Let’s dissect some news that appeared today
Govt lacks will to fight terror: Maya
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Miss Mayawati today said the central government's approach towards tackling terrorism was "very superficial and perfunctory" and it lacked the "desired will and determination" to stamp out the scourge.
Dissection
Absolutely correct. How can the government fight terror when all the forces fighting against terrorists are with her, protecting her and her wealth. The government can get desired will and determination only if she relieves all of them. After all who wants to attack her?
Protesting 26/11, Mumbaikars form human chain
Mumbai Nearly 60000 people including several celebrities on Friday formed a 50 km long 'human chain for peace' which passed through the worst-hit sites of the recent terror attacks - the Taj Hotel, Oberoi, Trident Hotel and the Nariman House in Mumbai.
Dissection
When will this end? We all know Mumbaikars are very brave but parading some school children along with celebrities are not the way demonstrate how brave you are. On the contrary it is a punishment to these kids who should have been in school and not answering silly questions to preying television cameras.
Lankan army capture key junction town near Kilinochchi
Stepping up their onslaught on the beleaguered de-facto Tiger capital of Kilinochchi, Sri Lankan Army captured a third major junction town flanking it killing scores of rebels in intense battles.
Dissection
I thought the Lankan army has captured the entire LTTE forces and have made a mark over its supremacy. But they seem to be still in chase of places that they thought was theirs but people like Vaiko and Nedumaran dares to differ.
S.African Anglican bishop likens Mugabe to Hitler
A South African Anglican bishop has likened Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to Hitler because of the deaths and atrocities committed by the government under his rule, media reported Friday.
Dissection
No, that is not the correct comparison. Hitler did it because he hated Jews. Mugabe is doing it because he loves his countrymen.
Poverty turned Mumbai attacker to terrorism, says father
A Pakistani man has recognized the lone arrested attacker in last month's Mumbai carnage, Ajmal Amir Kasab, as his son, a media report said on Friday.
Dissection
If that was the case India should have more terrorists than Pakistan. Fighting poverty with AK 47 and grenades. Yes, this is a new way of fight since the conventional ways have vanished long back
December 12, 2008
December 11, 2008
Being a democratic country
To know the value of democracy and a stable system, we need to look around us. Greece was engulfed in riots triggered by the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, shot by police in Athens. The entire country came to a stand still. Flights in and out of Athens airport were cancelled, and public transport badly disrupted.
How many such shootings and encounter incidents happen in India? Perhaps many and most of them are not even reported, leave alone any protests. Is it a good democratic system? Hang on.
BBC reports that a cholera epidemic is sweeping across Zimbabwe, causing suffering to millions of people already struggling to survive in a country close to systemic collapse as food shortages and hyperinflation continue to take their toll. Thousands of patients have been left stranded because almost all the government-run health institutions here have been closed indefinitely, owing to a lack of finance. Schools closed before the term had ended because teachers refused to work without being paid. All this because one man thought colonialism by White men could make Zimbabwe bankrupt. In return, he gave his people bankruptcy and misery.
Do we see this in India? Perhaps yes but then it becomes a major issue for preying television reporters and then the government is so embarrassed and harassed that it is forced to act. It that a good democratic practice? Hang on further.
The entire Bangkok city was hijacked by a group of anti-government protestors. So much so that the police were mere spectators. No flights in and out of Bangkok airports took off. Thousands of passengers were stranded, many of them promising never to return. If they wanted, they could have put the siege for weeks and months. Bangkok is a mirror democracy with a shade of monarchy and full of anarchy. It never was and will never be a democratic country.
Will the Mumbai or Delhi airports be under such a siege? Well, the answer is no because very few leaders will call for such an action. If they do, they are sure to lose their deposit in the next elections. The voters, or the common people, rule the roast and they vent their anger not at airports but through vote. Hang on, there are still many more.
We have heard of many African countries and prominent out of them are Rwanda and Somalia where there are no governments in place. Civil war between different rebel groups and the government is a regular feature here. Very few in the world are bothered to bring back normalcy to these regions because it doesn’t pose a real threat to big economies like the US. Why the world got united in attacking Afghanistan and Iraq is not because of religion but because it brought a global threat of extinction. And these are the same global economies which sells arms and ammunitions to both the rebels and the government to fight each other.
