From: Anjanasudhan Vaayuputra<anjanasudhan@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, May 8, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Subject: Comments/questions on content
To: thehindu@vsnl.com, nram@vsnl.com,nram@thehindu.co.in, letters@thehindu.co.in

Sirs

      I refer the report “From ‘India Shining’ to ‘India was Shining’” in your “esteemed” newspaper dated 03 May 2009.

 

In the said report, your team of “Eminent Historians” has criticised the preamble of BJP’s manifesto (meticulously prepared by Dr.Murali Manohar Joshi), taking some excerpts from it.

 

As a committed citizen of this great Hindu nation, I felt outraged at the audacity of your “eminences” in trying to belittle the past glory of our nation and timeless civilization. The ignorance and non-application of mind of the “courageous and nameless” eminences was so appalling that they deserved a fitting rebuttal through you.

 

If you, as a media house, do not have the requisite knowledge to analyse the manifesto of a “Nationalist” party, then you should go to “truly” eminent and learned persons, who can do an unbiased analysis. Instead, in an exhibition of your bias towards communist ideology, you have taken the help of your team of “leftist historians”, who have attempted to disparage the great Hindu ethos of this great Hindu country. It is indeed thoughtful of Shri Arun Shourie that he called this brazen lot as “Eminent Historians” and I am in a way happy that you have gladly used the same term to refer your team in the above-said report.

 

I would not have bothered, had you paid equal attention to the manifestos of other parties as well. But, you have been selective in your criticisms and you have not conducted yourself in a neutral and unbiased manner as per journalistic ethics. So, you certainly deserved a fitting response.

 

As I was preparing a reply contesting the comments of your “eminences”, I received a mail with an attachment showing a meticulously prepared 'Pdf' format, making mincemeat of your eminent historians’ observations, disproving their “fictions”. This befitting rebuttal titled “The Hindu vs. Dr.Joshi” has been issued by a team of Scholars from www.tamiltalk.org , who have indeed taught some fantastic history lessons to your eminences.

 

Though it has been a long time since you have changed your ideology and moved away from nationalism, I feel that you still have the required decorum and decency as a newspaper, and hence, I request you to kindly publish this document, which has come in response to your ‘eminent’ historians. I trust you would realize your moral responsibility and do the needful, before the final phase of elections, to undo the damage you have inflicted not only on the BJP but also on the nation.

 

Thanking You,

 

With Warm Regards

 

Anjanasudhan,

Chennai.

Report Details Broad Scope of Fraud at Satyam

By HEATHER TIMMONS (NY Times, April 22, 2009)

NEW DELHI — Managers at the outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services spun an elaborate web of fraud to attract customers and investors, while using stakes in the company to raise cash for themselves, according to a report filed by India’s top investigation agency.

The deception played out over at least eight years, involved dual accounting books, more than 7,000 forged invoices, dozens of fake bank statements, thousands of unnecessary employees and auditors who received fees several times the market rate, according to a charge sheet filed by the Criminal Bureau of Investigation in a court in Hyderabad.

The 77-page document details the scope of the fraud at Satyam, and lays out the bureau’s case for charging six company managers, their PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors and an adviser with cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts.

Satyam managers, including the founding brothers B. Ramalinga and B. Rama Raju “were able to attract prospective customers and investors by making them believe” that the company was “carrying out huge volumes of business,” the report said.

The details of the bureau’s investigation could bolster a string of class-action suits pending against Satyam managers and auditors.

Tech Mahindra, a joint venture between the Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra and BT Group, won an auction to take over Satyam on April 13 with a bid valuing the company at $1.1 billion. The deal may still need to clear regulatory hurdles in the United States and Europe.

The Raju family and their friends, which held 19 percent of Satyam when it went public in 1992, “made hay when the sun was shining” by selling shares as they carried out the fraud, the bureau said in its report. More than 300 investment companies were started, some of which used loans backed by shares to invest in real estate and agriculture, the report said. Banks issuing the loans included Deutsche Investments India, GE Capital Services and DSP Merrill Lynch.

Like many companies, Satyam had a multistep process for taking customer orders, calculating what the work would cost and generating invoices. Managers in different departments checked and crosschecked the figures as they passed through the system.

But employees in the accounts receivable team could also practice “emergency generating of invoices” which bypassed most of the steps, the bureau report said.

From the beginning of April 2003 to the end of 2008, nearly 75,000 of these special invoices were created. Of these, 7,561 were fraudulent, generated to make Satyam look as if it had more business than it did.

The invoices named 11 different Indian companies but were never received by those customers, the report said, based on conversations with the companies. From 2004 until the fraud came to light when B. Ramalinga Raju confessed in January, sales were inflated 18 percent a quarter on average, for a total of about 42.6 billion rupees ($840 million).

Satyam has claimed that the invoices were paid through the New York branch of Bank of Baroda, on Park Avenue in Manhattan. But the bank said it received no such payments, according to the report. To back the invoices, the managers falsely inflated the percentage of employees that it said were working “onsite,” or on profitable projects, the bureau said.

A part of the inflated sales were recorded in Satyam’s books as debt every quarter, using forged monthly bank statements, the bureau said. By the quarter ended September 2008, that fictitious debt totaled about $100 million.

Every quarter, the Raju brothers and two finance executives received both the actual and falsified sales figures, the bureau said. A copy of the dual reports was retrieved from the e-mail box of the chief financial officer, Srinivas Vadlamani.

The company’s auditors, S. Gopala Krishnan and Srinivas Talluri, who have been suspended from PricewaterhouseCoopers, both received figures from Satyam’s banks that were in “great variance with the figures provided by the management” but certified Satyam’s accounts anyway, the bureau said. In return, the bureau claims, the auditors received an “exorbitant audit fee” over and above the market rate.

In an e-mailed statement, the global director of communications for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mike Davis, said “We are aware that charges have been leveled against the two PW partners. We are yet to engage with the partners on the contents of the charge sheet and therefore we are not able to comment at this stage.”

Both brothers are accused of forging receipts for bank deposits and destroying the forgeries. Satyam’s founding brothers, the company’s chief financial officer and the two PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors remain in jail in Hyderabad.

Investment companies created in the names of the brothers’ wives, children and even their mother were used to hold proceeds from selling shares and from borrowing 17.4 billion rupees ($350 million) from finance companies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/business/22satyam.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

 

Satyam was in loss

Apr 22 2009

Satyam Computer Services, a blue-chip company and the fourth largest information technology (IT) services provider prior to January 7, had not only had dismal margins, but had also made losses in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2008, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleges in its chargesheet.

A CBI analysis of the revenues of Satyam Computer, for the period starting October 2006 till September 2008, after deducting the inflated sums, shows that the company was in a pretty bad shape.

According to information given in the chargesheet filed by the CBI, the Ramalinga Raju-founded company had operating margins below 10 per cent, as against more than 20 per cent margins that Satyam had been reporting.

The data also reveals that Raju had been inflating the margins in the range of 15 per cent and 25 per cent. Highest inflated profit was seen in the third quarter of fiscal year 2008, when the management had reported an operating margin of 22.21 per cent, as against a loss of 3.6 per cent.

From October 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, the chargesheet reveals that the company had actually suffered losses.

Although its margins turned positive from April 1, 2008, they were not helpful in turning the company around.

The information on the actual margins, as reported by the CBI in its chargesheet, is in sync with Raju’s January 7 confession that he had been inflating margins to show the company is in good financial health.

In his confession, Raju had said, “For September quarter 2008, we reported a revenue of Rs 2,700 crore and an operating margin of Rs 649 crore (24 per cent of revenues), as against actual revenues of Rs 2,112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs 61 crore (3 per cent of revenues). This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up by Rs 588 crore in the second quarter alone.”

Apart from margins, the CBI investigation has found truth in Raju’s confession about higher bench strength, lesser reserves and interest. It also says nothing about the alleged fund diversion that various investigative agencies had been working on.

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/print/34302

 

Satyam fraud: What was Vadlamani’s role?

Mr V. Srinivas wilfully manipulated financial data and guided the staff in modifying the published results, which were false and forged.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, April 19 What was the role of Mr Vadlamani Srinivas, ex-CFO of Satyam Computer Services, who revealed that the FDs were non-existent, results manipulated and he just signed on instructions from Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, ex-Chairman, in the Rs 7,136-crore financial fraud?

Being at the centre of all financial dealings of Satyam, Mr V. Srinivas wilfully and actively manipulated financial data and guided the finance department staff in modifying the published results, which were false and forged, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged.

In its charge sheet on the Satyam case, the CBI said Mr Srinivas got the monthly bank statements of various banks forged, he got issued forged bank balance confirmation letters and got the forged letters signed by Mr B. Rama Raju (Ex-Managing Director), an accused and brother of Mr Ramalinga Raju, showing purported transfer of funds and got forged FDs prepared.

All these forged documents were used for fraudulently inflating the cash and bank balance artificially in the books of accounts for several years, the CBI chargsheet has brought to light.

Though Mr Srinivas was never designated as Director, he subscribed his signature in the annual financial statements of the company as a Director, the investigating agency has charged.

The ex-CFO dishonestly got the falsified, inflated sales invoices generated and fed in the Oracle Financials System. He was in league with the other accused persons and perpetrated the fraudulent acts. Thus, he was privy to the offences, it concluded.

Further, Mr Srinivas guided the finance department personnel on the quantum of inflation of sales to be infused into the computer system from time to time. The CBI has retrieved evidence to this effect from his e-mail box, the chargesheet said.

Rosy presentations

Mr Srinivas along with Mr Ramalinga Raju gave deceptive replies on Satyam’s earnings during conference calls conducted every quarter to various investors, thus distorting the actual financial position.

During board meetings and the audit committee meetings, the ex-CFO made rosy presentations of the company’s financial health, despite knowing the real financial position. Similarly, by conniving with the Raju brothers, he worked against the interest of the company and shareholders, whose interests he was to protect.

While being party to perpetrating the fraud with the Raju brothers and other accused, Mr Srinivas was a beneficiary. He gained from the dividends received and the amount got by offloading shares at opportune moments, the CBI accused in the chargesheet.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/04/20/stories/2009042050820200.htm

 

PW auditors knowingly falsified Satyam data: CBI report 20 Apr 2009, 0341 hrs IST, Kingshuk Nag, TNN

HYDERABAD: Contrary to earlier perceptions that the Price Waterhouse auditors were taken in by the false fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) shown to them by Satyam's accountants, the detailed chargesheet filed by the CBI says that both S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri had obtained independent confirmations from banks about the balances in the books of the IT company. But when they were at great variance with the data provided by Satyam, both Gopalakrishnan and Talluri at different points of time chose to ignore the bank data and "knowingly certified the inflated and forged balance sheets prepared based on forged FDRs and other data.."  The CBI chargesheet says that both the auditors after facilitating projection of falsified data made "misleading" presentations to the audit commmittee of Satyam about the financial health of the company.  As consideration for this act of "accomodation" they received exorbitant audit fees from Satyam over and above the market rate "which reflects a quid-pro-quo arrangement," the CBI has charged.  What is more interesting is that these two auditors ignored the findings of even their internal checking team. The Head of Information Systems Audit of Price Waterhouse in the course of an 'information technology general check' found a staggering 180 deficiencies. This was communicated to the audit team who were told that the IT systems in existence in Satyam were "not fully integrated and subject to manipulation," the chargesheet says. Gopalakrishnan and Talluri were told that "in the light of the above deficiencies substantial and elaborate examinations of the financials should be conducted." But the two at different points of time did not make any change in their audit plans.  The CBI has also charged that the two had wrongly signed the balance sheets of Satyam as partners of Price Waterhouse, though they were not partners in this audit firm. As per records of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI), the two were partners of Price Waterhouse, Bangalore which is a separate entity. The statutory audit had been given to Price Waterhouse and not Price Waterhouse, Bangalore. This act of the two chartered accountants were violative of the Auditing and Assurance Standards (AAS) 28 and invalidates the annual financial statement of the company.  Curiously enough the two auditors had letters generated on the pads of Price Waterhouse from the computer systems of Satyam. These letters were addressed to the banks and directed them ( the banks) to directly inform the auditors about the bank balances.  About Gopalakrishna who signed the audit report of Satyam from 2001 to 2007, the CBI chargesheet says that "but for his active cooperation and disregarding the crucial evidence available with him, this fraud would not have taken for so many years." Similarly Talluri is charged for allowing this fraud from 2007 onwards, the year from which he started signing the audit report. Both of have been charged for violation of various sections of the IPC. Both are in judicial custody for long and inspite of lawyers flying in from Chennai have not been able to secure bail.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/PW-auditors-had-right-info/articleshow/4421827.cms

How UPA cuddled the naxals

Naxals, India's enemy within

Kanchan Gupta | November 25, 2004 | 16:10 IST

The attack on a provincial armed constabulary convoy by Naxalites in Chandauli district of eastern Uttar Pradesh on November 20 has not only come as a grim reminder that left-wing extremism is alive and kicking in rural India, but also as a kick in the face of lotus-eaters who now formulate policy in the ministry of home affairs.

Last Saturday's incident has demonstrated, though not for the first time, that Naxalites -- variously referred to as Maoists and Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries -- are loathe to scale back their criminal activities, despite the peace overtures by the UPA government in New Delhi and its affiliate Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, which is one of the affected states.

On the contrary, mocking at the effete dispensation that now prevails, the Naxalites have struck back with greater ferocity and matching cruelty. All 17 security personnel who were travelling in the truck that was blown up by an improvised explosive device on Saturday in Chandauli were injured in the explosion; 15 of them were later shot dead at point blank range.

The People's War Group, based in Andhra Pradesh, and the Maoist Communist Centre, based in Bihar and Jharkhand, have claimed responsibility for the Chandauli slaughter. The previous day, they attacked a forest office in the area and killed two officials.

The same ministry of home affairs which has been actively involved in pandering to Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh has responded to the killings in Uttar Pradesh with a 'stern' warning: 'The challenge posed by armed activities of Naxalites shall be met firmly.' For the killers responsible for Saturday's dastardly massacre, the statement is not worth the paper it is printed on.

Indeed, the successive placatory steps taken by the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, with the approval of the UPA government in New Delhi, have allowed the Naxalites to regroup and revitalise their ranks. The halting of police action against Naxalites, inviting the Naxalites for talks (which they attended with arms and then returned to their bases without a by-your-leave) and the lifting of the ban on the PWG have not contributed towards ending the crime of left-extremism, but in conveying the impression that the state is now eager to mollycoddle criminals.

On the eve of the talks, which were projected as a major breakthrough, a Naxalite leader was quoted as saying: 'By going to the talks, we are not declaring any ceasefire... Talks are a part of our tactical line. Naxalism is not a problem, it is a solution.' If Chandauli is any indication, it indicates towards left-extremists pushing ahead with their 'solution' with renewed vigour, perhaps not in Andhra Pradesh in the immediate future, but definitely in the other States along what is fast turning into the 'Red Corridor.'

Starting from Andhra Pradesh, the 'Red Corridor' runs through eastern Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar. It links the 'liberated zones' of India with the Maoist held territories of Nepal. The 'Red Corridor' unites the left-extremists of India with their comrades in Nepal. It covers 155 districts in India, that is nearly a quarter of our national territory.

The 'Red Corridor' makes nonsense of any official claim, made either by state governments or the Union government, that security agencies are battling the Naxalites with full force. Its expansion at a rapid pace betrays the fact that our security agencies and their political patrons are both clueless and lacking in courage to tackle India's enemy within.

So we have a situation that can only be defined as a serious threat to internal security. Not only are lives periled, but development is affected. As K P S Gill, who has battled many insurgencies, leading his men from the front, recently commented, it does not make sense to build roads and bridges which cannot be used for fear of death at the hands of Naxalites.

Nor does it make sense to pretend that Naxalites pose a 'law and order problem.' The threat from Naxalites is much more than that -- they pose a challenge to India's democratic polity and rule of law; they pose an ideological threat that questions the legitimacy of the Indian State.

Seen from the perspective of internal security, the Naxalites are fast turning into India's 'Fifth Columnists,' more than willing to join hands with external forces that have been trying to undermine India's territorial integrity and rend its social fabric. They are today's Trojan forces.

The Naxal movement that we see today is a far cry and far removed from the Naxal movement that was born in the 1960s in Naxalbari, a remote area of West Bengal. What we saw then was the splintering of the Communists into radicals and moderates; what we are seeing now is abusing the barrel of the gun for furthering negative power politics.

In the east, India's Naxalites have teamed up with Nepal's Maoists to create disaffection among people of Nepalese origin who have been living for generations in Darjeeling and Dooars in West Bengal and in lower Sikkim. The purpose is to engineer a movement for 'self-determination' which could unleash violence on a wide scale and much worse than what was witnessed during the Gorkhaland agitation.

India's intelligence agencies have evidence to prove that Naxalites are being used by Pakistan's ISI for drug-trafficking and pumping fake currency notes. In return, the ISI is providing the Naxalites with sophisticated weaponry and the know-how for making and using improvised explosive devices. Seized weapons and ammunition bear witness to this evidence.

Impossible and illogical as it may appear, there is also the very real possibility of the Islamic fundamentalist right and the Marxist-Leninist fundamentalist left joining hands, united by the purpose of subverting the Indian state. Soon after the arrest of Maulana Naseeruddin, one of the prime accused in the murder of Gujarat's former home minister Haren Pandya, Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh came out in support of the Dasargah-e-Jehad-e-Shahadat's demand for the unconditional release of the accused.

Naxalite leader Ramakrishna circulated a letter among media, demanding the suspension of police officers who permitted the arrest, filing of a criminal case against Gujarat police and a public apology. He also wanted the Naxalite-friendly Congress State government to issue a blanket order banning the police from entering Muslim houses or areas without permission.

Ironically, most of the states where Naxalite violence is on the rise is ruled by parties or alliances that are members or supporters of the UPA government in New Delhi. And, unlike the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, which now increasingly appears to be repaying a debt of gratitude for electoral support to the Naxalites, the other state governments are unwilling to seek accommodation with the far left or grants socio-political legitimacy to those who reject the very tenets of democracy and repudiate the supremacy of the Constitution of India.

Yet, for reasons best known to the Union home minister and the UPA, not a finger is being wagged at the killers for their outrageous and gory violence in which they continue to indulge with increasing impunity.

 

 

http://www.rediff.com//news/2004/nov/25kanch.htm

Government Response to Left Wing Extremism

Vamsee Kiran Vedula

Executive Summary 

The rapid spread of Left Wing extremism is posing a serious challenge to various states of the Indian Union. The ability of left wing groups to run a parallel government in their strongholds is undermining the authority of the Government and impeding the development of these areas. The cycle of violence is wastefully consuming already scarce resources. The Government of India has devised a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy to deal with Left Wing Extremism. This paper is an attempt to present the challenge posed by Left Wing extremism and the Government response to this challenge. 

Although there are dozens of Left Wing extremist organizations in India, the main thrust of this article is on Communist Party of India –Maoist. Most of the material presented here is obtained from various statements by Government officials, leaders, parliamentary debates and the yearbook published by the Home Ministry. Articles published on this topic by various authors are also used.

 

 

Contents

 

Introduction

A Brief history

Current Scenario

Government Response

Possible Future Scenarios

Conclusions

References and Footnotes

Introduction

At the dawn of the new millennium, India has not only emerged as a nuclear weapons state but also as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It is expected that barring unforeseen catastrophic events, India would emerge as one of the three pillars of the world economy in the next two decades. In order to realize its full potential, India needs to overcome its internal and external challenges. 

Having faced four and half wars since independence, India had to develop a strong military to counter any challenge to the security of its citizens and the territorial integrity of the Union.

However, the internal security situation continues to remain the achilles heel of the Republic. For decades now, left wing extremism has continuously posed a serious challenge to the various states of the union. As Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has rightly observed, “The internal security is our biggest national security challenge”. [i]

A Brief history

In order to understand left wing extremism in India, we need to look at the evolution of communism in India. Even before independence, a section of leaders argued that communism and socialism are ideally suited for a society like ours, which is divided along religion, caste, and ethnic lines. They argued that it was the only way to emancipate the vast number of poor people in India and create a classless and just society. This led to the creation of the Communist Party of India or CPI.

Formed on 26th December 1925, the Communist Party of India is one of the oldest political parties in the country. Before independence, because of a ban on all communist activities by British authorities, the communists were not able to build a strong nationwide organization. However, two campaigns led by communists immediately before and after independence is worth noting. One was the “Tebhaga movement”, led by peasants’ front of CPI “Kisan Sabha” in 1946. It was fought to increase the crop share of peasants from half to two-thirds, thereby reducing the share of feudal landlord to one-third.

Another campaign was against the brutal repression of peasants by feudal landlords during the regime of Nizam in the Telangana region. Although these two movements were not very successful, they helped communists to gain a strong hold in social and economically backward areas.

After independence, the Communist Party of India has emerged as the largest opposition party at national level. The first major crisis in the communist family came during the Sino-Soviet split and the 1962 Sino-Indian war. A large group of pro-China communists backed Chinese version of the events and blamed India to be the aggressor. The pro-Chinese faction agreed with China that the Soviet Union was following “Revisionism” and “Socialist Imperialism” and “Sectarianism”. This led to a split in the communist party into CPI (pro-Soviet) and CPI(M) (pro-Chinese) branches. While the Communist parties were struggling on ideological issues, a young communist leader by the name of Charu Majumdar was busy preparing his own plans to usher a “revolution” in India.

Charu Majumdar (1918-1972), son of a freedom fighter, was born in Siliguri, Darjeeling Dist. He took part in the “Tebhaga movement”, which gave him experience in organizing armed rebellion. He was deeply influenced by Mao Zedong and wanted to emulate the Chinese revolution in India. During the years 1965-1967, he wrote a series of eight articles arguing that the situation in India was ripe for armed rebellion. His documents formed the basis for Naxalism and were called the “Historic eight documents” [ii]. He was opposed to CPI/CPI(M) line of working within the framework of Indian constitution. In order to understand why he was opposed to the Indian state, it is important to grasp his view of the Indian government. He argued that the Indian government was a semi-colonial, feudalistic and imperial entity that needed to be overthrown. In an article [iii] in 1965 he wrote-

The government is failing to supply food to the people, so the people have become agitated. So it is in the interest of the reactionary bourgeoisie of India that India has attacked Pakistan. The US imperialist plan of the world war is also operating behind this war. By attacking Pakistan, the ruling class again wants to create a tide of bourgeois nationalism. But this time it is clear like daylight that India alone is the aggressor. So, as a result of the defeat of the Indian army, the anti-government struggle will fast crystallize among the masses. So Marxists want today that the aggressive Indian army should be defeated. This defeat will create new mass agitations. Not merely wishing that they should be defeated; Marxists at the same time should make efforts so that this defeat becomes imminent. In every province of India agitations should be created on the lines the mass agitation in Kashmir is progressing.

Picture source : http://paginavermelha.org/

He was also opposed to Soviet Union’s support to India. He viewed Maoist China as the rightful leader of the revolutionaries across the world. In another article titled “Carry on struggle against modern revisionism”, [iv] he argued how the help of the Soviet Union to India was revisionism – 

They have announced that they will give India an aid of Rs. 600 crores during the Fourth Five Year Plan. The idea that Soviet aid is strengthening India's Independence is extremely wrong. For, there is no class analysis behind this. We shall have to place clearly before the people our views against this support. If support is given to the government of India which is following the path of co-operation with imperialism, and feudalism, it is the reactionary class which is strengthened. So Soviet aid is not strengthening the democratic movement of India, but is increasing the strength of the reactionary forces in co-operation with US-led imperialism and the Soviet. It is the Soviet-US. co-operation of modern revisionism that we are observing in India—a satanic association against the people's liberation struggles in the future.

During the mid-1960s, he realized that the time was ripe to launch the revolution since the Government of India was struggling due to the 1962 and 1965 wars, and the bad economic situation in the country.

Naxalbari is a small village in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. During the spring of 1967, the landless peasants, supported by hard line communists like Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal etc. forcibly occupied the lands belonging to their “class enemies”. The clashes were brutal. The communist government in power at that time was embarrassed by the behavior of its own cadre and put down the uprising ruthlessly. The left government dismissed the uprising as “Left Adventurism”, whereas hardliners called the left government’s policy as a “betrayal of Marxist ideology”. Even though the “Naxalbari uprising” was a failure, it marked the beginning of violent left wing extremist movement in India, and the terms “Naxalism” and “Naxalite” were born.[v]

In 1967, the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR - initially called AICCCR of CPI[M] but later changed to simply AICCCR) was formed by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal. On 22nd of April 1969 (coinciding with Lenin’s birthday), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) was formed by AICCCR with Charu Majumdar as Secretary of the Central Organizing Committee. The AICCCR dissolved itself.

During 1969-72, fierce battles raged between CPI-ML and Government authorities resulting in large-scale violence and bloodshed. It went on until July 1972, when Calcutta police arrested Charu Majumdar. He died in Lal Bazar police station on July 28, 1972. His death was a body blow to the Naxalites across the country. With his death, the central authority of Naxalism collapsed. From then on Naxalite groups went through a series of splits and a few mergers. There were many instances of splinter groups targeting each other’s cadre. The center of gravity of Naxalism shifted from West Bengal to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

How ever, instead of looking at every single split and merger, we are going to concentrate on three “groups” and their splits/mergers. They can be loosely termed as “Charu Majumdar group”, “Maoist Communist Center” and “Peoples War Group”. Most of the Naxalite groups in India can be traced back to the first group.

The splits in Charu Majumdar group can be termed as natural because of the absolute tyrannical style followed by Charu Majumdar. He was not someone who would accommodate divergent viewpoints. He was fanatical about revolution and considered following mass line as dilution of ideology. The following excerpt explains his impatience to criticism:

Fourthly, the work of the mass organizations will have to be discussed and decided upon in the Party before it is implemented in the mass organizations. It should be remembered here that the policies of the mass organizations have been wrongly practiced so long in the Party. To hold discussions on Party decisions is not called democratic centralism. This thinking is not in accordance with Marxism. And from all this thinking the conclusion has to be drawn that the Party's programme will be adopted from below. But if it is adopted from the lower level, then the correct Marxist way is not implemented; in all these activities there inevitably is bourgeois deviations. The Marxist truth of democratic centralism is that the Party directive coming from higher leadership must be carried out. Because the Party's highest leader is he who has firmly established himself as a Marxist through a long period of movements and theoretical debates. We have the right to criticize Party decisions; but once a decision has been taken, if any one criticizes it without implementing it, or obstructs work, or hesitates to implement it, he will be guilty of the serious offence of violating Party discipline. 

As a result of having this idea of Party democracy as that of a debating society, the road for espionage inside the Party is thrown open. Naturally, the revolutionary leadership of the Party then becomes bankrupt and the working class is deprived of a correct revolutionary leadership. This petty-bourgeois sort of thinking inside the Party leads the Party on to the verge of destruction. And this is the manifestation of petty-bourgeois thinking inside the Party. Their comfortable living and attitude of undisciplined criticism reduces the Party to a mere debating society. This thinking becomes a hurdle in the path of building up a Party of the proletariat—strong as iron. [vi]

In the year 1968 itself, Andhra Pradesh group led by Nagi Reddy, D.V Rao and Pulla Reddy was booted out due to differences with Charu Majumdar. In the year 1971, Satyanarain Singh revolted against Charu Majumdar’s “Annihilation” policy and started his own CPI (ML) which is called CPI (ML) Satyanarain Singh Group (SNS). During Bangladesh liberation war, Ashim Chatterjee and Santosh Rana also left CPI (ML) due to Charu Majumdar’s opposition to the Indian Government’s position.

After the death of Charu Majumdar in 1972, Mahadev Mukharjee and Sharma assumed the leadership of CPI (ML). But the unity did not last long as Mahadev Mukharjee expelled Sharma. Another split in Mahadev Mukharjee camp came when CPI (ML) split between pro-Lin Biao and anti-Lin Biao groups. 

In the year 1974, the pro-Mao, Pro-Charu Majumdar, anti-Lin Biao faction of the CPI (ML) was reorganized by Subrata Dutta alias Jauhar and renamed CPI (ML) Liberation or liberation. This faction emerged as the strongest of all Naxal outfits and claimed to be rightful successor of Charu Majumdar’s CPI (ML). Vinod Mishra was elected as General Secretary of liberation in 1975 after Jauhar was killed in a police encounter. He led liberation for 23 years.

Vinod Mishra (1947-1998)[vii] took his first steps towards the ultra-leftist movement during the mid-sixties when he was doing mechanical engineering at Regional Engineering College Durgapur. While Mahadev Mukharjee and Sharma were busy splitting CPI (ML) in 1974, Vinod Mishra recognized the need to reconstruct the Naxalite organization afresh. This made him join hands with Subrata Dutta (Jauhar) and create CPI (ML) Liberation. Although he claimed to follow the Charu Majumdar line, he was the first Naxal leader to recognize the futility of armed rebellion against the Indian Government. Without explicitly renouncing the methods of Charu Majumdar, he started a “rectification movement” which was aimed at rectifying the shortcomings and lapses in the armed rebellion. As a part of this new line of thinking, liberation joined the mass mobilization and jumped into electoral politics in 1982 through a front organization called the Indian Peoples’ Front (IPF). The IPF was envisioned as a nationwide alternative to the Congress party. In the year 1989, IPF won a seat in parliamentary elections and the first Naxalite member entered the Indian Parliament. Although liberation justified this significant departure from the Charu Majumdar line, critics have pointed out that CPI (ML) Liberation has completed the full circle of coming back to the CPI/CPM line.

Picture source :http://www.cpiml.org/

The role played by Vinod Mishra in this turnaround was phenomenal. By comparing the writings of Charu Majumdar to Vinod Mishra’s works like “India of my dreams”, [viii] it is very clear that despite Vinod Mishra’s claim of being pro-Charu Majumdar, he was certainly not a follower of the Charuite line. Even after the death of Vinod Mishra, CPI (ML) Liberation still continues to be a peaceful organization. 

In Bihar, the left wing extremism is closely linked to caste differences, land related disputes and labor exploitation. Being an agrarian economy, the disputes regarding distribution of lands, minimum wages, working conditions, etc were contentious issues between largely upper caste landlords and landless lower caste poor people . Some of the landless poor drifted towards left wing extremism to fight against oppression. In the year 1969, the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) was formed by Kanhai Chatterjee and Amulya Sen. Although they supported the Charu Majumdar led CPI (ML), they did not join it. This group mainly consisted of lower caste and landless people and was extremely savage in executing landlords. The landlords belonging to the upper/middle caste saw this group as a threat to their dominance and raised private militias. Gangs like Ranvir Sena [ix] ruthlessly massacred Naxalites and those who were suspected to be Naxalite sympathizers. Unlike CPI (ML) which went through a series of splits, MCC remained intact. It merged with the Revolutionary Communist Centre, India (Maoist) to form Maoist Communist Centre (India) or MCC (I) in 2003. Again in September 2004 MCC (I) merged with Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War to form Communist Party of India (Maoist) or CPI (Maoist) and emerged as the most powerful Naxalite group in the country. 

In 1968, Due to the differences with Charu Majumdar, the Andhra Pradesh revolutionaries led by T.Nagi Reddy, D.V. Rao and Pulla Reddy were booted out of AICCCR. The splits that plagued CPI (ML) did not spare the Andhra Group either. In 1971, Pulla Reddy separated from T.Nagi Reddy and D.V. Rao and formed his own party. Pulla Reddy later joined hands with Satyanarain Singh (CPI [ML] SNS group). That unity did not last long and they parted ways again. 

Meanwhile, after the death of T.Nagi Reddy, D.V. Rao became the leader of Andhra group. During the early 70’s most of the Naxalite activity was concentrated around Srikakulam district region. The government forces successfully neutralized their influence by killing the top leaders like Appalasuri, Adibhatla Kailasam, etc. One of the biggest advantages of Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh is their ability to gather support among teachers, writers and civil liberties groups. These groups have successfully provided the needed justification for violence perpetrated by Naxals by highlighting the failures of Government and pointing out the excesses of police forces. A large number of movies, sympathetic to the cause of Naxalites are produced in Andhra Pradesh even today. The basic theme of the movies is always the same. The feudal landlords and Government collude with each other and perpetrate atrocities against innocent people and the hero turns into a Naxalite to punish the bad guys. It is interesting to note that every single top hero in the last 25 years has acted in at least one such movie. In the late 70s, Kondapalli Seetharamayya successfully rebuilt the Naxal movement, which had lost its steam due to the police actions. At one time as many as 74 dalams or guerilla groups operated in the Naxal strongholds. From Srikakulam area, the Naxals successfully shifted their base to Telangana region, especially Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, etc. Unlike the Charu Majumdar line, the Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh were not averse to the mass line. However, by early nineties the government had slowly regained an upper hand over the Naxals. In September 2004, it merged with MCC (I) to form CPI (Maoist).

