There are Talibans everywhere

I was reading an article from Pakistan about anti-fundo sentiments prevalent in Pakistan. Common man there is as much loathful of fundamentalists as anywhere else. No one likes to be dictated as to what is right to do and what not at gun point. The view is same everywhere that these guys want to remove any trace of enjoyment from people's life.

But then I realised how much these Talibans resemble similar groups with different names. When some group which includes government decides as to what languages I should study in school and college, in what language business establishments should put their signboards, whether or not I can give gift on Valentine day and so on, what is the difference. Impose your own thinking by force and intimidation on larger masses. In a government office I can get forms only in one language. Imagine in Tamilnadu I get government forms only in Tamil, in Maharashtra only in Marathi and in Gujarat only in Gujarati. If I want to live or do business there I should know local language or get out.

That also brings me to micro level where my loyalty should be. Other day I was with some one whose cell phone rang and promptly he replied "Jai Maharashtra" instead of hello. Nothing wrong. But then I thought can I be broad minded and say "Jai Hind" or go further and say "Jai World" or go down and say " Jai Versova", " Jai Borivali" etc. Why loyality is to be predetermined by a group of people with their own agenda.

That brings me back to my question why there are Talibans everywhere?

Do Not Exploit Emotions

Recent political tamasha by Shiv Sena and like minded parties of attacking and warning advocates who show any inclination to represent Ajmal Amir Kasab is disgusting and shows a utter lack of responsibility and total lack of intelligence on the part of such elements. They fail to understand that a responsible Nation is not run by Mob but by responsible people within constitutional guide lines. Firstly they wrongly presume that representing an accused amounts to defending him by hook or crook. secondly they fail to understand the role of an advocate in our legal system An advocate is treated as a friend of the court in our legal system. He is not supposed to bend the truth and present false argument for defending his client, but to present facts. So A lawyer provided to Kasab will only help him to the extent of filing his replies to court. Yes if any false or legally unacceptable evidences are presented by prosecution in their enthusiasm , the same shall be pointed out by such lawyer. After all when there are ample evidences and eye-witnesses are available , no Lawyer can persuade a judge to set him free. But A defence lawyer will along with public prosecutor will help to put the facts in right perspective without being swayed by emotions to arrive at the right judgement. No one should feel jittery that a defense lawyer is going to help Kasab going scot-free. This shows a lack of understanding and faith in capability of investigation agencies and our legal system. So Shiv Sena is just exposing itself again that it only believes in rule of Mob and not the rule of Law. They are trying to present a very wrong image of India before the world.

Interaction of Police with Media

I was reading an article in Hindustan Times by Anees Jillani who is a lawyer based in Islamabad. The article apart from general reaction in Pakistan to recent incidents in Mumbai mentions that while India is asking for extradition of some persons from Pakistan there is a growing public opinion in Pakistan that India should also be asked to hand over Purohit and Prgya Singh to Pakistan for facing trial for their roles in Samjhauta Express Blast. A number of pakistani nationals were killed in the blast.

This highlights one important aspect of tendency in our Police officers for rushing to media with Unsubstantiated charges about accused persons. ATS has bungled in linking Malegaon accused to so many incidents including Samjhauta Express Blast. They had no proof for this. Even if they had any proof, considering the sensitive nature of case there was no need to rush to press. Actually most of our police officers have no capability to handle press and for their 5 minutes of fame rush to media with wild accusations. This has been proved in Malegaon blast case, in arushi case and in so many other cases where so many alleged master-minds have been arrested. The job of Police is to make investigation. It is for Courts to pronounce guilt verdict.

There is urgent need to put a stop to this . Only a professional PR person should be allowed to interact with media on behlf of police who should give only necessary information for which there is subtantial surety. Even then there is no need to pass on every bit of information to people. Transperancy does not mean that all sort of guesswork should be passed on. Considering the sensitive nature of work being handled by like of ATS, it is important that top officials from such departments control their urge to get fame by appearing on t.v. channels. They can do their job more professionaly by remaining in backgoround.

