Print this articleThe controversy around creationism or theories of Religion versus evolution and intelligent design is a battle which each religion across the world witness from time to time. That is so because, underlying this debate is a set of truths and values related to the nature of the human being and the meaning of life, which we cannot avoid. It is not novel for a religious tradition to discover that a transmitted truth is challenged by new wisdom — be he be a novelist.
However any religious controversy has managed to develop interest amongst the public. Particularly novels on religious controversies or religious conspiracy have sold like hot-cakes in all nations across the globe.
The furore and even more the interest that the recent Dan Brown novel "The Da Vinci Code" had created go to show these novels never fail to attract the readers' attention. Naturally people look to religion for answers. And when the very origin of religion is questioned, people like to know more. They like to know why and on what basis is the novelist or writer arguing. There are extensive debates, discussions among various public circles.
Perhaps Dan Brown is not the only novelist that has brought to fore religious controversy novels for public scrutiny. In 1968 Swiss writer Erich von Däniken's book "Chariots of the Gods" (published by Putnam and Bantam Books) went on to be a collector's item and was later made into a film by the same name. Even today his books including "Gods from Outer Space," "The Gods Were Astronauts" are read extensively across the planet.
So till the time when religions will thrive on beliefs and Science will progress on facts, novels on religious conspiracies and controversies will be widely read and will also serve as popular cultural demand.
From time to time we have seen novels and non-fiction that crossed the thin line of fiction and reality. Interestingly hardly have we seen these same books missing the reader's eye. Salman Rusdie's Satanic Verses which was later banned, found a huge reader base who not only bought the book from outside the country, read it and took it to public discussion. Yes, the book and the author faced the wrath from certain quarters, nevertheless the book was a huge success.
Experts are of the opinion that this success can be the the result of a mature readership who understands the thin line between fiction and reality and accepts it as an work of art.
When Dan Brown's Da Vinci's Code was released in India, there was much talk, particularly in the Christian-dominated states of Goa and Nagaland, but it didn't hold readers back. The book as an work of art was appreciated and read in even the smallest and farthest state of India. Even the movie which came later was screened in all major cities was received plentifully.
There have been debates on why the reactions of Indians to Religious controversy novels are so mild. Is it because they are not bothered that their age-old religious ideals are being attacked by a novelist? The usually accepted facts which critics opine as reasons for this behaviour are: Firstly, India's readers are mature enough to differentiate fiction from reality. Secondly, the democratic setup of the country allows all to express their views — be it in the form of speech or art. Thirdly, the social fabric of India, be it any religion, is strong enough to embrace novels that might attack their religion, but not to be affected to the extent of fanaticism.
Yes stray incidents of protests going out of hand were seen in certain areas, yet these can't be taken as a barometer to calculate India's readership base. India will continue to read and appreciate or criticise novels on religious controversies. As long as religious fiction is supported with reason, there is no dearth of readers. The fathomless reader-base of religious novels is always thirsty for more. It's a tall ask but a successful one.
However any religious controversy has managed to develop interest amongst the public. Particularly novels on religious controversies or religious conspiracy have sold like hot-cakes in all nations across the globe.
The furore and even more the interest that the recent Dan Brown novel "The Da Vinci Code" had created go to show these novels never fail to attract the readers' attention. Naturally people look to religion for answers. And when the very origin of religion is questioned, people like to know more. They like to know why and on what basis is the novelist or writer arguing. There are extensive debates, discussions among various public circles.
Perhaps Dan Brown is not the only novelist that has brought to fore religious controversy novels for public scrutiny. In 1968 Swiss writer Erich von Däniken's book "Chariots of the Gods" (published by Putnam and Bantam Books) went on to be a collector's item and was later made into a film by the same name. Even today his books including "Gods from Outer Space," "The Gods Were Astronauts" are read extensively across the planet.
So till the time when religions will thrive on beliefs and Science will progress on facts, novels on religious conspiracies and controversies will be widely read and will also serve as popular cultural demand.