India’s democratic set up and the constitution will crush these types of civil wars. Yes, if the Indian politicians continue to divide and rule in the name of religion and caste, there could be face offs like what we saw in Rajasthan by the Gurjars or what wee see in the form of Naxalite activities.
So is Indian democracy safe and vibrant? Are we safe? If you think it is, then think again. If at all a world war breaks out, it will be between India and Pakistan. If that happens, it will be nuclear war. And you know how safe we all will be once that happens.
But where does this rage come from in both Greece and France? Not because of poverty as its per capita income and quality-of-life indicators are average for the EU. Nor is Greece especially troubled by immigration problems. According to Owen Mathews of Mail Online, the answer lies partly in Greece's recent political history. Athens may have been the cradle of democracy in the 5th century BC, but in the intervening two-and-a-half millennia, the political system has been rather less enlightened.
From 1967 to 1974, Greece was ruled by a Right-wing military junta - the Regime of the Colonels - which imprisoned and tortured thousands of political opponents and left a legacy of public mistrust of the police.
Democracy was restored in November 1973 only after a violent student uprising was brutally put down when the Colonels sent tanks into the campus of Athens's Polytechnic University. But they, in turn, lost all support and had to relinquish power.
Ever since, the student rioters who brought down the Colonels have been a staple of Greek school-book history. They are widely admired as popular heroes who resisted authority.
The comparison with riots in France in 2005 and 2007 is telling. In 2005, youths in 274 French cities protested following the accidental death of two teenagers after a police chase. Nearly 9,000 vehicles were torched, causing €200million of damage.
The violence was repeated last year after two youths crashed their stolen scooter into a police car, and riots broke out all over France.
In both France and Greece, riots broke out in purpose-built suburbs where youth unemployment, crime and violence thrive. And like Greece, France glorifies the student unrest of May 1968 as a rebellion against an authoritarian old guard.
More importantly, though, both countries have an unbroken tradition of a large and lumbering public sector, and short-sighted and selfish trades unions. In both countries, people are used to looking to the State for economic solutions.
Are you listening my dear Indian politicians?? We don’t want India to become another Greece or France? Big time developments like Gurgaon, Delhi Metro, Mumbai to Shanghai or other material developmental factors are not the answer. They can be destroyed within hours. Human development is the key. And for that to happen we need to strengthen our primary schools, modernize primary health centres, get more employment opportunities, root out corruption and stop differentiate between humans.
How many such shootings and encounter incidents happen in India? Perhaps many and most of them are not even reported, leave alone any protests. Is it a good democratic system? Hang on.
BBC reports that a cholera epidemic is sweeping across Zimbabwe, causing suffering to millions of people already struggling to survive in a country close to systemic collapse as food shortages and hyperinflation continue to take their toll. Thousands of patients have been left stranded because almost all the government-run health institutions here have been closed indefinitely, owing to a lack of finance. Schools closed before the term had ended because teachers refused to work without being paid. All this because one man thought colonialism by White men could make Zimbabwe bankrupt. In return, he gave his people bankruptcy and misery.
Do we see this in India? Perhaps yes but then it becomes a major issue for preying television reporters and then the government is so embarrassed and harassed that it is forced to act. It that a good democratic practice? Hang on further.
The entire Bangkok city was hijacked by a group of anti-government protestors. So much so that the police were mere spectators. No flights in and out of Bangkok airports took off. Thousands of passengers were stranded, many of them promising never to return. If they wanted, they could have put the siege for weeks and months. Bangkok is a mirror democracy with a shade of monarchy and full of anarchy. It never was and will never be a democratic country.
Will the Mumbai or Delhi airports be under such a siege? Well, the answer is no because very few leaders will call for such an action. If they do, they are sure to lose their deposit in the next elections. The voters, or the common people, rule the roast and they vent their anger not at airports but through vote. Hang on, there are still many more.
