At this time, when the battle is over in Mumbai(but the war is on), maintaining composure is the most difficult task. Live images of bullet ridden bodies, blood ridden floors and fire lit Taj are making Indians agonised.
“Last night I dreamt of India attacking Pakistan,” Mahesh Joshi, my co-walker during my evening walk told me last evening. “And I saw the entire Pakistan ravaged into pieces. Americans helped and Russia also chipped in from Afghanistan side,” he added.
I gazed at him with disbelief. Not that I did not apprehend what he said but I could not gauge the minute details he went into, in his sub-conscious mind.
But conscious minds in India are getting restless. They want an answer to this ongoing series of silly attacks without great motives. The cowardly acts, carried under the garb of religion, makes one wonder where in India are you safe?
What is more alarming is that the security forces are getting agitated and are at a loss on how to respond to it. Needless killing of innocent civilians and their own bosses have made them hard core policemen. They will not leave any stone unturned to catch hold of perpetrators and in the process, hundreds of innocent people. This is the price people have to pay when they play with religion.
To compound this, we have politicians – at their peak of life, at the edge of career – waiting like a hawk to prey in. Otherwise, how can you explain Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi hopping into Mumbai when the battle was on?
Not only that he posed for cameras – asking some bystanders to move out of the focus so that his terror struck face with a hand on his left cheek – is visible to the national media, but he also convened a press briefing taking a dig at PM speech. Nothing can be more horrible than cashing in on the sentiments of innocent people. He can become a champion of terrorism. But he never imagined that a hard core BJP supporters like Mahesh Joshi would turn against him for this act of cheap publicity.
“That was uncalled for,” he said at the end of the walk. “He had no business to be there when Gujarat itself was given alert on a possible infiltration,” he fumed as we passed through the residence of convener of BJP Gujarat legal cell – an advocate with four luxury cars parked outside his home and one inside.
There is not much any one can do. The party in power can vouch to end terrorism and warn the neigubouring countries of dire consequences, the party in opposition can blame the government, issue ads in newspapers on the same day of the attack and then wait for their turn to come to power and do the same what the ruling party did, policemen can watch helplessly at the events unfolding or losing their lives to bullets, army can wait for the orders to march and the citizens can wait to see when their end comes.
There is not much any one can do because the planning is done in a lawless country which breeds fanatics. It is carried out in a country with much more fanatic feeling but a peaceful mind. Intelligence agencies have lost all contacts with possible informers because people like Narendra Modi have detached them in one form or the other without actually knowing what harm they are doing to the country.
Media will highlight their plight for a few days and will forget everything once some other breaking news happens. A nation moved by the sacrifices of men in uniform and innocent people will remember them for a few days. They can only be mute spectators. After all we are asses called masses.
November 29, 2008
November 28, 2008
Lone survivor of blasts: Shivraj Patil
The only person who has survived almost a hundred blasts in India is India's home minister Shivraj Patil. Today I was searching for an image with a tag line 'Face of terror' and the first image that came was Shivraj Patil's.
He is a terror that Congress is funding with great pain. No body knows why he is not removed. A US Government report recently said combating terrorism costs much more than financing terrorism.
So India is combating Shivraj Patil which is costing the country much more than financing him as the governor of some state, a place where his style suits well.
He looks more like a governor or the President of India than a home minister. He cannot win an election and no body knows from which constituency he stood for and won.
Journalists in Maharashtra say his nomination to the elections was always Sharad Pawar recommended and supported. Now that Pawar is no more with Congress, he will lose his deposit if he contests elections any more.
A nation of 1 billion plus wants the home minister to be removed and packed off to some solitary confinement with an electric iron and a comb. He can also be used as a model for Raymonds or Reid and Taylor. He can also be used for shampoo ads. He can also be used for hair dye. But for god’s sake he cannot be used as India’s home minister.
Even people like Walter Andersen, a former senior Administration official, who headed up the State Department's South Asia Division of the Intelligence and Research Bureau, say he is the most incompetent man around.
"You have a totally incompetent home minister, and why he isn't removed is beyond me," he told rediff, "He really doesn't know how to get the bureaucracy organised to have some sort of coordinated planning."
But one person, for unknown reasons, is keeping this great man intact. Your guess is as good as mine.
He is a terror that Congress is funding with great pain. No body knows why he is not removed. A US Government report recently said combating terrorism costs much more than financing terrorism.
So India is combating Shivraj Patil which is costing the country much more than financing him as the governor of some state, a place where his style suits well.
He looks more like a governor or the President of India than a home minister. He cannot win an election and no body knows from which constituency he stood for and won.
Journalists in Maharashtra say his nomination to the elections was always Sharad Pawar recommended and supported. Now that Pawar is no more with Congress, he will lose his deposit if he contests elections any more.
