Pakistan has been passing through chaotic times for quite some time. It was forced to cede some power to the Taliban and promulgated Shariat law in SWAT region. And a few days later, innocent Sri Lankan cricket players barely escaped being massacred in Lahore. The Times of India front page article of 11^th March suggests that Taliban is knocking at the door of Peshawar.

It is very intriguing that Pakistan which was created for people of Islam to live in peace has had a tumultuous history of chaos and terror right from its inception. It is estimated that in a population of 160 million there are 40 million firearms and 4 million drug users.

On the other hand, India which is a melting pot of all religions under the sun, basks in peace and brotherhood, relatively speaking.

Why is Pakistan which was founded on the basis of one religion, as a refuge for Muslims, going through such bleeding and pain?

Jinnah wanted all religions to flourish in his country. However, a few months after his death, vested political interests implemented their own agenda. The Basic Principle of the Constitution (Objective Resolution 1949) adopted in 1952 stated that the Quran and Sunnah were to be the sources of all laws in Pakistan, that it would be an Islamic Republic and only a Muslim could be the Head of state.

The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979 was a god sent opportunity for President Zia and the US for different reasons. The US wanted to create a Vietnam for the Soviets in Afghanistan. Zia seized the opportunity to further the cause of Islam and fight against the communist infidels. With the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) as its active collaborator, the CIA equipped the Afghan dissidents known as Mujahideen with billions of dollars of cash, weapons and explosives.

Meanwhile, thousands of young Madrassa students, known as the Taliban (Students), were recruited from Afghan refugee camps, brainwashed in Pakistani madrassas, trained and equipped by the ISI and were sent to Kabul.

These students are also sent to Kashmir or other parts of India to spread the Jihad. Some of them are now turning against their own government as suicide bombers or assassins.

On the social front, the government in NWFP in 2002 adopted the agenda of the Talibans and banned co-education, movies and videos, put women inside Burqa, and doled out harsh Islamic justice to the poor.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani ruling establishment and the military have become myopic, failing to see the wanton destruction of the country from within. Instead, they try feverishly to catch up with India in their army, air force and navy strength.

The fast moving and frightening events in our neighboring country offer very powerful insights and lessons for all of us and our country.

The Pakistanis and the Americans are now discovering to their horror that the Frankenstein they created in Pakistan and Afghanistan is now coming to haunt them. May be, poetic justice is catching up.

Minorities in a nation contribute tremendously to the internal gelling, enrichment and understanding among citizens. M.J Akbar wrote in his Sunday “Siege Within” column in the Times of India,

“A minority is the yeast that enables the national flour to rise.”

Flourishing nations in different parts of the world resonate with this truth.

The events in Pakistan should serve as a huge warning to all us to be weary of those who seek votes or divide people along religion lines. They have demonstrated time and again that such elements wreck the unity and peace in the country and their extremism has spawned many a terrorist.

The vision of founding fathers and leaders makes enormous difference to the destinies of nations. Vision based on human potential, aspirations and endeavor, goes to create prosperous nations while those based on past fears and limitations pave the way for failed states. We in India are lucky that we had visionaries like Gandhi and Nehru who only saw harmony in myriad cultures, religions and languages co-existing together.

In another article which appeared in the Times of India on March 8, M.J Akbar writes,

Every Indian Muslim should offer a special, public prayer of thanks to the Almighty Allah for His extraordinary benevolence – for the mercy He had shown by preventing us from ending up in Pakistan in 1947.

May our national flour continue to rise and rise.

Image credit: Meanest Indian

Popularity: 22%

On Saturday, March 7, I watched General Musharraf’s speech and the question and answer session in the India Today Conclave beamed on Headlines Today Channel. He handled himself with a lot of class and panache. He is a great ambassador for his country. Whatever one may say about him, he is not a coward. He will not flinch and he won’t run away.

Though there were several holes in his arguments, he came across as blunt and straight forward. Yet, paradoxically, he did tell lies with a straight face when it came to protecting the image of his country. He laboured hard to drive home the following points.

1. He is a man of war (as an army man), but a man for peace as a human being and leader of his nation.

2. He did his best to bring about peace during his 11 years as the power center in his country. But peace can be only between equals treated with respect.

3. He had worked out a blue print for peace along with Vajpayee and Jaswant Singh during the Agra summit. This was scuttled by certain forces.

4. The Indians are hysterical about Pakistanis, Pakistani government, Pakistani army and ISI. The same level of hysteria is absent in Pakistan.

5. Just as RAW is very much active to undermine the growth of Pakistan, ISI is abuzz to clip the wing of India. Both RAW and ISI should be restrained.

6. Kashmir is the root cause of all the problems. He used the simile of a problem tree to describe the situation. Tackling terrorism, improving trade, dialogues etc., would be only like removing the leaves, branches, trunks etc., of the problem tree. The problem would linger till the cause named Kashmir problem is removed from its roots. When Kasparov, the world famous former Russian chess player suggested that the tree could be also destroyed by denying it water, the general did not have a convincing answer.

