारे इस खुलासे का  कई टी.वी. चैनलों ने सीध प्रसारण किया। आपने इन सभी टी.वी. चैनलों को मानहानि का नोटिस भेजा है। 

 

मेरी समझ  में नहीं आ रहा है कि मेरी और प्रशांत भूषण की कही गई बातों से यदि आपकी मानहानि हुई है तो इसके सबसे बड़े दोषी तो मैं और प्रशांत भूषण हैं। नोटिस भेजना ही था तो आपको हमें भेजना चाहिए था। टी.वी. चैनलों ने तो केवल उसका प्रसारण ही किया था। फिर भी आपने हमें नोटिस न भेजकर टी.वी. चैनलों को नोटिस भेजा है। इससे जाहिर है कि आपका मकसद केवल टी.वी. चैनलों पर दबाव बनाने का है।

 

देश की जनता आपसे कुछ सीधे सवाल पूछना चाहती है। भारत सरकार को स्विस बैंको में खातेदारों की जो लिस्ट मिली है, क्या ये सच नहीं है कि आपका, आपके रिश्तेदारों का, आपके दोस्तों का और आपकी कंपनियों का उनमें नाम है? क्या यह सच नहीं है कि इस लिस्ट में आपके नाम पर सौ करोड़ रुपये जमा दिखाए गए हैं? क्या ये सच नहीं है कि आपने इस पैसे पर टैक्स जमा कर दिया है? इससे यह साबित होता है कि आपने अपना जुर्म कबूल कर लिया है। कानून के मुताबिक अब आप पर मुकदमा चलना चाहिए और यदि टैक्स की चोरी साबित होती है तो आपको जेल होनी चाहिए।

 

लेकिन ऐसा नहीं होगा। क्यों? क्योंकि सरकार आपसे डरती है। आपने खुद ही कहा है कि कांग्रेस पार्टी तो आपकी दुकान है। आपने सच ही कहा था। मीडिया में छपी कुछ खबरों के मुताबिक सोनिया गाँधी जी आपके निजी हवाई  जहाज से यात्रा करती हैं। लोगों का मानना है कि श्री जयपाल रेडडी का मंत्रालय भी आप ही के दबाव में बदला गया था।

 

केवल कांग्रेस ही क्यों? भाजपा और अन्य पार्टियां भी आपकी दुकान हैं। पहले तो आडवाणी जी स्विस बैंकों के खातों के बारे में खूब आवाज़ उठाते थे लेकिन जब से आपके खाते निकलकर सामने आए तो सारी भाजपा बिल्कुल चुप हो गई। आपके खातों के बारे में भाजपा ने संसद में एक शब्द भी नहीं बोला।

 

ऐसा लगता है कि सभी पार्टियां आपसे डरती हैं। सभी नेता आपसे डरते हैं। लेकिन इस देश की जनता आपसे नहीं डरती। सारी पार्टियां आपकी दुकान हो सकती हैं। लेकिन भारत आपकी दुकान नहीं है। भारत हमारा है, इस देश के लोगों का है। आप अपने पैसे से पार्टियों को खरीद सकते हैं, नेताओं को खरीद सकते हैं लेकिन भारत को हम बिकने नहीं देंगे।

 

आपका कहना है कि हमारे द्वारा कही गई बातों का सीधा प्रसारण करने से टी.वी. चैनलों ने आपकी मानहानि की। आप सोचकर देखिए कि आपकी मानहानि मैंने, प्रशांत भूषण और टी.वी. चैनलों ने की है या आपने अपनी मानहानि खुद अपने कर्मों से की है?

 

1.  2002 में आपने सरकार से ''फुल मोबिलिटी लेने के लिए प्रमोद महाजन को रिश्वत दी। 55 रुपये प्रति शेयर के भाव वाले एक करोड़ शेयर आपने प्रमोद महाजन को 1 रुपये प्रति शेयर के हिसाब से दे दिए। ये तो सीधी  रिश्वत थी। जब आप पकड़े गए तो आपने शेयर वापस ले लिए। मामला अभी कोर्ट में है। क्या ऐसा करने से आपकी मानहानि नहीं हुई?

