Politics has been and will be always about winning the heartshare (as opposed to mindshare or walletshare) in a democracy. Politicians will try and find issues that excite the electorate, fan smoke into huge fires thereby enticing the people (at least the majority) to vote for them and come to power. We can’t deny them that, it’s their job. Just like a terrorist’s is to kill innocent people and spread panic. But we surely hate terrorists for what they do, don’t we?

So far, the politicians have harped endlessly on secularism, pseudo – secularism, communalism, menders, mashies, conversions, castes, reservations, price hikes, inflation, recession, subsidies, free power, waiver of farmer loans etc only because these are sexy topics. Vajpayee and BJP/NDA failed to milk convincingly the national security angle very convincingly the national security aspect in the wake of the Cargill war and subsequently lost the elections. No wonder, the issues this time was more or less on the sexy topics, except for maybe BJP bringing up the issue of national security a few times, only to be silenced by UPA who brought up the IC 814 hijack. BJP tried to milk the issue of Hindu terror but they have been silenced now that the ATS chief who was killed in the attack and is now being hailed as a martyr.

Mumbai attacks have changed the game on its head. Mumbai attacks have left a very bad aftertaste in the mouth. It has just told us loud and clears what we always knew. That they are incompetent. Maharashtra state deputy chief minister and Home Minister R R Patil says bade shehron me aisi ek aadh haadse hote rehte hai. Our ex-home minister Shivraj patil gives inputs to the terrorists. Or famously declares himself to be some sort of a Rambo. CM Vilasrao Deshmukh says pak hand is not clear yet going against what PM had to say. Modi does the unthinkable, goes to a site under operation and addresses media and announces cash prizes to officers who lost their lives, people who just some days ago he was castigating for framing the Army for spreading terror in the country.

Suddenly, the only thing that matters is national security. Come to think about it, that has to be the primary objective of any government, whether democratic or theocratic. Only when the subjects feel secure, they can invest their time and efforts in planning and investing for the future thus leading to economic prosperity and development and a better future for the forthcoming generations. If the people are not feeling safe, they will play safe, hoard, become insular, leading to more strife and the economy and the society in general.

And security is exactly what the angry residents of Mumbai and Indian citizens are demanding now. Suddenly, the chalta hai attitude has given way to bahut ho gaya. Politicians, if they want to survive, will have to change the way they function. Axing of one home minister or a chief minister is just too little. The government or the politician has to do much much more. And frankly, I have always maintained that the politicians are wily (that has a negative connotation). Else they would not have been able to thrive in the extremely competitive environment. They will much sooner rather than later gauge the public perception. They will realise that national security is supreme. That they will not be able to play politics on the issue of security. That they have to present a united front against terror. That they cannot play with people’s lives.

This is the only darned positive that can come out of the whole mess. We might yet have more proactive governance with no more loss of life due to such acts. Else, the politicians risk losing the seats in this elections.

In dwindling light at dusk, a few speedboats dismount from their mothership and land on Mumbai coast. The occupants descend on the city with their sophisticated ammunitions and grenades and other explosives and spread havoc and ravage the great city of Mumbai…

This sadly is not a script from a B-grade Bollywood potboiler. In fact, it would have been hilarious if it was not so horrific.

For a resident of the city who has gone through the serial bomb blasts in 1993 to the train blasts in 2006, I would have said I was more or less desensitized to the disgust of terror attacks. I have always maintained that the much celebrated spirit of Mumbai was nothing but gross apathy and the need to feed. Hence, we saw Mumbai bouncing from every tragedy it went through.

What changed this time?

I, for the first time, see panic in the eyes of the average Mumbaikar. Normally, a blast lasts a fraction of a second. The aftermath a few minutes and for those not hurt, news item that will play for a few days and then die down. But this time, the crisis just seemed to drag on and on. Almost 24 hours on now. Yes, I am scared and I am insecure.

More than a 100 killed and around 300 injured. Few of the city’s brave hearts lost in action against the terrorists. The stock markets were closed today. Schools & colleges were shut for the day. The offices that chose to remain open recorded bleak attendance. The English cricket team goes back. The already suffering economy is bound to suffer with the dwindling tourism and investment in future as they perceive India to be unsafe.

Yes, this is India’s worst terror attack. I used to consider the terrorist as cowards. After all, they would plant a bomb and then escape leaving innocent citizens to face the repercussions. They were nameless, faceless people, sometimes dropping clues, like e-mails, almost throwing challenge to the police authorities. This time, they were different. They walked in, unmasked, staring at people in the eyes and opening fires on hapless citizens, taking hostages, daring the law enforcers to stop them, in a brazen display of guts.