Current Scenario

As we have seen in the above section, Left Wing extremism in India is not a recent phenomenon. However, certain trends in recent years indicate that the threat from these organizations can increase by orders of magnitude, if strong, swift action is not taken. Left Wing extremists are transforming from “menace” to “serious threat”.

• Two of the most powerful Left Wing organizations, CPML-PW and MCC-I have merged into single entity called CPI-Maoist [x]. It is a significant event since these two groups are responsible for 90% of the Left Wing extremist violence in India.[xi]
• The situation in Nepal has serious security implications for India. The success of CPN (Maoists) will help the creation of compact revolutionary zone (CRZ) [xii] stretching from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh. This will allow easy movement of men and material through out the CRZ. It will also allow Maoists to increase their “zone” to neighboring areas of CRZ.
• Because of the lack of uniform policy against Maoists across the states, the Maoists are easily finding safe heavens in states, which are not ruthless against them. After the Andhra Pradesh government has lifted ban on Naxals and invited them for talks, Maoists have quietly gathered strength and later on rejected peace talks blaming government of being stubborn. The effects of this action will be felt not only in Andhra Pradesh but also in all other Naxal-infested states.
• Intelligence sources say that the sophistication of land mines and Improvised Explosive Devices used by Maoists is a result of training received from LTTE.[xiii]
• There are reports about links between Maoists and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). The Maoists vehemently deny it and call it a “Government ploy” to malign the Naxal movement.[xiv] However, there can be no doubt that ISI would be more than willing to provide all kinds of “assistance” to bleed India from within. The ISI can also use Nepal Maoists to control Indian Maoists.
• From 55 Districts in nine states in October 2003, the Maoists have spread their influence to 170 districts in 15 states by February 2005. [xv]
• Around 1997 itself Naxalites were accumulating around Rs. 1000 million per year in Andhra Pradesh alone through extortions, kidnapping and loot. Similar amounts of money went to Left Wing extremists in Bihar as well. [xvi][xvii] 
• In an unprecedented act, on 11th February 2005, a group of around 200 Maoists, which include 50 women, have attacked a KSRP camp in a school at Venkatammanahalli in Pavagada taluk of Tumkur district in Karnataka. In the attack, six Karnataka State Reserve Police personnel and a civilian were killed and five others were injured. [xviii]

Government Response

In order to tackle the growing threat of Left Wing extremism, the Union Government in co ordination with state governments follows a multi pronged strategy. The government strategy is elaborated in the annual report published by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. It says 

“The central Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the problem of Naxalism which includes modernization and strengthening of state police forces, better training to police personnel, special task forces for intelligence based coordinated anti Naxalite operations, focused attention on developmental aspect and gearing up of the public grievances redressal system and encouraging local resistance groups at grass roots level” [xix]

On 15th of April 2005, addressing the conference of chief ministers on “Internal security and Law and Order”, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh categorically stated, “There could be no political compromise with terror” [xx]. In the same conference, the Union Home minister Shri. Shivraj Patil announced that the centre is willing to provide ''aerial support'' and ''armoured vehicles'' to state governments to supplement their efforts and resources against extremism[xxi]. Interestingly, for the first time, the Defense Minister, Shri. Pranab Mukharjee also participated in the conference, which is quite natural since there is a strong nexus between internal extremists and enemies of India across the border.

However, it is quite disappointing that a nationwide ban against Maoists was not imposed as expected. Instead a committee headed by Union Home Minister Shri. Shivraj Patil and comprising of nine Chief Ministers of Naxal affected states would be constituted to co-ordinate and evolve a common strategy to tackle extremism. [xxii]

There has been talk about equipping police forces working in Maoist infested areas with INSAS rifles. No further information is available regarding this news. Apart from setting up elite special security forces like “Grey Hounds”, the government is also providing special training to the police forces to tackle Maoists effectively. The Central Government would reimburse certain expenses incurred by states during this process. The government of Andhra Pradesh is planning to hire helicopters for surveillance of the movements of Naxal groups. The central government would provide the money for this. [xxiii]

To enable the nine badly affected States to undertake more effective anti-Naxalite action, the Ministry of Home Affairs has been administering the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme. Under the scheme, during the year 2004-05, Rs. 1098.52 lakhs have been provided to the state governments. This money would be spent among other things on expenses incurred on bulletproofing of vehicles, procurement of semi-automatic and automatic weapons, equipping vehicles with latest communication devises, reimbursement on expenditure incurred on raising IR battalion, etc. [xxiv]

The Left Wing extremists continue to enjoy support from certain sections of the society who try to justify their actions as a response to government apathy towards socially and economically backward sections of the society. The initial stages of Naxal movement has successfully attracted scores of brilliant students from IIT’s, REC’s etc who, inspired by Left Wing ideology, left their studies to join Naxals. Over the years, the movement has been reduced to mindless violence against everyone who does not agree with them. They continue to enjoy support among certain sections in most backward areas delivering “instant justice” through Robin Hood methods. In order to wean away public support to extremists from these places, the government has initiated Backward Districts Initiative (BDI), which would be implemented in 55 Naxal-affected districts. This scheme provides Rs. 15 crores per year per district for a period of 3 years starting from 2003-2004. This total amount of Rs. 2,475 crores will help in improving social and physical infrastructure of these districts, thereby reducing the ability of extremists to attract frustrated youth. [xxv]

Although the government has a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered Naxals, red tape and inefficiency in distribution of money is forcing the surrendered Naxals to once again revert to old ways or join criminal gangs. This is an area where state governments need to put in more efforts.

The connivance between political parties and the Maoists, although not a new phenomenon, is worrisome. In some cases, especially during election times, political parties come to a tacit agreement with Maoists. Accordingly, Maoists target the candidates of opposite party there by making it easy for a political party to win elections. After coming to power, the party will ensure that the police forces “go slow” against Maoists. In some other cases individual politicians use Maoists to kill their political opponents by paying them money. In order to stop political parties from giving large-scale concessions to Maoists, a nation wide strategy should be created so that political parties cannot arbitrarily remove or impose a ban on Maoists. 

Possible Future Scenarios

The future scenarios explained below is an attempt to look into the possible directions that Maoist movement in India may take in the next five to ten years. The possibilities are that the 

1. Situation would be roughly the same as today.
2. Maoist threat may assume gigantic proportions and pose a grave threat to the security of Indian Union.
3. Maoists might be Marginalized and Discredited.

According to the first scenario, the situation five to ten years down the line would be same as today wherein Maoists would be strong in their traditional areas and government would make sure that they do not spread their influence to other places. Regular battles between Maoists and police forces would take place just like today. Mostly the Maoists would have great influence in three states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and pockets of influence in other states.

The second situation would be a disaster for India. In this kind of scenario, the Maoists would consolidate their hold in the newly acquired regions and may expand into new areas. The situations like Kashmir or North East in a number of states would arise draining the resources of the nation. Inevitably, the armed forces have to be used to tackle this problem. This would weaken the nation on the external front. The economic opportunities would evaporate. Instead of taking advantage of the economic opportunities, India would be busy fighting for its stability. The most important cause for this scenario would be the neglect of the Government(s) in creating nation wide strategy to tackle Maoists. The current situation, in which one state government bans the Maoists and other state governments give them free rein is a recipe for this sort of disaster. 

The third scenario would occur if the government of India in co-ordination with state governments follows a more aggressive and focused nationwide strategy to neutralize the Maoist menace. Luckily for India, until now Maoist organizations still depend heavily on leadership. Hence eliminating the top leadership has helped the police forces quickly to gain upper hand over Maoists. In the third scenario, the government would ensure that Maoists are unable to build a strong organization and that the external link/support to Maoists is severed.  

Conclusion

Defeating Left Wing extremism is one of the most important requirements for the Indian nation in order to emerge as a strong, prosperous and peaceful nation. A uniform coordinated, nationwide strategy is required achieve this goal. One thing is certain in the Indian context: Left Wing extremists are destined to fail because in India it is evolution, not revolution, which succeeds. 

References and Footnotes

[i] http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/national/20050415-0.html 
[ii] http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mazumdar/index.htm   
[iii] http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mazumdar/1965/x01/x01.htm 
[iv] http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mazumdar/1965/x01/x02.htm 
[v] http://www.cpiml.org/pgs/30yrs/hist30.htm 
[vi] http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mazumdar/1965/x01/x03.htm 
[vii] http://www.cpiml.org/archive/vm_swork/indexvmsw.htm 
[viii] http://www.cpiml.org/archive/vm_swork/2mydreams.htm 
[ix] http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/terroristoutfits/Ranvir_Sena.htm 
[x] http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/14jafri.htm 
[xi] Page 40, Annual Report 2003-2004 http://mha.nic.in/AR0304-Eng.pdf  
[xii] Page 41, Annual Report 2003-2004 http://mha.nic.in/AR0304-Eng.pdf  
[xiii] http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=172260 
[xiv] http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/oct/07gana1.htm 
[xv] http://www.hvk.org/articles/1204/83.html  andhttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1050306/asp/opinion/story_4460495.asp 
[xvi] http://www.rediff.com/news/aug/27pwg.htm  
[xvii] http://www.observerindia.com/analysis/A072.htm 
[xviii] http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/12/stories/2005021206610600.htm 
[xix] Pages 42-43 Annual Report 2003-2004 http://mha.nic.in/AR0304-Eng.pdf   
[xx] http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/16/stories/2005041606030100.htm 
[xxi] http://www.deepikaglobal.com/archives/ENG3_sub.asp?newsdate=04/16/2005&ccode=ENG3&hcode=99612  
[xxii] http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/16/stories/2005041612491300.htm 
[xxiii] http://www.hindu.com/2005/05/22/stories/2005052217050400.htm 
[xxiv] Page 43-44 Annual Report 2003-2004 http://mha.nic.in/AR0304-Eng.pdf  
And http://164.100.24.208/lsq14/quest.asp?qref=8151 
[xxv]Pages 44-45 Annual Report 2003-2004 http://mha.nic.in/AR0304-Eng.pdf 
and http://164.100.24.219/rsq/quest.asp?qref=93623   

 http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume14/vedula.html

 

UPA appeasement, corruption. Throw them out of power.

From: Shubha varier<amazingshubha@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Subject: The Complete report
To: pooniepoo@gmail..com

Hi Dear Ones,

I am not going to ask u to send these to 10 people so that u hear some good news or experience some miracle at the end of the day but this mail is an urge to each & every thinking & feeling INDIAN who is busy thinking & feeling safe & smug RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!

This is a Wake Up Mail.Don't live in an illusion that the facts in this mail are not going to affect u(Actually they started affecting us a long time back but we are not present to them).These facts r well researched & verified by some very committed & daring individuals working at various levels in the Govts &  its agencies or in different NGO's all over the Globe.These facts actually shd have been printed in the media & newspapers long  back but they are all bought & shut up in any case.

Please go thro' these facts,verify them on ur own( if u want to, by any means),spend some time chewing over them & then send them to at least 500 ppl.LET US STOP COMPLAINING & START ACTING.LET'S BE PART OF THE SOLUTION THAN BE PART OF THE PROBLEM.  

---

From: rajita kulkarni 
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:34:28 +0530
To: <rajita.kulkarni@gmail.com>
Subject: 
A)  Is this Government really protecting us??!!

7/11 2006: Mumbai Train Blasts. 209 Killed.
25/8 2007: Hyderbad Blasts: 42 Killed 
Oct 11 2007: Ajmer Blasts : 2 Killed 
May 13 2008: Jaipur Blasts : 68 Killed 
July 16th 2008: Ahmedabad Blasts : 57 Killed 
July 25th 2008: Banglaore Blasts: 1 killed 
Sept 13th 2008: Delhi Blasts: 26 Killed 
Sept 27th 2008: Delhi Blasts: 2 Killed
Sept 29th 2008 : Gujrat Blasts : 1 killed 
Oct 21st 2008: Imphal Blasts : 17 Killed 
Oct 30th 2008: Assam Blasts : 40 Killed 
Nov 26th 2008: Mumbai Attack: 180 killed 

Every major city in India has been attacked consistently over the last two years.
Since 2004, 3850 Indians have died in Terror attacks in over 3000 incidents. 
Is the common Indian on the streets really safe ? 

Did you know that on the day of the Mumbai train blasts, the Government gave Rs 150 crores for earthquake relief in Pakistan ? Last year our Govt. has given Rs 3000 crores (600 Million Dollars) to Afghanistan? This, when victims of terror in India have not yet got aid? Whats going on? 
 

 
 

 
 

              Indias national security management was grievously undermined by the communalizing of Indias approaches to deal with terrorism. In a bid to appease its minority vote-banks the Anti-Terrorism Law POTA was abolished as soon as the Congress took power. Terrorist Afzal Guru despite being sentenced to death by Indias Supreme Court continues to be a state guest in jail for years now.

In the last four years major terrorist incidents have taken place nearly once every three months but no conviction of terrorists has yet taken place. What message does this convey to the terrorists of the Congress Governments resolve to combat terrorism?

Indias national security stands endangered as the Government even after four years has not been able to make up its mind to place firm orders for 136 fighter combataircraft for the Indian Air Force. Indian Armys finalized deals for sizeable orders for Artillery 155mm guns and the Eurocopter helicopter were scuttled at the last moment. Indian Navy also has serious deficiencies in its inventories waiting political decisions. All these delays seriously affect Indias defence preparedness.
 

 

The Congress Prime Ministers obduracy in not agreeing for a separate Pay Commission for the Indian Armed Forces as demanded by them has lowered the morale of Indias valiant Armed Forces. He is not averse to bureaucrats to sit on the Sixth Pay Commission panel and vote for exorbitant pay raises for themselves not warranted by their contributions to Indias administration but digs in his heels when it comes to have a separate Pay Commission for the Armed Forces whose contributions to Indias external security and internal security , unlike the bureaucrats, even at the cost of their lives, is not appreciated forgetting that the Armed Forces cannot be equated to Indias bureaucrats sitting in their cushy armchairs.

 

( Dr Subhash Kapila, Congress Govts 4 year report card;May 25 2008)

 

 

 B) What is the Govt doing with all our money?

 

 

According to the Comptroller & Audtior Generals report their website www.cag.gov.in  , Chapter 2 Comments on Accounts  , the following glaring findings are documented

 

 

Section 2.2 Unascertainable unspent balances in the accounts of Implementing agencies

 

 

For the year 2007-08 , the Union Govt made a provision for transfer of central plan assistance of Rs 51259.85 cr directly to state/district level autonomous bodies,authorities societies etc for implementation of centrally sponsored schemes.

These have not been spent fully by the implementing agencies and lie unspent in their accounts.

 

The report clearly say " the aggregate amount of unspent balances in the accounts of the implementing agencies kept outside Govt accounts is not readily ascertainable. The Govt expenditure as reflected in the accounts to that extent is therefore overstated "

 

Where is this Rs 51259.85 cr gone????

 

 

Section 2.3. Opaqueness in Govt accounts

Scrutiny of Union Govt Finance accounts 2007-08 disclosed the Rs 20273.52 cr under 28 major heads of accounts was classified under minor head '800- expenditure' in the accounts constituting more than 50 % of the total expenditure under respective major heads.

This indicates a high degree of opaqueness in the accounts , the report says. It also says that the existing structure of the Govt accounts does not truly reflect the current activities of the the Govt in these Ministries /Depts.

 

What all is the Govt hiding from its people ???

What is it really doing with the tax payers money

 

 

Section 2.4 Understatement of Balances under Universal Service Obligation Fund

 

The USO fund was set up in April 2002 for achieving universal service objectives of increasing tele density in rural and remote areas. The resources for this are raised through universal access levy which is payable by all telecom operators under various licences

 

 

 

 

A total Universal service levy of Rs 20404.44 cr was collected during 2002-03 to 2007-08 by the DoT but a disbursement of only Rs 6371.44 cr was made from the USO fund. Thus the closing balance of the fund on 31st March 2008 should be Rs 14099 cr as against the NIL balance shown under that head !!!! The report says that "closing balance of the USO fund as on 31st March 2008 was therefore understated by Rs 14033 crore "

 

The report also says that this matter was presented ti the parliament but no action has been taken

 

Where has this Rs 14033 cr gone ???

 

 

Section 2.5 Overstatement of capital expenditure

 

The Govt transferred Rs 6500 crore in 2006-07 and Rs 6000 crore in 2007-08 to the Social and Infrastructure Development fund ( SIDF) for initiatives like up gradation of industrial training institutes, training of farmers etc. Thus entire amount was booked as capital expenditure in the accounts of these 2 years

 

The report says that examination of the expenditure of Rs 3447.75 cr incurred during 2007-08 disclosed that Rs 1586.75 crore was of revenue nature.

It says that capital expenditure in the Consolidated Fund of India 2006-07 was thus overstated to the extent of at least Rs 1586.75 crore. For 2007-08 capital expenditure of Rs 6000 crore is overstated

 

This means that the Govt is fooling us by telling us that they are spending our money on development where as they are really spending it on something else. Where has this money gone?

 

*****************************************************************************************************

New Delhi: Twenty-two years after Rajiv Gandhi courted ignominy by claiming no commissions were paid in the Bofors howitzer deal with Sweden - when, in fact, they were - the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh seems headed in the same direction with the Rs 10,000 crore missile deal involving Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rajiv's widow Sonia Gandhi is the presiding deity of the UPA coalition.

 

The deal, for the purchase of medium-range surface-to-air missiles (MRASM), was signed towards end-February this year, just days before the general elections were announced. In the Bofors case, the main allegation, first aired by Swedish Radio, was that Rs 64 crore of bribes had been paid to Indian middlemen to procure the deal. In the MRSAM case, the UPA government, has, curiously, agreed to pay nearly 10 times that amount as "business charges."

 

At 6% of the total contract amount, these "business charges" amount to a whopping Rs 600 crore on a Rs 10,000 crore deal. Defence industry insiders expressed incredulity that anyone can bill Rs 600 crore as "business charges." The charges are either inflated or illegitimate, they emphasise.

 

Insiders suggest that the cabinet committee on security (CCS), which cleared the deal, and the ministry of defence (MoD) were either complicit or gullible in accepting the arguments forwarded by IAI while levying these hefty "business charges." It is unprecedented in a contract of this nature - which is supposed to be a joint development project. The CCS has prime minister Manmohan Singh, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram, defence minister AK Antony and planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia as members.

 

The Israelis had apparently explained away the amount saying it was meant for banking, transportation and insurance. DNA investigations suggest that the MoD completely bought this line.

 

That there could be something fishy is clear from the fact that most of the MRSAM systems will be manufactured and finally assembled in India. So even if one were to assume that IAI is paying some transportation, insurance and banking charges, the amount would have been much lower. "It couldn't have been more than 1-1.5%," says one military source familiar with big defence deals.

 

Another source, who has handled projects similar to the MRSAM joint development deal, says these "should have been actual payments" rather than lumpsum charges.

 

When DNA questioned a senior MoD official, he defended the MRSAM deal charges. He told DNA that the issue had been clarified with IAI and the government was satisfied with the explanations provided.

 

It is bizarre how the government could have completely bought the IAI argument. The 6% business charges were, in fact, questioned at the CCS level and an explanation sought. The MoD asked the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) about it, which, in turn, asked the Israelis. The Israeli explanation was apparently completely acceptable to DRDO, which, in turn, passed this on to the MoD. No independent assessment was apparently made on whether the government was justified in paying Rs 600 crore as "business charges" in this contract.

 

The defence minister then duly sent the DRDO explanation to the finance ministry for its perusal. A dependable source told DNA that then finance minister P Chidambaram himself wrote on the file that the charges could be agreed if MoD could justify the quantum. But the MoD satisfied itself mainly from the Israeli firm's own explanations. It made no verifications of its own.

 

The MRSAM deal is a joint project in which IAI would be leading the development of a medium-range surface-to-air missile for the air force. The DRDO is a partner in the project, but will effectively get only a third (Rs 3,000 crore) of the Rs 10,000 crore bounty. IAI gets the bulk of it, over Rs 7,000 crore. The missile is to have a range of around 70 km.

 

Disappointed military sources are also appalled by the fact that despite India paying up such a huge amount of money, there is no significant transfer of technology. India's greatest weakness in missile production is "seeker" technology, which is one of the biggest Israeli contributions to the contract. But the Israelis won't be transferring technology for "seekers". Seeker technology is key to how missiles hit their targets.

 

 DNA  ,Mumbai March 25^th

 

^{******************************************************************************************************************************************************************}

 

 

  
C) Is this Government really secular ? 
  
1) When Madrasas are being shut down in Pakistan, the Indian Government is giving them CBSE status !! It is depriving Muslim children in getting secular education. A Madrasa educated person can get a job in any government office without going through the secular education system. Can India afford to have fundamentalists in government departments? Why cannot the government shut down Madrassas and let Muslim children study with the rest? 
  
2) Our Government has given 25 lakh scholarships ONLY to minority students. 
What sin have the majority done not to deserve these? 
Why cannot poor students of all communities be given scholarships instead of only Muslim children? 
  
3) Thanks to the Congress led Government, out of 36000 temples in Andhra Pradesh, 28000 have closed down in the last five years. Do you want the same trend to continue in other parts of the country? Do you want a Nagaland type of situation in the whole of India? While government controls most of the Hindu temples, the minority community has had full freedom to organize their religious bodies. The minority communities now have the first right over resources. Is this not a blatant violation of fundamental rights of the majority community? 

4) Why have the minorities in Nagaland, Mizoram & Kashmir not got the similar privileges like the minorities in other states? Why is the Govt following different rules for different religions? 
  
D) Is this government really making friends or enemies for India ? 
  
Thanks to a weak and visionless foreign policy, India has created enemies all around. By the Home Ministers own admission  "India is surrounded by a circle of fire". Rajiv Gandhi's vision of a powerful "SAARC" is now defunct. 
  
1) Today, India commands little respect from all its neighbours, despite being the largest democracy in the world.
2) Terrorism has engulfed the country from inside and outside. Of course Pakistan,the motherland of international terrorism continues to be a big threat.
3) China has territorial ambitions on India. 
4) Nepal, is now being headed by a Maoist government and is ideologically more aligned to China. While India helped to dismantle the dynastic rule in Nepal our own Government surreptitiously supports dynastic rule within its own party.

 

Indias foreign policy in these four years, as I have written elsewhere, was under siege and severely mauled by Indias Communist Parties as the Congress Party allowed itself to be dictated by the Communists foreign policy agenda off toeing the China line. In the process the US-India Strategic Partnership painstakingly evolved by the BJP Government stands diluted and downgraded because the CPI(M) is virulently anti-US like China. It is a pity to see the Congress Party so helpless and powerless in not being able to push the US-India Nuclear Deal as its political survival is held to ransom by the Communists and this Deal which the Congress so dearly crafted and wanted to leave it as a political legacy.

      ( Dr Subhash Kapila, Congress Govts 4 year report card ;May 25 2008)

5) Myanmar is increasingly aligning with Chinese forces with huge Chinese investments in that region.
6) Indian Policies in Srilanka have made Tamil Nadu burn. Will Tamils ever forgive India for encouraging military assault rather than facilitating peaceful dialogue on their north and north east regions.
7) Bangladesh continues to repeatedly aid and abet terrorism. 
  
E) Is this Government really pro-poor? 
  
1) The number of people living below the poverty line has increased by a horrifying 20 per cent. India had some 270 million people below the poverty line in 2004-2005, when the present Government took office. That number has gone up by 55 million, or 20 per cent!

 

Most of Indias economic woes can be attributed to diversion of thousands of crores of rupees to wasteful grandiose schemes catering for reservation based politics and Indian Muslim minority appeasement. If the Congress Government was serious about social upliftment then the criteria for such schemes should have been economic backwardness and not a caste- based or religion- based criteria.

     ( Dr Subhash Kapila, Congress Govts 4 year report card ;May 25 2008)

 

  2)  Ambitious social sector and economic reforms targets set out  in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) have not been met..

 

   

  Targets: Increase outlay for education to 6 per cent of GDP

Status: Remains way below target. Allocation stands at 1.06 per cent of GDP in the 2008-09 Budget

 

Targets: Increase outlay for health to 3 per cent of GDP

Status: At 0.99 per cent of GDP, the allocation remains way below target

( Business Today March 25,2009)

 

 

Then, many of the schemes— most notably NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) and JNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission)—launched by the government were improperly administered. Result: the benefits did not always reach the targeted beneficiaries. Says Charan Wadhwa, Professor Emeritus, Centre for Policy Research: “The intentions behind these schemes were good, but delivery has been poor.”

 

 

NREGA: UPA?s flagship scheme for the aam aadmi has been a disappointment The UPA government has spent over Rs 2,00,000 crore on fighting poverty, but has not been able to achieve its poverty alleviation targets. The Bharat Nirman scheme, to improve rural infrastructure, is 66 per cent short of its goals. NREGA, UPA’s flagship scheme for the aam aadmi, is generating large-scale corruption instead of employment and has, in most areas, done little to improve the lot of rural workers.

 

The CAG report on the performance of NREGA reveals loopholes in the system. It reports that in Bihar alone, Rs 2.77 crore and Rs 8.99 lakh were paid to unregistered and fictitious labourers, respectively, during 2006-07.

( Business Today March 25,2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

( Business Today, March 25,2009)

 

 

Education: Expectations not met:

The Prime Minister himself has acknowledged the government’s failures in many areas—like infrastructure, PDS (public distribution system), power sector reforms, corruption, etc. Peak power deficit, at 16.6 per cent in 2007-08, is worse than 2003-04 figure of 11..2 per cent. “Poor implementation of schemes has been a blot on UPA’s economic governance record,” says Goswami.

 

( Business Today, March 25,2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E) Has this Govt been good for the Indian economy?

 

The Govt has a list of broken promises on the economic front too

 

Targets: PSU privatization

Status: Stalled due to lack of political will

 

Targets: Opening up of foreign investment in banking, insurance

Status: Stalled due to opposition from allies

 

Targets: Labour reforms

Status: Stalled due to pressure from the Left

 

****************************************************************************

Sector wise Industrial Production (year on year growth in %) april-dec 2008-09 v/s same period 2007-08

 

Manufacturing dropped from 9.6 % to 3.3 %

 

Electricity from 6.6% to 2.7%

 

General from 9 % to 3.2 %

*****************************************************************************

 The economy was on a high growth trajectory during the first three-and-a-half years of the UPA government. The stock markets and the real estate sector were booming, Indian corporations were going global and the economy was growing at over 9 per cent. Labour reforms, banking and insurance sector reforms, pension reforms and disinvestment of public sector units were urgently needed to keep the momentum going. But these were put on the backburner under pressure from the Left.

 

Soon, the feel good factor generated by the booming economy began to taper off as inflation rose, industrial production declined and the stock markets wobbled.BSE’s market capitalisation has fallen from Rs 70.70 lakh crore on January 8, 2008 to Rs 41 lakh crore on July 3, 2008. Monetary policies to rein in inflation are taking a heavy toll on the manufacturing sector. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has grown by a mere 6 per cent in the first four months of the calendar year compared to 12 per cent in the corresponding period last year. According to Dun & Bradstreet, IIP is expected to remain downcast till interest rates come down.

( Business Today, March 25,2009)

 

 

  F) Does this Government really care about the nation? 
  
The Pakistani flag is now being hoisted in five districts of states like Assam where the Muslim population has gone up significantly. 92000 Hindu and 6000 Christians are now languishing in refugee camps. The government has turned a blind eye to this. 
  
In the name of security, innocent people have been put in jails, whereas people like Yaasin Malik who has 23 murder charges on him, are moving Scot free and gathering their own strength. Is it acceptable to any patriotic Indian?

 

Political morality and political probity was reduced to murky levels by the Congress Party, a party which swears by Mahatma Gandhi. Ottavio Quarorocchi, the Italian businessman considered close to the Congress President and the main accused in the Bofors case was favored by the Congress Government in going scot-free and millions of pounds of his deposits freed in UK by what was reported in the media to be deliberate soft pedaling by the Law Ministry

     ( Dr Subhash Kapila, Congress Govts 4 year report card ;May 25 2008)

 

  
Can the Congress led UPA promise a non-muslim CM in J&K ? Reservation for a Hindu student in Nagaland ? If so, we wholeheartedly support them. Otherwise they should sit at home the next few years and rethink their policies. 

Can our politicians stop stooping down to any lengths just for money and power ? Like Mr.Sharad Pawar, who first ditched the Congress and then ditched the people and aligned back with the Congress, just to be in power. 
  
Dont be deceived. What appears to be communal is not communal, and what appears to be secular is not secular. It is time we change our thinking. 
  
Having said all this even BJP has not proved to be any better. 
But for now we need a change. Let us choose the lesser of the two evils.
The same party brought to power again and again means encouraging unabated corruption. 

Stand up for this most tolerant and ancient civilization and prevent this great nation from becoming a communal battleground. As citizens of India we must vote for change. 
  

WAKE UP INDIANS. LET US VOTE FOR CHANGE.Hindusthan is unsafe under Congress: Congress fed terrorists with chicken-biryani for seven days

 

Modi tears into Cong anti-Advani tirade

(Pioneer Wednesday, April 15, 2009)

Says Manmohan ‘glorified caretaker Prime Minister’

The BJP and Congress on Tuesday remained engaged in the riveting “my leader strongest” contest, with Narendra Modi pitching in for LK Advani and Rahul-Priyanka duo batting for Manmohan Singh. While the saffron party attacked the Congress for its pusillanimity on issues ranging from China to Pakistan to internal security and termed Manmohan Singh a “glorified caretaker Prime Minister”, the Congress hailed the Prime Minister as the “Lion of Punjab” and even compared him to Mahatma Gandhi for his “inner strength”.

A day after Singh unleashed his sharpest attack yet against Advani, the Gujarat Chief Minister hit back accusing him of “kneeling down” and the Congress of displaying “helplessness” on security issues whenever in power.

“What was the Congress doing during the India-China War of 1962? I want to ask the Prime Minister who is saying that Advani was wringing his hands: What were the Congress leaders doing with their hands then? Today also, when thousands and thousands of acres of Indian land are with China,” Modi said addressing a public rally in Balasinor town of Kheada district in Gujarat.

“Even today, half of Kashmir is occupied by Pakistan. What kind of strength does it show? I want to ask if the Prime Minister is kneeling down due to helplessness of the Congress or is it part of his habit,” Modi asked.

The Prime Minister had on Monday attacked Advani for his “melting” before terrorists during the Kandahar hijack episode, of “wringing his hands” during the 2002 Gujarat riots, and “weeping in a corner” when the Babri Masjid was demolished.

Modi also raised the issues of Charar-e-Sharif siege, the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping episode and the 26/11 attack.

“Instead of attacking Pakistan for what it did to us, they made a CD of television footages of the Mumbai attack, made a file of newspaper clippings, put them in a box and the Home Minister took it to the US. There they cried that our neighbour had beaten us, so please help us,” Modi said, adding, “This is a perfect example of helplessness of the Government.” 

“When Indian soldiers captured over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in Bangladesh, why were they allowed to go free,” Modi asked about the 1975 Indo-Pak war. “If we (BJP) would have been in power at that time, we would have taken half of the Kashmir in exchange of those 90,000 soldiers,” Modi said.

Modi added, “I today allege that under the Narasimha Rao Government, when Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister, the Congress had given safe passage to five terrorists in Charar-e-Sharif of Kashmir after providing them a feast of chicken biryani for seven days.”

“Manmohan Singh, who was then the Finance Minister, took out the money from the Government treasury. The Rao Government sent that money to Kashmir, where it was used to feed the terrorists with chicken biryani,” he alleged.

Modi said that the Congress had played a vital role in making Mufti Mohammad Sayeed the Chief Minister of Kashmir a few years ago.

“His (Sayeed's) daughter, who is also a daughter of the Congress gharana, was kidnapped by terrorists and they had released eight terrorists, including Makbul Bhatt, and given them a safe passage to Pakistan," he alleged.

He raised questions on the actions taken by the UPA Government after the 26/11 attack. "What did the UPA Government do? I had then said that there were local people involved in the attack. Even the Mumbai Police Commissioner, who is a Muslim, said that 15 local people were involved in the attack," Modi said, adding, "If you are strong why are you sitting on the 15 names who were involved in the attack. Why don't you search for them and catch them?" 

Addressing a Press conference here on Tuesday, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the orchestrated and synchronised verbal assault on Advani's leadership qualities and the harping on credentials of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul on a single day was a clear reflection of the desperation and frustration that is now gripping the top leadership of the Congress in view of the ground realities in favour of the BJP and NDA. 

"The people of the country are witness to an exceptional situation where the Congress and its leadership are trying to deflect the national debate on security, price rise, rising unemployment, soft on terror because of vote bank politics and the mess which the country is facing because of highly deplorable record of misgovernance in the last five years," he said. 

Not willing to take things lying down, the Congress lashed out at the BJP for its anti-Singh campaign. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a rally at Bhatinda in Punjab that the UPA candidate for the top post was Sher-e-Punjab (lion of Punjab) and the "pride of India."