We have heard of many African countries and prominent out of them are Rwanda and Somalia where there are no governments in place. Civil war between different rebel groups and the government is a regular feature here. Very few in the world are bothered to bring back normalcy to these regions because it doesn’t pose a real threat to big economies like the US. Why the world got united in attacking Afghanistan and Iraq is not because of religion but because it brought a global threat of extinction. And these are the same global economies which sells arms and ammunitions to both the rebels and the government to fight each other.
India’s democratic set up and the constitution will crush these types of civil wars. Yes, if the Indian politicians continue to divide and rule in the name of religion and caste, there could be face offs like what we saw in Rajasthan by the Gurjars or what wee see in the form of Naxalite activities.
So is Indian democracy safe and vibrant? Are we safe? If you think it is, then think again. If at all a world war breaks out, it will be between India and Pakistan. If that happens, it will be nuclear war. And you know how safe we all will be once that happens.
But where does this rage come from in both Greece and France? Not because of poverty as its per capita income and quality-of-life indicators are average for the EU. Nor is Greece especially troubled by immigration problems. According to Owen Mathews of Mail Online, the answer lies partly in Greece's recent political history. Athens may have been the cradle of democracy in the 5th century BC, but in the intervening two-and-a-half millennia, the political system has been rather less enlightened.
From 1967 to 1974, Greece was ruled by a Right-wing military junta - the Regime of the Colonels - which imprisoned and tortured thousands of political opponents and left a legacy of public mistrust of the police.
Democracy was restored in November 1973 only after a violent student uprising was brutally put down when the Colonels sent tanks into the campus of Athens's Polytechnic University. But they, in turn, lost all support and had to relinquish power.
Ever since, the student rioters who brought down the Colonels have been a staple of Greek school-book history. They are widely admired as popular heroes who resisted authority.
The comparison with riots in France in 2005 and 2007 is telling. In 2005, youths in 274 French cities protested following the accidental death of two teenagers after a police chase. Nearly 9,000 vehicles were torched, causing €200million of damage.
The violence was repeated last year after two youths crashed their stolen scooter into a police car, and riots broke out all over France.
In both France and Greece, riots broke out in purpose-built suburbs where youth unemployment, crime and violence thrive. And like Greece, France glorifies the student unrest of May 1968 as a rebellion against an authoritarian old guard.
More importantly, though, both countries have an unbroken tradition of a large and lumbering public sector, and short-sighted and selfish trades unions. In both countries, people are used to looking to the State for economic solutions.
Are you listening my dear Indian politicians?? We don’t want India to become another Greece or France? Big time developments like Gurgaon, Delhi Metro, Mumbai to Shanghai or other material developmental factors are not the answer. They can be destroyed within hours. Human development is the key. And for that to happen we need to strengthen our primary schools, modernize primary health centres, get more employment opportunities, root out corruption and stop differentiate between humans.
December 06, 2008
Me, Vodafone and international taxation
As I heard that Vodafone lost a case in an income tax tangle and that it was related to international taxation, I immediately gauged it could be the work of one person or a team led by this person, who happens to be my former boss when I was a small time employee in income tax department.
The tax demand on the telecom major was prepared by Girish Dave and Rahul Navin. Girish Dave was my Additional Commissioner in Ahmedabad and I worked closely with him as a Tax Assistant starting from the Voluntary Disclosure (VDIS) scheme till the time he was transferred.
After a short while I resigned from the department to pursue what I was doing secretly when I was in the department itself. I used to use my holidays, Saturdays and Sundays and my eligible leave to travel across the country (mostly within the perimeters of Gujarat) for assignments – mostly socially and development related stories.
I never worked for any Indian organizations during this period and so my stories were never noticed or printed in India. Most of the stories for internet portals and thanks to poor penetration in India, no body noticed it.
But every one knew I was doing some sort of writing and nothing beyond that. But when in the office, I never mixed this with the official work and so there was no problem whatsoever – except perhaps one time when I took a print out of a story for editing and inadvertently one extra copy got printed in the laser printer which was noticed by Mr Dave – who gently called me and asked me to keep the work out of the regular job.
That was the time I told him that I am least interested in a government job where my wavelength never matched. And it never did and subsequently I left the job.
It was in recent times that I read a story on this case and ironically I got the number of Dave Saab – as we used to call him – and called him. Though I did not follow the case thoroughly, I did follow when the judgement was pronounced.