From time to time we have seen novels and non-fiction that crossed the thin line of fiction and reality. Interestingly hardly have we seen these same books missing the reader's eye. Salman Rusdie's Satanic Verses which was later banned, found a huge reader base who not only bought the book from outside the country, read it and took it to public discussion. Yes, the book and the author faced the wrath from certain quarters, nevertheless the book was a huge success.
Experts are of the opinion that this success can be the the result of a mature readership who understands the thin line between fiction and reality and accepts it as an work of art.
When Dan Brown's Da Vinci's Code was released in India, there was much talk, particularly in the Christian-dominated states of Goa and Nagaland, but it didn't hold readers back. The book as an work of art was appreciated and read in even the smallest and farthest state of India. Even the movie which came later was screened in all major cities was received plentifully.
There have been debates on why the reactions of Indians to Religious controversy novels are so mild. Is it because they are not bothered that their age-old religious ideals are being attacked by a novelist? The usually accepted facts which critics opine as reasons for this behaviour are: Firstly, India's readers are mature enough to differentiate fiction from reality. Secondly, the democratic setup of the country allows all to express their views — be it in the form of speech or art. Thirdly, the social fabric of India, be it any religion, is strong enough to embrace novels that might attack their religion, but not to be affected to the extent of fanaticism.
Yes stray incidents of protests going out of hand were seen in certain areas, yet these can't be taken as a barometer to calculate India's readership base. India will continue to read and appreciate or criticise novels on religious controversies. As long as religious fiction is supported with reason, there is no dearth of readers. The fathomless reader-base of religious novels is always thirsty for more. It's a tall ask but a successful one.
With the heat conditions intensifying in the plains, The Met Department has not forecast any relief for Delhiites from the heat, saying the mercury is expected to rise to 40 degree celsius in the day
Meanwhile Delhiites experienced the hottest day of the season on Thursday as the maximum temperature rose to 38.6º Celsius.
The scorching heat was three notches above the normal temperature and slightly higher than Wednesday’s high of 38.3 degrees, according to the Meteorological Department in New Delhi.
The minimum settled at 22.3 degrees Celsius, which was two degrees above the normal temperature for this time of the year.
While many people preferred to take stay indoors or took shelter in shaded places to protect themselves from the hot afternoon sun, others could be seen quenching their thirst by consuming chilled beverages.
Taking a tough stand in the wake of India's World Cup debacle, the Cricket Board has scrapped the players' contract system and reverted to payment of match fees, including bonus for every series win.
According to the BCCI sources, it decided to cut down the players' one-day fees from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 1 lakh each and give bonus of Rs 3 lakh each for winning a series.
The BCCI Working Committee, which met at the Wankhede Stadium here, said players' endorsements contracts would be restricted to three per cricketer at a time.
The Board decided to abolish the zonal selection system within a year. A proposal in this regard would be made in the next Working Committee meeting, which would be ratified by the annual general meeting of the Board.
The sources said the Working Committee decided that BCCI would appoint two media managers and the Board President Sharad Pawar would meet Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra to discuss the proposed Indian Cricket League.
The sources also said that the Committee has authorised Pawar to decided on the bowling and fielding coaches for the team for which the names of former Indian cricketers Venkatesh Prasad and Rohin Singh, respectively, were making rounds.
Crossing a simple majority figure of 137 in the 272-member civic body, BJP has won the Municipal elections in Delhi, dealing a severe blow to the ruling Congress in the capital.
The saffron party was ahead in as many as 150 seats and won 32, while the Congress was lagging way behind leading in 42 wards and emerging victorious in 12 as counting of votes progressed at various centres in the capital.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha also opened its account winning two seats, while Uma Bharti's Bharatiya Jansakthi Party-INLD combine got one seat.
Election Commission figures showed that smaller parties like the BSP and the NCP besides independent candidates were leading in some seats.