As far as terror attacks go, this is certainly of the magnitude of the 9/11 New York blasts or the attack on parliament. The first one for the scale of planning and effect and the second one for the effectiveness of the message. This event was very well planned, co-ordinated and successfully executed by highly trained and motivated people. Damn!! This reads like I ma their admirer. I am not; my heart bleeds for my city and my countrymen who suffered.

The point is, if this entire event had to be planned in such detail, why was there no intelligence on the attacks? How could they have managed to keep it under wraps when they were obviously using a big logistical network?

And where were our leaders? The leadership vacuum is something that bugs me most. Every community/country will go through bad phases, but if it has good leaders its citizens will have hope of a better tomorrow. During the entire night that the city was under siege, the prime minister and home minister and Sonia Gandhi (whatever she is) or the president had not made any official statement or addressed the nation. If I am correct, the PM addressed the nation at about 4 PM today, a whole 18 hours after the drama started. Leaders from around the world reacted much earlier. Was it because of the time difference that they wanted to react before going to bed and the Indian PM did not want to be disturbed in his sleep during night. When he finally talked, he talked about the need for a federal agency to fight terrorism, having more stringent laws blah blah. Did we need this blast to know that? Was the last attack in Assam not enough? Or the ones that rocked Bangalore, Ahmedabad, or Jaipur, or Malegaon or Ajmer Sharif or the parliament or millions of attacks in Kashmir and elsewhere before Assam? And we did not need this attack to know that Shivraj Patil is the most incompetent Home minister we ever had. And mind you, I have never been a BJP supporter before.

Yes, I am disappointed and pessimistic that the situation will improve. Though I would continue to dream for the opposite. Long live the spirit of Mumbai. My heart bleeds for the dead and injured. I can only pray that may peace prevail.

I admit I have been following Barack Obama and his campaign for some time now. I have keenly watched him slug it out with Hillary Clinton during the primaries. I expected Hillary to win but that was not the case. I also watched with growing awe how he took on John McCain and his nasty jibes in his stride. Yesterday, I saw on news channels rapturous scenes that erupted in USA, Kenya and other parts of the world. This was not the reaction one would expect at some person being elected president. People were emotional, laughing, crying, tears were in huge supply, it was like some rock show.

I was reminded of an incident about 20 years ago. Mr. V P Singh led coalition had just won the elections, Rajiv Gandhi had accepted defeat. Optimism, hope and change was in the air. Our very own Barack Obama moment. India then was well satisfied with the Hindu rate of growth, this was prior to liberalisation that took place in 1991. Just one year after this election the next prime minister of India, Chandra Shekhar had to pledge India’s gold to save it from bankruptcy. So, I can say with some confidence that the economic situation in India was not great. Also, just like USA that is fighting two wars overseas, we had Indian peace keeping force fighting the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Similarities end there. Additionally, militancy in Punjab was at its peak, the congress government of Rajiv Gandhi was embroiled with all the corruption charges. V P Singh had emerged like a messiah. His election seemed to promise things will be better, instantly.

I was just 14 years old then. I clearly remember the festive atmosphere on the streets. I watched as music blared, people smiled, laughed, sang and danced. I remember running around the streets with my friends waving a Janata Dal flag for hours, almost as if I was intoxicated with the joy. I also remember a man from our locality telling us that day, wiping tears from his eyes over a cup of chai, provided free by the hotel maalik, “Aaj bahut bada din hai.” That night, he passed away, supposedly from a cardiac arrest. Apparently, the pleasure was too much for his frail heart.

I guess I was a V P Singh fan then. I don’t exactly remember what he did during those months to alleviate the problems faced by his fellow citizens that had vested their trust in him, except his government lasted just eleven months. I recall watching his final address to the nation on DD, for once, tears were flowing from his eyes!

I never felt like that afterwards. I guess I grew up. And became a cynic.

I request my readers too would post their own Barack Obama moments.

P.S. While searching the net, I was not in the least bit surprised to see that I was not alone in comparing the two leaders.

Please also click here,

http://rajatmukherjee.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

Terrorism has no religion. Much before Pragya Thakur and others were arrested, there were organizations like LTTE or at home Naxalites and even ULFA that were primarily non-Muslim, yet definitively terrorists by any standards.

However, the canard spread around by polarizing forces has now come home to roost. Consider this, Advani on one end calls for punishment if she is proved guilty to Sena on the other hand supporting her, legally and morally. Uma goes a step further and offers her a party ticket.