"The Prime Minister is not a weak candidate. He is Sher-e-Punjab and the pride of India," Rahul said in his brief address to a gathering in Bathinda to muster support for Congress candidate Raninder Singh, who is also the son of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

In Amethi, Priyanka drew a comparison between Singh and Mahatma Gandhi. Like the Mahatma, Singh too was gentle but strong.

"Take for example Mahatma Gandhi. No one was gentler a person than him, but he was a great and strong leader," Priyanka told reporters, while campaigning for her brother Rahul. She said it would be wrong to judge the strength and firmness of a leader just by his appearance. "Manmohan Singh is a very strong, firm and capable leader," Priyanka added.

 

http://dailypioneer.com/169687/Modi-tears-into-Cong-anti-Advani-tirade.html

 

Press Statement issued by BJP National Spokesperson and MP, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad

 

Tuesday, 14 April 2009

 

The orchestrated and synchronized verbal assault on Shri L K Advani’s leadership qualities and credentials by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rahul Gandhi on a single day is nothing but a clear reflection of the desperation and frustration that is now gripping the top leadership of the Congress Party given the emerging ground realities in favour of the BJP and the NDA.  The people of the country are witness to an exceptional situation where the Congress Party and its leadership are trying to deflect the national debate on security, price rise, rising unemployment, soft on terror because of vote bank politics and the mess which the country is facing because of highly deplorable record of mal governance in the last five years.

 

The strategy of the Congress party stands fully exposed – relegate the real issues confronting the nation to the background. Instead of providing answers as to how to deal and counter the issues facing the nation the Congress Party is focusing on scripted dialogues to deflect the public focus from them. The BJP outrightly condemns this negative approach and strategy being adopted by the Congress Party.

  

Dr. Manmohan Singh has not been able to answer two very critical issues. (i) why the food economy of the country is in a mess under an “eminent economist” as a Prime Minister in spite of record food production as claimed (the inflation of food items is 10-11%) and (ii) if the Prime Minister cannot ensure security in Assam itself which has elected him for the last nineteen years in the Rajya Sabha, which is ruled by a Congress Government; how can he be trusted to secure the entire country against terrorism and extremism.

 

The BJP clearly believes – the security threat by terrorists to the country is the real issue; the threat of the Taliban is the real issue; increasing unemployment is the real issue; the high prices of essential commodities is the real issue; the mismanaged state of affairs of the country is the real issue; and the BJP will continue to legitimately raise these issues in the public domain. The Congress Party is deliberately running away from offering any response because it has none.

 

The fact that Dr. Manmohan Singh is a weak Prime Minister has been confirmed from unexpected sources. An eminent member of the first family of the Congress Smt. Priyanka Gandhi too now wants her brother Rahul Gandhi to become the Prime Minister, a claim which the Prime Minister has been forced to acknowledge. After senior Ministers of the Union Cabinet like Shri Arjun Singh and Shri Pranab Mukherjee now Priyanka Gandhi also wants Rahul to become the Prime Minister. What is the implication of all this? We are constrained to observed that Dr. Manmohan Singh is at best a glorified caretaker of the post of Prime Minister keeping it warm for some one else. The country of more than one billion people today does not need a stopgap caretaker or, retainer in the office of Prime Minister. It wants a leader who can lead from the front.

 

The Congress Party must explain, is Rahul Gandhi the real candidate of Prime Minister and Dr. Manmohan Singh is being used as a mask so that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is not subjected to public scrutiny.

 

On her part, Smt Sonia Gandhi owes an explanation to the entire nation as to what she means by her comment that people within the country are more dangerous than foreign terrorist. Who is the enemy within? Is she referring to the Indian Mujahiddin, SIMI and other such anti-national forces who have time and again sought to wreck havoc and taken the lives of hundreds of innocent citizens in numerous terrorist attacks? Or is she referring to the BJP and other nationalist forces? It is evident that one stroke Mrs Gandhi has again emboldened the terrorist and their patrons in Pakistan and elsewhere more particularly when India is trying to nail Pakistan in the wake of terrorist attack in Mumbai.
 

(Shyam Jaju)
Headquarter Incharge

  http://www.bjp.org/content/view/2863/394/

The truth behind Kandahar

Kanchan Gupta (Pioneer, Dec. 24, 2008)

Was it really an ‘abject surrender’ by the NDA Government?

There have been innumerable communal riots in India, nearly all of them in States ruled by the Congress at the time of the violence, yet everybody loves to pretend that blood was shed in the name of religion for the first time in Gujarat in 2002 and that the BJP Government headed by Mr Narendra Modi must bear the burden of the cross.

Similarly, nobody remembers the various incidents of Indian Airlines aircraft being hijacked when the Congress was in power at the Centre, the deals that were struck to rescue the hostages, and the compromises that were made at the expense of India’s dignity and honour. But everybody remembers the hijacking of IC 814 and nearly a decade after the incident, many people still hold the BJP-led NDA Government responsible for the ‘shameful’ denouement. 

The Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi, designated IC 814, with 178 passengers and 11 crew members on board, was hijacked on Christmas eve, 1999, a short while after it took-off from Tribhuvan International Airport; by then, the aircraft had entered Indian airspace. Nine years later to the day, with an entire generation coming of age, it would be in order to recall some facts and place others on record. 

In 1999 I was serving as an aide to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the PMO, and I still have vivid memories of the tumultuous week between Christmas eve and New Year’s eve. Mr Vajpayee had gone out of Delhi on an official tour; I had accompanied him along with other officials of the PMO. The hijacking of IC 814 occurred while we were returning to Delhi in one of the two Indian Air Force Boeings which, in those days, were used by the Prime Minister for travel within the country. 

Curiously, the initial information about IC 814 being hijacked, of which the IAF was believed to have been aware, was not communicated to the pilot of the Prime Minister’s aircraft. As a result, Mr Vajpayee and his aides remained unaware of the hijacking till reaching Delhi. This caused some amount of controversy later. 

It was not possible for anybody else to have contacted us while we were in midair. It’s strange but true that the Prime Minister of India would be incommunicado while on a flight because neither the ageing IAF Boeings nor the Air India Jumbos, used for official travel abroad, had satellite phone facilities. 

By the time our aircraft landed in Delhi, it was around 7:00 pm, a full hour and 40 minutes since the hijacking of IC 814. After disembarking from the aircraft in the VIP bay of Palam Technical Area, we were surprised to find National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra waiting at the foot of the ladder. He led Mr Vajpayee aside and gave him the news. They got into the Prime Minister’s car and it sped out of the Technical Area. Some of us followed Mr. Vajpayee to Race Course Road, as was the normal routine.

On our way to the Prime Minister’s residence, colleagues in the PMO provided us with the basic details. The Kathmandu-Delhi flight had been commandeered by five hijackers (later identified as Ibrahim Athar, resident of Bahawalpur, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Gulshan Iqbal, resident of Karachi, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, resident of Defence Area, Karachi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, resident of Akhtar Colony, Karachi, and Shakir, resident of Sukkur City) at 5:20 pm; there were 189 passengers and crew members on board; and that the aircraft was heading towards Lahore.

At the Prime Minister’s residence, senior Ministers and Secretaries had already been summoned for an emergency meeting. Mr Mishra left for the crisis control room that had been set up at Rajiv Bhavan. In between meetings, Mr Vajpayee instructed his personal staff to cancel all celebrations planned for December 25, his birthday. The Cabinet Committee on Security met late into the night as our long vigil began.

Meanwhile, we were informed that the pilot of IC 814 had been denied permission to land at Lahore airport. With fuel running low, he was heading for Amritsar. Officials at Raja Sansi Airport were immediately alerted and told to prevent the plane from taking off after it had landed there.

The hijacked plane landed at Amritsar and remained parked on the tarmac for nearly 45 minutes. The hijackers demanded that the aircraft be refuelled. The airport officials ran around like so many headless chickens, totally clueless about what was to be done in a crisis situation. 

Desperate calls were made to the officials at Raja Sansi Airport to somehow stall the refuelling and prevent the plane from taking off. The officials just failed to respond with alacrity. At one point, an exasperated Jaswant Singh, if memory serves me right, grabbed the phone and pleaded with an official, “Just drive a heavy vehicle, a fuel truck or a road roller or whatever you have, onto the runway and park it there.” But all this was to no avail.

The National Security Guards, whose job it is to deal with hostage situations, were alerted immediately after news first came in of IC 814 being hijacked; they were reportedly asked to stand by for any emergency. The Home Ministry was again alerted when it became obvious that after being denied permission to land at Lahore, the pilot was heading towards Amritsar.

Yet, despite IC 814 remaining parked at Amritsar for three-quarters of an hour, the NSG commandos failed to reach the aircraft. There are two versions as to why the NSG didn’t show up: First, they were waiting for an aircraft to ferry them from Delhi to Amritsar; second, they were caught in a traffic jam between Manesar and Delhi airport. The real story was never known!

The hijackers, anticipating commando action, first stabbed a passenger, Rupin Katyal (he had gone to Kathmandu with his newly wedded wife for their honeymoon; had they not extended their stay by a couple of days, they wouldn’t have been on the ill-fated flight) to show that they meant business, and then forced the pilot to take off from Amritsar. With almost empty fuel tanks, the pilot had no other option but to make another attempt to land at Lahore airport. Once again he was denied permission and all the lights, including those on the runway, were switched off. He nonetheless went ahead and landed at Lahore airport, showing remarkable skill and courage.

Mr Jaswant Singh spoke to the Pakistani Foreign Minister and pleaded with him to prevent the aircraft from taking off again. But the Pakistanis would have nothing of it (they wanted to distance themselves from the hijacking so that they could claim later that there was no Pakistan connection) and wanted IC 814 off their soil and out of their airspace as soon as possible. So, they refuelled the aircraft after which the hijackers forced the pilot to head for Dubai.

At Dubai, too, officials were reluctant to allow the aircraft to land. It required all the persuasive skills of Mr Jaswant Singh and our then Ambassador to UAE, Mr KC Singh, to secure landing permission. There was some negotiation with the hijackers through UAE officials and they allowed 13 women and 11 children to disembark. Rupin Katyal had by then bled to death. His body was offloaded. His widow remained a hostage till the end.

On the morning of December 25, the aircraft left Dubai and headed towards Afghanistan. It landed at Kandahar Airport, which had one serviceable runway, a sort of ATC and a couple of shanties. The rest of the airport was in a shambles, without power and water supply, a trophy commemorating the Taliban’s rule.

On Christmas eve, after news of the hijacking broke, there was stunned all-round silence. But by noon on December 25, orchestrated protests outside the Prime Minister’s residence began, with women beating their chests and tearing their clothes. The crowd swelled by the hour as the day progressed.

Ms Brinda Karat came to commiserate with the relatives of the hostages who were camping outside the main gate of 7, Race Course Road. In fact, she became a regular visitor over the next few days. There was a steady clamour that the Government should pay any price to bring the hostages back home, safe and sound. This continued till December 30.

One evening, the Prime Minister asked his staff to let the families come in so that they could be told about the Government’s efforts to secure the hostages’ release. By then negotiations had begun and Mullah Omar had got into the act through his ‘Foreign Minister’, Muttavakil. The hijackers wanted 36 terrorists, held in various Indian jails, to be freed or else they would blow up the aircraft with the hostages.

No senior Minister in the CCS was willing to meet the families. Mr Jaswant Singh volunteered to do so. He asked me to accompany him to the canopy under which the families had gathered. Once there, we were literally mobbed. He tried to explain the situation but was shouted down. 

“We want our relatives back. What difference does it make to us what you have to give the hijackers?” a man shouted. “We don’t care if you have to give away Kashmir,” a woman screamed and others took up the refrain, chanting: “Kashmir de do, kuchh bhi de do, hamare logon ko ghar wapas lao.” Another woman sobbed, “Mera beta… hai mera beta…” and made a great show of fainting of grief. 

To his credit, Mr Jaswant Singh made bold to suggest that the Government had to keep the nation’s interest in mind, that we could not be seen to be giving in to the hijackers, or words to that effect, in chaste Hindi. That fetched him abuse and rebuke. “Bhaand me jaaye desh aur bhaand me jaaye desh ka hit. (To hell with the country and national interest),” many in the crowd shouted back. Stumped by the response, Mr Jaswant Singh could merely promise that the Government would do everything possible. 


I do not remember the exact date, but sometime during the crisis, Mr Jaswant Singh was asked to hold a Press conference to brief the media. While the briefing was on at the Press Information Bureau hall in Shastri Bhavan, some families of the hostages barged in and started shouting slogans. They were led by one Sanjiv Chibber, who, I was later told, was a ‘noted surgeon’: He claimed six of his relatives were among the hostages.

Dr Chibber wanted all 36 terrorists named by the hijackers to be released immediately. He reminded everybody in the hall that in the past terrorists had been released from prison to secure the freedom of Ms Rubayya Sayeed, daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, while he was Home Minister in VP Singh’s Government. “Why can’t you release the terrorists now when our relatives are being held hostage?” he demanded. And then we heard the familiar refrain: “Give away Kashmir, give them anything they want, we don’t give a damn.”

On another evening, there was a surprise visitor at the PMO: The widow of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, whose plane was shot down during the Kargil war. She insisted that she should be taken to meet the relatives of the hostages. At Race Course Road, she spoke to mediapersons and the hostages’ relatives, explaining why India must not be seen giving in to the hijackers, that it was a question of national honour, and gave her own example of fortitude in the face of adversity.

“She has become a widow, now she wants others to become widows. Who is she to lecture us? Yeh kahan se aayi?” someone shouted from the crowd. Others heckled her. The young widow stood her ground, displaying great dignity and courage. As the mood turned increasingly ugly, she had to be led away. Similar appeals were made by others who had lost their sons, husbands and fathers in the Kargil war that summer. Col Virendra Thapar, whose son Lt Vijayant Thapar was martyred in the war, made a fervent appeal for people to stand united against the hijackers. It fell on deaf ears. 

The media made out that the overwhelming majority of Indians were with the relatives of the hostages and shared their view that no price was too big to secure the hostages’ freedom. The Congress kept on slyly insisting, “We are with the Government and will support whatever it does for a resolution of the crisis and to ensure the safety of the hostages. But the Government must explain its failure.” Harkishen Singh Surjeet and other Opposition politicians issued similar ambiguous statements.

By December 28, the Government’s negotiators had struck a deal with the hijackers: They would free the hostages in exchange of three dreaded terrorists — Maulana Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Ahmed Omar Sheikh — facing various charges of terrorism.

The CCS met frequently, several times a day, and discussed the entire process threadbare. The Home Minister, the Defence Minister and the Foreign Minister, apart from the National Security Adviser and the Prime Minister, were present at every meeting. The deal was further fine-tuned, the Home Ministry completed the necessary paper work, and two Indian Airlines aircraft were placed on standby to ferry the terrorists to Kandahar and fetch the hostages.

On December 31, the two aircraft left Delhi airport early in the morning. Mr Jaswant Singh was on board one of them. Did his ministerial colleagues know that he would travel to Kandahar? More important, was the Prime Minister aware of it? The answer is both yes and no.

Mr Jaswant Singh had mentioned his decision to go to Kandahar to personally oversee the release of hostages and to ensure there was no last-minute problem. He was honour-bound to do so, he is believed to have said, since he had promised the relatives of the hostages that no harm would come their way. It is possible that nobody thought he was serious about his plan. It is equally possible that others turned on him when the ‘popular mood’ and the Congress turned against the Government for its ‘abject surrender’.

On New Year’s eve, the hostages were flown back to Delhi. By New Year’s day, the Government was under attack for giving in to the hijackers’ demand! Since then, this ‘shameful surrender’ is held against the NDA and Mr Jaswant Singh is painted as the villain of the piece.

Could the Kandahar episode have ended any other way? Were an Indian aircraft to be hijacked again, would we respond any differently? Not really. As a nation we do not have the guts to stand up to terrorism. We cannot take hits and suffer casualties. We start counting our dead even before a battle has been won or lost. We make a great show of honouring those who die on the battlefield and lionise brave hearts of history, but we do not want our children to follow in their footsteps.

We are, if truth be told, a nation of cowards who don’t have the courage to admit their weakness but are happy to blame a well-meaning politician who, perhaps, takes his regimental motto of ‘Izzat aur Iqbal’ rather too seriously. http://www.dailypioneer.com/DisplayContent.aspx?ContentID=145600&URLName=The-truth-behind-Kandahar

 Minority legislator speaks up on kidnappings, conversions  

By By Imtiaz Ali (News International, April 9, 2009)

Karachi

Increasing incidents of kidnapping of Hindu community members and “conversion” have caused concern in Sindh. Approximately 30 to 35 minority members had been kidnapped; one of them was killed. Seven are still believed to be in the custody of abductors. Around 18 Hindu girls had been converted to Islam; one of them was reportedly killed this year.

Some say that these incidents should not be seen in isolation and should be viewed as part of the general law and order problem. Similarly, girls have increasingly shown a tendency to marry with their consent.

Others say there is a plot against the minority members who are being targeted for various reasons. Of particular concern is the alleged blasphemy case in Umerkot, which had remained closed for a few days recently following violent protests. Sindh Home Minister Zulfikar Mirza was of the view that there was a conspiracy to grab the property and business of the Hindu community.

These issues were also highlighted during the last days of parliamentary year of the Sindh Assembly by the Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarian (PPP-P) minority legislator, Pitanbar Sewani.

Sewani was born in Bagarji, Sukkur, in 1953 and has been associated with the PPP since 1974. Starting from his political career as a member of district council Shikarpur in 1979, he had been elected as a member of the provincial legislature twice. He is among three senior legislators of the minority community. Two others were late P.K Shahani and Rana Chander Singh. One striking aspect of his personality is that he prefers a simple lifestyle. He spoke to The News about these issues.

KIDNAPPINGS: Three Hindus were kidnapped in Salih Pat. The kidnappers demanded Rs1.5 million as ransom. When the relatives sold their property to pay the ransom money, the abductors increased the original amount to Rs2.5 million. As the poor relatives were not in a position to pay the ransom, the abductors killed Mahender Kumar on the Hindus’ religious festival (Holi) recently “as if to present a ‘gift’ to us,” Sewani said. Two were still in their custody.

On the same day on which Kumar was killed, the criminals kidnapped three more Hindus in Ghotki. “The home minister personally visited the area and we hope that they would be recovered,” Sewani said.

The robbers gunned down Dr Darshan Lal in Larkana and snatched Rs2.4 million from him. The police made some arrests in the case but showed only Rs16,000 as recovery from the accused.

In this year, around 30 to 35 Hindus had been kidnapped, out of them seven were still in the custody of criminals. Among them is PPP-P district Jacobabad minority wing President Darshan Lal. Apart from kidnappings, robberies had also been increased, targeting the Hindus. The robbers stormed a temple in Jacobabad and snatched 450 “tolas” gold from 250 women. The police made some arrests but had shown recovery of only 10 to 15 Tolas gold.

Criminals stormed another temple in Daharki and robbed people. In the third incident, robbers stormed a temple in Ghotki and robbed people. However, the then district police officer (DPO) Irfan Baloch made arrests and recovered each and everything, which was appreciable. This is first time that the religious places had been robbed.

The minority community’s houses have also been looted. The robbers entered Natho Mal’s house in Sakrand city and took away Rs1.4 million. The police made arrests but had shown recovery of Rs500,000 to Rs600,000 only. In Shikarpur, a Panchayat leader’s (Mukhi) house was looted.

RELIGIOUS CONVERSION: Around 18 Hindu girls had been kidnapped and “converted” this year. Some of the events might be the result of love affairS. “We do not have objections over their becoming Muslims but we have objections over the method through which they had been ‘converted’,” Sewani said.

“First they kidnap the girl, marry her and subsequently she is presented before the court. We demand that first, the girl should be kept at a ‘neutral place’ then it should be decided as to whether she had been converted. How we would be convinced that she had not been converted under duress as there are incidents that girls were kidnapped for ulterior motives. One Hindu girl who was reportedly converted and married in Sukkur, was thrown from the third floor of the building on Eid-ul-Azha day and died. Her husband was arrested but later released on bail,” he said.

PLOT: The Hindu community in Pakistan was first targeted in 1972-73 when their women were insulted in Kandhkot under a conspiracy. It inspired Amar Jalil to write a short story on it. Subsequently, a pattern was set that whenever the PPP comes in power, the minority members are targeted as it is the only party, which strives to improve the condition of minorities and empower them, Sewani said. Certain elements want the government in Sindh to fail, and they target Hindus who are loyal to the party, he maintained.

When the PPP came in power in 1988, around 19 Hindus were killed in Karachi and their property was looted. When the PPP assumed power in 2008, Jagdesh, a factory worker was killed over alleged blasphemy. Hindus were targeted on their religious festival (Holi) in Umerkot and the home minister on the Sindh Assembly floor said there was conspiracy against the minority.

 

http://www.hinducurrents.com/articles/16525/

Barbarians at the gate

Kanchan Gupta Sunday, February 22, 2009 (Pioneer)

There is sufficient reason to be worried about the gutless civilian Government in Pakistan abjectly capitulating to the Islamic fanatics of Swat Valley who have prohibited girls from attending school, ordered women to stay at home, instructed parents to give their daughters as ‘wives’ to the Taliban, begun flogging men in public squares, and will soon replace popular entertainment by way of films and music with stoning victims of rape to death in bazaars. With the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi — never mind that we are talking about the Pakistani variety of Mullah Omar’s masked Afghan killers — virtually coming to power in Malakand division of North-West Frontier Province, reducing the secular ANP Government to no more than a nominal ‘authority’ forced to do Islamabad’s bidding, it’s only a matter of time before the geographic expanse of ‘Jihadistan’ increases to consume large chunks of what remains of Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s moth-eaten Pakistan.

It’s really of little or no relevance that last week’s ‘peace deal’ hinges on the imposition of ‘Nizam-e-Adl’, or shari’ah criminal law: Malakand won’t be the only place in the world where limbs will be chopped off for petty offences or women done to death for the crimes of men. Nor should we be unduly impressed by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s description of the Taliban as “murderous thugs and militants” who “pose a danger to Pakistan, the US and India”. Surely he hasn’t forgotten that it was Benazir Bhutto who connived with the ISI to promote the Taliban, nor should he pretend to be ignorant of the fact that it was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who aggressively preached “Islam is the solution, the Islamic Bomb is the means”. Having sent Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to the gallows, Gen Zia-ul-Haq could not but have aggressively pushed Islamism and its attendant evils. The poison fruit is now for the PPP and the people of Pakistan to relish.

Mr Arun Jaitley of the BJP was not being facetious when he said that the Taliban are a mere five hours away from India. Parliament may have missed the point and the Prime Minister’s flatterers may be upset that he should have compared the absentee head of Government as a ‘night watchman’, but it would be outright stupid to ignore the fact that the barbarians are at the gate. Let us also bear in mind that the Deobandi madarsas which produced the taliban who then went on to become the Taliban — in Pakistan and Afghanistan — are not entirely dissimilar to the madarsas which have mushroomed across the length and breadth of India, nurtured by both mullahs and their patrons in the ‘secular’ political parties, of which the Congress is just one example.

Let it also be said that the ‘intolerance’ of the Taliban which so alarms us is not specific to the ‘murderous thugs’ of Swat Valley and Kandahar. We have seen dissident Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen being hounded out of Kolkata by Islamic fanatics and forced to leave India by the ‘secular’ UPA Government which now wrings its hands and waxes eloquent on the dangers of the rise of Talibani fanaticism. If only such concern had been expressed over the editor and publisher of The Statesman being arrested for reproducing a scintillating article from The Independent, written by Johann Hari, Mr Anand Sharma’s vapid reaction to the fall of Swat Valley would have carried some conviction. If Pakistan is now paying a steep price for its duplicitous policy of using violent Islamism to further its strategic interests in Afghanistan and bleed India through a ‘thousand cuts’, we too shall pay a price for following a line of least resistance and legitimising appeasement by grafting what the Prime Minister described as “Muslims first” to the policies of an allegedly secular state.

There are other similarities which make India as vulnerable as Pakistan to the scourge of Taliban. For all its emphasis on subjugating the country to the supremacy of Islam, of being one with the ummah, and its repeated proclamation of the equality of Muslims, Pakistan has abysmally failed to deliver good governance. Elected Prime Ministers and military dictators have equally fleeced the country, pushed the masses deeper into poverty, made a mockery of the judicial system, and maintained a dissolute elite’s hegemony over Pakistan’s politics, economy and society. Islamism was once a useful means to distract the masses and silence critics. Islamism now has become a powerful tool to mobilise the masses against the elite. Real grievances and imagined victimhood have coalesced to create a fetid swamp that breeds the deadliest of germs, of which the Taliban is a particularly venomous species.

Cut to India. The vast Muslim underclass remains unaffected and untouched by the Prime Minister’s “Muslims first” creed. While Mr Manmohan Singh spends sleepless nights agonising over the plight of those suspected to be involved in jihadi terrorism, millions of Muslims spend sleepless nights — as do millions of Hindus — wondering where their next meal is going to come from. When the Government decides to reward the families of slain jihadis, it sends out a loud message to Muslims: Take up the gun, die in action, ensure a better life for your families. By casting aspersions on Delhi Police and accusing them of killing ‘innocent’ Muslims, the Prime Minister’s Cabinet colleagues encourage moderates to turn extremists. When madarsas are euologised and Saraswati Sishu Mandir schools are relentlessly demonised, the ulema feel sufficiently emboldened to include hate in their teachings. When the Government slyly allows the setting up of qazi courts, which dispense justice according to shari’ah, and lets them function without so much as a whimper of protest, it tells Muslims that India’s secular justice system is incapable of protecting their interests. When a wholly illegitimate All-India Muslim Personal Law Board is allowed to dictate how Muslims should run their personal lives, the state abdicates its responsibility to its citizens. As in Pakistan, here too the Government has come to believe that Islam is a substitute for jobs, housing and health services. Azamgarh to Alappuzha, Dibrugarh to Dharwad, a fetid swamp similar to that of Pakistan’s is spreading; the ‘Indian Mujahideen’ are the produce of this swamp.

The distance between Swat Valley and Islamabad is 160 km. Jamia Nagar is in Delhi.

kanchangupta@rocketmail.com

 

http://dailypioneer.com/157991/Barbarians-at-the-gate.html

Barbarians at the gate, are we ready?

 

Colonel Anil Athale (retd)

 

February 19, 2009

 

The recent surrender by the Pakistani State to the Taliban  in the Swat valley may well turn out to be a watershed in the history of the Indian subcontinent. In terms of long-term impact, this may even overshadow the recent Mumbai  massacres. All signs point to the 'Talibanisation' of Pakistan. Here are several pointers:

• I A Rehman writing in the Dawn newspaper on February 12 says 'the Pakistani armed forces were indoctrinated in General Zia-ul Haq's rule to reserve senior posts for genuine Islamists. The Pakistan army may have the capacity to kill hordes of people, but it will not -- and cannot -- do that.' The army and the State may well disintegrate if it does.
• General Ashfaq Kayani, son of a former soldier, is the first non-elite chief of the Pakistani army. Given his socio-economic background, he is more likely to be part of the 'natural' constituency of the Taliban.
• We have the example of Iran -- on February 11, 1979, when the mass upsurge to impose 'Islamic rule' reached its zenith, the Iranian army declared its 'neutrality' in the ongoing conflict. This sealed the fate of the Shah of Iran. A similar happening in Pakistan is very likely.
• Slumdog Jihadis: The Dawn on December 18, 2008, quoted the Pakistan Planning Commission's Deputy Chairman Sardar Asef Ahmad Ali that poverty had skyrocketed to above 40 per cent in the country, leaving millions helpless. It is these poor/unemployed/uneducated people that are cannon fodder for the jihadis. The interrogation of the lone surviving Mumbai terrorist Ajmal Kasab's  story fits the bill. There are such 48 million Ajmals waiting in Pakistan to be primed against India.

As a student of military history, I found it extraordinary that Indians were always blissfully unaware of developments in their neighbourhood. No ruler of Delhi ever woke up when the enemy crossed the Khyber Pass. The first stirrings of action were usually when the enemy was at the gates, at Panipat, just a day's march from Delhi.

Indians have been made to totally forget the holocaust that they faced in past; the name Hindukush itself means 'Hindu killer', a reminder of the days when thousands of Indians died on the mountain slopes while being taken to Central Asia as slaves.(the Encyclopaedia Britannica quoting a 12^th century traveller Ibn Batua).

 

Nearer our times, the 1981 UN declaration of Universal Human Rights writes; 'Among the genocides of human history, the highest number of people killed in the small span of time is in Bangladesh in 1971. An average of 6,000 to 12 000 people were killed every single day. This is the highest daily average in history.' The lower estimate shows that 15 lakh were killed, a majority of them Hindus. A commission of inquiry appointed by the Pakistan government, the Hamidoor Rehman Commission, has recorded testimonies of Pakistani army officers who have quoted General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi asking the question 'How many Hindus have you killed today?' as a matter of routine. We have forgotten this recent episode as well.

 

Demography is destiny

 

Pakistan has a very high rate of population growth. Although it has declined from three percent at the time of the census in 1981 to the present 1.9 per cent it is still the highest among populous countries of more than 50 million, except Nigeria. The more reliable indicator of population growth is the total fertility rate -- the number of children born to a woman in her reproductive span. Pakistan's TFR is four. A TFR of 2.1 is considered replacement level which leads to a stable population.

 

In Pakistan, the under-15 population is 37 per cent of the total. Given the poor education, health and skills of this youth, they are fodder for jihad and little else. With the mullahs constantly drumming that all of Pakistan's ills are due to the evil Hindu India/Zionist Israel/Christian America troika, Pakistan's biggest export for a long time is likely to be terror.

If by some miracle, Pakistan is to implement population control tomorrow, it will take two to three decades for it to take effect. Even if the re-brainwashing was to begin now, again it is bound to take time. The sad fact is that neither of these things is happening either tomorrow or any time soon.

 

Impact of the economic meltdown

 

For decades over 25 percent of the Pakistani labour force was employed in the oil-rich Middle East. With the economic downturn and lower oil prices, the boom is over. The Dubai shopping festival was a flop this year. The returning labour force will only add to the unemployment in the country.

 

In any case, Pakistan has very little industry and its agriculture is confined to Punjab and parts of Sindh. Most of the country's landmass is arid and unfit for agriculture. Rural poverty will gallop in the near future.

 

Ripe for implosion

 

The politics of extremism as represented by the Taliban, the economic meltdown and demographic pressure all point to a major implosion in Pakistan. Are we ready for the fallout?

 

Despite this threat staring in our face there is a palpable lack of national unity -- another Indian trait. In the last four years, we have let our defence apparatus go to seed, so much so that we have lost the conventional edge over Pakistan.

 

Given this situation the only option for India is to 'isolate and contain' Pakistan. That still leaves the million dollar question about Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Here one hopes that all those joint exercise with special forces of the US, UK, Israel, China and Russia were in preparation for this very contingency.

 

If not, then God save the world!

 

Colonel Dr Anil Athale (retd) is a former joint director, war studies, ministry of defence, and co-ordinator of the Pune-based Initiative for Peace and Disarmament.

 

http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/feb/19barbarians-at-the-gate-are-we-ready.htm

 

Reclaiming India and Pakistan. Just imagine, pre-islamism, Sanatana Dharma territory.

Reclaiming India, India"s History and Heritage

By: Subroto Gangopadhyay
Feb-10-2009

(The author is a practising physician and an adherent of Sanatan Dharma)

The attacks on Mumbai are reminiscent of the first Arab incursions, by sea between 634 and 637 AD through Thana, Broach and Debal. These were repulsed and led to incursions through land routes in the Northwest between 650-711 AD. Muhammad Bin Qasim finally succeeded in occupying parts of Sindh in 712 AD. In contrast to the 70 years it took to occupy Sindh in face of Hindu resistance, the Islamic armies had conquered Persia, Syria, Egypt within eight years of the Prophet"s death. North Africa was taken between 640 AD and 709 AD with Spain falling in 711 AD. Thus the entry of Islam into Hindu India which now has broken into a Muslim Pakistan, a Muslim Bangladesh and a Muslim Afghanistan faced more resistance than its triumphant march elsewhere. When Christian Europe finally won against Islam, they did not leave growing colonies within, to repopulate and create new Islamic nations. Arabs, no longer need attack India. The Muslim descendents of the Hindus, at least in Pakistan and Bangladesh, having severed themselves from their roots and heritage, find greater commonality with Arabic language, customs and religion. The idea of roots, state, civilization or cultural heritage are super ceded by the common ground of Islam.