The prominent faces who won include Mayor Farhad Suri, Standing Committee Chairman J K Sharma, former Mayor Satbir Singh (Cong), Opposition leader Subhash Arya, BJP Standing Committee member Vijender Gupta and former Deputy Mayor Arti Mehra of the BJP.
Almost all the top Congress leaders were trailing.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit accepted the defeat, but attacked her bete noire and Congress chief Rambabu Sharma for the humiliating defeat and called for introspection on the reasons behind the poll debacle.
Sharma, on the other hand, attributed the defeat mainly to the sealing drive. He said the rising prices also played a role in the elections.
An upbeat BJP Delhi unit chief Harsh Vardhan described the election victory a referendum on Dikshit government's performance and asked for her resignation.
About 15 per cent of voters have exercised their franchise during the initial hours of polling for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections while there has been no report of any untoward incident from anywhere.
According to the election officials, the first three hours of polling has witnessed about 15 per cent of polling.
Sixty-two constituencies spread across 13 districts are going to polls today which would decide the fate of 839 contestants including Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Yadav cast his vote at Saifai, his ancestral village, as also his brother and state PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav MP, the son of the chief minister.
There are over 1.61 crore voters for Saturday's polling.
The maximum number of candidates of 28 were in the fray at Agra Cant seat while there were only four contestants at Mauranipur assembly seat in Jhansi district.
Over 18,000 Electronic Voting Machines are being used in the Saturday's polling.
Elaborate security arrangements had been put in place to ensure free and fair polls with central para military forces being deployed at every polling centre.
Prominent among those whose fate would be decided is Yadav's brother and PWD minister Shivpal Singh Yadav who is trying his luck from Jaswantnagar.
Greg Chappell's resignation drew mixed response from the cricket fraternity, which is polarised in its opinion about the controversial Australian while BCCI meets on Friday to chalk out future of Indian cricket and in World Cup.
A number of former players, some of whom have played against the former Australian captain, apparently sided with Chappell even though he did not seem popular with others.
Former captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth was unequivocal in his view that Chappell had failed to perform as the coach and his resignation was the lone option left.
"Form what we can gather, it looks like he was trying to dictate. It is unfortunate what we are hearing, that he was trying to divide the team. He will not be remembered in Indian cricket because he has not contributed anything.
"(Chappell's predecessor) John Wright will be remebered more because he has given something to the team. Everything has slipped back since Chappell took over," he said.
Srikkanth felt Chappell succumbed to the same perform-or-perish mantra, which he advocated as a coach.
"It was his philosophy that you perform or perish. He has not perfromed and he has perished.
"He is such a great cricketer and batsman and that's why he was trying to force himself and thought he has everyright to do whatever he wanted," the former opener said.
Former chief selector Kiran More, however, begged to differ.
"Chappell is straightforward and an upfront man. And people in India don't like that. He would say it on the face and we don't want to hear that. There is a lot of pressure in players and coach now because of the media," said More, during whose tenure Chappell allegedly got a lot of free-hand.
Three days after 26-year-old Divya Dagar was found dead in her Dwarka apartment, the police arrested her husband, 29-year-old Sumit Saundal, an employee of a multinational firm, for allegedly harassing his wife for dowry and then killing her.
The two had fallen in love and tied the knot in January 2005. According to the police, the victim’s family have alleged that Sumit began to harass Divya for dowry soon after the marriage, and used to often beat her. ‘‘Both Divya and Sumit were working in multinational companies. Few months after the marriage, the boy allegedly started harassing Divya for dowry. There were regular altercations between the two, and he used to allegedly beat her up,’’ said the police. On March 25, Divya was found dead in their apartment at Sector 5, Dwarka.
‘‘We have registered a case of murder and dowry against the accused, based on the statement given by the girl’s parents before a sub-divisional magistrate. We are waiting for the post-mortem report,’’ said DCP (southwest) Ravindra Yadav.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Divya had been hit by a blunt instrument, before being strangled with a bed sheet. Sumit has reportedly confessed to killing Divya, saying that he did so in a fit of rage, claimed the police.
