It is 4:30 on Sunday 23 December 2012, protests continue at India Gate and Jantar Mantar in Delhi. It seems this is slowly turning into India's Tiananmen moment with the students demanding that the PM make a statement and give them assurance that justice will be done. Like in the past, the ruling elite have allowed the situation to go out of control through inaction and routine unsympathetic statements and the police have further provoked the students by firing tear gas shells. Nothing would have happened if the students had been allowed to march to Vijay Chowk and stage a peaceful sit in protest. To now complain that lumpen elements are infiltrating the protest movement is stupid; the longer the government keeps mum the angrier the people will get and then violence will result. 

Significantly, no opposition leader has come out to pacify the protesters or offered advice to the government, they are simply watching the fun; such is the deep chasm between the ruling party and the opposition. What a sad day for India!! 

Gang Rape Fallout

It is a week since this horrible event occurred at Delhi but the government continues to be in denial. It took the PM six full days to give his reaction which was, " we shall take it up in the next cabinet meeting". The apathy and insensitivity of the government that supposedly works for the Aam Admi or the common man is monumental. Today the Delhi police are telling the student protesters to vacate the 'high security zone' around the India Gate and go elsewhere. How stupid can they be. Imagine telling the students who are demanding security for the Aam Admi to vacate the so called high security zone!! The fact is the government is arrogant as the Home Secretary, RK Singh, I&B Minister Manish Tiwari and Home Minister Sushil Shinde demonstrated during the much delayed press conference on Saturday at 8 PM. Not surprisingly, the GoI has once again shown its mindset by announcing a Commission of Inquiry the findings of which are usually consigned to the dustbins of history because nothing ever comes out and no executive is ever punished. In a country where the Late Lal Bahadur Shastry resigned for a railway accident, this indifference is indeed amazing or perhaps not. All through the protests against corruption the GoI has behaved exactly the same way. One thing that stands out is the absence of any steps to 'prevent' the recurrence of such heinous crimes against women.

Despite Aamir Khan highlighting the plight of the girl child on his Satyamewa Jayate series of exposes the GoI has failed to punish the culprits, doctors or to bring a strong legislation clearly confirming their negligent and arrogant attitude. The Haryana and UP Governments have done precious little to curb honour killings and punish the guilty.

No political party shows any urgency to remove criminals from politics. A newly elected Congress MP in Himachal Pradesh is reportedly absconding after rape charges were filed against him and in all probability  will soon be seen in the state legislature.

There is no fear of law. When was the last time you saw a senior police officer, IAS officer, corporater or MLA/MP on the road or in a bus? The government has clearly  abdicated its responsibility to maintain law and order by constantly declaring that it is a state subject. The fact, however, is that the ruling classes are protecting their vote banks which are not restricted only to casts and religious communities but also include Goons and local Goondas and Dons who help the politicians to garner votes, distribute largesse and seek and collect rent or bribes. Lawlessness is essential to remain in power. How can we expect the government to punish those who actively support their very existence?

While it is claimed that 30% of Delhi Police is busy providing VIP security there is really no shortage of police forces. Police reforms to free them from political interference might help a lot but it cannot change everything. The strength of Delhi Police is 83,300 which is staggering and is roughly equal to five infantry divisions or 16 to 20 brigades. Just imagine what such a force will do if deployed in Delhi. Incidentally, the whole of North-East is defended by five divisions. Food for thought!!

Government better wake up or these issues will soon become the rallying point for the next election.

If only the PM had made a statement on national media within  twenty four hours of the incident, the people would have been assured of GoI's intentions. Now it is too little too late.

 

Army's Demands

According to the TOI today, the army is back to her old tricks. This time it has once again raised the old, much debated and flogged issue of demanding helicopter and fixed wing assets from the Indian Air Force. (IAF) This is ostensibly because the IAF does not know enough about 'Close Air Support (CAS) and is not generous with allocation of sorties for this task. This is not borne out by facts. All I can say is that the army needs to learn a lesson from its history and stop raising such absurd demands.

This also makes it clear why the army is constantly asking for a CDS. It wants air power 'under command' and not 'in support'. The trouble is that air power is so much in demand that everyone wants it. With Air Superiority anything is possible; without it everything is at risk.

India is neither rich nor advanced (technologically) to be able to afford a separate air arm like the US Army or Marines.

Go back to the basics, you need a primer in air power employment

In any case what sort of conventional conflict is the army thinking of and against who?

The Gall

Watched with interest Arnab Goswami interview Anna Hazare between 2030 and 2100 hrs last night. It was gratifying to see that the septuagenarian did not falter even once during the grilling at the hands of this seasoned anchor. Arnab did not spare a chance to trip the simple man. He was worse than the BBC's Hard Talk veteran Tim Sebastian in so far as his tone, tenor and language, bordering on the impudent, carefully adding "Ji" to Anna but smiling all the same when he thought he had asked a difficult question. Wonder if Arnab will ever treat a ruling party member or a minister with such tone that bordered on rudeness and I say this after having watched him question Mr Pranab Mukherji who is usually quite short tempered.

Sir, Please dont insult our intelligence

The government and its agencies continue to be completely clueless about the likely perpetrators of the Delhi High Court bomb blast. It is clear that terrorists are becoming more and more emboldened with every strike that goes unpunished or unsolved.

We are told the investigative agencies are working round the clock. If only those charged with preventing terror had worked round the clock, the attack would not have taken place in the first place. We need to send some police officers and ministers to the UK and the US to learn how both have managed to keep their respective countries terror free over some five/ten years.

Unless those in authority lose sleep over this problem, terrorism will not be stopped.

We are masters at closing the barn doors after the horses have bolted.

Strangely, all those waxing eloquent against the civil society during the recent JLPB agitation are strangely tongue tied. Not a whimper, no condemnation, no ideas, no advice, no sloganeering, no pledges!!! Sad Sad Sad no?

Delhi Blast

Another bomb blast; this time outside the High Court. HUJI has allegedly taken responsibility and threatened more such blasts if a certain man convicted in the December, 13, 2001 Parliament Terror Attack is not released. Whatever the truth but one thing is clear: India cannot afford to inordinately delay important decisions nor can it make vague excuses of our Democratic and judicial system being responsible for the same.

While investigations and court trials take time our leadership must not delay their decisions hoping to derive some political or other benefit.

People will demand and get a bigger contingent of police outside the High Courts; tomorrow it will be District Courts. How many policemen can we spare?

As I have repeatedly said "terror must be stopped at the gates", and homegrown terror has to be fought on a daily basis and not when a blast takes place. Investigation and deterrent punishment are of course very important but prevention is far more so. if it means that more and more people/organizations/groups have to be brought under close surveillance then it cannot be avoided.

Unless the people in charge of security take their duties more seriously we cannot defeat terror.

Finally, if the government is squeamish about enforcing law, it might as well abolish death penalty and accept the consequences.

Today we a great big country with big aspirations are looking like 'pushovers', something the law minister said last week that we are not.

Not a Pushover

According to TOI of 01 Sep, 2011, Shri Salman Khurshid has said that the government might have lost some ground but would soon regain it. "We are not pushovers". Commendable if it means that the GOI has taken the Civil Society challenge seriously and will curb/eliminate corruption.

In many other areas including national security, GOI appears to be a 'pushover' as it invariably avoids retaliatory action. Does not even declare its intention to discipline the offender.

While I am not suggesting that India should resort to use of military force at the slightest provocation/threat, there is an urgent need to at least warn the habitual offenders.