7. To find a solution, there has to be a lot of give and take. And, to give, leaders on both sides have to muster a lot of courage.

8. Terrorism was born to protect the deprived Muslims in India and particularly in Kashmir. When a turbaned, Muslim M.P pointed out that there were more Muslims in India than in Pakistan and they felt very much safe in India and at least 70 % of the Hindus would protect the Muslims even risking their lives, the Pakistani general was a bit shaken, but later added that he always believed in mouthing what his head and heart dictated. He seemed to insinuate the Muslim M.P was playing to the gallery.

To every question, General Musharraf had a ready answer. The burden of his message was, as long as “eye-for-an-eye” or “tit-for-tat” responses were the basis of the relationship between the two countries there would be no durable peace.

It appears solutions to the vexing problems staring at the two countries will not come easily. Pakistan and India have to share the faults for the state of things. As long as we are concerned only at the wrongs perpetrated by the other, the problems will linger. Each country needs to look inward.

We harbour prejudices against each other. These need to be removed by making attempts to understand the other through dialogue and ceaseless communication.

Courageous leaders will have to face the problems and catch the bull by the horns and subdue it. Otherwise, the problem will last a thousand years as some leaders from across the border indicated. If countries in Europe which were at one another’s throat for centuries can live in harmony, bonded by a common vision and currency, all is not yet lost in South East Asia.

For this to happen, populism has to give way for statesmanship, fear has to be vanquished by courageous steps and the lessons of history have to be learned and assimilated.

Image Credit: Ashour Talk

Popularity: 18%

Gandhi gave up his life to instill non-violence,
Terrorism is taking lives to defy all sense.

Day in and day out, there’s news reports coming in on extremists’ actions taking valuable lives. From being isolated incidents across the world, this is now stretching to specific regions of the world being isolated. The justification from the perpetrators is that of fulfilling their ideologies but no matter what angle you look at it, there can be simply no reason to consume innocent lives. The extremists or terrorists, however you word them, have no right to take away something they didn’t create, period.

First it was the 09/11, then the London bombings, the Mumbai blasts in between – all gave widespread publicity. Interspersed between these incidents, I am sure there are other cases in lesser known places around the world which did not get the same publicity. Irrespective of the prosperity of the land affected, the bottom line was – human lives were lost. From being a regional menace, the issue on hand became a global problem with the mighty joining hands to eradicate this thorn of society.

There are various theories as to who helped groom the ‘bad elements’ of the respective societies. In some cases it was the local law of the land, in some cases external forces were to be blamed. In a few cases, oppression even was to be pointed at. I will leave the so called analysts and experts to provide judgmental opinions on the cause and effects of allowing this to blossom. The point I wish to make is simply this – there has to be a solution, and quickly at that, for the impact of every such incident has far reaching effects of gigantic proportions. I don’t think there is any disagreement that the majority of such blatant activities originate from a specific region of the world.

As soon as he took oath, the President of the United States, in spite of offering continued economic assistance and offering other support systems to the country in question, minced no words in highlighting this region as the problematic one, in one of his very first speeches. Canada and the United States are still debating how to get out of one side of this very region, and the Canadian premier even offered his honest insight yesterday that it may be impossible to defeat the insurgency there.

The political diplomacy didn’t work, the governments resorted to using coercion and when that didn’t work, they used force. But that isn’t working by any stretch of imagination. What’s the alternative? However controversial it may sound, I would take an “isolation” philosophy and approach to determining a solution – abandon all forms of trade with the region; stop providing economic aid or military assistance.

Isolate the region by preventing anything other than medical or humanitarian support systems to pass through, either inside or outside. Yes, the initial going would be tough for the locals, but the governments’ hands would be forced as its now a solely internal issue, instead of a regional or global problem, and they have to fix it. The most complex of problems have the seemingly simplest of solutions – maybe this does too.

Image Credit: Saital

Popularity: 16%

After having multiple heated arguments with a friend I really felt like putting this article down for thousands of readers who would actually help me decide what’s right and what’s wrong.

We all have been eagerly following the chain of events since the terrorist attack in Mumbai on 26th November 2008.The government is proud of itself today because out of 10 terrorist they have captured 1 terrorist alive! They think it’s an honor.

How many people think that  way?

A bunch of young boys barely in their teens gun down thousands of people in a metropolitan city and make our defense system dance to their tunes of terror for three days.

Can the capture of a lone terrorist alive be called an achievement or is it the biggest mistake of our government?

Now the response of the government would be 1 -2 months of creating anxiety in the minds of the people by interrogating the lone terrorist (Ajmal) and then probably hanging him. But I personally feel the government will achieve nothing by killing a young boy of barely 20 years. He probably wasn’t aware about the horrendous crime he was committing.

I know many people wouldn’t agree to what I would say but I think instead of killing the boy the government should rather rehabilitate him and make him realize that killing people is not the way to get one’s religion accepted in a society. It is just a fabrication of a religion by a few fanatic people.

