Maoist rebels in eastern India blew up a rail bridge, set off bombs on train tracks and attacked a police station just as the country was to begin its annual Republic Day celebrations, police said yesterday. The rebels blew up the bridge over a river near Gaya, about 100 km from Patna, around midnight, police said.

They said about a dozen trains, including three super fast Rajdhani trains, were stopped at various points as the rail tracks were completely smashed. The bridge was on one of the main rail links to east and northeastern India. Prior to the blast, armed rebels stormed a small station at Rafiganj, and asked the railway staff to vacate the building before they planted at least two bombs on the tracks.

In neighbouring Jharkhand, Maoist rebels – who claim to be fighting for the rights of landless labourers and poor peasants – set off a series of explosions on road bridges and rail tracks, disrupting vehicle and train movement in several districts including on a highway connecting north and east India. India is on high alert for its Republic Day, with tight security in capital New Delhi, Kashmir and the east and remote northeastern region – all prime targets for separatist anti-India militants or leftist guerrillas. In the capital, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took the salute at India Gate, a memorial for Indian soldiers, as troops blew bugles.

Across the sprawling city, thousands of police checked vehicles and guarded key buildings to thwart a possible strike by Islamic militants opposed to Indian rule in Kashmir. In October 66 people were killed by three bomb blasts in New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Security agencies also installed anti-aircraft guns on the top of a hotel as part of the security cover. India became a republic on January 26, 1950, and celebrates the day with military parades, pomp and ceremony in all major cities.

This year, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is the chief guest at the biggest parade in New Delhi, which kicked off with air force helicopters dropping flower petals on the assembled crowed below. Maoist rebels, who have been striking with greater ferocity over the past year, have traditionally boycotted the celebration, often using the day to carry out strikes. Overnight, Maoist rebels surrounded a police station in Palamu district in Jharkhand and blew up a portion of the building. A firefight erupted between policemen and Maoists some 150 km northwest of Ranchi. More than 9,000 Maoist rebels operate in at least nine Indian states, mainly in the country’s south and east, officials say.

AWARDS

<B>Sania Mirza gets Padma Shri </B>

■ Film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, noted social worker Nirmala Deshpande, renowned author Mahasweta Devi, famous architect Charles Correa, veteran film actor A K Hangal, singer Pankaj Udhas and tennis sensation Sania Mirza are among 106 distinguished persons from different fields who have been conferred with the Padma awards this year. No one has, however, been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, for the second consecutive year.

According to the list of awardees released on the eve of Republic Day, while nine persons including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Nirmala Deshpande, Mahasweta Devi, Justice V N Khare and Charles Correa have been conferred with Padma Vibhushan, 36 persons have been chosen for Padma Bhushan and 61 including Sania Mirza for Padma Shri awards. In awards given to NRIs, an IIT-Delhi alumnus and currently a senior manager with an oil multinational, Sundaram Srinivasan has been conferred this year’s Hind Rattan award by the NRI Welfare Society of India for his work in business growth and technology management in oil and gas industry.

He is an advisor to the MIT enterprise forum in the US and the Association for India’s Development. Other distinguished civilians who have been awarded Padma Vibhushan include civil servant CR Krishnaswamy Rao, Mexican scientist Norman E Borlaug and noted engineer Obaid Siddiqui.

Besides Hangal, the other Padma Bhushan awardess are Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, industrialist Deepak Parekh, social worker Devaki Jain, educationist Dinesh Nandini Dalmia, Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, Infosys CEO Nandan M Nilekani, author Ramakanta Rath and film director Sai Paranjpye. Those awarded Padma Shri include artist Madhup Mudgal, journalists Mrinal Pande and Sucheta Dalal, beautician Shahnaz Husain and social worker Sudha Varghese.

<I>Source: Times of India</I>