Though it may have got Vodafone by surprise, it didn’t surprise me by any standards, given the audacity with which Mr Dave takes his work to serious levels keeping no loopholes. Though his fountain pen (he used to write to Pilot pen then) may go dry, his hands would never get tired of writing innumerable pages which would form the note sheets (note sheets are very important part of filing in government departments).
It may have many implications as many experts point out but when you prepare a case, the only target is to see if the case has any merits and if it has, see to it that it concludes in a logical way. There is no point in fighting a case which you will lose because there are other implications attached with it.
I like the way Mr Dave takes the cases, and remembers them, however small it may be. When he was the Additional Commissioner in Ahmedabad, the Chief Commissioner was a person whom no body could approach. Very few people could enter his room and he was a terror in both his looks and his behaviour. He looked like Amrish Puri (was a Punjabi and his name was J M Mehra) and even his voice was as hard as a rock.
But a small time employee like me never felt this and so did a high ranked officer like Mr Dave. Mr Mehra never shouted at me though I was in his chamber for almost all day for one or the other work. He never did with Mr Dave either. This led me to realize that if you have done no wrong, you have nothing to fear. Follow your conscience which I still do though I am not in a government department any more.
I earned the nick name of CC for following my conscience. People in Income tax still remember me as an arrogant person who behaved as if I am the Chief Commissioner (CC), the highest ranking official of the state.
Coming back to the case, the questions industry is asking is whether the case will derail future deals as foreign investors grow wary of changing rules after the event? Vodafone supporters say this is as good as creating new rules. Such intervention will put all future deals in cold storage.
Vodafone International Holdings BV, a Dutch company wholly owned by U.K.-based Vodafone Group, has long challenged Indian tax authorities' jurisdiction to recover the tax, suggesting the deal between its Dutch unit and Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.'s Cayman Islands-registered vehicle isn't liable to be taxed in India, as it took place on foreign soil.
Vodafone is to appeal this ruling in Supreme Court. But in case Vodafone loses the case again, a greater tax liability awaits them as the department will screen further financial details of the deal and will arrive at a final tax liability.
But that seems to a foregone conclusion as Mr Dave & Party may have left no loopholes in the case for Vodafone to apply balm on it. As I called him today, he seems not to be jubilant but victorious. As an officer in charge of getting revenue to the exchequer, he should be.
The tax demand on the telecom major was prepared by Girish Dave and Rahul Navin. Girish Dave was my Additional Commissioner in Ahmedabad and I worked closely with him as a Tax Assistant starting from the Voluntary Disclosure (VDIS) scheme till the time he was transferred.
After a short while I resigned from the department to pursue what I was doing secretly when I was in the department itself. I used to use my holidays, Saturdays and Sundays and my eligible leave to travel across the country (mostly within the perimeters of Gujarat) for assignments – mostly socially and development related stories.
I never worked for any Indian organizations during this period and so my stories were never noticed or printed in India. Most of the stories for internet portals and thanks to poor penetration in India, no body noticed it.
But every one knew I was doing some sort of writing and nothing beyond that. But when in the office, I never mixed this with the official work and so there was no problem whatsoever – except perhaps one time when I took a print out of a story for editing and inadvertently one extra copy got printed in the laser printer which was noticed by Mr Dave – who gently called me and asked me to keep the work out of the regular job.
That was the time I told him that I am least interested in a government job where my wavelength never matched. And it never did and subsequently I left the job.
It was in recent times that I read a story on this case and ironically I got the number of Dave Saab – as we used to call him – and called him. Though I did not follow the case thoroughly, I did follow when the judgement was pronounced.
Though it may have got Vodafone by surprise, it didn’t surprise me by any standards, given the audacity with which Mr Dave takes his work to serious levels keeping no loopholes. Though his fountain pen (he used to write to Pilot pen then) may go dry, his hands would never get tired of writing innumerable pages which would form the note sheets (note sheets are very important part of filing in government departments).
It may have many implications as many experts point out but when you prepare a case, the only target is to see if the case has any merits and if it has, see to it that it concludes in a logical way. There is no point in fighting a case which you will lose because there are other implications attached with it.