‘‘The family of the deceased said that Divya was found lying on the bed, whereas Sumit told them that she had hanged herself from the ceiling. The condition in which Divya was found made her parents suspicious,’’ said a senior police officer.
Sumit had earlier told the police that he brought down Divya’s body before informing her parents and claimed that he was not home when she took the extreme step. ‘‘Now, only the postmortem report will establish whether she hung herself,’’ the police said. The police have informed Sumit’s parents in Himachal Pradesh. Police said the couple were financially well-off as Sumit was working with a multinational company in Connaught Place, while Divya was working as a deputy manager with another multinational firm.
Divya’s family still can’t believe that she could have been killed for dowry. ‘‘It was a love marriage and we thought the couple would live happily ever after,’’ said a family member.
(This report has been published in Times of India's Delhi edition)
The two had fallen in love and tied the knot in January 2005. According to the police, the victim’s family have alleged that Sumit began to harass Divya for dowry soon after the marriage, and used to often beat her. ‘‘Both Divya and Sumit were working in multinational companies. Few months after the marriage, the boy allegedly started harassing Divya for dowry. There were regular altercations between the two, and he used to allegedly beat her up,’’ said the police. On March 25, Divya was found dead in their apartment at Sector 5, Dwarka.
‘‘We have registered a case of murder and dowry against the accused, based on the statement given by the girl’s parents before a sub-divisional magistrate. We are waiting for the post-mortem report,’’ said DCP (southwest) Ravindra Yadav.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Divya had been hit by a blunt instrument, before being strangled with a bed sheet. Sumit has reportedly confessed to killing Divya, saying that he did so in a fit of rage, claimed the police.
‘‘The family of the deceased said that Divya was found lying on the bed, whereas Sumit told them that she had hanged herself from the ceiling. The condition in which Divya was found made her parents suspicious,’’ said a senior police officer.
Sumit had earlier told the police that he brought down Divya’s body before informing her parents and claimed that he was not home when she took the extreme step. ‘‘Now, only the postmortem report will establish whether she hung herself,’’ the police said. The police have informed Sumit’s parents in Himachal Pradesh. Police said the couple were financially well-off as Sumit was working with a multinational company in Connaught Place, while Divya was working as a deputy manager with another multinational firm.
Divya’s family still can’t believe that she could have been killed for dowry. ‘‘It was a love marriage and we thought the couple would live happily ever after,’’ said a family member.
(This report has been published in Times of India's Delhi edition)
India were all but knocked out of the cricket World Cup after going down to Sri Lanka by 69 runs in the Group B one-dayer at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain
Chasing a target of 255, India were all out for 185 in 43.3 overs, to end up with one win and two losses in the group phase.
Only a loss to Bangladesh, who had upset India in an earlier match, against minnows Bermuda in the last match in the group can see India sneak through on a better run-rate.
Sri Lanka had already qualified for the Super Eight after beating Bermuda and Bangladesh in their previous matches.
India had a shaky start when they lost Robin Uthappa (18), Sourav Ganguly (7) and Sachin Tendulkar (0) for 44.
Virender Sehwag (48) and Rahul Dravid (60) rebuilt the innings before a middle order collapse reduced them to 112 for six.
Earlier, Sri Lanka weathered a tidy bowling performance by India to post a challenging 254 for 6 at the Queen's Park Oval.
The Lankans owed their total to a 83-run partnership between Chamara Silva and Tillekaratne Dilshan after opener Upul Tharanga had done the spade work.
Left-handed Tharanga made a chanceless 64 to set the platform for Silva and Dilshan to provide the late thrust.
Silva, hit 59, his fourth consecutive half-century and third at the World Cup in as many as matches while Dilshan played a compact innings of 38.
Registering a World record of the largest margin in terms of runs in all ODI cricket, team India has thrashed minnows Bermuda by 257 runs in a Group-B world cup league cricket match at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.
Zaheer Khan and Kumble picked up two wickets each and Munaf Patel earned one wicket.
