Of all the acronyms that Indian public associate with investigation, CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) is the most common. However, if its functioning is anything to go by, the motto ‘Industry, Impartiality, Integrity’ would be one of the longest-running jokes in the history of the country.

Over the decades, the agency that was originally established to tackle corruption and serious crimes meriting attention of the Central government has been turned into a tool of political coercion and vendetta. Any political leader, business house and organisation that fell foul of the ruling establishment have learned this the hard way.

Once the era of coalitions began at the Centre, the CBI has been used extensively for arm-twisting allies and opponents. There is hardly any major party that has not borne the brunt of this. One day you find the CBI filing cases, chargesheets and talking about ‘clinching evidence’ against a political leader, but once he/she yields to the demands of the Centre the process reverts to snail’s pace.

The investigative agency’s diligent efforts played a crucial role in the success of the ‘carrot and stick’ policy that has made Lalu Prasad Yadav of RJD, Mayawati of BSP, Jayalalithaa of AIADMK and Mulayam Singh Yadav of the SP die-hard supporters of the Congress-led government at the Centre.

“It’s not easy to fight with the government. It has a thousand hands and can use the CBI and put one in jail,” said Mulayam recently. A disproportionate assets case against him and his son has been under investigation by the CBI since 2007 — and he has been a loyal UPA fan ever since.

The exemption to the CBI from the Right to Information (RTI) Act has made it virtually impossible for any independent verification of the legality in its manner of functioning.

Angered by the CBI allowing the PMO and law ministry to make changes to its investigation report on the infamous ‘Coalgate’ scam, the Supreme Court admonished the country’s premier investigating agency for acting shamelessly as a ‘caged parrot’ that repeats after its master — the Central government.

At least two former CBI directors have conceded in interviews that the agency was subject to political influence. Former CBI chief Joginder Singh has gone on the record to say that he was forced out after refusing to be the government’s stick in the Fodder Scam. And the current chief Ranjit Sinha, too, has admitted that autonomy does not exist for the agency.

Embarrassed by the stinging observations of the Supreme Court, the government has formed a group of ministers (GoM) to draft a law to free the caged parrot. One can’t help but be cynical considering the huge number of GoMs and EGoMs and their dismal record of delivering the goods.

An investigating agency that can function independent of political control is the need of the hour.

Unless the Aegean Stables of the CBI is not cleansed of the political filth accumulated over the decades, there is no hope for this country.

Statements like ‘someone has taken some money somewhere’ is passé. Get yourselves introduced to the new martyr saints of the Congress and their outraged utterances.

Though in deep mess over scams, the UPA netas have something in common — living in denial. Former railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, whose nephew was caught taking bribes for ‘facilitating’ top ministry jobs, say he has done nothing wrong.

“I welcome the CBI probe. I gave a statement right after the incident that I have nothing to do with this. Also, that I have no business relationship with my nephew. The truth will come out.”

Then we guess the CBI’s finding that Vijay Singla (the nephew) using Bansal’s official phones for communicating with his associates is nothing but a pure coincidence.

Former law minister As­wani Kumar, though eq­u­ally adamant in deni­al, has added more drama in his response.

“Whatever the PM and the party high command th­ought fit, as a loyal foot soldier I have done and I am pr­oud of the fact that I have be­en a loyal foot soldier of the party,” he said about his exit.

It couldn’t be put any better Kumarji. That’s exactly what the CBI chief confessed in the Supreme Court regarding the ‘vetting’ and ‘modification’ of its Coalgate investigation report by your ministry and the PMO.

And there’s more… ”My conscience remains clear and I believe that I will stand vindicated because divine justice ordains that truth and justice will prevail,” Kumar told reporters.

Divine justice, huh? Maybe with crores of cases pending in our ‘human justice’ system, the divine route holds more promise for the chosen ones.

If anyone knew about the outcome of Karnataka polls it would be none other than senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu. He and his followers had to eat humble pie when they tried to jump the queue at a Bangalore polling booth — and literally had to fall in line.

Those waiting patiently in the line told him, rather curtly, to take his place — at the end of the line. When Naidu tried to talk his way through saying that he was in a hurry to cast his vote as he had other engagements to attend as an MP, he was told that ‘VIP’ tag did not count. Naidu realised that throwing a tantrum would only bring trouble, and the posse stood in the line till their turn came.

]]> http://postnoon.com/2013/05/13/venkaiah-falls-in-line/125047/feed 0 http://postnoon.com/2013/05/13/brass-talks/125041 http://postnoon.com/2013/05/13/brass-talks/125041#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 06:14:05 +0000 Arun Koshy Philip http://postnoon.com/?p=125041 Overheard at an undisclosed location frequented by top military men to quench their thirst

Officer A: Indian Navy gets its first MiG 29 K- supersonic fighter jets squadron

Officer B: Bravo. Awesome. MiGs rock. We will rule the seas and the skies!

Officer A: Houston, we have a problem.

Officer B: What is it?

Officer A: The aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, from which these planes are supposed to operate…

Officer B: Yeah… What about it?

Officer A: It ain’t coming home anytime soon. Hopefully, by the end of the year. It’s been under repair and refit for only nine years now. That’s super fast when compared to Arjun Main Battle Tank and Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

Officer B: Phew… Thank goodness. You had me worried for a second. Once the big Russian b**** is here we are going to scare the enlightenment of the day out of the world… our ships, missiles and all.

Officer A: Good you reminded me.

Officer B: Now what?

Officer A: We need to buy a few tonnes of packing tape.

Officer B: For…?

Officer A: For the crown jewel of our maritime power— INS Viraat. We need more than faith to keep her afloat!

Officer B: Ok. Enough of unpatriotic talk. You forget that we are one among the only five countries in the world with indigenous capability to launch nuclear-capable missiles from submarines.

Officer A: LOL. Firstly, it was not fired from a submarine but an underwater pontoon. We don’t have a sub to fire it from. I don’t think that in case of war with Pakistan or China we will have the option to bury pontoons off their coasts and launch the missiles.

Officer B: Damn… why didn’t I think about this? Guards… arrest this man.

Officer A: WTF?! What did I do?

Officer B: You dared to question the rationality of national pride — punishable under archaic colonial laws, equally dumb post-Independence laws and upcoming even-dumber national security laws. What do you make of this place? Did someone tell you it is a free country?

(Brass Talks is a fictional satirical account of events in high places)

Exclusive

Postnoon obtains the standard (and super-secret) press release template of DRDO for missile launches. DRDO-developed XXX was successfully flight tested on XXX from Bay of Bengal off the coast of XXX. The missile was tested for the full range and met all mission objectives. All the parameters of the vehicle were monitored by radar all through the trajectory and terminal events have taken place exactly as expected. XXXX congratulated all the scientists, technicians of DRDO on the successful flight test. Defence Minister XXXX congratulated all the scientists for successful launch of XXX.

The ghosts of 1962 are back. With China’s People’s Liberation Army entering and digging in almost 20 km inside Indian territory, our reaction shows that not much has changed despite in 50 years despite our tall claims of packing enough deterrent military punch.

If then it was a myopic Jawaharlal Nehru with his utopian ‘Hindi-Cheeni Bhai-Bhai’ trust in the aggressively expanding giant neighbour, now it is another statesman prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and his team who have been caught off guard by the Chinese military manoeuvre.

At the time of India’s second round of nuclear tests, the then defence minister George Fernandes had rather undiplomatically, but candidly, said that the nukes were aimed at the country’s most dangerous enemy — China.

With the establishment touting India’s nuclear arsenal and long range missiles, the public may feel the country has enough capability to stop any Chinese adventurism. However, even a quick scan of last decade’s news reports on military preparedness would show that such an impression is merely an illusion.

The armed forces are woefully short of officers and low on morale due to unending line of massive corruption cases involving top level officers. The army is under-equipped and lacks modern artillery pieces and equipment for high-altitude warfare. If former army chief VK Singh’s letter to the government is anything to go by, there isn’t enough ammunition to fight a war.

The navy too doesn’t fare much better. Half of its ageing submarine fleet is always under repair and the relic of an aircraft carrier is virtually kept afloat by faith — on rare occasions when it hits the blue waters between ‘refurbishments, upgrades, repairs and improvements.

Though Su-30 MKIs and Jaguars add some punch to the air force, lack of infrastructure and adequately protected bases near the border reduce them to defensive roles. The Chinese side is well connected by high-quality road networks, and their air-defence capabilities are nearly impenetrable to the rest of the fleet.

