Mizoram Has Best Gender Ratio In India

Aizawl, Apr 6 : Mizoram has a gender ratio of 975 females to every 1000 males, perhaps the best sex ratio in the country, state Home minister R. Lalzirliana said here today while releasing the provisional census report 2011 for the state.

Mizoram has a population of 10,91,014 comprising 5,52,339 males and 5,38,675 females, he said.

Decadal growth rate of the population of the state was 22.78 per cent against the decadal rate of the country which stood at 17.64 per cent and the density of population was 52 persons per square kilometre as against 42 persons per sq.km in the 2001 Census.

Literacy percentage of Mizoram increased by 2.78 per cent compared to 2001 census but Lakshadweep became the second most literate state, the position held by the state since 2001 and Mizoram now stood at the third position, the report said.

According to Lalhmingthanga, Deputy Director of the state Census Operations there were 3,471 people in Mizoram, who refused enrolment in the Census 2011.

India's First Bamboo Park in Tripura

Agartala, Apr 6 : India's first bamboo park and second rubber industrial park are being set up in the northeastern state of Tripura to promote exports and to bring about a natural revolution in the elastic polymer industry, officials said here Wednesday.

The bamboo park, a joint venture between the Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) and the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL and FS) limited, is being set up at a cost of Rs.25 crore.

With a project cost of Rs.23 crore, the rubber park, also a joint venture between the TIDC and the Rubber Board, is the second of its kind in the country after the one at Kerala's Irapuram.

Both the projects are being set up at the northeast India's biggest industrial zone located at western Tripura's Bodhjungnagar, some 25 km north of Tripura capital Agartala.

"An export promotion industrial park (EPIP) and a food park are also being set up in Bodhjungnagar at a cost of Rs.10 crore and Rs.7 crore respectively," TIDC chairman Pabitra Kar told reporters.

IL and FS, one of India's leading infrastructure development and finance companies promoted by various banks and financial institutions, is the project management agency of the rubber park, where at least 20 rubber-based industrial projects would be set up within the next three years.

Tripura is the second largest rubber producer in the country after Kerala, with 55,340 hectares of land so far brought under cultivation.

"In the bamboo park, the core focus would be on the development of specialised common facilities and support infrastructure to build the competitive strength of the various units and enable them to tap the global markets," the industrial corporation chief said.

He added: "The total turnover of the different enterprises expected to be set up in the bamboo park is estimated at Rs.65-70 crore. It is also estimated that at least 75 percent of the turnover will be generated from exports."

The TIDC, which has been making profit for the past five years, has also taken up infrastructure development for two more industrial zones - one at Dukli and another at Tulakona in western Tripura.

TIDC chairman also said that several Bangladeshi farms have also shown keen interest to set up joint venture projects at Bodhjunjnagar, where all basic facilities for the industrial units are now available.

Pregnant and Nude

Celebrities love to show off their bodies no matter what state they're in. 

Naked Maternity?

Pregnancy can be a sacred thing to some, but not for these stars!

In fact, they think it's sexy.

Click through to see who has stripped down to show off their baby bump.

Demi Moore

Demi Moore was one of the first actresses to embrace her pregnant naked body for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine in Aug. 1991.

Many stars have followed suit since.

Cindy Crawford

The super model has a stunning body whether she's pregnant or not.

Can you believe she was seven months pregnant when she posed for this cover in 1999?

Brooke Burke

The TV Host turned entrepreneur wore a sexy top that bared her bulging belly on the April 2002 cover of Los Angeles Family magazine.

Heidi Klum

The mom of four posed in sexy lingerie for the Dec. 2005 issue of Vitals Woman magazine when she was pregnant with her first son Henry Gunther.

Britney Spears

Days after Britney posed for her nude bump shots some of the photos leaked all over the web.

But fans had to wait till the Aug. 2006 issue of Harper's Bazaar hit stands before they could see all the shots.

