I salute the youth of India. The emotional outpouring of Indian youth at Mumbai, New Delhi and many other metros of the country is reminiscent of the anger and frustration of the youth of that iconic movie Rang De Basanti except that this time it is real. For once the leadership will have to take note of this anger and show some sincerity in tackling the terror threat. Our political leadership is understandably shaken to its roots. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Achyutanandan, Deshmukh and RR Patil have all shown their true colours by making insensitive remarks. They, the politicians, are upset because the reaction of the educated urban youth that they had tried to divide on cast, language, religion and regional issues have at last realised that the political leadership is not honest. Our leaders are used to protests of the union leaders, Gujjars, opposition parties and the farmer type of rallies on the road but never have they seen this type of unity on the streets without any political party mobilising protesters by getting busloads of them from their constituencies. This protest is not organised for garnering votes. It is an ultimatum, a wake up call to them to pay heed or face an instant popular revolution which is quite different from the AIMS students' protests or the 1990 anti Mandal agitation.
This time the youth cannot be taken for granted. It is also totally wrong to read an artificial rural-urban or India-Bharat divide in this gathering of the youth. I am sure given a chance and some mobility those in our villages would also join these young people. The fact of the matter is that the people of India have had enough. To say that this time the Mumbaikars are up in arms because the city's elite was targeted is also completely off the mark.
The terrorists tried to destroy what is dear to all of us; our history, our culture and our national symbols of dignity, quiet resolve and the special ethos of Mumbai and other cities where everyone instantly comes to the aid of his or her compatriot. They are fighting for their buddies their brothers and sisters be they Dabbawals, cops, daily commuters or ordinary citizens. If the country's political leadership fails to get the real message and treats these protests as any other rallies of the past then only God can save them. Clear messages coming today were a loud and resounding 'NO' to corruption, cowardice, dynastic politics, inaction, vote bank politics, false promises, geriatric leadership, shielding of criminals and many other ills that we are all familiar with.
I am sure that even if this sounds somewhat emotional and even dramatic there is a strong sense of real hurt in these young minds. They are hurt to the very core of their beings. The Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs, Christens, young housewives, young mothers with babes in their arms have demonstrated their resolve to cleanse the country's political system. If you don't do it Mr Neta they will and then you may not like their methods.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Monday, 1 December 2008
Mumbai 26/11
Indian citizens are understandably angry at their leadership but not paying taxes or indulging in divisive talk will certainly not help.
What we must do is demand the sacking of all those who failed to prevent the attack starting with the Home Ministry bureaucrats, and bosses in other organisations which failed to act on the intelligence available. Maharashtra CM and his Deputy should have been sacked long ago when they refused to heed the PM's advice to take action against people advocating divisive policies, aka MNS Chief and all those who sat on the fence or tacitly supported him.
What we must do is demand the sacking of all those who failed to prevent the attack starting with the Home Ministry bureaucrats, and bosses in other organisations which failed to act on the intelligence available. Maharashtra CM and his Deputy should have been sacked long ago when they refused to heed the PM's advice to take action against people advocating divisive policies, aka MNS Chief and all those who sat on the fence or tacitly supported him.
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Of Commandos and Bravery
Like many millions I also watched the Taj/ Trident/ Oberoi/Nariman drama unfold on TV. Bravo NSG, Bravo Marcos and Bravo all the police personnel, RAF, CRP and many other unsung/unseen heroes who the average citizen not know, has never heard of and will never find out about. At 63, I feel proud of the younger generation of our armed forces and paramilitary organizations, who through their sacrifice, allow us all to hold our heads high.
To those who think India is spending too much on its armed forces, to those who want to downsize the army- as if it was like any other industry or business or municipal unit- my request is think again.
Most important: From all accounts there were some 29 Pak and 11 Bangladeshi nationals involved in this audacious terror strike. I have talked to many of my buddies who like me are former combatants, fighter pilots, commandos, paratroopers and the like: and all of us think that Pakistan Army has once again followed its age old and proven method of using regular armed forces members, in this instance, perhaps marine commandos, in Mujahideen disguise exactly as it did in J&K 1947, Punjab and J&K 1965 and Kargil 1999. There is little point in calling the ISI Chief to India. He will simply deny his involvement and claim that the LeT are rogue elements not under the control of the ISI.