A nation of 1 billion plus wants the home minister to be removed and packed off to some solitary confinement with an electric iron and a comb. He can also be used as a model for Raymonds or Reid and Taylor. He can also be used for shampoo ads. He can also be used for hair dye. But for god’s sake he cannot be used as India’s home minister.
Even people like Walter Andersen, a former senior Administration official, who headed up the State Department's South Asia Division of the Intelligence and Research Bureau, say he is the most incompetent man around.
"You have a totally incompetent home minister, and why he isn't removed is beyond me," he told rediff, "He really doesn't know how to get the bureaucracy organised to have some sort of coordinated planning."
But one person, for unknown reasons, is keeping this great man intact. Your guess is as good as mine.
November 27, 2008
Muslims more alienated than ever
What are the motives of the terrorists when they spent a hell lot of money and manpower in an operation as large as the Mumbai attack? There are various intelligence reports that is emancipating from various ‘reliable’ sources which points the origin of this attack to Karachi, from where these people reportedly have come.
But how did they catch the Navy and the Coast Guard napping? Intelligence agencies are zeroing in on the Lashkar-e-Tayiba as the agency behind the terror attacks. But normally, these terrorist organizations had the habbit of owning the responsibility and then taking credit for the innumerable loss of innocent lives lost in their cowardly act.
But in a world of globalization that India is ushering into, terrorists seems to have taken a reverse path and have gone into localization. Unknown groups with bizarre names are taking responsibilities for the attacks and then reasons harassment of innocent Muslims as the reason for their attack.
But the same Muslims, that these groups want to protect by spreading terror, disown the claim. They say more the attacks, more they are vulnerable to harassment. Terrorist organizations across the globe have succeeded in one mission. They have made all Muslims in the world – some of them hard core patriots of their countries of domicile – branded as terrorists.
When I was in my school and college, I used to have Muslims as my friends who used to take me and my other Hindu friends to their home to serve us delicacies that we have never tasted in our life. Today they are tasting the results of nefarious activities some people are carrying out masquerading as Muslim protectors.
My children will never be able to see a Muslim friend because they have vanished from main stream schools and are either confined to schools near their ghetto or not attending the schools at all.
My neighbour is a Hindu Brahmin and he minces no words in putting the blame on Muslims for all the misfortunes of India. “They should be thrown out of this country and go to countries where these terrorists originate. Why cant these people go to Muslim countries and stay there?” very often he asks me.
I don’t have an answer to his questions because all my answers will be negated by the terrorist activity statistics he will unfold. Some of my Muslim friends say it has become very difficult to spell out their names to strangers.
“The moment I say my name, which obviously reflects that I am a Muslim, the entire scenario changes. I am seen as a terrorist or someone who belongs to a community called terrorists,” said one of my close friends who is into the business of carpets.
He is a multi millionaire but he stays in a Muslim ghetto with a shop in the main stream mall. He has got his shop insured for the fear that any time, the anger of all terrorist activities will end up with another 2002 Gujarat type riots.
So ultimately the question is what have the terrorist achieved by their acts of global terror? One that I know is that they have alienated Muslims from the main stream across the globe. Anything better that you know of?
But how did they catch the Navy and the Coast Guard napping? Intelligence agencies are zeroing in on the Lashkar-e-Tayiba as the agency behind the terror attacks. But normally, these terrorist organizations had the habbit of owning the responsibility and then taking credit for the innumerable loss of innocent lives lost in their cowardly act.
But in a world of globalization that India is ushering into, terrorists seems to have taken a reverse path and have gone into localization. Unknown groups with bizarre names are taking responsibilities for the attacks and then reasons harassment of innocent Muslims as the reason for their attack.
But the same Muslims, that these groups want to protect by spreading terror, disown the claim. They say more the attacks, more they are vulnerable to harassment. Terrorist organizations across the globe have succeeded in one mission. They have made all Muslims in the world – some of them hard core patriots of their countries of domicile – branded as terrorists.
When I was in my school and college, I used to have Muslims as my friends who used to take me and my other Hindu friends to their home to serve us delicacies that we have never tasted in our life. Today they are tasting the results of nefarious activities some people are carrying out masquerading as Muslim protectors.
My children will never be able to see a Muslim friend because they have vanished from main stream schools and are either confined to schools near their ghetto or not attending the schools at all.
My neighbour is a Hindu Brahmin and he minces no words in putting the blame on Muslims for all the misfortunes of India. “They should be thrown out of this country and go to countries where these terrorists originate. Why cant these people go to Muslim countries and stay there?” very often he asks me.
I don’t have an answer to his questions because all my answers will be negated by the terrorist activity statistics he will unfold. Some of my Muslim friends say it has become very difficult to spell out their names to strangers.
“The moment I say my name, which obviously reflects that I am a Muslim, the entire scenario changes. I am seen as a terrorist or someone who belongs to a community called terrorists,” said one of my close friends who is into the business of carpets.