Islam, does not recognize the idea of sovereignty of state or the concept of individual free will guiding individual choice –whether towards lifestyle or to one"s spiritual path. All Semitic faiths speak of a single God, but clearly not the same one, as each claims an exclusive covenant and an exclusive revelation through an exclusive prophet and salvation through the individual agency representing the religion. Thus if all were true then there must be three equal Gods or if only one were true then there is one true God and two other false Gods with two false creeds and two false institutions. If all were false, the idea of God must be difficult to sustain for the majority of the world and these religions must find a separate mission than offer salvation -invited or uninvited. Of the three great faiths one must admit that the modern Jewish faith does not directly negate
others and does not indulge in the task of conversions overtly and covertly and therefore intrinsically seeks no conflict -only the right of self existence. The Hindus seek peaceful self existence but differ from all, in laying no claim to a unique covenant or a unique
relationship with their own particular God. They further believe in self inquiry, the right to- differ, question, criticize, adopt or reject any particular aspect or tenet of spiritual life. Faith is welcome but not necessary and lack of faith or criticism does not call for execution. No conversions are needed as spiritual life does not mandate membership in an exclusive creed. State has no spiritual responsibility. The spiritual path at the beginning calls for personal purity and righteousness, with non violence and harmlessness to all- and evolves finally towards individual spiritual inquiry leading to
enlightenment or realization -of the nature of God. Venerable Prophets are many, within and outside India, who can be guides but are not necessarily needed. Being reflections of the Divine through the human form they are exalted beings but may have human  limitations or imperfection at times. There is no Hindu Umma, Dar al Hind and Dar al
Harb and there are no Momins and Kafirs. No Ghazis are required to wield swords to decapitate heads of Kafirs to reap rewards in an indulgent Zannat to please the one God. For Hindus- property, life and women of Non Hindus, are not subject to enjoyment, destruction, enslavement and confiscation as per scriptural guidelines. Places of worship where others worship are not special targets of wrathful destruction. Hindus have largely chosen to accept, ignore, negate and justify their suffering, believing that tolerance and patience would certainly be rewarded in the long run by dawning of reason among those
who have brutalized India for about ten centuries. Large scale negation has been supplemented by outright falsification of the scale of atrocities on part of Islamic invaders. Indians have also submitted to more subtle but equally pernicious civilizational and spiritual subversion along with economic destruction by the Christian West. Purposeful erosion of the Hindu culture (Kul-achar) and ethos, was ensured, post Independence by the Congress-Communist nexus, under the cloak of secularism. This destruction continues unabated today.

 

Political empowerment of minorities is yet to occur in Europe and North America while in Islamic countries systematic cleansing has reduced minorities to near extinction almost everywhere. Indian congress, communists, secularists and Human right activists have not
bothered themselves with the Hindu victims of Islam or Christianity. They have built their credibility among foreigners and anti- Hindu faiths by sabotaging the ideal of India"s Nationhood based on Sanatan Dharma.

The idea of a tolerant Islamic State (for Non Muslims) is a contradiction in terms. For Christianity, state and religion, have historically been symbiotic entities -one thriving on the expansion of the other, each empowering the other. State was certainly the vehicle
for Christianity" s spread and eventual conquest of Europe rendering extinct all indigenous forms of spirituality and culture, from Greece to Lithuania beginning from Italy. For Islam, conquest of Arabia wiped out millennia of pre-Islamic Arabic history and culture. Persia and Egypt did not fare better. State as an entity, is subservient to Islam
and is merely its tool for expansion. In Western Europe and more prominently in America, while the pursuit of an individual religion is not interfered with but political empowerment of minority faiths other than Judaism is not even entertained as an idea in political or social discourse .The idea of Hindutva, Hindu fundamentalism are not merely
illogical concepts but are carefully crafted themes to empower the exclusivist faiths who battle today for the soul and soil of India.

There is no state other than India, that has seen political empowerment of minority faiths to an extent that persecution of majority is no longer looked upon with surprise. The ethnic cleansing of 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus in Hindu majority India is ignored, while
communal riots in response the burning of Hindu pilgrims in Godhra is termed pogrom with international condemnation, humiliation, and enquiry commissions whose findings contradict the charge of genocide due to state complicity or permissiveness. This of course cannot satiate the Indian media"s Hindu bloodlust. India"s English media,
human rights activists, television and it"s ruling Cabal reflect a coalition of Christians, Communists, Moslems, Western educated McCaulayites and foreign agents who live on the crumbs from middle east or the West. The zenith of one"s recognition in politics,
academia, art , media, or intellectual circles is related to the degree of virulence one is able to muster against the Hindu and the culture of his forefathers. Regrettably, the defense of majority Hindus in their own land is at the hands of parties like BJP, whose
apologetic conviction of their own heritage offers little hope. Their need for eulogies from the nation"s enemies is only matched by their gutlessness, lack of vision for their nation, colossal lack of cohesive planning and the spinelessness of political opportunism.

How about the spiritual foundation? the very reason why the Hindu has not given up his identity through millennia of occupation. India"s conquest to a large extent was due to loss of Dharma. Dharma as it relates to individual action guides the individual towards his larger sphere of responsibility towards family, community, nation, environment, and world at large. It is not merely individual salvation that religion should contract to, but it must exhort the individual to righteous and courageous action to uphold eternal values enjoined in Sanatan Dharma. Hindu spiritual leaders have miserably failed to exhort Hindus to the highest ideals of civic or community life and have forgotten the entire notion of Rashtra Dharma. Creating competing cults and creeds for self promotion, ritualistic worship or individual salvation without fulfilling all aspects of one"s Dharma is the foundational deficit that is once again propelling India into subjugation by Asuric forces. India"s multitude of temple goers and professional priests can no longer understand the ethos that had decreed motherland to be more exalted than the heavens. Therefore, the ritualistic, cult based, habit reinforced and temple oriented Hindu today is oblivious of the environment he lives in. The insularity of ritualistic behavior has degraded a deep worship tradition to "customary practice" severing philosophic continuity with our children - while outsiders have hardly been subtle in their contempt. For almost a thousand years jeering Islamic armies destroyed temples telling the Hindus that their Gods were mere idols who could not protect themselves, while the Hindu kept rebuilding his temples. The mosque built by the genocidal Babur was no mosque but merely a usurped temple that the weak Hindu finally used his bare hands to bring down
-but to what dramatic disbelief, condemnation and outrage -that a servile Hindu could do this! None bothered that a place of worship was named after a genocidal monarch - for it is but natural for Islam to honor its Ghazis. To protect Babur"s monument (though no Islamic scholar claimed it to be a true mosque) seemed to be a national obsession for the liberal Indian, for it to be brought down a national shame? Can such a country survive its citizenry? Is there a Church in Poland named after Hitler (a faithful) or for that matter, one in Rome after Constantine or Theodosius?

Finally one must come to the intellectual elite of India. The intellectual leaders of India are no longer creative, natural thinkers in indigenous languages but are brilliant products and protagonists of Western Education. One would be hard put to find an Indian thought
leader today who reads or writes in a language other than English. The Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Greeks, Germans, Spaniards, Mexicans or Egyptians do not have "English" intellectual Elite. These countries do no obsess themselves with intellectuals adorned with Booker prizes or Oscars for denigrating their countries. Their leading newspapers, media, or academic institutions do not have to use English to be well
regarded. It is perfectly cute to have the Chinese Premier shake his head at the US President and exchange pleasantries through an interpreter while it is not for the Indian savage to do the same. Indian parents regard education in English and higher studies in the English speaking West to be the highest form of academic achievement. It is a natural consequence to imbibe the English based knowledge systems and discard the vast indigenous intellectual wealth, available in Sanskrit and other indigenous literature. Thus the first rung of our civilization -the intellectual Indian has been simply de-indigenized. Validated by economic success and access to leadership positions this Indian intellectual leadership is Indian only in appearance -in character it represents colonial continuity. It is
virulently anti -Hindu and seeks not to be identified with Hindutva . Why else is "Hindu Tattva" or the essence of being a Hindu a dirty word while "being a good Christian" - a claim to value. Is it not the Hindu seer who gave the world Numbers and Counting, Astronomy, Music, Grammar, Yoga and Ayurveda besides Philosophy and the first glimpse of God ? What knowledge streams did the Prophets from the Monotheistic
faiths bequeath to the world ? India"s English media and its English Children have turned the Hindu into a despicable, backward and intolerable heathen, who is now violent as well. To unleash violence outside one"s borders on alien lands is natural as long as the
perpetrators are Christians or Moslems but to defend oneself and one"s faith within one"s own borders is fundamentalism in case of the Hindu. When the Christians or Moslems disallow proselytization or conversion it is the natural inclination to preserve one"s identity but for the Hindu to take such a view would be unacceptable bigotry. Barring
exceptions, India"s intellectual elite today is India"s most pernicious enemy - an elite reared on the subsidized state sponsored education funded by the toiling Hindu.

One must end with a discussion on solutions. As a first measure the Hindu majority of India must find its voice and aspiration reflected in the media. It must not support an anti India media through viewership, audience, subscription or advertisement revenue in any
form. India must demand a media free of foreign ownership or revenue based influence. Indians must control their media. Equally important for Indians is to elect a leadership that to start with is not anti-India. Needless to say, any leadership that is anti- Hindu is
anti-majority and by definition, anti-India. They cannot be at the helm of the country. Therefore, the UPA, its adherents and its supporting parties must be defeated and discarded into political oblivion. Marxism is welcome as part of academic discourse but its anti-national and anti-majority views do not permit it to be a legitimate political body . Marxist organizations and political parties need to be outlawed. The nexus of criminals and politicians has to be broken by a strengthened judiciary and ruthless imposition of law. A criminalized democracy manipulated by feudal families, foreigners, anti India and anti Hindu agencies is worse than an undemocratic, but ethical administration. India of the past has done far better under Vikramaditya or Chandragupta. The academic institutions of India starting from at its schools need to be entirely revamped. Study of its indigenous languages, knowledge streams, and its classical history from indigenous sources must be mandatory for all, but most of all for its political leadership and administration, as a prerequisite for electoral contest or administration. Anti India
academicians cannot have any public funding sources towards salary, research and publications and media presentations offending Hindu sentiments should not be tolerated. India"s 1.2 billion people and 1 billion Hindus must be what they want to be, not what others manipulate them to be -in this respect they must learn from China. Minorityism in the form of appeasement, selective economic aid, reservation, media propagation and political empowerment for votes, must be eliminated without any compunction -Hindu"s who have chosen to adopt foreign religions have no basis for special consideration,
though they remain free to practice their faith in private. Political action or activism that promotes sedition or violence must be met with violence and eliminated ruthlessly. Hindus should not be supportive of any Hindu religious institution, cult, temple or spiritual leaders who remain disconnected from the concept of a nationalism based on Sanatan Dharma .There cannot be any spiritual path divorced from Dharma in its
broadest sense .To support such self serving Hindu institutions and spiritual leaders is a folly as well. The intellectual leadership of India must be reconstructed and realigned to be steeped in its historical traditions that have always reflected a combination of value systems - a search for discriminatory wisdom, simple living, cultivation of Dharma combined with a sense of honor and valor. Meekness, avoidance of responsibility, search for self gratification and success should not be lauded but are worthy of rejection and
derision. India cannot honor those who dishonor it. Leaders in politics, academia, media, corporate world, arts, sciences or spiritual domain must not be honored anymore for being Anti-Hindu. If Tasleema Nasreen cannot be given asylum in India for offending
sensibilities of Muslims, on what grounds does one have to tolerate the likes of Arundhati Roy, M F Hussain, Jayalalitha , Brinda Karat, Karan Thapar, Shabana Azmi, Agnivesh or AR Antulay?

Hindu majority India managed to lose power and suffer enslavement, decapitation, conversion, jiziya, dhimmitude, and famines apart from annihilation of its identity for over a thousand years. Its current course shows no memory of this experience. All Hindus must act now, through forging a common Hindu identity and must express this identity
through a Hindu vote for a Hindu India - a Muslim India or a Christian India cannot be a pluralistic tolerant India. Let Islam and Christianity demonstrate this first in the lands they control. Let the US elect a non Christian Governor or President and let Indonesia or
Pakistan have a Hindu President first. Let rest of the world demonstrate its equality to the Hindu .The Hindu must protect himself first, to deliver humanity. While India as a nation state should stand for equality for all its citizens and proclaim all life to be sacred as decreed by Sanatan Dharma - it must let its external enemies know, that the future theatres of war would be on their soil and the rites of war would be one that they inflict on others.

Subroto Gangopadhyay

 

http://www.blogs. ivarta.com/ Reclaiming- India-Indian- History-Heritage /blog-249. htm

The new normal in Pakistan

Rafia Zakaria , The Hindu, 10 Feb. 2009

Lulled into catatonia by pervasive helplessness, Pakistanis can do little except deny that violence exists or stubbornly insist that even if it does, it means little.

— Photo: AFP
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/10/images/2009021054801101.jpg
Officials estimate that the Taliban has either burnt down or blown up more than 140 educational institutions in the past two years. The picture shows students outside a school after it was destroyed in the Kundar village of Swat Valley.

A small bomb blast does not make the headlines in Karachi anymore. The ensuing dialogue is always followed by the same question: how many killed? One, two or even 10 does not merit a pause in the conversation, let alone a prayer for the departed. These stoic rejoinders are not limited to Karachi. Similar reactions punctuate news of bombings all over Pakistan, perhaps with even more pronounced restraint when the incidents take place in the tribal areas. Just as the news of a bomb blast is met with little incredulity, Pakistanis, confronted with an Islamist insurgency spanning into its third year, continue to insist that their daily lives remain unaffected by the upsurge in Islamist violence around the country. The twin symptoms, resignation and denial, are denominators of Pakistan's new 'normal' — defined as it is by violence so commonplace and insecurity so routine that it no longer registers shock or protest.

This redefinition of ordinary has not been gradual. Even a mere five years ago, the Taliban was an idea relegated to beyond the western border in Afghanistan, and tourists continued to swarm areas like Swat for summer vacations. Ski lifts were crowded and guesthouses remained full all season. The death of that Swat is now old news, no longer reported by journalists, either in Pakistan or abroad.

Yet the magnitude of violence and fear unleashed tells a story of how, in a short span of time, a population can be so vastly terrorised that it is rendered effectively mute. Officials estimate that the Taliban has either burnt down or blown up more than 140 educational institutions in the past two years, leaving nearly a million of the children without access to education. With nearly 30 per cent of the girls having withdrawn from schools and colleges anyway, the news of the announcement by Mullah Shah Doran, the Taliban's second in command, that all girls would be forbidden from attending school from January 15, 2008 was relegated to the inside pages of most newspapers.

If the girls in Swat are bearing the brunt of the Taliban campaign against education, the girls daring to go to school in the urban centre of Lahore are not spared either. The bomb squad in the city reported nearly 50 threats to various schools and colleges in the past few months. The threats were part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's effort to expand its activities into the cultural capital. As part of this campaign, nearly five "cultural blasts" took place on January 9, 2009 outside theatres which were accused of spreading immorality. The incidents were connected to blasts that took place in the city last year near the Al-Hamra Arts Centre and Garhi Shahu ice cream parlours. The last time the area was threatened, in the form of an anonymous letter written to Shabbir Labha, head of a local trader's organisation, the writer said the area would be bombed if the sale of pornographic CDs was not halted immediately. One day later, traders voluntarily burned 60,000 CDs in a pragmatic move to avert an attack on their market. This most recent "cultural blast," however, came without warning, costing millions of rupees in damage to the theatres.

Singular incidents such as these come and go, but their cumulative effect on the maimed psychology of people is far from being of "low intensity," the term used to describe the explosive used in the most recent Lahore attack. In the past year, Pakistan has overtaken both Iraq and Afghanistan in the number of suicide attacks, with casualties numbering over 600.

No category of targets — from schools to juice shops and from fancy hotels to barber shops — has been spared. The victims have been security officials, businessmen, poor trader women, shopkeepers and, of course, even former Prime Ministers. Television audiences have become used to watching clips of decapitated heads of suicide bombers, which are regularly made available to TV crews after attacks. Everyone knows that when a suicide bomber detonates his explosives, his head pops off and is usually found intact.

The visibility and constant onslaught of violence has a peculiar effect on those witnessing it. As the grasp of the insurgency widens, from the remote tribal areas always, relegated to the recesses of the Pakistani geographical imagination, to the streets of Karachi and even the cultural centre of Lahore, the world of the individual Pakistani constricts further and further. The web of concern and empathy, once expansive enough to encompass fellow countrymen, gets ever narrower, stretching only to include those in ever smaller circles. In contracting their radius of concern, Pakistanis look only to their near and dear, finding solace in the small group that may still remain untouched, and insulating themselves from the assassinated, the kidnapped, the looted and the threatened.

As a result, it is not just bomb blasts that merit little attention, empathy or protest from Pakistanis. Ever worsening crimes — from the live burial of five Balochi women by the relative of a Minister to the unleashing of dogs on a 17-year-old pregnant girl — prompt little mass protest other than by token women's groups and journalists. In a mental exercise engaged in only by the most traumatised, Pakistanis routinely slice their much taxed sympathy into those few that matter and the millions that don't. In the words of one Karachi-ite, "I look down, do my work, pick my children up from school and don't worry too much about what is happening. It's the only way I can survive here."

And then there are the moral conundrums permeated by violence that strategically attacks a set of confused ideological premises which have long plagued the moral conscience of Pakistanis. One area where this confusion is glaring is the regulation of cultural practices considered un-Islamic under the draconian Taliban rubric. It is thus not just the Taliban threats that have an impact on local populations but their reverberations. One example is the Lahore High Court's recent decision to ban 'mujra,' the age-old dance form practised in Lahore for nearly 400 years.

Following the ruling, the theatres where the dancers performed went on strike, prompting the court to reverse the ban and order the dancers to "wear shawls covering their necks and wear shoes." Necks and bare feet were considered too erotic, and hence impermissible. The moral of the story is clear: in a society unsure of the religious merit of its culture and unable to articulate the place of religion, all ills can be blamed on the guilty pleasures that can produce moral shame, and hence justify terror. In this case, the misogyny heaped on female entertainers and the guilt of those selling and consuming their product are effectively used to valorise even the terror produced by the Taliban. When those enjoyments relegated to the guilty recesses of consumption are attacked, their elimination, however crude, is painted as purification rather than denigration of society.

In the years and months since the Taliban insurgency has taken hold, its measure has been taken in lives lost and property damaged. Little effort has been made, however, to evaluate how the incursion of religious extremism has altered civil and social life in Pakistan. The indirect effects of the constriction of empathy, the tacit acceptance of insecurity and the self-imposed moral monism that is intolerant of all differences are effects that have a longer and much more drastic effect. This can already be seen in the muffled non-existence of civil society that can no longer organise or conceptualise a position on any political or legislative issue.

If Pakistan does not have a national, organised movement of civil society groups against terror, it is not because Pakistanis are not suffering. The conglomeration of a survivalist indifference, in which caring is reserved not for the larger world but for the chosen few of one's immediate circle, and the confusion of faith and its role as a moral regulator are ultimately giving birth to a new, more menacing definition of normalcy.

In a country where the population is inured to violence and has resigned itself to persecution, there can be little expectation of political organisation or representation beyond the most illusory. Lulled into catatonia by such pervasive helplessness,

Pakistanis can do little except deny that the violence exists, persecutes and targets them every single day, or stubbornly insist that even if it does, it means little and that life — simply if uncertainly — goes on just as before, with a new definition of normal.

Corrections and Clarifications

An article "The new normal in Pakistan" (Op-Ed, February 10, 2009) had the word "catatonia", in the blurb and text, leading to queries. It is a term in psychiatry that means the abnormality of movement and behaviour arising from a disturbed mental state (typically schizophrenia). It may involve repetitive or purposeless over activity, or catalepsy, resistance to passive movement and negativism. It is derived from Cata ("badly") and tonos ("tone or tension").

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/10/stories/2009021054801100.htm

 

Swamijis’ Mumbai meet for a new Hindu Renaissance

 

V SUNDARAM | Tue, 27 Jan, 2009 , 02:26 PM

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‘Hindus of India and the World unite! We have nothing to lose but our chains! We have to wage a heroic cultural and intellectual war against lethal International forces that have come together today to destroy Sanatana Dharma, Hindu Religion, Hindu Society and Hindu Culture! We have to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable   catalogue of anti-Hindu crime’—— Cultural and spiritual battle call of the unknown Hindu warrior.

Swami Satyamitranand Giri, Founder, Bharatmata Mandir M M Swami Hansdas, General Secretary, All India Sant Samiti, Mahant Gyandas, President, Akhara Parisha, Swami Paramatmanand Saraswathi, General Secretary, Acharya Maha Sabha,   Ashok Singhal, President, Vishva Hindu Parishad and K S Sudharshan, Sarasanghachalak, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have jointly issued an invitation on behalf of DHARMA RAKSHA MANCH, New Delhi, for an All India meeting of Hindu Swamijis, Hindu Saints, and Hindu Holymen at Mumbai on 28 January, 2009 and 29 January 2009.  Their Invitation reads like a heroic declaration for starting a culturally and spiritually aggressive National Movement for a new HINDU RENAISSANCE.  I am quoting below some excerpts from their Invitation, which can be viewed as a Hindu Manifesto for a New Hindu Renaissance and Hindu Transformation.

HOLINESS,
Humble Salutations at your holy feet!

‘Your learned-self is aware that today the world is under the unholy grip of violence, terrorism, clash of cultures, creeds and dogmas, and it hardly needs mention that the right equation to these problems could be found in the universal spiritual approach, Sanskaar (training in character formation) and holistic worldview of Bharat. The culture (Kulaachaar) of peace, goodwill and integral approach to life & living is the only alternative that can arrest the present evil ways of mankind. The world faced such situations earlier also and the holistic & altruistic consciousness of Bharat tackled it with its spiritual energy and light. By identifying ourselves with the traditions of our great masters from the Buddha to Vivekananda and Acharya Sankar to Acharya Tulsi, we can save the cultural glory of our country and our creative perspective of global fraternity. Our spiritual culture is going to face the most negative impact of marketisation of the world in the name of globalisation. All out efforts by market forces are on to give our Tyaaga, Vairaagya-based economy a consumerist turn. The electronic and the print media are out to infiltrate the market culture into our pro-family society. There are plots, schemes and plans galore to ruin our broad-spectrum perspective of ‘Mata Bhoomih, Putroham Prithivyaah’ (Earth is our Mother, We are Her Children) into rifts and gulfs of caste, religion, creed, sect, language, class, region, etc. The nationalistic sentiment of ‘Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargaadapi Gariyasi’ (Mother and Motherland are greater than Heaven) is getting lost into partisan muddle of political parties. We have to save the country from such a state of affairs. It is only the Dharmacharyas that can handle this challenge’.

‘All our icons and emblems of faith and certitude, e.g., the Teerthasthans (places of pilgrimage), Dharmacharyas, etc., are under aggression and the people in the corridors of power are more often than not behind such incidents directly or indirectly or sometimes they look the other way when such things happen. Even the elite, educated and prosperous people are getting proselytised to gain more creature comforts. Now in many provinces the demographic structure is changing due to proselytisation and the propensity for violence and destruction is increasing amongst the people of those states. The attraction for creature comforts is making us crazy and the consumerist culture to which we are getting addicted is giving rise to another kind of brutality. Now the Matrishakti (women power) – the symbol of divinity – is being projected just as a ‘thing’ and that is why the culture of continence and Sadhana are becoming things of the past from the lives of people. The unwanted or accidental birth of children is either adding to population explosion or encouraging sins like abortions. Now even in social relations, the indispensability of wealth has become an alternative for Dharma. Now all relations are being weighed on a scale of wealth. Cow is no longer the Mother. It is now only a milk, leather, beef and dung-providing animal. In the flow of the Ganga, no longer we see the sanctity of nature and the integrity of life. That has become only a sewer to carry the industrial waste and refuge of cities and towns to the sea. Terrorist attacks are taking place every other day. Fake notes are coming out of banks. Assassins like Dawood Ibrahim now appear as patriots to us, and Sant-Mahatmas like Sadhvi Pragya and Swami Amritananda are projected as terrorists. Venerable Sankaracharyas are being framed under murder charges. Don’t you think that these transitional situations are pointing towards a grand change? What should be the direction of that change, only the holy forces of the country can decide’.

Probably struck by such states of affairs, the former Jagadguru Sankaracharya Swami Satyamitranand Giriji Maharaj, while addressing the assembly of Holy forces of the country on November 16, 2008 at Panipat (Haryana), said that keeping in mind the gravity of the present situation it is the need of the hour that all the Sants from all Indic traditions should guide the society from a common platform and the whole country is looking upto them for guidance. All the Sants present not only heartily accepted this resolution but declared formation of a strong platform named ‘Dharma Raksha Manch’ (Dharma Protection Forum)’.

‘It is therefore urged upon you that let us all be active in order to save humanity and materialise the universal idea of global fraternity. Kindly formulate a well-studied strategy that can prove to be a positive turn in the history of humanity. It has, therefore, been decided to hold the first All India Meeting of Dharma Raksha Manch on January 28 & 29, 2009 (Wednesday & Thursday) at Mumbai’.

Swami Vivekananda said: ‘True human feelings, passions and emotions are indeed the gastric juices of the soul’.  According to the UPA government and all other equally anti-Hindu pseudo-secular governments, true feelings, passions and emotions of the Hindus of India in majority are totally irrelevant for creating a strong and united Indian Nation.  The Hindus of India acting in unison through their Swamijis, Sadhus and Saints are going to pose the following Historic Question at the Massive Hindu Meet at Mumbai starting tomorrow: ‘ARE WE HINDUS HELPLESS REFUGEES IN OUR OWN ANCESTRAL HOMELAND?’

Every Hindu is going to come out with this valiant declaration and Testament of Faith at Mumbai:

‘Let the word go forth from this time and place that we the Hindus of India can no longer by trifled with ‘political’ impunity by the forces of Nehruvian Sonia Gandhi Pseudo-Secularism, Menacing Marxism, Militant Islam and Proselytising Christianity. It is our inalienable, indivisible, inexorable and immutable birthright to demand the creation of a HINDU NATION. We are not ashamed or afraid of declaring from the housetop that we are proud to call ourselves Political Hindus, Cultural Hindus, Spiritual Hindus, Economic Hindus, Nationalist Hindus, Internationalist Hindus and above all Cosmopolitan Hindus. We have been forced to assert militantly on these lines because Sanatana Dharma, Hindu Religion, Hindu Society, Hindu culture and Hindu ethos are under the siege of certain lethal international (!) forces today. The whole of India is getting converted into a ‘Nazi Hitler Land’ of pseudo-secularism with a clearly defined and declared agenda for the decimation and destruction of Sanatana Dharma, Hindu Society and Hindu culture. In Nazi Germany, there was only one criminal gang consisting of one ‘Herr’ Hitler, one Goebbels, one Goering, one Ribbentrop, one Von Papen, and one Himmler. But in the wretched India of today, we have more than half a dozen similar gangsters in each political party, all united in their resolve to destroy all remnants of Sanatana Dharma and Hindu culture. We have come together at Mumbai to destroy these anti-National and anti-Hindu forces’.

We Hindus are not just a religious community like the Muslims and the Christians, but a NATION unto ourselves. Thanks to the politically motivated policy of Nehruvian Secularism, Hindus have become third class citizens in our own country. They are no longer the honoured citizens of our land. Like leprosy in British India, a permanent stigma seems to have stuck to the terms ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hinduism’ in today’s India. They have become terms of abuse in the mouth of that very elite which the dumb Hindu millions have raised to the pinnacle of power and prestige with their blood, toil, sweat and tears.

It is reliably understood that the Mumbai Meet will be focusing national Hindu attention on the following issues: 

1. Jihadi terrorism must be done away with.

2. Drive out Bangladeshi infiltrators.

3. There must be a Central Law to put an end to proselytisation of Hindus in the country through allurement, force, fraud, orchestrated miracles etc.

4. Efforts must be made to put an end to Western Cultural aggression on Bharat.  We must liberate Bharat from the stranglehold of Western Consumerism—a debauched wretched life of filthy lucre by filthy lucre for filthy lucre.

5. Central Laws must be passed to ensure preservation of Sri Ram Sethu and the construction of a grand temple to Sri Rama at his Birthplace of Ayodhya.

6.      Constitutional amendment must be effected to repeal Article 370 that encourages and legalises secessionism in Kashmir.

7. A simple Cow Protection Law must be enacted for protection of Cow and its progeny in the Holy land of Bharat.

8. A common Civil Code must be enacted for our Country and common Citizenry who already have a Common Criminal Code.

Dr Subramanian Swamy, the VEER HANUMAN who saved Rama Sethu from planned destruction by UPA RAVANA government last year has been invited to speak at the Mumbai Hindu Meet.  He has prepared a brilliant Hindu Manifesto titled FUNDAMENTALS OF HINDU AGENDA FOR POLITICAL ACTION.

For the Swamiji’s Meet taking place at Mumbai today (28-1-2009) and tomorrow (29-1-2009), Dr Subramanian Swamy has prepared a Hindu Manifesto titled ‘FUNDAMENTALS OF HINDU AGENDA FOR POLITICAL ACTION’. 

 

In my view this is going to be viewed as a very important document in the future evolution of a Hindu Nation. The Boat of Communism was launched into the uncharted sea by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) when they published their Communist Manifesto in 1848. Dr Subramanian Swamy has come out with his brilliant Hindu Manifesto launching the Ship of a New Hindu Nation in the swirling waters of an unknown ocean.

  

Let me deal with some of the main issues raised by Dr Subramanian Swamy in his Hindu Manifesto.

 

I.    Hinduism’s structural Limitation

 

The fundamental principle of Hinduism is that those who are Hindus are not regimented by theology to do or not to do something.  There is thus no ‘Church’ to obey, or believe that the ‘Pope’ is infallible, or that ‘Bible’ is the sole book to specify what to believe in and what not to.  Nor is there a Mecca, Kaaba, or Koran to goad the faithful into submission to commit violence against Kafirs and Dhimmis. Hindus instead have a framework of religious thought and philosophy that evolved as Sanatana Dharma, and within that framework, Hindus as individuals or groups are free to innovate and improvise their religious rituals.  That is why if one is a Hindu, it is natural to be of a democratic temper and to be secular in politics.

 

Because of this distinctiveness of Hinduism, millions of Hindus for example come to Kumbh Mela on their own, without a fatwa or invitation, peacefully and without guidance or dictation, perform their pujas and then depart.   It is purely voluntary even as the State does not provide any subsidy for travel expenses.

 

With this kind of widespread voluntary commitment of Hindus, seen not only in Kumbh Mela, but also in other occasions such as in Sabarimalai, Vaishno Devi, etc., can we feel secure that Hindus will unite to defend against sinister and violent threats that the religion may face?  We cannot be sure, because the Kumbh Mela spirit not only represents the innate strength of Hinduism, but also it’s main weakness.  That is, those who assemble at Kumbh Mela do it as an act of individual piety.  Hindus do not go to Kumbh Mela to be with other Hindus, but because they believe that their individual salvation lies in going there.  But collectively they lack the mindset that bonds Hindus in a virile unity.  Hence, patriotic Hindus should understand this structural limitation that the concept of individualism has induced in Hindu Dharma.  If we understand it, then we must try and rectify it, since Hinduism is being targeted today by terrorism, religious conversion, and minority appeasement and debasement in history texts.  It is worthy of notice that our spiritual leaders in the past have from time to time come forward to rectify this structural limitation, whenever the need arose e.g., as the Sringeri Shankaracharya did by founding the Vijayanagaram dynasty.

 

II.      Our Hindu History

 

Well before the birth of Christianity and Islam, Hindu religion had been once intellectually dethroned by Hinayana Buddhism.  But Adi Sankaracharya restored Hinduism through his famous Shastrathas [religious debate and reasoning based on Shastras] and caused a renaissance in Buddhism itself, which then came to be known as Mahayana Buddhism, conceptually in complete harmony with, if not indistinguishable from Hindu theology.  In south India, the Azhwars and Nayanmars also through shastrathas repositioned Hinduism after dethroning Jainism and Buddhism.  Since then the Hindu Dharmacharyas have always been looked up to when Hindu society faced a threat or crisis, for guidance to meet the challenge to the Hindu religion, Today, we again need the revered Acharyas to show us the way.

 

Militant Islam and later crusading Christianity had come to India, and aggressively challenged Hinduism.  Because we had not developed a Hindu mindset, they despite being much smaller numbers, seized power in sequence and established their own state in India. Hindus however remained steadfast in their individual commitment to their religion. Thus, despite state patronage to the ensuing onslaught, plunder and victimisation, for over a thousand years those of Hindu faith could not be decimated, and Hinduism remains the theology of the vast Indian majority.

 

Defiant Hindus suffered persecution and economic deprivation during Islamic and Christian reigns, such as through differential taxation [e.g., jezia and zamindari land revenue appropriation] and plain brutality, but Hindus by and large refused to capitulate and convert. Even after almost a thousand years of such targeting by Muslims and Christian rulers, undivided India in 1947 was more than 75% Hindu.