I like the way Mr Dave takes the cases, and remembers them, however small it may be. When he was the Additional Commissioner in Ahmedabad, the Chief Commissioner was a person whom no body could approach. Very few people could enter his room and he was a terror in both his looks and his behaviour. He looked like Amrish Puri (was a Punjabi and his name was J M Mehra) and even his voice was as hard as a rock.
But a small time employee like me never felt this and so did a high ranked officer like Mr Dave. Mr Mehra never shouted at me though I was in his chamber for almost all day for one or the other work. He never did with Mr Dave either. This led me to realize that if you have done no wrong, you have nothing to fear. Follow your conscience which I still do though I am not in a government department any more.
I earned the nick name of CC for following my conscience. People in Income tax still remember me as an arrogant person who behaved as if I am the Chief Commissioner (CC), the highest ranking official of the state.
Coming back to the case, the questions industry is asking is whether the case will derail future deals as foreign investors grow wary of changing rules after the event? Vodafone supporters say this is as good as creating new rules. Such intervention will put all future deals in cold storage.
Vodafone International Holdings BV, a Dutch company wholly owned by U.K.-based Vodafone Group, has long challenged Indian tax authorities' jurisdiction to recover the tax, suggesting the deal between its Dutch unit and Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.'s Cayman Islands-registered vehicle isn't liable to be taxed in India, as it took place on foreign soil.
Vodafone is to appeal this ruling in Supreme Court. But in case Vodafone loses the case again, a greater tax liability awaits them as the department will screen further financial details of the deal and will arrive at a final tax liability.
But that seems to a foregone conclusion as Mr Dave & Party may have left no loopholes in the case for Vodafone to apply balm on it. As I called him today, he seems not to be jubilant but victorious. As an officer in charge of getting revenue to the exchequer, he should be.
December 03, 2008
Whose India, Whose Icon?
By Gnani Sankaran, Tamil writer, Chennai
Watching at least four English news channels surfing from one another during the last 60 hours of terror strike made me feel a terror of another kind. The terror of assaulting one's mind and sensitivity with cameras, sound bites and non-stop blabbers. All these channels have been trying to manufacture my consent for a big lie called - *Hotel Taj the icon of India.*
Whose India, Whose Icon ?
It is a matter of great shame that these channels simply did not bother about the other icon that faced the first attack from terrorists – the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station. CST is the true icon of Mumbai. It is through this railway station hundreds of Indians from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamilnadu have poured into Mumbai over the years, transforming themselves into Mumbaikars and built the Mumbai of today along with the Marathis and Kolis
But the channels would not recognise this. Nor would they recognise the thirty odd dead bodies strewn all over the platform of CST. No Barkha dutt went there to tell us who they were. But she was at Taj to
show us the damaged furniture and reception lobby braving the guards. And the TV cameras did not go to the government run JJ hospital to find out who those 26 unidentified bodies were. Instead
they were again invading the battered Taj to try in vain for a scoop shot of the dead bodies of the page 3 celebrities.
In all probability, the unidentified bodies could be those of workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrating to Mumbai, arriving by train at CST without cell phones and pan cards to identify them. Even after 60 hours after the CST massacre, no channel has bothered to cover in detail what transpired there.
The channels conveniently failed to acknowledge that the Aam Aadmis of India surviving in Mumbai were not affected by Taj, Oberoi and Trident closing down for a couple of weeks or months. What mattered to them was the stoppage of BEST buses and suburban trains even for one hour. But the channels were not covering that aspect of the terror attack. Such information at best merited a scroll line, while the cameras have to be dedicated for real time thriller unfolding at Taj or Nariman bhavan.
The so called justification for the hype the channels built around heritage site Taj falling down (CST is also a heritage site), is that Hotel Taj is where the rich and the powerful of India and the globe congregate. It is a symbol or icon of power of money and politics, not India. It is the icon of the financiers and swindlers of India. The Mumbai and India were built by the Aam Aadmis who passed through CST and Taj was the oasis of peace and privacy for those who wielded power over these mass of labouring classes. Leopold club and Taj were the haunts of rich spoilt kids who would drive their vehicles over sleeping Aam Aadmis on the pavement, the Mafiosi of Mumbai forever financing the glitterati of Bollywood (and also the terrorists) , Political brokers and industrialists.
