Syed Hassan Kazim

Iran – A nation seen from the different angles, biases and prejudices

2010-06-24T11:14:00.003+05:30

What would be your feeling while entering a territory or a country which the world’s superpowers think as being a hot bed of extremism or for that matter where the women’s freedom is curtailed and they are confined to remain inside their homes? Fear, psychosis, hesitation, isn’t it?

But most of the things which the western backed media shows about Iran are either biased or full of prejudice and fabricated. While on a trip to Teheran to participate the death anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini I found so many things which are in total contradiction with what we in this part of the world are fed up or forced to believe about Iran.

Upon arriving at the Teheran’s Imam Khomeini International airport it seemed as if we have reached some European capital. Teheran can compete with any other Western capital in infrastructure, beauty and so many other things. The women there are as fashion conscious (while being in hijab) as any other progressive society.

The six lane dirt-less roads between the airport on Qom – Teheran highway and Teharn give you an impression that you are in either Europe or America. Many flyovers, tall skyscrapers, Green Mausoleums (The most beautiful is the one of Ayatollah Khomeini) increase the beauty of the city to many a folds. One cannot even think that this very nation is going through continuous international sanction since past 30 years.

One can find more fashionable hijab as anywhere else in Iran. Women there enjoy lots of freedom while choosing their career options. ‘’ The professional freedom of the Iranian women have never been curtailed after the revolution. Before the revolution the Iranian women were regarded as a sex object, but Khomeini made us to realize our self respect by encouraging us to excel in nearly all professional fields’’, said a a woman security official at the Teheran’s Imam Khomeini international airport. The literacy of women there is higher than India and many other developing nations. On nearly each and every counter I found women wearing hijab as receptionists.

The politics in Iran revolves around the Vali e Faqeeh i.e. Ayatollah Khamenei who is the most powerful person in Iran. He is the supreme commander who heads all the three wings of the armed forces and has a last say on nuclear related issues. Vili e Faqeeh is a post created by Late Ayatollah Khomeini for the person who can keep a tag on the activities of the president and the armed forces. It’s compulsory for a Vali e Faqeeh to be a cleric while the President can be a non cleric also like the present President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is a non cleric having a P.hd in traffic management from Teheran University.

Looking at the infrastructure of the country one could not imagine that this is the sane nation which had cut the teeth in an imposed eight year long war against Iraq then ruled by the western backed dictator Saddam Hussan. While speaking with the taxi driver on way to the Holy city of Qom I asked him how the continuous sanctions have affected the progress of the nation. His reply was that in fact these sanctions have made the country self reliant and the feeling of self respect in the Iranians have increased many a folds

There is no doubt that there are difference in the regime which is itself a good sign for a democracy but the support base of the present president comes from the class which has been kept marginalized by many years. They see hope in Ahmadinejad and his pro poor policies. ‘’ The President is a hope for we people who can get heard our voices heard ‘’, said a street vendor in Teheran.

Iranian nationalism is one of the most powerful nationalism in the world which is much deep rooted than any other nation. Apart from the Islamic revolution it’s the Iranian Nationalism only because of which Iran has remained defiant against all the pressures from the West in the form of Iran – Iraq war and various other sanctions and pressures.
If one really wants know Iran then he must go there and have a first hand account rather than relying on the biased western news reports.

There are really some sections which are totally against Ahmadinejad and his policies the proof of which has been the last year’s post elections turmoil in which the factions led by the runner up to the election Mir Hussain Mousavi claimed that the elections have been forged.

I also visited the cities of Qom and Mashhad. Mashhad is a city full of life where the shrine of Imam e Raza . the 8th Imam of the Shias is situated. This shrine has its name in the Guinese book of worlds record for getting the highest number of pilgrims on a daily basis for the whole year. Mashhad is the capital of Khorasaan province. Khorasaan is the only province of Iran which finances the Iranian government by the donations collected by the Imam e Raza trust(Aastana e Ghods e Razavi). Every day, 24/7, millions of people visit this holy shrine of Imam e Raza.

Qom is the virtual power center of Iran because of its being spiritual centre. Most of the experts of the most powerful guardian council live in Qom only. Qom has many seminaries in which thousands of students from across the world come to get religious education. The founder of the Islamic revolution late Ayatollah Khomeini also studied from this city apart from Najaf in Iraq.

As a whole Iran is a nation which can give you many surprises at a single time. A nation waiting to hit the table hard if the sanctions are removed. When I asked an Iranian diplomat , does he think America can attack on Iran, his reply was , ‘’ The only thing which has stopped America till now from Attacking Iran is it’s not being sure about the Iranian response to any possible American blitzkrieg.

Apart from all the above mentioned things, there are some sectors where one can easily see the effects of continous sanctions. The aviations section is one of them which has been badly affected by the sanctions by the international community. Inflation is also very high which is the main reason behind the dissatisfaction of the masses sometimes against the government but as a whole the situation is normal and the Iranian nation has much more to achieve.

Family Matters - The life and Times of Bhuttos

2010-04-19T15:00:00.006+05:30

''The life and times of the Bhuttos is seen afresh in a passionately partisan but well-constructed memoir. William Dalrymple reviews it in context.''

The Bhuttos’ acrimonious family squabbles have long resembled one of the bloody succession disputes that habitually plagued South Asia during the time of the Great Mughals. In the case of the Bhuttos, they date back to the moment when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested on July 5, 1977.

