Al QAeda strikes Boston

THE BOMB BLASTS WERE VERY CO-ORDINATED....ONE CAN BE 90% SURE AL QAEDA HAS STRUCK USA

Two bombs exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people and injuring more than 130 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that raised alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S.
A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
President Barack Obama vowed that those responsible will "feel the full weight of justice."
A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course in what appeared to be a well-coordinated attack.
The fiery twin blasts took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course. Blood stained the pavement, and huge shards were missing from window panes as high as three stories.
"They just started bringing people in with no limbs," said runner Tim Davey of Richmond, Va. He said he and his wife, Lisa, tried to keep their children's eyes shielded from the gruesome scene inside a medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners, but "they saw a lot."
"They just kept filling up with more and more casualties," Lisa Davey said. "Most everybody was conscious. They were very dazed."
Authorities shed no light on a motive or who may have carried out the bombings, and police said they had no suspects in custody. Authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The FBI took charge of the investigation.
Police said three people were killed. Hospitals reported at least 134 injured, at least 15 of them critically. The victims' injuries included broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums.
At Massachusetts General Hospital, said Alisdair Conn, chief of emergency services, said: "This is something I've never seen in my 25 years here ... this amount of carnage in the civilian population. This is what we expect from war."

Obama on Romney

For President Barack Obama's re-election team, it's sort of like threading a needle. While trying to define Republican Mitt Romney as an insensitive job-killer during his time as a private equity executive, the Obama campaign also is raising money from private equity executives on Wall Street - and hoping voters don't see that as hypocritical. The Obama campaign's political dexterity was evident on Monday, as it released a blistering video ad recounting how Romney's Bain Capital laid off 750 workers from a steel mill in Missouri. Hours later, the campaign raked in about $2 million at a Manhattan fundraiser held by Tony James, president of the Blackstone Group, a huge private equity firm. The Blackstone Group had been on the Obama campaign's radar before - as a target for criticism. Last month, the campaign identified a Blackstone partner, Paul Schorr, as one of "eight wealthy individuals" who donated to Romney's campaign after "betting against America" in "less-than-reputable" deals that led to outsourcing and layoffs. So on Tuesday at the White House, Obama spokesman Jay Carney faced several questions about whether the president's campaign was setting a double standard in dealing with Wall Street, where some executives see Obama as anti-business. Carney rejected the notion that Obama's team, in criticizing Romney and Republican donors in private equity, had been critical only of executives who had not contributed to Obama's campaign and that only those who support the president were "totally kosher," in the words of ABC's Jake Tapper. Carney said that Obama's campaign was being critical of individuals, not an industry. "There is absolutely a place for a vibrant and successful financial sector ... that includes private equity," Carney said. NOT 'AGAINST PRIVATE EQUITY' Carney's words were echoed by Bill Burton, who heads Priorities USA Action, a pro-Obama "Super PAC" that is spending $4 million to put out its own version of the anti-Romney ad released by Obama's campaign. "The president isn't running against the private equity industry, he is running against Mitt Romney," Burton said. "Our ads ask whether the decisions Mitt Romney made creating incredible wealth for himself and his partners would make him a good president of the United States." Not surprisingly, conservatives do not see it that way. The Wall Street Journal published an editorial on Tuesday that chided Obama for attacking Romney's private equity work and then fundraising on Wall Street the same day. The newspaper, an influential voice in conservative politics, said that those at the fundraiser, "many from the private equity world, paid $35,800 a head for the privilege of dining with the president who purports to loathe Wall Street when he isn't asking its greedy denizens to redistribute their wealth to his campaign."

TMC plan for GREENING OF CALCUTTA

Within days of coming to power, the Trinamool Congress shows a very determined, well-planned,scientific way of the GREENING OF CALCUTTA.

Any Calcuttan moving through the streets of Calcutta would have noticed how within the last years, trees have been rampantly felled, in the name of development. Forest cover has gone down from 10% to 8%. This is an official figure. God knows what the real rate of cutting down of trees have been.

So, it makes sense to first PROTECT the trees as is evident from the TOI excerpt.

Following is excerpt from the Times of India -

"The new Kolkata Municipal Corporation board is ready to draw up plans to protect and increase the green cover of the city.

The KMC authorities will sit with forest department officials in a day or two to chalk out a comprehensive plan on this count. MMiC (parks and squares) Debasish Kumar said the process to identify spots where saplings needed to be planted would soon begin.