It is precisely because Taj is the icon of power and not people that the terrorists chose to strike. The terrorists have understood after several efforts that the Aam Aadmi will never break down even if you
bomb her markets and trains. He/she was resilient because that is the only way he/she can even survive. Resilience was another word that annoyed the pundits of news channels and their patrons this time. What resilience, enough is enough, said Pranoy Roy's channel on the left side of the channel spectrum. Same sentiments were echoed by Arnab Goswami representing the right wing of the broadcast media whose time is now. Can Rajdeep be far behind in this game of one up manship over TRPs? They all attacked resilience this time. They wanted firm action from the government in tackling terror.
The same channels celebrated resilience when bombs went off in trains and markets killing and maiming the Aam Aadmis. The resilience of the ordinary worker suited the rich business class of Mumbai since work or manufacture or film shooting did not stop. When it came to them, the rich shamelessly exhibited their lack of nerves and refused to be resilient themselves. They cry for government intervention now to protect their private spas and swimming pools and bars and restaurants, similar to the way in which Citibank, General Motors and the ilk cry for government money when their coffers are emptied by their own ideologies. Theterrorists have learnt that the ordinary Indian is unperturbed by terror. For one whose daily existence itself is a terror of government sponsored inflation and market sponsored exclusion, pain is something he has learnt to live with. The rich of Mumbai and India Inc are facing the pain for the first time and learning about it just as the middle classes of India learnt about violation of human rights only during emergency, a cool 28 years after independence.
And human rights were another favourite issue for the channels to whip at times of terrorism. Arnab Goswami in an animated voice wondered where were those champions of human rights now, not to be seen applauding the brave and selfless police officers who gave up their life in fighting terorism. Well, the counter question would be where you were when such officers were violating the human rights of Aam Aadmis. Has there ever been any 24 hour non stop coverage of violence against dalits and adivasis of this country?
This definitely was not the time to manufacture consent for the extra legal and third degree methods of interrogation of police and army but Arnabs don't miss a single opportunity to serve their class masters, this time the jingoistic patriotism came in handy to whitewash the entire uniformed services.
The sacrifice of the commandos or the police officers who went down dying at the hands of ruthless terrorists is no doubt heart rending but in vain in a situation which needed not just bran but also brain.
Israel has a point when it says the operations were misplanned resulting in the death of its nationals here. Karkares and Salaskars would not be dead if they did not commit the mistake of traveling by
the same vehicle. It is a basic lesson in management that the top brass should never t ravel together in crisis.
The terrorists, if only they had watched the channels, would have laughed their hearts out when the Chief of the Marine commandos, an elite force, masking his face so unprofessionally in a see-through cloth, told the media that the commandos had no idea about the structure of the Hotel Taj which they were trying to liberate. But the terrorists knew the place thoroughly, he acknowledged. Is it so difficult to obtain a ground plan of Hotel Taj and discuss operation strategy thoroughly for at least one hour before entering? This is something even an event manager would first ask for, if he had to fix 25 audio systems and 50 CCtvs for a cultural event in a hotel. Would not Ratan Tata have provided a plan of his ancestral hotel to the commandos within one hour considering the mighty apparatus at his and government's disposal? Are satelite pictures only available for terrorists and not the government agencies? In an operation known to consume time, one more hour for preparation would have only improved the efficiency of execution.
Sacrifices become doubly tragic in unprofessional circumstances. But
the Aam Aadmis always believe that terror-shooters do better
planning than terrorists. And the gullible media in a jingoistic mood
would not raise any question about any of these issues. They after
all have their favourite whipping boy – the politician the eternal
entertainer for the non-voting rich classes of India. Arnabs and
Rajdeeps would wax eloquent on Manmohan Singh and Advani visiting
Mumbai separately and not together showing solidarity even at this
hour of national crisis. What a farce? Why these can't channel pool
together all their camera crew and reporters at this time of national
calamity and share the sound and visual bites which could mean a wider
and deeper coverage of events with such a huge human resource to
command? Why should Arnab and Rajdeep and Barkha keep harping every
five minutes that this piece of information was exclusive to their
channel, at the time of such a national crisis? Is this the time to
promote the channel? If that is valid, the politician promoting his
own political constituency is equally valid. And the duty of the
politician is to do politics, his politics. It is for the people to
evaluate that politics. And terrorism is not above politics. It is
politics by other means.