Unsure how to defend their father and his legacy, his children had reacted in different ways. Benazir believed the struggle should be peaceful and political. Her brothers initially tried the same approach, forming al-Nusrat, the Save Bhutto committee; but after two futile years they decided in 1979 to turn to the armed struggle.
Murtaza was 23 and had just left Harvard where he got a top first, and where he was taught by, among others, Samuel Huntington. Forbidden by his father from returning to Zia’s Pakistan, he flew from the US first to London, then on to Beirut, where he and his younger brother Shahnawaz were adopted by Yasser Arafat. Under his guidance they received the arms and training necessary to form the Pakistan Liberation Army, later renamed Al-Zulfiquar or The Sword.
Just before his daughter Fatima was born, Murtaza and his brother had found shelter in Kabul as guests of the pro-Soviet government. There the boys had married a pair of Afghan sisters, Fauzia and Rehana Fasihudin, the beautiful daughters of a senior Afghan official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fatima’s mother was Fauzia.
For all its PLO training in camps in Syria, Afghanistan and Libya, Al-Zulfiquar achieved little except for two failed assassination attempts on Zia and the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airways flight in 1981. This was diverted from Karachi to Kabul and secured the release of some 55 political prisoners; but it also resulted in the death of an innocent passenger, a young army officer. Zia used the hijacking as a means of cracking down on the Pakistan Peoples Party, and got the two boys placed on the Federal Investigation Agency’s most-wanted list. Benazir was forced to distance herself from her two brothers even though they subsequently denied sanctioning the hijack, and claimed only to have acted as negotiators once the plane landed in Kabul. While much about the details of the hijacking remains mysterious, Murtaza was posthumously acquitted of hijacking in 2003.
I first encountered the family in 1994 when, as a young foreign correspondent on assignment for the Sunday Times, I was sent to Pakistan to write a long magazine piece on the Bhutto dynasty. I met Benazir in the giddy pseudo-Mexican Prime Minister’s House that she had built in the middle of Islamabad.
It was the beginning of Benazir’s second term as Prime Minister, and she was at her most imperial. She both walked and talked in a deliberately measured and regal manner, and frequently used the royal “we”. During my interview, she took a full three minutes to float down the hundred yards of lawns separating the Prime Minister’s House from the chairs where I had been told to wait for her. There followed an interlude when Benazir found the sun was not shining in quite the way she wanted it to: “The sun is in the wrong direction,” she announced. Her hair was arranged in a sort of baroque beehive topped by white gauze dupatta like one of those Roman princesses in Caligula or Rome.
A couple of days later in Karachi, I met Benazir’s brother Murtaza in very different circumstances. Murtaza was on trial in Karachi for his alleged terrorist offences. A one hundred rupee bribe got me through the police cordon, and I soon found Murtaza with his mother — Begum Bhutto — in an annexe beside the courtroom. Murtaza looked strikingly like his father, Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto. He was handsome, very tall — well over six feet — with a deep voice and, like his father, exuded an air of self-confidence, bonhomie and charisma. He invited me to sit down: “Benazir doesn’t care what the local press says about her,” he said, “but she’s very sensitive to what her friends in London and New York get to read about her.”
“Has your sister got in touch with you since you returned to Pakistan?” I asked.
“No. Nothing. Not one note.”
“Did you expect her to intervene and get you off the hook?” I asked. “What kind of reception did you hope she would lay on for you when you returned from Damascus?”
“I didn’t want any favours,” replied Murtaza. “I just wanted her to let justice take its course, and for her not to interfere in the legal process. As it is, she has instructed the prosecution to use delaying tactics to keep me in confinement as long as possible. This trial has been going on for three months now and they still haven’t finished examining the first witness. She’s become paranoid and is convinced I’m trying to topple her.”
Murtaza went on to describe an incident the previous week when the police had opened fire on Begum Bhutto as she left her house to visit her husband’s grave. When the Begum ordered the gates of the compound to be opened and made ready to set off, the police opened fire. One person was killed immediately and two others succumbed to their injuries after the police refused to let the ambulances through. That night as three family retainers lay bleeding to death, 15 kilometres away in her new farmhouse, Benazir celebrated her father’s birthday with singing and dancing:
“After three deaths, she and her husband danced!” said the Begum now near to tears. “They must have known the police were firing at Al-Murtaza. Would all this have happened if she didn’t order it? But the worst crime was that they refused to let the ambulances through. If only they had let the ambulances through those two boys would be alive now: those two boys who used to love Benazir, who used to run in front of her car.”
The Begum was weeping now. “I kept ringing Benazir saying ‘for God sake stop the siege’, but her people just repeated: ‘Madam is not available’. She wouldn’t even take my call. One call from her walkie-talkie would have got the wounded through. Even General Zia...” The sentence trailed away. “What’s that saying in England?” asked the Begum: “Power corrupts, more power corrupts even more. Is that it?”
Two years later, to no one’s great surprise, Murtaza was himself shot dead in similar and equally suspicious circumstances.
Murtaza had been campaigning with his bodyguards in a remote suburb of Karachi. As his convoy neared his home at 70 Clifton, the street lights were abruptly turned off.
It was September 20, 1996, and Murtaza’s decision to take on Benazir had put him into direct conflict not only with his sister, but also with her husband Asif Ali Zardari. Murtaza had an animus against Zardari, who he believed was not just a nakedly and riotously corrupt polo-playing playboy, but had pushed Benazir to abandon the PPP’s once-radical agenda — fighting for social justice. Few believed the rivalry was likely to end peacefully. Both men had reputations for being trigger-happy. Murtaza’s bodyguards were notoriously rough, and Murtaza was alleged to have sentenced to death several former associates, including his future biographer, Raja Anwar, author of an unflattering portrait, The Terrorist Prince. Zardari’s reputation was worse still.
So insistent had the rumours become that Zardari had ordered the killing of Murtaza at 3 pm that afternoon, that Murtaza had given a press conference saying he had learnt that an assassination attempt on him was being planned, and he named some of the police officers he claimed were involved in the plot. Several of the officers were among those now waiting, guns cocked, outside his house. According to witnesses, when the leading car drew up at the roadblock, there was a single shot from the police, followed by two more shots, one of which hit the foremost of Murtaza’s armed bodyguards. Murtaza immediately got out of his car and urged his men to hold their fire. As he stood there with his hands raised above his head, urging calm, the police opened fire on the whole party with automatic weapons. The firing went on for nearly 10 minutes.
Two hundred yards down the road, inside the compound of 70 Clifton, the house where Benazir Bhutto had spent her childhood, was Murtaza’s wife Ghinwa, his daughter, the 12-year-old Fatima, and the couple’s young son Zulfikar, then aged six. When the first shot rang out, Fatima was in Zulfikar’s bedroom, helping put him to bed. She immediately ran with him into his windowless dressing room, and threw him onto the floor, protecting him by covering his body with her own.
After 45 minutes, Fatima called the Prime Minister’s House and asked to speak to her aunt. Zardari took her call:
Fatima: “I wish to speak to my aunt, please.”
Zardari: “It’s not possible.”
Fatima: “Why?” [At this point, Fatima says, she heard loud, stagy-sounding wailing.]
Zardari: “She’s hysterical, can’t you hear?”
Fatima: “Why?”
Zardari: “Don’t you know? Your father’s been shot.”
Fatima and Ghinwa immediately left the house and demanded to be taken to see Murtaza. By now there were no bodies in the street. It had all been swept and cleaned up: there was no blood, no glass, or indeed any sign of any violence at all. Each of the seven wounded had been taken to a different location, though none was taken to emergency units of any the different Karachi hospitals. The street was completely empty.
“They had taken my father to the Mideast, a dispensary,” says Fatima. “It wasn’t an emergency facility and had no facilities for treating a wounded man. We climbed the stairs, and there was my father lying hooked up to a drip. He was covered in blood and unconscious. You could see he had been shot several times. One of those shots had blown away part of his face. I kissed him and moved aside. He never recovered consciousness. We lost him just after midnight.”
The two bereaved women went straight to a police station to register a report, but the police refused to take it down. Benazir Bhutto was then the Prime Minister, and one might have expected the assassins would have faced the most extreme measures of the state for killing the Prime Minister’s brother. Instead, it was the witnesses and survivors who were arrested. They were kept incommunicado and intimidated. Two died soon afterwards in police custody.
“There were never any criminal proceedings,” says Fatima. “Benazir claimed in the West to be the queen of democracy, but at that time there were so many like us who had lost family to premeditated police killings. We were just one among thousands.”
Benazir always protested her innocence in the death of Murtaza, and claimed that the killing was an attempt to frame her by the army’s intelligence services: “Kill a Bhutto to get a Bhutto,” as she used to put it. But Murtaza was, after all, clearly a direct threat to Benazir’s future, and she gained the most from the murder. For this reason her complicity was widely suspected well beyond the immediate family: when Benazir and Zardari attempted to attend Murtaza’s funeral, their car was stoned by villagers who believed them responsible.
The judiciary took the same view, and the tribunal set up to investigate the killing concluded that Benazir’s administration was “probably complicit” in the assassination. Six weeks later, when Benazir fell from power, partly as a result of public outrage at the killings, Zardari was charged with Murtaza’s murder.
Fourteen years on, however, the situation is rather different. Benazir is dead, assassinated, maybe by the military, but equally possibly by some splinter group of the Taliban. Fatima is now a strikingly beautiful 28-year-old, fresh from a university education in New York and London. She has a razor-sharp mind and a forceful, determined personality. Meanwhile, the man Fatima Bhutto holds responsible for her father’s death is not only out of prison, but President of the country. The bravery of writing a memoir taking on such a man is self-evident, but Fatima seems remarkably calm about the dangers she has taken on.
As for the book itself, Songs of Blood and Sword is moving, witty and well-written. It is also passionately partisan: this is not, and does not pretend to be, an objective account of Murtaza Bhutto so much as a love letter from a grieving daughter and an act of literary vengeance and account-settling by a niece who believed her aunt had her father murdered.
Future historians will decide whether Murtaza really does deserve to be vindicated for the hijacking in Kabul and will weigh up whether or not Murtaza, who even Fatima describes as “impulsive” and “honourable and foolish”, would have made a better leader than his deeply flawed sister; or indeed whether the equally inconsistent Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto deserves the adulation heaped on him by his granddaughter. But where the book is unquestionably important is the reminder it gives the world as to Benazir’s flaws. Since her death, Benazir has come to be regarded, especially in the US, as something of a martyr for democracy. Yet the brutality of Benazir’s untimely end should not blind anyone to her as astonishingly weak record as a politician. Benazir was no Aung San Suu Kyi, and it is misleading as well as simplistic to depict her as having died for freedom; in reality, Benazir’s instincts were not so much democratic as highly autocratic.
Within her own party, she declared herself the lifetime president of the PPP, and refused to let her brother Murtaza challenge her for its leadership; his death was an extreme version of the fate of many who opposed her. Benazir also colluded in wider human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings, and during her tenure government death squads murdered hundreds of her opponents. Amnesty International accused her government of having one of the world's worst records of custodial deaths, abductions, killings and torture.
Far from reforming herself in exile, Benazir kept a studied distance from the pioneering lawyers’ movement which led the civil protests against President Musharraf’s unconstitutional attempts to manipulate the Supreme Court. She also sidelined those in her party who did support the lawyers. Later she said nothing to stop President Musharraf ordering the US-brokered “rendition” of her rival Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia, so removing from the election her most formidable democratic opponent. Many of her supporters regarded her deal with Musharraf as a betrayal of all that her party stood for. Her final act in her will was to hand the inappropriately named Pakistan People’s Party over to her teenage son as if it were her personal family fiefdom.
Worse still, Benazir was a notably inept administrator. During her first 20-month-long premiership, she failed to pass a single piece of major legislation, and during her two periods in power she did almost nothing to help the liberal causes she espoused so enthusiastically to the Western media.
Instead, it was under her watch that Pakistan’s secret service, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), helped install the Taliban in Pakistan, and she did nothing to rein in the agency’s disastrous policy of training up Islamist jihadis from the country’s madrasas to do the ISI’s dirty work in Kashmir and Afghanistan. As a young correspondent covering the conflict in Kashmir in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I saw how during her premiership, Pakistan sidelined the Kashmiris’ own secular resistance movement, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, and instead gave aid and training to the brutal Islamist outfits it created and controlled, such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat ul-Mujahedin. Benazir’s administration, in other words, helped train the very assassins who are most likely to have shot her.
Benazir was, above all, a feudal landowner, whose family owned great tracts of Sindh, and with the sense of entitlement this produced. Democracy has never thrived in Pakistan in part because landowning remains the base from which politicians emerge. In this sense, Pakistani democracy in Pakistan is really a form of “elective feudalism”: the Bhuttos’ feudal friends and allies were nominated for seats by Benazir, and these landowners made sure their peasants voted them in.
Behind Pakistan’s swings between military government and democracy lies a surprising continuity of elitist interests: to some extent, Pakistan’s industrial, military and landowning classes are all interrelated, and they look after each other. They do not, however, do much to look after the poor. The government education system barely functions in Pakistan, and for the poor, justice is almost impossible to come by. According to the political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa, “Both the military and the political parties have all failed to create an environment where the poor can get what they need from the state. So the poor have begun to look for alternatives. In the long term, these flaws in the system will create more room for the fundamentalists.”
Many right-wing commentators on the Islamic world tend to see political Islam as an anti-liberal and irrational form of “Islamo-fascism”. Yet much of the success of the Islamists in countries such as Pakistan comes from the Islamists’ ability to portray themselves as champions of social justice, fighting people like Benazir Bhutto from the corrupt Westernised elite that rules most of the Muslim world from Karachi to Riyadh, Ramallah and Algiers.
Benazir’s reputation for massive corruption was gold dust to these Islamic revolutionaries, just as the excesses of the Shah were to their counterparts in Iran 30 years earlier: during her government, Pakistan was declared one of the three most corrupt countries in the world, and Bhutto and her husband, Asif Zardari — widely known as “Mr 10%” — faced allegations of plundering the country; charges were filed in Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States to investigate their various bank accounts, and they stood accused of jointly looting no less than $1.4 billion from the state.
When I interviewed Abdul Rashid Ghazi in the Islamabad Red Mosque shortly before his death in Musharraf’s July attack on the complex, he returned time and again to these issues: “We want our rulers to be honest people,” he repeated. “But now the rulers are living a life of luxury while thousands of innocent children have empty stomachs and can’t even get basic necessities.”
This is the principal reason for the rise of the Islamists in Pakistan, and why so many people support them: they are the only force capable of taking on the country’s landowners and their military cousins. Benazir Bhutto may have been a brave, gutsy, secular and liberal woman. But sadness at the demise of this courageous fighter should not mask the fact that as a corrupt feudal who did nothing for the poor, she was a central part of Pakistan’s problems, rather than any solution to them. Songs of Blood and Sword is a timely and forceful reminder of this.
Certainly, readers of Fatima’s book have ahead of them a wonderfully close-focussed and well-constructed memoir from the heart of the most violent and Borgia-like of the South Asian dynasties to savour. They also, most likely, have further instalments to come. During a recent interview, I asked Fatima whether she would consider entering politics herself: “I am political,” she replied, “but there are many ways to be political. I don’t think that becoming an MP is necessarily the best way to influence people. For the time being, I want to be a writer. But who knows? If in the future there was a way I could serve my country, one that did not involve becoming yet another part of dynastic birthright politics, maybe I could envisage putting my name forward.” Watch this space.

Not just Naxalism

2010-04-12T16:41:00.005+05:30

After the deadly attack on the CRPF jawans in Dantewada by the Naxalites, the whole nation seems to have turned their angst against the Maoists and the tribals and everyone wants them to be bombed out. Be it the high profile Editors of so called national media or the politicians from the BJP and Congress everyone is acting as if they are the only ones who make the policies for the welfare of the nation state as a whole. Honestly speaking no one is interested in discussing about the root causes which generate or have been generating sympathy for the Maoists and their movement among the tribals. Neither the government not the so called free media seem to be interested to explore the flip side. Unless the root causes behind the growing dissatisfaction of the tribals and the poor as a whole are addressed each and every measure by the government will boomerang.