Oops... I Did It Again

Harper's Bazaar wasn't the only magazine to get a pregnant skin baring Britney on the cover.

The songstress also posed for Q Magazine's Nov. 2006 cover.

Eva Herzigova

The Czech model went semi-nude for her Italian Vanity Fair cover shots in Feb. 2007.

Christina Aguilera

Christina posed for Marie Claire while pregnant with son Max in Jan. 2008.

Kendra Wilkinson

The former "Girls Next Door Star" graced the cover of In Touch looking like she was about to pop in Oct. 2009.

Monica Bellucci

The Italian actress bared her baby bump twice on magazine covers.

The first time, in 2004, Monica posed for Vanity Fair in protest against an Italian law that prevented the use of donor sperm.

This pic shows the model turned actress when she went nude again for the April 2010 issue.

Claudia Schiffer

The European model posed for the German edition of Vogue while pregnant with her third child in May 2010.

She told the mag, "I love being pregnant."

"You can do whatever you want. You don't feel guilty, because I used to feel guilty about having a day off," she admitted. "Before my pregnancies, I was someone who had to watch their weight. I had a personal trainer, I was working out, I would never eat anything sweet... When I was breast-feeding it just came off. I can eat whatever I want. If I don't eat enough, I will lose weight."

Hollywood’s Sexiest Onscreen Imports

From locales ranging from Australia to South Africa to the U.K. and everywhere in between, check out the sexiest imports in the land of the Hollywood

Inside the base of the Statue of Liberty, a plaque toting the stars and stripes as a landing point for immigrants famously reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

Well, the following stars you're about to see are hardly poor, not tired (that we know of) or huddled -- they're all actually quite fresh-faced and sexy.

But like the in-comers addressed by Lady Liberty, they all arrived in hopes of achieving the American dream: fame, fortune and all the goodies that go with it.

From locales ranging from Australia to South Africa to the U.K. and everywhere in between, check out the sexiest imports in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek, 44, was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico.  The breathtaking beauty received an Oscar nomination for best actress for her performance in 2002’s "Frida," in which she played embattled art prodigy Frida Kahlo, who was also from Mexico.

Penelope Cruz

Born in Madrid, Spain, 36-year-old Penelope Cruz has maintained her fame both in her home country and the United States, having had roles in high profile films such as "Blow" and "Vanilla Sky."

The dark-haired beauty has also modeled for Mango, Ralph Lauren and L'Oréal.

Orlando Bloom

Hunky Orlando Bloom, who was born in Canterbury, Kent, England, has carved out a name for himself in the states with films like "The Lord of the Rings" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."

He’s currently married to supermodel Miranda Kerr.

Sofia Vergara

Colombian-born stunner Sofia Vergara has been once of the most acclaimed actresses on TV in recent years for her role as "Modern Family" matriarch Gloria Delgado-Prichett, racking up nominations for Golden Globes, Emmys and SAG Awards. 

David Beckham

London, England native/international soccer superstar David Beckham arrived in the states to much fanfare in 2007. Since then,  his presence caused a media frenzy in both the sports and entertainment comminutes, as the Hollywood establishment quickly became enamored with his high-profile marriage to fellow Brit Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham.  

Charlize Theron

The star of acclaimed films such as "The Devil’s Advocate," "Mighty Joe Young" and "2 Days In The Valley," 35-year-old South Africa native Charlize Theron became the first person from her country to win an Academy Award, for her work in 2003’s "Monster." 

Heidi Klum

German-born supermodel Heidi Klum, who’s married to English singer Seal, got her big break in the states when she was picked out of 25,000 contestants in a 1992 talent search called Model 92. She received a $300,000 modeling contract, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Gisele Bundchen

The gorgeous wife of Super Bowl stalwart Tom Brady, 30-year-old Brazilian Gisele Bundchen has been the world’s top-earning model in the past seven years, having been a Victoria’s Secret Angel in addition to her lucrative endorsement deals.