So, with military action guaranteed to deliver another round of humiliation, India is at an unenviable position where it will have to lap up whatever breadcrumbs the Chinese will throw at it and walk away.

What is deplorable is that successive governments and military bosses have dragged their feet on achieving minimum deterrence capability and 50 years after the humiliation of 1962, we are pretty much in the same position.

The reactions of our government are palpably weak-willed, divided and confused — and it is obvious to any keen observer that it is dealing from a position of weakness and hoping for a face-saver rather than problem-solver.

In China, a new leadership has taken over. They would use this crisis to improve their domestic standing and to curry favour with the military. This incursion tactic is also a not-so-subtle message to India that its newfound bonhomie with China’s ‘hostile’ neighbours such as Vietnam, South Korea, Philippines and Japan, and of course, the United States, will have serious repercussions.

Tiger can take on the dragon. However, what we have now is a kitten, whose feeding bowl says ‘Tiger’. Tough luck boys, try better next time.

An enlightening insight into the heartland of jihad and the workings of its most successful facilitators — the Haqqani network.

Haqqani network has emerged as the synonym for terrorism that has its roots in the mountainous region that straddles Pakistan-Afghanistan border. It is a historical irony that a Muslim radical organisation that flourished under American aid has become one of the biggest contributors in the ideological and material warfare against the US and its interests in the region.

Exploring meticulously, a hitherto ignored treasure trove of information available in the region, Vahid Brown and Don Rasseler shed light — and challenge some popular assumptions about the operations of Haqqani network and its continuing role in conflicts that have bloodied the region for decades.

The book explores in depth, the regional, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious and political permutations and combinations that led to the growth of a supranational force.

The unforgiving terrain of Pashtuns, divided by the Durand Line, was never effectively governed by a central authority. It was this strategically located, yet isolated, that became the heartland of the movement that successfully integrated ideological indoctrination and motivated military mobilisation of its followers.

Extensive reference to locally published propaganda material of Haqqani network and its allies provide several details that help us understand the complexity of their operational arena and the dexterity with which they handle these issues.

As emphasised throughout the book, the greatest strength of the Haqqanis is their ability to strike the right balance of fear and favour so that regional stakeholders consider their continuance as vital to their interests.

Various accounts in the book’s chapters depict the tact of Haqqanis in their posturing so that its purposes are served by the general momentum of events rather than pitting itself in open confrontations that may deliver a decisive blow to its capabilities.

The relations shared by various militant organisations that operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as global players like Al Qaeda is narrated in a comprehensive manner.

A downer is the rather tedious narrative that goes on long, winding references that tend to throw you off focus. There are too many repetitions of what the authors perceive as key capabilities of the Haqqanis.

Unless you are a person with scholarly interest in the subject matter, and willing to persevere till the concluding pages, disappointment is a highly likely possibility — notwithstanding the quality of the content.

Name: Fountainhead of Jihad

Authors: Vahid Brown, DonRasssler

Pages: 245

Publisher: Hachette India

]]> http://postnoon.com/2013/04/13/badshas-of-badland/119494/feed 0 http://postnoon.com/2013/03/22/the-italian-imbroglio/115476 http://postnoon.com/2013/03/22/the-italian-imbroglio/115476#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:00:23 +0000 Arun Koshy Philip http://postnoon.com/?p=115476 As India tom-toms its diplomatic triumph over Italy’s decision to send back its marines for trial, some interesting questions arise about what has been promised by New Delhi to make this possible. “The “Italian government has requested and obtained from the Indian authorities written assurances as to the treatment of the marines and the protection of their fundamental rights,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s office said in a statement.

If the fundamental rights are as per European Union norms, they cannot be handed death penalty if convicted. However, killing of unarmed fishermen does constitute a ‘rarest of rare’ case where capital punishment is a possibility. In case they are convicted and handed down a harsh sentence, it is sure to kick up a diplomatic storm.

The handling of the fallout of this case will be a major test for Indian diplomacy. So far India has managed to find the right mix of carrot and stick to get things going its way, but the verdict will throw unseen challenges at the country’s rulers. The ruling Congress is especially vulnerable as its leaders are accused of sabotaging the Bofors probe and extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who is said to be close to the Gandhi family. Therefore, going soft on the marines will be feeding ammunition to the critics of the party. Too many guarantees will make the whole trial look staged and will question the credibility of the independence of judiciary. Boy, this is going to be tough.

The Lok Sabha has given its approval to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 that prescribes stringent punishment to sex offenders; however, the voices of prominent parliamentarians show how the mindsets have hardly changed.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav’s ‘humorous’ reminder, “Who among us have not followed girls,” may have evoked peels of laughter in the House, but there is nothing funny about it. Even while passing a law to protect women, he has indirectly supported stalking.

I am sure thousands of women across the country who are stalked do not agree with the JD(U) leader. There are frequent reports of stalkers attacking women for spurning their advances or refusing proposals of marriage. May be the likes of Sharad Yadav should see the faces of those women disfigured in acid attacks by jilted Romeos before coming up with these funny one-liners.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was also equally worried about the law being misused or abused to settle personal scores. He also fears that co-education will have to be abolished to protect boys from legal trouble. SP parliamentarian Shailendra Kumar expressed his worries about the provocative dressing of female actors in television serials and movies.

For all the thunder over the ‘controversial’ law, hardly one-third of the members were present in the House.

If these satraps think that the good old way of life should continue, they are also supporting institutions like khap panchayats that order physical and sexual abuse of women as modes of punishment. The recent incident of Punjab cops thrashing a woman who approached them to complain about eve-teasers speaks volumes about what is ailing our system.

Every time there is a sexual assault, cops, politicians and ‘spiritual leaders’ don’t waste time in blaming the victim. How can there be any hope for women of this country when those in charge of creating and maintaining the machinery that is supposed to protect have a mindset that approves and justifies the actions of the perpetrators of sexual violence?

In this great land (Bharat included), assault on women start from the foetal stage itself. If she survives sex determination and selective abortion centres, she enters a world where predators don’t differentiate between children and adults. Throughout her life she is forced to restrict her freedoms for fear of sexual assaults. With every incident of reported sexual violence, her movements are further restricted and this, in turn, curtails her opportunities and makes her more dependent on the patriarchal male (father/brother/husband/son).

No matter how many laws we make, unless we are willing to change our mindset about the inalienable rights of our women, they will never fulfil their objectives.

As a reward to his ‘patriotic’ boycott of visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, a Shiv Sena delegation honoured Ajmer Dargah diwan Zainul Abedin Ali Khan. After receiving a sword and a shawl as token of respect, the holy man reportedly spoke to Uddhav Thackeray on phone and invited him to the Dargah.

What puzzles me is that someone who claimed moral high ground to protest a single atrocity of Pakistan has no qualms in hobnobbing with a right-wing outfit that has used hatred and violence throughout its growth. Wonder what migrants from his state who were beaten up by Shiv Sena, and later MNS, goons for hurting job prospects of Marathi manoos.

Uddhav-Diwan bonhomie brings up some disturbing examples of politics of religion.

It is an open secret that several human gods and goddesses and their ‘charitable’ business are the biggest centres of money laundering. There have been several incidents of powerful godmen, who ran their empires for decades with total impunity from laws of the land, suddenly becoming targets for criminal investigations when they fall out with their political benefactors.

People who issues fatwas at the drop of a hat and instigate mobs to burn vehicles for insult to their religion in the US maintain deafening silence of barbaric social evils prevalent in the community under the guise of personal law — abuse of women being the most prominent. However, they find friends in politicians of all hues who endorse their ‘leadership’ in return for en masse votes.

Then there are the self-proclaimed ‘super patriots’ who will drive master artists to exile for insulting gods by making their nude paintings. No… they are not aware of thousands of sculptures that have been in existence for centuries that show gods in the nude. Their splinter organisations disrupt fashion shows for denigrating women by parading them in skimpy clothes. However, when it comes to dealing with sexual violence against women, they go into denial mode. Oops… my bad. The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat did say rapes occur in the country. Rapes take place in India and not in Bharat, the saffron knight said. May be the rapes that take place in villages are part of an ISI conspiracy.

Our leaders were ‘shocked and outraged’ when Yasin Malik shared dais with Hafiz Sayeed in Pakistan, but why is there no similar anger or reaction when Sikh terrorists are conferred honours and declared martyrs by top religious bodies. Beant Singh’s killers have been on the death row for ever now but we don’t see any hurried hush-hush hanging.