"The stress won't be on how many new tress have been planted. Our aim will be to protect the trees that have already been planted," Kumar said, adding that efforts would be made to save at least 85% of the existing trees in the city.

KMC also wants to revive and revamp its own nurseries. "Over the past few years, the KMC nurseries have not been functioning properly and there's been a drastic fall in the number of saplings. We may buy saplings from forest department nurseries, but we'll try to use our own resources," said Kumar.

The truth is, afforestation and tree plantation programmes are conducted every year, but the city's green cover has been shrinking rapidly. A forest department survey a few years ago had pegged the city's green cover at just 10%, while the latest estimates put this at 8%."

Mamata Banerjee ready to sacrifice Ministry for GREATER CAUSE

Times Person of the Year may well be TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Yes, I can almost visualize her ......the 1 INDIVIDUAL WHO DECIMATED 35 YEARS OF STALINIST RULE IN BENGAL.

We all know, no Cabinet Minister, especially holding the lucrative position of Railways, would SACRIFICE her berth, IN ORDER FOR A GREATER CAUSE.

But, I was stunned to read that she is willing to do so.

Kindly read following item -

"After battering the Left in the West Bengal civic body elections, railway minister Mamata Banerjee is preparing to deliver it the knock-out punch. She is learnt to be contemplating stationing herself in the state to consolidate the gains of the civic polls and get the momentum going till the assembly elections next year.

“She does not want to leave anything to chance. She thinks it’s time to take the Leftists head-on,” a highly placed party source told DNA. Mamata plans to travel extensively through West Bengal for the next 12 months to build a connect with people, the source said.

The issue was discussed threadbare within the Trinamool Congress (TC), another party source said, adding there was a suggestion that she should retain the portfolio as there was no statutory requirement for her to stay in Delhi as railway minister. Alternatively, she can remain a minister without portfolio. The charge of the ministry could be given to any of her trusted political lieutenants, he said.

Trinamool Congress shows HOW TO DO IT

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

And Trinamool Congress has at last proven it. The very first day's work was to nab the Guilty in the horrendous Stephen Court fire.

All those mumbo-jumbo that got us confused will be taken care of , at least to a great extent by the new KMC Mayor.

Here's an excerpt from the Times of India :

"KOLKATA: Six persons, including the three fugitive directors of Stephen Court Ltd, have been chargesheeted in connection with the March 23 fire at the iconic building that killed 43 people, police said here on Sunday.

The persons who were chargesheeted in the civil court here are three directors - Sanjay Bagaria, Sushil Surekha and Pradeep More, caretaker Tarun Bagadia, assistant caretaker Ramshankar Singh and liftman Jaiprakash Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Detective Department of Kolkata Police Damanyanti Sen told PTI today. "

I hope the KMC Mayor does a water quality sample survey in our Patuli Township neighbourhood.

Mainstream Media overstepping line

Recently, we see that in its quest for money, and more money, Media is overstepping its line.
It is attacking politicians just for one motive - MONEY.
I think politicians of all parties should take a united stand.
Media is minting money from the misery of politicians of all colors.
Some friends recently told me some portions of the Media are spying into a substantial portion of politicians, and then cooking uo 90% of the story....just for selling value.
There has been some sort of a cooked up story regarding Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, who has so much on her shoulders.
An attack on Sonia is an attack on all Indians.

Read the extract from leading newspaper "The Hindu" :

"

Youth Congress members protested here on Saturday against author Javier Moro for “defaming” party President Sonia Gandhi in his book, The Red Sari.

They burnt a downloaded excerpt of the book and blackened Mr. Moro's photo, Rajesh Ingle, vice-president of the northeast district Youth Congress, told The-Hindu over telephone.

“Our main objection is to the claim that his book — ‘a tale of the Nehru-Gandhi family, told through the story of Sonia Gandhi.' The author has used the term ‘fictitious biography' to describe his book in India, whereas, in Spain, Portugal and elsewhere he has said it's a biography. So, people are forced to believe what he has written as the truth. He has also used derogatory language,” Mr. Ingle said.

A youth wing press release said: “Congress workers demanded that the book should not be published in India. The script and depiction of the happenings in the life of Ms. Gandhi [are] distorted, vague and defamatory.” They threatened that they would not allow the book to be circulated anywhere in the country.