 

2.  आपने अपना बहुमंजिला मकान 'वक्फ' के ज़मीन पर बनाया है। इस ज़मीन पर अनाथालय बनना था। गरीब और अनाथ मुस्लिम बच्चों के हक को छीना है आपने। क्या ऐसा करने से आपकी मानहानि नहीं हुई?

 

3.  सन 2000 में आपको देश के गैस के कुछ कुएं दिए गए। आपकी जिम्मेदारी थी कि आप इसमें से गैस निकाल कर भारत सरकार को दें। गैस हमारी थी, इस देश के लोगों की। हम उस गैस के मालिक हैं। आपकी हैसियत केवल एक ठेकेदार की थी। आपको गैस के कुएं केवल गैस निकालने के लिए दिए गए थे। लेकिन आप चतुराई से मालिक बन बैठें। सरकार को आपने गैस 'बेचनी' चालू कर दी। सरकार पर दबाव डालकर आपने गैस के दाम बढ़ाने चालू कर दिए। चूंकि कांग्रेस आपकी दुकान है तो कांग्रेस पार्टी हमेशा आपकी दादागिरी के सामने झुकती नज़र आई। अकसर आपके दबाव में कांग्रेस गैस के दाम बढ़ाती गई और देश के लोग हाहाकार करते रहे। आपकी वजह से बिजली, खाद और रसोईगैस महंगी होती गई। लेकिन जब पानी सर से ऊपर हो गया तो श्री जयपाल रेडडी जी ने आपका विरोध् किया। उस समय श्री जयपाल रेडडी देश के तेल मंत्री थे। उन्होंने आपके दबाव में न आकर गैस के दाम और बढ़ाने से मना कर दिया। आपने श्री जयपाल रेडडी जी का ही तबादला करा दिया। आपकी हरकतों की वजह से देश में कई वस्तुएं महंगी हो रही हैं और जनता कराह रही है। क्या यह सब हरकतें आपको शोभा देती हैं? क्या इन हरकतों से आपकी मानहानि नहीं होती?

 

इस किस्म के आपके बेइमानी के कामों की लिस्ट बहुत लंबी है।

 

इस देश के अधिकतर व्यवसायी, कारोबारी, उद्योगपति ईमानदारी से काम करना चाहते हैं। लेकिन आज की व्यवस्था उन्हें बेइमानी करने पर मजबूर करती है। पर आपके जैसे उद्योगपति जब खुलेआम व्यवस्था का दुरुपयोग अपने फायदे के लिए करते हैं तो इससे सारे उद्योग और व्यवसाय पर काला धब्बा लगता है।

 

एक तरफ आप हैं, आपके पास पैसा है। दूसरी तरफ इस देश की जनता है। जनता अब जाग गई है। जनता के अंदर जुनून है। इतिहास गवाह है कि जब-जब पैसे और जुनून के बीच लड़ाई हुई है तो हमेशा जुनून जीता है।

 

मेरा आपसे निवेदन है कि देश के मीडिया को धमकाने की कोशिश न करें। मीडिया में चंद लोग ऐसे हो सकते हैं जिन्होंने खुद गलत काम किए हों। ऐसे मीडियाकर्मी शायद आपके दबाव में आ जाएं। लेकिन आज भी अधिकांश पत्रकार देश के लिए काम करते हैं। वो आपके दबाव में नहीं आने वाले। इतिहास गवाह है कि जब-जब देश की न्यायपालिका, कार्यपालिका और विधायिका चरमराती नज़र आई तो, ऐसे ही पत्रकारों ने लोकतंत्र को जिंदा रखा। कुछ ऐसे मीडिया घराने हैं जिनमें सीधे या परोक्ष रूप से आपका पैसा लगा है। हो सकता है ऐसे घराने आपके दबाव में आ जाएं, पर इन घरानों में काम करने वाले पत्रकार आपके दबाव में नहीं आने वाले।