This would rather set an example on thousands of youth who get strayed by certain organizations which lead them to believe fake facts. By killing Ajmal or by torturing him, do you think the other terrorist are going to get traumatized or stop committing attacks?

Most of the terrorist attacks in the world are carried with the motive of suicide. These people are fearless and emotionless. They are not scared of death since their motive is to die in the name of religion.

We have killed several terrorists in the past but has terrorism stopped?  If we really want to solve this menace, we probably should try a radical way of dealing with this global issue e.g. reverse psychology.

The young people who are trained for such attacks are kept isolated from the world and what they are shown is the world of hatred. They are rigorously trained they are prepared for death. Some of these youngsters are kidnapped or are just threatened or lured into these activities.

So who should be killed – these youngsters or the cruel people who are behind them?

I think right now the government should focus on getting the leaders and the people behind these attacks rather than torturing mere helpless puppets like Ajmal. By using the reverse psychology and rehabilitating the terrorist, they can help show thousands of youth who are lost in the make believe world of certain groups who work for their self motive rather than any other reason to see light at the end of a dark tunnel that they are in.

I know many people might condemn my thought process but I would really like people to spare a minute or two and ponder over this post and voice your opinion.

Image Credit: Tazeen

Popularity: 24%

As the year 2008, the year of the frog, is drawing to a close many people are sighing with relief. It has been an eventful year, with a few positives like the gold medal at the Olympics and The Man Booker prize. However, The Global financial crisis and the most recent acts of terrorism have cast a gloomy shadow and are threatening to evolve to diabolic levels.

Global Financial Crisis

When the year 2007 was drawing to a close most of the Indian investors who had invested in India were very happy. Our Bombay’s stock index was hovering around 21000 giving more than 40% return in a span of just 6 months. This attributed to many theories like the ‘De-copulation theory’ according to which Indian markets are independent from the US market.

But then things took an ugly turn in 2008. The Global Financial Crisis which had spilled over from the previous year, started to wreak havoc in the global markets. Many prominent organizations like the Bears & Sterns, the Lehmann Brothers etc. had to shut shop because of the losses faced by them.

Closer to home, our banks did not face a huge impact because of stronger banking regulations and lesser exposure in the US and European Markets. But our industries are now facing a major slowdown as our economy is highly dependant on the Global markets especially the US and the Europe. There has been a significant decline in the industrial production numbers, our export figures and also in the profitability of many Indian Companies leading to a slower than usual growth of our GDP.

Repercussions of this global turmoil had a major impact on our stock market. The FIIs had removed nearly $12 Billion from our stock market this year to reduce their exposure. This has lead to more than 50% reduction of value on the Bombay stock index, which is now hovering around the 9000 mark.

To add on to the woes, at the start of this year the oil prices started climbing steadily to dizzy levels. At one time i.e., around mid of this year oil prices were around $ 150 per barrel. This led to an increase in the fuel pricing, pushing our inflation numbers to around 13% for sometime.

Though now the oil prices have gone below $50 a barrel and the inflation cooling down to below 8%, the short-term outlook looks very bleak.  The RBI has been taking a series of steps so that recession doesn’t hit Indian shores by its monetary and fiscal policies. It has been trying to reduce various rates to stimulate domestic demand and there are reasons to believe that this will continue doing so for the next fiscal.

Terrorism

The year 2008 has been one of the bloodiest years in the recent times even though we have not waged a formal war. For the past 2 decades we have been battling militants waging a proxy war in many parts of our country for many reasons, be it Kashmir, northeast or naxals. According to estimates done by various organisations, more than 2500 people have been killed because of terrorist attacks, which is next only to Iraq in this region.

These militants have become very tech savvy in executing their attack using many everyday tools like the google maps, VOIP phones etc.

Despite all this, our governments have failed to act or address the fundamental problems that lead to terrorism. We can just hope that in the coming years they would take some steps to contain these before they hinder our growing economy.

2008 is drawing to an end and one hopes that this New Year brings about some kind of positive cheer and hope, though the above problems are threatening to become graver by each passing day.

Popularity: 15%

This article was written a couple of days ago. Due to some technical difficulties, this could not be published earlier. The latest news surrounding the death of Hemant Karkare takes away the relevance of the articles. However, worth still a read, me thinks. Enjoy!

It is the story that has caught the nation by storm. On one hand you have the Union Minister for Minority Affairs and a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, A R Ant-u-lay who seemed to open his mouth at a time when the whole country is going through the post terrorism crisis and on the other hand, there is another so called self made icon of the Marathi Manoos, Balasaheb (a.k.a. Uncle) led Shiva Sena who wants to press it hard….as hard as he can so that the affairs (however minor that is) come to an Ant.

Jokes apart, Uncle Bala and his son Udhav can do away with their “no-one-cares” remarks. Why do they need to raise their voice for every thing that is said and heard. First of all, they can’t take care of their people when in crisis, and now they come forward to shout at the top of their voice as if our Mr.Ant is the only one who has made controversial statements.