To conclude let’s go to, ironically, God’s Own Country. A prominent Christian denomination’s top leader couldn’t stop speaking out in support of PJ Kurien, who is in the eye of a storm over the latest revelations by the Suryanelli rape case victim. There were also media reports of the victim’s church asking the family to stop coming to the church. Kerala’s swearing-by-god Congress and swearing-by-Marx CPI(M) try to outdo each other in pleasing religious leaders to secure vote banks.

We might call ourselves secular and democratic in the Constitution’s preamble. However, the toxic cocktail of politics and religion has reduced adherence to its principles to mere lip service, and we stand failed as a nation.

What happens when the State, that is duty-bound to provide justice to its people, turns oppressor? None would know better than Manipur’s Irom Chanu Sharmila who has been on a fast for the last 12 years demanding repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that provides unfettered power for the military in “disturbed areas”.

Irom Sharmila is not the first person in the country to go on an indefinite fast for a cause. While the country was outraged by a two-week fast by Anna Hazare, the silent battle of this lionheart has barely found any comparable reactions.

In addition to the virtual house arrest, crippling restrictions, intrusive monitoring and forced nasal feeding, Sharmila is forced to go through the charade of “annual booking” under IPC Section 309 — for attempting to commit suicide.

While appearing before a Delhi Court, where charges under this section have been framed against her, Sharmila said, “I do not want to commit suicide. Mine is only a non-violent protest. It is my demand to live as a human being.” Now, is that too much for an Indian citizen to ask for?

In 2004, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the Centre would “sympathetically consider” arguments against AFSPA and appointed a committee headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy to submit a report on feasibility of replacing it by a “more humane Act.” The panel submitted its report in mid-2005 — one guesses that even after eight years the proposals are being ‘sympathetically considered’.

The military is vociferous in its defence of AFSPA, saying that lack of immunity from prosecution will blunt its operational edge in battling militancy. According to provisions of AFSPA, military personnel cannot be prosecuted for their actions in a disturbed area that requires implementation of AFSPA. The Central government, which takes a call on declaring an area requiring operation of AFSPA, cannot be challenged on its judgement in a court of law.

However, it is opposed by civil society organisations and human rights groups as it is allegedly abused for torture, ‘disappearances’ and fake ‘encounter’ killings. Literally every international organisation that is working in the area of human rights, including the United Nations, have criticised the AFSPA and has called for its removal.

In March 2012, UN Special Rapporteur Cristof Heyns, after a 12-day fact-finding mission in the disturbed areas, concluded that ASPA is a symbol of excessive state power and “has no role to play in a democracy”. Here, it would be noteworthy to mention that India has NOT ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All persons from Enforced Disappearance.

There is no doubting that military needs special legal provisions/concessions to act effectively against militancy/terrorism, but these should come along with safeguards that provide credible accountability.

Numerous examples in history illustrate clearly that alienation of local population never helped any military campaign. The security forces should be trained not only in tactics but also in sensitivity.

Those who abuse their immunity should be severely punished via internal disciplinary procedures. Unless faith of people is restored through effective and meaningful measures, AFSPA will continue to be a fountainhead for militancy and a blot on our commitment to enforcement of universal human rights.

Irom Sharmila can be shackled, but her ideas can’t be. Let not shrill calls of jingoism drown out the screams of our own.

The proposed Sethusamudram project is back in the eye of the storm after its opponents have gone ballistic in their objection, with the issue rocking the Parliament.

The BJP is leading the charge on behalf of various Hindu groups who claim that the submerged land formation is what’s left of the bridge built under the supervision of Lord Ram to facilitate his invasion of Lanka. The saffron brigade is stubborn in its stand that damage to the ‘holy’ bridge is unacceptable, and their credo has backers in legal luminaries like Subramanian Swami — who are capable of keeping the project tangled in judicial knots forever.

The project faces stiff opposition from local fishing community, who say the present alignment would destroy marine life and corals. There are also concerns raised by some experts about creating an artificial breach in a natural barrier capable of buffering tsunami waves, thereby preventing extensive damage to the entire southern coast.

A government-appointed committee headed by Rajendra K Pachauri recently released its report terming the proposed project unviable from ecological and economic aspects — but the Centre has decided to reject it and go ahead.

Some say Sethusamudram Canal will provide India with the benefits akin to those provided by Panama Canal or Suez Canal — though the reality is that neither the distance reduced, amount of traffic, nor time saved is anywhere in that scale. It must also be noted that the 12 metre-deep channel cannot be used by ships above 30,000 tonnes. This would rule out most big container ships, let alone massive crude carriers. And when one considers the massive dredging costs, part of which will be recurring, things look less promising.

However, some are of the opinion that the advantage of reduced distance is dwarfed by strategic concerns. It would ensure better security for cargo and more effective monitoring by security agencies. The added benefit would be that smaller ports in Kerala and Tamil Nadu will see more business, and in turn, revenues.

In 2007, after filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) came under heavy criticism for questioning the authenticity of Ram-built-it-theory. The officials, rather candidly, pointed out that mythology cannot be the basis of government policy. All hell broke loose in the land of the holy cow: the officials were suspended, ‘objectionable’ passages removed and the then law minister HR Bharadwaj smoothened ruffled feathers by accepting the historical and cultural relevance of Ram. We have the dubious distinction of the highest level of judiciary entertaining cases where God is made a party… such periods in Europe are now known as Dark Ages.

Since we are a nation where people take offence at the drop of the hat, the mythological angle should be left out in the case of Sethusamudram project. Hardly any opinion can be made on any topic under the sun without offending someone or the other. And soon cases will follow for “offending the sentiments” of X community, Y caste, Z interest group and XYZ people who want their 15 minutes of fame by getting their names published in news reports for filing cases.

Allowing development issues to be hijacked by political and communal elements with vested interests would not only create divisions, but also open floodgates of questionable methods to stall anything and everything. Reason, and not religion, alone should decide public policy.

Even as an Italian investigation is bringing out damning information on the VVIP helicopter deal, the Indian response has been divided. Defence minister and patron saint of clean politics ‘St Antony’ has realised (though a few years late) that “something happened somewhere”, which also threatens the image he has painstakingly built for himself — thereby meriting cancellation of the deal.

However, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid is not keen to “overreact” because it would affect our “defence preparedness”. But the venerable mantri doesn’t elaborate what role helicopters transporting VVIPs are going to contribute to defence preparedness.

Khurshid has stressed that Letters Rogatory, which request a foreign government’s or government institution’s cooperation for an investigation, will allow India to get to the bottom of the alleged scam. However, the charade of investigation into the Bofors scam has amply demonstrated to us how the government can sabotage such processes from within.

Though Khurshid vouches for the capabilities of Augusta Westland helicopters, the claim is difficult to stomach when it has emerged that performance requirements were tweaked to benefit the company.

AK Antony is clean and honest, but has always demonstrated to be spineless when it comes to dealing with filth in his team. His terms as chief minister of Kerala saw some of the biggest scams and criminal activities of party leaders, coalition partners and ministers (of course, all alleged and never proven). Even when a senior Cabinet colleague was under investigation for sexual misconduct (Ice cream Parlour Sex Scandal), Antony would not ask him to stay out of ministry till he is cleared. The minister has been acquitted by all trial courts and the Supreme Court. There are plenty more, but this one is the crown jewel.

The inevitable presence of middlemen and ‘consultant’ companies (where many top military officials find employment after their service) in defence deals is a clear demonstration of the lack of willingness of the government to put national interests first. From coffins to choppers, rations to munitions, those tasked with protecting the country (service personnel, bureaucrats and political leaders) are looting it or facilitating the plunder.

The anger and tirade of the defence minister will play to domestic galleries but need not translate into actions of consequence, especially when the investigations involve other countries. Their judicial process follows due procedure of law and usually does not cater to requirements of “public conscience”.

Unless there is conviction and policy decision that national interests will come first, these investigations will take the usual long and winding road to nowhere, bleed the exchequer and finally peter out.

There was a time when military had a good standing in the public eye, but it is no longer the case. There are stains that need to be removed and creases that have to be smoothened before the uniform can return to its former glory.

Two Central ministries, ministry of defence (MoD) and ministry of home affairs (MHA), are engaged in a nasty war of words over an incident involving Indian Air Force personnel during an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh.

An IAF Mi-17 that was providing logistical support to the police was brought down by Naxal fire. The MHA lashed out at the “cowardice” of the IAF personnel who, reportedly chose to abandon the machine and the wounded man where the chopper landed and flee to the nearest camp. The rescue party and reinforcements reached the spot three hours later.