 

आपका क्या सपना है? क्या आप बेइमानी से दुनिया के सबसे धनवान व्यक्ति बनना चाहते हैं? मान लीजिए आप इस देश की सारी दौलत के मालिक बन जाए। क्या इससे आपको खुशी मिलेगी? खुशी अधिक से अधिक धन अर्जित करने से नहीं मिलती। बल्कि त्याग करने से मिलती है। आज आप एक ऐसे मुकाम पर खड़े हैं कि यदि आप बेइमानी से व्यवसाय करना छोड़ दें और अपनी सारी दौलत देश के लोगों के विकास में लगा दें तो यह देश आपको कभी नहीं भूलेगा।

 

(अरविंद केजरीवाल)

 

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(Please find below English Translation of the letter. The letter was originally written in Hindi.)

 

Dear Mr Mukesh Ambani,

 

You have recently sent a defamation notice to a number of TV channels. Their “crime” is that they aired the press conference held on the 31^st October 2012 and 9^th November 2012, by Prashant Bhushan and me, live. In our press conference, we presented before the country how you had illegally pressurized the government into increasing gas prices. We also told the country that your associates and your companies have accounts in Swiss banks where black money had been stashed away. Many TV channels aired our expose live.  All these TV channels have now received defamation notices from you.

 

I find it quite perplexing. If you felt that you have been defamed by what Prashant Bhushan and I said, then we are the real culprits and, if you had to send a defamation notice, it should have been to us. The TV channels merely broadcast what we said. Despite this, instead of sending us the defamation notice, you have sent it to the TV channels. It is evident that your sole purpose of sending this notice was to steamroll the TV channels into subservience.

 

The people of India want to ask you some straight questions:

 

·        Is it not true that the list of those who have accounts in Swiss Banks, as received by the Government of India, includes your name and the names of your relatives, your  friends and your companies?

 

·        Is it not true that a balance of Rs. 100 crores is shown against your name in this list?

 

·        Is it not true that you have paid the tax on this amount after this list was received by the  Government?

 

If the above is true, as we suspect it is, it proves that you have admitted your guilt. As per the law of the land, you should be tried and, if the charge of tax evasion is proved, you should be sent to jail. 

 

However, this would never happen. Why? Because the Government of India is intimidated by you. You have been reported as saying that the Congress Party has been bought by you – it is your dukaan, to be precise. You are right. according to some media reports, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi sometimes travels by your personal aircraft. People believe that Mr. Jaipal Reddy’s ministry was also changed because of your influence.

 

Why only the Congress? Even BJP and many other parties are in your pocket. Earlier, Mr. Advani used to make a lot of noise about Swiss Bank accounts, but since your accounts have been exposed, BJP has suddenly gone quiet. BJP has not mentioned a single word in the Parliament about your accounts.

 

It appears that almost all parties are afraid of you. Most leaders are scared of you, too. However, the citizens of this country are not scared of you. All parties could be your dukaan but India is not up for sale. India is ours, it belongs to the people of this country. You can purchase political parties and political leaders with your money but we will not let India be sold.

 

You say that the TV channels have tainted your reputation by airing our press conference live. That's wrong. I would urge you to answer this question honestly - Did Prashant Bhushan, myself and the TV Channels defame you or did you defame yourself through your own misdeeds?

 

1. In 2002, you gave 1 Crore shares with a market price of Rs. 55 per share to Mr. Pramod Mahajan at just Rs. 1 per share. This was a straight bribe to get “Full Mobility”. When you were caught, you took back the shares. Presently, the matter is In court.  Didn't you defame yourself by doing this?

 

2. You have made your multistoreyed residence on Wakf land. This land had been set aside for an orphanage. You have stolen the right of poor and orphaned Muslim children. Didn't you defame yourself by doing this?