Politicians are having a field day. UPA that was so far at the receiving end on being soft at terrorism is bouncing back with renewed vigour. We hear of Pragya having worked with Rajnath Singh. One would have thought about these revelations came at the worst time for the Sangh parivar. Only, they were saved by the Assam bomb blasts, that fortunately for them, seem to have been perpetrated by the usual suspects.

Pragya Thakur and others arrested have yet to be proven guilty. The law should take its own course and we should avoid making judgements based on media reports. However, at the same time , we should also guard against making foolish statements like “those believing in cultural nationalism cannot ever take to terrorism”.

For, as I had started, terrorism has no religion. Terrorism is a religion in itself.

P.S.

The definition of religion that can be used

–noun

1.	a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

2.	a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

3.	the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

4.	the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.

5.	the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

6.	something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.

7.	religions, Archaic. religious rites.

8.	Archaic. strict faithfulness; devotion: a religion to one's vow.

—Idiom

9.	get religion, Informal. a. to acquire a deep conviction of the validity of religious beliefs and practices.   b. to resolve to mend one's errant ways: The company got religion and stopped making dangerous products.

Today, the auto-rickshaw wallahs are on strike. And as I do not have any other form of transport and can’t walk through to the office as well, I am home unenjoying a forceful holiday. Yawning away, flipping through channels. As today is no weekend or public holiday, no interesting movies are currently playing. I wrack through my collection of DVDs. I do not feel like watching them. Yawnn Yawn…. Nothing consequential on sports channels as well. Hesitatingly, very fearfully, I switch on CNBC.

Damn, so predictable. ALL RED. First it was subprime crisis, then it was crude, next came liquidity and now it is recession. The value of my stocks now is only paper. If only it was tissue paper, it would have been more useful. Over the past four years, the experts san paeans about the market as it kept rising and fooling more and retail investors, like me, to enter the market. Now, they predict doom and more gloom. I decide to move to another channel.

CNN-IBN- 1900 people sacked by Jet, more to follow. Kingfisher might follow as well. And, Air India says it is considering options of putting many of its employees on leave of 3-5 years without pay. I bite my fingernails. The next 3-5 years is going to be very bad for the economy, and subsequently the job market - many may lose our jobs. I shudder over what would happen if I lost it. The asshole that I am, I haven’t seem to equip myself with significant skills for making myself either indispensible to my current employer or attractive to any other future employer. I wonder if it is a bit late now. They say better late than never, so maybe I still could. But with what? All I seem to be good at is day dreaming. Sigh…

An economic downturn leads to frustrations. But it also seems to have some funny sides. I could not resist a chuckle when Raj Thackrey and Shiv Sena both came out and spoke in support of the sacked Jet employees. Maybe, they would contribute about $1.5 billion to bail out the aviation industry. Just this morning, American presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain sparred in their third and final debate before the elections. Both the candidates put forth their views and plans before the nation and the world. Much as there are a lot of things, I don't like about the US of A, I wish we could replicate this model in India. I don't mean the presidential system, I mean the politicians debating their plans in a decent manner and not going jingoistic about any emotional subject that comes up.

Just my darn luck! No more nails to bite. Sigh…

This is an amazing article. At the cost of sounding ‘anti-national’, I want to say I have been harbouring similar ideas about final resolution of the vexing Kashmir problem.

I also produce the entire article here.

Regards

BC.

Independence day for Kashmir

By Swaminathan A aiyar

On August 15, India celebrated independence from the British Raj. But Kashmiris staged a bandh demanding independence from India. A day symbolising the end of colonialism in India became a day symbolising Indian colonialism in the Valley.

As a liberal, i dislike ruling people against their will. True, nation-building is a difficult and complex exercise, and initial resistance can give way to the integration of regional aspirations into a larger national identity — the end of Tamil secessionism was a classical example of this.

I was once hopeful of Kashmir's integration, but after six decades of effort, Kashmiri alienation looks greater than ever. India seeks to integrate with Kashmir, not rule it colonially. Yet, the parallels between British rule in India and Indian rule in Kashmir have become too close for my comfort.

Many Indians say that Kashmir legally became an integral part of India when the maharaja of the state signed the instrument of accession. Alas, such legalisms become irrelevant when ground realities change. Indian kings and princes, including the Mughals, acceded to the British Raj. The documents they signed became irrelevant when Indians launched an independence movement.

The British insisted for a long time that India was an integral part of their Empire, the jewel in its crown, and would never be given up. Imperialist Blimps remained in denial for decades. I fear we are in similar denial on Kashmir.