“It is perfectly alright for an author to be influenced, motivated by real life characters and take liberty to dramatise certain incidents. But this liberty should be restricted to an extent, where the image of national iconic leaders should not be tarnished and sentiments of their followers should not be hurt,” the note stated. Currently, the Congress and the publishers of the book are locked in a legal battle, Mr. Ingle said.

Congress Team gets bigger, Rahul Gandhi enters

My take is this would strenghten Congress Team at its moment of crisis.
Or rather, our Nation is at Crisis.
I'm 100% sure (Deep in my heart, I do believe....) that West Bengal's Left Front Government should have a strategic understanding with the Strengthened Indian National Congress...
To build a better future for WestBengal.

Read from the Times of India -

"On June 19, 2010, Rahul Gandhi turns 40. That was the age his father Rajiv became prime minister. So what are Rahul's views on foreign policy? On nuclear weapons security? On Pakistani state terrorism? On Maoism? On economic policy? On dynasty? Apart from a few thoughtful issues raised in his private correspondence with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - who at his press conference on Monday endorsed him as a future cabinet minister - we know little of the AICC general secretary's worldview.

While he rebuilds Congress electability in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Kerala - all governed by non-UPA parties and up for assembly polls in 2010-12 - with his charismatic grassroots approach, Rahul must engage a broader national constituency with his thinking on India's key strategic challenges.

At 40, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had a clear-eyed view of the world. He sought global nuclear disarmament. He implemented Panchayati Raj. He engaged in an entente cordiale with then Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He spearheaded the information technology revolution."

Does this Woman have a Case ?

I think she surely does.

In today's World Breach of Privacy can even cause one's death. Breach of Privacy is a MORE SERIOUS CRIME than infedility.

I stand by this Woman's Right and hope she wins the Case.

Read this stuff I found in MSN and make your judgement :

"

A woman suing a wireless company for exposing her affair joins others who've been brought down by technology.

Toronto resident Gabriella Nagy is suing Rogers Wireless Inc. for $600,000 after she says it wrongly sent her cell phone bill to her husband. Nagy claims her husband left her after seeing several phone calls to the same number, calling it and confirming her affair.

Rogers responds: The wireless company claims it is not responsible for the breakup of Nagy's marriage.

Does she have a case? Nagy's lawyer calls the case "unprecedented" in Canada, so we'll have to wait and see. (Are there cell phone record laws in the United States?)

My take on T20 Cricket and the WC SCHEDULE

I prefer T20 World Cup to IPL on totally different grounds.

From our childhood to adolescence to adulthood, we have FELT FOR OUR OWN COUNTRY, or even if our country isn't playing, supported a different country.

Fail to understand how people can relate to a team that is a hotch-potch of players from different nations.

Why can't we have more FORMATS OF WORLD CUPS - T20, T10 with 7 player sides bit like baseball, T30 and such.

Below is the T20 World Cup schedule


World Cup schedule start from April 30, 2010 and final match of the T20 World Cup is scheduled for May 16, 2010. T20 World Cup fixture is spread over 18 days. T20World Cup 2010 venue is different locations in West Indies. This is third T20 World Cup.

The opening match of T20 World Cup 2010 will be held between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on April 30th, 2010 at Guyana. The final match will be held on May 16, 2010 at Kensington Oval, Barbados. The first semi final of T20World Cup 2010 Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia on May 13, 2010 and second semi final will be played at Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia on May 14, 2010.

Burma - A Case Study of a Totalitarian Military Junta

Do see my earlier posting on Myanmar___boycotting elections by Suu Kyi may be a historical blunder.

Once the world's top rice producer, it now faces severe food crisis (read rice production crisis) due to mishandling of the food distribution system by the military junta.

Reason : Totalitarianism leads to maximum corruption. Which leads to total disruption of all infrastructure.

Quoting from wikipedia:
"Today, Burma lacks adequate infrastructure. Goods travel primarily across the Burmese-Thai border, whence most illegal drugs are exported, and along the Ayeyarwady River. Railroads are old and rudimentary, with few repairs since their construction in the 1800s.^[16] Highways are normally unpaved, except in the major cities.^[16] Energy shortages are common throughout the country including in Yangon. Burma is also the world's second largest producer of opium, accounting for 8% of entire world production"

Myanmar Elections

My take is Politics nowadays should not be approached emotionally, but rather practically.
It's difficult to manage even a team of 20 people using your emotions, so how can you manage the destiny of millions without coolly using your brains, and brains only ?

