RUNNING WITH THE HARE AND HUNTING WITH THE HOUNDS

“Terrorism” is the most dangerous man made challenge in front of the world these days. Among a plethora of forms, Islamic Terrorism has perhaps overtaken all the other ones, in terms of sheer visibility and the magnitude of fear that it instills in the common people’s mind, especially after September 11, 2001.

America being the latest victim of IslamicTerrorism has been crying hoarse over it to the entire world, and using every available resources at its disposal to make itself as insular from terrorism as possible. In this frenzy to overcome the phobia of terrorism, America has destroyed two countries Iraq and Afghanistan till date, and has been pumping in billions of dollars in aid money to a country which it considers to be the front ally in the war against terrorism.

http://sify.com/news/pak-using-us-aid-for-war-against-india-obama-news-national-jegxgAbbadh.html

Ally against terrorism, did somebody just mentioned Pakistan as an ally against terrorism? A country whose ex dictator has openly said to the world that he has used terrorism as a state policy to make the neighboring country yield is considered as an ally by  the Washington. In a candid interview with German magazine Der Spiegel Pakistan's Ex President General Pervej Musharraff said “They (underground militant groups to fight against India in Kashmir) were indeed formed,”

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,721110,00.html

Perhaps America is doling out F-16 fighters and billions of dollars of generous aid to Pakistan to specifically target the Taliban or bad Taliban to be precise and Laden’s infamous Al- Qaida network only.  I guess, India being a big emerging economy should also cough up the same amount of ransom to safeguard its interests, so that apart from Al Qaida and Taliban, Pakistan army turns their guns towards the holier Lashkar and Jaish ones too. Yes, perhaps that will work, like in the early 90’s Uncle Sam funded the then notorious Gulbuddin Hekmatyar against the soviet invasion.

“U.S. government financial support for the Afghan Islamic militants was substantial. Aid to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan Mujahedeen leader and founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami radical Islamic militant faction, alone amounted "by the most conservative estimates" to $600 million. Hekmatyar "worked closely" with Osama bin Laden in early 1990s.^[63] In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of American aid, Hekmatyar also received the lion's share of aid from the Saudis.^[64] There is evidence that the CIA supported Hekmatyar's drug trade activities by giving him immunity for his opium trafficking that financed operation of his militant faction”

In this Shakespearean drama it’s very difficult to find out who is running with the hare and who is hunting with the hounds.

PLEASE DON'T COME WITH EXTRA BAGGAGE

People have been migrating since centuries. They migrate due to several reasons; for economic reasons, to escape persecution, or for personal or sentimental reasons. But, the migration and resulted Multiculturism of the society that we are seeing in many western and asian cities today is primarily due to economic reasons, spurred by the phenomenon called ‘’Globalisation’’. 

However, of late, we are witnessing a wave of protectionism and to a certain extent  Xenophobic tendency in many western countries towards the immigrants from different cultures and society. Recently, in a speech ,German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed this fact that ''in Germany multiculturalism has failed''

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

Migration by most of the people these days ,is primarily economic in nature. They migrate to the ''West'' or the ‘’Gulf countries’’ to earn more money ,as, due to Globalisation, skilled workers are much in demand in these countries.  While migrating, they must also bear in their mind that, where they are going is not their country. The citizens with whom they are going to interact are not suppose to know the nuances of their culture. So, if they want to gain the respect of the native inhabitants, it is but incumbent on the immigrants to respect the native culture and behave accordingly.

The tendency to roam in groups and gather themselves in Ghettos will ultimately defeat the very purpose of an open and multicultural society. It’s a truth that every body loves their culture more. Moreover ,it’s very difficult to change one’s original culture even if you are living in a different country, still, the onus is on the immigrants to learn the basic requirements to accommodate themselves in the new society. Learning the national language and obeying the rules of the law are the bare minimums. If you are so averse of these things, why migrate in the first place?

                               

EVERY DROP COUNTS

''Water is precious'' , ''water is limited''. After hearing these public service advertisements on national and private channels, we never imagined that one day we will receive these messages in the form of advices from our neighbouring country Pakistan. In an article written in a prominent Pakistan daily,  bollywood has been held responsible for the water scarcity of the World in a big way.

''Bollywood not only spends money like water on its films but prodigious waste of water is also a habit of Bollywood producers and directors," it said, noting in that current Salman Khan superhit "Dabangg", one scene which showed the heroine (Sonakshi Sinha) getting wet in the rain "used 180,000 litres of water, in another picture dealing with the 2007 floods in Mumbai used a whopping 3,600,000 litres of water for filming just one scene of the deluge, while the Shah Rukh Khan film 'My Name is Khan' used 2,400,000 litres of water''.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/104304/bollywood-responsible-worlds-water-woes.html The newspaper might be right in what it's saying ,but one can still blame it for being selective. As, a city like Delhi alone has about 8 million cars, even if each car uses 10 litres of water it comes around 80 million litres of water every day. These figures are of the national capital region alone.

