The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, which is responsible for approval of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered products, on Wednesday approved the environmental release of the vegetable but it still has to get a nod from the central government.

Many in India are concerned over the harmful effects of the vegetable and question the need for a genetically modified vegetable.

"Bt brinjal should not be launched in the country as the Bt toxin gene produces poison and when it can harm pests, where’s the proof that it won’t be harmful to humans?" says Suman Sahia, Convener of Gene Campaign.

A report by Debi Barker, Executive Director of the International Forum on Globalization, says that genetically modified crops can spread in the environment and contaminate other crops and plants.

Concerns over their effect on wildlife and human health have been expressed all over the globe.

Food policy analyst Devinder Sharma raises a few important questions -- “First of all, do we even need Bt brinjal? Why take a risk? Where is the crisis in brinjal production that necessitates it?”

Bollywood filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Ajay Kanchan released a documentary in March 2009 called “Poison on Platter” to create awareness about genetically modified products in the public.

“We want to highlight the fact that you cannot tamper with Mother Nature without sensitising the nation first,” Bhatt said.

Do you think genetically modified vegetables are a good idea? 

Will Bt brinjal set a trend and we’ll have other genetically modified vegetable as well?

As a consumer, would you prefer a genetically modified vegetable over a naturally grown one?

"Hamare desh mein agle saal khel hone vale hain, mehmaan ayenge magar mehmaano ke liye humne kya kiya? (We are going to have games in our country next year, guests will come but what have we done for our guests?)," he asked.

 With a very miserable expression he further said, "Padhe-likhe log bhi sadak pe kachra aur thook fekte hain." (Even educated people spit and litter the streets)

 The auto driver is not the only one concerned about this issue.

Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram remarked recently that people should learn to behave like citizens of an international city.

"We want to encourage people to change their mindset," he said.

 The Indian Olympic Association has expressed its concern over the logistical preparations for the event, but who is going to check on how the people behave?

Beggars in the national capital are also looking forward to the Games. A large number of tourists would be a windfall and beggars are leaving no stone unturned to be prepared.
An informal academy has been set up in New Delhi's Rohini area where children are taught to beg in different foreign languages.

Countries like Germany and China had taken the initiative to train their citizens to behave properly when they hosted the football World Cup and the Olympics.

 Should India also start a similar training program or is it too late?

The Indian Tourism's tagline reads - 'Atithi Devo Bhavah'. (Our guest is blessed and our visitor is God)

Do you think people will adopt this tagline in the months to come? Are we really ready for a global event like the Games?

"I want to tell you that the press sometimes hypes this but the numbers of intrusions which have taken place this year are on the same level as last year," Kapoor said.

Soon after that the Indian media reported that Chinese soldiers had crossed the border in Ladakh last week and painted some rocks red.

Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said, "Let me go on record to say that border with China has been one of the most peaceful boundaries that we have had as compared to other boundary lines with other countries."

Former Air Force Chief Fali Homi Major and Navy Chief Sureesh Mehta have repeatedly warned that China is a danger to India, and the hawks in the Indian security establishment fear that the Chinese had a strategic plan of encircling India.

Around the time India and China were holding the 13th round of their border talks in August, an article had appeared in China titled "If China takes a little action, the so-called Great Indian Federation can be broken up".

The article primarily focussed on how China can split India and break it up into 20-30 states like the European Union.

Given this context, many seem to think Indian officials and ministers could be playing down any potential threat from China.

So what do you think is India's policy towards China? What does India seek to achieve by playing down these intrusions?

Brahma Chellaney, former adviser to India's National Security Advisory Board, said, "The atmosphere has deteriorated in the recent months, plus there's been escalation of tensions along the Himalayan border."

What should be India's stand on these constant intrusions in the name of a differently perceived Line of Actual Control?

In a Wall Street Journal report, India's former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra said, "The Chinese must know that if they create something on border there would be an instant reaction far beyond what happened in 1962."

Many analysts on the other hand believe that India is uncertain about how to handle these intrusions and deal with Beijing's 'Rising China' strategy.