 

3. A few gas wells belonging to the Country were allotted to you in 2000. You were supposed to extract gas and give it to the government. The gas belongs to us, the people of India. We are the owners of this gas. You were only a contractor appointed to extract the gas. However, cleverly you became the owner of the gas. You started "selling" the gas to the government.

Because the Congress is in your pocket, it always bowed before your bullying. The Congress kept increasing the price of gas under your pressure and the nation kept wailing. Because of you, the prices of electricity, fertilizer and cooking gas kept rising. When it crossed all limits, Mr. Jaipal Reddy opposed you. He was the Minister for Oil and Gas at that time. You got Mr. Jaipal Reddy transferred. Because of you many things have become increasingly expensive in India and the people are groaning under the load of these high prices. Do these shenanigans suit you? Do such acts not defame you?

 

The list of such illegal acts done by you is quite long.

 

The majority of the traders, businessmen and industrialists want to do their work honestly. But the system forces them into wrongdoings. But when a businessman like you brazenly subverts the system for his personal benefit, the entire industry and business world gets a bad name.

 

You are on one side with immense wealth. On the other side are the people of this country. The people have now awakened. Fire is raging in their heart. History is witness that whenever there has been a clash between money and such rage, the rage has won.

 

Kindly do not try to intimidate the media of this country. There may be some mediamen who may have done wrong things themselves. Such media-persons may succumb to your pressure. However, the majority of media persons keep the interest of the Country at heart even today. They are not going to capitulate so easily. History is witness that whenever the judiciary, bureaucracy and legislature crumbled, it is the honest fourth pillar, comprising such media-persons that kept democracy alive.

 

You have invested in some media houses directly or indirectly. It is possible that these media houses do your bidding. However, the journalists working for such media houses will not barter their integrity so easily.

 

What is your dream? Do you want to become the world's richest person through dishonesty? Suppose you became the owner of all the wealth in this country. Would that make you happy? Happiness does not increase by accumulating more and more wealth. Happiness comes with sacrifice. If you stopped doing business dishonestly and contributed your wealth for the development of the nation, this country will remember you with pride forever.

 

With regards,

 

 

Arvind Kejriwal

Why do national issues become irrelevant?

Shinde, Hindu, RSS, BJP, Congress, Corruption

क्या देश हित से जुड़े मुद्दे कभी राष्ट्रीय राजनीति का हिस्सा बन पाएंगी? मेरे दिमाग में यही सवाल चलता रहता है। घिन आती है देश की राजनीति को देख के। कुछ दिन पहले तक लगा था कि भ्रष्टाचार एक राष्ट्रीय मुद्दा बन के रहेगा और 2014 के आम चुनाव में एक अहम् रोल अदा करेगा। लेकिन शिंदे के एक बयान ने सबको पीछे छोड़ दिया जो एक सोची समझी साजिश का नतीजा है। ये वही शिंदे जी हैं जिन्होंने कहा था कि  देश की जनता कुछ दिन याद रखती है फिर सब भूल जाती है, अपनी कही गयी उसी बात को ध्यान रखते हुए इन्होने देश के हिन्दुओं को (आरएसएस या बीजेपी को मैं सभी हिन्दुओं का प्रतिनिधि नहीं मानता लेकिन जब भगवा शब्द आता है तो वो सभी हिन्दुओं का संबोधन होता है) आतंकी बता दिया। इसके पीछे उनका मकसद असल मुद्दों से देश की जनता का ध्यान भटकाना था, शिंदे ऐसा सोच सकते हैं क्यूंकि हम (देश की जनता) उन्हें सबक नहीं सिखाते और उनकी बातों में आ जाते हैं और उनके भूल जाने वाले बयान को बल देते हैं।
हम क्यूँ वोट देते समय देश हित को ध्यान में नहीं रखते? क्यूँ जाति और धर्म के आधार पर वोट देते हैं। एक बार आप समझ जायेंगे तो वो ऐसे मुद्दे उठाने की हिम्मत नहीं कर पाएंगे। उनको ऐसे मुद्दे उठाने में आसानी होती है क्यूंकि हम आसानी से उस पे अपनी प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त करते हैं और नेता वोटों की फसल काट लेते हैं। हम प्रतिक्रिया देते हैं इसलिए वो ऐसे मुद्दे उठाते हैं। जब देश हित के मुद्दों के आधार पर वोट देंगे तो वो भी सिर्फ यही मुद्दे आपके सामने लायेंगे। उनको लगता है की देश हित के मुद्दे उन्हें वोट नहीं दिलाते इसलिए नेता भी ऐसे मुद्दे नहीं उठाते। नेताओं को दोष देने से पहले हमें खुद को बेहतर बनाना होगा।