Did you forget about your nephew Raj Thackeray and his escapades?

High time The Thackerays kept a low profile and not pressed hard for every thing that is said and heard. Sometimes it may be worth doing so.

Should Antulay have spoken the way he has? Should he not have given considerations how people would react especially the police fraternity who gave many a lives to save the city of Mumbai from falling down?

Of course, he could have watched his mouth. Instead of guess-working in the media about his wild Sherlock Holmes like detectivities, he would not have been lynched by these senseless morons if he were a bit cautious in your approach. He needs to take a lesson or two in public speaking. Yes Minister!!!

Speaking of Aam Aadmi, we are still at a loss why did Hemant Karkare lose his life ? May be he was a victim of terror. May be he was pinned down by his detractors. May be there was a hidden agenda – who knows ?? Government ought to probe some of these incidents de facto

If Antulay has spoken, he has done so on behalf of the public. There is widespread anger the way government has been conducting its business and the way senior police officials have been made scapegoats. Else, explain why Senior Mumbai Police Officials, Roy & Gafoor got transferred despite them being very actively involved in the rescue effort ?

May be it’s time for sweeping the “Home” once again – Mr. Home Minister, are you listening?

Popularity: 12%

There’s more to the Antulay story than the man himself

Minority affairs minister Abdul Rehman Antulay added his name to a growing list of anti-India Indians living and breeding on Indian soil by considerable vainglory and style with his contemptuous remarks on Hemant Karkare’s death.

The irrational statements, coming directly from a Union cabinet minister’s mouth, have hence opened the door for not only self-styled Pakistani analysts and self-proclaimed observers of the “real India” but also our very own pseudo-secularist intellectuals and others of the type to create a ripple effect at a time when the country was chasing a dreaded and proven enemy on the other side of the border with some consistency.

But Antulay’s story is interwoven with more than what “meets the eye”, so to speak in the man’s own words. Why blame him alone, as many in his band of anti-Indians would say. Antulay and his band of the eternally “oppressed” have not only provided fodder for our neighbors to feed on India’s self-created divisions with giggles and chuckles and high-fives but have confirmed in all retrospect as to where their true loyalties lie. Not in aiding Pakistan’s so-called “Hindu Zionist” campaign. Not in the progress of the “oppressed” who’s cause they so passionately have picked up. It lies in their firm fundamentalist mindset, where the right wing is the mother of all evils and the cause of so much pain and agony in our lives. Not just so much. In fact, all of it does.

In no other free-minded democracy does the base of the system itself prove so costly – the freedom. Freedom in India is reaching intolerable levels and most terror attacks or so-called anti-minority actions are followed up with all sorts of abuse by the leftist intellectuals.

Arundhati Roy articulately calls Islamic terrorism a deserving return-shot from the oppressed and asks India to look thoughtfully at the reasons for which jehad is being waged. Barkha Dutt proceeds to divide India on communal lines herself by indicating that Antulay’s remarks have embarrassed the Indian Muslim, clearly giving belief to the thought that India is divided from within. Pankaj Mishra, Vinod Mehta, Teesta Setalvad, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose and so many like-minded “scholars” feed on India’s gullible freedom like bedbugs not letting you sleep, pests screwing your crop and lice biting away on sensitive areas.

Left-liberalism is reaching unseen heights in India. Their hatred for all things Indian is not only increasingly evident but even unchanging. These sympathizers of the distressed challenge the Indian state each and every day with their uttering and hysteria-driven pedagogy.

How dare they even claim to be Indians. How dare they apply for a passport and travel abroad and preach hatred towards India. How dare they call themselves concerned “human rights” activists with a natural belief that Indians are not humans, but only abusers of human rights. How dare they speak and speak and speak without any sense of responsibility.

This dreaded brand of terrorists has their “terror camps” in the mainland. They sleep, preach and breathe anti-Indian sentiments every passing day, from our own soil. They operate abroad with their weapons (ink pens and A4-size sheets) and know that they can take refuge in their freedom that always forgives and mutter any nonsense that will always find readers because intellect is admired by many, no matter how much the nonsense ingrained within it – an intellect which is actually pseudo-intellect.

By Indians, who are actually pseudo-Indians.

Article Credit: Jay Maniyar

Image Credit: Carter Comics

Popularity: 13%

Who said Bal Thackeray and Raj Thackeray have nothing in common ? I can list a hundred things that they have in common starting from their surname to their party name etc.

Of late, what has impressed me most is their melting pot of ignorance.

Raj Thackeray on one hand continues to be stubborn. His ire against North Indians is very visible, while his senior mentor and uncle a.k.a. Bala “Saheb” Thackeray and his bunch of sycophants continue to rock Mumbai with their sheer ignorance.

In the latest twist to the Mumbai Terror attacks, the Shiv Sena expressed its support to the terrorists by ransacking lawyers who have expressed or will express their desire to provide legal help to Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor amongst the butchers so that a trial is initiated and Kasab is punished

But our political guru wanted it the other way. They want Kasab to walk scot-free. Why else do you think they will ransack Mukesh Deshmukh’s office and house ?