Take the recent Myanmar elections....Aung San Suu Ki's NLD party had this ONE SHOT to win the elections, and free the country from MILITARY RULE.

But it's boycotting the elections.

HISTORICAL POLITICAL BLUNDER, I SAY

Here's quoting Reuters:
"

YANGON (Reuters) - An election boycott by democracy icon Aung San Suu Ki's party is a gamble that could backfire, some Burmese in Myanmar's largest city said on Tuesday, though others backed the move.

Members of the National League for Democracy party (NLD) voted unanimously on Monday to skip the country's first election in two decades to send out a strong message that the army-orchestrated political process was "unjust" and "unfair.

But some said an opt-out by democracy's brightest ray of hope in the junta-ruled country was foolhardy and played into the hands of power-hungry generals.

"I'm so sorry the NLD used their hearts, not their heads. It was an irretrievable policy blunder," said a high school headmaster in Yangon."

35000 colleges mean opportunities for entrepreneurs

JU'er bondhugan...there is going to be a HUGE EXPANSION IN INTAKE OF STUDENTS. About 35,ooo+ collegea to be built.
This translates into GREAT OPPORTUNITIES not only for Teachers, but for small entrepreneurs like us, in the field of:
1. Book Publishing
2. Content Development.
3. Part-time Teaching Consultants.

Incidentally, 2 of our books have been published -
"Elements of Quantum Mechanics" by Dr. Binayak Dutta-Roy Edited - Debu
and into publication - "Basic Physics for Engineers" by the 2 of us.


Quoting Kapil Sibal's great initiative :

" Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said that India needs at least 800 more universities and over 35,000 colleges in the coming ten years to add to the percentage of students going for higher education.

At present 12.4 percent of students go for higher education from the country, he claimed.

"India has about 480 university and about 22,000 colleges. If we were to increase that figure of 12 percent to 30 percent, we will need another 800 to a thousand universities in the next ten years," said Sibal.

"We will need another 35,000 colleges in the next ten years. We are still below 40 percent which I think is critical," he added.

Speaking at the first contact group meeting of Parliamentarians for Education of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organsiation (UNESCO) South Asia Cluster, Sibal highlighted the importance of human resource development.

Sibal said when the global economy is not doing well and the stock market is on decline, the facts related to importance of education in a developing economy should be realised."

LOOKING FORWARD TO COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS / IDEAS WITH ALL YOU J.U. GUYS.

DEVASTATING FIRE IN PARK STREET BUILDING

Today's fire at Stephen House was probably the most devastating one witnessed in Calcutta. We all have fond memories of Flury's , Peter Cat. Mocambo and Music World.

But it was a real shocker that this 150 year old building ravaged by the flames that trapped 100+ people at one point.

Since this post goes out to all you people, aren't we all reminded of an incident in Chitradurga ?

Kire Aloke....

Implications of Water Table Going Down

FIRST, A NOTIFICATION.

AFTER MY PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS ON THE WEST BENGAL ELECTIONS BEAT ALL MEDIA, THERE HAS BEEN A BIT OF PRESSURE, SO I HAVE DECIDED TO USE MY PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS :

• DISASTER MANAGEMENT (Believe me, we will face worse and worser Disasters)
  
• ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ISSUES & PREDICTIONS
• WILDLIFE ISSUES
• GLOBAL WARMING PREDICTIONS & SOLUTIONS
• BIRD FLU (H5N1) & H1N1 FUTURISTIC PREDICTIONS & SOLUTIONS ((Believe me, here also we will face far worse scenarios)
  

& other NON-CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES THAT WILL BENEFIT THE HUMAN POPULATION AT LARGE.

Am thinking of opening my own set-up that will NOT BE PRESSURIZED from any sources.


So, some News - Source : BBC News

""It comes from an unexpected source: but Nasa's just-released finding that water tables in the northwest of India are falling by about 4cm (1.6in) per year is a striking microcosm of the unsustainable strain that modern societies are putting on the Earth's natural resources.

Water carriers on rickshaw.This is a region that is home to more than 100 million people.

And they're not using the water for long, languid baths or spraying it on manicured lawns; more than 90% is used simply to grow the staple crops that feed Delhi and the regions around.

More mouths to feed means a demand for higher yields, which implies irrigation - mining the water at a rate faster than nature replaces it - a process that is, by definition, unsustainable.