 

In 1947, temporal power was de facto restored to the Hindu majority. But the Indian state formally adopted secularism, which concept however was never properly defined or debated. For example, it left vague what an Indian’s connection was with the nation’s Hindu past and legacy. In the name of secularism, it was taboo for a public servant even to break a coconut or light an oil lamp to inaugurate an official function on the ground that religious symbols must not invade public life. Such orthodoxy was promoted by Jawaharlal Nehru and his Leftist advisers. The government took over supervision of temples, legislated on Hindu personal laws, and regulated religious festivals, but kept aloof from the Muslim and Christian religious affairs. The secularism principle was foisted on the Hindu masses without making them understand why they had to abide by legislation but not Muslims and Christians.

 

As a result, the renaissance that had begun in the late nineteenth century to redefine the Hindu identity [in contemporary terms and norms valid in a pluralistic society], was aborted by the confusion thus created in Hindu minds by a vaguely understood concept of secularism.

 

Electoral politics further confounded the Issues arising out of secularism, and hence the Indian society became gradually and increasingly fragmented in outlook and of confused perspective. Hindu society became divided by caste that became increasingly mutually antagonistic- Attempts were made through falsification in history texts adopted for curriculum in the education system to disconnect and disinherit the contemporary Indian from the past glory of Hindu India. The intrinsic Hindu unity has been sought to be undone by legitimising such bogus concepts as Aryan-Dravidian racial divide theory, or that India as a concept never existed till the British imperialists invented it, or that Indians have always been ruled by invaders from abroad. The Aryan theory was a deliberate distortion by British imperialists and propagated by their witting and unwitting mental slaves in India. Incidentally, the Aryan-Dravidian myth has now been exploded by modern research on DNA of Indians and Europeans conducted by Professor C Panse of Newton, Mass, USA and other scholars. In light of such new research, the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] service in it’s October 6, 2005 service completely debunked the Aryan—Dravidian race theory stating that: ‘Theory was not just wrong, it included unacceptably racist ideas’ [www.bbc.co.uk, religion & ethics homepage, Thursday, 6/10/05].

 

Dr Subramanian Swamy has brilliantly summed up: ‘Modern India was portrayed by foreign interests through this curriculum as a discontinuity in history and as a new entity much as are today’s Greece, Egypt or Iraq. That curriculum is largely intact today. On the contrary efforts are afoot to bolster the disparagement of our past in the new dispensation today. A rudderless India, disconnected from her past has, as a consequence, become a fertile field for religious poachers and neo-imperialists from abroad who paint India as a mosaic of immigrants much like a crowd on a platform in a railway station. That is, it is clandestinely propagated that India has belonged to those who forcibly occupied it. This is the theme around which the Islamic fundamentalists and fraudulent Christian crusaders are again at work, much as they were a thousand years ago, but of course in new dispensations, new forms of sophistication, and multitudinous media forms. Thus the concept of intrinsic Hindu unity, and India’s Hindu foundation are dangerously under challenge by these forces. Tragically most Hindus today are not even cognizant of it’.

 

A Hindu nation founded on SANATANA DHARMA ought to be the cherished goal of all the Hindus in India today and not a fraudulent nation founded on pseudo-secularism.  All the Hindus of India have come to understand that the present Constitution of India is not based on Hindu ideals and Hindu ethos.  Its provisions have been framed deliberately disregarding Hindu values and Hindu cultural and social traditions.  It is always the preamble of a nation’s Constitution which proclaims what is its national identity, what are its national ideals and goals, what is its national culture, for the weal of which society has it been formed.  The present Constitution of India appears to be screaming at the top of its voice to announce that the India it talks of represents neither the Hindu nation, nor the Hindu religion, nor the Hindu culture, nor the Hindu society.  By no stretch of imagination can you consider it as a Constitution for the Hindus or of the Hindu nation. As Abbhas Kumar Chatterjee brilliantly puts it: ‘A Constitution that ignores Hindu ideals, which gives the NATION less RIGHT than its MINORITIES, which does not recognise HINDUS as a NATION cannot be our CONSTITUTION.  In my opinion, those who regard the present Constitution of India as their own, no matter how big leaders they may pretend to be—have not yet comprehended the concept of the HINDU NATION’.

 

 

‘A State has to run its affairs in accordance with the hopes, aspirations, ethos, ideals and culture of the nation.  It should represent the Nation before the world, promote the image of

http://newstodaynet.com/images/stories/columns/sharpshot/2009-images/2901-sun1.gif

Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy talking to Kanchi Acharya Shri Jayendra Saraswathy and other Swamiji’s at a meeting of Dharma Raksha Manch in Mumbai on Wednesday.

the Nation and welfare of its members, and spread the glory of its national culture.  In respect of India, the symbol of our national culture is Sanatana Dharma rooted in our timeless Vedic Heritage’.

According to Dr Subramanian Swamy the challenge confronting Hindus today is however much more difficult to meet than was earlier in history because the forces at work to erode and undermine Hindu faith, unlike before, are unseen, clandestine, pernicious, deceptive but most of all sophisticated and media-savvy. Tragically Hindus in larger numbers, more particularly the educated Hindus have been unwittingly co-opted in this sinister conspiracy directed by foreigners who have no love for India and who also see in the same way as Lord Macauley (1800-1859) did in the nineteenth century, that the hoary Hindu foundation of India is the chief stumbling block for the furtherance of their nefarious perfidious game in the field of politics and religion—in short Christianisation of India.

Adherence to Hinduism is also being sought to be diluted in the name of modernity and this dilution is made a norm of secularism. Religion, it is advocated, is personal. To be a good Hindu today is conceptually being reduced to just praying, piety, visiting temples, and celebrating religious festivals. The concept of a collective Hindu mindset is being ridiculed as chauvinist and retrograde, even fundamentalist.  Christians and Muslims are given this special privilege but not the majority Hindus of India.

The concept of a corporate Hindu unity and identity however is that of a collective mindset that identifies us with a motherland from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean and it’s glorious past, and the concomitant resolve of it’s representative leadership defined as ‘chakravartin’ earlier by Chanakya, to defend that vision. It is this concept and resolve that is being discarded or is just evaporating under the onslaught of the Nehruvian secularists.

Dr Subramanian Swamy beautifully puts it: ‘However pious a Hindu becomes, or how many millions come to Kumbh Mela, Sabarimala etc., however prosperous Hindu temples may become from doting on devotees’ offerings, when the nation is in danger it is this collective mindset of the people that matters, and not the piety of the individual or the cosmetic and superficial collective feelings without any national purpose or direction. Consequently, Hindu society today lacking a cohesive corporate identity, is thus in the process of becoming fragmented, and hence increasingly in disarray. This fission process is on simultaneously with the reality of millions of Hindus going to temples regularly. The Hindu consciousness that is needed today is that which encompasses the willingness and determination to collectively defend the faith from the erosion that is being induced by the disconnect with our glorious past’.

That glorious past was aptly summarised in the writings of Dr Ambedkar, and his oration in the Constituent Assembly for a strong united country.  In his scholarly paper presented in a 1916 Columbia University seminar [and published in Indian Antiquary, vol. XLI, May 1917 p.81-95] Dr Ambedkar stated: ‘It is the unity of culture that is the basis of homogeneity. Taking this for granted, I venture to say that there is no country that can rival the Indian Peninsula with respect to the unity of its culture. It has not only a geographic unity, but it has over and above all a deeper and much more fundamental unity—the indubitable cultural unity that covers the land from end to end’. Ambedkar wrote several such brilliant books, but alas, Nehru and his cohorts so thoroughly frustrated him that in the end his inner bitterness drove him to Buddhism.

By a criminal failure to usher in a National Renaissance after 1947 India lost her glorious opportunity to cleanse the accumulated dirt and unwanted baggage of the past. The battering that the concept of Hindu unity and Indian identity has taken at the hands of Nehruvian secularists since 1947 has led to the present social malaise. Thus, even though Hindus are above 80 percent of the population in India, they have not been able to understand their roots in, and obligations to, the Hindustani nation in a pluralistic democracy. Thus, if this degeneration and disconnect are not rectified and repaired by a resolve to unite Hindustanis [Hindus and those others who proudly identify with India’s Hindu past], the Hindu civilization may go into a tail spin and ultimately fade away very much like other civilizations that have vanished in the past for much the same reason.

Today the sacrilege of Hindu concepts and hoary institutions, is being carried out not with the crude brutality of past invasions, but with the sophistication of the constitutional instruments of law. The UPA government under stranglehold of anti-Hindu Catholic Christian Sonia Gandhi, has perfected this technique! The desecration of Hindu icons, for example the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, is being made to look legal, thereby completely confusing the Hindu people, and thus making them unable to recognise the danger, or to realise that Hindus have to unite to defend against the threats to their legacy. Dr Swamy sums this up as: ‘We Hindus are under siege today; and we do not know it !!  That is, what is truly alarming is that Hindu society could be dissembled today without much protest since we have been lulled into or lost the capacity to think and act collectively as Hindus’.

Hindus today are being systematically prepared for psychological enslavement and conceptual capture. Indians thus are being subtly brainwashed.  Hindus are being lulled, while Muslims and Christians are being subject to relentless propaganda that they are different, and are citizens of India as would be a shareholder in a Company that runs for profit, and not as descendents of Hindus, and a product of conversion, fraud and force.

To resist this siege we first need Hindu unity. Numbers [of those claiming to be adherents to Hinduism] do not matter in today’s information society. It is the durability and clarity of the Hindu mindset of those who unite that matters in the forging of an instrument to fight this creeping danger.  In a forest a thousands goats may assemble, but on sight of a sole tiger, these goats will scatter and run.  Similarly, we witness five fully-grown lions obeying meekly a thin wiry ringmaster in a circus.  It is all a question of strength and attitude of mind.

We Hindus cannot fight this unless we first clearly identify what we have to fight for.  We cannot effectively respond unless we understand the nature and complexity of the challenge.  What makes the task of defending Hinduism much more difficult today is that the oppressors are not obvious marauding entities as were Ghazni, Ghori, or Clive. The means of communication and the supply of funds in the hands of our enemies are multiples of that available in the past, for camouflaging their evil purposes like decimation of Hindu culture and destruction of Hindu religion and civilization.

Hindus are facing a four dimensional siege and this siege is pernicious, clandestine, deceptive and sophisticated. It requires an enlightened Hindu unity to combat the threats and get the siege lifted. We have to begin by first understanding the content and scope of the four-dimensional siege before we Hindus can unite to battle against it. These dimensions are:

[1] The clandestine defamation of Hindu symbols and institutions.

[2]  Demographic restructuring of Indian society.

[3] The Rise of Terrorism Directed at Hindus.

[4] The Erosion of Moral Authority of Governance.

Dr Swamy has issued this appeal to all the Hindu Dharmacharyas of India: ‘In this time of creeping darkness in our society, there are still venerated souls who draw crowds of people who come on their own expense to hear such evolved souls and follow them.  These are our dharmacharyas, and a part of Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha convened by Swami Dayananda Sarasvati.  This organisation represents the most extraordinary and historical event in Hindu history of at least 1000 years, and a dire need of the hour.  All bouquets and praise to Swami Dayananda Sarasvati.  Just as Rshi Vishwamitra picked his archers and hunters to put an end to asuras and rakshasas, the same way I urge and implore this Sabha to pick a political instrument to cleanse the body politic of the nation’.

In today’s democratic India, we can best do this by a HINDU AGENDA certified by the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha of Swami Dayanand Sarasvati and endorsed by the electorate in a General Election. It cannot be done without Hindu unity in our democracy, and hence formulating a code of ethics and moral principles is essential for creating a meaningful and purposeful Hindu unity. THE NATION THEREFORE LOOKS TO ACHARYA SABHA TODAY, FOR GUIDANCE IN THIS CRUCIAL HOUR OF NEED.

First and foremost there is an imperative National need for undiluted unity of Hindus, a unity based on a mindset that is nurtured and fostered on the fundamentals of a new Hindu Renaissance.  Only then can Hindus meet the challenge of Christian mission-aries and Islamic fundamentalists. I can do no better here than quote the bracing words of SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASVATI: ‘Faced with militant missionaries. Hinduism has to show that its plurality and all-encompassing acceptance are not signs of disparateness or disunity. For that, a collective voice is needed. Hindu vote is sacred, and should not be wasted’.In conclusion I would say that Non-Hindus can join this Hindustani unity, but first they must agree to adhere to the minimum requirement: that they recognise and accept that their cultural legacy is Hindu, or that they revere their Hindu ancestry and that they are as equal before law as any other but no more, and that they will make sacrifices to defend their Hindu legacy just as any good Hindu would do to defend his own ancestry.  In turn then the Hindu will defend such non-Hindus as they have done in the case of the Parsis and Jews, and embrace them as part of the Hindustani parivar.

http://newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=33&id=14376

 

Muslim organisations urged to issue fatwa against terrorism Special Correspondent

 

Mere condemnation not enough, say Manch representatives

 

Meeting to discuss 11 points of concern

RSS fully behind the effort: Madandas Devi

MUMBAI: The Dharma Raksha Manch, a coalition of Hindu religious institutions and leaders, has urged 13 major Muslim organisations to issue a fatwa against terrorism and jihad.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Swami Dayanand Maharaj and others said that before a terror attack, e-mails were sent quoting the Koran.

The Manch, concerned by religious motivation for terror, planned to send an appeal, signed by several acharyas, to the 13 Islamic institutions individually.

When it was pointed out that many of them had condemned terror, representatives of the Manch said mere condemnation was not enough.

The Muslim groups should issue a fatwa that India was not Dar-ul Harab (India is not a land against which Islamists have to wage a war); and it was Dar-ul Aman (land of peace), where Muslims can practise Islam without any impediment, said a resolution passed at a meeting of the Manch on Wednesday.

The two-day meeting, which will culminate in a public meeting on Thursday, will discuss 11 points of concern.

Madandas Devi of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said his organisation was fully behind this effort.

The phrase "Hindu terror" was false, insulting and inappropriate.

Ashok Singhal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said India had a sacred religious tradition and a spiritual identity.

However, by making it a secular country, that identity was being wiped out.

While seeking a change in leadership at the Centre, the Manch said it was not supporting any political party.

Swamy presents paper

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy presented a paper on his idea of a Hindu agenda.

He sought unity among Hindus; a unity based on a mindset that was nurtured and fostered on the fundamentals of a renaissance.

He sought the re-writing of history textbooks of educational institutions, besides a commitment of zero tolerance of terrorists, to never negotiate with them, and to retaliate against their political objectives.

Dr. Swamy also advocated a commitment to "re-throne" Sanskrit as Hindustan's link language.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/29/stories/2009012952701100.htm

 

Poverty porn

Slumdog is about defaming Hindus

Kanchan Gupta (Pioneer, Sunday, January 25, 2009)

In keeping with American politics of the times, Slumdog Millionaire has been nominated for as many as 10 Oscars and our deracinated media, which constantly looks for inspirational ‘good news’ stories that invariably revolve around Western appreciation of ‘truthful’ portrayal of the Indian ‘reality’, has gone into a tizzy. Saturday’s edition of a newspaper published from New Delhi had a blurb on the front page that read, “The Slumdog story: How ‘Danny uncle’ and his ‘moral compass’ created the biggest ‘Indian’ blockbuster — and why you should watch it.” Predictably, the chattering classes, who had been blissfully ignorant of Vikas Swarup’s Q and A (as they had been of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger till its perverse denigration of India and all things Indian wowed the judges of last year’s Man Booker prize) are now making a beeline for the nearest bookshop for a copy of the novel, whose title has been suitably changed to Slumdog Millionaire so that the book and the film are eponymous and both publisher and producer can encash the extraordinary hype that has been generated. Late last year, there was similar hoopla over AR Rahman getting the Golden Globe award for the music he has scored for Slumdog Millionaire. An approving pat on the back by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it would seem, is the most important marker in an artiste’s career. Those Indian musicians who haven’t got the Golden Globe are not worthy of honour at home just as Sahitya Akademi award winners are not worthy of finding space on our bookshelves, leave alone feature on news pages or news bulletins.

The larger point is not really about going gaga over an American award or a British prize, but how they are seen as India being admitted into the charmed circle whose membership is strictly controlled and is by invitation only. That invitation invariably follows a certain pattern; it’s not merely the keepers of the gate chanting, “Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a tiger by his toe, if he hollers let him go…” Apart from the fact that the ‘tigers’ in this case are not hollering but salivating at the prospect of seeing themselves clutching a handful of trophies on Oscar night, the nomination process is far more rigorous than we would think, with filters to keep out those films and books that do not serve the judges’ purpose or pander to their fanciful notions — in this case, of India. Aravind Adiga crafted his novel in a manner that it could not but impress the Man Booker judges who see India as a seething mass of unwashed hordes which worship pagan gods, are trapped in caste-based prejudices, indulge in abominable practices like untouchability, and are not worthy of being considered as an emerging power, never mind economic growth and knowledge excellence. Similarly, Danny Boyle has made a film that portrays every possible bias against India and structured it within the matrix of Western lib-left perceptions of the Indian ‘reality’ which have little or nothing in common with the real India in which we live.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Boyle’s film is about a slum where extreme social exclusion, political suppression and economic deprivation define the lives of its inhabitants. He has made every effort to shock and awe the film’s audience by taking recourse to graphic and gory portrayal of bloodthirsty Hindu mobs on the rampage — the idiom that defines India as it is imagined by the lib-left Western mind — laying to waste Muslim lives (a Hindu is shown slitting a Muslim woman’s throat in an almost frame-by-frame remake of the videotape that was released by the killers of Daniel Pearl) and property. There’s more that makes you want to throw up the last meal you had: Hindu policemen torturing Muslims by giving them ‘electric shock therapy’, street children being physically disfigured and then forced to beg, and such other scenes of a medieval society where rule of law does not exist and every Hindu is a rapacious monster eager to make a feast of helpless Muslims.

Nor is it surprising that Boyle should have cunningly changed the name of the film’s — as also the book’s — protagonist from Vikas Swarup’s Ram Mohammad Thomas (a sort of tribute to the Amar Akbar Antony brand of ‘secularism’ which was fashionable in the 1970s) to Jamal Malik. The name implies a Kashmiri connection, and we can’t put it beyond Boyle suggesting a link between Jamal’s travails — it is his mother whose throat is shown as being slit by a Hindu — and the imagined victimhood of Kashmir’s Muslims who, the lib-left intelligentsia in the West insists, are ‘persecuted by Hindu India’. Asked about the protagonist’s name being changed, Swarup is believed to have said that it was done to “make it sound more politically correct”. There is a second hidden message: The Hindu quizmaster on the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ show has doubts about Jamal, who gets all the questions right, not because he is a ‘slumdog’ but because he is a Muslim; so he sets India’s Hindu police on the hapless boy. Swarup did not quite put it that way in his book, but the film does so, and understandably the critics in Hollywood who sport Obama buttons are impressed.

The last time depravity was portrayed as the Indian ‘reality’ was when Roland Joffé did a cinematic version of Dominique Lapierre’s City of Joy. In that film, the Missionaries of Charity were shown as the saviours of an India trapped in filth, squalor, poverty and Hindu superstition. Some two decades later, Boyle has rediscovered Joffé’s India and made appropriate changes to fit his film into the Hindu-bad-Muslim-good mould so that it has a resonance in today’s America where it is now fashionable to look at the world through the eyes of Barack Hussein Obama.

In her review of the film, “Shocked by Slumdog’s poverty porn”, Alice Miles writes in The Times: “Like the bestselling novel by the Americanised Afghan Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Slumdog Millionaire is not a million miles away from a form of pornographic voyeurism. Slumdog Millionaire is poverty porn.” Commenting on the BBFC's decision to “place this work in the comedy genre”, she says, “Comedy? So maybe that’s it: I just didn't get the joke.” It’s doubtful whether most Indians, Hindus and Muslims, would get it either if they were to watch Slumdog Millionaire.

kanchangupta@rocketmail.com http://dailypioneer.com/152164/Slumdog-is-about-defaming-Hindus.html

Date:17/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/17/stories/2009011753940400.htm

New Delhi
Demand for separate panchayat of Keelvisharam village

Supreme Court stays High Court judgment

J. Venkatesan

Issue relates to demand for separate panchayat for Keelvisharam village

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Madras High Court judgment directing the State government to forward all papers and representations to the Governor for taking a decision on the demand for creation of a separate panchayat for Keelvisharam village in Vellore district.

A Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam, while staying the impugned judgment dated February 5, 2007, issued notice to Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, on whose petition the High Court gave the direction. Dr. Swamy wanted a direction to the government to constitute the revenue village of Keelvisharam also known as Rasathapura as a separate village panchayat instead of being part of the Melvisharam panchayat (now upgraded as municipality).

The State, in its special leave petition, stated that important questions of law were involved in the petition, including whether the direction to forward all papers to the Governor for his consideration was correct in law and whether the impugned order was sustainable in law.

It was for the government to decide in what manner the panchayat areas and constituencies in each panchayat area would be delimited.

It was not for the court to dictate the manner in which the same should be done.

The SLP stated that the administrative decision had to be taken by the government. If the High Court order asking the Governor to take a decision was allowed to sustain, it would have serious administrative consequences.

Contending that the order was erroneous, the SLP sought quashing of the same and interim stay of its operation.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2009011753940400.htm&date=2009/01/17/&prd=th&

 

SC issues notice on creating new revenue village 

By Express News Service  
17 Jan 2009 06:23:00 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has on Friday issued notice to Dr Subramanian Swamy, president of the Janata Party and Melvisharam Town Panchayat, on a Special Leave Petition filed by the State of Tamil Nadu and the District Collector, Vellore, over the plea of constituting a revenue village of Keelvisharam.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam issued directions in this regard. The State government averred that from the year 1951, Melvisharam was a I Grade Town Panchayat and later it was made selection Grade Town Panchayat and in the year 2004 it was upgraded as III Grade Municipality.

Ever since the upgradation took place as town panchayat, it has been running with the elected members of Melvisharam and Keelvisharam areas. It was clarified that the property notices were sent only in Tamil and that it is false to say that they were sent only in Urdu.

One V M Gopal Gounder had filed a writ petition in 2001 seeking a separate panchayat for the revenue village of Keelvisharam, bifurcating the same from Melvisharam.

However, that petition was dismissed for default.

In the year 2006, Dr Subramanian Swamy filed a writ petition with the same plea. The High Court, in its order dated February 2, 2007, noted that already a representation given by the villagers to the Governor in this regard was pending. The High Court said that only the Governor can consider the matter under Section 3B of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act.

Therefore, it directed the secretary, Rural Development Department and others to forward all the relevant papers to the Governor for taking an appropriate decision.

“As the issue is pending for several years, it is needless to say that the said petition shall be considered by the Governor of Tamil Nadu as expeditiously as possible and the resultant decision will be communicated to the petitioner also. Tamil Nadu moved the apex court challenging this direction.
feedback@epmltd.com

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=9BVC0lk56WY=

 

Swamy seeks bifurcation of town panchayat in Vellore

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy has filed a public interest litigation petition seeking bifurcation of the Melvisharam town panchayat in Vellore district and creation of Keelvisharam alias Rasathpuram as a separate village panchayat. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice K. Chandru, before which the matter came up for admission on Wednesday, directed Government Pleader Raja Kalifulla to get instructions and more details from the Government. It adjourned the proceedings to December 20.

Dr. Swamy contended that about 11,000 people living in the Keelvisharam region of the town panchayat suffered religious discrimination and were being denied basic amenities. Residents of the Keelvisharam region, which had only four wards as against 17 in the revenue village of Melvisharam, were unable to become civic body chiefs.

"Though the people have complained about the non-availability of facilities in Keelvisharam for so many years, authorities have not taken any action till date."

Dr. Swamy prayed for a direction to the Rural Development Department and the Vellore District Collector to immediately provide drinking water facilities, road and other basic amenities to the Keelvisharam village.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/14/stories/2006121405600400.htm

 

'Melvisharam'[மேல்விஷாரம்] is a beautiful town in Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 7 kilometres from the industrious town of Ranipet, 5 km from historic town of Arcot and 17 km from district headquarter Vellore.

Melvisharam is geographically located at latitude (12.94 degrees) 12° 56' 23" North of the Equator and longitude (79.24 degrees) 79° 14' 23" East of the Prime Meridian on the Map of the world.

There is one engineering college ( C.Abdul Hakeem College of Engineering & Technology) [1] located here. Also there is an Arts & Science by name C.Abdul Hakeem College functioning here which is one of the oldest college in the whole of Vellore district. Recently a new women's college has been established here. All these institutions are run by Melvisharam Muslim Educational Society(MMES). In the year 2003 K.H.Group of Companies and APOLLO Group of Hospitals together established APOLLO KH HOSPITAL which offers one the finest healthcare facility to the people of this town. Other landmarks of this town are Masjid-e-Khizar whose minaret is 175 ft (53 m) high.

Melvisharam was upgraded from Town Panchayat to Municipality in the year 2004. Today melvisharam is one of the fast devoloping towns of tamil nadu

Demographics

 

As of 2006 India census^[1], Melvisharam had a population of 36,675. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Melvisharam has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 56%. Most of the people are employed in local tanneries and leather goods manufacturing companies.

 

"Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.

 

http://municipality.tn.gov.in/Melvisharam/

 

The Main business in this town in Leather. About 80% of families are dependent on Leather Industry. It has 95% of Muslim population. It has a c abdul hakeem college and c abdul hakeem college of Engineering and technology,KH APollo Hospital. It has so many Mosques, one among them is Masjid e Khizar, famous for its Minaret. It is located on the Western side of River Palar and on the Eastern side is Navlock famous for its garden and agriculture. It is exactly 120 KMS from Chennai (Madras).

 

http://wikimapia.org/184305/Melvisharam

 

24.09.2006

 

Press Release

 

Ever Since Mr.Karunanidhi took office as Chief Minister of Tamilnadu earlier this year, the Hindu community in select pockets of the State is being targeted by Islamic Fundamentalists in the state in a pernicious clandestine way.

 

In several pockets across the state at the Municipality governance level, Hindus of the area are in a minority in the population.

 

The Muslim majority having captured the Municipality through elections have systematically discriminated against the Hindu minority in providing civic amenities and in blocking celebration of Hindus festivels of the community.

 

Recently along with VHP leader Shri.Vedantam, and Tamilnadu Janata Party leader Ms V S Chandralekha I had visited two such pockets – one, Thondi in Ramanathapuram district, and another, Rasathupuram Village in Melvisharam Town Panchayat in Vellore district.  I found to my utter surprise that in the Republic of Independent India in 2006, sixty years after Independence, in these two pockets Hindus in minority have been denied even regular water supply.  Word has been passed around by the Jamaat there that unless the Hindus convert to Islam, this state of affairs will continue.  Hence these pockets have become defacto Pakistani enclaves within India.

 

I demand that from the Central Government that a Home Ministry delegation be dispatched to Tamil Nadu to study the facts and initiate necessary action.

 

(SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY)

http://www.janataparty.org/pressdetail.asp?rowid=51

Mumbai terror dossier and how the mainstream media (MSM) protects Islamist faith

The MSM (Mainstream Media): Protectors of the Islamic Faith      

Written by:Diana West 1/7/2009 12:56:00 PM

The Hindu of India broke several stories based on a dossier the Indian government just released pertaining to the jihadist assault on Mumbai that left 163 people killed at the end of November.

One of those stories, picked up by news organizations around the world, was about conversations the Indian authorities were able to intercept during the atrocities between the ten terrorists--or "gunmen," as the MSM likes to style them--and their handlers in Pakistan.

The dossier includes selected excerpts of exchanges marked by their fiendish, bloodthirsty cruelty. The media, of course, has chosen to excerpt these excerpts. Guess what goes either missing entirely or gets buried in the B-matter?

Islam. While these few excerpts released by the Indian government contain orders to the terrorists to spare Muslims, and exhortations about Allah and Islam, these facts are treated as extraneous details of little consequence. 

The AP gets around to mentioning "Allah" in paragraph 17, "Islam" in paragraph 18, and "Muslims" in paragraph 19. The New York Times coverage is even more deficient, parenthetically reporting on "Muslims" once in paragraph 18 and mentioning "Islam" in paragraph 25. And that's it.

Here's the problem with this oblique, Islam-lite coverage: Without understanding the Islamic context of these Mumbai attacks, we understand nothing about these Mumbai attacks. These attacks were not non-ideologically "terrorist" in conception and purpose, which is the common subtext of such media coverage. Rather, they were attacks conceived as acts of jihad against the West. And it is worth noting that the voices directing the attacks by phone saw fit to continue reminding the killers of that fact. 

Thankfully, The Hindu has made the dossier available for downloading  here. http://www.hindu.com/nic/dossier.htm

Below are what I think count as important excerpts, and what the mainstream media saw fit to cut down or omit entirely.

At Nariman House, the Jewish center:

Caller: Brother, you have to fight. This is a matter of prestige of Islam. Fight so that your fight becomes a shining example. Be strong in the name of Allah. You may feel tired or sleepy but the Commandos of Islam have left everything behind. Their mothers, their fathers. Their homes. Brother, you have to fight for the victory of Islam. Be strong.

Receiver: Amen!

------

The New York Times reproduced the above monologue to readers, finally, in paragraph 25 thus: "Brother, you have to fight," the caller said. "This is a matter of the prestige of Islam."

-------

At the Oberoi Hotel:

Caller: Brother Abdul, the media is comparing your action to 9/11. One senior police officer has been killed.

Abdul Rehman: We are on the 10th/11th floor, We have five hostages. ...

Caller: Kill all hostages, except the two Muslims. Keep your phone switched on so that we can hear the gunfire. 

Fadadullah: We have three foreigners including women. From Singapore and China.

Caller: Kill them.

(Voices of Fadlallah and Abdul Rehman directing hostages to stand in a line, and telling the two Muslims to stand aside. Sounds of gunfire. Cheering voices in the background....)

--------

The AP presented the above exhange to readers in its lead:

"We have three foreigners, including women," the gunman said into the phone. The response was brutally simple. "Kill them." Gunshots rang out inside the Mumbai hotel, followed by cheering that could be heard over the phone.

--------

Hotel Taj Mahal

...

Caller: The ATS Chief has been killed. Your work is very important. Allah is helping you. The "Vazir" (Minister) should not excape. Try to set the place on fire.

...

----------

Hotel Taj Mahal

Caller: How many hostages do you have?

Receiver: We have one from Belgium. We have killed him. There was one chap from Bangalore. He could be controlled only with a lot of effort.

Caller: I hope there is no Muslim amongst them?

Receiver: No, none.

The New York Times may call these dossier excerpts "chilling," but its readers, and readers of other MSM coverage, are missing out on just how chilling they really are.

http://www.dianawest.net/Home/tabid/36/EntryId/693/The-MSM-Protectors-of-the-Islamic-Faith.aspx

 

Mumbai Terror attacks - Dossier of evidence

This is a scanned copy of the 69-page dossier of material stemming from the ongoing investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 26-29, 2008 that was handed over by India to Pakistan on January 5, 2009.

Evidence 1 http://www.thehindu.com/nic/mumbaiattacksevidence-1.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10450405/mumbaiattacksevidence1

Evidence 2 http://www.thehindu.com/nic/mumbaiattacksevidence-2.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10450678/mumbaiattacksevidence2

Evidence 3 http://www.thehindu.com/nic/mumbaiattacksevidence-3.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10450186/mumbaiattacksevidence3

Some pages from the dossier were originally posted twice in another format. These have been removed. The complete dossier in the possession of The Hindu consists of 69 pages.

http://www.hindu.com/nic/dossier.htm

India ready to break with Pakistan over lack of help with Mumbai inquiry

(Peter Keep/Reuters)

Smoke rises from the Taj Palace Hotel in Mumbai, where Islamist gunmen killed more than 170 people during a three-day rampage

David Byers, in Delhi From Times Online January 12, 2009

India plans to break off business, transport and tourist links with Pakistan and isolate it from the rest of the world if it fails to help to investigate the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the country's Home Minister told The Times today.

Speaking in an interview that will raise the temperature further between the two countries, Palaniappan Chidambaram accused Pakistan of doing nothing to assist India bring to justice the perpetrators of the attacks on the country's financial capital, which killed 165 people between November 26 and 29.

Asked what Pakistan was doing to help with the investigation, in which India handed over a dossier of evidence to its neighbour last week, Mr Chidambaram said: "Zero. What have they provided? Nothing."

The minister — who will brief David Miliband on the investigation's progress when the British Foreign Secretary arrives in Delhi tomorrow — gave an indication of action that would be taken if Pakistan continued to refuse to investigate the attacks, blamed by India on Islamic militants with links to the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).

"There are many, many links between India and Pakistan, and if Pakistan does not co-operate and does not help to bring the perpetrators to heel, those ties will become weaker and weaker and one day snap," he said.

"Why would we entertain Pakistani business people? Why would we entertain tourists in India? Why would we send tourists there?" Mr Chidambaram refused to discuss when such measures might be introduced, but said: "We need co-operation soon."