They knew very well that as per the constitution of this country, every criminal is entitled to a  lawyer and if you do not allow a defense lawyer, the case can be made null and void. This means that there would be either inordinate delay or the credibility of the case will be undermined.

This is exactly the terrorist wants.

Since he is in prison, it will be difficult for Kasab to commit suicide – May be he doesn’t have that kind of heart too. If he steps outside, he will be lynched by the mob or another set of people gunning for his life.

So what’s the answer ?

Ask Shiva Sena. They have the answer. According to their theory – No lawyer no case. No case, no conviction. No conviction, Kasab walks scot free.

Anybody’s guess what happens if Kasab walks scot free -North Indians beware !

Thackeray & Thackeray – You better learn about these tactics. If you still have not understood, this in political parlance is called PSYWAR or in other words “Psychological Warfare”

Let me give you the definition,

Psychological Warfare is the planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives

Now don’t tell me you didn’t know about these tactics, Shiv Sena !…

Image Credit: Syed Touhid Hassan

Popularity: 12%

It really disturbed me when I came across this shocking incident which took place in Warangal, India last week. Two young girls were attacked by a guy who apparently was in love with one of the girls. The boy splattered acid on them while they were driving a two wheeler. All this just because the girl scorned his proposal for love. 

This girl is an engineering student with high aspirations, has now lost her eye sight and is fighting for her life in the hospital.

I was really disheartened, when I saw girl’s parents expressing their grief for their child. It made me ponder for a while, isn’t there any humanity? How safe is it for parents to send their children out and wait for their safe return. Such incidents have generated panic and a sense of fear among the people especially women. Has the judicial system been fair to all such similar incidents?  Such culprits are turning out to be so remorseless that they feel they can get away from any sort of crime. There has been no effort from the government to put a control on such incidents.

There have been many such instances during the past where young women were attacked. The number of attacks each year seems to be on a rise.  Even after these incidents were brought before the eyes of the public, these callous criminals managed to get away from the crime claiming to be a close acquaintance of a well known personality or either by bribing the authorities.

Most of these offenders have come out on bail due to improper prosecution statements. Even in this case, the girl had initially complained to the police that she and her family have been threatened by the boy many times. The boy was arrested, and it took him less than 24 hours to get out of the case.

Though in this case the three culprits were shot dead by police during a tussle with the police escort. While I am not totally supportive,  this will serve as a message to all those criminal minds out there that plan on such ruthless acts.

Why should the police wait for another incident like this to happen? Why can’t they make their first step right? May be if the authorities had taken some stringent measures and considered the complaints seriously, we would not have seen this day where this kind of attacks still seem to persist. 

It’s a pity where the whole country is battling against the external terrorism on one side and there are people on the other side facing danger from the fellow citizens within the country. Drastic changes are a need of the moment. I hope the government will realize this and take some additional measures for safety of Indian women or for that matter any citizen.

Image Courtesy: India Tribune

Popularity: 20%

Shiv Sena with an entourage of some 40 so called party workers (or goons?) ransacked the house and office of a lawyer, Mukesh Deshmukh.

Mukesh who? Supposedly a lesser known lawyer in criminal law with some 10-12 years experience.

Why was his house and office ransacked? Because Mukesh agreed to fight the case for Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist.

Agreed, Kasab is a criminal. There is enough and more proof that he has committed the crime and he might be languishing the rest of his life in Indian jails or be hanged to death. No one is denying that.

But then – Don’t criminals in India get a lawyer to defend? How unconstitutional is that? Is it not a fundamental right of everyone to get a lawyer?

And by the way, who is Shiv Sena to take the law into its hands? What do they think of themselves – Above the law??? That everything they do, every action of theirs is legitimate and godly?

Absolutely ridiculous. This has to stop.

No political party should be allowed to resort to violence. If they are resorting to violence, then they are no better than terrorists who created havoc in Mumbai. At the end of the day, both of them have committed crime that led to destruction of lives, property etc. So why differ?

Where is the Home Minister? Why doesn’t he make statements which condemn these kinds of attacks on the law-abiding citizens of the country? And why are there no laws to punish these demons of mass destructions?

The leaders of Shiv Sena still think that it has done the right thing by ransacking the lawyer, his house and his office. How audacious is that?

Must I ask where they were when Mumbai was burning ?

Image Credit: Gabriel Agu

Popularity: 15%

The I&B ministry is planning to set in guidelines for the TV news channels hoping terrorist attacks will be covered with more sensitivity next time around. Does that somehow seem utopian?

Ever since the rise of television from the mid-90s, television news channels have covered everything thrown at them with an aim to cover all the denominators of the pluralistic Indian society. Somewhere, it got aspirational and so stories on village rapes and Dalit feuds got replaced with health shows and size-zero stories.