Earlier, Indian top guns, including Virender Sehwag, came out firing on all cylinders as the Men in Blue posted a World Cup record total of 413 for five against a hapless Bermuda.
The total took them past their own best of 373 for six achieved at Taunton in 1999 as well as the World Cup highest of 398 for five which Sri Lanka had recorded against Kenya during the 1996 World Cup.
Among the batting stars, Sehwag (114) and Sourav Ganguly (89) first led the fireworks with a 202-run second wicket stand and later Yuvraj Singh (83) and Sachin Tendulkar (57 not out) finished off the run-riot with 122 runs for the fifth wicket.
Sehwag warmed the hearts of his dwindling supporters with his first century in 61 games and over two years, whacking 114 from 87 balls with 17 fours and three sixes. Yuvraj, on his part, thrashed 83 off just 46 balls with seven sixes and three fours.
Tendulkar, coming in at number six, did his own bit with 57 from 29 balls, inclusive of two fours and four sixes.
Sehwag, coming to bat at one down after his uncertainty with the new ball had led to Robin Uthappa being promoted as opener, whacked the amateurs from Bermuda to all parts of the ground.
In striking his eighth one-day century -- his first in 61 matches -- Sehwag outscored his partner Ganguly and reached his half century from only 43 balls with seven fours and a six. He was to reach his next 50 from only 38 balls as he peppered the hoardings and stands with ferocious shots.
Sehwag twice hit David Hemp for consecutive sixes, lifting him straight and then over extra cover for maximum shots. He then hoicked Kevin Hurdle for a six over square leg and reached his century from 81 balls with a single off the same bowler.
The opener continued in his same marauding manner before hoisting a catch in the deep but Ganguly built on his impressive half century in the first game against Bangladesh with another sterling knock today though the left-hander struggled in aiming big shots on a slowish wicket.
Bermuda, who won the toss and chose to field first, got an early berakthrough when Malachi Jones struck off his first ball, forcing Uthappa to edge a steer to lone slip Dwayne Leverock who dived to his right to accept the chance, his 120-kg frame heaving up and down in joy.
Ganguly was stumped in trying to heave spinner Dwayne Borden out of the ground and departed cross with himself for missing out on becoming the fourth player to hit five World Cup centuries.
Australians Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh and Indias Sachin Tendulkar share the honour.
Yuvrajs innings was notable for its sweet timing as much as the power he imparted in his strokes. Tendulkar too was all class and finesse and besides big shots also executed some clever hits.
In the other match, chasing a target of 203 runs, the host West Indies have defeated Zimbabwe by six wickets in a Group D encounter at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Earlier, Zimbabwe have posted a respectable total of 202 loosing 5 wickets against the host West Indies.
After a shaky start, Zimbabwe innings boosted by Wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan Taylor who scored 50 in 112 balls with one six and a boundary.
However, for 6th wicket stand, a magnificent 70 runs in only 68 balls by Sean Williams with Elton Chigumbura (30) stretched the Zimbabwe score to 202 for five.
Almighty is very sad today. And it's pretty obvious. The world of cricket has lost one of its greatest mentor.
BOB Woolmer, the former Kent and England batsman, passed away after being found unconscious in his hotel room in the West Indies.
Woolmer, who was coach to the Pakistan team at the Cricket World Cup, died after being found unconscious in his hotel room.
The 58-year-old was discovered in his room yesterday morning, and was immediately taken to a nearby hospital - but he did not recover.
About the man:
Almighty knows all about this man. So here's a brief about Woomer's life as a cricketer.
Full Name: Robert Andrew Woolmer
Date of birth: 14 May 1948
Place of birth: Kanpur, India
Batting Style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm medium
Teams: England, Kent, Natal, Western Province
Test Debut: Against Australia at Lord's on 31-07-1975
ODI Debut: Against Australia at Old Trafford on 24-08-1972
International career details:
Tests: 19
Runs: 1 059
Highest score: 149
Average: 33.09
100s: 3
Wickets: 4
ODIs: 6
Runs: 21
Highest score: 9
Average: 5.25
100s: 0
Wickets: 9
Coaching career:
1991: Appointed Director of Coaching at Warwickshire CCC.