In fact the main reason behind the surge of Naxalism is the exploitation meted out to the people living in our mineral rich tribal areas due to the anti poor policies of the successive incumbents of 7 RCR. It's the lack of faith towards the governments which lure the poor towards Naxalites. Just bombing out the Naxal hide outs and encounter of the Maoist is not going to solve the problem unless there is an apt redressal of the grievances of our have-nots who have always been kept marginalized by very system.
The rampant corruption and exploitation carried out by the civil servants, government officials, police, forest employees, politicians etc at the village level should and must stop. Otherwise all the measures taken to uplift the socio-economic condition in naxal hinterlands will be nothing but like taking pain killer which may have an instant effect but not the cure.

These so called policy makers or the ministers who thrive on the money of businessmen and corporate tycoons like Tatas, Mittals, Ambanis and Vedanta need to have an honest approach in resolving the issue. Unless the corruption prevailing at each and every level of our society doesn’t come to an end and the grievances of our 40% of the population addressed to their satisfaction, the change we are hoping about will remain a distant dream.

Shoma Choudhary once wrote in Tehelka that ''At the heart of the Naxal riddle, there are three primary questions: Who is a Naxal? What is one’s position on violence as a tool of struggle? And why is Naxalism on the rise across the country? At a political level, they do not believe in parliamentary democracy (where they see power still concentrated in the hands of the feudal upper class) and their long-term objective is to seize State power for the people through armed struggle. In this back ground can Naxalism really be wiped out by brute counter force? If that were so, Siddhartha Shankar Ray’s crackdown in Bengal in the 70s should have nailed it for all time. But the fact is, while stories of their own coercions are true, Naxal leaders enjoy wide support because they also espouse socio-economic causes and empower people that the successive governments (either BJP or Congress or whatever) has ignored strategically for 60 years.

Once, In a FaceBook discussion a person asked me a very interesting question, ''Why is that Maoists are gaining ground only in Mining belt?'' My reply was that, It's only because the mining belts are one of the most poor parts of our country (but unfortunately it's because of these parts only the Tatas, Ambanis and many other Businessmen became rich) These areas have always been exploited either by the government or the MNCs backed by them. Every time the resources from these places have been extracted (but these places haven’t seen any type of development since ages). If the corrupt corporate tycoons and politicians can use the wealth of these mining lands for their personal gains then what’s wrong is there if someone or any other organization comes forward(having whatever intention) to increase the sense of security among the people living on the margins. It's a fact and we have to accept that in the villages of our hinterlands there is a very strong support for Naxalism, and the main reason behind this support is the successive governments (whether it is state or the central Government) step motherly behavior towards the problems of the villagers, and hence the sense of insecurity in their hearts and minds.

Just behaviour like an ostrich in the sand is not going to solve any problem. The government needs to address this issues related to the Maoist surge on an urgent basis.

In fact, the State's duty is not only to uphold the law by force but also to ensure the equal distribution of wealth and opportunities.

It doesn’t need for someone to be an economist to understand about the prevailing injustice and inequality in our so called civilized society. It needs common sense. If we get annoyed when someone tries to snatch our valued belongings from us then the poor of the poor have also the same right. The difference is we the neo rich because of our power and money can buy what ever we want, but what about the ones who could even manage the meal of even a single time. They too earn their money by doing hard work (but not sitting in Air conditioned offices).

It’s really dis-heartening when most of the people who are killed in the war between the state and non state actors are poor whether they are the soldiers of the state or the fighters of the non state actors. Most of the soldiers killed were the only bread earners for their family and it's a fact that when the dust of the Dantewada attack settles the people who are sitting at the top will forget these poor Jawans and their family and they will be only remembered at the time of elections to garner votes .

There is a similarity between the soldiers and the tribals which is: ''Both, the Soldiers from Uttar Pradesh and the tribals form Jharkhand are desperately poor and on the same side of the big divide which is getting wider with the passing of every single day. In essence, what the state is doing is making the poor fight with the poor.''

The aftermath of Dantewada has opened up the ugly truth that ‘poor pitted against poor’. At the backdrop of politico-editor-activist brain storming sessions the sooner we understand this reality the better.

A republic at 60 – Where we have reached

2010-01-25T16:47:00.004+05:30

Three days back on the 22nd of January, I saw a soul steering scene at the New Delhi railway station which can make everyone stop and think about the condition of inequality and the apathy through which we are passing in the present era. I had been there to see my brother off who was going to our home in Bihar. Because of the fog conditions all the trains and flights in and out of the capital either are cancelled or running late and hence leading to a chaotic condition at the railway stations.

When we were waiting for the train, suddenly a train came from the other end. There was chaos due to the rush of the people to catch trains and suddenly a person was also standing near the train was pushed by the crowd and fell on the track and one of his legs was chopped away from his body. These accidents are a regular occurrence on the railway stations in our country, but the thing which is more appalling and disgusting is the irresponsibility and ignorance of the officials there towards the apathy of a common man. There I saw the whole machinery collapsing when there was not even a single stretcher to carry that almost dead man to the hospital. And after 40 minutes of that accident that person was carried to some hospital by some GRP personnel on a Thela (a local form of Cycle Rickshaw).

And now as we are going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Republic, we should stop and think, are we really ready to accept the challenges which would test our will as a nation in future?

Indian democratic experiment has always been regarded as being one of the most successful systems in the world but with some serious flaws. There is need of a serious self head scratching. First of all we have to think about the principles on which the Idea of our republic was based. Are those ideals still valid? Yes they are absolutely valid, but are their implementation upto the mark. These are some of the questions whose answers are needed most at this hour.

It’s really an achievement of our nation to remain united as a nation instead of such diversity within its fold but there are so many other things which we need to think about.

There is a sense of being ignored or being left behind in our North Eastern states and their complaints are really valid and the government cannot behave like an ostrich in sand for long. The Human rights violence by our security forces in the guise of the laws like AFPSA is a reality which cannot be ignored. Down the South we have an agitation of a separate state of Telengana. In the West we have goons like Raj Thackeray who are always in a hurry to exploit regional biases and issues to score their political brownie points and even the state fears to take him by his horn. The goons associated with his MNS never miss a chance to make the mockery of the state and its principle. Sometimes the North Indians are beaten up or sometimes the Muslims are made target. Sometimes it seems that the ruling congress is using him to keep his uncle at bay. The Kashmiris are being exploited since independence, sometimes through the Human Rights violation by our security forces, sometimes by both the Governments of India and Pakistan.

At the political front the level of politics has drastically gone down as compared to the politicians of the yester years. Sycophancy is at their peak. Ramchandra Guha rightly says that, ‘’India is more a Darbari democracy rather than a Dynastic democracy’’. For our politicians the importance of the “Aam Admi’’ is only till election and after that no one cares about the will of the common Man. With our metropolitans gleaming with small cities of shopping malls the difference between the have-nots and haves has increased manifold.

The dalits and tribals are still being exploited and their lands snatched by the greedy MNCs and business tycoons and as a result they are being forced to get into confrontation with the system. How can we expect a person whose children are malnourished or dying out of hunger to understand the royal intricacies of constitution and law? We cannot expect the Naxalite Movement to come down by exploiting the native tribals of their wealth and natural resources.

Are we really a rising world power which can become a super power in coming 20- 25 years? With the situation like this we cannot expect to be world powers in future and it’s a fact and reality. There is a wide gap between ‘Chamakta Bharat’ and ‘Tadapta Bharat’, and unless this gap is filled nothing is going to happen. With a 3rd rate education and 5th rate health system how can we think of becoming world power? The condition of the government hospitals keeps getting worse day by day. Even the hospitals of our metros don’t have state of art facilities needed to deal with emergency. As far as private hospitals are concerned they have become a totally business ventures where a poor person cannot even think to get himself treated.

There have been some black spots in the history of our republic. The emergency, The Babri Masjid demolition, The 84 anti Sikh riots, so many other communal riots, the Gujarat post Godhra anti – Muslim communal pogrom and so many other terrorist attacks like the Mumbai blasts and attacks are some of them. During the 84 riots and Gujarat pogrom the whole state machinery was well behind the marauders and criminals who with the help of police and administration having political backing went on tearing apart our secular credentials and it’s a shame that the criminals who were responsible are still roaming free while thumping their chest. Narender Modi is still there, the Congress politicians responsible for the 84 anti- Sikh riots are still free also.

Nearly most of the schemes and issues which should have played a great role in the upliftment of the underprivileged have been either hijacked or being use to score electoral points. Corruption at the Government places has played a great negative role of undermining the ideals on which our Republic has been based. The delayed justice delivery system sometimes becomes very much exploiting for the victims. The best example being the Ruchika Girhotra case in which after being exploited by a Corrupt and hypocrite Police that promising Tennis player was forced to cut short her life. Ruchika is just a tip of an ice berg. These type of cases keep on happening in our hinterlands on a daily basis.

Apart from all these negative aspects our democracy has been a success story where the people have every right to dismiss or reject some one whom they do not want to rule. The best examples are the post emergency defeat of Indira Gandhi and the defeat of the NDA govt in 2004 elections. It’s in itself a success story.

As a whole I would rather say that the Idea of India has prevailed but their so many problems which should and must be seen in their eyes directly. Otherwise the condition will get worse. It would not be bad to say that, our republic is an Orange Republic (Divided from within but looks united from outside), rather than a Banana one.

In short if we really want ourselves to become a world power we have to get empowered ideally (having a sense of ideology on which our republic is based) from within. We have to give the have-nots their rights which they deserve more than any one else. Glittering shopping Malls will look good only when a labourer from our hinterlands who worked day and night in the construction of that Mall or building feels free to go and buy something from that Mall also. They have their kids also who really want to live a life of the ones living in posh colonies of our Metropolis.

JASHN E AAZADI - By Allama Jameel Mazhari

2009-08-18T01:14:00.003+05:30

After 62 years of Independence of both India and Pakistan, there are millions of our fellow citizens who live in abject poverty and are denied socio-economic rights. On the one hand, it is said that India’s economy is booming, but on the other hand the scenario in the rural areas is deplorable. The poor have become poorer and the benefits of a ‘booming’ economy haven’t translated into development. If the divide between the rich and poor is not addressed, our dream will remain unfulfilled. This Independence has brought a lot of change for the upper strata of the society but for the lower strata its just a freedom from the British rule,because they are still ensalved by the socio-economic problems due to the anti-poor policies of the government which has a direct effect on their livelihood. The lower strata is still trapped under the vicious circle of poverty.

My heartiest wishes to all my dear fellow Indian citizens and my Pakistani friends on the 62nd year of our Independence from the British rule . Here I would like to share with you a favourite poem from my Grandfather Late Allama Jameel Mazhari which he recited in The Bihar Assembly at Patna in the year 1950.