Since the attacks in November, India has become infuriated with Pakistan’s apparent failure to take more aggressive action against the Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which Indian, American and British officials say was behind the attacks. In the days after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan captured two of the suspected planners, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, in a crackdown against the LeT in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, but India says it mhas done little since then.

Pakistan has also denied claims by Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, that the ISI was involved. India also says that it has failed to respond to a 100-page dossier, presented to it last week, with transcripts of intercepted calls between the gunmen and their handlers in Pakistan during their attacks. The Pakistani National Security Chief, Mahmoud Ali Durrani, was dismissed last week only hours after confirming that the lone surviving gunman was Pakistani.

Yousaf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani Prime Minister, further infuriated the Indian Government by carrying out interviews saying that the attacks were related to the disputed territory of Kashmir, comparing Pakistanis living there to the Palestinians in Gaza.

“Gilani is living in a world of his own if he brings Kashmir into this,” a senior Indian government source told The Times. “The simple fact is that Pakistan is a failing, but not yet a failed, state. That is what he needs to address.”

During his three-day visit to India, Mr Miliband will meet Mr Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, the External Affairs Minister, to discuss terrorism and climate change. He will also speak at theTaj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels in Mumbai, both of which were among the buildings attacked

Mr Miliband's visit comes after Gordon Brown visited Delhi last month to express his condolences and solidarity after the attacks.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5502833.ece?print=yes&randnum=1231902635574

 

Obama’s Worst Pakistan Nightmare

By DAVID E. SANGER January 11, 2009 (NY Times Magazine)

TO GET TO THE HEADQUARTERS of the Strategic Plans Division, the branch of the Pakistani government charged with keeping the country’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons away from insurgents trying to overrun the country, you must drive down a rutted, debris-strewn road at the edge of the Islamabad airport, dodging stray dogs and piles of uncollected garbage. Just past a small traffic circle, a tan stone gateway is manned by a lone, bored-looking guard loosely holding a rusting rifle. The gateway marks the entry to Chaklala Garrison, an old British cantonment from the days when officers of the Raj escaped the heat of Delhi for the cooler hills on the approaches to Afghanistan. Pass under the archway, and the poverty and clamor of modern Pakistan disappear.

Chaklala is a comfortable enclave for the country’s military and intelligence services. Inside the gates, officers in the army and the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, known as the ISI, live in trim houses with well-tended lawns. Business is conducted in long, low office buildings, with a bevy of well-pressed adjutants buzzing around. Deep inside the garrison lies the small compound for Strategic Plans, where Khalid Kidwai keeps the country’s nuclear keys. Now 58, Kidwai is a compact man who hides his arch sense of humor beneath a veil of caution, as if he were previewing each sentence to decide if it revealed too much. In the chaos of Pakistan, where the military, the intelligence services and an unstable collection of civilian leaders uneasily share power, he oversees a security structure intended to protect Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal from outsiders — Islamic militants, Qaeda scientists, Indian saboteurs and those American commando teams that Pakistanis imagine, with good reason, are waiting just over the horizon in Afghanistan, ready to seize their nuclear treasure if a national meltdown seems imminent.

In the second nuclear age, what happens or fails to happen in Kidwai’s modest compound may prove far more likely to save or lose an American city than the billions of dollars the United States spends each year maintaining a nuclear arsenal that will almost certainly never be used, or the thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars we have spent in Iraq and Afghanistan to close down sanctuaries for terrorists.

Just last month in Washington, members of the federally appointed bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism made it clear that for sheer scariness, nothing could compete with what they had heard in a series of high-level intelligence briefings about the dangers of Pakistan’s nuclear technology going awry. “When you map W.M.D. and terrorism, all roads intersect in Pakistan,” Graham Allison, a Harvard professor and a leading nuclear expert on the commission, told me. “The nuclear security of the arsenal is now a lot better than it was. But the unknown variable here is the future of Pakistan itself, because it’s not hard to envision a situation in which the state’s authority falls apart and you’re not sure who’s in control of the weapons, the nuclear labs, the materials.”

For Kidwai, there is something both tiresome and deeply suspicious about the constant stream of warnings out of Washington that Pakistan is the epicenter of a post-cold-war Armageddon. “This is all overblown rhetoric,” Kidwai told me on a rainy Saturday morning not long ago when I went to visit him in his office, which is comfortably outfitted with oversize white leather chairs and models of the Pakistani missiles that can deliver a nuclear weapon to the farthest corners of India. Even if the country’s leadership were to be incapacitated, he insisted, Pakistan’s protections are so strong that the arsenal could never slip from the hands of the country’s National Command Authority, a mix of hardened generals (including Kidwai) and newly elected politicians. Kidwai has spent the past five years making the same case to American officials: just because a savvy metallurgist named Abdul Qadeer Khan, a national hero for his role in turning Pakistan into a nuclear-weapons power, managed to smuggle nuclear secrets and materials to the likes of Iran, North Korea and Libya for profit in the 1980s and 1990s, it doesn’t mean that such a horrendous breach of security could happen again.

“Please grant to Pakistan that if we can make nuclear weapons and the delivery systems,” Kidwai said, gesturing to the models and a photo of Pakistan’s first nuclear test, a decade ago, “we can also make them safe. Our security systems are foolproof.”

“FOOLPROOF” IS MOST likely not the word Barack Obama would use to describe the status of Pakistan’s nuclear safety following the briefings he has been receiving since Nov. 6, which is when J. Michael McConnell, the director of national intelligence, showed up in Chicago to give the president-­elect his first full presidential daily brief. For obvious reasons, neither Obama nor McConnell will talk about the contents of those highly classified briefings. But interviews over the past year with senior intelligence officials and with nuclear experts in Washington and South Asia and at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna provide strong indications of what Obama has probably heard.

By now Obama has almost surely been briefed about an alarming stream of intelligence that began circulating early last year to the top tier of George W. Bush’s national-security leadership in Washington. The highly restricted reports described how foreign-trained Pakistani scientists, including some suspected of harboring sympathy for radical Islamic causes, were returning to Pakistan to seek jobs within the country’s nuclear infrastructure — presumably trying to burrow in among the 2,000 or so people who have what Kidwai calls “critical knowledge” of the Pakistani nuclear infrastructure.

“I have two worries,” one of the most senior officials in the Bush administration, who had read all of the intelligence with care, told me one day last spring. One is what happens “when they move the weapons,” he said, explaining that the United States feared that some groups could try to provoke a confrontation between Pakistan and India in the hope that the Pakistani military would transport tactical nuclear weapons closer to the front lines, where they would be more vulnerable to seizure. Indeed, when the deadly terror attacks occurred in Mumbai in late November, officials told me they feared that one of the attackers’ motives might have been to trigger exactly that series of events.

“And the second,” the official said, choosing his words carefully, “is what I believe are steadfast efforts of different extremist groups to infiltrate the labs and put sleepers and so on in there.” As Obama’s team of nuclear experts have discovered in their recent briefings, it is Pakistan’s laboratories — one of which still bears A. Q. Khan’s name — that still pose the greatest worries for American intelligence officials. It is relatively easy to teach Kidwai’s security personnel how to lock down warheads and store them separately from trigger devices and missiles — training that the United States has conducted, largely in secret, at a cost of almost $100 million. It is a lot harder for the Americans to keep track of nuclear material being produced inside laboratories, where it is easier for the Pakistanis to underreport how much nuclear material has been produced, how much is in storage or how much might be “stuck in the pipes” during the laborious enrichment process. And it is nearly impossible to stop engineers from walking out the door with the knowledge of how to produce fuel, which Khan provided to Iran, and bomb designs.

After more than four years, no one in Washington has a clear sense of whether the small, covert American program to help Pakistan secure its weapons and laboratories is actually working. Kidwai has been happy to take the cash and send in progress reports, but auditors from Washington have been rebuffed whenever they have asked to see how, exactly, the money was being spent. Kidwai, when pressed, says that the Americans shouldn’t offer lectures about nuclear security, not after the U.S. Air Force lost track of some of its own weapons in 2007 for 36 hours, flying them around unguarded to air bases and leaving them by the side of the tarmac. He makes use of another argument as well, a legacy of the Bush era that will last for many years: how can an intelligence apparatus in the United States that got Iraq’s nuclear progress so wrong in 2003 be so certain today that Pakistan’s arsenal is at risk?

Pakistani officials are understandably suspicious that the real intent of the American program is to gather the information needed to snatch, or neutralize, the country’s arsenal. So they have met most requests with the same answer they gave the C.I.A. when it wanted to interview Khan: Don’t waste your time submitting a formal request. “It is a matter of national sovereignty,” Kidwai says, “and a matter of our honor.”

Khalid Kidwai is only a few years younger than Pakistan itself, and he has spent much of his life trying to create pockets of order in a nation to which order does not come naturally. His father, Jalil Ahmed Kidwai, was one of the country’s best-known authors and critics; his mother founded a school in Karachi. Kidwai was born into an era in which the overriding question on the minds of most Muslims in Pakistan was whether the country could withstand India’s onslaughts, and it did not take long for the young Khalid to settle on his dream: to fly with the Pakistani Air Force, the most romantic branch of the armed forces in a new nation that believed it needed to be able to strike deep into India if it was to survive. At age 12, he passed the exam for the air-force-sponsored school in Sargodha, the site of the country’s largest air base, but when he graduated, Kidwai received the disheartening news that he would never become a pilot: a mild eye disorder disqualified him. “My next obvious choice was the army,” he told me, and like many in his generation of military men in Pakistan, he never fully left it, even after his retirement, or lost the professional pride and the security blanket it provides.

In 1971, Kidwai was captured during a war with India and held as a prisoner of war for two years in the north Indian city of Allahabad — an experience he is still reluctant to discuss. After returning to the Pakistani officer corps, he was posted in 1979 to the artillery training school at Fort Sill, Okla., as part of a program that allowed the American military to get to know a rising generation of Pakistani officers. Kidwai recalls that whenever the fort’s brass turned to nuclear-weapons training, they found something else for the foreign officers to do. “We’d be sent off for trips to Washington or someplace,” Kidwai recalled with a laugh, “so that we were out of earshot.”

In 1998, Pakistan responded to a round of Indian nuclear tests by exploding its own bombs. Like the rest of the country, Kidwai watched on television as the Chagai hills shook from Pakistan’s underground tests. His nation had done more than answer India’s challenge; it had built the ultimate deterrent. Along the way, Pakistan had overcome a series of halfhearted efforts, led by the United States, to cut off its nuclear supplies. Year after year, Pakistan lied to Washington when confronted with all-but-definitive evidence that it was constructing a weapon. Pakistan simply endured the resulting economic sanctions. It all seemed worth it, Pakistani officials have told me, after India detonated five test bombs and Pakistan came back with six.

“That was one-upmanship,” Kidwai said, smiling proudly as we looked at a photograph of one test, which was hanging on his office wall. “India had conducted only five.” Below the photographs, Kidwai keeps a small fragment of the Chagai mountain under glass, displayed like a moon rock at the Smithsonian. The explosion had turned it bright white.

NO SOONER HAD THE radioactive and diplomatic dust settled from the test site than Kidwai was called in by his army superiors, and ultimately, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and told that he would now head an urgent project: to come up with a system to protect Pakistan’s new weapon from all of its enemies — the Indians, Western Europeans and the angry Americans. Kidwai knew speed was of the essence. Pakistan’s leaders feared that if the West thought that Pakistan had just a few weapons in its inventory, and no system to assure their safety, they would come under even more pressure to roll back the program and give up the handful they had manufactured. The only way to resist that pressure, they knew, was to create a large arsenal quickly and to hide it in underground facilities where neither the Indians nor the Americans could seize or destroy the warheads. Then they needed to convince the world that Pakistan could become a responsible nuclear power, one capable of securing its weapons as well as the Russians, the Chinese or the Israelis did. That meant Kidwai had to learn the arts of nuclear safety from the Americans, but without teaching his teachers how to neutralize Pakistan’s arsenal.

Kidwai got off to a rocky start. The Pakistani nuclear program owes its very existence to the government-endorsed and government-financed subterfuges of A. Q. Khan, who then turned the country into the biggest source of nuclear-weapons proliferation in atomic history. And while Khan may be the most famous nuclear renegade in Pakistan, he is not the only one. Soon after Kidwai took office, he also faced the case of the eccentric nuclear scientist Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, who helped build gas centrifuges for the Pakistani nuclear program, using blueprints Khan had stolen from the Netherlands. Mahmood then moved on to the country’s next huge project: designing the reactor at Khushab that was to produce the fuel Pakistan needed to move to the next level — a plutonium bomb.

An autodidact intellectual with grand aspirations, Mahmood was fascinated by the links between science and the Koran. He wrote a peculiar treatise arguing that when morals degrade, disaster cannot be far behind. Over time, his colleagues began to wonder if Mahmood was mentally sound. They were half amused and half horrified by his fascination with the role sunspots played in triggering the French and Russian Revolutions, World War II and assorted anticolonial uprisings. “This guy was our ultimate nightmare,” an American intelligence official told me in late 2001, when The New York Times first reported on Mahmood. “He had access to the entire Pakistani program. He knew what he was doing. And he was completely out of his mind.”

While Khan appeared to be in the nuclear-proliferation business chiefly for the money, Mahmood made it clear to friends that his interest was religious: Pakistan’s bomb, he told associates, was “the property of a whole Ummah,” referring to the worldwide Muslim community. He wanted to share it with those who might speed “the end of days” and lead the way for Islam to rise as the dominant religious force in the world.

Eventually Mahmood’s religious intensity, combined with his sympathy for Islamic extremism, scared his colleagues. In 1999, just as Kidwai was beginning to examine the staff of the nuclear enterprise, Mahmood was forced to take an early retirement. At a loss for what to do, Mahmood set up a nonprofit charity, Ummah Tameer-e-Nau, which was ostensibly designed to send relief to fellow Muslims in Afghanistan. In August 2001, as the Sept. 11 plotters were making their last preparations in the United States, Mahmood and one of his colleagues at the charity met with Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, over the course of several days in Afghanistan. There is little doubt that Mahmood talked to the two Qaeda leaders about nuclear weapons, or that Al Qaeda desperately wanted the bomb. George Tenet, the C.I.A. chief, wrote later that intelligence reports of the meeting were “frustratingly vague.” They included an account that there was talk of how to design a simple firing mechanism, and that a senior Qaeda leader displayed a canister that may have contained some nuclear material (though almost certainly not bomb-grade).

In the weeks after 9/11, the tales of the meeting were enough to set off panic. Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a longtime C.I.A. nuclear expert, was given perhaps the most daunting job at the agency in the aftermath of 9/11: to make sure that Al Qaeda did not have a weapon of mass destruction at its disposal. “The worst nightmare we had at that time was that A. Q. Khan and Osama bin Laden were somehow working together,” Mowatt-Larssen told me one day last winter in his basement office in a secure vault at the Energy Department, where he moved after his time at the C.I.A. to head up the department’s intelligence unit. As if to drive home the point to visitors to his underground lair, Mowatt-Larssen, who is leaving the government this month to become a senior fellow at Harvard, keeps a floor-to-ceiling centrifuge in the corner of his office, where most people might put a potted plant. The gleaming silver device, which is meant to spin at terrifying speed to enrich uranium, was seized in Libya — part of the cache that Muammar el-Qaddaffi bought from Khan.

Musharraf tried to tamp down American alarm. He told Tenet and Mowatt-Larssen that “men in caves can’t do this.” He had Mahmood and his colleague rearrested, though they were never prosecuted. Pakistan did not want to risk a trial in which the country’s own nuclear secrets came out. Today, Mahmood, like Khan, is back home, under tight surveillance that seems intended primarily to keep him a safe distance from reporters.

Kidwai insists that the Mahmood incident was overblown, raised time and again by Americans to create the image that Pakistan is a nuclear sieve. “Nothing went anywhere,” he assured me. “It’s over.” But what’s terrifying about Mahmood’s story is not what happened around the campfire, but rather that the meetings happened at all. They took place three years after Kidwai and his team started their work and demonstrated the huge vulnerabilities in the Pakistani nuclear infrastructure at the time.

Kidwai says he has not received any specific intelligence from the United States about “sleeper” scientists trying to infiltrate Pakistan’s facilities. Moreover, he says, there is now also a far more effective screening process in place. When we met, Kidwai spent considerable time describing the extensive “personal-reliability program” that he has created to screen existing employees and applicants to the program. Kidwai’s intelligence agency monitors nuclear employees’ private bank accounts, foreign trips and meetings with anyone who might be considered an extremist. But Americans have their doubts. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates noted to me that “there is no human vetting system that is entirely reliable,” pointing out that lie detector tests and other screening techniques that C.I.A. em­ployees regularly undergo have, at times, failed to identify spies. In Pakistan, the problem is made worse by the fact that the universities — where the nuclear program draws its young talent — are now more radicalized than at any time in memory, and the nuclear program itself has greatly expanded. Kidwai estimated that there are roughly 70,000 people who work in the nuclear complex in Pakistan, including 7,000 to 8,000 scientists and the 2,000 or so with “critical knowledge.” If even 1 percent of those employees are willing to spread Pakistan’s nuclear knowledge to outsiders with a cause, Kidwai — and the United States — have a problem.

JUST AS KIDWAI FEARS, every few months someone in Washington — either at the Pentagon, or the Energy Department, or on the campus of the National Defense University — runs a simulation of how the United States should respond if a terrorist group infiltrates the Pakistani nuclear program or manages to take over one or two of its weapons. In these exercises, everyone plays to type: the State Department urges negotiations, while the Joint Special Forces Command loads its soldiers and nuclear teams into airplanes. The results of these simulations are highly classified, for fear of tipping off the Pakistanis about what the United States knows and doesn’t know about the location of the country’s weapons. But most of these war games conclude in a sea of ambiguity, with the participants who are playing top officials in Islamabad and Washington unable to get a clear picture of what happened and, if something is missing, the Pakistanis unwilling to admit it. As one frequent participant in these tabletop exercises put it to me, “Most of them don’t end well.”

The Pakistanis insist that these American fears are exaggerated and that it would be next to impossible for someone to steal all the elements of a weapon. As Kidwai paced me through PowerPoints and diagrams, his message was that Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons-safety program is up to “international standards.” But back in Washington, military and nuclear experts told me that the bottom line is that if a real-life crisis broke out, it is unlikely that anyone would be able to assure an American president, with confidence, that he knew where all of Pakistan’s weapons were — or that none were in the hands of Islamic extremists. “It’s worse than that,” the participant in the simulations told me. “We can’t even certify exactly how many weapons the Pakistanis have — which makes it difficult to sound convincing that there’s nothing to worry about.”

Over time, it appears that the deep mutual suspicions have impeded the effort to ensure the safety of Pakistan’s arsenal. One of America’s key nuclear-safety technologies — PALs, or “permissive action links” — is a series of codes and hardware protections that make sure only a very small group of authorized users can arm and detonate a nuclear weapon. It is a cold-war leftover, designed to make sure some rogue sergeant in a silo didn’t wing a weapon toward Moscow. But it may be more important in the second nuclear age than it was in the first. When countries that have little or no experience with nuclear weapons suddenly find themselves stacking their arsenal up in tunnels and caves, it would be nice to know that a terrorist who procured a weapon could not simply set the timer and walk away.

PALs depend on what is essentially a switch in the firing circuit that requires the would-be user to enter a numeric code to start a timer for the weapon’s arming and detonation. If the sequence of numbers entered turns out to be incorrect in a fixed number of tries, the whole system disables itself. It is pretty similar to what happens when you repeatedly type the wrong password into an A.T.M., and the machine eats your bank card. But in this case, imagine that someone trying to use your stolen card entered the wrong code one time too many, and a series of small explosions was set off to wreck the innards of the bank machine. That’s what happens to an American warhead — it is rendered useless.

Pakistan would clearly benefit from a PALs system of its own. But under U. S. law, Washington cannot transfer nuclear technology to the Pakistanis, even technology to make their weapons safer, because the country is a rogue nuclear state. By all accounts, the Bush administration has abided by the law. Nuclear experts like Harold M. Agnew, the former director of the Los Alamos weapons laboratory, view the restriction as ridiculous. “Anybody who joins the club should be helped to get this,” he told my colleague Bill Broad. “Whether it’s India or Pakistan or China or Iran, the most important thing is that you want to make sure there is no unauthorized use. You want to make sure that the guys who have their hands on the weapons can’t use them without proper authorization.”

Even if Washington had made PALs available, it’s doubtful that the Pakistanis would have trusted the United States enough to accept them. Any PALs devices delivered in a FedEx box from Washington, they would have figured, would come with a secret “kill switch” allowing someone deep inside the bowels of the Pentagon to track or disable Pakistan’s nuclear assets. They would have undoubtedly been right.

Kidwai insists that he solved this problem by sending Pakistani engineers off to develop what you might call “Pak-PALs,” a domestic version of the American system. He told me that it was every bit as safe as the American version. No one will talk about what role, if any, the United States played in helping design this system. But history provides a possible guide. Back in the early 1970s, the United States sought to help France protect its own arsenal without directly divulging its own methods. American nuclear scientists began highly secretive discussions with their French counterparts that amounted to a game of 20 Questions, though in Washington-speak it was termed “negative guidance.”

IN BUSH’S LAST YEAR in office, Pakistan’s downward spiral came to dominate the meetings of the principals down in the Situation Room of the White House. First came the assassination in late December 2007 of Benazir Bhutto, which resulted in a secret trip by McConnell, the intelligence chief, and the director of the C.I.A., Michael V. Hayden, to Islamabad. It was the first of a series of secret missions to convince Musharraf and his handpicked successor as the chief of the army, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, that the militants in the tribal areas were now aiming to bring down the government in Islamabad. The message was simple and direct: The Pakistani leadership needed to forget about India and focus on the threat from within.

But with each successive trip it became clearer and clearer, particularly to McConnell, that the gap between how Washington viewed the threat and how the Pakistanis viewed it was as yawning as ever. Even worse, suspicions grew that Inter-Services Intelligence was directly aiding the Taliban and other jihadist militants, seeing them as a useful counterweight to India’s influence in the region.

Washington’s sanguinity was not increased when Pakistan’s new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, arrived in Washington over the summer for what turned out to be a disastrous first visit. Gilani, as the country’s first civilian leader in more than a decade, was under huge pressure to show he could bring the intelligence agency, and the country, under control. He couldn’t — a brief effort to force the ISI to report to the civilian leadership was quashed — but he thought he had better show up with a gift for President Bush.

Gilani wanted to tell Bush that he had sent forces into the tribal areas to clean out a major madrassa where hard-line ideology and intolerance were part of the daily curriculum. There were roughly 25,000 such private Islamic schools around Pakistan, though only a small number of them regularly bred young terrorists. The one he decided to target was run by the Haqqani faction of Islamic militants, one of the most powerful in the tribal areas.

Though Gilani never knew it, Bush was aware of this gift in advance. The National Security Agency had picked up intercepts indicating that a Pakistani unit warned the leadership of the school about what was coming before carrying out its raid. “They must have called 1-800-HAQQANI,” said one person who was familiar with the intercepted conversation. According to another, the account of the warning sent to the school was almost comic. “It was something like, ‘Hey, we’re going to hit your place in a few days, so if anyone important is there, you might want to tell them to scram.’ ”

When the “attack” on the madrassa came, the Pakistani forces grabbed a few guns and hauled away a few teenagers. Sure enough, a few days later Gilani showed up in the Oval Office and conveyed the wonderful news to Bush: the great crackdown on the madrassas had begun. The officials in the room — Bush; his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley; and others — did not want to confront Gilani with the evidence that the school had been warned. That would have required revealing sensitive intercepts, and they judged, according to participants in the discussion, that Gilani was both incapable of keeping a secret and incapable of cracking down on his military and intelligence units. Indeed, Gilani may not even have been aware that his gift was a charade: Bush and Hadley may well have known more about the military’s actions than the prime minister himself.

WHAT OBAMA NOW inherits in Pakistan is a fully dysfunctional relationship between that country and the United States. Last summer, Bush signed secret orders allowing American special forces to run ground raids into Pakistani territory to root out not only Al Qaeda but also a list of other militants who could be targeted by either the C.I.A. or American military commandos. The first such raid, in September, provoked such a firefight and outrage in Pakistan that most other raids were suspended. But the reasons for the Pakistani government’s anger went beyond the concern that Bush was publicly violating Pakistani sovereignty. If American special forces were now authorized to come into the country to snatch or kill a range of militants, several Pakistani officials said to me, would it be very long before they tried to get the country’s nuclear weapons as well?

Though few in Washington will admit it, it is the right question. At the end of Bush’s term, his aides handed over to Obama’s transition team a lengthy review of policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, concluding that in the end, the United States has far more at stake in preventing Pakistan’s collapse than it does in stabilizing Afghanistan or Iraq.

“Only one of those countries has a hundred nuclear weapons,” a primary author of the report said to me. For Al Qaeda and the other Islamists, he went on to say, “this is the home game.” He paused, before offering up the next thought: For anyone trying to keep a nuclear weapon from going off in the United States, it’s our home game, too.

David E. Sanger is chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times. His book “The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power,” from which this article is adapted, will be published this week by Harmony Books.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11pakistan-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&pagewanted=print

Mumbai terror, implications for US interests (Congressional Research report)

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/9940655/001R40087 Congressional Research Service document. Terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India and implications for US Interests by K. Alan Kronstadt, Specialist in South Asian Affairs dated December 19, 2008

 

Excerpts:

 

A 2006 session of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group

on Counterterrorism ended with a statement of determination from both countries to further

advance bilateral cooperation and information sharing on such areas of common concern as

bioterrorism, aviation security, advances in biometrics, cyber-security and terrorism, WMD

terrorism, and terrorist financing.105 The Working Group has met a total of nine times since its 2000 creation, most recently in August 2008. Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mullen was in New Delhi in early December to meet with senior Indian leaders, where he reiterated the U.S.

military’s commitment to work closely with Indian armed forces on counterterrorism. http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/pr120408a.htm.

 

The Mumbai incident elicited more vocal calls for deepening U.S.-India counterterrorism

cooperation that could benefit both countries. Such cooperation has been hampered by sometimes divergent geopolitical perceptions and by U.S. reluctance to “embarrass” its Pakistani allies by conveying alleged evidence of official Pakistani links to terrorists, especially those waging a separatist war in Kashmir. Mutual distrust between Washington and New Delhi also has been exacerbated by some recent clandestine U.S. efforts to penetrate Indian intelligence agencies.

 

Despite lingering problems, the scale of the threat posed by Islamist militants spurs observers to encourage more robust bilateral intelligence sharing and other official exchanges, including on maritime and cyber security, among many more potential issue-areas. See Lisa Curtis, After Mumbai: Time to Strengthen U.S.-India Counterterrorism Cooperation, Heritage Foundation

Backgrounder, December 9, 2008, http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/upload/bg_2217.pdf.

 

U.S. law enforcement agencies possess specialized equipment that can trace voice-over-internet calls, along with other expertise for examining the global position and satellite phone systems used by the attackers. One unnamed senior Indian intelligence source was quoted as saying that FBI assistance in tracing VoIP calls will be a “test case for U.S. promises.” (Praveen Swami, “Key Test for Indo-U.S. Intelligence Ties” (op-ed), Hindu (Chennai), December 3, 2008; quote in “Terror Boat Was Almost Nabbed Off Mumbai,” Times of India (Delhi), December 10, 2008.)

 

Summary

 

On the evening of November 26, 2008, a number of well-trained militants came ashore from the

Arabian Sea on small boats and attacked numerous high-profile targets in Mumbai, India, with

automatic weapons and explosives. By the time the episode ended some 62 hours later, about 165

people, along with nine terrorists, had been killed and hundreds more injured. Among the

multiple sites attacked in the peninsular city known as India’s business and entertainment capital

were two luxury hotels—the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi-Trident—along with the main

railway terminal, a Jewish cultural center, a café frequented by foreigners, a cinema house, and

two hospitals. Six American citizens were among the 26 foreigners reported dead. Indian officials

have concluded that the attackers numbered only ten, one of whom was captured.

 

The investigation into the attacks is still in preliminary stages, but press reporting and statements

from U.S. and Indian authorities strongly suggest that the attackers came to India from

neighboring Pakistan and that the perpetrators likely were members and acting under the

orchestration of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group. The LeT is believed to

have past links with Pakistan’s military and intelligence services. By some accounts, these links

are ongoing, leading to suspicions, but no known evidence, of involvement in the attack by

Pakistani state elements. The Islamabad government has strongly condemned the Mumbai

terrorism and offered New Delhi its full cooperation with the ongoing investigation, but mutual

acrimony clouds such an effort, and the attacks have brought into question the viability of a

nearly five-year-old bilateral peace process between India and Pakistan.

 

Three wars—in 1947-48, 1965, and 1971—and a constant state of military preparedness on both

sides of the border have marked six decades of bitter rivalry between India and Pakistan. Such

bilateral discord between two nuclear-armed countries thus has major implications for regional

security and for U.S. interests. The Administration of President-elect Barack Obama may seek to

increase U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving conflict between these two countries. The

Mumbai attacks have brought even more intense international attention to the increasingly deadly

and destabilizing incidence of Islamist extremism in South Asia, and they may affect the course

of U.S. policy toward Pakistan, especially. The episode also has major domestic implications for

India, in both the political and security realms. Indian counterterrorism capabilities have come

under intense scrutiny, and the United States may further expand bilateral cooperation with and

assistance to India in this realm.

 

For broader discussion, see CRS Report RL33529, India-U.S.

Relations, and CRS Report RL33498, Pakistan-U.S. Relations. This report will not be updated.

 

www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33529.pdf

www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33498.pdf

 

Chidambaram’s visit cancelled; US report puts focus on 26/11

Livemint Posted: Fri, Jan 9 2009. 12:38 AM IST

Mint could not immediately ascertain whether the home minister’s trip had been put off because of the imminent change in the US leadership

 

Liz Mathew

 

New Delhi: Home minister P. Chidambaram’s proposed trip to the US to share evidence about the involvement of Pakistan-based groups in the Mumbai terror attacks has been cancelled even as a US Congressional research report said it may be time to evolve a new foreign policy for South Asia.

 

In less than two weeks, Barack Obama will take charge as the next president of the US. Mint could not immediately ascertain whether the home minister’s trip had been put off because of the imminent change in the US leadership.

 

According to a top official in the ministry of external affairs, or MEA, Chidambaram’s visit had been cancelled because India had already handed over evidence establishing links between the attacks and Pakistan-based “elements” to Pakistan and given copies to the US. The official did not want to be identified. When contacted, Chidambaram declined to comment. He had been expected to meet US homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice in Washington.

 

Meanwhile, the report, “Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai, India and Implications for US Interests”, prepared by the Congressional Research Service for circulation among lawmakers, said the Mumbai attacks could complicate the US’ South Asia policy.

“Potential issues for the 111th Congress with regard to India include legislation that would foster greater US-India counterterrorism relations. With regard to Pakistan, Congressional attention has focused and is likely to remain focused on the programming and potential further conditioning of US foreign assistance, including that related to security and counterterrorism,” the report said.

 

Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of the Centre for Policy Research, a Delhi-based think tank, said the attacks have “re-hyphenated India and Pakistan in the US foreign policy” and “it would be a fair hypothesis to say that the Mumbai attacks were partly carried out to complicate US foreign policy”.

 

“I think it is now time that the US does a fundamental rethink on its Pakistan policy rather than its South Asia diplomatic efforts,” Mehta said.

 

Former national security advisor Brajesh Mishra said, “Much is going to depend on the (Joe) Biden visit. Obama is sending Biden, along with four colleagues, to see for themselves.” US vice-president-elect Joe Biden is scheduled visit to Pakistan this week.

Independently, Ted Osius, minister counsellor for political affairs at the US embassy in India, told a conference organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce on Thursday that the US would want to look at Russia as an alternative to route its supplies and equipment for bases in Afghanistan and thereby reduce reliance on Pakistan.

 

Ruhi Tewari, Rahul Chandran and Asit Ranjan Mishra and PTI contributed to this story.

liz.m@livemint.com

 

http://www.livemint.com/Articles/PrintArticle.aspx?artid=BA08F254-DDB1-11DD-A9CC-000B5DABF636

 

SP blows hot, and then cold, on pullout threat

8 Jan 2009, 0246 hrs IST, TNN

 

NEW DELHI: A day after the Supreme Court threw a spanner in the Centre's bid to bail out Mulayam Singh Yadav in the DA case, the Samajwadi Party raised the ante with threats of pullout from the UPA, only to suddenly calm down after an audience with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

The sudden rise and fall in SP temper, with party general secretary Amar Singh as protagonist, left political circles bewildered as observers linked the flip-flop to the brazen CBI attempt to get SP chief out of the agency's net.

SP linked its anger to the UPA government's refusal to act decisively against Pakistan, and the late-evening U-turn was also argued around terror, but few were ready to buy the argument.