"India is clueless on how to deal with China's growing belligerence, so it attempts to play down an admitted pattern of growing Chinese incursions." said Chellaney.

Should India fall back on the U.S. to checkmate any future designs of China to break up India? Or should India focus on trying to find a solution to the long standing border dispute with China so that it can concentrate on consolidating its strategic interests in the region and beyond?

Though it was the kind of paradise I had imagined, I didn't know there would be so many shanty towns set in such picturesque locales.

As I travelled through Kashmir, the breathtaking views did make me breathless but so did the smoke and dust. 

An article by Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Associate Professor with Kashmir University, says the valley has been experiencing erratic snowfall and hotter summers for the last decade or so.

A report on 'Climate Change in Kashmir' by ActionAid, an international anti-poverty agency, says the Pampore-Khrew belt, famous for its saffron production, has been witnessing an unusual phenomenon over the last two decades -- receiving the least snowfall in Kashmir.

The report also said locals attributed this phenomenon to industrial units which have come up in the area since 1982.

Locals from the Valley say that it's unusually hot this year.

Many believe it is the wrath of God for the evils in society. Special prayers are being offered in mosques to deal with the changing phenomena.

The ActionAid report says, "Temperature on an average in Kashmir region has shown a rise of 1.45 Celsius while in Jammu region the rise is 2.32 Celsius. The Indian Meteorological Department's monitoring reveals that temperatures are increasing in both Jammu and Kashmir valley, with significant increase in maximum temperature of 0.05 degrees Celsius per year."

Romshoo says there are a number of indicators of climate change discernible in the Kashmir valley.

"Glaciers are receding, scanty and erratic snow fall, change of growing season, shifting of vegetation from lower to higher altitudes, shrinking/loss of wetlands, etc," he said.

"Mountainous regions are generally more susceptible to the climate change impacts and climate change is going to affect every aspect of the environment, social and economics systems."

Enviroment Minister Jairam Ramesh says there is no conclusive scientific evidence that climate change is causing glaciers to recede.

Ramesh says some glaciers like the Siachen are advancing and there needs to be more study done on this subject.

Though climate change is caused by natural influences as well, Romshoo attributes it to more use of fossil fuels, burning of forests, reckless industrialization and anti-environmental lifestyles.

The ActionAid report also mentions the movement of heavy military vehicles as one of the reasons for excess pollution in the Valley.

It says convoys and heavy military vehicles produce a high level of greenhouse gases and are out of the purview of the law enforcing agencies in pollution control.

Can the government do something about the reduction of greenhouse gases in the Valley? Will education and awareness among locals and tourists help slow climate change?

China’s ‘String of Pearls’ strategy seems to be surrounding India and has given food for thought to many in New Delhi for quite some time now.

At the G8 summit in L’Aquila recently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a bid in front of the international community to include India in the United Nations Security Council, which would put it on par with China, which is one of the five permanent members.

Christopher J. Pehrson, author of the book "String of Pearls: Meeting the challenge of china’s rising power across the Asian littoral", says the ‘String of Pearls’ describes the manifestation of China’s rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Arabian Gulf.

Though India is trying to make a stronghold in South Asia, China seems to have been working consistently over the last four decades to strengthen its south Asian presence and fulfil its ‘String of Pearls’ policy, and that has many in India worried.

Alka Acharya, head of East Asian studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, says that China’s ‘string of pearls’ policy started in the 1980s and its basic aim was to give China increased energy security with refueling stations throughout the world.

But it has helped China project its political and military influence further. Some in India think China’s latest addition to its string of pearls is the Hambantota port in southern Sri Lanka.

Construction on the first phase began last year with Chinese funding, and the whole $1 billion project is expected to finish by 2023.

B. Raman, a retired senior government official, has written a paper on the project of Hambantota port in which he mentions that “the Chinese interest is more strategic than purely commercial. It is very unlikely that Sri Lanka would allow the Chinese Navy to use Hambantota against India. But a Chinese naval presence in Hambantota would add to the concerns of the Indian Navy by increasing the vulnerability of the South to pressures from the Chinese Navy.”