'' JASHN E AAZAADI''

Jashn matamkada e Hind mein aazadi ka
Kucch thikaana hai tumhari sitam ijaadi ka?

Aaj duniya mein na ahmaq koi tum sa hoga
Is andhere mein chiraagon se ujala hoga?

Kya andhere ko dikhate ho tamasha e sahar
Noor shammon ka hai ya khoon e tamanna e sahar

Tum ne muflis ke shabistaan ki bhi dekhi hai bahar
Us ke seene mein chiraaghaan ki bhi dekhi hai bahaar

Yeh bilakte hue bacche inhien dekho, idhar aao
Bashariyat ke kaleje key eh riste hue ghao

Jinki lalchayi nazar faqa kashi ki maari
Jinko roti hai khilone se bhi zyada pyari

‘’Nauhakhwan aaj na kis tarah hon aazaadi ke
Khelein kya khud hi khilone hain yeh barbaadi ke’’

Jashn e aazaadi e jamhoor Mubarak ho tumhein
Raunaq e khana e mazdoor Mubarak ho tumhein

Haandiyan shaam se aundhi hui qismat ki tarah
Chup hai dil maan ka chiraag e sar e turbat ki tarah

Aag chulhe mein ek ummeed ki kujhlayi hui
Jaise seene mein tamanna koi murjhayi hui

Ahl e beenash ko Mubarak ho yeh samaan e nishaat
Khoon e muflis se yeh gulkaari e damaan e nishaat

Fikr e aflaas se dhoye hue chehron ki qasam
Jin ko kajal nahin milta un aankhon ki qasam

Qasam us jism ki uryaani hi chaadar ho jise
Qasam us maang ki sindoor na muyassar ho jise

Rang e mehfil ki qasam raunaq e manzar ki qasam
Jis mein mitti ka diya bhi nahin us ghar ki qasam

Qasam us shahr ki jis mein ke diwali hai aaj
Qasam us raat ki jo aur bhi kaali hai aaj

‘’ Key eh marghat ka ujala hai, chita hai yeh jashn
Ek toote hue dholak ki sada hai yeh jashn’’

Aye dil e zaar e watan , ae lab e faryaadi e qaum
Aake hum aaj karein maatam e aazaadi e qaum

Khwaab e aazaadi ki sad haif yeh tabeer ae dost
Ban gayi saanp yeh tooti hui zanjeer ae dost

Toot kar rengne phirne lagi lehraane lagi
Das gayi rooh ko is tarah ke neend aane lagi

‘’ Hue aazaad to kya gardish e dauraan hai wahi
Hasrat ae subah e watan shaam e ghareebaan hai wahi’’

Look who is discriminating

2009-06-12T12:32:00.005+05:30

In the city of predictable prejudices, Iram Rizvi had run into a surprise.
The 25-year-old woman from Kashmir was being asked by the landlord to leave the house because she was a Kashmiri. But the landlord was no Muslim-hater. He was a Muslim himself.
“I have always faced remarks like ‘Kashmiris cannot be trusted’ and ‘all the Kashmiris are opportunists’. Who is not an opportunist?” asks Iram, sitting in a car in front of Jamia Millia Islamia University, as it rains incessantly outside.
“I have left Srinagar to do something good for myself and secure my family’s future. Is there any opportunism in that?” she says.
Rizvi says she faced discrimination and prejudice in an excruciating search for accommodation after she moved from Srinagar to the national capital in 2006.
She stayed for some time with a distant relative in Malviya Nagar, in a rented apartment owned by a Muslim. But just because of her Kashmiri identity, the landlord objected to Rizvi’s staying with her relative, and she had to leave.
It was much later that she could find a hostel in the university.
Rizvi worked as a journalist in Kashmir before moving to New Delhi to pursue her PhD in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia’s Mass Communication Research Centre. In Srinagar, she worked for local newspapers Daily Etalaat and the Greater Kashmir.
At Jamia, her topic of research is ‘The coverage of Kashmir conflict by newspapers’.
Breaking generations-old conventions in conflict-ridden Kashmir, hundreds of Kashmiri youth like her are beginning to travel outside the region to study and work, unlike even five years earlier when most remained cocooned in the Valley.
“I am an Indian but in Delhi it is very tough for a Kashmiri to stick to his or her identity, and if you are a girl it gets tougher,” says Rizvi, as traffic whizzes by on the rain-soaked street.
“For a girl from a small town like Srinagar it’s very tough to get accustomed to the lifestyle of a cosmopolitan city like Delhi,” she says.
And then, there are the slurs.
“Once I met a person in train. And when he came to know about my Kashmiri origin he said ‘These Kashmiris eat in India and sing about Pakistan’.”
Rizvi, who veils her face with a scarf in public, says “the veil makes me feel secure and look decent”, and adds that the only consolation is that she has not been subjected to taunts like many others for her scarf.
But stereotypes do play up often, like the day when her non-Muslim friend said of her visits to beauty parlours: “How can a girl wearing a veil go to the beauty parlour?”

Following is the lilnk to this article in Hindustan Times:-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=IndiaSectionPage&id=a2ffb9d6-e2c7-4279-9da3-e0ed7a2b87e7&Headline=Look+who+is+discriminating

In the memory of a dear friend who left us crying...

2009-04-01T10:53:00.010+05:30

Jaate hue kehte ho qayamat mein milenge
Kya khoob qayamat ka hai dooja koi din aur
Haan ae falak e peer jawaan tha abhi ‘’Aarif’’
Kya tera guzarta jo na marta koi din aur

Legendary poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote the above quartet on the sad demise of his nephew Aarif. The same thing happened with me on 29th March ,2009 when I lost one of my best friend Qasim Ali , who used to regard me as his elder brother. I have known Qasim since last one and a half year and still cannot believe that things can come to such a passé within a short span of just 20 days between 8th March and 29th March. He was just like a normal, gym going athletic handsome guy on 7th March and on the 8th he was diagnosed with suffering from the deadly disease of Leukaemia. I will always miss the days of our working together in Hindustan Times when we used to crack jokes and play pranks. I could not ever think of writing an obituary for him.
Qasim, now you have left us grieving I cannot and won’t ever forget the things and memories associated with you. The day when you died was the 12th death anniversary of my late father. How can I forget that cold night of January when you brought dinner for me on the birthday of your sweet niece Irmish while I was working in the office. I kept you waiting for 20 mins because of the hectic schedule that day. I will also miss your brotherly affection towards me. Qasim, you suffered immense pain during the 20 days of your ailment. These 20 days made the world upside down for your grieving family. Our sadness and remorse stands nowhere in front of the scar which your death left on the heart of your mother. While you were battling for your life in AIIMS she kept reading The Holy Qur’an beside you day and night. Once she told me: ‘’Hassan mera dil kehta hai mera beta bach jayega’’. I don’t have words to pay condolence to her. Your parents and brother couldn’t gather the courage to ask the doctor about your condition. Whenever I asked the doctor about your condition he gave negative feedback and each and every time I kept lying to your family members that your condition is stable and will improve within few days.

Sometimes I ask myself, why did this happen with a young and energetic guy like you. But these are the questions whose answers are not possible for anyone to give. You seemed to be always in a hurry as if you know that you are here just for few days. Qasim, do u remember the day when you told me , ''Hassan bhai we will launch a News Channel together''. All those dreams have been shattered.

My dear Qasim, : ‘’Tanha gaye kyun ab raho tanha koi din aur.’’ Lets see when do I join you there.

Zamane ne dekhe jawaan kaise kaise
Zameen kha gayi aasmaan kaise kaise

God bless you my brother. Stay happy wherever you are. May your soul rest in peace.

Yours ever
Hassan Bhai

Hussain- The epitome of justice and tolerance

2009-01-24T10:10:00.008+05:30

In a world engulfed by violence and corruption, it sometimes becomes very important to invoke a character in which a battered society can find ultimate solace or refuge. Each and every religion has it's brand of secular and fundamentalist forces. Same is the case with Islam.
Muharram is a festival, which is closer to my heart than any other festival, even more than Eid. I have been born and brought up in a family, which has a great affinity with Imam Hussain and his cause. It has some sort of emotional attachment or appeal for each and every Muslim. The martyrdom of Imam Hussain bin Ali bin Abi Talib is a true and best example of non-violent resistance against a dictator or a tyrant or an unjust system where the poor are getting poorer day by day.
The commemoration of Muharram in India has a historical importance with nearly people from all the major religions and castes taking part in the mourning to remember the sufferings of Imam Hussain against the most unjust and tyrant ruler in the history of Islam , Yazid bin Muawiyah.(61 AH, approx 20 oct 680 AD), at the banks of Euphrates.
The sacrifice of Imam Hussain forever drew a line of demarcation between the truth and falsehood, good and evil, right and wrong and his death gave a new name and honour to victim hood. To die for a just and honest cause is better than to live under the rule of a tyrant like Yazid.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a great sufi saint in 12th century praised about imam Hussain in the following quartet.
Shah ast Hussain, Baadshaan ast Hussain

Deen ast Hussain, Deen panaah ast Hussain

Sar daad, na daad dast dar dast e Yazeed

Haqqa ke banaye La ilaah ast Hussain.
( Hussain is the king, Indeed he is the king of kings