While the Centre has done its part to help Mulayam Singh out of the CBI net, going to the extent of seeking a withdrawal of the case after having sought the SP chief's prosecution, Samajwadis feel that more needs to be done to clinch the issue.

As the drama played out within a day of the apex court's strong remarks on CBI, the terror-Pakistan link to the rise and drop in SP anger had few takers.

Amar Singh told reporters in the afternoon that SP could withdraw support to UPA as the latter had failed to take decisive action against Pakistan for the Mumbai terror attacks.

"During an all-party meeting 40 days ago, the government had promised party chief Mulayam Singh that decisive action against Pakistan will be taken in 15 days...that deadline is over," he said, adding that a decision would be taken at the parliamentary board meeting on Thursday.

As Congress downplayed the outburst, saying it only showed SP's concern over terrorism, Amar Singh drove to 10, Janpath, for a meeting with Sonia Gandhi. He emerged from her residence to say there was no question of a pullout and that he had only expressed the sentiments of his party workers.

After having built a case around terror in the day-long drama, SP leaders may gather on Thursday to raise the pitch even further. It suits Samajwadis to take a belligerent stand on Pakistan, having realised that public mood has turned completely against the politicking as it did during the Batla House encounter.

SP believes that a tough stance on terror would endear it to voters across the board. That rival Mayawati has also taken a strong line on terror only shows how language of UP politics has changed since the Mumbai attacks.

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3948673,prtpage-1.cms

Mumbai-like attack could happen in USA, UK

Randall MikkelsenThu, Jan 8 07:43 AM

U.S. cities are vulnerable to an attack like the gun-and-grenade assault that terrorized Mumbai for three days and killed 179 people, the White House homeland security adviser said on Wednesday.

Ken Wainstein told a Washington think tank that the Mumbai attacks in November showed the effectiveness of a low-technology coordinated assault on an open city.

"You can envision that happening in any American city, and it's chilling when you think about it," Wainstein told policy makers and others in a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "That's the kind of thing that is all too realistic anywhere in the world."

Wainstein's comments reflected a growing unease among international security officials that the Mumbai attacks may have established a new model for terrorism.

He spoke a day before government and local officials were to testify to Congress on the Mumbai attacks. The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday will consider the response by Indian officials, and what is needed to prevent such an attack in the United States.

"We're going to go through where they screwed up, and how do we fix it -- how do we make sure we don't make the same mistakes?" committee spokesman Seamus Hughes said.

The 10 attackers, who Indian authorities say came from Pakistan, came ashore from speedboats and fanned out to locations such as hotels, taking and executing hostages and holding off security forces for days. They were armed with automatic rifles and grenades and carried global positioning equipment.

MUMBAI ATTACKS

The attackers had broad international contacts, Britain's spy chief, MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans, said in newspaper interviews published on Wednesday.

"We have looked at individuals' communications, where they have been and so on and found they have got connections with most countries including the UK, but not of national security significance," London's Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying.

Wainstein declined to discuss whether there was any sign the attackers communicated with people in the United States.

The attacks in Mumbai may spark more such raids by militants now that defenses are improving against suicide car-bomb attacks, Dell Dailey, the U.S. State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, said on Tuesday.

"This might open the door of awareness," he told reporters, as Evans made similar comments in London. "The spectacularness of an on-foot attack will unfortunately ring true to other terrorist organizations," Dailey said.

Wainstein said early lessons from Mumbai underscored a need for facilities such as hotels to be told of intelligence on potential threats, and to take them seriously. He said the public also must be made aware of such threats.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090108/738/tnl-mumbai-like-attack-could-happen-in-u.html?printer=1

 

MI5 chief warns of threat from global recession

Britain faces a new security threat as a result of the global economic crisis, the head of MI5 has warned, in the first ever interview by a director general of the Security Service.

 

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:26PM GMT 07 Jan 2009

Jonathan Evans said the international recession could be a "watershed moment" which will shift the balance of power away from the West.

Despite MI5 achieving notable success against al-Qaeda in Britain, Mr Evans warned that with the decline in economic power of the UK, US and Europe, new threats to national security are likely to emerge.

"Where there have been watershed moments, there have often been national security implications from that, a new alignment," he said. "We have to maintain flexibility and respond to threats. The world will not stay the same."

Mr Evans, who succeeded Baroness Manningham-Buller as MI5 director general in 2007, also said:

* MI5 had scored significant successes against al-Qaeda in Britain in the last two years which was forcing terrorists to "keep their heads down." But he warned that not all potential extremists could be monitored by the security services.

*Scores of British Muslims are still travelling to terror training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan every year. Others are travelling to lawless areas of Somalia.

*The terrorists who launched the Mumbai attacks in November had indirect links to the UK

* The growth in the use of internet telephone services may pose a "significant detriment to national security" as terrorists can communicate more freely

But it is the economic turbulence that is gripping the world that is likely to present the security services with their latest challenge, Mr Evans said.

"Our focus in the next few years will be international terrorism, al-Qaeda and its associates, but we are also looking at the global economic crisis," he told the Daily Telegraph at his Whitehall office.

Although Mr Evans declined to go into details, Britain has already experienced a surge in spying by the re-emerging economic powers of Russia and China.

Countries which face economic and political meltdown, such as Pakistan and Somalia, are also emerging as bases for terrorism. And as global alliances are re-drawn there could also be threats from of state-sponsored terrorism, particularly in the Middle East.

"As the world develops there is a knock-on effect in terms of domestic extremism, global power and the relationship between states," Mr Evans added. "National security tends to be a spin-off issue from wider changes."

He said there was no direct relationship between economic fortunes and extremism but added that it was important to consider what would happen if the "West becomes less economically dominant."

"There is no single path that leads people to violent extremism," he said. "Social, foreign policy, economic and personal factors all lead people to throw their lot in with extremists."

In his last public remarks - in November 2007 - Mr Evans warned that al-Qaeda was recruiting British Muslims as young as 15. At the time around 2,000 suspected extremists were under surveillance.

But since then, he said MI5 had succeeded in targeting homegrown fundamentalism, securing 86 successful prosecutions in the last two years.

Mr Evans described developments as "very encouraging" but warned "the networks have not gone away."

"There could easily be activities that we are not aware of," he added. "We don't have anything approaching comprehensive coverage."

Mr Evans said there were many individuals in Britain who supported al-Qaeda or considered themselves members of the group and were helping channel fighters, equipment and money abroad.

But he said there was less "late stage attack planning," particularly in the last 18 months,.

"It has had a chilling effect on the enthusiasm of the networks and they have been keeping their heads down," he said although there was "enough intelligence to show an intent to mount an attack" and it "could happen at any stage."

The main threats to Britain come from al-Qaeda's core in Pakistan and their "assets in this country," he said.

"We continue to believe that the ability lies in Pakistan to attack the UK," Mr Evans said, adding that 75 per cent of their investigations have connections with Pakistan.

Mr Evans said the number of extremists wanting to travel to Iraq had "tailed off significantly" as Britain prepares to withdraw but there was still "traffic" into Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"What happens in Afghanistan is extremely important because what happens there has a direct impact on domestic security in the UK," he said.

"Pre-2001 they were able to establish terrorist training facilities and to draw in hardened extremists and vulnerable recruits to indoctrinate and teach techniques.

"If the Taliban is able to establish control over significant areas, there is a real danger that such facilities will be re-established."

Terrorist networks are helping fighters travel to Afghanistan and Somalia for training, he said, adding that Somalia was now in danger of becoming a safe-haven in the way Afghanistan was before the removal of the Taliban.

"It has gone up in the last few years and there are now networks that help individuals go and take part or provide support to extremist gangs in Somalia."

Some of the terrorist networks operating between Britain and Somalia are not made up of British Somalis, he said, although others had family links to the area.

MI5 came in for criticism in the wake of the July 7 and July 21 attacks in 2005 and the London and Glasgow car bomb attacks of 2007 because they had come across the terrorists before they launched their attacks.

"I think it's quite likely that the next attack or next attempted attack will involve people of whom we have heard or about whom we know a bit," he said. "But the fact we know of an individual and the fact they have had some association with extremists doesn't mean we are going to be indefinitely in a position to be confident about everything that they are doing, because we have to prioritise."

The size of the Security Service has doubled in the last few years, and is due to reach 4,100 staff by 2011.

He accepted that the London Olympics in 2012 were "potentially a major terrorist target" but said it was important not to be diverted by "red herrings, scare stories and rumours" and to continue investigations into terrorist networks to uncover plots because it was "highly unlikely to come with 'Olympics' on the wrapper."

The head of MI5 is also concerned that the development of new ways of telephoning over the internet could represent a "significant detriment to national security" and that new powers are needed to tackle the threat.

While calls can be monitored, phone bills - which can constitute vital evidence in prosecutions - are not available from internet phone services.

"If we are to maintain our capability we are going to have to make decisions in the next few years" he said, "Because traditional ways are unlikely to work."

MI5 has uncovered connections between the Mumbai attackers and Britain but not of "security significance," Mr Evans said.

"We have looked at individuals' communications, where they have been and so on and found they have got connections with most countries including the UK, but not of national security significance," he said.

But the director general warned that Mumbai could become a model for future terrorist attacks in the same "iconic" way as September 11.

"If the method used in Mumbai of using firearms in public places becomes adopted as a model, it changes our most likely scenarios," he added.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/4144460/MI5-chief-warns-of-threat-from-global-recession.html

Missing pieces of the terror jigsaw

Vicky Nanjappa | December 29, 2008 | 16:28 IST

The Indian Mujahideen has become the face of home-grown terror in India. While some key IM members have been arrested by law enforcement agencies, its leaders continue to evade the security net.

While Mansoor Peerbhoy -- who allegedly sent IM's e-mails ahead of the terror attacks in Delhi and Ahmedabad -- has been arrested by the Mumbai police, Abdul Subhan, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Bhatkal, Qayamuddin and Shadab Malik are still out there, likely planning their next attack.

Intelligence Bureau officials told rediff.com that these men matter most if the investigations into this year's terror attacks have to progress. Terror groups work on a need-to-know basis and hence, it is almost impossible to elicit complete information about the terror operation from the foot soldiers who have been arrested so far.

Abdul Subhan, for instance, could provide important leads into the IM's operations, even about any role the organisation may have played in theMumbai attacks, IB sources say.

The IB suspects Subhan may have slipped into Pakistan.

Another big catch would be Riyaz Bhatkal, who took charge of the IM's financing at the Lashkar-e-Tayiba's behest. While some sources suggest he too may be in Pakistan, other investigators believe he is still in India.

IB sources say Bhatkal, who has close Lashkar ties, could shed light on how the Mumbai attacks were financed. He raised funds and handled Lashkar operations in south India before he was re-assigned to the IM. The Lashkar wanted his assistance to ensure IM's growth.

Investigations into the Hyderabad blasts of August 2007 also suggest Bhatkal's hand.

Another man on the run is Qayammuddin, a key member in the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India. From him, the investigators believe they could secure information pertaining to the terror trade route.

Iqbal Bhatkal, Riyaz's brother who helped set up terror modules in south India, is suspected to be still in India.

Shadab Malik assembled the components for the bombs used in the Delhi blasts. He is said to have collected the material from someone only known as 'Sharukh Khan', likely a false name.

'Sharukh Khan', according to the police, had a bomb factory in Karnataka, which supplied improvised explosive devices to the IM.

When these terrorists are arrested, the law enforcement agencies will obtain crucial insights on the terror modules operating in north and south India. While the northern module is known as the Mahmood Ghaznavi brigade, the southern module is known as the Shahabuddin Ghauri brigade.

http://www.rediff.com///news/2008/dec/29mumterror-missing-pieces-of-the-terror-jigsaw.htm

 A strategy to deter terrorism 

 By Subramanian Swamy  

28 Dec 2008 09:14:16 AM IST (New Indian Express)

India is today infested with a host of terrorist insurgencies: JKLF, SIMI, ULFA, the PWG, the Maoists, the Naxalites, the Tripura TNA, the Naga terrorists, the Manipur terrorists et al. They can all be crushed quickly but for one factor: the support they get them from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan’s support is via the ISI, a wing of its army, which also fakes Indian currency to finance such activities.

Pakistani involvement is not because its civil society wants it, but because of the Islamic fervour in the army that is not reconciled to the defeat of its forces in Bangladesh.

The same fervour has turned the Bangladesh establishment against India, and hence with the help of the ISI, al Qaeda has through its Indonesian wing established a base to help these terrorists and also to develop the HuJI, which is emerging as the human infrastructure of terrorists in India. Thus, Islam is the heart and Pakistan is the brain of terrorism in India.

Challenging Islam in the realm of ideas, without diluting the debate with secular platitudes, jamming the brain of terror and destroying its human infrastructure embedded in India, is the core of a strategy to deter terrorism. This means sanitising Pakistan and truncating Bangladesh.

Prominent national security analysts have argued that in countering terrorist threats, deterrent strategies as formulated for conventional warfare have no significant role to play.

The US President’s National Security Strategy document states, “Traditional concepts of deterrence will not work against a terrorist enemy.” Of course, I am not concerned here with “traditional concepts” but with new ideas to combat the new form of warfare — clandestine violence under the name of terrorism.

The overwhelming consensus against the efficacy of deterrence has now been challenged by two US-based scholars, Robert Trager and Desseslava Zagorcheva [in Deterring Terrorism – It can be Done, International Security Journal (Harvard-MIT, Vol.30, No.3, 2006)]. According to them, the case against the use of deterrence strategies in counterterrorist campaigns appears to rest on three pillars.

First, terrorists are thought to be irrational, and therefore unresponsive to the cost-benefit calculation required in successful deterrence. Second, many terrorists are said to be so highly motivated that they are willing to die, and so not deterred by fear of punishment or of anything else.

Third, even if terrorists were afraid of punishment, they cannot be deterred because they lack or have a shifting “return address” on which retaliation can be visited. Counterterrorist strategies that advocate addressing “root causes” such as by “winning hearts and minds”, economic packages and promoting human rights, are for the long run. The required cure is for the short run.

Trager and Zagorcheva argue nevertheless that even the most highly motivated terrorists can be deterred by holding at risk the political goals of their patrons and financiers.
My view is that the ability of a terrorist-targeted nation to put political goals of the patrons of the terrorists and their benefactors at risk stands the best chance of deterring terrorism, and is the most important objective of counter-terrorism policy.

The structure of a counter-terrorism policy must be nation-specific and terrorist organisation-centric. There cannot be a general global strategy of deterrence against terrorism.
Traditional view of deterrence in strategic studies literature implies the scope for a bargain: both sides agree to cooperate on a state of affairs that both prefer to alternatives they face. This is called cost-benefit analysis.

Deterrence, therefore, is not just about making threats; it is also about making offers. Deterrence by punishment is about finding the right combination of threat and offer.
But it appears impossible that deterrence could hold at risk something of sufficient value to terrorists such that their behavior is affected. This means if the terrorists’ motivation is high enough, then even a small probability of a successful operation and a high probability of punishment will not deter them.
Further, because the interests of terrorists and the State seem so opposed, it appears impossible that the two sides could agree on a state of affairs that both prefer to that in which each does its worst against the other.

Terrorists are highly irrational by mainstream norms, but not completely. A growing body of literature shows that terrorist groups usually have lexicographically ordered goals and choose their strategy accordingly. States also have preferences over these same objectives.

 The preference orderings of objectives of terrorists and States are diametrically opposed therefore the question of deterrence becomes crucial. Paradoxically, the high levels of motivation often make terrorists more susceptible to a deterrence strategy that targets their political goals.

Highly motivated terrorists, because they hold their political goals dear are reluctant to run even low level risks that hurt their political aims. This magnifies the coercive leverage of strategies that target political ends.

The Islamic terrorists in India have only one goal: to convert the Darul Harab India of today into the Darul Islam of tomorrow. Judging by the secret writings in circulation amongst clerics in Saudi Arabia, the Muslim clerics consider as unacceptable the failure of 800 years of Islamic rule in India to convert India into a 100 per cent Muslim nation.

Akhand Hindustan could not be converted more than 25 per cent. Thus, it was a passive victory of Hindus and a blow to the imagined invincibility of Islam.

Islamic theologists consider the US a meddling nation that is corrupting the social morals of Muslims; Israel represents a reversal of Islamic conquest of territory in West Asia by Jews who were hated by Prophet Mohammed; and Hindustan a challenge to the invincibility of Islam.

India has a huge population, and worse, has begun to develop quickly. Thus India must be targeted by terrorising Hindus and making them submit. The mad mullahs are thus on a rampage, and we Hindus have to wake up to the real challenge of Mumbai 26/11 and all that preceded it.

The first lesson to be learnt for tackling terrorism is that India recognise that the Hindu is the target, and that Muslims of South Asia are being programmed to slide into suicide against Hindus.

The recent al Qaeda videotapes in Bihar, seeking recruits for terrorism against the “US-Israel-India axis”, are an indication of this. It is to undermine the Hindu psyche and create fear of civil war that terror attacks are organised.

And since the Hindu is the target, Hindus must collectively respond as Hindus against the terrorist and not feel isolated, or worse be complacent because he or she is not personally affected. Therefore we have to have a collective mindset as Hindus to stand against the terrorist.

In this response, Muslims and Christians of India can join the Hindus if they genuinely feel for the Hindu. That they really do so feel cannot be believed unless they acknowledge with pride that though they may be Muslims or Christians, their ancestors are Hindus.

It is not easy for them to acknowledge this ancestry even though that is the truth, because the Muslim Mullah and Christian Missionary would consider it as unacceptable according to the Koran and the Bible.

That realisation of oneness with Hindus would also dilute the religious fervour of their faith and create a mental option for their possible re-conversion and return to Hinduism.
So, their religious leaders preach hatred and violence against the Kafir and the pagan, ie, the Hindu, to keep the faith of their followers.

But still, if any Muslim or Christian does so acknowledge his or her Hindu legacy, then we Hindus can accept him or her as a part of the Brihad Hindu Samaj, which constitutes Hindustan. India that is Hindustan is thus a nation of Hindus and those others whose ancestors are Hindus. Even Parsis and Jews in India have Hindu ancestors.

 Those who refuse to so acknowledge or those foreigners who become Indian citizens by registration can remain in India, but should not have voting rights.

 The second lesson is since demoralising the Hindu and undermining the Hindu foundation of India in order to destroy Hindu civilisation is the goal of terrorists, we must never capitulate and never concede any demand of terrorists.

Terrorists are encouraged by appeasement but never satisfied by it. Therefore, no matter how many Hindus have to die, the basic policy has to be: never yield to any demand of terrorists. That necessary resolve has not been shown in our recent history. Instead ever since we conceded Pakistan in 1947 under duress, we have been mostly yielding time and time again.

In 1989, to obtain the release of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiya who had been kidnapped, five terrorists in Indian jails were set free by the V P Singh government. To save Rubaiya it was not necessary to surrender to terrorist demands. But the then government was capitulationist in outlook, or perhaps the then Home Minister was in cahoots with the terrorists, and hence did not explore them.

The third lesson to be learnt is that however small the terrorist incident, the nation must retaliate — not by measured and “sober” responses but by massive retaliation. Our Intelligence agencies tell me in private that we have proof of terrorist training camps in PoK and Bangladesh, and if that is so, we should bomb them by dispatching our air force.
There is evidence that the FBI has presented to a district court in California of satellite photos that establish terror training camps exist near Balakot in northeast Pakistan. Indian government claims proof which has not been made public of 57 camps in Pakistani held territory and 36 camps in Bangladesh.

Many are advising Hindus to deal with the root “cause” of terrorism rather than eradicating terrorists by retaliation. And pray what is the root “cause”? According to liberals, terrorists are born or bred because of illiteracy, poverty, oppression, and discrimination. They argue that instead of eliminating them, the root cause of these four disabilities in society should be removed. Only then will terrorism disappear.

Liberals seek to deaden the emotive power of the individual and render him passive. A nation-state cannot survive for long with such a mentality.  The background of some of the world’s most notorious Muslim terrorists shows that: Bin Laden, the son of a Saudi billionaire, studied engineering. His deputy Ayman al-Zawahri is an eye surgeon. The 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed graduated from an American college with an engineering degree. Flight 93 pilot Ziad Jarrah’s father is a Beirut bureaucrat who put his son through prep school. They didn’t do what they did to escape poverty.

 Muslim fundamentalists have an education and an economic future, yet they still terrorise. They’re literate enough to liberally interpret their holy books, yet they still embrace jihad against Kafirs.

The fourth lesson to learn is that more than the overt threat of the terrorists in India, the more sinister corrosion of our nation state occurs from within. This corrosion provides ‘a force multiplier’ to the terrorists.

Ultimately our inference must be that terrorist masterminds have political goals and a method in their madness. An effective strategy to deter terrorism is therefore to defeat those political goals and to rubbish them by counterterrorist action.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=A+strategy+to+deter+terrorism&artid=|Ci|Xx68mic=&SectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&MainSectionID=XVSZ2Fy6Gzo=&SectionName=m3GntEw72ik=

Antulay’s doubt was brainless, shameless communalism

By Arvind Lavakare

Wednesday, 24 December , 2008, 12:09

It ended in a whimper but not without creating a political tsunami and leaving on the nation’s secular credentials a very ugly scar that will require consummate plastic surgery to remove, if at all.  

The Union Minister for Minority Affairs created a gale all right last week when he insinuated that the Pakistani terrorists’ bullets which killed Hemant Karkare, chief of Maharashtra’s Anti-Terror Squad, at Cama Hospital on the black 26/11 may well have been the outcome of a conspiracy of radical Hindus seeking revenge for his targeting them in his squad’s investigation into the bomb blast in Malegaon town this September.  

What the Union Minister was insinuating was that some Hindus ( supposedly police colleagues) had calculatedly arranged to send Karkare to the Chhatrapati Shivaji (Train) Terminus instead of letting him go the Taj or Oberoi Hotel where the action was more hectic on the night of 26/11. Why Karkare and two senior colleagues were traveling together in the same car that night was beyond his imagination, said the Minister. 

That this “conspiracy” and “unimaginable” suspicion ultimately ended in the minister having to eat crow does in no way wipe out the initial verdict that despite more than fifty years in politics Abdul Rehman Antulay had let his innate ideology triumph over available information, allowed stark communalism to win over commonsense. Such, we are told, is the passion embedded in Islam and its Qoran/Hadith et al. 

It’s lamentable that sections of Antulay’s community welcomed him as a hero when he went to pray at the mosque outside the Lok Sabha where he had a little while earlier exposed his perverse and inflammatory thought process. Equally pitiable was that the Communists as a block and several Congressmen had sided, however glibly, with Antulay’s suspicion of the majority community’s inclination towards terrorism. 

The basic fact ignored by Antulay --- and all supporters of his “brave plain speaking” --- was that before he made his infernal innuendo on December 17, he had all the time and all the clout to ascertain all the required info on Karkare’s death on 26/11. As a Union minister and as the ex-chief minister of Maharashtra, Antulay could well have used his free Member of Parliament’s air travel pass to come to Mumbai, enjoyed the state’s VIP guest house hospitality, summoned Maharashtra’s chief minister, Director General of Police and all seniors connected with Karkare’s ATS and obtained a written authoritative account of how exactly Karkare, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kamte, and Police Inspector Salaskar had been slain by the bullets from Pakistan’s two terrorists near Cama Hospital that is just half a kilometer away from CST. 

If Antulay had just come down to Mumbai on a fact-finding exercise, he would have learnt of the following events of 26/11 excerpted here from a report in The Times of India, Mumbai, December 19, 2008, penned, and let this be noted, by two Muslims, S.Ahmad Ali and Mateen Hafeez: 

• Around 9.45pm, the city police control room flashed a message saying there was a terror attack at CST railway station.
• Hemant Karkare, having dinner at his home in Dadar (about 15 minutes by a red beacon car from CST) reached there and donned a helmet and bullet-proof jacket. Additional DGP (Railways) K P Raghuvanshi also joined him. But, while Raghuvanshi stayed back, Karkare, along with his four policemen, first went to the CST station's platform number 1 but found it deserted, with no trace of any terrorists.
• According to the city police commissioner, Hasan Gafoor (another Muslim, be it noted), “A fellow policeman informed them (Karkare and Raghuvanshi) that the terrorists were spotted walking towards (the nearby) Cama Hospital.” (This hospital’s rear entrance is half a kilometer from the start of the quiet, ill-lit lane adjoining The Times building which itself is bang opposite the CST; the hospital’s front entrance is alongside a busy footpath beside the city’s session’s court housing a police station.)
• Meanwhile, Karkare received a wireless message, saying, “Additional police commissioner Sadanand Date is injured at Cama Hospital. A bodyguard is seriously injured, while another constable is dead.”
• Karkare, accompanied by four constables, made for Cama Hospital while the Z-security guards were instructed to take position outside The Times building.
• “Later”, as stated by Akhtar Shaikh, (another Muslim be it noted) who was Kakare's orderly and who was present along with Karkare that night, “Inspector Vijay Salaskar and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte, who met at CST, arrived on the scene. Salaskar was accompanied by five of his subordinates.”
• According to the text in the diagram accompanying the above mentioned Times of India report, Kamte got the same message as Karkare got at 9.45 p.m. and left his Byculla residence for CST. Salaskar, residing at a distant suburb, Goregaon, got a similar message, but en route a senior officer asked him to go the Taj hotel. By the time he got there, operations against the terrorists had begun, and joint commissioner of police, Rakesh Maria, told him on the cellphone to go to Colaba police station where, reportedly, two terrorists had been caught. Finding that two Israelis, rather than terrorists, had been apprehended by Colaba police station, Salaskar informed Maria accordingly and was then told by him to report to HQ. While reaching there he got a message from an officer about ACP Date lying injured in Cama Hospital. Hence his arrival and meeting with Karkare near Cama.
• “As we headed towards the rear entrance of Cama Hospital, we heard gunshots. Kamte returned the fire, and the terrorists threw a grenade at us, but it fell within the hospital premises,” continued Shaikh.
• Inspector Nitin Alaknure, Salaskar's colleague, said, “Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar were discussing their next step. Kamte then suggested they enter the hospital from the main gate. They got into a police Qualis stationed there, and later, as they approached the special branch (of the Mumbai CID which is on the road to Rang Bhavan and Cama Hospital rear entrance) Salaskar took over the driver's seat,” Alaknure recalled.
• Rakesh Maria, Mumbai crime branch chief, said, “They (Karkare’s trio) got a wireless message that the terrorists were hiding behind a red vehicle near Rang Bhavan. They started looking for the red vehicle and suddenly spotted one terrorist, who was later identified as Mohammad Ajmal Kasab. Kamte and Salaskar opened fire.” (Karkare didn’t fire, be it noted)
• The officers were about to get down from the vehicle when all of a sudden, another terrorist showered bullets from his AK-47, injuring all the cops. Kamte and Karkare died on the spot. The terrorists then threw the three policemen out of the car, and hijacked the vehicle. It was Arun Jadhav, the lone survivor, who later informed the control room about the incident. (Apparently, there were only four occupants of the Qualis and only Jadhav survived to tell the tale of death.)

Former intelligence chief V N Deshmukh said he had visited the spot where the shootout (which claimed Karkare's and cops' lives) happened. “I spoke to several witnesses and officers. I am convinced it was not a conspiracy,” he said.

Five conspicuous points emerge from the above newspaper report. One is that Karkare, the chief, entered battle himself instead of devising a strategy to trap and outnumber and arrest the terrorists. Two, he let Kamte decide that the team should enter the front gate of Cama Hospital. Three, he let Kamte and Salaskar travel with him instead of in separate vehicles. Four, he let his two colleagues fire on the lone terrorist they saw instead of working out a plan to corner him into a trap. Five, the trio did not even conceive of a second terrorist hiding near that red car, and firing at them with an AK-47. 

The above paragraph leaves you, and Abdul Rehman Antulay, to draw conclusions that are too embarrassing to be put down here. 

Oh yes, there’s Antulay’s crucial question: “Why did Karkare go to CST where there was nothing (in his words) and not to the Taj or the Oberoi?” Well, well, Antulaybhai, the Taj hotel attack began at 10.03 p.m., i.e. 18 minutes after the CST attack was intimated to Karkare having dinner at his home. If the Home Minister’s Lok Sabha statement on your insinuation doesn’t enlighten you on this time of the attack on the Taj, please see the front page of The Sunday Express of December 21, 2008.

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14824644

Mumbai terror 26/11:

What went wrong: The inside story

Shishir GuptaPosted online: Dec 26, 2008 at 0342 hrs

 

http://static.expressindia.com/expressindia/newpic/Letter.jpg

 

Photocopy of IB letter (signed by PC Haldar) of Sept. 24, 2008 to Dr. PS Pasricha, DGP, Maharashtra,. 24, 2008

 

The Intelligence failure in the run-up to the November 26 attacks and the crossed wires during the 60-hour siege: Shishir Gupta reconstructs

A day after P Chidambaram took over as the Union Home Minister, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, Intelligence Bureau Director P C Haldar and Maharashtra Director General of Police A K Roy met in his chamber to discuss the Mumbai terror attacks. Roy is said to have told them that the public was “extremely angry” and that India should militarily retaliate against Pakistan in order to teach them a lesson.

Later that evening, the top bureaucrats, without the minister, assembled again in Gupta's room. With the NSA listening, Roy asked Haldar why the November 20 intelligence alert on a Lashkar-e-Toiba ship, given to the Coast Guard and Naval Headquarters, was not passed on to the Mumbai Police. Haldar bluntly replied that the Mumbai Police could do nothing on the high seas, clearly indicating that the Navy and the Coast Guard had failed to deliver.

The alerts sent by the IB in the past three years to the Mumbai Police and the action taken were again discussed threadbare at a meeting in Nagpur on December 19 between Roy, newly sworn in Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and State Home Minister Jayant Patil. There was concurrence on the need to have a high-level inquiry, which could be headed by R D Pradhan, who was home secretary under former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, with V Balachandran, former special secretary of the Research and Analysis Wing, and Ajit Nimbalkar, former Maharashtra chief secretary, as members.

What is evident in the flurry of meetings, from New Delhi to Nagpur, is the growing realisation that on November 26 night, all systems that could have prevented a 26/11 failed.

INTELLIGENCE

Even on the morning of 26/11, a communication asking for activation of 10 SIM cards was picked up by the R&AW on the Bangladesh border. Intelligence agencies failed to decipher its significance. At 9.21 pm, the attack began

IB chief Haldar and his R&AW counterpart Ashok Chaturvedi failed to act on the top-secret alert (see the scanned document below) sent to then Maharashtra DG P S Pasricha on November 20, 2007. Haldar wrote to Pasricha that reliable inputs indicated that the LeT was planning a major terrorist strike and the action might involve “fidayeen attack, stand-off firing and use of grenades”. Even though the exact target had not been disclosed, he added, the operation could involve taking hostages. Asking the DG to sensitise his officers, Haldar promised to revert “as soon as” more information was available. Even as Special Director, Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), Haldar had written to Pasricha on August 7, 2006, and given details of specific targets in Maharashtra.

However, Haldar never reverted back to Pasricha, despite the promise, till four days after the Marriot Hotel bombing in Islamabad. On September 20, 2008, Joint Director (MAC) IB Ashok Prasad alerted the Maharashtra DG (the scanned document on top) that the LeT was planning an attack in Mumbai and identified Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Vallabbhai Patel Stadium, Sea Rock or Taj Land's End Hotel, Mumbai Juhu airfield and JW Marriot Hotel as likely targets.

The scene now shifted to Delhi and the US, through established intelligence channels, alerted R&AW Joint Secretary A K Dashmana in a November 18, 2008, meeting that an LeT ship was trying to infiltrate into Indian waters. It also gave latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the vessel. This input was passed on to the IB for dissemination to the respective agencies. Joint Director Prabhakar Alok forwarded the input to the Naval Headquarters and the Coast Guard for action.

While the Naval Headquarters never passed on the intelligence to its sword-arm, the Western Navy, the Coast Guard launched a search for the suspected LeT vessel on November 21 dawn. As the provided coordinates by the US Intelligence put the vessel 20-30 miles south of Karachi, the Coast Guard never found the ship. Its officers not only wrote a letter to IB Joint Director Alok but also called him up in a bid to get more intelligence. Alok promised to revert, but like his boss never did.

Even on the morning of 26/11, a communication asking for activation of 10 SIM cards was picked up by the R&AW on the Bangladesh border. Intelligence agencies failed to decipher its significance. At 9.21 pm, the attack began, with Ajmal Kasab and Ismail Khan opening fire at the CST Terminus. The Mumbai Police top brass was at the time making their way to Oberoi Trident to attend a wedding.

