Word: ashok
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...divide have experienced enough violence to reject it as a tactic in the freedom struggle. Local militancy is on the wane; the official annual death toll from violence slipped from 5,000 in 1996 to 1,000 in 2007 and 600 so far this year, according to Ashok Bhan, director of police intelligence for Kashmir. Thanks in part to draconian security measures, turnout in this winter's local elections has exceeded 60% in some districts. That's a far cry from the single digits reported during the height of the insurgency, when polling booths were targeted by militants...
While the tactics may have been perfected here, Ashok Bhan, director of police intelligence in Kashmir, says he does not think there were any operational links between Mumbai and Kashmir. "Big operations like this would not be planned in India," he says. That doesn't mean LeT has disappeared from the area. There have been at least 35 suspected terrorists who have crossed the border from Pakistan over the last few months - and about as many who have been killed by Indian troops, Bhan says, but he says he has seen no evidence of any unusual activity. The increase...
...mare is considered auspicious, although it is an open secret that the mare is often substituted by a castrated horse. But for those looking to flaunt their wealth, a mare just doesn't cut it when there's an elephant to be had. "Elephants look more regal," says Ashok Kumar from Harjai's India Wedding Planners, and if he is to be believed, many an Indian groom wants to feel like a prince on his wedding day. An elephant can cost upwards of 20,000 rupees ($500) during the wedding season, up from about 2000 ($50) during the rest...
...Since at any given time there are only 500 or so white mares stabled in and around Delhi, rental prices can rise tenfold or even more during the wedding season, which runs from October to February. "Normally, hiring a mare for a day should cost 500 rupees ($12)," says Ashok Ahuja of Sohan Lal and Sons, a firm specializing in accoutrements for wedding processions, "But during the wedding season, it costs 5,100 rupees ($130)." A carriage, accompanied by a live band, lighting and decorations can cost up to 100,000 rupees ($2,500), he says, which doesn't seem...
...supplies horses to Sohan Lal and Sons, argues that well-paid owners treat their animals better, and animal rights NGO Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals confirms that complaints of ill-treatment of horses and elephants have become very rare. But it's not just simple economics, says Ashok Kumar of Harjai's, "We're dream merchants, and no price is too high for a dream...