Prior to Brady, Bundchen dated "Titanic" heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio.

Alessandra Ambrosia

Victoria’s Secret angel Alessandra Ambrosia was born in Brazil like her modeling colleague Gisele Bundchen.

The drop-dead gorgeous 29-year-old gave birth to her first child in 2008, a daughter named Anja Louise Ambrosio Mazur, with her hubby, businessman Jamie Mazur

Keira Knightley

Twenty-five-year-old "Pirates of the Caribbean" stunner Keira Knightley arrived from the U.K. to sail the seven seas of Hollywood, where she found many Tinseltown treasures. The star has even been nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the film "Pride & Prejudice."

She’s also earned rave reviews in films such as "Never Let Me Go" and "Atonement."

Emma Watson

Born to English parents in Paris, France, Emma Watson, 20, skyrocketed to fame in the United States playing the role of Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" film series. 

"I had no idea of the scale of the film series," she told Parade in 2007. "If I had, I would have been completely overwhelmed."

Peon Forges Documents, Turns Flight Supervisor

By Atul Krishan

New Delhi, Apr 6 : Accused arrested by Crime Branch along with two aspiring pilots on Tuesday.

He had also made fake papers for him self to get a job at a flying institute.

He used to work as a peon but was a master when it came to forging
documents. And with his 'forgery skills', he helped two persons get the pilots' licenses and also managed a job of a flight supervisor for himself. On Monday, the 'flight' of this forger Eknath Patil was cut short when he was arrested by Delhi Crime Branch along with two pilots.


Nabbed: Two pilots and the alleged forger  were arrested by the Crime
Branch of Delhi police on Tuesday. Pic/Imtiyaz Khan

DCP (Crime) Ashok Chand said that the role of this master forger came to light after the arrest of a pilot Abhishek Kaushik.

"The Crime Branch had received a complaint against Abhishek from training and licensing department of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following which he was arrested. During interrogation, Abhishek confessed that he had furnished fake certificates to DGCA to obtain a Commercial Pilot's License (CPL).

He also revealed that he and his friend Hiren Nagar had obtained the forged marksheets from Eknath Patil. Following  this, the Crime Branch arrested both of them," said Chand.

The DCP said that in 2003, Abhishek and Hiren were studying together at Yash Airways, a flying school in Madhya Pradesh. To get a CPL, one has to clear five exams of Air Navigation, Aviation Metrology, Air Regulation, General and Specific. Despite several attempts, Abhiskeh was not able to clear two of the exams (General and Specific) and he left the flying institute. Six years later, in 2009, Abhishek happened to met Hiren again and came to know that he had obtained a CPL.

Abhishek, who still harboured a dream of becoming the pilot, asked Hiren how he had managed to clear the exams. Hiren told him that he too was unable to clear the exam but had managed to get forged marksheet of flying school with the help of Eknath. Abhishek then asked Hiren to introduce him to Eknath for which he paid Hiren Rs 1.5 lakh.

"Eknath contacted Abhishek in September 2009 in Delhi. A deal was struck and Abhishek paid him Rs 6.5 lakh to get forged marksheet and result card that he later submitted to DGCA in November 2009. He later got his CPL on the basis of forged papers ," said the senior police official.  

The police also found that initially Eknath used to work as a peon at flying club, Indore Udyan Institute in MP. He then moved to Gujarat and 'managed' a job of flight supervisor for himself at Ahmedabad Aviation and Aeronautics on the basis of forged papers. The Crime Branch is interrogating him to know whether he had provided fake certificates to other pilots too.

'Crash landing'
The South Delhi Police arrested an ex-employee of a private airline for allegedly cheating a man on the pretext of providing a pilot's job for his relative.

Police said the victim, Navneet Bhutani, had filed a complaint against the accused Sagar Bhasin saying he was cheated by Sagar of Rs 2.5 lakh after promising him of arranging a pilot's job for his cousin.