POLICE

A price was paid for the division of authority between the Mumbai Police Commissioner, who was absent from the command centre, and the DG, who is in-charge of the state but not the city

Almost around the same time, there was another high-level meeting on at another place in the city. The then Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare, DG Roy and the then state Home Minister R R Patil were discussing the sensitive Malegaon blast investigation. Around 9 pm, they called it a day. Karkare called up home to say he would be back in time for dinner, while Roy left to pick up his wife for the Trident wedding.

While they were on their way to the hotel, Roy got a call from a friend at Masala Kraft restaurant in the Taj Palace Hotel saying that there was firing outside. The DG immediately alerted DCP (Zone I) Vishwas Nagre Patil to reach the spot and take control as it could be gang warfare. The friend again called up, and this time the DG could hear the continuous burst of fire on the phone. Roy decided to give up the plan to go to the wedding and returned to the headquarters. Here all top state officials except that of the Mumbai Police were watching the action on TV in his room, along with Home Minister Patil.

Roy called up the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s control room, only to find that Joint Commissioner (Crime) Rakesh Maria handling the operations and Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor were not there. By now, reports of firing were pouring in from CST Terminus, Cama Hospital, Taj Palace, Nariman House and Trident Hotel. With Gafoor parked inside his car outside the Trident, the command and control of Mumbai Police response had collapsed, with few ready to take orders from Maria and Roy not in charge of the city.

The city and the country paid heavily for the division of authority between the Mumbai Police Commissioner and the DG on that day as the two for the past decade have had a separate police communication network, budget and operational control. Even the annual confidential report of the Mumbai Police Commissioner is written by State Additional Chief Secretary and not by the State DG.

The decision to withdraw AK-47 assault rifles from the police inspectors, taken by Roy as Mumbai Police Commissioner three years ago, also proved disastrous. All that the Mumbai Police had in response to the LeT's artillery was assault fire and grenades of World War II vintage, .303 Lee Enfield rifles, .38 bore revolvers, 9 mm pistols and lathis.

Only Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte had got an AK-47 issued from police armoury that day. When he came face to face with the terrorists along with encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and Karkare, he fired twice at Kasab but missed narrowly. Not wearing the state-of-the-art bullet-proof headgear he had got from Kosovo, he was shot dead along with his two colleagues. It was around midnight that Maria and Roy realised the situation had got out of control. Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johny Joseph was requested to seek commandos and the NSG for help.

Given the cost of the breakdown of coordination that day, the state Government is now mulling putting the Mumbai Police Commissioner under the direct control of the state DG. This was given in-principle clearance at the meeting in Nagpur last week, but will become operational only after the three-member inquiry committee has submitted its report.

So, on 26/11, barring constable Tukaram Omble, who took Kasab’s five bullets in his chest to arrest him, and a handful of officers, the Mumbai Police was found woefully wanting. This set the stage for the Army, Naval Commandos (MARCOS) and the NSG to enter the theatre of operations.

ARMY, NAVY AND NSG

Marcos first refused to enter the hotels without state authorisation, then claimed to have killed two terrorists inside Taj within hours of starting operations. That information was totally false

The first to be called for commando help was Mumbai Sub-Area Commander Major General R K Hooda, who in turn informed the Maharashtra Government that he did not have any Army commandos with him. So what the public saw in the early hours were only Army footsoldiers on peripheral duties and not crack troops.

On November 26 midnight, Joseph called up Western Naval Commander J S Bedi for marine commandos as well as NSG Director J K Dutt in Delhi. It took another two hours for MARCOS to finally arrive. Although the Navy denies it, MARCOS refused to enter the Taj or Trident without written authorisation from the state Government. After the matter was sorted, two columns (seven each) of MARCOS entered the Taj and the Trident complexes. With the NSG team headed by a Brigadier still on its way, having had to arrange an IL-76 aircraft from Chandigarh to fly them and then Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, the MARCOS made it officially known that they had killed two terrorists at the Taj complex between 4-4.30 am.

This information was totally false and it is still not clear whether the MARCOS engaged the enemy directly on that day. The NSG landed at 4.20 am on November 27 and took over the operation at 9 am as the MARCOS refused to function under the NSG Brigadier. In fact Army and Navy officers further complicated matters by going live on TV channels while the fire-fight was on. Southern Army Commander Noble Thamburaj talked about a dozen terrorists being present in the Taj to the media even though he had no direct knowledge of the operations. General Hooda, the Sub-Area Commander, played to the gallery while the MARCOS projected itself as Rambo.

Neither did NSA Narayanan, who was out at a party that fateful day, nor the then chief minister took matters in their control. Shivraj Patil was in Mumbai only for a few hours during which he announced that terrorists had run away. A month after the Mumbai massacre, during which IB operational chief D K Sinha and R&AW Joint Secretary J S Khanna were in constant touch, a number of questions remain unanswered:

• Identity of the local contacts of the terrorists who helped the LeT identify the targets, including Nariman House? Past three year records of all the Taj and Trident Hotel employees have revealed nothing.

• Is there an al-Qaeda link to the Lashkar attack as for the first time Jews were slaughtered?

• Identity and location of the controller talking to the two Taj Palace terrorists? The controller virtually gave away his location when the terrorist asked him, “Wahan kitne baaje hain?” The VOIP call was traced to West Virginia and then lost.

• Were there 15 terrorists in total with five following up in another boat? The hunt is still on. The track back device in the used GPS was set for K T Bandar near Karachi.

• Who is the owner of ship Al Hussaini?

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/what-went-wrong-the-inside-story/402951/

 

December 26, 2008 | Pioneer


Let Antulay face inquiry

Balbir Punj

Abdul Rehman Antulay has written himself into history as the Mir Jaffer of the 21st century. He has given Pakistan a perfect alibi when that country was under the pressure of several nations to arrest jihaditerrorists and destroy their camps. His thesis of ‘Hindu extremists’ manipulating the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai to get Maharashtra’s ace police officer Hemant Karkare killed was what Pakistan was looking for when the world was supporting our country in its bid to force Islamabad to act against its military/ISI-sponsored jihaditerror structure.

Not withstanding his half-hearted retraction following Home Minister P Chidambaram’s clarification in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Antulay has managed to expose his own Government to ridicule and embarrass India. What he has accomplished is a division within his own community that we thought was unanimous in its condemnation of the Mumbai terror attack as a war that elements in Pakistan are waging against India.

The Union Government, of which he is a part as Minister for Minority Affairs, has been claiming that Pakistan has all the evidence to prove that the jihaditerrorists who sought to spread mayhem in Mumbai were Pakistanis and that they were trained and directed by elements within the Pakistani establishment. Mr Antulay’s utterances have made his Government’s claim untenable while lending plausibility to Pakistan’s claim that the evidence provided by India does not conclusively prove the involvement of either Pakistanis or Pakistan.

The question arises: Why has Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who wants Pakistan to act, not sacked Mr Antulay from his Cabinet? The answer is simple: Mr Singh is not a free agent. He holds office as the nominee of the Congress president who has maintained silence on the Antulay episode. In fact some Congress leaders like party general secretary Digvijay Singh have already come to the rescue of Mr Antulay.

The comments of the Minister for Minority Affairs are in sharp contrast to the assertions of Mr Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Chidambaram — they have been telling Pakistan to act, otherwise India will keep its options open. Curiously, some of the Congress’s partners in the UPA have chosen to give Mr Antulay the benefit of their equivocation on the issue. It is not surprising that Pakistan, which found itself cornered by the international community till the other day, has now only to remind our Prime Minister what his colleague in the Cabinet has said — not once or twice, but repeatedly. 

The strong demonstration of solidarity with other Indians by the Muslim community over the last three weeks was a welcome development for the country in its hour of tragedy. Muslims went to the extent of wearing black bands and abandoning Eid celebrations. In Mumbai, Muslim organisations refused to provide burial space for the nine Pakistani terrorists killed by the security forces. Such demonstration of unity in the wake of a challenge to the country had never happened before. 

All that has been overshadowed by Mr Antulay’s comments. Top film starts like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and others may take anti-terror pledges on the small screen. But the community’s angry leaders like the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid have backed Mr Antulay’s strange thesis, thus pointing their fingers at ‘Hindu extremists’ instead of Pakistani terrorists. Of course, this myth of Hindu extremism’ is itself a creation of the Congress. 

India is now face to face with a serious challenge to its existence as the Pakistani intelligence agency is gloating over its success in inflicting multiple wounds on our country. The Government of India is gaining almost complete international support to force Pakistan to act against the jihaditerrorists and their handlers. It would be an act of patriotism to stand by the Government in this hour and seek to isolate people like Mr Antulay. But nobody can help the Government of the day since it refuses to help itself.

The damage that people like Mr Antulay can inflict on the country is enormous. Look at how he has helped the Pakistan Government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani change their stand. As former Under Secretary-General of the UN Shashi Tharoor wrote recently in Time, “In India, the state has an Army, in Pakistan, the Army has a state.” In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, the Pakistan Government was eager to assure India that it would cooperate with India to track down the conspirators, whom it described as ‘non-state actors’. Since then, it has taken a U-turn and now says the terrorists were not Pakistanis!

Till Mr Antulay spoke, it was evident that the Pakistan Government was being forced by the Pakistani Army and the ISI to toe their line. But with Mr Antulay offering Islamabad an escape route on a platter, Mr Zardari and Mr Gilani can claim they are not acting under their Army’s compulsion: Mr Singh’s Cabinet colleague has stepped forward to bail Islamabad out of a tricky situation. It won’t be surprising if Mr Zardari sends a ‘Thank you’ note to Mr Antulay. 

Meanwhile, after Mr Antulay’s bizarre remarks, others have voiced their view that there could be something to what he has said, and accused the majority community of ‘communalising’ the issue. After lying low for some time, the usual suspects who are seen as Muslim leaders are back to doing what they do best. The division within the community suggests that the show of solidarity was a temporary phenomenon. 

Was Mr Antulay’s purpose to scuttle the solidarity? Was he trying to provoke Muslims into backing his bizarre theory and thus creating a division in the community? Assessing the impact of his comments, such a conclusion would not be entirely incorrect. Anybody who knows anything about Mumbai — and Mr Antulay knows the city — would not suggest anything remotely resembling what he said. In any event, it’s absurd to ask why Hemant Karkare and his senior colleagues rushed towards Cama Hospital instead of Taj Mahal Palace or Oberoi-Trident. The sequence of events, telecast live, answers this question.

Mr Antulay’s remarks were not off the cuff. We know why Mr Singh has not accepted his resignation. But there should be an inquiry into why Mr Antulay said something so unfounded and damaging. 

-- punjbk@gmail.com

 

http://dailypioneer.com/146065/Let-Antulay-face-inquiry.html

Protesting jihad at the UN

 

Solidarity Demonstration organized jointly by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Overseas Friends of BJP, Indian American Intellectuals Forum, Namdhari Sikh Foundation,  and 45 other organizations under the banner of Tri-State Indians has been given wide publicity all over the world. 

 

INDIA: Protesting Jihad at the UN

SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION

Sunday, December 21, 2008 1.00 - 3.00 P. M.

Dag Hammarskjold Plaza ( East 47th Street between 1st Ave. and 2nd Ave. ) Manhattan , New York  

·         HAVE THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN MUMBAI SHAKEN YOU TO THE CORE?

·         ARE YOU SICK TO YOUR STOMACH WITH THE PUSSYFOOTING OF COWARDLY LEADERS?

·         DO YOU WANT TO PROCLAIM TO THE WORLD PAKISTAN 'S INVOVLEMENT IN THESE ATTACKS?

·         DOES YOUR HEART GRIEVE FOR THE TORTURED JEWISH PEOPLE OF CHABAD LUBAVITCH ?

·         DO YOU SHED TEARS FOR 200 PEOPLE MASSACRED IN COLD BLOOD AND 400 INJURED?

·         DOES THE LOSS OF SOME OF THE BRAVEST AND FINEST OF THE POLICE & NSG BOTHER YOU?

·         HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH WITH ONE AFTER ANOTHER TERRORIST ATTACKS?

·         DO YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY?

·         IS "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" FOR YOU? DO YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING?

Posted by Pamela Geller on Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 02:23 PM in Fighting the jihad, India: Fighting the Jihad, Live Coverage |

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2008/12/india-free-men.html

 

http://tinyurl.com/a8j9qo (Video) http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=msQTOu6_LQE

Full coverage at atlasshrugs.com

 

NRIs ask UN to declare Pak terrorist state

Press Trust of India

 

Monday, December 22, 2008, (New York)

Braving sub-zero temperature and cold wind, more than 200 supporters and workers of dozens of Indian-American organisation held a demonstration outside the UN, seeking the world body declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

The demonstrators, from New York, adjoining New Jersey and Connecticut states spearheaded by Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) and Indian-American Intellectual Forum, demanded that the international community take action against Saudi Arabia also as groups based there had been funding the terror operations which are planned and executed from Pakistan.

The international community, they said, need to impose economic sanction against Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and force Islamabad to rein in its "infamous" Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) which, they alleged, provides logistic and other support to terrorists.

If Pakistan does not hand over the suspects that India has demanded, they should be tried by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, they said.

The demonstrators carried pictures of Jewish couple Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and wife Rivka, who were murdered by the terrorists during Mumbai attacks, with caption: "It is a crime to be a Jew?"

The demonstration began with a silence observed for one minute to pay homage to the victims of Mumbai attacks and the police officers who were killed in the action.

"Who is funding terrorism?' Saudi Arabia," "Down with Pakistan," "Pakistan, a failed state," "stop aid to Pakistan," and "Radical Islam is the worldwide problem," were among the slogans that they shouted.

Gaurang Vaishnav, a spokesperson of the Tristate Indians under whose banner the demonstration was organised, said that it was important that countries such as US, Britain, Israel and India come together to evolve a strategy to root out the terrorism.

The demonstrators also demanded a more aggressive action by India and carried a placard which read, "How many Mumbais will it take for the Indian government to act?" "Terrorism: all roads lead to Pakistan," "Expose Pakistan's duplicity in the war on terror," "Pakistan a rouge State," and "Denuclearise Pakistan" were some other placard carried by the demonstrators.

Dr Radharaman Upadhyay, another spokesperson, said that the world will be devoured by the "python of Islamic terrorism" unless it takes effective steps now to counter it.

The organizations expressed satisfaction over the attendance, pointing it shows the strength of the cause to see so many people even in sub zero temperature with snow and sleet falling. Had the weather been good, they were expecting some 600 people, they said.

 

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080077357

 

Obama admin will put pressure on Pakistan to dismantle terror camps’

December 23, 2008

Indian Americans ask UN to declare Pakistan terrorist state
Press Trust of India . New York

The incoming Obama administration will put pressure on Pakistan to take strong action against terrorists as also their organisations and dismantle their training camps, a top US lawmaker has said.

Addressing a fund-raiser organised by the Indian community in Edison, New Jersey, Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., said the new US administration will put pressure on Pakistan to take strong action against terror groups and dismantle their training facilities.
He said the incoming administration would also help India to better face any future terrorist attack. This could include both intelligence sharing and supply of sophisticated equipment to ensure that the attacks, likethe one in Mumbai, are not repeated.

Pallone, founder of Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, said the new Congress and the incoming administration are very sympathetic to India.

At present, he said, it looks that nobody is in command in Islamabad to carry forwards peace talks with India or even defuse the situation created by the recent terrorist attacks.
Pakistan, he said, must control the organisation which spread terrorism in the world.
The new administration would also ensure that the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear deal is completed to ensure energy independence for India, the influential Democratic lawmaker underlined.

Pallone said during the past month, he had attended several candlelight prayers to pay homage to Mumbai victims and was moved with the sympathy and solidarity of Indian Americans.

Meanwhile, braving sub zero temperature and cold wind, more than 200 supporters and workers of dozens of Indian American organisation held a demonstration outside the UN, seeking the world body declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

The demonstrators, from New York and adjoining New Jersey and Connecticut states spearheaded by Overseas Friends of BJP and Indian American Intellectual Forum, demanded that the international community take action against Saudi Arabia.

Courtesy: newagebd.com

http://www.dhakamirror.com/?p=387

Intelligence and security failures galore

 

B.RAMAN (20 Dec. 2008)

 

( An article written for “Mail Today”, a daily published from New Delhi, by the “India Today” group) 
 

1991: Seven terrorists of the LTTE landed by boat clandestinely on the southern coast and proceeded to Chennai. They studied the gaps in the security arrangements made by the Tamil Nadu police at a public meeting addressed by the late V.P.Singh, former Prime Minister. They used their knowledge to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi. The Navy had no inkling of the clandestine landing. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) failed to detect their presence. The Tamil Nadu Police failed to provide even the basic security to Rajiv Gandhi. The Jain Commission, which enquired into the conspiracy, found that the IB had intercepted a coded message of the LTTE, which gave some inkling of the conspiracy, but was able to break the code only after the assassination. The R&AW, which had the code-breaking capability, had not intercepted the message. Lack of integration of available intelligence and capabilities by the two agencies made the assassination possible. 

 

1993: Dawood Ibrahim, the mafia leader, recruited some Muslims of Mumbai, had them trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)  and sent them back  by air. He sent the arms and ammunition and explosives given by the ISI by boat. They were clandestinely landed on the Maharashtra coast and used in the March,1993, explosions, which killed 257 civilians. The IB and the R&AW were caught napping. The Narasimha  Rao Government wanted to order an enquiry into their failure. The IB  argued that it was a case of failure of integrity and not intelligence since some Customs officers, who were aware of the landing, failed to alert the IB and the Police after allegedly accepting a bribe. The proposal was dropped. 

 

1995: An unidentified  organization tried to recruit an ex-pilot of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) for a clandestine air drop of arms and ammunition in Purulia. He immediately alerted the British intelligence, which advised him to accept the assignment and keep it informed. He gave them the route of the flight and the co-ordinates of the place where the consignment was to be air-dropped and the date of the air-dropping. These details were passed on by the British Intelligence to the R&AW, which in turn passed them on to the IB, which alerted the West Bengal Police. Neither the IB nor the Police could trap the persons for whom the airdrop  was made. They bungled the follow-up action. After air-dropping, the pilot took the plane to Pattaya in Thailand. The plane then flew to Chennai for refueling. Neither the airport security nor the IB could detect that this was the same plane, which had done the air-drop. They realised it only after the plane had taken off. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was alerted. It forced the plane to land in Mumbai. The crew was arrested. The man, who had hired the plane for the airdrop, was also on board. He gave a slip to the airport security  and managed to flee the country. 

 

2008: In February, the Madhya Pradesh Police arrested some leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in Indore. Their interrogation revealed that the SIMI had been holding secret  camps  for training  selected cadres in the use of weapons and  explosives. Some of those, who had attended these  camps, were  found to have been involved in the Ahmedabad explosions of July 26. The Ahmedabad Police was not aware of what they had stated during the interrogation. Their interrogation reports had not been widely shared by the security agencies. 

 

Again in February, the UP Police arrested some Muslims during an investigation. Their interrogation revealed that one of them, with links to the Lashkar-e-Toiba, had visited Mumbai to collect topographical information for a possible terrorist strike. He was not thoroughly interrogated by the Mumbai Police. 

 

In September, the US intelligence  alerted  the R&AW twice that the LET was planning a sea-borne terrorist attack on some sea-front hotels in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal hotel. The R&AW disseminated the alerts.  Security was tightened. The LET, which was planning to strike on September 26, postponed its operation. There was no fresh information in October. The high alert was reduced. On November 19, the Indian intelligence intercepted a message that an LET vessel had left Karachi. They alerted the Navy and the Coast Guard. They did not act on it on the ground that the co-ordinates of the ship’s position placed it in Pakistani territorial waters. The coastal security in the Indian territorial waters adjoining the Mumbai sea-front was not put back to the high alert mode. Twenty terrorists of the LET clandestinely landed and struck Mumbai on the night of November 26. 

 

Seven acts of mass casualty terrorism since November,2007. One  every month since July except in August. 

 

What do they indicate? A shocking state of affairs in our counter-terrorism community.  

What we need: 

 

An integrated counter-terrorism staff similar to the Integrated Defence Staff to integrate available intelligence and technical capabilities and follow up.

A culture of joint action to ensure that everybody in the community will be individually and jointly responsible for prevention.

Upgrade the priority for terrorism-related intelligence in the charters of the agencies.

An acknowledged expert in counter-terrorism should either head the IB & the R&AW or at least be the No.2.

Induct acknowledged counter-terrorism experts into the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS)

 

(19-12-08) 

 

(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi. He headed the Counter-Terrorism Division of the R&AW for six years ) 

 

Antulay's allegation not borne out by facts 19 Dec 2008, 0415 hrs IST, S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez, TNN   MUMBAI: The events of 26/11 night that claimed the lives of three of Mumbai's top cops refute the Union minorities affairs minister A R Antulay’s conspiracy theory. Here's what happened that night.  Around 9.45pm, the city police control room flashed a message saying there was a terror attack at CST railway station. Within minutes, the road outside the station was deserted. Not even policemen on duty, most of whom were armed with only lathis, were ready to go to the spot.  Hemant Karkare, then ATS chief, reached CST from his Dadar residence, and donned a helmet and bullet-proof jacket. Additional DGP (Railways) K P Raghuvanshi also joined him. But, while Raghuvanshi stayed back, Karkare, along with his four policemen, first went to the CST station's platform number 1 (opposite Anjuman-e-Islam School) and found it deserted, with no trace of any terrorists.  "A fellow policeman informed them that the terrorists were spotted walking towards (the nearby) Cama Hospital," said city police commissioner Hasan Gafoor. Meanwhile, Karkare received a wireless message, saying, "Additional police commissioner Sadanand Date is injured at Cama Hospital. A bodyguard is seriously injured, while another constable is dead."  Karkare, accompanied by the four constables, made for Cama Hospital, while the Z-security guards were instructed to take position outside the TOI building.  The team moved cautiously towards Cama and tried to get a clear idea of what was happening. "Later, inspector Vijay Salaskar and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte, who met at CST, arrived on the scene. Salaskar was accompanied by five of his subordinates," said Akhtar Shaikh, Kakare's orderly, who was present along with Karkare that night.  "As we headed towards the rear entrance of Cama Hospital, we heard gunshots. Kamte returned the fire, and the terrorists threw a grenade at us, but it fell within the hospital premises," said Shaikh.  Inspector Nitin Alaknure, Salaskar's colleague, said, "Karkare, Kamte and Salaskar were discussing their next step. Kamte then suggested they enter the hospital from the main gate. They got into a police Qualis stationed there, and later, as they approached the special branch, Salaskar took over the driver's seat," Alaknure recalled.  Salaskar ordered his two constables to take position at the rear gate, while Karkare's four constables were assigned to take position at the other gates. "They got a wireless message that the terrorists were hiding behind a red vehicle near Rang Bhavan. They started looking for the red vehicle and suddenly spotted one terrorist, who was later identified as Mohammad Ajmal Kasab. Kamte and Salaskar opened fire," said crime branch chief Rakesh Maria.  The officers were about to get down from the vehicle when all of a sudden, another terrorist showered bullets from his AK-47, injuring all the cops. Kamte and Karkare died on the spot. The terrorists then threw the three policemen out of the car, and hijacked the vehicle. It was Arun Jadhav, the lone survivor, who later informed the control room about the incident.  Meanwhile, police officials across ranks expressed shock over the Union minister's controversial statement. No senior official would come on record to speak out against Antulay's innuendo, indicating how the police brass was scared to respond to a politician's rant.  But officer after officer, off the record, said it was sad to see politicians could stoop so low as to use even a national tragedy for their own political advantage. Though city police commissioner Hasan Gafoor refused to comment, another officer said politicians should be speaking about measures to tackle terrorism insisted of making controversial statements in Parliament.  However, former intelligence chief V N Deshmukh said he had visited the spot where the shootout (which claimed Karkare's and cops' lives) happened. "I spoke to several witnesses and officers. I am convinced it was not a conspiracy," he said.   http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3860037,prtpage-1.cms 'Have summary trials for foreign terrorists' Vicky Nanjappa | December 18, 2008 | 10:28 IST On Wednesday, Parliament passed the bills to set up a National Investigation Agency and to strengthen anti-terror laws after the attacks on Mumbai. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act aims at strengthening the arrangements for speedy investigation, prosecution and trial of cases related terrorism while at the same time guarding against any possible misuse of such provisions. The National Investigation Agency Act will set up an agency at the central level with powers to probe terrorism and other crimes having national ramifications across the country. In this new series, rediff.com correspondents speak to experts all over the country to find out if tough laws and a federal agency can effectively fight terror and the possible effects on civic liberties. Today: Vicky Nanjappa speaks to retired Supreme Court judge Justice Santhosh Hegde and a serving intelligence officer. Justice Santhosh Hegde, former Supreme Court judge: First and foremost, we must draw a clear distinction in such matters. An Indian resident committing an act of terror must be dealt differently when compared to a foreigner creating terror on Indian soil. Terrorism is a menace and there should be no question of going soft and appeasing anyone. For an Indian who commits an act of terror, the provisions of a Prevention of Terrorism Act-like law should apply. And for a foreigner who undertakes a terror strike on Indian soil s/he should be subject to a summary trial and none of the provisions of the existing laws or Constitutional provision should apply to such a person. The government ought to bear in mind that persons like the Mumbai attackers and such class of people cannot be dealt with the existing laws. Such persons have no connection with this country and their only intention is to destroy India. When matters are such, why should Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution apply to such persons? A new law for foreign terrorists ought to be created and they should be subject to a summary trial. When I say summary trial, I mean a trial before a dedicated tribunal. When foreigners enter our country and create havoc it is a war-like situation and hence such persons should be tried differently compared to other criminals. All the provisions of the evidence act ought to be done away with and video clippings and eyewitness accounts ought to be made admissible before the tribunal. This may, however, raise the question as to whether the verdict would be fair if there is so much pitched against the accused. I would have to say that such persons should be given a right of representation and also a right to be cross examined. This would ensure that the trial is fair. I would also like to add that the tribunal should be constituted on Indian soil and should have an Indian judge and we must ensure that the international community does not interfere. Regarding home-grown terror, a POTA-like law with the required safeguards ought to be introduced. I am aware that people have called it a draconian law and that is why I mentioned that there ought to be safeguards. I would also like to add here that terrorism is a menace and there is no way in which we could deal with this problem with soft hands. To ensure that the law is not misused, police officers dealing with such persons ought to be made accountable and by accountable I do not mean interference by politicians. There is a judiciary and let this institution act as the watchdog when such laws are being applied. A senior Intelligence Bureau official, speaking on condition of anonymity: The NIA should be on the lines of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. The NIA should have a free hand and should be a totally autonomous body and with no control whatsoever from the government. The tenures of the officers in the NIA should be long and should extend up to 10 years at least. This body should have the powers to conduct investigations abroad considering the fact that several of our crimes are being committed by outsiders. The officers for the NIA should be picked up from various fields. There should be a police wing, a scientific wing, intelligence wing and a legal cell. They should have their own forensics lab and should not be dependant on any agency for anything. The appointment of these officers should be done jointly by the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition to ensure that the men working here do not owe any allegiance to any political party. While appointing the officers, it should be ensured that experts in terrorism and federal crimes are chosen for the post. These officers ought to work without fear or favour and hence it should be ensured that their removal from the post should be done only through an impeachment process. I do understand this would give room to arbitrary behaviour, but then again such matters could be brought directly before Parliament or even the Supreme Court. During an investigation, this agency should be allowed to maintain secrecy and investigation updates should not be sought by the government unless the process is complete. Once this is complete, the criminal should be tried before a competent court or tribunal and the next level of appeal should be only before the Supreme Court. A separate fund ought to be created for this agency and the officers have to be paid well to ensure that corruption does not creep into such a body. The government should also facilitate through diplomatic means in case any member of this agency needs to conduct a probe outside the country. The intelligence gathering wing of this agency ought to be a separate one and this would mean that good staff strength is provided. http://www.rediff.com///news/2008/dec/18mumterror-have-summary-trials-for-foreign-terrorists.htm  Demand for Commission of Inquiry on 26/11 Mumbai terror attack: Dr. Swamy   December 18, 2008. Statement of Dr. Subramanian Swamy, President of the Janata Party.             With proliferation of media exposes, and the outburst of A.R. Antulay & Narayan Rane, the Union Government has now no alternative but to set up a Commission of Inquiry under a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court to go into the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, to melt the growing impression of a Government cover-up. This Commission has become inevitable because  a Cabinet Minister of the Union Government  has raised a query about a possible conspiracy, while a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra (Mr. Narayan Rane)  is reported to have said on 6th December in a press conference that “the Government must conduct an inquiry into the aspect of  some Indian political leaders supporting  external forces and financing of terror activity in the country.  If required I can provide evidence.  I am making this statement with full responsibility.”  Mr. Rane added that these political leaders not only finance the terrorists but also provide safe haven in the country!             There is no doubt that both Intelligence Bureau and the US Intelligent agencies had warned the Maharashtra Government and the Union Government well in advance,  with specific details, about a potential attack by terrorists using the sea route.  One letter from the IB refers to the specific intelligence from the US about an attack on Taj Hotel.  This information was provided on 17th September this year by the US.  On November 18, Indian intelligence also intercepted a satellite phone call to a number in Pakistan used by a leader of LeT and this interception revealed a possible sea borne attack on Mumbai. Moreover,  the interrogation of a terrorist suspect in the Rampur CRPF Base attack a year ago revealed the possible attack on Taj and Oberoi hotels.  In February this year Fahim Ahmad Ansari, a LeT operative arrested in UP and belonging to the Motilal  Nehru slum in Goregaon, admitted that he had prior to 2007,  done a reconnaissance  of Taj & Trident hotels, CST, BSE, and the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office.  He has admitted to having stayed at Sunlight Guest House near Grant Road under the name of Sahil Pasha between November 28 and December 12, 2007.  He also confessed to having surveyed each floor of Taj and Triden hotels and sent the  plan to LeT operational Commander Mohd. Muzzamil.               The Union Government must not be permitted by the Opposition Parties  in the name of national unity for a  cover up, which would impinge deeply on our national security.  If the nation is to be protected in future, this cover up must be exposed by a full-fledged open inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act and headed  by a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court. December 16, 2008.              I demand that the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, caught in Mumbai carnage alive, be declared as enemy alien within the meaning of Article 22 of the Constitution. According to Article 22(3) of the Constitution, once a person is declared as an enemy alien, he is not entitled to the protection of Article 22(1), which requires that "no person shall be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice". This declaration of enemy alien, which is justified, would put an end to the controversy that advocates are under obligation to defend the terrorist.             I also demand the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry under a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court to go into the question of lapses, cover ups and the circumstances leading to the Mumbai terrorist attack.             The UPA Government under the new Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram appears to be engaged in covering up the willful and deliberate suppression of facts which facts show that there was sufficient advance information for the Maharashtra Police to have acted and that some powerful figures had intervened to see that this did not happen. The present UPA drum beating and hot air about Pakistan is to cover that up.             Mr. Shivraj Patil was unfairly made the scapegoat for the failure to prevent the attack on Mumbai. In fact, the files of the Home Ministry clearly show that he had performed his duty fully but that his orders were countermanded from elsewhere. This also what Maharashtra's former Chief Minister Narayan Rane has said. Patil therefore appears to have been removed from the post of Home Minister as part of this cover up.             India stays in greater danger from the enemy within than from the terrorists from abroad. The latter can be taken care of and eliminated once the enemies within are exposed and dealt with. Otherwise, terrorist attacks will continue. ( SUBRAMANIAN  SWAMY ) Dawood was involved directly in Mumbai terror strikes: Russia Agencies New Delhi, December 18, 2008 Russia believes that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was directly involved in November 26th terror strikes in Mumbai which killed 195 people, according to reports. "The inputs testify that infamous regional drug baron Dawood Ibrahim had provided his logistics network to prepare and carry out the Mumbai terror attacks," Victor Ivanov, director of Russia's anti-narcotics service said during an interview in a Russian daily. Inav added that super profits of the narco-mafia through Afghan heroin trafficking have become a powerful source of financing organised crime and terrorist networks, destabilising the political systems, including in Central Asia and Caucasus. There are also reports quoted by Pakistan President Asif Zardari in an interview that the Russians had tipped off India about an impending attack. Indian officials refused to comment either on Dawood or the tip-off, saying certain things were better not made public until the probe into the Mumbai terror attack was over. Combating terror in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage was discussed threadbare at the two-day meeting of the India-Russia joint working group. Officials of the two sides had discussed the origin, timing and execution of the terror plot, but bureaucrats on both sides were tight-lipped about the proceedings. Besides issuing a joint statement after the talks, there was no interaction with reporters. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=f60d9553-d1d3-455b-a6e0-16830ef9e47dMumbaiunderattack_Special   Hindustan’s leadership deficit   Pak terror is bribe ruse By Brahma Chellaney (Asian Age, 17 December 2008) "Terrorists are still coming in from Pakistan," India’s lumbering external affairs minister lamented in Parliament last week. India can be sure terrorists will keep arriving from across the borders, emboldened as they and their patrons would be from New Delhi’s pusillanimity in not taking the smallest