The politically correct story of the maharaja's accession ignores a devastating parallel event. Just as Kashmir had a Hindu maharaja ruling over a Muslim majority, Junagadh had a Muslim nawab ruling over a Hindu majority. The Hindu maharaja acceded to India, and the Muslim nawab to Pakistan.

But while India claimed that the Kashmiri accession to India was sacred, it did not accept Junagadh's accession to Pakistan. India sent troops into Junagadh, just as Pakistan sent troops into Kashmir. The difference was that Pakistan lacked the military means to intervene in Junagadh, while India was able to send troops into Srinagar. The Junagadh nawab fled to Pakistan, whereas the Kashmir maharaja sat tight. India's double standard on Junagadh and Kashmir was breathtaking.

Do you think the people of Junagadh would have integrated with Pakistan after six decades of genuine Pakistani effort? No? Then can you really be confident that Kashmiris will stop demanding azaadi and integrate with India?

The British came to India uninvited. By contrast, Sheikh Abdullah, the most popular politician in Kashmir, supported accession to India subject to ratification by a plebiscite. But his heart lay in independence for Kashmir, and he soon began manoeuvering towards that end. He was jailed by Nehru, who then declared Kashmir's accession was final and no longer required ratification by a plebiscite. The fact that Kashmir had a Muslim majority was held to be irrelevant, since India was a secular country empowering citizens through democracy.

Alas, democracy in Kashmir has been a farce for most of six decades. The rot began with Sheikh Abdullah in 1951: he rejected the nomination papers of almost all opponents, and so won 73 of the 75 seats unopposed! Nehru was complicit in this sabotage of democracy.

Subsequent state elections were also rigged in favour of leaders nominated by New Delhi. Only in 1977 was the first fair election held, and was won by the Sheikh. But he died after a few years, and rigging returned in the 1988 election. That sparked the separatist uprising which continues to gather strength today.

Many Indians point to long episodes of peace in the Valley and say the separatists are just a noisy minority. But the Raj also had long quiet periods between Gandhian agitations, which involved just a few lakhs of India's 500 million people. One lakh people joined the Quit India movement of 1942, but 25 lakh others joined the British Indian army to fight for the Empire's glory.

Blimps cited this as evidence that most Indians simply wanted jobs and a decent life. The Raj built the biggest railway and canal networks in the world. It said most Indians were satisfied with economic development, and that independence was demanded by a noisy minority. This is uncomfortably similar to the official Indian response to the Kashmiri demand for azaadi.

Let me not exaggerate. Indian rule in Kashmir is not classical colonialism. India has pumped vast sums into Kashmir, not extracted revenue as the Raj did. Kashmir was among the poorest states during the Raj, but now has the lowest poverty rate in India. It enjoys wide civil rights that the Raj never gave. Some elections — 1977, 1983 and 2002 — were perfectly fair.

India has sought integration with Kashmir, not colonial rule. But Kashmiris nevertheless demand azaadi. And ruling over those who resent it so strongly for so long is quasi-colonialism, regardless of our intentions.

We promised Kashmiris a plebiscite six decades ago. Let us hold one now, and give them three choices: independence, union with Pakistan, and union with India. Almost certainly the Valley will opt for independence. Jammu will opt to stay with India, and probably Ladakh too. Let Kashmiris decide the outcome, not the politicians and armies of India and Pakistan.

There is a valid theory that the state of the nation depends on the state of its sports. The argument being sportspeople are healthier, the nation that does better at sports has more people who have better healthcare facilities, educational facilities and nutritional levels . If that is the case, we have a lot to worry about. As a sport we know one game – Cricket, a national sport – hockey is by all means a national sport only on paper.

 This Olympics has been by far the best display by any Indian contingent so far. We have one gold medal in the bag, Saina lost in QFs and three boxers in QFs with possibility of more medals. That is more than what we would have expected before the Olympics started. What is heartening is that while the medal was won in shooting, we seem to have quite well in badminton and boxing. This will spur children to pick up these varied sports. Bindra’s victory has proved that winning gold at Olympics is not impossible for an Indian. Skeptics can always say that it took a long time coming and the euphoria at the victory is ‘shaming’, my reply is it is always easier to speak or write than compete and win a medal at Olympics. Hopefully, we will be dong better and better in future and winning more medals as well.

Finally, a salute to Michael Phelps, who has emerged as the greatest sportsperson of all times. He individually has won more medals than most nations have won so far.