A Voice from Pakistan

I am reproducing the editorial in DAWN newpaper fromPakistan about their views on how Pakistan is today trapped in terrorism of its own making,

DAWN Dec 8, 2008
The terrorism riddle
PAKISTAN, never far from the news, has been firmly in the international spotlight since the Mumbai attacks. The steady drip of leaks from investigators in India and comments by Indian and American officials suggest that a Pakistani connection to the Mumbai attacks has been irrefutably established, at least in the eyes of the wider world. There is, however, a second, sometimes unspoken line of allegations against Pakistan: that we are a state with weak governance where terrorist groups have long run amok. Enough is enough, now put your house in order, the world led by India and the US is saying to Pakistan. We wish the world, and in particular the US, was not so selective in its memories of what has brought Pakistan to such a pass.
If Lashkar-i-Taiba has grown to a position of such strength that it could execute the Mumbai attacks with consummate ease, it has not done so in a vacuum. The Lashkar’s capabilities grew on the watch of Gen Musharraf, a military strongman supported by American dollars and a White House that believed he was its best bet to take on Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the tribal areas. Even as it became clear that Gen Musharraf was not delivering on American demands and was possibly playing a dangerous double game by covertly supporting some militant groups, the
Americans steadfastly stood by their man.
The past year provided a particularly unedifying juxtaposition of a desperate general clinging to power and the resurgence of the two largest political parties, the PPP and the PML-N, both of which unambiguously support closer ties with India. Throughout that tussle the US remained a silent spectator, keen not to upset a fading dictator. So militancy is a problem in the region not only because of Pakistan’s numerous sins of commission but also because of the sins of the US, whose interests in Afghanistan led it to back a ruler who made neither Pakistan nor the region safer.
Making the region a safe place is no easy task now. The torching of 150 trucks laden with Nato supplies and vehicles outside Peshawar on Sunday confirms that a dangerous game of whack-a-mole is under way — hit the militants in one area and they pop up in another. This is possible because the militants are neither a monolith nor neatly divisible into separate groups; they have overlapped and melded in ways that have extended their overall reach. So for Pakistan the
priority then must be to push back against all militants, not just the ones that the US or India wants us to stamp out. To do so would require a well-thought-out plan. However, no plan will succeed if foreign countries regard terrorism in Pakistan in a piecemeal way that only narrowly focuses on their own interests.

Confession of a Political Leader

Former Revenue Minister of Maharashtra Narayan Rane after losing the race for CM post made the startling revelation that certain political leaders had provided financial and logistical support to the Pakistani terrorists who created mayhem in Mumbai. He said that he was making a responsible statement and will reveal the details at appropriate time.
I hope he understands what he has said publicly. There are some very important questions he has thrown.
Firstly he has not disclosed exactly when he came to know about the involvement of political leaders in this unparallel crime. But it may be safe to assume that he had knowledge of this beforehand and due to political compulsions of his friends and colleagues involved in the conspiracy did not disclose it to police. Does it mean at he has confessed now of his own direct or indirect involvement in the crime? Do we now know at least one leader in our political system who is actually a Pakistani Mole?
Secondly by saying that he will reveal the names at appropriate time, he his hinting that he is available for bargain. When the whole nation is looking for a swift and decisive action a CM aspirant is ready to bargain on national security. He does not see merit in speedily disclosing the information for the law enforcement agencies to take speedy action. Can someone define what a traitor means?
But what is the response of government both central and Maharashtra (does it exist after resignation of Deshmukh). Inaction.
So friends it is clear our rallies at gateway of India are not going to lead us anywhere. As long as we have traitors not one but many occupying topmost positions in government what else does Pakistan and his team of terrorists need?

Avenge and Revenge

4th Decemeber, 2008

I saw one news article which I am reproducing below

"Israel buries victims, vows revenge :

Amid heart-rending scenes, thousands of tearful Israeli mourners dressed in black and chanting hymns today bid an emotional farewell to the six Jews who were killed in the deadly Mumbai terror strikes. President Shimon Peres, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu joined about 10,000 people who crowded outside the sect's headquarters in Kfar Chabad near Tel Aviv. Indian ambassador to Israel Navtej Sarna and members of the Indian community were present to share the grief. Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a Chabad official from New York, delivered a moving eulogy for the young Rabbi and his wife and said "We will answer the terrorists." He pledged to rebuild the Mumbai centre and name it after the Holtzbergs"

I was moved by the bonding where some Israeli citizens killed in some far off places agitate the whole nation and their funeral is attended by President & Defense Minister. When Israel says it will avenge, it will. It will go against the whole world and defend its citizens and its honour. Many might have forgotten the extent to which it can go to save its fellow citizens. Given below is operation Entebbe which will reminder all about what is determination of a nation.

Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter- terrorism hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on the night of 3 July and early morning of 4 July 1976. In the wake of the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 and the hijackers' threats to kill the hostages if their prisoner release demands were not met, a plan was drawn up to airlift the hostages to safety. These plans took into account the likelihood of armed resistance from Ugandan military troops.
On 27 June 1976,Air France Flight 139, an Airbus A300, originating from Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying 238 passengers and a crew of 12, took off from Athens, heading for Paris. Soon after the 12:30 p.m. takeoff, the flight was hijacked by two Palestinians and two Germans from the German "Revolutionary Cells (RZ)". The flight was diverted it to Benghazi, Libya. There it was held on the ground for seven hours for refueling, during which time a female British hostage was released on medical ground. The plane left Benghazi, and at 3:15 it arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
At Entebbe, the four hijackers were joined by three others, supported by the pro-Palestinian forces of Uganda's President, Idi Amin. The hijackers demanded the release of 40 Palestinians held in Israel and 13 other detainees imprisoned in Kenya, France, Switzerland, and West Germany; if these demands were not met, they threatened to begin killing hostages on 1 July 1976.
The hijackers deliberately sorted the hostages into Jew and others. The hijackers held the passengers hostage for a week in the transit hall of Entebbe Airport. Some hostages were released and the hijackers threatened to kill the remaining if Israel did not comply with their demands. Subsequently the hijackers announced that the airline crew and non-Jewish passengers would be released and put on another Air France plane that had been brought to Entebbe for that purpose, the flight captain Michel Bacos told the hijackers that all passengers, including the remaining ones, were his responsibility, and that he would not leave them behind. Bacos' entire crew followed suit. A total of 83 Israeli and/or Jewish hostages remained, as well as 20 others, most of whom included the crew of the Air France plane.
On the 1 July deadline the Israeli government offered to negotiate with the hijackers in order to extend the deadline to 4 July. Idi Amin asked the hijackers to extend the deadline until 4 July, so he could take a diplomatic trip to Port Louis, Mauritius in order to officially hand over the chairmanship of The Organization of African Unity to Sir Ramgoolam. This extension of the hostage deadline would prove crucial in allowing Israeli forces enough time to get to Entebbe.
On 3 July, the Israeli cabinet approved a rescue mission, Operation Entebbe, under the command of Major General Yekutiel Kuti Adam, After days of collecting intelligence and planning , four Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew secretly to Entebbe Airport, by cover of night, without aid of Entebbe ground control. They were followed by two Boeing 707 jets. The first Boeing contained medical facilities and landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The commander of the operation, General Yekutiel Adam, was on board the second Boeing that circled over Entebbe Airport during the raid.
The Israeli ground task force numbered approximately 100 personnel and comprised the following:
The Ground Command & Control Element
The Assault or "Takeover" Element
The Blocking / Reinforcement or "Engagement" Element
The Israeli forces landed at Entebbe an hour before midnight, with their cargo bay doors already open. A black Mercedes with accompanying Land Rovers was taken along to give the impression that the Israeli troops driving from the landed aircraft to the terminal building were an escort for a returning Idi Amin or other high-ranking official.
The Mercedes and its escort vehicles were quickly driven by the Israeli assault team members to the airport terminal in the same fashion as Amin. However, along the way, two Ugandan sentries, who were aware that Idi Amin had recently purchased a white Mercedes to replace his black one, ordered this procession of vehicles to stop. Both of these sentries were immediately shot dead by the Israeli commandos. Fearing premature alerting of associates to the hijackers, the Israeli assault team was quickly sent into action.
The hostages were in the main hall of the airport building, directly adjacent to the runway. The Israelis sprang from their vehicles and burst into the terminal yelling, "Get down! Get down!" in both Hebrew and English. A 19-year-old French Jew named Jean-Jacques Maimoni stood up, He was killed by the Israeli commandos, who mistook him for a hijacker. Two more hostages were also killed in the crossfire. At one point, an Israeli commando called out in Hebrew, "Where are the rest of them?", apparently referring to the hijackers. The hostages pointed to a connecting door of the airport's main hall, into which the Israeli commandos threw several hand grenades. They then entered the room and shot dead the three remaining hijackers, thus completing their assault.
Meanwhile, the other three C-130 Hercules had landed and unloaded armored personnel carriers, which were to be used for defense during the anticipated hour of refueling, for the destruction of grounded Ugandan jet fighters so as to prevent them from pursuing the Israelis after their departure from Entebbe Airport, and for intelligence-gathering.
After the raid, the Israeli assault team returned to their aircraft and began loading the hostages on board. Ugandan soldiers shot at them in the process. The Israeli commandos returned fire, finished the loading, and then left Entebbe Airport.
The entire assault lasted less than 30 minutes and all seven hijackers were killed. Only one Israeli commando who died during the operation. At least five other Israeli commandos were wounded. Out of the 103 hostages, three were killed and approximately 10 were wounded. A total of 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed during the raid, and about 11 Ugandan Army Air Force MiG- 17 fighter planes were destroyed on the ground at Entebbe Airport. The rescued hostages were flown to Israel via Nairobi, Kenya shortly after the fighting.
Dora Bloch, a 75-year-old hostage taken to Mulago Hospital in Kampala, was killed by the Ugandan government, as were some of her doctors and nurses .
Aftermath
The government of Uganda later convened a session of the United Nations Security Council to seek official condemnation of the Israeli raid, as a violation of Ugandan sovereignty. The Security Council ultimately declined to pass any resolution on the matter. In his address to the Council, the Israeli ambassador Chaim Herzog said:
We come with a simple message to the Council: we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people—men, women and children—but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom.