He is a multi millionaire but he stays in a Muslim ghetto with a shop in the main stream mall. He has got his shop insured for the fear that any time, the anger of all terrorist activities will end up with another 2002 Gujarat type riots.
So ultimately the question is what have the terrorist achieved by their acts of global terror? One that I know is that they have alienated Muslims from the main stream across the globe. Anything better that you know of?
Mumbai attack: Unanswered questions
Terrorists coming via sea in rubber boats with heavy artilleries like AK 47 and AK 56 to Mumbai Gateway of India and then entering heavily guarded luxury hotels and going around the city at peak hours creating havoc with great impunity.
100 plus killed and scores injured. Among those killed were top ranking officers who were heading the Malegaon blasts. This investigation was heading to a greater conspiracy where top who is who of the country were involved.
The Mumbai ATS released information about some top ranking army officials and some Hindu radicals involved in various bomb blasts in the country. The ATS Chief is believed to be having more startling information on some high ranking political figures too who were part of the conspiracy.
But the world will never come to know about that any more. Hemant Karkare, one of the finest officers of Mumbai Police, who had all the information is no more. Along with him died some other good officers who were part of a team that some right wing parties accused of maligning Hindus by arresting sadhus and sadhvis.
It is not palpable how these terrorists arrived from sea, heavily guarded by Coast Guard and the Navy. How top officers were not shielded enough, who ordered them to be on the scene or informed them about this attack, how they got shot from close range? All these questions may perhaps will remain unanswered.
Bhupendrasinh Solanki, the Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Godhra, Gujarat, was at Mumbai's Taj hotel when the terrorists attacked it. Purushottam Solanki, a BJP legislator was the first to rush to Akshardham in Gandhinagar when terrorists attacked it. He, infact, rushed with a gun as if the terrorists called him before attacking the shrine.
The Akshardham attack remains as elusive as the identity of its attackers. The only person who identified the terrorists and their origin was India’s prime minister in waiting, Mr L K Advani who spelled out their names and their native places within hours of the attack.
India TV immediately released news about a possible international angle to this attack saying the underworld and the locals ganged together to help the international groups to carry out this attack.
But it is yet not clear how they are going to benefit from this attack. Who will benefit from the death of ATS chief? How did he arrive at point blank range and why? What are those secrets that still remains in the files of ATS or perhaps with Karkare whose lips will never be open now.
India is slowly turning itself into another Rwanda. A Rwanda with more liberties and freedom to move around. A Rwanda with closed group conspiracies. When will the Indians come to know the truth?
100 plus killed and scores injured. Among those killed were top ranking officers who were heading the Malegaon blasts. This investigation was heading to a greater conspiracy where top who is who of the country were involved.
The Mumbai ATS released information about some top ranking army officials and some Hindu radicals involved in various bomb blasts in the country. The ATS Chief is believed to be having more startling information on some high ranking political figures too who were part of the conspiracy.
But the world will never come to know about that any more. Hemant Karkare, one of the finest officers of Mumbai Police, who had all the information is no more. Along with him died some other good officers who were part of a team that some right wing parties accused of maligning Hindus by arresting sadhus and sadhvis.
It is not palpable how these terrorists arrived from sea, heavily guarded by Coast Guard and the Navy. How top officers were not shielded enough, who ordered them to be on the scene or informed them about this attack, how they got shot from close range? All these questions may perhaps will remain unanswered.
Bhupendrasinh Solanki, the Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Godhra, Gujarat, was at Mumbai's Taj hotel when the terrorists attacked it. Purushottam Solanki, a BJP legislator was the first to rush to Akshardham in Gandhinagar when terrorists attacked it. He, infact, rushed with a gun as if the terrorists called him before attacking the shrine.
The Akshardham attack remains as elusive as the identity of its attackers. The only person who identified the terrorists and their origin was India’s prime minister in waiting, Mr L K Advani who spelled out their names and their native places within hours of the attack.
India TV immediately released news about a possible international angle to this attack saying the underworld and the locals ganged together to help the international groups to carry out this attack.
But it is yet not clear how they are going to benefit from this attack. Who will benefit from the death of ATS chief? How did he arrive at point blank range and why? What are those secrets that still remains in the files of ATS or perhaps with Karkare whose lips will never be open now.
India is slowly turning itself into another Rwanda. A Rwanda with more liberties and freedom to move around. A Rwanda with closed group conspiracies. When will the Indians come to know the truth?
November 26, 2008
India's Anti-piracy crusade worse than 'anti-terrorism' farce!
By NM Sampathkumar Iyangar
Media outfits of India, without exception, have been showering accolades on the brave sailors of Indian Navy. Impressionable citizens are enjoying another bout of euphoria. India has `arrived' as a premier naval power. It is flexing muscles for the cause of "global welfare" by fighting to eradicate the scourge of high seas piracy!