1993: Warwickshire wins the NatWest Trophy.
1994: Warwickshire win 3 out of 4 trophies and are runners up in the NatWest series. Appointed coach of South Africa.
1999: Leaves South Africa job after team fails to make World Cup final
2001: Joins ICC as High Performance Manager
2004: Appointed coach of Pakistan.
ALMIGHTY REQUESTS ALL BLOGGERS TO PAY THEIR TRIBUTES TO THIS GREAT MAN.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
Almighty feels that the political parties are taking the issue of land acquisition for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) a mile too far and Almighty also feels that as Nandigram is returning back to normalcy, it is the best time for retrospect and to ponder on how to carry forward from here on.The Omnipresent has always stressed on one vital point that SEZs should not be approved at the cost of agricultural land. These zones should be located on non-farm land and wasteland. One should take care to ensure that fertile and irrigated farmland is not used for the purpose of SEZs.
Now, look what’s happening in Nandigram. Around 15 people were killed recently and a big number of people got injuries in the police firing in this East Midnapore area in West Bengal. It's one of the pathetic incidents the state has witnessed.
The government has failed to find out the solution of the problem. Protests will continue till the people are satisfied with the solution. The government must understand the pains of the farmers and should find out some other way, which can benefit everyone including the farmers.
Such types of police firings leading to deaths is really condemnable. The police officers involved in the firing must be suspended and a strong action should taken against them.But this is not all.
Political parties are jumping into the fray to get a mileage from the issue. Not surprising at all!!
My Almighty vision in fact saw many of them (read political goons) inciting the poor innocent farmers to restore to violence. What has this World come to?
The question all are asking is: Will the march of the minnows continue in the Cricket World Cup being played in West Indies?
Both the so called ASIAN GIANTS, India and Pakistan went down to minnows Bangladesh and Ireland respectively on Saturday
NOW the big question -- Is it Australia and England's turn when they meet The Netherlands and Canada respectively later in the day?
Minnows Ireland created history by beating Pakistan by 3 wickets, throwing them out of the World Cup, while in another match, Bangladesh stunned India beating them by 5 wickets.
Bangladesh produced one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history with a five-wicket victory over India in a Group B clash at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.
The unfancied team bowled out India's formidable line-up for 191 on a good batting pitch - their lowest one-day total against Bangladesh before romping to victory.
Left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal smashed 51 for his maiden half-century in only his fifth one-dayer before Bangladesh reached the target in 48.3 overs.
Fellow left-hander Saqibul Hasan (53) put on 84 runs for the fourth wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim, who was 56 not out, helping Bangladesh achieve only their second win over India in 15 meetings.
Bangladesh emulated their famous victory over Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup, underlining their progress after failing to win a single game in South Africa four years ago where India were finalists.
It was their third victory in World Cups having also beaten Scotland in 1999.
The defeat plunged Indian hopes into disarray from the toughest group which 1996 champions Sri Lanka are favoured to top after crushing debutants Bermuda in their first game.
Bangladesh paceman Mashrafe Mortaza struck two early blows to claim four for 38 before left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzak left Indian batsmen parched for runs to take three wickets apiece in their superb team effort.
For India, opener Saurav Ganguly struck 66 and stayed on till the 44th over to prop up his team, adding 85 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (47).
Bangladesh bowlers then snapped up five wickets for two runs to reduce the innings to 159 for nine before the last wicket pair of Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel put on 32 runs.
Bangladesh, with just four victories over the top eight ranked teams, appeared set for a famous fifth after leaving India reeling in the morning.
Mortaza grabbed two wickets bowling in tandem with left-arm paceman Syed Rasel, who gave away just 31 runs in a single 10-over spell.
Mortaza, 23, forced struggling opener Virender Sehwag to chop an in-coming ball on to the stumps for two runs before Robin Uthappa (9) edged a loose drive to point to make it 21 for two in the seventh over.