Even more important: The Pak army/ navy personnel may have already gone back after doing the preliminary work of landing the "terrorists". (Remember, according to TV reports, the cell phone that once belonged to the journalist Sabina Sehgal Saikia was last traced to Raigadh in Konkan an area known to be frequented by the Mumbai underworld)We cannot sit tight till we find out what happened to the others. The NSG has after all killed only 10 or 12 terrorists. Police and government authorities must not relax their vigil until each of the 40 or more is accounted for. Believe me: we will all have another serious incident like this again in a few days if we dont take action now. The way these men carried their rucksacks, secured the dinghy and handled their weapons and kept our elite commandos engaged for 60 hours is proof that they are Pakistani Army/Navy Commandos or were trained by such professionals. Pak army hand is therefore clearly evident.
We must do our utmost to put more pressure on our political leadership to act and to act fast to create/ change/revamp our anti-terror apparatus so that we send a clear signal to the future terrorist that he will not succeed.
To those who think India is spending too much on its armed forces, to those who want to downsize the army- as if it was like any other industry or business or municipal unit- my request is think again.
Most important: From all accounts there were some 29 Pak and 11 Bangladeshi nationals involved in this audacious terror strike. I have talked to many of my buddies who like me are former combatants, fighter pilots, commandos, paratroopers and the like: and all of us think that Pakistan Army has once again followed its age old and proven method of using regular armed forces members, in this instance, perhaps marine commandos, in Mujahideen disguise exactly as it did in J&K 1947, Punjab and J&K 1965 and Kargil 1999. There is little point in calling the ISI Chief to India. He will simply deny his involvement and claim that the LeT are rogue elements not under the control of the ISI.
Even more important: The Pak army/ navy personnel may have already gone back after doing the preliminary work of landing the "terrorists". (Remember, according to TV reports, the cell phone that once belonged to the journalist Sabina Sehgal Saikia was last traced to Raigadh in Konkan an area known to be frequented by the Mumbai underworld)We cannot sit tight till we find out what happened to the others. The NSG has after all killed only 10 or 12 terrorists. Police and government authorities must not relax their vigil until each of the 40 or more is accounted for. Believe me: we will all have another serious incident like this again in a few days if we dont take action now. The way these men carried their rucksacks, secured the dinghy and handled their weapons and kept our elite commandos engaged for 60 hours is proof that they are Pakistani Army/Navy Commandos or were trained by such professionals. Pak army hand is therefore clearly evident.
We must do our utmost to put more pressure on our political leadership to act and to act fast to create/ change/revamp our anti-terror apparatus so that we send a clear signal to the future terrorist that he will not succeed.
Friday, 5 September 2008
Conflict Resolution
Of late, there has been much anger amongst the minorities in India. There also appears to be a concerted effort to instigate this or that community to raise non-existent issues so that the overall intrnal security environment is spoilt.
Why cannot the UPA or for that matter any other government simply appoint proportionate numbers of ministers from the minority communities, say 15 Muslims, three Christians, and two Sikhs over and above those that may already be in the government? The new ministers will be equally efficient, honest, knowledgeable, ignorent, corrupt and patriotic but they will give their respective communities the feeling that some of their representatives are indeed part of the government and working for alleviating their conditions. This in my opinion will be one simple, inexpensive and easy way to win their hearts and minds and reduce avoidable conflict. Merely changing the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan logo from the Hindu (?) lotus to include a Cross and Crescent will not appease anyone but in fact infuriate even the normally peace loving and quiet Hindu. Woth a try isnt it? Worst that can happen is some more taxpayers' money down the drain but that is a small price to pay for peace!!!
Why cannot the UPA or for that matter any other government simply appoint proportionate numbers of ministers from the minority communities, say 15 Muslims, three Christians, and two Sikhs over and above those that may already be in the government? The new ministers will be equally efficient, honest, knowledgeable, ignorent, corrupt and patriotic but they will give their respective communities the feeling that some of their representatives are indeed part of the government and working for alleviating their conditions. This in my opinion will be one simple, inexpensive and easy way to win their hearts and minds and reduce avoidable conflict. Merely changing the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan logo from the Hindu (?) lotus to include a Cross and Crescent will not appease anyone but in fact infuriate even the normally peace loving and quiet Hindu. Woth a try isnt it? Worst that can happen is some more taxpayers' money down the drain but that is a small price to pay for peace!!!