For a people looking for some avenue to `feel high' amidst stark realities of utter chaos and misery, it has come as sunshine. A scan of reports emanating from outside India, however, raises some disturbing questions. The Indian Navy's `feat' of sinking a vessel on Nov 19 off Somalia may turn out to be unwise adventurism. Far from what the establishment makes it out to be, it may have put India in the horns of a dilemma.
Shorn of all patriotic adulation that the Indian media often employs to be on the `right side' of the establishment, there is not much to write home about. The `action' seen by Indian Navy after a long interlude of 37 years since the Bangladesh war has been reported as under:
Commander Nirad Sinha "claimed" in a briefing: "INS Tabar encountered a pirate vessel south west of Oman with two speedboats in tow. This vessel was similar in description to the 'mother vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins. INS Tabar closed in on the vessel and asked her to stop for investigation. Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of the vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar."
It was later clarified that the crew of INS Tabar "REQUESTED that the pirate vessel stop to allow a search" but its crew responded with a "threat to sink her if she came any closer." Tabar fired on the crew, which the Navy described as "retaliatory strike". Even before being fired at, Tabar "defended herself by firing back" and a large explosion occurred on the "pirate vessel".
The Navy speculated that the explosion may have been caused by the "weapons cache of the pirates" but refrained from disclosing its logic in assuming vessel to be of pirates. The attack continued for about three to four more hours and resulted in the sinking of what was claimed to be the pirate's "mother ship". INS Tabar also forced the abandonment of another vessel from which "pirates" managed to "escape via a speedboat under the cover of darkness."
These claims are taken with a pinch of salt by independent analysts, in the context of allegations of "fake encounters" enacted by the cops and officers of the armed forces within the territory. The government has had to refer several incidents, after concerted public outcry at attempts at suppressing them, to courts for transparent investigation. Quite a few of the `adventures' turned out as stage-managed encounters, done in the quest for being decorated, awarded and rewarded with promotions. Also, most passengers in crowded trains have experienced anarchic behaviour of soldiers, moving in groups, towards the common public.
MK Bhadrakumar, a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is among the very few knowledgeable Indians who refused to be overwhelmed by high-pressure propaganda. He has worked on assignments in the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey and is too rational to buy foreign ministry-speak at face value, unlike typical `intellectuals' of the country, ready to become `proud' at the drop of a hat.
While terming the reports as nothing more than a "carefully worded navy statement", he has drawn attention to some facts. These have been conveniently buried under the carpet to drum up euphoria. Firstly, warships from at least nine countries are currently patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Next, there is no vessel class called "mother ship". Pirates use high speed gunboats to overtake and board their targets and use any vessel – maybe their own fishing boats or a captured ship – to base these gunboats in.
Under UN Security Council resolution 1816, passed in June, only States co-operating with Somalia's transitional government are permitted, for a period of six months, to enter its territorial waters to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea. Only these "international forces" are allowed to use "all necessary means in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law." Even they are not supposed to lord over the territory, sinking vessels that refuse to `obey' them. Moreover, there are serious differences on the composition of the `transitional government' itself.
INS Tabar (the word roughly translates to a primitive axe) is a stealth frigate with an arsenal of Barak missiles. It is of the class to be armed with BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles. Only on October 23 did India mark its presence, with this frigate, alongside Russia, Spain, France, South Korea, the US, and NATO. The four-ship contingent of NATO is meant to escort vessels chartered by the World Food Program to Somali ports under UN mandate. Greek and an Italian warships too escort cargo ships chartered by the UN. They conduct `deterrence' patrols along with Turkish and British frigates in the Gulf of Aden. The Fifth Fleet of the US, based in Bahrain, is for policing the coast to secure oil assets of its companies, with several ships stationed in the region,. The US-led Combined Task Force-150 has Pakistan taking part. India is not a part of this initiative.
The Navy claims that INS Tabar has escorted 35 ships safely through the "pirate-infested waters." The Indian government is talking of despatching guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore to the region, in replacement of INS Tabar. Significantly, none of the other warships in the scene, far more powerful than the frigate, have claimed credit for deliberately sinking a vessel so far. This month, warships from Europe did engage in a firefight, but that was AFTER pirates attempted to hijack a Danish ship.
Piracy on the high seas is a stark fact of world trade since ages. Sailors take it as a calculated risk as a payoff for providing good life to themselves and their kin. It is true that incidences in the Gulf of Aden have seen a spike in recent times. But, the fall out of piracy there on India's basic interests has been overstated out of all proportion.
To anyone not directly involved in the shipping industry, the main effect of increase in pirate attack is limited to marginal increase in prices of imported items. Insurance companies suffer big losses but their business is to cover losses. They recoup the losses by increasing premium they charge to shippers. Shipping companies pass on their increased costs – ransoms (if not covered by insurance), extra fuel for longer routes as well as higher insurance premiums—by hiking freight charges. Eventually the hikes find their way onto the high street and the consumer pays up.