In recent times, apart from the story of Prince falling in a bore well, there has been no attempt to understand why news channels have leapfrogged to classism than consumerism, considering that a vast majority of Indians belong to the masses, not classes. This could be because the terror attack in Mumbai was aimed at the classes, what with foreign nationals and two of Mumbai’s biggest hotels under attack.

This meant that news channels instinctively picked up that they could target the upper class with relentless coverage and keep the masses involved by showing the destruction of an aspirational society with its utter helplessness and great-leveller style of talking to the audience.

This means, while English news channels went all out and actually created the rage against the system (and jingoism, by way of Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab) seen across the world today, Hindi news channels showed how the attack made even the motley group of rich people in the country as vulnerable to an attack as any of them.

Forming any guidelines has to walk the tightrope of ensuring that democratic rights of the fourth estate are not trampled upon even as the rules should ensure that news channels do not give out sensitive information to aid terrorists and broadcast insensitive videos of traumatized and brutalized victims.

The guidelines should also have enough bite to ensure proper coverage along the lines of BBC (especially in the immediate aftermath of the 7/7 attacks) as well as pass muster amongst democrat hawks to ensure that it doesn’t make an error such as the Broadcasting Bill. Ideally, the Press Council should call up errant channels and hand out guidelines and submit a copy to the I&B ministry. But of course, our ministers like to put their hands where they are never required than put it to work in the way it should work.

In this age of glocalization, everyone’s eyes will be on what the guidelines will be, which of course will be broadcast from our TV networks.

Popularity: 12%

After the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, pressure is building up on Pakistan to take action against the terror camps operating from its land. Investigations carried out by Indian, US, British and Israeli officials proved that the attacks were planned by the Lashkar-e-Taiba   supported by ISI .

In spite of Pakistani denials (just for giving the impression that Pakistani Government doesn’t give in under pressure), United States, and other countries have applied a lot of pressure, and have urged Pak to take action failing which they will act.

Now what should be the course of action?  How should we respond?  Can we trust Pak when it says it will take action against any terror outfits operating from its land.

What should be done ?

Our politicians are highly gullible.  Even after it was proved that the terrorists are Pakistanis, what did they do? They spoke to Mr Zardari and asked the ISI chief to come to India.

For what?

If at all we want to call anyone we could have called the CIA, a few investigators from Britain and Israel who can give us credible evidence that this was masterminded by terrorists from Pakistan. They would have substantiated it as an act of war (they are very good at it and we all know that).  Mr Zardari promised to send ISI Chief to India to help investigation but took an about turn overnight.

Can we trust such a man?

Time has come for India to take strict action.  Resignation of Shivraj Patil or others is meaningless and a political stunt.  It’s the Government and Prime Minister’s actions that will speak on India’s position and strength in the International community.  Since we have proof that this was sponsored by Pakistan,  the Ambassadors of USA, UK and Israel should be summoned and presented with these.

India should make it clear that we take this as an act of war by Pakistan against India and we would deal with it in a similar way US or UK has dealt with.  As far as US, UK and Israel are concerned their citizens were specifically picked up by the terrorists and they should take it as an act of terrorism against them.  This would have forced them to declare Pakistan as a Terrorist State and deal with it accordingly.

“Give thousand chances to your enemy to become your friend, but don’t give a single chance to your friend to become your enemy”. This doesn’t hold well with Pakistan.

In 1974 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists during Munich Olympics.

What did Israel do?

It hunted down each and every one of them.  It showed the world that nobody can escape by attacking Israel.

Now look at what have we done – engage in a dialogue with our neighbor!  Discussions will not provide any solution with Pakistan. If it did, it would have provided long ago.  Pak has neither neighbors nor friends; they just use the situation and time to act.

They are one of the best friends of America and in another way they are the biggest threat as well. They are damn smart. Remember they have used Americans to act against America.

So with such a country how long will you keep discussing?  How many more blood baths will we have to face to learn?  Indian politicians and media have to change their mindset. Media is getting worse than the politicians.  Every news channel / paper seems to be backed up by one or the other political party.

In Pakistan democracy is nothing but a proxy of the military.  Military always holds the reins of that country and it is not possible to delink both.  It was born after a bloodbath, it is continuing the same way even now.  Army, Islamic Radical Groups,  ISI,  Elected Government,  Taliban – every group is a power centre. No one is responsible for anyone.

Everyone has their own beliefs, system, and agenda.  Terrorism is a business for them.  Look at the amount of aid they got from US for fighting against terrorism which was created by them.

We must step up pressure on Mr. Zardari until the following things are done by Pakistan;

1. Handover the terror suspects to India including Dawood Ibrahim,  Masood Azhar who was left free in exchange of Kandahar  passengers.

2. Stop financial and moral support to radical fundamentalists who propagate hatred against non Muslims.

3. Change the think tank of ISI

4. Stop training Islamic militants

5. Stop inducing venom into Muslims in India.

Pakistan knows for sure that in an open offensive against India they will be wiped off. Hence they continue this proxy war. They will never stop till we wipe out terror camps that are running in POK and in Afghan borders.  Time has come to say “Enough is Enough”.