Hussain is deen and also the protector of deen

He gave his head but not his hand of allegiance in the hand of Yazid

Indeed he was the founder of the concept of one God.)
The Holy Prophet every now and then insisted his Umma not to forget Hussain. This insistence of Prophet Mohammad shows that those who will forget Karbala and the Martyrdom of Hussain will cause trouble in his mission. The so called custodians of Islam or the radicals who are killing innocents in the name of Islam have forgotten Imam Hussain and the basic tenets of Islam just as the zealots who went on massacring thousands in Gujarat in the name of a peaceful religion like Hinduism forgot the tolerance taught by Lord Rama.
It's most important today to tell the people about the sacrifice of Imam Hussain and his mission which will let them to realise that the people who every now and then commit the barbaric acts of terrorism and call themselves Muslims are just terrorists and the majority of world's Muslims think these acts as going against all the ideals and principles of Islam.
Imam Hussain demarcated the truth from the falsehood forever when he said to the ambassador of Yazid ," A person like me would not give the oath of allegiance to a person like Yazid.", which means that the good or the truth cannot be bowed down by the falsehood or evil, no matter how powerful is the tyrant or the dictator.
Imam fought the battle with Yazid on the spiritual plane, he opposed Yazid's might with his nobility of character, confronted power with powerlessness, met multitudes with want of material support and defied oppression with suffering and martyrdom.It has been more than 1400 years since the battle of Karbala was fought, but even after centuries is remembered with unmatchable enthusiasm.
While I was in my hometown Muzaffarpur in Bihar on the 10th day of Muharram which is called Aashura, I got in touch with a police officer who was offering flowers at the Karbala there. On being asked the reason behind his attachment with Imam Hussain's cause he replied," Please do not think that remembering the sacrifice of Imam Hussain is a copyright of Muslims only. Imam Hussain's martyrdom has given voices to the voiceless. His sacrifice was the ultimate level of tolerance and non-violence in which after losing every one of his companions and his family members he stood firm on the path of righteousness. We remember him because he is worth remembering."
In a sermon while proceeding towards Karbala Imam Hussain said to his followers," O' people The Prophet of Islam has said that if a person sees a tyrannical ruler transgressing against Allah and oppressing people, but does nothing by word or action to change the situation, then it will be just to God to place him where he deservingly belongs. Do you not see to what low level the affairs have come to…. Do you not observe that the truth has not adhered and falsehood has no limits? And as for me, I look upon death but a means of attaining martyrdom. I consider life among transgressors an agony and affliction."
About 1200 years later Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech in which he said," To suffer in solace while they should protest makes cowards of men." These words of Abraham Lincoln reflect exactly what Imam said some 1200 years ago that oppressors and transgressors from the true path of justice would emerge all the time. If there remains no one on the earth to object over there transgressions that they will go unchecked. One should always point out to these tyrants of the right path of justice. This is the lesson we learn from Imam Hussain.
Hussain was a spiritual superpower that is an icon not only for the Muslims but also for each and every person with whom injustice is being done in whatever form, no matter to which religion he belongs. Nearly each and every revolution of the world got inspiration from the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
The tragedy of Karbala took place some 1400 years back but Karbala has a universal appeal and in today's climate of violence, terrorism and communalism, it is more relevant than ever.
The uprising of Imam Hussain and the tragedy of Karbala bring everlasting messages for the entire humanity. The movement of Imam Hussain is not confined to his times, but it is for all eras and places. Imam Hussain courted martyrdom in order to inspire mankind in the fight against injustice and exploitation.Some people doubt about the intention of Imam Hussain by claiming that Imam Hussain came to Karbala having wordly desires and think that Yazeed was the victor of Karbala In fact this thought is totally unwarranted. But it is Imam Hussain whose name and mission has remained immortal while great empires of Umayyad and Abbasid dynasty have vanished and mighty rulers reduced to dust. No wonder despite the passing of 1000 years the tragedy of Karbala lives on.
While addressing the enemy in Karbala Imam said one of the most inspiring words ever been said, " If you do not have religion, at least be a free man in your life of this world." Because a free man can differentiate between the good and evil more easily than a biased one.
The mission of Hussain did not and could not come to an end just by the martyrdom of 72 individuals, it's everlasting, acting as a catalyst in nearly every age , era and place. Today at the remotest corners of the globe the tragedy of Karbala is remembered.
Muharram is not just for ten days and going back to business as usual. For a person who stands up to fight against the oppression, injustices and tyranny and terrorism , for him the place is Karbala, The month is Muharram and the day is Aashura. He is Imam Hussain and his opponent is Yazid. Muharram is not just for shias of for that matter Muslims but for each and every person who has the guts to stand against the injustices. The people who are maligning the name of a pious word like Jihad should try to understand the true form of Jihad practiced by Imam Hussain.
The following couplet best describes the importance of Karbala and Imam Hussain.
Jahan bhi maareka e khair o shar bapa hai Hussain..

Wahan hai mujib e har inquilaab teri zaat..
( Wherever there is a fight going on between the good and evil..O' Hussain!!!! You are the inspiration behind each and every revolution)
Imam Hussain raised Islam to its purest form by not letting evils to distort, corrupt or insult and destroy a peaceful religion like Islam, a non violent resistance He taught us not to take life but sacrificing one's life in the path of truth and righteousness.

Following is the link to the edited version of this article in Hindustan Times:-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle-news/travel/Why-I-love-Imam-Hussain/Article1-379787.aspx

And then they came for me - Lasantha Wickramatunga - Indian Express - 15 Jan 2009

2009-01-17T16:07:00.006+05:30

Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of the Sri Lankan newspaper 'The Sunday Leader' and known for his principled opposition to the government, was assassinated on his way to work by two gunmen, on January 8. The paper carried this posthumous editorial.

"This is one of the best editorial I have ever come through"

NO OTHER profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the in dependent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last.
I have been in the business of journalism a good long time. Indeed, 2009 will be The Sunday Leader's 15th year. Many things have changed in Sri Lanka during that time, and it does not need me to tell you that the greater part of that change has been for the worse. Terror, whether perpetrated by terrorists or the state, has become the order of the day. Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists, tomorrow it will be the judges. For neither group have the risks ever been higher or the stakes lower.
Why then do we do it? I often wonder that. After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children. I too have responsibilities and obligations that transcend my profession, be it the law or journalism. Is it worth the risk? Friends tell me to revert to the bar. Others, including political leaders on both sides, have at various times sought to induce me to take to politics. Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries. Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice. But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.
The Sunday Leader has been a controversial newspaper because we say it like we see it: whether it be a spade, a thief or a murderer, we call it by that name. We do not hide behind euphemism. The investigative articles we print are supported by documentary evidence thanks to the public-spiritedness of citizens who at great risk to themselves pass on this material to us. We have exposed scandal after scandal, and never once in these 15 years has anyone proved us wrong or successfully prosecuted us.
The free media serve as a mirror in which the public can see itself sans mascara and styling gel. Sometimes the image you see in that mirror is not a pleasant one. But while you may grumble in the privacy of your armchair, the journalists who hold the mirror up to you do so publicly and at great risk to themselves. That is our calling, and we do not shirk it.
Every newspaper has its angle, and we do not hide the fact that we have ours. Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy. Think about those words, for they each has profound meaning. Transparent because government must be openly accountable to the people and never abuse their trust. Secular because in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society such as ours, secularism offers the only common ground by which we might all be united. Liberal because we recognise that all human beings are created different, and we need to accept others for what they are and not what we would like them to be. And democratic… well, if you need me to explain why that is important, you'd best stop buying this paper.
The Sunday Leader has never sought safety by unquestioningly articulating the majority view. Let's face it, that is the way to sell newspapers. On the contrary, as our opinion pieces over the years amply demonstrate, we often voice ideas that many people find distasteful. For example, we have consistently espoused the view that while separatist terrorism must be eradicated, it is more important to address the root causes of terrorism. We have also agitated against state terrorism in the socalled war against terror, and made no secret of our horror that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world to routinely bomb its own citizens. For these views we have been labelled traitors, and if this be treachery, we wear that label proudly.
Many people suspect that The Sunday Leader has a political agenda: it does not. If we appear more critical of the government than of the opposition it is only because we believe that - pray excuse cricketing argot - there is no point in bowling to the fielding side. Remember that for the few years of our existence in which the UNP was in office, we proved to be the biggest thorn in its flesh, exposing excess and corruption wherever it occurred. Indeed, the steady stream of embarrassing exposes we published may well have served to precipitate the downfall of that government.
Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we support the Tigers. The LTTE are among the most ruthless and bloodthirsty organisations ever to have infested the planet. There is no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting them mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the dhamma is forever called into question by this savagery, much of which is unknown to the public because of censorship.
What is more, a military occupation of the country's north and east will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as second-class citizens, deprived of all self respect. Do not imagine that you can placate them by showering "development" on them in the post-war era. The wounds of war will scar them forever, and you will also have an even more bitter and hateful Diaspora to contend with. If I seem angry and frustrated, it is only because most of my countrymen - and all of the government - cannot see this writing so plainly on the wall.
It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks. In all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.
The irony in this is that, unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and I have been friends for more than a quarter century. Although I do not attend the meetings he periodically holds for newspaper editors, hardly a month passes when we do not meet, privately or with a few close friends present, late at night at President's House. There we swap yarns, discuss politics and joke about the good old days. A few remarks to him would therefore be in order here.
Mahinda, when you finally fought your way to the SLFP presidential nomination in 2005, nowhere were you welcomed more warmly than in this column. So well known were your commitments to human rights and liberal values that we ushered you in like a breath of fresh air. Then, through an act of folly, you got yourself involved in the Helping Hambantota scandal. It was after a lot of soul-searching that we broke the story, at the same time urging you to return the money. By the time you did so several weeks later, a great blow had been struck to your reputation. It is one you are still trying to live down.
You have told me yourself that you were not greedy for the presidency. You did not have to hanker after it: it fell into your lap. You have told me that your sons are your greatest joy, and that you love spending time with them, leaving your brothers to operate the machinery of state. Now, it is clear to all who will see that that machinery has operated so well that my sons and daughter do not themselves have a father.
In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but yours too, depends on it.
Sadly, for all the dreams you had for our country in your younger days, in just three years you have reduced it to rubble. In the name of patriotism you have trampled on human rights, nurtured unbridled corruption and squandered public money like no other President before you. Indeed, your conduct has been like a small child suddenly let loose in a toyshop. That analogy is perhaps inapt because no child could have caused so much blood to be spilled on this land as you have, or trampled on the rights of its citizens as you do. Although you are now so drunk with power that you cannot see it, you will come to regret your sons having so rich an inheritance of blood. It can only bring tragedy. As for me, it is with a clear conscience that I go to meet my Maker. I wish, when your time finally comes, you could do the same. I wish.
As for me, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and bowed to no man. And I have not travelled this journey alone. Fellow journalists in other branches of the media walked with me: most of them are now dead, imprisoned without trial or exiled in far-off lands. Others walk in the shadow of death that your Presidency has cast on the freedoms for which you once fought so hard. You will never be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch. As anguished as I know you will be, I also know that you will have no choice but to protect my killers: you will see to it that the guilty one is never convicted. You have no choice.
As for the readers of The Sunday Leader, what can I say but Thank You for supporting our mission. We have espoused unpopular causes, stood up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with the high and mighty, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you were allowed to hear a contrary view. For this I — and my family — have now paid the price that I have long known I will one day have to pay. I am — and have always been —ready for that. I have done nothing to prevent this outcome: no security, no precautions. I want my murderer to know that I am not a coward like he is, hiding behind human shields while condemning thousands of innocents to death. What am I among so many? It has long been written that my life would be taken, and by whom. All that remains to be written is when.
That The Sunday Leader will continue fighting the good fight, too, is written. For I did not fight this fight alone. Many more of us have to be - and will be - killed before The Leader is laid to rest. I hope my assassination will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an inspiration for those who survive to step up their efforts. Indeed, I hope that it will help galvanise forces that will usher in a new era of human liberty in our beloved motherland. I also hope it will open the eyes of your President to the fact that however many are slaughtered in the name of patriotism, the human spirit will endure and flourish. Not all the Rajapakses combined can kill that.
People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niemoller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niemoller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niemoller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind: First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Do not take this commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.