International Maritime Organisation chief, Efthimios Mitropoulos, has spoken of "a series of negative repercussions" if ships had to reroute away from Aden. Going around the Cape of Good Hope adds about 12 days to a typical Gulf-to-Europe voyage, delaying oil supplies, and potentially raising freight rates by 25-30 per cent. But, it should be noted that freight and insurance are small elements in the total cost of imported goods.
Pirates needs to be tackled with a lot of tact, similar to that in providing security in banks on-land. Precipitate actions on high seas can be compared with a hot-headed adventurist trying to foil a bank robbery `bravely', putting the lives and properties of others in peril. Even the top brass and authorised armed guards are required to follow laid down rules and procedures in case of heist attempts. Civilised societies severely punish any violation of norms. That is what distinguishes civilised entities from pirates! Moreover, deliberate sinking of a vessel, that could well be carrying toxic cargo, could trigger a catastrophe.
Piracy is estimated to have cost the world an estimated $60-70m this year. This hardly justifies any hot-headed action on the part of nation states, at the grave risk of violating rights of citizens of other nations. It is of note that Saudi Arabia's foreign minister declared that his government will not negotiate with pirates who seized the largest supertanker carrying Saudi crude. He added that what the ship's owners did was up to them. Even in the case of MV Stolt Valor (A handsome random was paid to get its crew, including 18 Indians, released after two months.), it was a tangle between the pirates, ship owners and the crew. The governments of Japan or India did not have any role to play, despite all the public outcry.
Subsequent to the dramatic `action' by Indian Navy, a number of media reports were planted to claim it has been `welcomed' by the international authorities. Critical examination of the `approvals' and their origin would bring out reality. London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) did indeed welcome deployment of more Indian warships in the region and hailed the "action that the Indian Navy has taken." What IMB's manager Cyrus Mody added was conveniently ignored. "You don't need to blow the pirate ships out of water. You confiscate their boats and their arms. You disrupt their working. . . You go to them (mother ships), board them if they allow you. You act on suspicion, and confirm your suspicion, THEN take appropriate action."
he earlier incident reported by INS Tabar did conform to this legitimacy. Upon receipt of an SOS from Saudi Arabia-registered merchant vessel "MV Timaha" helicopter-borne commandoes of Indian Navy opened fire on pirates making repeated attempts to board her. When this was going on, the Navy claimed, a second group tried to board a 38,000-tonne bulk carrier owned by India's Great Eastern Shipping Co but did not put up a fight.
Shipping behemoths are aware of the high stakes they have in avoiding precipitate actions. International Association of Independent Tanker Owners too has appealed, "We need immediate action from governments to protect these vital trade lanes – robust action in the form of greater naval and military support." But, acting in concert with an appropriated authority, rather than haphazardly and arbitrarily.
It is now conceded that the problem with Somalia is not with piracy basically, but in robbing its people of their livelihoods. According to Katie Stuhldrehe, an expert in the matter, dense traffic by hundreds of ships rushing through the narrow lane leave a legacy of toxic wastes and oil slicks. While being of no benefit to the population, frequent breakup of huge vessels in accidents, as well as deliberate discharge of highly toxic waste cause untold damage to the coastal environment. Shipping tycoons did not care to control it, as a result of which fishing has been ruined. It was already under squeeze due to the presence of huge fishing trawlers.
Rather than solving the problem justly, aspiring naval powers flexed their muscle in the past, like the Indian frigate has done now. The anarchy in Somalia is due to such blatant aggressions, committed in narrow interests of these powers. It was compounded by big-brotherly attitude of Ethiopia. "Making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods," Stuhldrehe has concluded. She has warned that as long as Somalia continues to exist without an effective government, lawlessness within the country and off its lengthy coast will only grow.
Experts in shipping, insurance, geopolitics and environment are working hard to find a holistic solution. It is not going to be cakewalk as any flash-in-the-pan type solution may end up creating far more serious problems. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) too has realized the need: "Coordinated and cohesive response at the international level is necessary for the safety and well-being of seafarers and for seamless delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia."
The volume of India's international trade being less than 1 per cent of global trade, nobody is going to fault the country for not participating in any policing effort in high seas. The country is miserably short of resources to put together a decent naval presence in its own territorial waters to prevent poaching by big-time trawlers, depriving fishermen using primitive gear. There is no coast guard set up worth the name to protect beaches from pollution and smuggling.
Also, the country is groping with enough problems stemming from deprivation of the masses and loss of livelihoods, leading to uprisings in every region. In the circumstances, wisdom lies in making only the contributions as called upon by the UN, rather than trying to upstage others.