Mr Prime Minister – Don’t just give statements.  Let’s get on with this war and finish off before this proxy war finishes us.  At least let our future generations live in a peaceful India.

Image Credit: Sameer5678in

Popularity: 26%

The last 10 days have been very testing for Indians. The events in Mumbai were very depressing and Indians world over reacted with anguish and vented their anger against a system that failed to prevent the outrageous acts in Mumbai. But the subsequent events have shown that despite all that is wrong in this country, there is still hope for us Indians.

Here is why.

Assembly election turnout:

Despite the resentment of voters towards politicians, people turned out in large numbers to cast their votes and make sure their voice is heard. The polling numbers were at record high and reached as high as 70% in Madhya Pradesh. Even in J&K, the turnout has been very high by historical standards.

This once again proved the faith of Indians in the democratic process. The vibrancy of our democracy seems to be getting better.

Election results:

The most impressive part of the elections is that the electorate gave a balanced verdict.  While pundits will discuss endlessly about which party won and which party lost(actual and psychological battles), the real winner is once again Indian democracy. Voters appear to be making more informed decisions and are not swayed by rhetoric. In 3 states (Delhi, MP and Chhattisgarh), the incumbent Chief Minister won.

All these 3 CMs promised good governance and development and delivered on their promise. 

These leaders were low profile, displayed a sense of humility and worked with discipline towards producing positive results. They are good examples of Level 5 leadership.

These CMs gained the trust of the electorate because they worked towards improving the life of these people. It is very satisfying to see that the electorate are becoming more assertive and are demanding accountability from the people they elect.

Kashmir

The people of Kashmir came out in large numbers to vote. While this cannot be construed as a wholehearted support for the Indian position on Kashmir, people there are expressing their choice and are resorting to more peaceful means to get their voice heard.

Mumbai terror aftermath

The objective of terrorists was to break the psyche of the nation and to plunge the nation into riots. But the Indian public showed extraordinary restraint in their reaction to the terror attacks. Despite the enormous anger against the security lapses, Indians did not resort to violence. They came out in thousands on the streets to express their sympathies and to show solidarity with the victims.  

Their anguish and fury were vented in a remarkably peaceful way but with great effect.

Politicians were forced to resign (Shivraj Patil, Vilasrao Deshmukh, RR Patil),  apologize for their insensitive remarks( V.S. Achuthananthan) and admit the lapses in the security apparatus (P. Chidambaram).

Muslims  came out in great numbers to denounce Pakistan and showed us why we are a great country despite our differences and mistakes. 

The business community exhibited resilience and the stock market held its own by shrugging off the negative sentiment associated with terror attacks. We must also be thankful to the security forces (despite all the criticisms heaped on them) for preventing the razing down of Taj Hotel. A total destruction of Taj would have been a symbolic victory to the terrorists but fortunately we can continue to cherish its heritage and beauty.

World Opinion

The whole world saw the 3 days of carnage live on TV and was appalled by what was happening.  Some of my American colleagues expressed their surprise on seeing how ill-equipped our police were in fighting(with their old guns) these well armed terrorists with AK47s. But, they also expressed their sympathy and solidarity in fighting terror. The world media did talk about the Kashmir issue. But they also supported India’s stand against Pakistan and urged world leaders to force Pakistan to act quickly in nabbing the terrorists. The pressure showed on Pakistan and they have apparently arrested the masterminds of the attacks.

Does it mean that all is well?  - Not at all.

The government institutions are drowned in corruption. The election process is still soaked in casteism, religion and linguistic jingoism. Tickets are still distributed based on caste and not competence.  However, the elections results have given a glimmer of hope and if each one of us plays his/her role as responsible citizens, we can slowly improve the system. At the end of the day, we get the leaders we deserve.  

So, instead of just talking and predicting doomsday scenarios like some  pundits  , if we vote for  good governance and competence, we can change our own future.

Signing off with lots of hope and optimism for the future of India.

Jai Hind.

India is Special !!!

Popularity: 21%

I want my child to be a politician or get real. Why? Because I want my child to tell an audience how to do something right or remain doing it right all through her life. Why? Because I have been a little gutless doing it myself. Do what right ? Live life right. What does that mean? I don’t mean to preach, tell someone to follow a religion, or to spread peace, or to love everybody, or to never lie. None of this.

I want my child to help build roads, facilitate dialogues for conclusive resolutions. I want my child to plant trees as many as she can. Not care if it’s in the middle of a busy market. Tell people that getting real is not all that difficult.

My child should be able to look terror in its eye and say I will vanquish you. I don’t mean dramatically but yes I mean remove it from the root. Keep the politics aside for 5-6 years and clear all matters. Remove borders for talks.

My child should not call a river its’ own or say a mountain belongs to it. Or say linguistically speaking a guest is not welcome somewhere.