The Indian government's latest assessment of the environment nationwide [pdf link] - also released this week - shows that water is just one of the resources being depleted as the population expands (tripling in 50 years, according to government statistics) and the economy gathers pace.

Nearly half of the land surface is degraded in some way, air pollution in increasing, some unique species and ecosystems are threatened by development, waste from uncontrolled urbanisation is emerging as a health issue - so the litany goes on."

My take :

• The whole world has to rely more and more on Space Imaging (be it Hybrid, Infra-Red or other) . Image Analysis to identify which Geographical Areas are more prone.
• DROUGHT this Monsoonal Season is a Corollary of this. The area-wise DISTRIBUTION OF DROUGHT may be a starting point of study - does it have a CORRELATION with the AREAS WHERE WATER TABLES ARE RECEDING ?
  
• Even in winter, the FOG that cripples the entire Transport Network (remember trains being delayed for hours) is a result of this. What happens is - the excess groundwater pumped on to the surface, acts as evaporation material to act as a MATERIAL TO FORM FOG. My prediction is - such crippling fogs will occur in certain areas for the next decade.
  
• The Government has to rely on GENERALISTS more and more, as all the team of Ph.D.'s have SPECIALIST IDEAS. One should rely on a CONSULTANCY THAT WILL INTERACT with the specialists to offer solutions.

H1N1 Pandemic - Startling Facts

It has a similarity with the "Spanish Flu" of 1918 that killed 50 to 100
million people worldwide. Unlike Common Influenza types and sub-types, the
elderly people seem most resistant.

Now, I am going very cautious on this, as it is still early to say, but I am
following the trends.

Check the following from wikipedia:

"The 1918 flu caused an unusual number of deaths, possibly due to it causing
a cytokine storm in the body.[5][6] (The current H5N1 bird flu, also an
Influenza A virus, has a similar effect.)[7]

The Spanish flu virus infected lung cells, leading to overstimulation of the
immune system via release of cytokines into the lung tissue. This leads to
extensive leukocyte migration towards the lungs, causing destruction of lung
tissue and secretion of liquid into the organ. This makes it difficult for
the patient to breathe.

In contrast to other pandemics, which mostly kill the
old and the very young, the 1918 pandemic killed unusual numbers of young
adults, which may have been due to their healthy immune systems being able to
mount a very strong and damaging response to the infection."

Yeah, check out the last para.

More startling news from source : www.h1n1data.com

"Average Daily Infection Rate:
20.21% per day
*Average Mortality Rate:
1.43%

Number of U.S. hospital beds:
945,199

Projected number of cases in 30 days:
1,324,150

**Percentage of cases requiring hospitalization:
5.4%
(9-10% per WHO)"

My take: An influenza is termed pandemic only when it has crossed the 0.01%
mortality. Or is it 0.05%, I'll have to check again.

Anyway,
H1N1 has crossed 1% Mortality Rate and in some countries, even close to 5%.
I think H1N1 is far,far more lethal than H5N1 (Bird Flu) , and will wax and
wane, but IS THE GREATEST PANDEMIC TO HIT US SINCE 1918.

EarthQuake at 1:30 A.M. IST in Calcutta

I felt the EarthQuake at 1:30 a.m. I.S.T. (Indian Standard Time). The slight swaying. It was mild.

But I was astonished at the TIME GAP.

The Media reported it around 3:30 a.m. That is why I'm awake now. I saw the Media Flash.

They're reporting a Richter Scale 7.7 Epicentre 130 kms as of 3:30 a.m. from Andamans.

Now, I can't predict tsunamis. But when the Tsunami hit on Boxer's Day, I KNEW IT WAS A TSUNAMI, NOT A TIDAL WAVE WITHIN 30 MINUTES OF IT HITTING.

How ? It's Elementary.

The waves, you see, destroyed a 1500 year temple. That meant that IT WAS A BIG ONE.
IN THIS CASE ALSO, I SHOULD WATCH FOR SOME SIGNS ON SOME HISTORICAL SCALE.

PostNote: I will write more in my other blogs on how I developed an unique way of Predictive Analysis of Major Disasters after the Tsunami of 2004 which had it's epicentre near Banda Aceh.

My Prediction Came True for Mumbai

You see, in developed countries if there is a probability of a Disaster occuring, there is:
Advisory,Watch,Warning.

It is this vigilance that saves lives. If it doesn't come true, you are ridiculed.
If it comes true, people look at you with disdain - did this person bring this upon us.
Such is Human Nature.