It's been now accepted world wide that ''global warming'' is real. The direct effect of global warming will be on the polar iceblocks and several himalayan glaciers ,which are the source of many subcontinental rivers. Due to the increased global temperature these glaciers will soon run out of water, and that will be a disastreous situation for several river systems which are the life blood of the subcontinent.

This is not a doomsday prophecy  to grab eyeballs world wide ,but a real threat which has the potential to completely ruin our present way of living.

Present way of living, yes that itself is majorly responsible for this situation . The unrestrained use of water to quench the desire of millions and billions of people has led us to a situation where  the future generation will ask very tough questions from us. Earlier, a farmer used to water his field with rain’s water as and when the rain comes, today even in the absence of rain, the same field needs round the clock water in the form of ground water. This tendency of overusing ground water is also majorly responsible for the depletion of natural acquifers.
http://geology.com/press-release/northern-india-water-supply/

Time has arrived for not only the governments worldwide ,but all of us to sit back and devise a strategy, a new model of living, where we can eliminate the wastage of water.

TAMING THE DRAGON,PART-2

In a significant geopolitical move, India has finally accepted the overt and covert intentions of China to counter its rise in Asia and the world at large as ''real'' and ''imminent''. Recently Chief of army staff General VK Singh described China and Pakistan as “two major irritants” and advocated for augmentation of the country’s war capabilities.

” We cannot take chances; the (Chinese) intentions need to be looked at, along with this additional military capabilities that is coming up. It impacts the way we will task our army”

Before that, in a bold move intended to counter the “strings of pearl” strategy of China, highly placed government officials made it public, the fact that India will, in the near future increase its ties with ASEAN and other neighbouring countries, under its "look east policy".

http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/india/India-for-Asean-alliance-to-counter-aggressive-China/Article1-612589.aspx

 After the lukewarm response to the Washington backed “axis of democracy” strategy by Australia, to counter the rise of Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. India has decided to walk the extra mile in building closer economic and military ties with Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, which have tense relations with China.

While, on the one hand China is courting SAARC countries aggressively with huge investments in Pakistan, Sri lanka and Nepal. It’s but natural for India to pay the Chinese dragon with the same coin. Although, no country wants or can afford a second cold war between the two most populous and fastest growing economies of the world. But, it’s a fact that to counter China, which is increasingly gaining military muscles due to the increased role and significance of its military i.e PLA in their internal politics, a proportionate counter balance in the form of India, Japan and South Korea is not only desirable, but also necessary.

TAMING THE DRAGON

China has recently overtaken Japan as the world’s second biggest economy of the world. At five trillion dollars plus it is almost four times the size of the Indian economy ($1.25 trillion), and increasing at a higher rate 9.5%, compared to 8.5% of India. In an ideal world this should be a welcome step, considering the fact that after several centuries of humiliating poverty and colonized living, Asia is remerging as the growth engine of the world. But, the opaqueness of the Beijing administration in all aspects of governance, and the arbitrary manner in which it's treating its counterparts in the world, has led several countries to question the real intentions of the Chinese Dragon.


On the one hand China is approaching India with friendly gestures and holding regular bilateral talks on several boundaries and trade related issues, even on the multilateral forums like W.T.O and climate summits, both countries are working in tandem with each other. But, when it comes to Arunachal Pradesh and giving tacit support to Pakistan, China rarely leaves a chance to humiliate India. One wonders the reasons of China’s Arunachal obsession, and the equally naïve and clichéd reaction from New Delhi that “Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India”.


By saying this, India looks rather apologetic, as if holding something which is not hers. On the other hand, China is knocking at the Arunachal Pradesh, practicing what it preaches, and working on bringing its rail link right up to Nyangtri, located on the border with Arunachal Pradesh. 
"The building of the railway to this area is significant because of two reasons: China has unveiled plans to construct there the world's largest dam which will be more than twice bigger than Three Gorges Dam, now the world's largest dam, and also because it will strengthen China's rapid military deployment capability in the eastern (Arunachal) sector," said strategic affairs analyst Brahma Chellaney.


Instead of defending which is integral, India should attack China where it hurts the most. When China can claim Arunachal as its own part, one wonders what led India to accept Tibet as a part of China. Why can’t India be more forthright in its vision when it comes to defending its strategic interests?


A power like China can’t be cajoled by dangling the baits of bilateral trade relations; it can only be tamed through an equally impressive show of military might and a bold and clear approach when it comes to foreign policies. For the uninitiated it’s a fact that china has settled all its border disputes with Russia. One wonders why?
http://www.chinaembassy.org.in/eng/zgbd/t198465.htm

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, FRIENDSHIP AND THE MOTHER OF ALL DEFENSE DEALS

In a move aimed towards countering the burgeoning threat coming from the eastern sector, in the form of increasingly expanding China. Defense minister A.K. Antony announced the biggest ever defense deal of the country, in the form of the purchase and co production of 250-300 fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) as well as 45 multi role transport aircrafts from Russia. "These are the two major projects for the next 10 years which will be a shining example of Indian-Russian cooperation." Antony said.