Of course, occasional fireworks help stoking the ego of `educated' ones, mainly from the higher strata of society. Inheriting a comfortable living without having to work hard and without having to support kin, this section prefers to never look beyond what sycophants feed them, fearing the starkness of reality. Fishing in troubled waters, which the foreign affairs pundits of New Delhi have a habit of practicing – for the benefit of this constituency – has only masked, rather than addressed the issues.
If the establishment continues to serve a limited constituency and be incapable of tackling internal conflicts fairly, India may perhaps be gradually inching in the direction of current-day Somalia. Moreover, cheerleaders of the muscle-flexing overseas must realize that loyalty lies not in the unquestioned lauding of questionable actions. The contagion could rapidly spread to the other arms and erode the basic fabric of society. New Delhi has only to look in the neighbourhood for examples of where such perverted patriotism has led them to.
The Indian establishment has the habit of crushing dissent against injustice in different locations by employing brute force and deadly weapons. Whole communities have been demonized as terrorists, denying them due process of law. Is New Delhi trying to extend the tactics adopted within its territory in the name of fighting terrorism to international waters in the name of fighting piracy? Such Machiavellian tactics need to be probed before it becomes too late.
PS: Reparations to ASEAN crew of the Thai trawler sunk by half wits may work out more than the ransom paid by the Japanese company for MV Stolt Valor. Babus in New Delhi will add their own margins to the sums for covering up what is admitted as "unfortunate tragedy". One question to all these perverted patriots speaking for immature sailors assuming themselves to be British Navy! (It wisely and deliberately advised the trawler owner to bide time): Are they prepared to get job as port workers, rather than in cushy desks and parental gadhis and contribute a percentage of hard-earned wages to make up the money? No, it will only be squeezed out from poor citizens!
copyright : NM Sampathkumar Iyangar
Media outfits of India, without exception, have been showering accolades on the brave sailors of Indian Navy. Impressionable citizens are enjoying another bout of euphoria. India has `arrived' as a premier naval power. It is flexing muscles for the cause of "global welfare" by fighting to eradicate the scourge of high seas piracy!
For a people looking for some avenue to `feel high' amidst stark realities of utter chaos and misery, it has come as sunshine. A scan of reports emanating from outside India, however, raises some disturbing questions. The Indian Navy's `feat' of sinking a vessel on Nov 19 off Somalia may turn out to be unwise adventurism. Far from what the establishment makes it out to be, it may have put India in the horns of a dilemma.
Shorn of all patriotic adulation that the Indian media often employs to be on the `right side' of the establishment, there is not much to write home about. The `action' seen by Indian Navy after a long interlude of 37 years since the Bangladesh war has been reported as under:
Commander Nirad Sinha "claimed" in a briefing: "INS Tabar encountered a pirate vessel south west of Oman with two speedboats in tow. This vessel was similar in description to the 'mother vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins. INS Tabar closed in on the vessel and asked her to stop for investigation. Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of the vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar."
It was later clarified that the crew of INS Tabar "REQUESTED that the pirate vessel stop to allow a search" but its crew responded with a "threat to sink her if she came any closer." Tabar fired on the crew, which the Navy described as "retaliatory strike". Even before being fired at, Tabar "defended herself by firing back" and a large explosion occurred on the "pirate vessel".
The Navy speculated that the explosion may have been caused by the "weapons cache of the pirates" but refrained from disclosing its logic in assuming vessel to be of pirates. The attack continued for about three to four more hours and resulted in the sinking of what was claimed to be the pirate's "mother ship". INS Tabar also forced the abandonment of another vessel from which "pirates" managed to "escape via a speedboat under the cover of darkness."
These claims are taken with a pinch of salt by independent analysts, in the context of allegations of "fake encounters" enacted by the cops and officers of the armed forces within the territory. The government has had to refer several incidents, after concerted public outcry at attempts at suppressing them, to courts for transparent investigation. Quite a few of the `adventures' turned out as stage-managed encounters, done in the quest for being decorated, awarded and rewarded with promotions. Also, most passengers in crowded trains have experienced anarchic behaviour of soldiers, moving in groups, towards the common public.
MK Bhadrakumar, a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is among the very few knowledgeable Indians who refused to be overwhelmed by high-pressure propaganda. He has worked on assignments in the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey and is too rational to buy foreign ministry-speak at face value, unlike typical `intellectuals' of the country, ready to become `proud' at the drop of a hat.
While terming the reports as nothing more than a "carefully worded navy statement", he has drawn attention to some facts. These have been conveniently buried under the carpet to drum up euphoria. Firstly, warships from at least nine countries are currently patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Next, there is no vessel class called "mother ship". Pirates use high speed gunboats to overtake and board their targets and use any vessel – maybe their own fishing boats or a captured ship – to base these gunboats in.