Sehwag, whose horrible form continued, was almost run out in the first over and now has scored just one fifty in his last 14 innings going back to October.
Spinner Razzak replaced Mortaza and claimed the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar (7) off the last ball of his first over, making it 40-3 after 15 overs.
The premier batsman, playing in his fifth World Cup, edged a drive onto his pads to be caught by teenaged stumper Mushfiqur Rahim on second attempt.
Skipper Rahul Dravid (14) was trapped leg before by 36-year-old Rafique, the third spinner brought into the attack.
Bangladesh kept things tight with their superb fielding.
Bangladesh produced one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history with a five-wicket victory over India in a Group B clash at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.
The unfancied team bowled out India's formidable line-up for 191 on a good batting pitch - their lowest one-day total against Bangladesh before romping to victory.
Left-handed opener Tamim Iqbal smashed 51 for his maiden half-century in only his fifth one-dayer before Bangladesh reached the target in 48.3 overs.
Fellow left-hander Saqibul Hasan (53) put on 84 runs for the fourth wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim, who was 56 not out, helping Bangladesh achieve only their second win over India in 15 meetings.
Bangladesh emulated their famous victory over Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup, underlining their progress after failing to win a single game in South Africa four years ago where India were finalists.
It was their third victory in World Cups having also beaten Scotland in 1999.
The defeat plunged Indian hopes into disarray from the toughest group which 1996 champions Sri Lanka are favoured to top after crushing debutants Bermuda in their first game.
Bangladesh paceman Mashrafe Mortaza struck two early blows to claim four for 38 before left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzak left Indian batsmen parched for runs to take three wickets apiece in their superb team effort.
For India, opener Saurav Ganguly struck 66 and stayed on till the 44th over to prop up his team, adding 85 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh (47).
Bangladesh bowlers then snapped up five wickets for two runs to reduce the innings to 159 for nine before the last wicket pair of Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel put on 32 runs.
Bangladesh, with just four victories over the top eight ranked teams, appeared set for a famous fifth after leaving India reeling in the morning.
Mortaza grabbed two wickets bowling in tandem with left-arm paceman Syed Rasel, who gave away just 31 runs in a single 10-over spell.
Mortaza, 23, forced struggling opener Virender Sehwag to chop an in-coming ball on to the stumps for two runs before Robin Uthappa (9) edged a loose drive to point to make it 21 for two in the seventh over.
Sehwag, whose horrible form continued, was almost run out in the first over and now has scored just one fifty in his last 14 innings going back to October.
Spinner Razzak replaced Mortaza and claimed the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar (7) off the last ball of his first over, making it 40-3 after 15 overs.
The premier batsman, playing in his fifth World Cup, edged a drive onto his pads to be caught by teenaged stumper Mushfiqur Rahim on second attempt.
Skipper Rahul Dravid (14) was trapped leg before by 36-year-old Rafique, the third spinner brought into the attack.
Bangladesh kept things tight with their superb fielding.
Team India were all out in 191 runs in 49.3 overs against Bangladesh in their opening World Cup Group B match at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.
India made a shaky start as it lost two top order batsmen in quick succession.
Virendra Shewag (2) was the first to return back to the pavilion and Utthappa followed him scoring only nine.
Tendulkar caught behind the wicket for seven while going to hit Abdur Razzak's delivery.
On the very first ball of 25th over Dravid was trapped leg before by Mohammad Rafique for 14 when tried to flick and missed.
Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid put on 32 runs for the 4th wicket partnership.
Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag have opened the Indian innings but the latter continued with his poor form and was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza for only two.
A Perfect offcutter that landed outside off stump, Sehwag perhaps assumed it as width and shaped to cut it. The ball finally took the inside-edge and crashed into the Stumps.
Earlier, team India skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to bat first.
The Indians are in a confident frame of mind having won both their warm-up matches .
Irfan Pathan has been dropped while Harbhajan Singh was preffered over veteran Anil Kumble.
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