This deal came shortly after the announcement of the final selection round of the multi role combat aircraft (MMRCA) which is slated somewhere in the mid 2011. Arrival of these 150-200 multi role fighter aircrafts, along with the development and co production of fifth generation fighter aircraft, widely touted to be even better in certain parameters than the USAF’S f-22 raptor; currently the only fifth generation fighter aircraft, will certainly add more muscle to the fast dwindling air dominance of the Indian air force.

Like the successfully co-developed supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS, with Russia. The best part of this deal is the fact that India and Russia will jointly make these highly advanced fighter planes at the HAL (Hindustan aeronautics limited) facility, according to the Indian specifications. This will give Indian defense manufacturing sector a unique opportunity to co- develop and also learn how to make these sophisticated war machines. After the not so successful track record of defense PSU’s(public sector undertakings)
http://www.8ak.in/8ak_india_defence_news/2010/02/lca-project-infused-with-fresh-rs-8000-crore-funding.html

 like DRDO and HAL.this move should be taken as a positive step towards self reliance, in terms of defense production
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4866205&c=ASI&s=TOP

WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO BEGGARS

In a bid to look good people often apply beauty products available in the market. After applying these products, if they still feel lacking in some areas, then they resort to desperate measures like cosmetic and laser surgeries. But, have you ever heard about what an Indian politician does when he has to put up a beautiful face of the city ?
He simply makes the people who can't afford to be beautiful like others, thrown out of his territory without any notice.

In a dramatic revelation, it has been confirmed through various sources that the reasons of a sudden change in the streets of Delhi in the form of clean and crowd free pathways are not very fundamental, but the fact that most of the footpath dwellers, beggars, hawkers were being packed out of the city in a mater of few weekss. This is to present  a more beautiful and poverty less face of India to the world at large, which would be staring at us for 15 long days.


Sanjay Kumar of Akshay Adhikar Abhiyan, an NGO that works for the destitute in the capital says
"We have information that many beggars were loaded into trucks and sent out side the city with a warning not to return before the completion of the Games,"

Kalmady and his ilks might have just silenced the world at large, by brushing all the negativity and broken footbridge’s rubble under the carpet of an enthralling grand opening ceremony, but the deeds of the man are refusing to cease, and skeletons after skeletons are tumbling out of his cupboard.

“These evictions are carried out under the guise of city beautification and urban renewal measures. First they wanted to criminalize poor people and then make them invisible," says Singh of IGSSS.

http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/oct/04/slide-show-1-where-have-the-beggars-in-delhi-gone.htmIn

INDIAN RELIGIONS-Jokes, quotes and fortune cookies

“religion does matter but not more than humanity”, “Religion and society exist because we exist and not the other way round'' or sometimes more politically correct ones like "I respect sentiments but there's a thin line that separates hooliganism and devoutness which extremists should understand”

As the country veers towards the fire of communalism, good hearted urban middle class people, to overcome their fears and anxiety tend to come up with a good show of solidarity and oneness. But somewhere in our minds we always prey for the mandir(temple) to be built first, or see the things through the prism of us vs. them.

Forget about states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Gujarat, haven't we heard about sardarji(Sikhs) and Muslim jokes in Delhi itself. It happens so unconsciously that we don't realize the fact that by doing this we are typecasting the others and making a space for the communalism to seep in.

My question is when urban middle and upper middle class students, even after studying in secular schools are prone to prejudice and typecasting ,then what can we expect from the other parts of India ,the so called rural Bharat. I am not saying that making Jokes on minorities are related to communalism but they surely show the tendency of typecasting the others, and there is a very thin line between jokes and deliberate attempt to deride someone.

“The road to Auschwitz was built by hate, but paved with indifference”-Ian kershaw

POLITICS OF RELIGION

Most of the harmful things which we see today(dynamite, nuclear bombs etc) were discovered with noble intentions, i.e. to serve the humanity, but later on they turned out to be the biggest threats for the existence of the humanity itself. Same is the case with religion.

By saying "banning religion from public sphere" I am not saying to ban the religion itself but like some countries of Europe, most notably France, we should make a clear distinction between the roles of the state in religious matters. It means the government shouldn't have anything related with any religion or sect. (Scrapping of hajj subsidy is one example).

India is a secular nation but here the notion of secularism is different from the classical one (originally if a nation says that it is secular than it is assumed that the government of that country should not interfere or propagate any religious activities, there is a clear separation between religion and politics but in Indian secularism, the line which divides religion from politics is missing. On the contrary the government is suppose to treat all the religions equally) I hope this definition of Indian secularism explains a lot what I meant “public sphere”.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism_in_India


Indian government in the name of social welfare has in fact made itself ubiquitous, all pervasive, indispensable and unputdownable in all spheres of a person’s life, let alone religion and in the race of appeasing one particular community the politicians can easily pull the rug from under the other’s feet.