BC

It’s raining again. As I write this, it is now only a drizzle. But it’s very dark outside, signs are ominous. It’s going to rain again heavily after a brief respite – much like what the stock market analysts say – the markets will bounce back after creating new lows. This spell was not unexpected. Over the past few days, rains have been very heavy in the Konkan belt and I have been following it path northwards. So, it “Floods in Kolhapur” on Friday, “Heavy rains lash Chiplun” on Sunday. I braced myself for the inevitable. It had rained throughout the night.

I work for a financial services firm. Our office timings are a bit odd. Tuesday to Saturday – 12 noon to 8 PM. So, we are closed on Sundays and Mondays but we generally catch up with pending work on Mondays. Today morning we were supposed to go on some official visits at 9:30. I got up early and did my exercises. I looked at the heavens through the window, shook my head – no sign of the sun – and went for my bath. It was then that my boss called up. “You don’t come today”, he said. “We will manage.” Later, the visits were cancelled. I sat at home flipping channels – the big news being India winning its first ever gold medal in individual event - and soon got bored and suddenly the pending files on my desk started gnawing on my conscience.  Well, finally, I did go. Whether I managed to clear those files or not is another matter.

Now, I am sitting at home, listening to Pearl Jam – Ten and it seems perfect. Well, almost perfect. Would have liked to smoke a cigarette now. But with mother around the house, it’s going to remain just that – a wish. I can recall my past days when I have enjoyed such days in different ways, but those thoughts invariably depress me. Hence I am trying to come up with a coherent blog – and miserably failing.

Ma asks me if I want anything to snack on. If she has her way she would have liked me to be like Adnan Sami, prior to him trying to pull down. She makes a face and walks away. My niece comes and pulls the earphones – she wants to listen to the music. Now she is trying to sway to music, like she sees me doing but obviously “Black” is not her style. She returns it.

They are a strange breed – the women in my life. I can say without an iota of doubt that I have not been a good son; even my parents will vouch for that. I have never done their bidding. I have always done what I wanted to do, often ending up hurting myself in the process and have  fought with them on trivial issues – issues that seem trivial now – but for some reason that I cannot fathom, they still have kept their faith in me, especially Ma. Sometimes I think I would just like to see her faith shake up, just a bit. She has been lately down with painful arthritis, but that does not seem to deter her from doing the work.

Another woman happens to be my younger sister; she has been my best friend. She somehow manages three houses with great élan – her own, her in laws and her maternal - and she is a career woman! Now, she is staying with us as Ma is she I have confided in her my darkest deeds. In fact, she still thinks I don’t hide anything from her. Well, fact is I have. Hehe.

And then there is my niece, a three-year-old bundle of energy, light of everyone’s lives around, full of questions, or rather one question “Why?” It is quite taxing and it takes immense patience to answer her queries truthfully and not say, “It’s like that.”

And then there is that “remote server”, much like a full moon in the dark night.

Hmmm, what would my life be without these women?

Now, my niece comes again, snatches the earphones. She wants to listen to Jab We Met songs – she loves Kareena Kapoor. I trace that song for her. She is singing along.

This has been a rambler of a post. Won’t bore you more.

Bye. Before leaving, congrats to Abhinav Bindra for winning the gold. A great feat. A lot of us hadnt heard of him before, but we can expect to know more about him soon, with endorsements chasing him. We will know which soft drink he drinks, which brand of clothes he wears, what chocolates he eats, etc etc. Watch out for Saina too, she has made the QF.

BC

Haha! Look what I found?!

Our once prolific and among the most loved blogger Pavement freud is still blogging very prolifically somewhere else. And his latest posts are those that he never posted in iland.

Without his permission, I am pasting the link here.

http://pavementfreud.sulekha.com/default.htm

BC

Here’s me trying to get into some sort of blogform. I am trying to see if what is true for out of form batsmen is true for me as well. Spend some time on the pitch and the feet will start moving. Lets see if my fingers start moving as well. Had quite heavy rains in Mumbai today. Kindof inspired this silly rhyme. No reflection on the quality of poems on the iland, which incidentally is superb by any standard. Again thought if I should post it, but decided what the heck. So here we go…

Jump up, jump down,

Just don’t break your crown

Whats the theme today,

If its not to drown!

Raindrops dripping from umbrellas,

Hair and drenched gown,

Sweet music to the ears,

For residents of this Town!!

Jump into the puddle,

Splash water around,

I enjoy the look of your face,

With that stupid frown.

Look at the colours abound,

The sky is steel grey,

The earth is verdant green

And the waters deep brown.

Run here, run there,

Pull others into the shower.

Ignore their laughs and curses

For, today I am a clown.

Lets stop here for the day,

For your situation I mourn,

And apologies for heaping insults on

Adjectives, verbs and noun!!

Adios!!

BC