What Is Anna Hazare Fighting For?

By Dipankar Paul

Will Dr Kisan Baburao Hazare's indefinite fast bear results? Or will the 73-year-old activist's campaign fade into the background?

A week before he announced his hunger strike, Hazare, or Anna as he has been called for untold years, made one poignant statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: "It is only because of the 'remote control' that he cannot do anything. Otherwise he is such a good man."

Hazare was speaking at a press conference to gather support for the 'Jan Lokpal Bill' a bill that aims to change the way India tackles corruption.

What is the Jan Lokpal Bill?

It is a Bill drafted by Santosh Hegde, former Supreme Court judge and the present Lokayukta of Karnataka; Prashant Bhushan, Supreme Court lawyer; and Magsaysay Award winner and social activist Arvind Kejriwal.

According to 'India Against Corruption', the web site where the Bill has been made public, the Jan Lokpal Bill, once passed, will be an "act to create effective anti-corruption and grievance redressal systems at the centre so that effective deterrent is created against corruption and to provide effective protection to whistleblowers".

The salient features of the Bill can be summed up as follows:

1. An institution called 'Lokpal' in the centre and 'Lokayukta' in each state will be set up. These will be independent of the government. No minister can influence their investigations.

2. Investigation in any case must be completed in one year. Trials should be completed in the next one year so that the corrupt officer or politician goes to jail in two years.

3. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

4. If a citizen's request is not completed in the prescribed time in any government office, the Lokpal will impose a financial penalty on the guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant. So, when the Bill is enforced, you could approach the Lokpal if your passport or voter card is being delayed unnecessarily. The Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time.

5. What if a Lokpal officer becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.

6. All existing anti-corruption agencies -- CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI -- will be merged into the Lokpal, which will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

7. The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

Download the full draft of the Jan Lokpal Bill here

The Jan Lokpal Bill is meant to counter a similar Bill drafted by the government of India. Criticising the government's Bill, Hazare and Kejriwal say the intention was to protect the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, rather than prosecute them. He said the Jan Lokpal Bill would instead give wider powers to the Lokpal to initiate action and prosecute corrupt public servants.

"The nine members of the Group of Ministers appointed for drafting the anti-corruption Bill are some of the most corrupt Ministers," Hazare alleged, while criticising the government's casual approach towards treating corruption.

"Today no government official or politician is afraid of law, because they know they will not be prosecuted," he said.

Incidentally, Sharad Pawar is heading the draft of the Government of India's Anti-Corruption Bill.

What does the Government say?

Hear it from Hazare himself: "We approached the Prime Minister for talking about our draft Jan Lokpal Bill. But he says he does not have time to take action against corruption till May 13.

Repeat: The Prime Minister does not have time to take action against corruption till May 13.

It was after this statement from the PMO that Hazare decided to go on a fast till the Bill was tabled.

"I will observe fast-unto-death till the government agrees to form a joint committee comprising 50% officials and the remaining citizens and intellectuals to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill," Hazare said at Rajghat.

And slowly, support gathered for the veteran Gandhian crusader.

Hazare went ahead with his agitation despite the Prime Minister's Office expressing disappointment over his decision to go on a fast unto death. The PMO release said that the Prime Minister has enormous respect for Hazare and his mission.

"The Prime Minister says we trust you [Hazare], we respect you. But, then why did the PM not sit with us even once after the meeting last month," Hazare said.

Hazare's supporters at Jantar Mantar included people from all walks of life, from students to activists and professionals.

"I am here because Anna is risking his life for making the country corruption free," said Ramesh Rajpal, who came to Jantar Mantar from Gurgaon to support the hunger strike.

Most of the people who joined the rally are also observing a fast.

"If we can come on the streets to celebrate the World Cup victory, why can't we come out to support Anna? It is a struggle to make the country clean," Delhi University student Srikant Jaiswal said.

Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav, who was present to show solidarity with Hazare, said he was convinced that the Jan Lokpal Bill was the need of the hour to tackle corruption in the country.

"Just as Election Commission and Supreme Court are effective bodies, similarly an institution which is to fight corruption has to be equally powerful," Yadav said.

"I approve of the draft prepared by Hazareji and others. I am willing to back it in Parliament," Yadav said.

The BJP was not far behind in extending support to Hazare's indefinite hunger strike and said there was need to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament.

Former BJP president Rajnath Singh said in a statement that the government lacked strong will to tackle corruption and people wanted decisive action. He said the reaction of people like Anna Hazare reflects the deep pain and anguish of the common man in the existing situation.

Calling for enactment of Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament, Singh said a powerful institution like Lokpal can provide a mechanism for effective and credible deterrence against corruption.

The Congress admitted there were differences of opinion on the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill but said 'harmonising opinion' was part of the democratic process. Spokesman Manish Tiwari said the party has always stood for transparency and accountability and has enacted Right to Information legislation.

When asked about Hazare's fast, Tiwari said: "India is a free country and if anybody wants to fast, he cannot be stopped."

And the comments have been pouring in from MSN readers as well.

citizen-of-india says: It is a shame that the citizens have come to this point. Shouldn't anti-corruption laws and enforcement just be there? Why does one have to fight for it?

Abrahma says: Do we have courage to come out in streets and favour this movement against corruption? Let's organise our youth to march against corruption and favour this movement to make it historical and enormous. We need to be in action.

Perhaps, it was Saptaswara99 who summed it up: At last, something seems to be happening. Please spread the news through Facebook/Twitter, etc. If it can happen in Egypt, why not in India?

It is now time for the 'Indian people' to stand up for what is right. Join Anna Hazare's fight against corruption.

Who is it for, if not for us.

Source: India Syndicate

Foreigner Issue in Assam

AASU members hold a protest against Foreign Influx in Assam

The people of Assam are fed up of the foreigner issue and they need a solution to it immediately. Besides impeding the process of socio-economic development of Assam, the foreigner issue generates a feeling of hatred and hostility by a section of people for another.

By Muhammad Abdus Samad

In pursuance of a bid to make golden Assam, All Assam Students Union (AASU) launched Assam movement in 1979 demanding the detection and deportation of foreign nationals (especially Bangladeshis) illegally living in Assam as AASU assumes that their existence poses a threat to the socio-economic condition and demographic pattern of Assam and the movement had continued for six years resulting in a huge loss of life and property during the movement period as a result of violence in Assam. After six long years, the Assam movement came to an end after signing the historic Assam Accord on 15 August 1985.

One of the important provisions enshrined in the Assam Accord is that those people who infiltrated as the citizens of India will be allowed to stay. But those who infiltrated to Assam after 24 March 1971 will be considered to be foreigners to be detected and deported from Assam to their respective countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. Moreover it was unanimously resolved in the Tripartite Talk between AASU, state and central government held on 5 May 2005 to accept 25 March 1971 as the base year as fixed in the Assam Accord.

The base year (25 March 1971) fixed as per Assam Accord and the Tripartite Talk 2005 for the detection and deportation of foreigners from Assam is welcomed and honoured by all sections of people irrespective of their religion and language in Assam. And the people were hopeful that it would pave the way for solving this perennial problem eroding the unity among different communities in Assam.

Assembly election is expected to be held in the last part of next April. As the assembly election nearing, Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) tries to politicise and communalise foreigner issue by demanding the refugee status for Hindu foreigners and the expulsion of Muslim foreigners from Assam. Thus BJP aims at polarising the voters of Assam on communal line and thereby trying to derive narrow political mileage in the forthcoming assembly election in Assam. This would make the foreigner issue more complicated.