The IAF also came under fire because its personnel did not bother to leave behind its commandos to guard the chopper and the injured cop — leaving the machine and its load of weapons unguarded in the Naxal-infested territory for three long hours.

The Air Force, in its defence, said the blame lay on the state’s police which did not ‘sanitise’ the area near their camp.

While the blame game continues and respective departmental inquiries are on, the uncomfortable issue of (and the ambiguity regarding) the role of the armed forces in anti-Naxal operations has raised its head.

The MoD had earlier declared that its personnel (read IAF) can return fire if fired upon by the Maoists guerrillas. It has not emerged clearly why the armed helicopter, with highly trained commandos on board, could not respond to the attack and went down.

The IAF personnel, before scramming, left an LMG and a pistol with the wounded policeman — how noble!

May be, in that condition, he was supposed to do a Rambo and mow down any possible Naxal assault team.

Now, imagine a scenario if the chopper crew had decided to hold their position. No matter what their training, the sheer numerical superiority of a Naxal party would have overwhelmed them. The result would be that other IAF teams would tend to get trigger-happy, raising the possibilities of civilian casualties. In an area where human intelligence is minimal and terrain preventing easy distinguishing of Naxal patrols and foraging tribals, this would have serious consequences.

There is also the issue of setting up Army camps and training sessions in Naxal strongholds. True, a sovereign country will not be dictated by presence of guerrilla groups when it comes to training and deployment of its forces. Though there has been no untoward incident so far, there is a high probability of the Army getting dragged into the conflict.

The Naxals are no fools to attack army personnel or camps and bring on themselves the wrath of a well-trained and heavily-armed force. However, if a communication gap or a case of mistaken identity results in such an attack – and casualties – things are going to get ugly.

The Army would get involved in the direct action and soon the conflict would snowball into a full-fledged civil war. And when such a conflict takes place it always tends to take a heavy toll on lives (uniformed and civilian) and scars the region’s psyche — and that is something nobody wants.

The government agencies should shake off their lethargy and revisit standard operating procedures (SOPs) so that the forces (police and the military) are in a better position to deal with delicate situations like the one faced by the IAF personnel in Chhattisgarh.

Lack of faith in elected representatives and administrative machinery has seen people increasingly turning to judiciary to get things done. Well… faith in judiciary is good, but it doesn’t mean its understaffed machinery should be dragged into all matters — the latest row over Telangana statehood being the best example.

A Hyderabad court has directed the police to file a case against Union ministers P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde for making crucial announcements regarding the formation of Telangana, and subsequently failing to keep them.

The petitioner had moved the court saying the ministers should be booked under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for “cheating”. Now let us see what the law says.

Section 420 in The Indian Penal Code, 1860: Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Hello, where does this apply in the context of Telangana?

While one can understand the emotion behind the petition, the rationality of admitting a political policy decision should be considered more carefully. If politicians, whether holding public office or not, are to be booked and punished for not keeping their promises, there would hardly be anyone who can stay out of jail.

Considering the amount of lofty promises that politicians make regarding bringing development, introducing welfare measures, providing good governance and weeding out corruption (ROFL here..), cases against political class alone will be sufficient enough to create a separate wing of judiciary.

Crores of cases are pending in our courts – some of them dragging on for decades. Tens of thousands are languishing in overcrowded jails awaiting trial. Scores of them have spent more time behind bars than what the maximum punishment for their crime would have been.

Despite the crushing workload, curiously, there is always time for trivial cases like complaints against random movie stars for ‘indecent’ performances at stage shows, ‘obscene’ posters and ‘objectionable’ opinions.

One can’t help but wonder if the legal luminaries who drafted our laws did not have the foresight to include separate laws to protect the moral fabric of the society. May be, in the ongoing process of legal reforms, we should introduce laws on soul too!

A wise man once said “there is nothing permanent except change”. In realpolitik, policies and decisions keep changing to adapt with changing circumstances. This evolution is inevitable in the course of decision-making and progress.

If change of stance is a criminal offence, there would be no scope for the politics of alliances in India. When a party switches its support, it is never done with the approval of every single member and those who voted for it — therefore it would amount to fraud.

The legal system is in place to address grievances and provide justice. When it is abused for publicity and other vested interests, it is this original purpose which is being defeated. And we don’t need that… Do we?

Every effort of embattled BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to wiggle out of the Spurti quagmire has backfired and the proverbial final nail on the coffin was stuck by the I-T raids on the company stakeholders’ offices. As the negative publicity brought by its appointee became too big to be pushed under the carpet, even the all powerful RSS could not help him.

Rajnath Singh’s return could not be more spectacular. Gadkari’s term at the helm was a disaster. Revolt after revolt broke out in the party’s state units — its Karnataka situation is the worst scenario.

It was not long ago that the party’s national leadership was forced to kneel down before the Bellary brothers and revoke all disciplinary actions against them and their confidants. Late realisation of its mistake and the subsequent tough posturing before BS Yeddyurappa have resulted in its sole government in the south hanging to power by a wafer-thin majority. The Lingayat strongman enjoys considerable support among the party’s cadres and has the ability to spoil it for the saffron party. And more than anyone else, one person stands to gain the most — Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi’s chance of being the party’s prime ministerial candidate got a major boost with Gadkari out of the way. Modi and Gadkari had clashed several times in the past with the pracharak CM skipping the party’s national executive meetings in protest.

The harbinger of Gadkari’s dwindling elbow room was the May conclave where the party body had to drop Modi-baiter and Gadkari loyalist Sanjay Joshi.

With an outspoken Hindutva hawk like Rajnath Singh at the helm of the party, Modi will look like a moderate (though he is anything but one). Singh’s elevation also spares Modi of worries about strengthening the party before laying siege to Delhi — the former has proven his mettle with excellent organisational skills during his previous stints.

Modi has also greatly benefitted from Rahul Gandhi’s elevation to the number two slot in the Congress. While junior’s tearjerker speech might have sent the nation reaching for tissue paper boxes, the ‘anointment’ has effectively ruled out the possibility of any leader of calibre rising to the top in near future.

Every time Rahul has tried to take on Modi politically, his rhetoric failed to scratch Modi’s image, let alone dent it. Sonia’s last best shot — maut ka saudagar (merchant of death) — boomeranged and Modi emerged stronger than ever. The recent state elections underscored the Gujarat’s CM’s upper hand in this unequal fight.

Modi’s success has been in forcing his most vehement critics to come out with praise for him through good governance. Congress leaders, civil society activists and even leading Muslim figures have turned fans.

With booming business opportunities in Gujarat proving to be too lucrative to be ignored, most countries which blacklisted him in the wake of 2002 riots have quietly backtracked, the UK being the latest to join this list. In the US too, the number of voices calling for going soft on Modi is increasing by the day.

Though kin of victims of 2002 massacres in Gujarat continue to wage their legal battles, a series of clean chits by courts have boosted Modi’s credentials.

Gadkari was a weight that was dragging the BJP down (no pun intended), and freed of that, the main Opposition party is in a better position to put its house in order and pose a credible challenge to the ruling combine in the 2014 General Elections.

Their bone of contention is that the government is ‘wasting’ money on unnecessary matters while basic facilities such as classroom infrastructure and toilets are ignored. One must concede that the teachers have an axe to grind regarding this. However, the real reason for the outrage is that biometric attendance system will ‘force‘ the teachers to spend time at school. This will mean absentees will lose pay, and in course of time, face disciplinary action.

They cannot send proxies to teach and attend to more pressing matters like their side businesses and private tuitions. Biometric attendance would put an end to their ‘freelancing’ activities and no work would translate into no pay. In a country where teachers are considered at par with parents and gods, the system has deteriorated to a level where such forceful measures have been necessitated.

The blame is not on teachers alone. The criteria for recruitment of teachers need to undergo a sea change. Instead of going through the regular test-plus-quotas route, a method giving priority to aptitude and commitment of candidates need to be evolved. Contribution and value addition, and not seniority should decide promotions. Teaching is not just a job, it is a great responsibility. And only the deserving should be entrusted with it.

There is much tension in the air since the Pakistani cross-border raid at the Line of Control (LoC) killed two Indian soldiers. Media is full of emotionally-charged statements. A bunch of news anchors have literally declared war on Pakistan and calls from the likes of Sushma Swaraj to bring “10 Pakistani heads” only add to the existing tensions.

Calls by a section of media for surgical strikes and war make it sound like a cakewalk. Pakistan military is no pushover and is competent enough to give us a bloody nose if any hastily-planned cross-border adventure is initiated.