To come to grips with it and to eventually eliminate it, the practice
of politics by proper means needs constant fine tuning and
improvement. Decrying all politics and
politicians, only helps terrorists and dictators who are the two sides
of the same coin. And the rich and powerful always prefer terrorists
and dictators to do business with. Those caught in this crossfire are
always the Aam Aadmis whose
deaths are not even mourned - the taxi driver who lost the entire
family at CST firing, the numerous waiters and stewards who lost their
lives working in Taj for a monthly salary that would be one time bill
for their masters.
Watching at least four English news channels surfing from one another during the last 60 hours of terror strike made me feel a terror of another kind. The terror of assaulting one's mind and sensitivity with cameras, sound bites and non-stop blabbers. All these channels have been trying to manufacture my consent for a big lie called - *Hotel Taj the icon of India.*
Whose India, Whose Icon ?
It is a matter of great shame that these channels simply did not bother about the other icon that faced the first attack from terrorists – the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station. CST is the true icon of Mumbai. It is through this railway station hundreds of Indians from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Tamilnadu have poured into Mumbai over the years, transforming themselves into Mumbaikars and built the Mumbai of today along with the Marathis and Kolis
But the channels would not recognise this. Nor would they recognise the thirty odd dead bodies strewn all over the platform of CST. No Barkha dutt went there to tell us who they were. But she was at Taj to
show us the damaged furniture and reception lobby braving the guards. And the TV cameras did not go to the government run JJ hospital to find out who those 26 unidentified bodies were. Instead
they were again invading the battered Taj to try in vain for a scoop shot of the dead bodies of the page 3 celebrities.
In all probability, the unidentified bodies could be those of workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrating to Mumbai, arriving by train at CST without cell phones and pan cards to identify them. Even after 60 hours after the CST massacre, no channel has bothered to cover in detail what transpired there.
The channels conveniently failed to acknowledge that the Aam Aadmis of India surviving in Mumbai were not affected by Taj, Oberoi and Trident closing down for a couple of weeks or months. What mattered to them was the stoppage of BEST buses and suburban trains even for one hour. But the channels were not covering that aspect of the terror attack. Such information at best merited a scroll line, while the cameras have to be dedicated for real time thriller unfolding at Taj or Nariman bhavan.
The so called justification for the hype the channels built around heritage site Taj falling down (CST is also a heritage site), is that Hotel Taj is where the rich and the powerful of India and the globe congregate. It is a symbol or icon of power of money and politics, not India. It is the icon of the financiers and swindlers of India. The Mumbai and India were built by the Aam Aadmis who passed through CST and Taj was the oasis of peace and privacy for those who wielded power over these mass of labouring classes. Leopold club and Taj were the haunts of rich spoilt kids who would drive their vehicles over sleeping Aam Aadmis on the pavement, the Mafiosi of Mumbai forever financing the glitterati of Bollywood (and also the terrorists) , Political brokers and industrialists.
It is precisely because Taj is the icon of power and not people that the terrorists chose to strike. The terrorists have understood after several efforts that the Aam Aadmi will never break down even if you
bomb her markets and trains. He/she was resilient because that is the only way he/she can even survive. Resilience was another word that annoyed the pundits of news channels and their patrons this time. What resilience, enough is enough, said Pranoy Roy's channel on the left side of the channel spectrum. Same sentiments were echoed by Arnab Goswami representing the right wing of the broadcast media whose time is now. Can Rajdeep be far behind in this game of one up manship over TRPs? They all attacked resilience this time. They wanted firm action from the government in tackling terror.