("Lasantha Wickramatunga")

Terror, Talk, Tantrum

2008-12-29T19:12:00.004+05:30

On that fateful evening of 26th November a breaking news caught my attention while sipping tea in not so chaotic newsroom. What initially seemed to be a typical Mumbai gangwar later turned out to a sophisticated terror strike at the heart of Mumbai. After sixty two hours of uninterrupted confrontation by our brave commandos and police officers the terrorists met their obvious fate. But what followed is something to ponder over the developments since the incident. The jingoism, rhetoric, political chauvinism and warmongering patronised by the media, so called socialites and the politicians. The obvious reason behind 26/11 was security lapse and lack of a political consensus on national security. But the talks and tantrum on national media since the incident has again brought back the issues of religious terrorism, responsibility of media and political will on national security to the fore.
Since 1992 riots Mumbai is not a stranger to terror attacks and communal violence, sometimes by religious groups and sometimes by regional chauvinist parties like MNS. The audacity, flamboyance and planning of the recent attack was able to leave us numb for those 60 hours. In fact, the terrorists were trying to get maximum publicity by targeting the commercial capital for the country. And to some extent they were very much successful. But there is one misfortune of our nation, which is in the form of netas who leave no stone unturned in getting political mileage out of every terrorist attack or communal riot.
There is no denying the fact that it was a case of great security lapse on the part of our security agencies. In fact we may call that this attack on Mumbai was the mother of all security lapses, which caught our intelligence-gathering network in shambles. It has been seen that after each and every terror attack our politicians start blaming each other and indulge in shouting about the so called "Islamic terrorism" or "Hindu aatankvaad', but the country keeps bleeding with frequent terror. In fact each and every terror attack is an attack on the spirit and idea of India. Now a sense of insecurity has gripped the people of Mumbai and it's the responsibility of the centre and state Govt. to ensure that such a dastardly act of terror would not be allowed to happen again.
And it's the right time for all the parties and the politicians who survive on the politics of communalism or hatred understand that they are not doing anything good for the country by giving the name of the religion to terrorism. A terrorist is a terrorist and I am totally against the words like Islamic terrorism or Hindu terrorism. It's an established fact that the main reason of each and every communal riots and terror strike is deep rooted in the hatred resulting out of the Babri Masjid demolition and the movement headed by Mr.L.K Advani. Now Mr. Advani must stop practicing the politics of hatred. Every rabid terror organization justifies its acts of terror by either mentioning Babri demolition or the Post Godhra Gujarat massacre in which the goons of Sangh Parivar were let loose by the Narendra Modi administration to carry out carnage in the name of a peaceful religion as Hinduism.
But whatever the cause, no one can justify the killing of the innocents. The people who are carrying out carnages in the name of Islam do not know that exact principle and ideals of Islam as practiced by the Holy Prophet himself. They do not know even the exact meaning of Jihad. One should always take inspiration from the tolerance based on ideals and principles of Islam practiced by Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad against the atrocities and tyranny of the greatest villain in the history of Islam, Yazid in the battle of Karbala. Imam Hussain choose to get all his family members massacred by the army men of Yazid bin Muawiya but he never deviated from the path of righteousness as preached by the Prophet himself. He accepted martyrdom rather than to kill any innocent in the name of Islam. These so called Jehadis or the self-styled flag bearers of Islam should take a lesson from the towering personality of Imam Hussain. In fact Imam Hussain gave the best lesson of Jehad.
The same can be said about the Hindu extremists who preach hate in the name of Lord Ram, the Maryada Purushottam. They should self introspect that what would have been the reaction of Lord Ram post Godhra massacres in Gujarat. I cannot understand the reason behind the absence of the whole leadership of BJP from the funeral of Late Hemant Karkare. In fact the same leaders of the Hindu far right who were present at the funeral of Mohan Sharma, the Delhi police encounter specialist killed in the Batla House encounter, were conspicuous by their absence.
Terror has no religion and a terrorist has no heart. He is out on a mission to kill and cause maximum damage to gain maximum attention. A murderer is only a murderer, no matter if he is born to Muslim or Hindu parents.
India's biggest challenge now is to ensure that its secular credentials are not tarnished in the war against terror. The government along with intelligence agencies and all the political parties must not let the communal bias enter in the war against terror. Because, after dastardly attacks of Mumbai the whole world will be watching our response to the biggest menace which we are facing right now.
As far as media is concerned it has turned this event into an emotional soap opera more concerned with TRPs than honest reportage. The CEOs of every mainstream 24/7 channels forgot that terrorism thrives on media coverage and indeed without media terrorism loses its reason for existence. The right to be informed is not the same thing as the right to be a spectator. The thoughtless broadcasting of every single detail was probably been more helpful to the terrorists than anyone else. The coverage of not a single news channel was balanced and up to the mark. Two of the most irresponsible comments were made by Simi Grewal and Times now's Arnab Goswami. The former said on NDTV's "We The People", that "the Pakistani flags are being hoisted at every dwelling in Mumbai slums". Ms. Garewal should have known the seriousness of the situation before making such an offensive statement. Are Shobha Des, Simi Grewals and Ness Wadias supposed to represent us, the citizens. While Arnab in the midst of a live coverage criticized Arundhati Roy and Prashant Bhushan by saying that they were "disgusting". In fact such a controversial statement from one of the most famous faces of the Indian media is totally unwarranted. On some news channels we were supposed to answer in "yes" on "no" to the questions having pre- determined answers. Not even a single channel proposed a political solution.
The intelligence agencies should understand their responsibilities towards the nation and it's high time for them to prove their worthiness. The only thing, which can stop the dance of death in the form regular terror strikes, is modern and effective intelligence apparatus. If it is not done then we have only one option, to act like Americans in righteous indignation, make this terror attack to launch a war that will never reach conclusion, as a result killing thousands and thousands of innocents. Given the history of Indo-Pak relations there cannot be such a thing as limited war or surgical strike.
There were so many obituaries written about the Taj and Oberoi Trident by none other than the so called elite class as if these structures were the landmarks or the icons of the public. Taj is a property of India's richest businessman and he will take not much time to rebuild it. Very few of the social parasites cared about the victims killed by the terrorists at the CST and Perhaps the reason was obvious as they were not party hoppers like the Simi Garewals or Shobha Des.
These social parasites those advocate the carpet-bombing of Pakistan out of their jingoism do not care about the deadly repercussions of war between two nuclear-armed neighbors. Neither they care about the poor who die each and every day due to the injustices of the society towards them; while these so called elites are sipping whisky in the bars and restaurants of the five star hotels of our big cities. When they threaten not to pay their taxes out of arrogance unless their security is guaranteed, it has nothing to do with their love for the country. What about the security of the poor? Is it all right for the downtrodden to remain unprotected? These people think that civic amenities and security are the domains of the rich only.
Whenever there is a terror attack, some people or parties start shouting in favour of more tough laws like POTA, but the fact is that the anti- terror laws are not meant for terrorists. They are for the people that governments don't like. The arrests made after the 2002 Gujarat riots are the great testimony to this fact. In fact our country do not need more tough laws to curb the menace of terrorism, but we need honest men at the helm to implement the already existing laws.
In nearly all the previous terrorist attacks before 26/11, most of the victims killed were the poor but now this is the first time the rich and powerful, or the elite class have been made vulnerable. The powerful or the elite class always used to think that they can access security, but in the Mumbai attacks the fire brigade took hours to come. This terror attack affected the well to dos directly.
Being an Indian Muslim is a great feeling, and I am proud to be a Muslim in India because here I can get in touch with the people from almost all religions across the world. But the way media and the so-called elite class of the society acted made me feel a little angry, but one gets angry with his dear ones only. The media moguls in India must try to think beyond the TRPs because nowadays they are becoming very much jingoistic just to get their channels at the number one position as far as viewership is concerned. It hurts most when nearly after each and every communal riots and terror attacks the people from a particular community are supposed or expected to show their level of patriotism by wearing black arm bands or organizing anti- terror rallies. 99.99 percent of them are as Indians as the follower of any other communities.
Now as the New Year knocks at our doors, let's hope and pray that this year will bring some happy moments for our beloved country without any communal riots, regional chauvinism and terror attacks.
Long live India, with no terrorism, communalism and regionalism.
Syed Hassan Kazim

Maximum city, minimum tolerance

2008-10-30T19:42:00.007+05:30

First Rahul Raj and then Dharmdev Rai, the former a Bihari youth and the later a UPwala from Gorakhpur-- both of them have become the victims of the hate campaign or (better to call it regional chauvinism) patronized by Raj Thackeray.

It seems that just to sideline or to erode the influence of Bal Thackeray the Congress and NCP combine Government is playing with fire. At this point of time the very idea of unity in diversity seems to be hollow and non-existent. We have reached at a stage where perhaps an Indian can only be identified by every other identity of religion or region but not as being an Indian.

A few days back Kundan Pratap, a resident of Patna’s Kadamkuan locality could not even think that he would be lighting the funeral pyre of his son Rahul Raj on Diwali when Rahul was supposed to light the crackers.

Cutting across the party lines all the three stalwarts of Bihar politics, Union Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, joined hands in criticizing the killing of gun wielding Rahul Raj by the Mumbai Police. A journalist friend of mine says, “ Anybody killed by the police action or mob violence in this country is first a Bihari, a Marathi, a Kashmiri, a Keralite or a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian than being a son , a brother or a husband. And no one cares about his identity as an Indian.”

The situation gets worse when a person sitting on a responsible chair makes and irresponsible statement. When Mahashtra deputy CM RR Patil makes his “bullet for bullet” statement it reminds me about two of the most irresponsible statements in the history of post independent India.

First the “ When a big tree falls…..” statement of Rajiv Gandhi after the assasination of Indira Gandhi and the second “Newton’s Law” statement of Narendra Modi post Godhra communal riots. Whenever such type of communal or regional tensions arise, nearly all the political parties and politicians miss no chance in taking political mileage.

After the MNS attacks on Bihari youths in Mumbai, life was brought to a standstill in Bihar by the agitators due to which Indian Railways had to cancel a slew of trains crossing the state. One can understand the intensity of the situation from the statement of BJP MP from Bihar Shahnawaz Hussain that “ The treatment of North Indians in Maharashtra is something not done even in Pakistan.” May be he made this statement to have an effect on the Muslims in his constituency but there is no denying the fact that it will be shame for Mumbai and for India as a whole if its citizens are restricted from migrating within states in the country.

Let us assume for a moment that there is not any kind of migration of people between the states. Won’t it have an effect on the growth and development of the states and the nation as a whole? The act of MNS has entered the “psyche” of “locals” everywhere. If we assume for a while that the Bihari workers or the labour class from UP do not come to the Metros like Delhi and Mumbai, then who will work in the construction sites of highrises in Mumbai.