Under UN Security Council resolution 1816, passed in June, only States co-operating with Somalia's transitional government are permitted, for a period of six months, to enter its territorial waters to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea. Only these "international forces" are allowed to use "all necessary means in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law." Even they are not supposed to lord over the territory, sinking vessels that refuse to `obey' them. Moreover, there are serious differences on the composition of the `transitional government' itself.
INS Tabar (the word roughly translates to a primitive axe) is a stealth frigate with an arsenal of Barak missiles. It is of the class to be armed with BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles. Only on October 23 did India mark its presence, with this frigate, alongside Russia, Spain, France, South Korea, the US, and NATO. The four-ship contingent of NATO is meant to escort vessels chartered by the World Food Program to Somali ports under UN mandate. Greek and an Italian warships too escort cargo ships chartered by the UN. They conduct `deterrence' patrols along with Turkish and British frigates in the Gulf of Aden. The Fifth Fleet of the US, based in Bahrain, is for policing the coast to secure oil assets of its companies, with several ships stationed in the region,. The US-led Combined Task Force-150 has Pakistan taking part. India is not a part of this initiative.
The Navy claims that INS Tabar has escorted 35 ships safely through the "pirate-infested waters." The Indian government is talking of despatching guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore to the region, in replacement of INS Tabar. Significantly, none of the other warships in the scene, far more powerful than the frigate, have claimed credit for deliberately sinking a vessel so far. This month, warships from Europe did engage in a firefight, but that was AFTER pirates attempted to hijack a Danish ship.
Piracy on the high seas is a stark fact of world trade since ages. Sailors take it as a calculated risk as a payoff for providing good life to themselves and their kin. It is true that incidences in the Gulf of Aden have seen a spike in recent times. But, the fall out of piracy there on India's basic interests has been overstated out of all proportion.
To anyone not directly involved in the shipping industry, the main effect of increase in pirate attack is limited to marginal increase in prices of imported items. Insurance companies suffer big losses but their business is to cover losses. They recoup the losses by increasing premium they charge to shippers. Shipping companies pass on their increased costs – ransoms (if not covered by insurance), extra fuel for longer routes as well as higher insurance premiums—by hiking freight charges. Eventually the hikes find their way onto the high street and the consumer pays up.
International Maritime Organisation chief, Efthimios Mitropoulos, has spoken of "a series of negative repercussions" if ships had to reroute away from Aden. Going around the Cape of Good Hope adds about 12 days to a typical Gulf-to-Europe voyage, delaying oil supplies, and potentially raising freight rates by 25-30 per cent. But, it should be noted that freight and insurance are small elements in the total cost of imported goods.
Pirates needs to be tackled with a lot of tact, similar to that in providing security in banks on-land. Precipitate actions on high seas can be compared with a hot-headed adventurist trying to foil a bank robbery `bravely', putting the lives and properties of others in peril. Even the top brass and authorised armed guards are required to follow laid down rules and procedures in case of heist attempts. Civilised societies severely punish any violation of norms. That is what distinguishes civilised entities from pirates! Moreover, deliberate sinking of a vessel, that could well be carrying toxic cargo, could trigger a catastrophe.
Piracy is estimated to have cost the world an estimated $60-70m this year. This hardly justifies any hot-headed action on the part of nation states, at the grave risk of violating rights of citizens of other nations. It is of note that Saudi Arabia's foreign minister declared that his government will not negotiate with pirates who seized the largest supertanker carrying Saudi crude. He added that what the ship's owners did was up to them. Even in the case of MV Stolt Valor (A handsome random was paid to get its crew, including 18 Indians, released after two months.), it was a tangle between the pirates, ship owners and the crew. The governments of Japan or India did not have any role to play, despite all the public outcry.
Subsequent to the dramatic `action' by Indian Navy, a number of media reports were planted to claim it has been `welcomed' by the international authorities. Critical examination of the `approvals' and their origin would bring out reality. London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) did indeed welcome deployment of more Indian warships in the region and hailed the "action that the Indian Navy has taken." What IMB's manager Cyrus Mody added was conveniently ignored. "You don't need to blow the pirate ships out of water. You confiscate their boats and their arms. You disrupt their working. . . You go to them (mother ships), board them if they allow you. You act on suspicion, and confirm your suspicion, THEN take appropriate action."
he earlier incident reported by INS Tabar did conform to this legitimacy. Upon receipt of an SOS from Saudi Arabia-registered merchant vessel "MV Timaha" helicopter-borne commandoes of Indian Navy opened fire on pirates making repeated attempts to board her. When this was going on, the Navy claimed, a second group tried to board a 38,000-tonne bulk carrier owned by India's Great Eastern Shipping Co but did not put up a fight.
Shipping behemoths are aware of the high stakes they have in avoiding precipitate actions. International Association of Independent Tanker Owners too has appealed, "We need immediate action from governments to protect these vital trade lanes – robust action in the form of greater naval and military support." But, acting in concert with an appropriated authority, rather than haphazardly and arbitrarily.