One day I want a similar speech from Indian Ambassador to UN.

Stop this Hatred

December 03, 2008
The fall out of recent happenings have been further segregation of two major communities in India. I had firsthand experience of this in housing society in Mumbai where I have a flat. I had finalized to give my flat on rent to a Muslim Gentleman who is also an upcoming actor in Bollywood. He seemed to be a cultured person to me and had no hesitation in giving my flat to him. I asked managing committee to give an NOC for the purpose informing also that after NOC as in normal course a verification from Police also will be carried out. However I was taken aback from oral response from society refusing to allow a Muslim tenant. No amount of argument about unreasonability of this stand helped. Knowing about this the other party was really hurt and gracefully withdrew from arrangement.
I really felt very sad but helpless as I had no support from members of Managing committee who are Hindus, Jains and Christians. The society is large with more than 160 members and has few Muslim members. Yes there are elements in society and even in Committee with whom I may not be comfortable dealing because of there attitude and may not even like them to visit my house . They happen to be Jains & Hindus. For me being a Hindu is not a bonding. The real bonding comes if you find person at your wavelength irrespective of his religion.
I really feel sad not about this single incidents but a similar general trend which is putting two communities further apart.

Malady of India

December 2, 2008


Like every one else my heart is bleeding for Mumbai. Yes I am angry with those who failed us. But we have to find a solution. Malady of India is an attempt to analyse the rot in the Indian system both in administration and political set up. Please let me know your comment and go further from here to rebuild India.