Raman also mentions in his paper that China had helped Pakistan with a similar project in Gwadar on the Mekran coast in Balochistan.

The first phase of construction has already been completed and the port was given a nod when Pervez Musharraf was the president.

When it is done, Hambantota is likely to have an aviation fuel storage facility and a liquefied natural gas refinery. The first phase will have bunkering facilities to refuel ships that pass the nearby shipping lanes, among the world’s busiest.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa says India has nothing to worry about because the project is strictly a commercial venture.

India though is taking no chances and is increasing its troops along the northeastern border so as to prevent any further infiltration of Chinese soldiers, who had illegally entered Indian territory last year.

A retired intelligence officer who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said China had begun building a road in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early 1970s.

“We had got hold of a source who told us that China was building a road from China- Gilgit- Neelam Valley, they had also planned a number of tunnels and bridges in places where roads couldn’t be constructed,” the officer said.

The status of the road is not known, some say it is still under construction.

The Karakoram Highway, which connects China’s Xinjiang region with Pakistan’s north, can also be seen as one of China’s pearls. The highway, called the ninth wonder of the world by some because of its altitude, was completed in 1986 after 20 years of construction.

The road opened up China-Pakistan trade and gave both of India's rivals a fast route through the mountains, not far from the Line of Control in Kashmir.

Should India be worried about China's String of Pearls, and will the Chinese strategy dampen India's plans to be the dominant power in South Asia?

Contestants go through a polygraph test to determine if they are lying while answering a set of questions based on their lives.

I must admit to feeling a certain thrill when contestants are exposed as adulterers, cheats and liars as family members and viewers look on.

When the show's Indian version 'Sach Ka Saamna' premiered on television this month, I wondered if the questions would be as personal.

And they were.

A woman was asked if she wanted physical relations with someone other than her husband.

She answered in the negative but the polygraph test proved she was lying.

The episode ruffled feathers even in parliament.

"What will be the position of this woman before her children, her husband and the society?" a Rajya Sabha MP asked in parliament, urging the government to take action against the show.

"Such indecent reality shows and serials which destroy Indian culture should be stopped."

On Wednesday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry issued a show cause notice to Star Plus channel, asking it to explain why the show shouldn't be taken off air.

Initial ratings suggest "Sach Ka Saamna" is already among the most watched programmes on Indian television.

But while some find it amusing to watch people squirm with embarrassment in front of friends and family, there are others who are put off by the concept.

"To each his own, I personally would not want to see this with my family around," says Stuti Kohli, a student from Delhi University.

"Questions like do you have a child out of wedlock are just too embarrassing."

Love it or hate it, "Sach Ka Saamna" is definitely being noticed. But will Indian audiences accept it? Will the reality TV show wean audiences off soap operas?

It was a good time to visit the Valley. The uproar over the May 29 Shopian case -- in which locals blamed the death and rape of two women on Indian security forces -- had died down.

Or so it seemed.

Then my friend called again. She sounded glum and I soon knew why. The trip had been cancelled.

Her family had decided not to risk it. A curfew was in place in parts of Kashmir after security personnel in Baramulla were accused of harassing a woman.

Four protesters had died and scores injured in subsequent protests. Much of the Valley remained shut for a strike called by separatists. The streets were empty and there was little sign of tourists.

In the coming days, there is no doubt that Kashmiris will need to choose between protests and tourism -- a major source of income.

Many of the Kashmiris I spoke to seemed upset that frequent protests and strikes were keeping tourists away.

"Earlier, we used to make frequent trips to tourist places like Gulmarg and Pahalgam, once in two days or even twice in one day but now we make one trip in 15 days," said taxi operator Ghulam Rasool.

Rafique Quadri, a high-ranking state tourism official, said that regular clashes and curfews were affecting tourism in Kashmir.

Even Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has spoken out against the negative effects of such strikes and protests.

"Frequent strikes deprive thousands of people from earning their livelihood," he told a meeting in Srinagar.

How important is it to Kashmiris for the world to catch a glimpse of what a Mughal emperor once called “Paradise on Earth”? What is their priority - azadi (freedom) or economic gain?