Justifying its demand, BJP reasons that the Hindu foreigners came to Assam from Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) as a result of torture and persecution meted out to them by Muslims in Bangladesh. Hence they deserve refugee status and citizenship in India. The demand made by BJP is not reasonable. Firstly if the Hindu foreigners infiltrated into Assam as a result of torture and persecution meted out to them by Muslims in Bangladesh, why did Muslim foreigners from Bangladesh infiltrate into Assam? Secondly is it justified on the part of a minority community to leave their country as a result of torture and persecution meted out to them by the majority community? In India the minority communities such as Muslim, Christian and Sikh are often killed, tortured and persecuted by the majority community in various riots and communal violence and deprived of their rights and privileges in many aspects, still they have not left the country. Rather they always consider India as their motherland and work for its welfare and development. They are proud of their motherland.

Assam government took a step to prepare the National Register Citizen (NRC) last year after the National Register Citizen was prepared in 1951. To get one’s name included in the new National Register Citizen (NRC) being prepared, the head of the family is required to fill up an Application Form providing some information relating to his/her forefather from the NRC of 1951 upto the Electoral Roll 1971 submitting documentary evidences. It is to be noted that in some districts of Assam, the NRC of 1951 and the Electoral Roll 1966 have been lost because of which the government has failed to publish them for public viewing. As a result many people have failed to fill up the Application Form providing the information because of absence of those documents in some districts.

Under these circumstances the people were perplexed and reacted to the process of preparation of the NRS by government which finally led to violence resulting in the loss of lives of four youths’ and several persons’ being injured in Barpeta district. Following the violence the government has suspended the preparation of NRC till date.

One fails to understand as to why the information from the NRC of 1951 upto the Electoral Roll 1971 is required to fill the Application Form for getting one’s name included in the new NRC being prepared. It is clearly resolved in the Assam Accord and the Tripartite Talk 2005 that those who came to Assam before 25 March 1971 are citizens of India. If anybody can prove his/her existence in Assam/India prior to 25 March 1971 through any valid document, his/her name should be included in the new NRC being prepared as per Assam Accord and the Tripartite Talk 2005. To seek information from the NRC of 1951 upto the Electoral Roll 2005 for filling the Application Form is considered a conspiracy being engineered by some people so as to deprive some people of the citizenship right as per Assam Accord and the Tripartite Talk 2005. It has already been expressed by many people that unless the new NRC is prepared on the basis of Assam Accord and the Tripartite Talk 2005, it would not get co-operation from them, especially religious and linguistic minorities in Assam.

It fact the people of Assam are fed up of the foreigner issue and they need a solution to it immediately. Besides impeding the process of socio-economic development of Assam, the foreigner issue generates a feeling of hatred and hostility by a section of people for another. Again with the start of Assam movement in 1979 some ethnic groups (tribes) such as Bodo, Karbi, Dimasa, Tiwa, Rabha raise their heads demanding statehood and autonomous councils in their respective area to be carved out of Assam. Before Assam movement this problem did not emerge in Assam. To save Assam from further division, it is essential to resolve the foreigner issue: The issue can be resolved only by preparing the new NRC based on the provisions of Assam Accord and the Tripartite Talk 2005. The sooner the foreigner issue is solved, the better it would be for the people of Assam.

The writer is Associate Professor in Commerce, P.B. College, Gauripur, Dhubri

Fall From Grace

How Grameen founder Muhammad Yunus fell from grace

By Alastair Lawson

Muhammad Yunus has been a poster boy for the microfinance industry

In 2006 Muhammmad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his pioneering work in the fight against poverty through the microcredit system. It has so far been the crowning achievement of his career.

Yet only five years after winning the award, Prof Yunus has been ignominiously turfed out of his job as managing director of the Grameen Bank he created.

So what prompted his spectacular fall from grace? Part of the answer lies in the character of the man, who evokes strong emotions in Bangladesh.

Admirers see him as someone who has arguably done more than any other individual in the developing world to lead the fight against poverty.

But critics see him as a person who brooks no criticism of his management style - someone who fell victim to his own vanity by ill-advisedly trying to set up a political party.