आइये एक बेहतर भारत बनाने का संकल्प लें।

जय हिन्द !!!

Careless Political Class

Current political drama is very unfortunate for our country. Country has faced many problems since last few years such as cascade of scams and opportunistic politics. Despite of these issues, political classes are just aligning their interests which may be beneficial to them. National issues, dream of young India, have become irrelevant.

ICAR’s Shoddy Science

Inquiry panel finds Bt cotton project had serious flaws, scientists were unethical

Despite BNBt failure, NRCPB was given Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institution Award 2010; received by director P A Kumar (Source: ICAR)

THREE years after the country’s first attempt to commercialise a GM crop ended disastrously, there is no satisfactory conclusion to the tale of scientific deception, regulatory carelessness and official indifference that has characterised the development of Bt Bikaneri Narma (BNBt) cotton. An inquiry committee tasked with finding out if the public research institutions involved in developing the desi cotton did, indeed, do so or whether it was just the MON531 event of Monsanto with which it was claimed to have been “contaminated” has stitched together a detailed report that exposes the many flaws and omissions in this prestigious project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). But it leaves critical concerns unanswered (see ‘Troubling questions’). 

The BNBt, known as the BNLA106 event, or the genetic transformation of an elite Indian genotype of cotton, was developed under the generously funded National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) during 1999-2004. It was a collaborative effort that brought together the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology (NRCPB) in Delhi, the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad (UAS-D) and the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur, all top institutions in their own spheres. The project, however, was beset with serious shortcomings (see ‘Untangling India’s Bt cotton fraud’, Down To Earth (DTE), February 15, 2012). 

For one, the scientist responsible for conducting molecular analysis of BNBt did not do so because, as the committee has discovered, he did not have the technical skills to carry out such studies. Ishwarappa S Katageri of UAS-D claims he was not even aware of any methodology to differentiate various events. Incidentally, he has been on the regulatory body Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) for years. Such DNA-based tests are mandatory to assess the purity of the material and are essential for regulatory studies. While Katageri did not perform the work he should have, the principal investigator (PI) of the project, Polumetla Ananda Kumar of NRCPB, did not monitor him either. “On his part, the PI did not perform the duties of overall coordination, monitoring and filling in the gaps that are normally expected of the PI.” And, the regulators, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) and RCGM do not seem to have noticed these lapses.

While the regulatory oversight is not mentioned in the inquiry conducted by Sudhir Kumar Sopory, vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, and his team, it does highlight the shocking weaknesses in the ICAR system. In its rush to develop an indigenous variety of GM cotton, the institutions and scientists that were involved in the project appear to have thrown due processes and ethics out of the window as DTE reports have shown. BNBt was given the green signal for commercialisation in 2008 despite reservations expressed by certain scientists. 

It became controversial because the genetic event MON531 is the intellectual property of agrobiotech giant Monsanto and is the most widely used event in the cotton hybrids sold in the Indian market. That is the primary reason; the other is that when the seed was distributed to Mahabeej, the Maharashtra state-owned seed corporation for multiplication in 2009, it failed (see ‘Cleaning the cotton stain’, DTE, February 29, 2012). Subsequently, after ICAR ordered the suspension of production and sale of BNBt in December 2009 because of “contamination”, the event was “purified” but by whom is not known. In its report made public in December, the Sopory committee says “it appears that an event that is different from MON531 is present in ‘purified’ BNBt”, but added that “third party verification is needed to conclusively establish whether the event in purified BNBt is the same as the event in original BNBt or not”. As such, “all the earlier data obtained from biosafety studies and field trials with BNBt appear to have been conducted with material that contained the MON531 event, and thus are invalid.” Accordingly, “The ‘purified BNBt’, as far as its biosafety and evaluation studies are concerned, is a new event that must now go through the regulatory process as a fresh application, if ICAR intends to commercialise it.”