BORDERING ON COWARDICE?
Air Cmde (Retd) RV Phadke
Two recent incidents along India’s borders should have caused serious concern to our security establishment. Immediate action was certainly warranted but nothing happened. It seems the decision makers in the government were, as usual, preoccupied with other pressing issues. The full-blown protests in Jammu and the Srinagar Valley no doubt, appeared as if they had gone completely out of control but the government was conspicuous by its absence. Add to it the fortnight-long floods in Bihar, communal violence in Orissa, (Maoist claim that they killed the VHP leader), the ongoing land agitation at Singur, and the government’s cup of woes is overflowing. Even so can India afford to neglect its security?
Concurrently with the J&K agitation, the Pakistani Army decided to violate the five-year old cease-fire on at least 31 times so far. The sub-plot of one of those was the 17-hour long hostage crisis near Jammu in which seven (?) innocents were killed by the Jihadi terrorists that had succeeded in infiltrating the International Border (IB), mind you, not the LOC. The other less publicized but perhaps more deadly was the report that Indian engineers and construction workers from Bihar had attempted to repair/strengthen the Kosi river dam on the Nepal border way back in April/May this year. They were, however, threatened and chased away by the local Nepali population and hence could not carry out any repairs to or strengthen the dam which finally breached two weeks ago and flooded half of Bihar causing 50 deaths and rendering over 3.5 million, homeless. Going by our past experience the refugees will not be able to go back to their home and hearth for months if not years. Many will run to big towns and cities and add to the woes of the already creaking urban infrastructure. Such things, however, continue to happen with sickening regularity.
Taking the infiltration issue first, Indian authorities have known for years the Pakistani army’s time-tested tactic of providing covering fire to infiltrating Jihadi terrorists. This time the infiltration was across the IB and not the LOC. Pakistan cannot be allowed to harp on the ‘Kashmir is a disputed territory’ line again and again. And yet besides expressing concern the Indian government did nothing. The National Security Advisor Shri Narayanan, in an interview to a TV channel even said that the problem in J&K was not as serious as it was made out to be. I am sure those who lost their near and dear ones and the four children and their mother that lived on a few gulps of water for 17 hours with three terrorists threatening them with a gun would think otherwise. Another TV channel has now released footage of Infrared pictures of some 500 terrorists waiting to cross the IB; the BSF has confirmed that. With this kind of evidence if proof is at all needed, the Indian army and the air force should have promptly razed the subject Pakistani post to the ground and only then opened the DMO Hot Line. Does India need more provocation?
Similarly, the Bihar engineers and workers should have been provided armed protection and the repairs to the Kosi dam carried out in good time. No body can now be expected to buy the lame excuse that the Nepali government was preoccupied with their own problems and hence did not have the time to attend to these ‘minor’ issues. Some years ago China had suddenly released excess water from one of its dams that caused flash floods in the Sutlej and destroyed lives and property in Himachal Pradesh. Then too nothing happened.
What is the need to keep a million-strong army (navy and the air force) if any neighbor can thumb his nose and get away killing innocent Indians? Is this what we mean by ‘zero tolerance’ to terrorism? Is this the way to protect and safeguard the territorial integrity of India, an oath that every government functionary takes?
Air Cmde (Retd) RV Phadke
Two recent incidents along India’s borders should have caused serious concern to our security establishment. Immediate action was certainly warranted but nothing happened. It seems the decision makers in the government were, as usual, preoccupied with other pressing issues. The full-blown protests in Jammu and the Srinagar Valley no doubt, appeared as if they had gone completely out of control but the government was conspicuous by its absence. Add to it the fortnight-long floods in Bihar, communal violence in Orissa, (Maoist claim that they killed the VHP leader), the ongoing land agitation at Singur, and the government’s cup of woes is overflowing. Even so can India afford to neglect its security?