I’m not speaking about birds chirping, vegetation flourishing and planet being alive for eternity. I do not even know if that’s possible. But I know it’s possible for my child to take these measures to ensure she lives. She will not do this for her next generation but for herself.

I will call my child India. Why shouldn’t I? I will never know what to say when India will quiz me about why I sat back and gazed while pieces shattered. India will run and play without a fear. India will scream happiness. India will never lose hope on her siblings and fellow mates.

India will make friends who will all grow up in harmony. India will never plot a terror plan, I will not let India kill someone and take pride in it. My India will not slay for gases and natural resources. No carnages to prove a point, meaningless one at that.

India shall be simple yet luxurious and generous in spreading a smile. India will crack jokes and tickle brains. She will learn to dance and sing, she may not be the best at it but she will do it regardless. She will pick her ball up from the garbage when it rolls there not fearing that she may touch a bomb.

India is my child and she is born. She is alive and breathes with me. She walked this land with me for all these years. She is that little voice in me I have killed so many times. I will let her grow, will let her grow and blossom into the India I have always dreamt about.

My India will not be torn apart and bathed with blood. She will sing a different song that will sound just like me and everything that is seen and heard.

Image Credit: McKaySavage

Popularity: 16%

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

                                                                                                by Rabindranath Tagore

Life will be a peaceful journey if we are able to face difficulties without fear, swallow the bitterness of tragedy, enjoy the happiness, and love that life showers on us.  Such lovely life is being crushed to death by the ruthless terrorism in a fraction of second right in front of our eyes.  In the journey of life death is appearing everywhere in today’s world. 

Parliament, temples, malls, shops, local trains, on streets, in star hotels, in air, on land or in water – everywhere terrorists are hunting down innocent people.

Recent attacks in Mumbai with are a direct war waged by terrorists on India.  Every time something like this happens I see a regular drama and it always has the below statements:

“We will destroy the very roots of terrorism and make our country a safe place again”

“I appreciate the people for the courage they have shown in this hour of crisis”

“We will not bow down before terrorism”

I think by now you would have guessed the people who make these statements.  These are our Netas.  When terrorist beasts are killing people mercilessly, what is the assurance being given these leaders,:

 “Incidents like these are happening all over the world and it is difficult to predict these incidents”

 “In a big city like Mumbai it is not possible to keep an eye on every person who comes in”

This is nothing but escapism and gross irresponsibility of the leaders.  They don’t even feel ashamed for making such statements. First time when terrorists killed people, I hated terrorists.

But then they repeatedly killed people, I started hating our politicians and law makers more than I hated terrorists for giving them a license to kill. 

10 to 12 terrorists who have entered Mumbai via sea  were able to hold the entire nation as hostage for 3 days. This clearly shows how incompetent our leaders, our policies, and our intelligence are. 

As if a sudden realization has dawned, Shivraj Patil resigned form his post. 

But it took a nation to loose 200 lives of civilians, 24 police officers, and soldiers to remind the Home minister of his “Moral Responsibility”.  After the UPA government came to power the number of attacks by terrorists have increased manifold and nothing was done politically to tackle this issue.  With all their concern for the terrorism they got POTA abolished. 

These leaders who can’t even step out without a dozen commandos around them say “people here are very courageous”.  They don’t have to certify our courage.  People of this nation are always more courageous than the leaders.  Though we know that our lives are not safe every time we step out, we still walk on the street without any fear.

Leaders make statements like “we will not be cowed down by terrorism’.  But it’s we the people who show this in action.  Within 3 days of the terror attack, ‘Leopold café’ is opened and people thronged it.  This is testimony to the courage of an Indian.

Mumbai resembled a war zone for 3 days.  Once it’s over people are back on the street not because of the assurances given by our politicians but because of the courage and patriotism shown by the Armed forces. 

Those brave commandoes who have sacrificed themselves to save us gave us the courage to come out and salute them.  Those of us who witnessed their dedication and sacrifice in flushing out the terrorists from Taj, Nariman house and Oberoi can’t forget them in our life time.

Even today we don’t have proper mechanism in place to tackle something like this.  We don’t have the weapons or technology or strategy.  How can you explain bullets piercing the bullet proof jackets of our cops? Our government is not able to stop the inflow of RDX into the country from Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Our intelligence officers became spectators when the terrorists were equipping themselves with latest weapons.

After the parliament attack in 2001, though the government declared Terrorism as a national issue, nothing was done to beef up internal security.  Though, Prime Minister spoke about setting up of a ‘Federal Investigation Agency’ nothing has materialized.  Look at America, immediately after 9/11 attacks, they have put in place ‘Department of Homeland Security’.

At last Prime Minister woke up and setup a task force to come out with a strategy to counter terrorism in 100 days.  Actually, this should have happened long back.  None of the states in India has plan in place for terrorist attacks.  There is no proper co-ordination between our Police and intelligence.  Attack on Mumbai is an attack on the whole nation. 

Hope at least now our leaders will open their eyes and really take an action to fight terrorism.

Image Credit- Sameer Gupta

Popularity: 25%