Their forces are well-entrenched and are trained to stave off attacks from its eastern neighbour. American military aid in return for support role in the ‘war on terror’ has added some lethal firepower to Pakistan’s forces — not to mention the massive supply of military hardware it keeps receiving from China.

There is no doubt that Indian armed forces enjoy numerical superiority and possess better equipment. However, there is no guarantee of keeping the battles theatre-specific and short of the threshold that would provoke use of nuclear weapons.

More than anyone else (even more that news anchors who deliver what ‘THE NATION WANTS TO KNOW’ at top decibel) it is the generals of India and Pakistan who desperately need a war.

The image of Pakistan’s military has taken a serious beating in the last few years. An American SEAL team sneaked into their territory and bumped of Osama bin Laden and waltzed out before GHQ bosses in Rawalpindi could bat an eyelid. CIA drones operate in Pakistani airspace with impunity. Death of civilians when drone strikes go wrong has created a strong public resentment against the government and the ‘incompetent’ military.

Several incidents of military bases being targeted with ease by militants have caused the security establishment to lose their face. The military is also losing hundreds of soldiers in battles with Islamic militants — a situation into which it was arm-twisted by Uncle Sam. They are desperate for a diversion; something that would repose the faith of public in them as defenders of Pakistan; and nothing like a war to get this done.

Their Indian counterparts are much better off in terms of internal security. However, the uniform has lost much sheen after the Kargil conflict — thanks to scams involving high-ranking officials. From corruption in supply of rations to illegal sale of military land, a series of scams have seen generals being indicted and cashiered.

The birth certificate controversy involving the previous army chief saw some serious lows in civilian-military relations. General VK Singh’s outbursts about the shabby state of India’s military preparedness, quality of ammunition (and lack of it) and offer of bribes have caused the military’s image to hit a nadir. Therefore, the tough talk and pressure for cross-border strikes are only natural.

The LoC ceasefire that has been in place from 2003 has survived relatively unscathed despite several attempts by hawks among state and non-state actors on both sides of the border.

This has helped us divert resources for development and allowed us to stand tall when the rest of the world faced recession. It also allowed security forces to deploy more effectively and combat militancy in disturbed areas. A war would change all of this.

The sanctity of our borders must be safeguarded through appropriate mechanisms at each level. A local incident should not be allowed to hijack our national agenda and push the countries into a war that they can’t afford to fight.

MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi is in the eye of a storm kicked up by his controversial speech. His vitriolic words have drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum — and increased his following among the hawks in his party.

However, in the frenzy to nail the MIM’s floor leader, we are ignoring the impunity hate mongers enjoy in this country. Likes of Praveen Togadia, the Thackeray cousins, leaders of numerous regional political and religious outfits and caste party satraps make equally venomous comments and get away with it.

Recently, Union minister Salman Khurshid had publicly threatened Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal with violence if the latter ever dared to enter his constituency — and was promptly executed by his supporters. We haven’t seen Khurshid being arrested.

Politicians across party lines continue to make derogatory remarks against rape victims. Why don’t we see those powerful Sections of Indian Penal Code invoked against them? Ignoramuses like Asaram Bapu continue to walk free.

Leaders of caste kangaroo courts that make a mockery of the law of the land with their ‘verdicts’ of violent retribution and honour killings are free men. They continue to be key elements in the scheme of political parties.

Barely a week back, killers of Indira Gandhi, executed for the severest acts of treason and terrorism, were honoured by the highest religious body of Sikhs as martyrs. We don’t see Akal Takht leaders handcuffed and bundled into police vehicles.

There are several political leaders in Tamil Nadu who openly endorse the LTTE — still listed as a terrorist organisation by the country. Those who engineered the attacks on Sri Lankan pilgrims in the state are still roaming the streets, continuing their propaganda of hate and division.

Separatist leaders of Kashmir, who unleash anti-India tirades and continually support merger with Pakistan, continue to be free.

As a matter of fact, government of India allows them to visit Pakistan and meet anti-India leaders. Clerics who issue those outrageous fatwas that infringe on Constitution-guaranteed liberties are never touched.

Our holy cow approach to dealing with such people owing to their caste, region and religion has allowed them to become extra-constitutional authorities that act above the law. This, however, is not surprising in a country where scientists who make inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) prostrate before ‘human gods’.

What the MIM does in its strongholds in Hyderabad is no different from what Shiv Sena and MNS does in the Mumbai-Thane belt. The stranglehold it keeps on the community and its political power projection ensures that there is no dearth of fodder for Sangh Parivar organisations in Old City.

There is nothing unique about Akbaruddin Owaisi, and there is definitely nothing new about the toxicity in his speeches. Hate speech cases are nothing new to people like him and his equally competent counterparts in the saffron fold.

It is universal knowledge that all of them will go scot-free after the initial hype, a few court hearings and prolonged legal battles. Lawyers will take care of business in the court while their clients continue to ply their trade in public fora.

Unless there are convictions, jail sentences and punishments like debarring them from any kid of political activity and public office, there is no hope of de-fanging these merchants of hate.

Law and order exists for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Much has been the public outrage across the country in general, and the national capital in particular, after the Delhi bus rape incident. The focus has mostly been on safety of women and the flaws in the system that is supposed to protect them. However, little has been said about the rising danger of vigilante justice — which will find many takers as the ‘system’ continues to fail them.

One such example is an incident that took place in Jharkhand recently when a village meticulously planned and executed the lynching of five men who were constantly molesting women in the locality. After the murders, a mob went to the local police station to take responsibility. While this can be considered as an isolated incident, one cannot ignore the rising public discontent when the justice delivery system fails their expectations.

There are tens of thousands of cases every year when people are forced to suffer heavy-handed measures of the state that is supposed to protect them from oppressors. Many ‘development’ projects that are launched with fanfare involve land acquisitions and rarely is this done ensuring adequate compensation to the landowners.

Since many contracts are ‘won’ by benamis of politicians, their methods of coaxing the landowners through threat of violence and, of course, real violence, are invisible to the guardians of law. Considering there is little difference between the treatment meted out to them by the goons and the police, it is only natural that organisations such as the Maoists are never short of fresh blood.

While the salaried class is squeezed dry through every possible tax and surcharges, the corrupt officials and politicians are having a field day. The rags-to-riches success story of the Indian political class who turn rupee billionaires after spending barely a decade in modestly-paid public offices should put financial moghuls to shame.

The Central government cites constraints of international agreements and refuses to divulge the names of those who have bled the country white and stashed their illicit wealth abroad. So, while a clerk caught taking a `500-bribe loses his job and spends time in jail, those who siphoned off enough money to feed an entire generation continue to rub shoulders with national leaders and star as outspoken stalwarts of industry.

Even in cases communal violence, response of the state machinery has always been late and on many occasions — complicit. The best example would be 2002 Gujarat riots. While small-fry and thugs have been convicted, the masterminds of the mass murders — executed with meticulous planning and clinical precision — remain untouched. When caste kangaroo courts make a mockery of judiciary and police and continue their reign of unfettered bloodshed, the victims have nowhere to run.

With all institutional mechanism failing to provide justice or protect from injustice and oppression, majority of our population (without the ‘protection’ of a politician or a criminal – now don’t ask me what’s the difference) has been rendered helpless, hopeless, powerless and cornered.

Great minds have made observations such ‘man is a political animal’ and ‘man is a social animal’ — basically an animal with many intellectual facets. And guess what happens when an animal is cornered without any possibility of escape…

A journalist friend’s social network post on the Delhi bus rape made some scathing observations, and correctly so, about how the nation is truly ‘outraged’ only sexual violence occurs in the heart of political and economic powerhouses. Society and what we call “the system” are equally responsible for the state of sexual siege the women of this country are forced to live under.

Newspapers come up with illustrations of statistics and news channels line up ‘experts’ from different walks of life to hold prime time panel discussions on the deteriorating social conditions. There is a lot of drama and rage before cameras and mikes for a few days, then all is gradually forgotten — till another mauled female form is discovered abandoned and battling for life.

Though psychologists may line up a host of reasons to explain the behaviour of perpetrators of sexual violence, it boils down to few basic reasons.

1. Societal endorsement of masculine aggression
2. Lack of airtight case-building that will lead to conviction
3. Flawed portrayal of women in popular culture
4. Outdated patriarchal social system that tends to punish the victim than the violator
5. An ultra-slow legal system that can be exploited to delay justice to the effect of denying it

As long as we have ludicrous ‘out-of-court settlements’ for rape such as rapist agreeing to marry the victim, the justice system is taking a beating. This is an endorsement that the rape victim is in some way ‘contaminated’ and ‘unfit’ for leading a normal life. It also puts the victim at the mercy of the violator, who has already destroyed every minute element of self-respect she possessed. Every act of sexual intercourse after such a wedding is nothing short of socially-endorsed rape.