Concurrently with the J&K agitation, the Pakistani Army decided to violate the five-year old cease-fire on at least 31 times so far. The sub-plot of one of those was the 17-hour long hostage crisis near Jammu in which seven (?) innocents were killed by the Jihadi terrorists that had succeeded in infiltrating the International Border (IB), mind you, not the LOC. The other less publicized but perhaps more deadly was the report that Indian engineers and construction workers from Bihar had attempted to repair/strengthen the Kosi river dam on the Nepal border way back in April/May this year. They were, however, threatened and chased away by the local Nepali population and hence could not carry out any repairs to or strengthen the dam which finally breached two weeks ago and flooded half of Bihar causing 50 deaths and rendering over 3.5 million, homeless. Going by our past experience the refugees will not be able to go back to their home and hearth for months if not years. Many will run to big towns and cities and add to the woes of the already creaking urban infrastructure. Such things, however, continue to happen with sickening regularity.
Taking the infiltration issue first, Indian authorities have known for years the Pakistani army’s time-tested tactic of providing covering fire to infiltrating Jihadi terrorists. This time the infiltration was across the IB and not the LOC. Pakistan cannot be allowed to harp on the ‘Kashmir is a disputed territory’ line again and again. And yet besides expressing concern the Indian government did nothing. The National Security Advisor Shri Narayanan, in an interview to a TV channel even said that the problem in J&K was not as serious as it was made out to be. I am sure those who lost their near and dear ones and the four children and their mother that lived on a few gulps of water for 17 hours with three terrorists threatening them with a gun would think otherwise. Another TV channel has now released footage of Infrared pictures of some 500 terrorists waiting to cross the IB; the BSF has confirmed that. With this kind of evidence if proof is at all needed, the Indian army and the air force should have promptly razed the subject Pakistani post to the ground and only then opened the DMO Hot Line. Does India need more provocation?
Similarly, the Bihar engineers and workers should have been provided armed protection and the repairs to the Kosi dam carried out in good time. No body can now be expected to buy the lame excuse that the Nepali government was preoccupied with their own problems and hence did not have the time to attend to these ‘minor’ issues. Some years ago China had suddenly released excess water from one of its dams that caused flash floods in the Sutlej and destroyed lives and property in Himachal Pradesh. Then too nothing happened.
What is the need to keep a million-strong army (navy and the air force) if any neighbor can thumb his nose and get away killing innocent Indians? Is this what we mean by ‘zero tolerance’ to terrorism? Is this the way to protect and safeguard the territorial integrity of India, an oath that every government functionary takes?
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Jammu & Kashmir- The Never Ending Issue
Two articles, one by Swaminathan Anklesariya Iyer in TOI (Sun 17 Aug) says give the people of Kashmir a choice and let them go if they so desire; another one in IE by Sudheendra Kulkarni laments about how Indian leaders wasted three opportunities to clinch the issue in 1947 Nehru, 1971 Indira Gandhi and in 1988 Rajiv Gandhi. Can we really give the people of the Kashmir valley the choice to secede from India and form an independent entity? Will it be viable? Will not the powerful neighbour China and its henchman Pakistan swallow it sooner than later? Who will guarantee its safety and territorial integrity? Who will defend it? How will a small vulnerable landlocked country survive? Will tourism alone be sufficient to feed its people? What will happen to India's safety and security? Will not its loss make the already strategically important but vulnerable region a play ground for other powers to bring pressure on India through, military, economic and ecological means? How will India ensure that the source of its water in the Himalayas is protected? Since Iyer is essentially talking only about the people of the valley, what happens to Laddakh and Jammu? What happens when Pakistan occupies the Siachin heights and threatens India through Laddakh? While successive Indian governments have no doubt messed up the situation in the J&K for many decades simply giving up the fight is surely not the answer.
Taking the other extreme view, can India really solve the problem simply by deploying more and more troops and police? Yes, India could have forced ZA Bhutto to agree to an honourable solution in 1972 when it held 93000 Pakistani prisoners but can we do it now? Are we in a position to force a military solution on Pakistan? What will be the Chinese role in such a confrontation? Are we strong enough to face a two-front threat now or in the future? What if anything has been achieved by the PM's inactivity? What will BJP achieve by further fuelling the wrath of the people of Jammu? How will they solve it if they were holding the reins at New Delhi? Why has the Central Government failed to convince the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the so called 'forest land' was not transferred but only diverted and that too for a emporary purpose and that there has never been an economic blockade of the Valley?