Huge miscalculation

It would be no exaggeration to say that in 2007 Prof Yunus was revered in Bangladesh for winning the Nobel prize. He had, up until then, mostly stayed clear of politics, apart from occasionally joining aid agencies and non-governmental organisations to call for better governance in his home country.

Prof Yunus has increasingly had to defend himself in the courts

In January of that year he was reportedly approached by the military to head a caretaker government, with a view to becoming the new prime minister, and so bring an end to what it saw as a damaging cycle of poorly-performing governments either led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party or the Awami League.

He later recommended the former head of the Bangladeshi central bank Fakhruddin Ahmed for the job.

Soon afterwards Prof Yunus decided to form his own political party - in a move which even his most ardent supporters have described as a huge miscalculation.

His critics denounced him. He soon realised for himself it was a bad idea when the small support base he had for his party evaporated within hours. The move into politics was rapidly aborted, but it came too late to pacify some of his enemies.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has never forgiven him. The announcement came just as the military began a crackdown on political parties, arresting dozens of top leaders on charges of corruption. Sheikh Hasina herself would be put under arrest a few months later.

She saw Prof Yunus's move as a behind-the-scenes and shabby deal to remove her from politics. It was a charge he denied - arguing that he could not abandon his country in what looked like its hour of need.

If her government was seeking revenge, it was not hard for them to find it. In December, Sheikh Hasina complained that the Grameen Bank was overcharging its eight million borrowers and that it was in effect "sucking blood from the poor".

In humiliating language for Prof Yunus a few months later, they argued that he was past his retirement age and should not have been reappointed as managing director of Grameen Bank once he reached retirement age - at 60 - in 2000.

Within months of first airing their criticisms they began the process of removing Prof Yunus from his position as managing director of the Grameen Bank. It was a spectacularly speedy demise.

Electrifying

But his supporters say he has since bounced back.

Many Grameen Bank employees remain devoted to Prof Yunus

They say the fact that Prof Yunus won the Nobel award along with the bank he formed is significant because there are few institutions - as opposed to international bodies - who win it.

"Doesn't that say something about his institution-building capacity and his successful management style?" argues Bangladesh Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam.

"While it it is true that the events of 2007 were a setback for Prof Yunus, the government's somewhat clumsy and spiteful efforts to get rid of the country's only Nobel winner have won him sympathy from the Bangladeshi public - not to mention prominent figures on the world stage."

BBC Bengali editor Sabir Mustafa says that he witnessed the professor's ability to win over a world audience in 1995, when he addressed a UN conference on women in Beijing.

"It was a speech that seemed to encapsulate to me all the reasons why Prof Yunus is so renowned internationally," he said.

But at the same time the negative side of his character was also on display.

"He showed little willingness to engage with the Bangladeshi media, even when approached. People often feel he is not prepared to face, let along answer, critical questions about the way Grameen Bank operates,'' says Sabir Mustafa.

Critics also argue that Prof Yunus has always surrounded himself with sycophants and takes criticism of Grameen Bank as a personal affront.

In many respects the arguments over his work mirror some of the bitter divisions within Bangladesh itself - it is a country where the prime minister and the leader of the opposition have not made much effort to conceal their mutual loathing.

Harsher critics of the professor say that even the microcredit concept was not really his brainchild. They argue that it was around long before he latched on to the idea in the early 1980s.

But supporters say that who actually invented microcredit is not the question. Prof Yunus's achievement, they argue, is the distribution of millions of small loans through the foundation of the first bank in the world which provides money to poorer people without asking for collateral.

"What makes his system so unique is that the Grameen Bank of Prof Yunus has made these loans without any guarantee of repayment," says Mr Anam.

"And the amazing thing is that the repayment rate is much better than many commercial banks.

"It is a system that has been copied by innumerable countries in the world, be they socialist, communist or capitalist - surely that is no mean achievement and that will be his legacy."

Source: BBC News