The absence of quick legal redress ensures that the victim is forced to put up with inordinate delays as case hearings are postponed and mental wounds stay raw and open. And thanks to the media attention (which usually goes overboard), every last bit of privacy of the victim goes for a toss — making a return to normal life even more difficult.

From policemen, politicians and social workers, we need to go miles in terms of treating cases of sexual violence with sensitivity. There is no dearth of top cops and politicians who shift the blame on victims’ tight clothes and loose morals.

Above all, the lack of a punishment that serves as a deterrent to rapists is the biggest inducement for the perpetrators to continue their brutal hobby with impunity. I reiterate my call, from an earlier column, for surgical castration of rapists. If there is anything that can deter the rapist, it is the permanent destruction of the supply chain that powers the macabre hunt.

I know this is not a permanent solution. However, with predators reduced to paper tigers, forced to live in self-loathing for the rest of their lives, the world becomes a better place for the fairer sex.

The knee-jerk reaction to Palestine gaining observer status at UN (just nine opposing votes shows where the world opinion stands), the hawks in Israeli government had to prove that any line other than the Israeli line will bring about only suffering for Palestinians and their cause.

The settlements will further corral Palestinians into a smaller piece of land, which is being continually encroached by Israel on every possible pretext, forcing into their lives an artificial scarcity for resources and related suffering.

The icing on the Israeli policy cake is further financial and material restrictions that will cripple Palestine administration. As hundreds of millions of dollars in legitimate taxes and aid is denied to the Palestine government, it is only natural that the current human catastrophe in the occupied territories will worsen. This will weaken the government’s ability to govern and, more importantly, rein in the activities of militant groups that target Israeli territory with crude rockets.

The recent cross-border military operations by Israel in Gaza clearly demonstrates that the Jewish state has no qualms in killing civilians, though its propaganda machinery goes to great lengths to say how it ‘minimises collateral damage’.

In a report by an international news agency, a Gaza resident recalls how he got a warning call from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) at 3am that the building was about to be bombed in five minutes and the family had to evacuate immediately. He and his family were lucky enough to make it out alive before Israeli jets reduced the building to rubble — not everyone was that lucky.

Say an average family has five to seven members, including children and elderly, how many can get out of a multi-storey building if roused at the dead of the night and given a five-minute window? So even as its operations are guaranteed to massacre innocent civilians, Israelis can hide behind their lip-service to ‘adequate warning’ — and have their US-led backers endorsing the slaughter.

However, the Western champions of ‘peace and stability in the region’ have no difficulty in ignoring Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons and its continuing occupation of other countries’ territories — if only one were to forget that it is actually an occupied Palestine that is today’s Israel.

Israeli policies are also ensuring that the oppression and injustice faced by the Palestinians are increasing by the day, and in turn transforming into a rallying point for terrorist organisations. Recruitment videos of jihadi groups showing mothers wailing over bloodied, limp bodies of little children killed in Israeli raids have been quite effective in serving their purpose.

When the financial and military might of Israel and its half-a-dozen backers are able to subvert the functioning of an international body like the United Nations and reduce it to a scarecrow, it is only natural that any action that will hurt Israel and its citizens will find takers and supporters.

Palestinians are being killed slowly and painfully by Israel’s sheer brutality and equally effective stranglehold of blockades. The blood and tears of Palestinians will ensure that Israel will never sleep in peace till it mends its ways.

The author works for Postnoon.

Death has strange effects on people. Look at what it has done for late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

Eleven days have passed since the demise of the man who was a power to reckon with in Maharashtra politics, and every passing day is seeing more praises being sung for him — an outstanding posthumous achi­eve­ment for a man who demonstrated to the country, with ruthless efficiency, how to perfect the politics of hate.

From mid-1960s, when a nascent Shiv Sena began its vitriolic campaign against non-Maharashtrians, the outfit grew in strength. With the brutal crushing of Leftist trade unions, allegedly with money and muscle backing of industrialists, the Sena assumed the monopoly of violent enforcement — and Bal Thackeray was the guiding light and ideologue.

The violent ‘lungi bhagao’ campaign of Shiv Sena targeting South Indians and their establishments unleashed a reign of terror, with the law and order establishment looking the other way.

Political leaders have been trying to outdo each other in showering praises on a man who has made no bones about his admiration for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ‘for his talent as an artist, orator and a man who was the master of the mob’. He found a lot of aspects common between himself and the German dictator – who, with his lebensraum (living space) call, might have inspired Tahckeray’s Marathi manoos war cry.

For a man, whose organisation literally rewrote workers’ rights and fought tooth and nail to destroy the cosmopolitan nature of Bombay (oops… Mumbai), the eulogies reflect the insensitivity of the political class in the name of political correctness and social niceties.

There isn’t a major incident of communal trouble in Mumbai that doesn’t have Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray written all over it. Thackeray’s skill in discovering a communal angle to every incident of consequence was unparalleled. The party mouthpiece Saamana, with regular inputs from Thackeray made sure that there was never any dearth of venom for public consumption.

The Sri Krishna Commission too pointed fingers and Thackeray and his outfit for inciting the pogrom against Muslims in the aftermath of the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai.

For unemployed and frustrated Marathi youths who were looking for a punching bag, Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena provided a platform for unfettered thuggery in the name of a ‘glorious cause’ — not to mention the massive cash inflow through extortion from businesses that weren’t deferential enough.

With no arm of the government being able to challenge the might of Shiv Sena in Mumbai-Thane belt, the outfit assumed the extra-constitutional power of censorship. From literature, art, sports and cinema, there is no area untouched by Sena diktats — forcibly enforced in most cases.

For a political career spanning more than four decades, Bal Thackeray has left behind nothing but a bitter aftertaste — let us not even talk about Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray. The toxic politics that divides people and fills their minds with hatred has done tremendous damage to the social and political fabric of Maharashtra in general and Mumbai in particular. With son and nephew jostling to bear the torch, Mumbai has more pain in store.

Let us not allow death to be the pretext for granting sainthood to Bal Thackeray.

The writer works for Postnoon.

]]> http://postnoon.com/2012/11/28/dont-canonise-bal-thackeray/90797/feed 3 http://postnoon.com/2012/10/27/games-people-play/83195 http://postnoon.com/2012/10/27/games-people-play/83195#comments Sat, 27 Oct 2012 09:38:31 +0000 Arun Koshy Philip http://postnoon.com/?p=83195

With blood threatening to spill into the streets, a hesitant recruit to New York’s newly-formed police force has a lot of challenges before him.

New York of 1845 is any policeman’s nightmare, and there was no real police force to keep watch on a city of about 320,000. A feeble ‘Watch’ had been dismantled as it proved to be more a liability than an asset to maintenance of law and order in the city. The potato famine has multiplied the number of impoverished immigrants landing at the shores. As a sea of desperate humanity swells the underbelly of the city, already creaking at the joints for lack of good governance, a perfect mix is created for those who want to make their fortune through every means possible.

Timothy Wilde is a happy and content man. His job as a bartender is giving him enough popularity and money to seek the hand of the woman he loves. However, he is catapulted into a different life as an inferno makes mincemeat of his plans for a perfect future. Rendered homeless and penniless, and scared emotionally and physically, Timothy reluctantly enrols himself as a member of the newly-formed New York Police Department.

Already smarting under humiliation of having to accept the job as a handout from his charming, and equally unscrupulous, fireman-politician-policeman brother, he trudges on learning the new trade till one evening a 10-year-old in blood-soaked clothes runs into him. Professional curiosity and thorough investigations open wide a murky world of criminals, religious fanatics, racists and a mass of faceless humanity – defined by their determination to survive in the face of all odds.

Wave after wave of Catholic Irish immigrants arriving at a Protestant-dominated New York is already a cause of simmering discontent as locals are wary of the newcomers taking away their jobs. Blacks are free but their conditions haven’t changed much from the slavery days. The city, which is trying to find its feet and establish some semblance of order after the disastrous fire, is shaken when the disembowelled body of a Catholic boy is found, with a cross-shaped wound. With sparks falling dangerously close to a religious-ethnic-political powder keg, it is now up to Timothy to crack the crime and establish faith in his nascent Force.

The plot of The Gods of Gotham has been woven after adequate research on socio-economic conditions of New York of that period. The narrative creates a detailed picture and allows you to soak in a complex plot with ease. Simply put; a good read worth your money.