The same channels celebrated resilience when bombs went off in trains and markets killing and maiming the Aam Aadmis. The resilience of the ordinary worker suited the rich business class of Mumbai since work or manufacture or film shooting did not stop. When it came to them, the rich shamelessly exhibited their lack of nerves and refused to be resilient themselves. They cry for government intervention now to protect their private spas and swimming pools and bars and restaurants, similar to the way in which Citibank, General Motors and the ilk cry for government money when their coffers are emptied by their own ideologies. Theterrorists have learnt that the ordinary Indian is unperturbed by terror. For one whose daily existence itself is a terror of government sponsored inflation and market sponsored exclusion, pain is something he has learnt to live with. The rich of Mumbai and India Inc are facing the pain for the first time and learning about it just as the middle classes of India learnt about violation of human rights only during emergency, a cool 28 years after independence.
And human rights were another favourite issue for the channels to whip at times of terrorism. Arnab Goswami in an animated voice wondered where were those champions of human rights now, not to be seen applauding the brave and selfless police officers who gave up their life in fighting terorism. Well, the counter question would be where you were when such officers were violating the human rights of Aam Aadmis. Has there ever been any 24 hour non stop coverage of violence against dalits and adivasis of this country?
This definitely was not the time to manufacture consent for the extra legal and third degree methods of interrogation of police and army but Arnabs don't miss a single opportunity to serve their class masters, this time the jingoistic patriotism came in handy to whitewash the entire uniformed services.
The sacrifice of the commandos or the police officers who went down dying at the hands of ruthless terrorists is no doubt heart rending but in vain in a situation which needed not just bran but also brain.
Israel has a point when it says the operations were misplanned resulting in the death of its nationals here. Karkares and Salaskars would not be dead if they did not commit the mistake of traveling by
the same vehicle. It is a basic lesson in management that the top brass should never t ravel together in crisis.
The terrorists, if only they had watched the channels, would have laughed their hearts out when the Chief of the Marine commandos, an elite force, masking his face so unprofessionally in a see-through cloth, told the media that the commandos had no idea about the structure of the Hotel Taj which they were trying to liberate. But the terrorists knew the place thoroughly, he acknowledged. Is it so difficult to obtain a ground plan of Hotel Taj and discuss operation strategy thoroughly for at least one hour before entering? This is something even an event manager would first ask for, if he had to fix 25 audio systems and 50 CCtvs for a cultural event in a hotel. Would not Ratan Tata have provided a plan of his ancestral hotel to the commandos within one hour considering the mighty apparatus at his and government's disposal? Are satelite pictures only available for terrorists and not the government agencies? In an operation known to consume time, one more hour for preparation would have only improved the efficiency of execution.
Sacrifices become doubly tragic in unprofessional circumstances. But
the Aam Aadmis always believe that terror-shooters do better
planning than terrorists. And the gullible media in a jingoistic mood
would not raise any question about any of these issues. They after
all have their favourite whipping boy – the politician the eternal
entertainer for the non-voting rich classes of India. Arnabs and
Rajdeeps would wax eloquent on Manmohan Singh and Advani visiting
Mumbai separately and not together showing solidarity even at this
hour of national crisis. What a farce? Why these can't channel pool
together all their camera crew and reporters at this time of national
calamity and share the sound and visual bites which could mean a wider
and deeper coverage of events with such a huge human resource to
command? Why should Arnab and Rajdeep and Barkha keep harping every
five minutes that this piece of information was exclusive to their
channel, at the time of such a national crisis? Is this the time to
promote the channel? If that is valid, the politician promoting his
own political constituency is equally valid. And the duty of the
politician is to do politics, his politics. It is for the people to
evaluate that politics. And terrorism is not above politics. It is
politics by other means.
To come to grips with it and to eventually eliminate it, the practice
of politics by proper means needs constant fine tuning and
improvement. Decrying all politics and
politicians, only helps terrorists and dictators who are the two sides
of the same coin. And the rich and powerful always prefer terrorists
and dictators to do business with. Those caught in this crossfire are
always the Aam Aadmis whose
deaths are not even mourned - the taxi driver who lost the entire
family at CST firing, the numerous waiters and stewards who lost their
lives working in Taj for a monthly salary that would be one time bill
for their masters.
November 29, 2008
Maintaining composure is a difficult task today
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.
“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 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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