It is now conceded that the problem with Somalia is not with piracy basically, but in robbing its people of their livelihoods. According to Katie Stuhldrehe, an expert in the matter, dense traffic by hundreds of ships rushing through the narrow lane leave a legacy of toxic wastes and oil slicks. While being of no benefit to the population, frequent breakup of huge vessels in accidents, as well as deliberate discharge of highly toxic waste cause untold damage to the coastal environment. Shipping tycoons did not care to control it, as a result of which fishing has been ruined. It was already under squeeze due to the presence of huge fishing trawlers.
Rather than solving the problem justly, aspiring naval powers flexed their muscle in the past, like the Indian frigate has done now. The anarchy in Somalia is due to such blatant aggressions, committed in narrow interests of these powers. It was compounded by big-brotherly attitude of Ethiopia. "Making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods," Stuhldrehe has concluded. She has warned that as long as Somalia continues to exist without an effective government, lawlessness within the country and off its lengthy coast will only grow.
Experts in shipping, insurance, geopolitics and environment are working hard to find a holistic solution. It is not going to be cakewalk as any flash-in-the-pan type solution may end up creating far more serious problems. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) too has realized the need: "Coordinated and cohesive response at the international level is necessary for the safety and well-being of seafarers and for seamless delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia."
The volume of India's international trade being less than 1 per cent of global trade, nobody is going to fault the country for not participating in any policing effort in high seas. The country is miserably short of resources to put together a decent naval presence in its own territorial waters to prevent poaching by big-time trawlers, depriving fishermen using primitive gear. There is no coast guard set up worth the name to protect beaches from pollution and smuggling.
Also, the country is groping with enough problems stemming from deprivation of the masses and loss of livelihoods, leading to uprisings in every region. In the circumstances, wisdom lies in making only the contributions as called upon by the UN, rather than trying to upstage others.
Of course, occasional fireworks help stoking the ego of `educated' ones, mainly from the higher strata of society. Inheriting a comfortable living without having to work hard and without having to support kin, this section prefers to never look beyond what sycophants feed them, fearing the starkness of reality. Fishing in troubled waters, which the foreign affairs pundits of New Delhi have a habit of practicing – for the benefit of this constituency – has only masked, rather than addressed the issues.
If the establishment continues to serve a limited constituency and be incapable of tackling internal conflicts fairly, India may perhaps be gradually inching in the direction of current-day Somalia. Moreover, cheerleaders of the muscle-flexing overseas must realize that loyalty lies not in the unquestioned lauding of questionable actions. The contagion could rapidly spread to the other arms and erode the basic fabric of society. New Delhi has only to look in the neighbourhood for examples of where such perverted patriotism has led them to.
The Indian establishment has the habit of crushing dissent against injustice in different locations by employing brute force and deadly weapons. Whole communities have been demonized as terrorists, denying them due process of law. Is New Delhi trying to extend the tactics adopted within its territory in the name of fighting terrorism to international waters in the name of fighting piracy? Such Machiavellian tactics need to be probed before it becomes too late.
PS: Reparations to ASEAN crew of the Thai trawler sunk by half wits may work out more than the ransom paid by the Japanese company for MV Stolt Valor. Babus in New Delhi will add their own margins to the sums for covering up what is admitted as "unfortunate tragedy". One question to all these perverted patriots speaking for immature sailors assuming themselves to be British Navy! (It wisely and deliberately advised the trawler owner to bide time): Are they prepared to get job as port workers, rather than in cushy desks and parental gadhis and contribute a percentage of hard-earned wages to make up the money? No, it will only be squeezed out from poor citizens!
copyright : NM Sampathkumar Iyangar
November 19, 2008
Rural employment or waste of manpower
The government may have started the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and club it as a success but the question remains about the productivity of the scheme.
There are various audits by different agencies as to the scheme is implemented but there are fewer checks on where and for what purpose the labourers were used.
Though the government is claiming 3 crore families benefited from NREG, the matter of fact is that the government has lost all these money because the work carried out under these schemes were not only unnecessary but was completely futile.
At some places the contractors had to give minimum wages and so the labourers were asked to till waste land and few days later they were asked to level the same land again.
Instead the government should have formed a pool and supplied labour to the necessary sector like agriculture or construction etc or its own road building etc.
The tax payers money is distributed without any productivity
There are various audits by different agencies as to the scheme is implemented but there are fewer checks on where and for what purpose the labourers were used.
Though the government is claiming 3 crore families benefited from NREG, the matter of fact is that the government has lost all these money because the work carried out under these schemes were not only unnecessary but was completely futile.
At some places the contractors had to give minimum wages and so the labourers were asked to till waste land and few days later they were asked to level the same land again.
Instead the government should have formed a pool and supplied labour to the necessary sector like agriculture or construction etc or its own road building etc.
The tax payers money is distributed without any productivity
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