My prediction made on 22nd July can be thought of as an Advisory. Based on a few parameters.
It did not come true for Calcutta.
But it came true for Mumbai !

HIGHEST TIDES IN 100 YEARS WERE EXPECTED !

Thank God, the people were moved into safe areas.

Chance of a High Tide Today ? Are we Ready ?

I'm saying there could just be a 10% chance of a bad High Tide coming in Today.

But are we prepared on this Day of Total Solar Eclipse . Now, I havent' doen any research, but it's a split-second thought that flashed thru'. Take all the parameters that are today :

• New Moon
• Total Solar Eclipse
• A steady drizzling rain adding to the steady input into the Hooghly River
• Surge coming up through the uniquely funnel-shaped Ganges Delta
• Embankments thar are not yet repaired. Note : It is also not humanly possible.
• Data from Kolkata Port Trust

Source : http://www.kolkataporttrust.gov.in/BORE-TIDE%20YEAR%202009.pdf

July 21 shows 6 days of Maximum Range 5.05 Tide.

Old News but Golden News

This appeared in the Indian Express . Way back in June 2008.

Maybe I missed it. That's why I was way off mark in my India Lok Sabha Congress calculations.

Though in West Bengal, INC Strategy struck me as BRILLIANT, JUST BRILLIANT, the day I saw the INC - TMC Samjhauta come through.

Anyway, here's that piece of Old is Gold News -

"

The Group to Look into Future Challenges, which made the proposal in its report on intra-party reforms recently, was of the view that parties like the BJP did better in recent elections because Sangh Parivar “cadres” were able to reach out to people door-to-door, while the Congress remained hamstrung banking on its candidates’ individual abilities and resources to pull it off. The same was true for the cadre-based Left in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

“Now our campaigns are mainly candidate-oriented. We want to make them party-oriented. That’s why the need for committed workers or cadres who can do door-to-door campaigning instead of organising meetings for the candidate or big party leaders,” said a member of the Future Challenges Group headed by M Veerappa Moily."

Am reading some stuff on this Group of Rahul Gandhi + Dr. Jairam Ramesh + V. Moily and others that's doing brilliant stuff. More I read more interesting it seems.

Reintroducing the Asiatic Cheetah back into India

As we all know, the Indian (Asiatic) Cheetah became extinct from the grasslands of India way back in the 1950's , as far as I know. Now, here's a piece of great News. There are plans to re-introduce the Asiatic Cheetah.

Source: "www.timesonline.co.uk"

"Rhys Blakely in Mumbai

The Mogul emperor Akbar was said to own a thousand of the beasts as part of his 16th-century hunting retinue. Since then, however, India’s cheetahs have turned from hunter to quarry — the last three known were shot by the Maharajah of Surguja in 1947.

That may now change, with plans revealed by the Indian Government to reintroduce the world’s fastest land animal to the sub-continent.

A meeting of international experts is to be held in Rajasthan in September. It will draw up a preliminary budget, likely to be millions of pounds, to cover the import of cheetahs from Africa and the foundation of a “breeding nucleus” site, from which the animals can be introduced to other areas of India.

“We have to get [cheetahs] from abroad to repopulate the species. We soon hope to do so,” said Jairam Ramesh, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests."

Debajyoti Dutta Roy's personal take :

This is an excellent move. Hats off to Jairam Ramesh.

But all wildlife and environmental enthusiasts have to keep many parameters in mind:

• The cheetah flourishes in uninhabited grasslands. So, one has to choose a locale where there is minimum human population.
• One has to study the FOOD PYRAMID. If the base, that is, the grasslands are abundant, one can introduce deers to sambars to the cheetah's natural prey.
• So, the natural prey of the Asiatic Cheetah flourishes.
• The cheetah has a great time. But one has to be also careful that it is not threatened by other predators bigger than it is. Or pack predators like the hyena or indian wild dogs .."dholes" they're called, as far as I remember.
• One has to study the habitat where the Asiatic Lion is still surviving. These are, as far as I remember, from an excellent site felidtag (Cat Specialist Group) - Iran, parts of Saudi Arabia, etc. Congrats to these countries for still preserving the Asiatic Cheetah.

Hope the program succeeds.

One can also have active monitoring / audiovisuals to generate interest amongst the common people.

Without disturbing the Cheetah, that is.

Yaaaawn.