Just to get his presence felt in the “Bal” dominated politics of Maharashtra, Raj has gone a long way, resulting inter state rivalry, which is as dangerous as any type of terrorism for the country. In fact the means which Raj Thackerey has opted for his drive against North Indians is totally unethical. If the people of one region settle or migrate to the other it helps to break the stereotypical image of either the states or regions, and also helps to imbibe some of their culture, heritage and practices. Even Shivaji’s ancestors came from Rajasthan. Yet today they are regarded as a symbol of Maratha pride.

Why is it that the police force on the behest of the political class lets no stone unturned to crack the terror modules, while at the same time they let go the goondas and goons of MNS to create mayhem in the city which seems to be losing it’s tag of being the ideal metropolitan for a country as diverse as India.

Following is the lilnk to this article in Hindustan Times:-http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=40540b20-28d9-4f48-aa4d-494775448990_Special&MatchID1=4815&TeamID1=6&TeamID2=1&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1212&PrimaryID=4815&Headline=Maximum+city+minimum+tolerance

Community bias no solution

2008-09-26T19:02:00.004+05:30

The Indian Express , India’s one of the best and responsible newspaper carried a picture on the front page of its city supplement ‘Newsline’ on September 25 of a boy being questioned by the Delhi police in the IndiaGate lawns. In the aftermath of 9/13 in Delhi interrogation of someone suspicious is not unusual. But the boy in the picture with a skull cap surrounded by the policemen evidently appears to be from the Muslim community.

This picture at its first appearance reveals the bias of the media and law enforcing agencies towards a particular community. Everyday so many people are being questioned on the streets of Delhi by the police but hardly anybody makes it into the pages of the National dailies. On the other hand many people would be visiting on the IndiaGate lawns but the questioning of a Muslim boy is again awful.

Being an witness to the operation Batla House on 19th September and a resident of Jamia Nagar the representation of facts by media and the conduct of the security agencies makes me to recount the incident. In the morning of 19th September at around 11 am I got a call from a colleague that there was an encounter going between and the suspected terrorists in the nearby L-18 flat of Batla House. I took my camera and rushed to the spot. And at that time the whole Batla House was cordoned off and while I was penning down this piece of article the building was still under high security cordon.

After the encounter there is a sense of fear and alienation among most of the residents of Jamia Nagar, which has become a “Police Chhawni” in common parlance, an area like Srinagar. The anger of the people rises whenever they talk to someone from the media.

“Why is it that the acts of terrorism and violence are regarded as an act of Islamic terrorism? Islam is a religion of peace, please do not defame it.”, asked Abdul Ghafoor , a software engineer working with a reputed multinational firm in Gurgaon. Sarfaraz Ahmad , a student of Jamia Millia Islamia says, “Since childhood we have been taught that violence begets violence and no one can justify any type of violence done by followers of any faith or religion, but when we see that there is no action after the Sri Krishna Commission report set up to probe the Mumbai riots , it pains a lot. Many police officers whom Sri Krishna commission found guilty were promoted.”

“When you can catch or execute a terrorist who happens to be Muslim then why is this government so much reluctant in acting against the accused of either the Gujarat or the Mumbai riots”, adds Sarfaraz.

No act of violence and terrorism can be justified but the carnage in Gujarat after the Godhra massacre in 2002, are perceived as having the implicit support of state administration, which saw more than a thousand people killed , mostly Muslims. It has clearly radicalized some of the elements of the minority community. Whether we accept it or not it is the main reason behind the home grown terror which has driven a minuscule section from the Muslim community towards the extreme forms of anti-social and destructive behavior. Obviously this cannot be justified at any cost.

Lalu Prasad Yadav says, “Modi is a communal virus centre and had he been punished on time for his crime no youth would have turned terrorist today”(Hindustan Times,dated 26th September).

In fact a terrorist is a terrorist either he is a Muslim or Hindu.

The authorities in power dealing with the acts of terrorism against the nation must understand that this battle cannot be won by identifying terrorism with any one single religions (or any other socially catagorised community). We lost our great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi to the bullets of terrorists none of whom were associated with any Muslim group or outfit.

The communalism or terrorism either they are of minority or majority community only tend to feed off each other. According to the NGOs Anhad and Human Right’s Law Network , a large number of innocent young Muslims have been and are victimized by the police on the charge of being involved in various terrorist activities, particularly in Gujarat , Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. And this victimization and demonisation of a particular community is having a very serious psychological impact on the minds of not only the families of the victims but also other members of the community, which is leading to a sense of insecurity and alienation.

There is no evidence to suggest that these terror groups who happen to be Muslims are truly representative of the mindset of the Indian Muslims or they have any real support within the Muslim community as a whole. Just as the Sikh militants of 1980s did not represent their community, these bombers do not represent Indian Muslims.

Asghar Ali Engineer, one of the most secular writers and a renowned Islamic scholar in India says, “Every I go I see how upset the Muslim intelligentsia is with the way the community is being treated by the communalized polity and media.When a state discriminates against a section of it’s citizens , it prepares a fertile ground for retaliation.”

In 2006, two Bajrang dal members died in nanded while making crude bombs but nothing came out of that and a similar incident happened in Kanpur last month. Why is it that the government misses no chance to ban dreaded terrorist organizations like SIMI and Indian Mujahedeen , but at the same time it seems to be reluctant in banning Bajrang Dal, the cadres of which are on a rampaging spree , by burning Churches and rioting in various states.

In a nutshell, terrorists simply are anti-national criminals. They need to be dealt without any sense of prejudice. Failing to do so can be counterproductive and unfortunately the bias towards the minority community may promote many hardliners to take extreme steps.

Following is the lilnk to this article in Hindustan Times:-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=ed5a3c47-c881-485d-993c-77018fa6ecca_Special&&Headline=Community+bias+no+solution+

What’s next for India after Musharraf’s exit......

2008-09-10T23:49:00.002+05:30

Post 9/11 the definition of terrorism drastically changed for the entire world. The rubble of Twin Towers in New York City forced the World’s sole Super Power to take a stringent action against terrorism. The first country to come in the line of fire of Mr Bush’s global war against terrorism was Afghanistan, a nation always regarded as Pakistan’s strategic backyard.
In order to tame the Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan, Mr Bush heavily banked on Pakistan and hence General Pervez Musharraf becoming a close aide in the war against terrorism. This also forced Musharraf to take action against the homegrown terror outfits in his own nation. It was a definitely a pay back time for both USA and Pakistan. The so called Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and greatest ever enemy of Mr Bush, Osama Bin Laden, are none other than those nurtured by both USA and Pakistan to diminish the growing power of USSR in Afghanistan.
Now General Musharraf has stepped down. Mr Bush has somehow drawn a satisfaction by executing one enemy Saddam Hussain and significantly destroying the bastion of the other. As USA is readying for yet another regime change and power play in Pakistan has already changed hands one question becomes evident for all the nations reeling under the threat of terrorism. Perhaps now it’s a time for India to closely observe the strategic development in the region with increasing doubt about the rise of extremist forces with Musharraf’s departure.
It’s an established fact that under the former President, Pakistan had given many political concessions to India. In the last two years, the Kashmir issue was virtually on the backburner as Pakistan became involved in even more contentious issues that cropped up after 9/11. Since the ceasefire agreement of 2003 the LoC has mostly remained peaceful. Musharraf by and large kept his promise to stop infiltration across the LoC, after banning several militant outfits and closing their camps. The main reason behind this fall in infiltration seems to be shift in the attention of the “Jehadis” to the attacks against America and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The main focus of the Al Qaeda forces was on Afghanistan and Iraq.
After it’s proximity with the US and Israel India is being increasingly viewed as a close strategic ally of both the countries. The peace process during Musharraf’s tenure has increased transport and people to people contacts between the two sides of LoC. During Musharraf ‘s tenure talks between the two sides were held regularly and some progress was also made in terms of confidence building measures(CBMs). Musharraf had talked about Pakistan’s willingness to look beyond the UN resolutions on Kashmir in the quest for a solution.
President Musharraf who had a full backing of the army was able or had the power to deliver on his promises towards the peace process, but now with the restoration of democracy in Pakistan , the new civilian government coexists uneasily with a still powerful military establishment led by General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, who has shown an inclination to remain in barracks , and till now haven’t shown his desire for getting involved in the politics. It seems that he wants to have an image make over of the Pakistani army which suffered setbacks owing to it’s identification with successive military dictators.
The impact of President Musharraf’s exit on Indo-pak relations can be judged by the statement of the National Security Advisor (NSA), MK Narayanan that, “the development could lead to a power vacuum, resulting in deterioration of the security situation in the region, giving ‘radical extremist outfits’ a free hand to do what they like.”
Musharraf’s alliance with the US is seen as extreme unpopular with the Pakistani public but his move to improve relations with India had found general acceptance among the masses. But after his exit Kashmir is once again becoming hot topic in the internal politics of Pakistan, after some ministers of the civilian government accusing Musharraf of betraying the Kashmiri people for his own political gains. It must be noted that in resignation speech Musharraf did not mention Kashmir on the relations with India.
Now when Musharraf is not at the helm of affairs in Islamabad the violence in Kashmir after the Amarnath land row seems to cast a shadow over the peace process, by Pakistan saying that it plans to approach the UN and the Organisation of Islamic countries(OIC) on the Kashmir issue.
PM Manmohan Singh in his address to Nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort said that “If this issue of terrorism is not addressed all good intentions that we have for our people will be negated. We will not be able to pursue the peace initiative.” After the blast in Indian embassy in Kabul Manmohan Singh had himself conveyed his concern and disappointment to the Government of Pakistan.
After the exit of Musharraf from the President’s office the rift between Mian Nawaz Sharif’s PML(N) and PPP started widening on the issue of restoration of the judges sacked by the former President, resulting in Nawaz Shareef quitting the ruling alliance.
And now that Mr 10 per cent of Pakistan aka Asif Ali Zardari has become Mr.100 per cent it would be worth watching that how does he manage to move forward with the legacy of the former President in having a cordial relations with India.
The increasing political differences in Pakistan, rising of terrorist activities and unrest in Jammu and Kashmir would definitely force India to have a close watch of its neighbour in coming days.

Link to the above article on Hindustan Times......:-

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=b0d24b72-e5bc-421e-ab58-3996d587f842Writersclub_Special&&Headline=What%e2%80%99s+next+for+India+after+Musharraf%e2%80%99s+exit

Diversity in Feelings, Culture and Society

2008-08-16T20:10:00.006+05:30

Yesterday, after the PM Manmohan Singh's speech from the ramparts of the Historic Red Fort, I decided to go their to have a glimpse of the Historic 17th century fort and came back from there having a sense of proud in being an Indian. But there was also a feeling of sadness after seeing the children from our poorest of the poor section of the society outside the Glorious Fort.