Name: The Gods of Gotham

Author: Lyndsay Faye

Pages: 430

 Publisher: Penguin

In Winter of the World, Ken Follett has returned with a befitting sequel to Fall of the Giants. The plot is set in Europe and the United States of 1930s.

Life has changed for Maud, who defied her brother, Earl Fitzbert, to live with her husband Walter von Ulrich in Germany. As Nazi power reaches its zenith, her family is jolted out of its comfort zone. With a husband who despises everything the Nazis stand for and a son who is an ardent supporter of Hitler, even the equations in the family starts rocking.

Ethel Leckwith has come a long way from the day she landed in London with a baby in her womb and despair in her heart. She and her brother, Billy Williams, are stars in the Labour party and worried by the turn of events in Europe. Ethel’s son Lloyd gets a first-hand experience of Nazi brutality and the incident will change his life forever.

The Peshkovs are divided by the Pacific as well as conflicting ideologies. Lev Peshkov is now a rich man in Buffalo and Grigori is a senior official in the Red Army. As the world moves closer to another great war, their lives and that of their loved ones will take overlapping courses. Gone are the heady days of revolution. Communists are entrenched in power and are doing everything possible to hold on to it — even if it means becoming more ruthless than the Tsar.

Gus Dewar is trying his best to help the US President bring about a system that will provide an alternative to war for nations to settle their disputes.

The vagary of World War I has made the US public even more hostile to joining a European conflict and sending its young men to their deaths. Even as the Americans watch the Western theatre with interest, there is a mighty power to the East that is getting ready to stake its claim for power and glory. And it will not be long before their paths cross.

For all the efforts made by different parties, war breaks out and all are pushed into a repeat of the scenario they had prayed should never revisit the world.

The book has been written paying attention to the detail. The characters fit flawlessly into the course of events that will change the world forever. Ideological battles move into real battle fronts and even as sides try to establish their supremacy, there are deep flaws.

The most impressive aspect of Follett’s style is storytelling through a disinterested perspective. There is no attempt to assign ‘good’ and ‘bad’ tags. The rationale behind actions, both positive and negative, are described in the most logical manner — allowing the reader to decide for themselves where they stand and to what extent.

The story captures the tumult in the society and in the lives of the main characters very effectively. Issues of class, race, sexual orientation, political ideologies and struggles are elucidated in a subtle yet effective manner.

Overall, Winter of the World makes an excellent read. The narrative is simple, but does nothing to conceal the harsh realities, ironies, and therefore, has a smooth original feel to it. Follett has once again demonstrated that history can be quite heady and is worth knowing.

Name: Winter of the World

Author: Ken Follett

Pages: 818

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Political parties have banked on caste votes to fuel their journeys to power and therefore it is natural that they don’t tread on the turf of their benefactors. This is not purely an India-exclusive phenomenon. At the zenith of Nazi power, the Catholic Church maintained silence on German atrocities in return for sparing the interests of the Church. Spain’s brutal dictator Franco too enjoyed similar privileges.

Haryana is not the nucleus of the menace of khaps — its tentacles reach the nook and corner of the country. Even while public outrage against khap-ordered atrocities, especially against women, are on the rise, political leaders are very measured in their response — Sonia too is no exception to this unspoken rule. Though she condemned the rise in crimes against women and called for the severest punishment for rapists, her response to a question regarding the ‘authority’ of khaps was surprisingly mild. She said only the government and courts have the authority to prosecute people. The statesman-like statement did not directly attack khaps nor did it say the kangaroo courts need to be done away with.

Khaps are nothing but an Indian version of Taliban, which has been instrumental in crushing the lives of millions of women in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The colour of the flags may differ, but the obsolete and suppressive ideologies are same.

The khap advisory to get girls married off at the age of 16 to curb rapes is not much different from the logic of proponents of female genital mutilation that physically and mentally scars millions of women across the world.

The primitive justification of male superiority and importance has over the decades created a demographic disaster across the country with plummeting sex ratios. The result has been an overdose of testosterone in social life. Coupled with the tradition of glorifying suppression of women’s rights, an environment dangerous for the fairer sex has been created.

Though our politicians take umbrage at comments on a wide range of matters and their wisdom spans from personal etiquette to art, philosophy, and literature, no one has the courage to take on the scourge of these extra-constitutional cancers that have been gnawing away at the core of ideals of democracy and liberty — ironically, guaranteed by the Constitution and reinforced by court rulings.

Mahatma Gandhi once said that India lives in its villages. And if the women in our villages are forced to live under the reign of khap terror, what kind of rule of law can we boast of?

Unlike the urban folk, the rural heartland turns out to vote in large numbers. When they exercise their electoral franchise, they hope their representatives will create a better future for them. However, our democratic model has remained a pathetic failure in this department.

When a country cannot protect its women (No, locking them inside houses and teen weddings are NOT solutions); when it cannot ensure freedom of choosing life partners for its youths; when law and order machinery fails to do its duty, we are no different from the failed states that are our neighbours.

]]> http://postnoon.com/2012/10/10/khaps-are-our-taliban/79066/feed 1 http://postnoon.com/2012/10/03/its-do-or-die-for-cornered-kiran/77476 http://postnoon.com/2012/10/03/its-do-or-die-for-cornered-kiran/77476#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2012 09:40:55 +0000 Arun Koshy Philip http://postnoon.com/?p=77476

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s categorical statement that he won’t be pushed around over Telangana statehood heralds a turning a turning point for the embattled CM and his party in the State — for better or worse.

Ever since he took charge after the exit of K Rosaiah, the former cricketer always confined his game to defensive shots as the party’s national leadership kept dilly-dallying on the statehood issue.

Even wave after wave of agitation causing losses of tens of thousands of crores in terms of production, destruction of public property, security, and not the least, investments that went to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for lack of political stability in the State.

The violent agitations also ensured that the image of the City was sullied. The debris of statues at Tank Bund, barely a kilometre from the Secretariat, is a reminder of the paralysis of the State administration.

Though in power with adequate numbers, the chief minister has been constantly under attack from elements within the party — some blaming his indecisiveness over Telangana, the rest over issues ranging from corruption-tainted ministers to policy blunders.

The constant wrangle for power between the CM and APCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana also undermined Kiran’s ability to command the support of the party’s rank and file. With Botsa and actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi being promoted by some factions as possible replacements, the CM’s continuation in the post was always under doubt. To make matters worse, the numerous visits by national leadership’s envoys never made any credible impact in favour of or against the CM.

The divisions in Congress also resulted in the party being humiliated in bypolls, first by the TRS and then by former chief minister YS Rajashekar Reddy’s son and YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Kiran’s inability to stop a scam-tainted political novice from a sizeable chunk of Assembly seats was the ultimate humiliation for the chief minister.

It was at this point that Kiran Kumar Reddy realised that personal political oblivion and decimation of the party was at the doorstep. And ever since, the CM has taken the route of squarely confronting political adversaries.

The CM made it clear that he will be at the helm till 2014 and rubbished suggestions to the contrary. This was also an open challenge his critics within the Congress to come out and confront him. Kiran’s gamble paid off as, with a series of electoral defeats in the backdrop, no one could muster enough courage to stage a coup and face the prospect of snap elections.

The latest statement of ‘enough is enough’ shows that the party’s national leadership sees Kiran Kumar Reddy as the best bet for the Congress in these testing times.

However, there are more challenges that await the CM. He will have to get the Telangana leaders of the party to either fall in line or keep quiet. With the Telangana agitation going out of KCR’s control, Kiran will have to decide whom he should woo and whom to ignore.

He also needs to get his act together as the head of the Council of Ministers and ensure that the complacence and paralysis that has become the trademark of administration are done away with.

The fate of the government, the Congress and Hyderabad now hinges on the ability of Kiran Kumar Reddy to walk the talk.

The number of social networking sites are increasing by the day and most technology literate people, especially the youngsters, are hooked on to one platform or the other. These websites came as a boon to people who are away from their family and friends due to work, studies and other unavoidable commitments.

They provide free means of communication, entertainment and networking facilities for professional and personal purposes. One can keep track of developments in the lives of people connected to them with the least of efforts.

However, in course of time, the tools that were aids became a necessity and eventually an addiction. Mere websites became benchmarks for determining friends and foes, for gauging one’s own acceptability, to judge loyalties, and of course, social standing.

The obsession with impressing others, already fuelled by a culture driven by consumerism, takes uncontrollable proportions. People are devoting time, energy and money into ‘perfecting’ their virtual lives and in the end, lose out in real life.