Malady of India
In the aftermath of recent unfortunate incidents in Mumbai, there is predictable and justifiable anger from all the cross-section of people. There is a demand for increased security and stringent laws. But the malady runs deep. Trust it, nothing substantial is going to come out of it, because the system is rotten to the core. There is only going to be a round of musical chair between the sets of politicians, and new establishment is not going to be any better than new one. What India today needs is a revolution of a kind, which looks to be an impossible dream.
Let us examine the ground realities. Almost everyone agrees that behind the whole planning and execution of ghastly operation were local contacts who must have organized logistic and supported in many other ways. This requires a very well organized establishment having resources at all levels. Which are the organizations who can carry provide such support. How do they grow so strong which enables them to challenge the might of the state at such level? Obviously they do not grow overnight. The finance for their activity does not materialize all of a sudden. They are operating and indulging in activities which give them power for a long-long time with full knowledge of establishment which includes police, customs, and of course political masters.
To begin with let us talk of drug syndicates. They are one of the most organized crime mafia. The drugs are not locally produced. They originate from Afghanistan and through Pakistan there is a continuous movement to India. The resources under this mafia are unimaginable. They have a distribution network which any consumer goods company will envy. The street peddler is at the lowest rung of this syndicate. Even a college student knows where the drugs are available. Can any Police-man pretend that the police are unaware of existence of this network? It is under their very eyes and with their patronage that these activities are going on. Right from delivery at street level to smuggling in India in large quantities, everywhere law enforcement agencies which also include customs and police are hand in glove with these operators. So these operators have capabilities to arrange for illegal entry of anything weapons included in India. Remember in 1993 blast like of custom officer Thapa not only helped in smuggling in of RDX but actually escorted the consignment safely through their zones. It does not matter whether they were actually aware of actual consignment or not, but they were very much aware of illegality of whole operation. Does anybody think that there is any change in ground realities? No, everything is going on as smoothly as earlier and that is the reason that narcotic drugs are available to anyone wanting these.
It is no secret that police and other enforcement agencies are involved in every illegal activity going on in Mumbai and every big or small city. It is a common knowledge that most of custom and police officers as well as small and big political leaders are involved in illegal activities and are worth hundreds of crores. Does anyone think that state home minister is not aware of rampant corruption in police at all levels? Right from employment to selected postings, all are for sale. From a street vendor to encroacher to crime mafia are all known to Police and pay regular bribe to police to look the other way. Even Dawood Ebrahim started his career as road side vendor of smuggled goods and graduated to a full time smuggler. Once in the world of crime he had to either grow or perish. A smuggler or a drug syndicate does not exist if there is no sales outlet existing. These are known to common people. Can government agencies be in dark about these? If will is there the backbone of these illegal operations can be broken in no time. But that will also stop flow of black money to police and their political masters. Hawala operators who play a significant role in transfer of money for all antinational activities are well known to everyone who wants to use their services. If there are rampant illegal operations going on every where how can we even think of security. Unless corruption is struck at its root from a lowly constable in police or clerk in custom to higher levels we cannot feel safe.
It is a mystery how the political parties run in India. One thing is for sure that majority of politicians whether from national or regional parties had very humble origin but in a very short time they reach to unimaginable heights. It is true not only for top political leaders but middle or even low rung leaders. Yes we can understand how Narain Murthy has built his software company brick by brick, but cannot understand how hundreds of politicians have become overnight rich without any outwardly qualifications to carry out any worthwhile profession. When moneymaking is the only profession in politics, police, custom, excise, RTO, Passport office, Income tax and so on, what type of governance can we get. Each bribe is received with compromise on legality of an act. Each illegal act grows bigger and then when it goes out of control no one knows.
In such scenario, how can we even think that system will be revamped. There will be cosmetic changes of more units of NSG, some state level shake ups .But at the end of it very messiah will turn out to be a false one. They are part of the same system with different labels. Someone claims he is patriotic lawbreaker and alleges others as antinational law breaker. But once an illegality starts, no one has control on where it stops. We have had enough of false hopes in the past. Even after emergency when Janata Party was formed under patronage of Jay Prakash Narain, my generation had thought that it was the end of chaos in Indian political system and dawn of a new era. Our hopes were shattered in a very short time. Somewhere under our anger for present situation we have already resigned to our fate that things will only go from bad to worse. I hope there is a solution to come out of this. Can we see light at the end of the tunnel? It is only possible with a political revolution when and how no one knows.
Let all the best brains in industry, academics, in all professions and all walk of life join together. Let there be brain storming at multiple levels and find a solution. Let every minister work like a CEO of his ministry. Let everyone from peon to top boss in every department be accountable for his actions and delivery of service to public without any bribe. Let there be respect of law in all spheres of life. This cannot be done by those who have joined government only to make money and abuse their power. If we can have dedicated professionals in private sector who carry out their duties only for love of it without getting any monetary benefit other than regular salary, why we cannot have similar persons in government? The path for coming out of our difficult situation is not easy. But if we move in right direction we can clear this mess slowly. But do not expect a single messiah to take us out of our miseries. We all have to become messiahs to take ourselves out of this.