 

Troubling questions:

How did the principal investigator submit three different vector maps of the gene sequence to different authorities? 

Why were the BNBt breeder seeds not tested for Mon531? 

 

How did BNBt seeds acquire Mon531? How was the “purification” done, if at all? 

How did regulators allow such a fraudulent process to get past them? 

Sopory committee says seeds were “contaminated” before 2005. Why did the project scientists fail to detect this?
 
How many crop modification projects are using the same NRCPB gene? Have these been halted?

However, it still leaves wide open the question of whether BNLA106 is an independent event. Ananda Kumar, principal scientist of NRCPB who later became its director, was pivotal in developing the desi GM cotton. As lead centre for the NATP Project, NRCPB provided the gene construct for genetic transformation, conducted gene integration studies apart from the technical and financial support to UAS-D for genetic transformation of the material into the indigenous cotton variety. The Delhi-based institution also provided details of the gene construct and molecular analysis to RCGM and GEAC for approval. And it is here the committee found the most unethical aspect of the project.

The cry1Ac gene used in BNBt was developed by Illimar Altosaar of the University of Ottawa in Canada, and an expert on plant biology and GM organisms. The gene was obtained by R P Sharma, former director of NRCPB, by signing a material transfer agreement (MTA) with the University of Ottawa. It turns out in 2006, Ananda Kumar tried to negotiate a freedom to operate agreement with Altosaar but did not succeed. To get over this hump, ICAR decided at a meeting in October 2006 that Sharma had signed the MTA in his “personal capacity”, and, therefore, a freedom to operate agreement was not necessary. Using this specious logic, it was decided to call the gene a “NRCPB construct”.

The Sopory committee had three senior scientists with right expertise to tackle the case: Sopory himself is a molecular biologist; B S Dhillon, vice chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, is a plant geneticist, and Ramesh Sonti, deputy director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, is a specialist in plant pathogens. In addition it co-opted Imran Siddiq, a plant developmental biologist from CCMB. What the committee did not explain or, perhaps, examine is why are there three different vector maps for BNBt apart from the one submitted to the committee. (The vector is a DNA sequence that consists of an insert or transgene, and a larger sequence that serves as the “backbone” of the vector.) 

DTE has documents that show the map submitted to RCGM/GEAC up to 2006 is different from the one published in Current Science in December 2007. Interestingly, in the January 2012 issue, the authors had published a corrigendum stating “the gene cassette had been reversed inadvertently” and should be read differently. There is a third map submitted by the NRCPB director to the ICAR director general on 20 October, 2011, which does not concur with the earlier sequences. A further twist came in the new gene integration vector map given to the Sopory committee. According to a molecular biologist who has examined these maps, there is far too much rearrangement of DNA and addition of another 5,800 kb of bacterial vector backbone, “which is not desirable”. A perusal of the facts, says the scientist who did not wish to be named, indicates the “purified” BNBt seeds cannot possibly be the same as the original BNBt of the Current Science paper. “This ‘purified BNBt’ story smacks of attempts to cover up, side-track and confuse the issue.” 

The concern here is whether the regulatory authorities are at all aware of this since the information has been kept hidden for 3.5 years after GEAC approved BNBt. The more worrying aspect, say ICAR sources, is that NRCPB has provided the same disputed construct for the genetic transformation of a number of crops, including pigeonpea, chickpea, tomato, castor and groundnut. ICAR has not responded to DTE questions whether such research has been halted.

Source: Down to Earth