Though a direct comparison will be an exaggeration, the film Matrix kind of portrays the situation of those who are totally dependent on social networking sites. In the movie, all are plugged into a virtual reality that caters to all needs. People go about their lives full of happiness and all seem perfect. However, the reality is that all are nothing but masses of flesh and bone cocooned in containers, with no connection to real life. For example, a bodybuilding champion in the matrix is in reality as weak as a newborn.

There have been reports of relationships breaking off due to disagreements over what should be its influence on the partners’ online profiles. Wives and husbands dumping partners because they are ‘single’ online!!!

Many confess to using photo editing tools to make themselves look better in their display pictures and admit that one of their biggest worries is about friends tagging them in photographs that would provide a reality contrast to the carefully managed online profiles.

It was barely a year ago when an East Asian couple, obsessed with an online virtual farming game on a top social networking site, kept forgetting to feed their child. Though the farms plants and animals thrived due to constant monitoring, the real child succumbed to a malnutrition-induced ailment. These networking platforms have also emerged as hot spots of e-bullying where people gang up to insult, blackmail and defame others. The number of suicides and violent crimes that is in some way or the other connected to social networking sites are rising at an alarming rate.

However, blaming social networking sites would be akin to blaming liquor for alcoholism. It is our uncontrolled pursuit of limelight that is enabling these platforms to act as force-multipliers for vices and abuse.

Virtual world bonding stops at virtual levels and cannot help with real life issues. If we spend a fraction of our online time in making real friends and socialising, we will be much better off. And you won’t have some friend’s friend’s friend making comments on your looks.

Come on, these are just websites and nothing more. Let us not give them the importance they don’t deserve and allow them to dictate our social life.

The writer works for Postnoon.

If Salman Rushdie was worried if his brand of defiance was passé, the recent upgrading of the bounty on his head (by $500,000) would come as a great relief. And in a subsequent interview, the author reiterated his belief that blasphemy is necessary to promote modern thinking.

Whether he intended it or not, the Booker-winning author has brought into focus one usually-ignored truth — that blasphemy has brought about progress and development as we see it.

The development of science has always been in the blasphemous path and many men who followed reason gave their lives for it. If they hadn’t challenged the faith-driven interpretations of nature, we would have been still with medieval mindsets.

And we would be living on a flat earth and not sailing too far from land for fear of falling off the edge. Not to forget that the universe would be orbiting the Earth.

People with mental illness would be seen as possessed with evil spirits and subjected to brutal treatment (not that this has really changed even now).

It was not long ago when my mother’s colleague died of high blood sugar because his prayer group believed it is against god’s will to take medicine. After prayers failed to keep his soul attached to his body, he left behind an unemployed wife and five little children (yes, the sect also believes that family planning offends god).

If people were to not to allow the ‘mysterious ways’ to decide their behaviour, the world would definitely be a better place. Caste divisions, communal riots, ethnic cleansing, genocides, female genital mutilation and a million other inhuman practices would have no takers.

Think of the absurdness of some random guy in India going around burning government buses in which he travels daily because of some offensive short film made in the United States. How does your thunder and tirade help, buddy?

We wouldn’t have had the misfortune of our greatest contemporary artist, MF Husain, dying in exile if his artistic freedom hadn’t ‘offended religious sensitivities’ and made him a target of legal harassment and vandalism of his works.

Imagine the amount of money you would be saving, or spending on matters of your tastes and choice it wasn’t diverted to people who claim to have a hotline with god or can broker your way to salvation (for a price).

Couples would have been living happily if they weren’t forced apart because a couple planets or stars aren’t favouring their union.

And when you want to do something you can do it at a time of your own choosing and not wait for some board-reader to tell you the ‘auspicious’ time for it.

Colour of the flag or name of the sect doesn’t manner, religious bigots have been there all throughout human history. They thrive on ignorance, blind faith, complacence, nepotism and the desire for status quo by the privileged. The lines are redrawn and rules are bent to suit their material gains and controlling power.

Life is short, let us use our brains (unless already muddled by religions) to be better human beings to our brothers than be dictated by criteria to avoid the purgatory.

The writer works for Postnoon

When there are wheels within wheels, none have control.

Name:The Shadow Throne
Author:Aroon Raman
Pages:338
Publisher:Pan Macmillan

A reclusive journalist with a good nose for news, a history professor, a police inspector, RAW, ISI, a dead white man, nuclear weapons and overlapping conspiracies — The Shadow Throne packs a lot in its cloak-and-dagger plot to keep you riveted.

The backdrop is set in the current Indian political scenario. The Central government is paralysed by coalition compulsions and myriad scandals. The higher echelons of the security apparatus are unmonitored and caucuses have formed. With little monitoring, a daring plan has been set in motion and lives of millions are at stake.

Freelance journalist Chandrasekhar answers a call from his acquaintance, inspector Hassan, and visits Qutab Minar, where a white man’s corpse is lying. For others, it might look like a suicide but the veterans have their doubts.

Even before a day passes, the gamut of the incident changes as Hassan is taken off and all related material is confiscated — by the Research and Analysis Wing.

Soon the scribe, teacher and cop find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy involving state and non-state actors and international players. A force that was believed to have vanished in the course of history has made a comeback and will play a pivotal role in the scheme of things. A search begins with utmost urgency, and so does a chase. The stakes are high, lives are at stake — the players will kill without hesitation.

Aroon Raman has done an excellent job in capturing all the elements in the most convincing manner. The political landscape and security concerns are presented through a pragmatic perspective without the usual nationalistic gung-ho one usually finds in this genre of fiction. Attention has been paid to detail and each character adds to the feel of the story without being obtrusive with the depth of their roles.

Not long after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray termed migrants ‘infiltrators’, his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena heir apparent Uddhav Thackeray, not wanting to be outdone in vitriolic diatribe, has said that migration from Bihar must be kept under check through permit system.

It was barely 80 years ago that a short young politician popularised the concept of lebensraum (roughly translates as ‘living space’) to ascend to power in Germany. Yes, your guess is right, we are talking about Adolf Hitler, who considered anyone non-German sub-human. People of Slavic origin, Gypsies and Jews were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, deported — and in the case of Jews, massacred to the best of his ability.

The more the Thackerays (including Shiv Sena satrap, the ageing but definitely not mellowing, Bal Thackeray) unleash their polarising venom, the more it sounds like a desi version of Mein Kampf. And if one were to analyse their organisations’ agenda, it is only the lack of unchecked power that is preventing them from carrying out similar pogroms.

To understand Raj’s tirades and Uddhav’s attempt to whip up ‘sons of soil’ passions, we should go back to Bombay (wasn’t Mumbai then) of the 1970s. Bal Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was carrying out a vitriolic (and violent) campaign against South Indians, who, according to him, were taking away the jobs and opportunities of Marathi manoos.

It was under the wing of Bal Thackeray that nephew Raj and son Uddhav cut their teeth in the toxic politics of regionalism. Raj, a firebrand orator, always had more visibility in Shiv Sena and many thought he would take over from Bal Thackeray. However, it was not to be.

As the worried uncle started relegating him to the margins to give more space and visibility for Uddhav, the cousins drifted apart and two factions emerged. And finally in 2006, with no more maneuvering space left within the fold of the same party, Raj walked out and formed the MNS.

Ever since, Raj and his followers embarked on a Marathi chauvinism campaign; shriller, more poisonous, more violent and better organised — designed to outdo his uncle’s outfit in the same department, on his home turf. And it is working.

The audacity with which the MNS is able to continue with its politics of thuggery is an insult to our democracy and the rights guaranteed to all citizens under the Constitution.

Despite its violent campaigns targeting migrant workers, especially autorickshaw and taxi drivers, the MNS boss is a free man and continues his trade with impunity.

While several cases have been registered against the MNS chief and his outfit, thanks to our legal system, the bigot has never had a reason to worry or curtail his activities.

Mumbai is what it is today because it has attracted and made maximum out of the best talents from across the country. It is the migrants who form the fabric of cheap essential services that keep the city running. If people from other states were to be taken out of India’s financial capital, it would be reduced to an empty shell.

South Indian, North Indian, Bihari or Bengali… anyone who is a citizen of this country has the right to travel, live and ply his trade and maintain his identity anywhere in the country.

Organisations like Shiv Sena and MNS are a blot on our culture and have little difference from the Third Reich. They must be crushed before these cancer cells inspire more of their kind elsewhere and become malignant to our civilisation.

The writer works for Postnoon.