Why should the Muslims of the valley be so touchy about the ASAB being given a small piece of land for Hindu pilgrims? Finally, isnt there a strong, popular, visionary and wise Muslim leader in India that can convince his people to stop the protests? Arent there any secular Hindu leaders in the UPA that can convince the people of Jammu to drop their protests and not mix other issues such as stepmotherly treatment at the hands of J&K government and the number of their representatives in the J&K Assembly?
If we cannot find a leader young or old can we really complain?
Taking the other extreme view, can India really solve the problem simply by deploying more and more troops and police? Yes, India could have forced ZA Bhutto to agree to an honourable solution in 1972 when it held 93000 Pakistani prisoners but can we do it now? Are we in a position to force a military solution on Pakistan? What will be the Chinese role in such a confrontation? Are we strong enough to face a two-front threat now or in the future? What if anything has been achieved by the PM's inactivity? What will BJP achieve by further fuelling the wrath of the people of Jammu? How will they solve it if they were holding the reins at New Delhi? Why has the Central Government failed to convince the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the so called 'forest land' was not transferred but only diverted and that too for a emporary purpose and that there has never been an economic blockade of the Valley?
Why should the Muslims of the valley be so touchy about the ASAB being given a small piece of land for Hindu pilgrims? Finally, isnt there a strong, popular, visionary and wise Muslim leader in India that can convince his people to stop the protests? Arent there any secular Hindu leaders in the UPA that can convince the people of Jammu to drop their protests and not mix other issues such as stepmotherly treatment at the hands of J&K government and the number of their representatives in the J&K Assembly?
If we cannot find a leader young or old can we really complain?
Another Independence Day
Two days ago, another independence day, special for some but not for those who struggle to survive.
The weekly magazine 'The Week' (17 Aug issue, page 34) spoke of cases of starvation in the Bundel Khand area of MP, where due to a five-year long drought people are starving. For a woman with four children, salt and roti once every few days is regular meal and when she gets an onion it is a feast. The visuals confirm the story. What is, however, not explained is the role of the local government. The village, however remote, is still in central India, not too far from a mis-size town like Mahoba, Banda, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. I wonder what the local government machinary is doing? Where is the Zilla Parishad, the Panchayat, the District and Block Development Officers and finally the Collector. Dont they read these reports? Dont they get information from their own subordinates? How is it that the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has not touched this area? Why are the local NGOs and other well off people not helping? Will someone ask the MP CM to answer? Does he not think that the Aam Aadmi is his responsibility?
I want to do something about this; at least help a few for a month or two until their health is restored so that they can once again start searching for some employment that will give them some money to eke out a living, but how do I do it? Last but not least, the well known eighty something year old social worker Nanaji Deshmukh runs an ashram in nearby Chitrakoot and is known to have done much work to bring succour to the local people. Where is his organisation? It is difficult to believe that his people dont know the ground reality in his backyard!!
The weekly magazine 'The Week' (17 Aug issue, page 34) spoke of cases of starvation in the Bundel Khand area of MP, where due to a five-year long drought people are starving. For a woman with four children, salt and roti once every few days is regular meal and when she gets an onion it is a feast. The visuals confirm the story. What is, however, not explained is the role of the local government. The village, however remote, is still in central India, not too far from a mis-size town like Mahoba, Banda, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. I wonder what the local government machinary is doing? Where is the Zilla Parishad, the Panchayat, the District and Block Development Officers and finally the Collector. Dont they read these reports? Dont they get information from their own subordinates? How is it that the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has not touched this area? Why are the local NGOs and other well off people not helping? Will someone ask the MP CM to answer? Does he not think that the Aam Aadmi is his responsibility?
I want to do something about this; at least help a few for a month or two until their health is restored so that they can once again start searching for some employment that will give them some money to eke out a living, but how do I do it? Last but not least, the well known eighty something year old social worker Nanaji Deshmukh runs an ashram in nearby Chitrakoot and is known to have done much work to bring succour to the local people. Where is his organisation? It is difficult to believe that his people dont know the ground reality in his backyard!!
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