Should we become so happy with our independence that we forget to think about the million Indians in whose life 15 th August is just another day on which they are as usual busy in their works, because if they stop their work then their family will have to starve.. We are a nation that is always swayed by milestones and landmarks. So, in the run-up to India's 61st Independence Day, there has been an all-encompassing euphoria and media hype surrounding this landmark. But is this brouhaha about Independent India's sixty first anniversary worth it?
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in the Capital to mark India's 61 years of independence and highlighted the his government' s key achievements and initiative towards the development of the nation and two of the most inportant dangers facing our counry i.e. communalism and terrorism. But what about Md.Arshad, a 13 year old boy, a vendor from Bihar's most backward district of Sitamarhi who sells drinking water outside the Red Fort. When asked what was the significance of 15th August in his llfe, he replie"d Nothing much, I want to enjoy like other children but cannot stop selling for a single day because I cannot manage money for my food and study." There were so many other poor boys outside the glorious century Red Fort selling so many things who don't even know what's this 15 th August is all about except that our country got freedom from the British Raj. Ravi aged 12 years from Bagpat had nothing to do till yesterday due to poverty started to sell kites for 15th august but was driven away by the police and he doesn't know what will he do tomorrow. Just after the Prime Minister's speech people thronged to the gate of Red Fort to get a glimpse of the magnificent 17th century fort but were driven by the police. Prem Anand, a vendor selling pens and papers outside the Red Fort when asked about the importance of India's independence in his life said" Though poor but proud of being an Indian and I like my country a lot and I am very much happy today". Many tourists also thronged to the Red Fort taking pictures and were fascinated by the beauty of the Red Fort. David, a student from England said " I am in India since last 2 months visiting various places and had a burning desire to watch the Independence day celebrations." My respect for India and It's people has increased a lot because of their friendly nature and I would like to visit India once more , I am deeply influenced by the diverse culture of India", said Claudia Robert a tourist from Hungary. Since India got independence sixty one years ago , the Independence has brought a lot of change for the upper strata of the society but for the lower strata this independence is just a freedom from the British rule,because they are still ensalved by the socio-economic problems due to the anti-poor policies of the government which has a direct effect on their livelihood. The lower strata is still trapped under the vicious circle of poverty.

A Neighbor In Turmoil

2008-08-15T19:12:00.005+05:30

The ongoings in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the recent months, especially the July 7 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul has shattered many assumptions about the US war on terror. After the resurgence of Taliban and the perceived danger of Afghanistan turning into a failed state or a hotbed and breeding ground for international terrorists have led both Barrack Obama and John McCain to call for increased troops and resources to stabilise the country.
Although the developments may be disturbing, but Pakistani journalist Ahmad Rashid makes the case that they should not be surprising.
In his new book Decent into Chaos: The US and the failure of Nation-building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Rashid, who is also the writer of the best selling book Taliban demonstrates that the failures and contradictions of US policy in the region have been visible from the beginning of the war on terror.
At one point Rashid says that "The international community's lukewarm commitment to Afghanistan after 9/11 has been matched only by it's incompetence, incoherence and conflicting strategies - all led by the US. Rashid is not a foaming leftist but still less an enthusiast for the Islamist militancy. In fact Rashid's account stresses on the Afghanistan's recent history as a battlefield for proxy wars between other powers. To combat the Indian influence in Afghanistan, Pakistan's ISI has since long been supporting the Taliban and other militant groups. We can see the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul as a direct fallout of Pakistan's policy of harbouring anti-India elements on it's soil.
At one point Rashid says that a "group of ignorant, extremely powerful and dangerous men in Washington led by Donald Rumsfeld, the worst of them all sought to exploit America's shock after 9/11 to pursue their own global agenda, on which ousting Saddam, once the best friend of successive US administrations was the top of their agenda.
The neo-conservatives in White House were serious about only one thing viz. in Mr Bush's terminology "smoking out the terrorists from their hideouts and getting Saddam Hussain ousted.
Rashid also criticises Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, whom he describes as one of the nastiest dictators of Central Asia, who is also a major ally of America in it's war against terror. It's a great irony on the part of the American policy that the US accuses the countries with which it has not a good relationship of supporting the terrorists, or being undemocratic or violators of Human Rights.
While at the same time its supports various countries being ruled by dictators, which shows it's double standard vis a vis the developing or the underdeveloped countries and also shows that, in American foreign policy there is no any permanent friend or enemy, but only permanent interests.
The Pakistan's ISI still plays a deadly game by providing enough assistance to America and it's allies in their war against terror while at the same time supporting Taliban to cause unrest in the Southern areas of Afghanistan. Rashid says that the main responsibility on the part of the US in Afghanistan and Iraq is to undo the damage done to these states by the always confrontational policy of Bush administration due to which in Afghanistan the drug agency has become more powerful and the Taliban have become widely resurgent. Rashid, who is also a good friend of Afghan president Hamid Karzai tries to portray Karzai as a noble man caught in the unfavorable circumstances which are getting from bad to worse.
The central factor behind the mess which is Iraq and Afghanistan now-a-days is the malevolent foreign policy of the Republicans vis-à-vis the Islamic world, especially Afghanistan, Iraq and now Iran.
From the beginning, after 9/11, the US was already looking ahead on a mission to capture Iraq and dethrone Saddam Hussain, which resulted in its unwillingness to devote much resources to Afghanistan.
Through this book, Rashid has tried to find out the main reasons behind the chaos, on the brink of which is Afghanistan today, reading which one can also grasp the roots and magnitude of the problems in the region.

Following is the link of the above book review in Hindustan Times

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=6a7ff001-b481-4666-8a6b-1573ea5d7594

Roodaad E "KAARWAAN...."

2008-07-15T00:55:00.006+05:30

The best poem which i like.........

Kuch to Gard e kaarwaan kucch kaarwaan bante rahe
Kucch Ghubaar aise bhi the jo aasmaan bante rahe....

Hum ne yeh aalam bhi dekha hai junoon e khudgari
Ke chaman ujda kiye aur aashiyan bante rahe...

Izteraab e ishq ne kucch muztarib lamhe diye
Aur woh lamhe hayaat e jaawedaan bante rahe...

Un se poocho, un se poocho us ki badgaami ka haal
Naaqa e ayyam ke jo saarbaan bante rahe...

Ek woh jo be tapish karte rahe Izhaar e nau
Ek hum jo soz rakh kar be zubaan bante rahe..

Taare sooraj ban gaye lamhaat sadiyan ban gayin
Aur khela mein aasman pe aasman bante rahe...

Kaarwaan e waqt aage ki taraf badhta gaya
Aur hum insaan gard e kaarwaan bante rahe...

Hum ne is duniya mein aakar kya banaya kya bane
Haan magar kucch aalam e wehm o gumaan bante rahe...

"Mazhari" jalta raha yun hi mere dil ka ulao
Koi paas aaya nahin shole dhuaan bante rahe...

Reluctance In Fundamentalism

2008-07-14T00:11:00.005+05:30

On a spree of reading the books related to the scenarios faced by the world after the 9/11 attacks on WTC, recently I read a book “The reluctant Fundamantalist “ by a famous London based Pakistani Writer Mohsin Hameed.
It's a story of a graduate from the Princeton University narrated against the backdrop of the American invasion of Afghanistan.Defining the true and pragmatic meaning of fundamentalism, Hamid explains the inner psyche of a man whose country is gripped by the biggest turmoil of the time.And at the same time he tries to project the approach of the international community to the mayhem created by the America invasion of Afghanistan and later Iraq.
Changez, the young hero of Hamid’s second novel feels a crisis over his own identity.Born in Pakistan , educated in Princeton and currently a new employee specializing in ruthless appraisals of ailing companies being targeted for takeover, Changez recognizes himself in the description “ I was a modern day janissary, a servant of the American Empire at a time when it was invading a country with a kinship to mine”.( In fact during the period of the Ottoman empire “the janissaries were the captured Christian boys trained to fight against their own people.”)
A process of inward transformation begins when Changez realizes that he was half gladdened by the WTC attacks. But as the New York comes together in the aftermath of 9/11 Changez is forced to face the doubts that are in his mind over the happenings in his home country and the increasing possibility of a war with India, as well as the inaction of the US with respect to Pakistan, which finally forces him to give up his bright career , to give up his pursuit of the beautiful and troubled Wasp princess Erica and go back to Lahore.
Back in Lahore , Changez becomes a bearded and generally reacculturated, where he meets an American in a restaurant in the old anarkali district and buttonholes him with his life story. In fact the novel is Changez’s monologue : a quietly told, cleverly constructed fable of infatuation and disenchantment with America, set on the treacherous fault lines of current east-west relations or we may call the Huntington’s clash of civilization. He seems to be pushed by the circumstances to make his ethnicity evident. An increasingly tense atmosphere arises between Changez and his American listener. But the conversation between the two transpires that the real fundamentalism at issue here is that of the US capitalism, specifically that practiced by Changez’s former employer in NY, “Underwood Samson” whose motto for globalization , is “Focus on the fundamentals”.
Changez summarises the experience of every happy Manhattan transplant when he says at one point:” I was in four and a half years , never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker.”
This axiomatic tendency gives the story a slightly abstracted quality. Now comes the relationship between Changez and Erica, a privileged patrician girl having a fair share of tragedies in her life. Her childhood sweetheart named Chris died in his teens. Her growing intimacy with Changez, interestingly free of the racial tensions is nevertheless thwarted by her inability to forget Chris or allow Changez to take his place. In the post-9/11 turbulence ,she starts to get disappeared into a powerful nostalgia, resulting in a breakdown ,hospitalization and probable suicide.
In the last Changez drops his sinuously self-depreciating manner towards the end , in favour of something more finger-waggingly polemical: “I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; your country's constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable. Vietnam, Korea, the straits of Taiwan.”
To sum up, this outstanding novel is a story about the two strangers on a footpath tea stall of New York, aPrinceton graduate working for a firm which can make him a millionaire overnight, a frustrated American girl who lost her boyfriend in her teens, America’s invasion of Afghanistan and a Pakistan’s own way of protesting. This is what Mohsin Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is all about.

The Servant and the Master's son

2008-07-07T09:10:00.007+05:30

Recently i concluded a famous novel "The Kite Runner" by an Afghan writer named Khalid Hosseini. It is one of the best novels i have read ever in my life. Hosseini, an Afghan physician settled in America tells us a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love. Both transforming the life of Aamir, the stories' young narrator. A personal plot arising from the close friendship between Aamir and Hassan,the son of Aamir's father's servant Ali is a thread tying the book together.The fragility of this relationship, symbolized by the kites the boys fly together, is tested as they watch their old way of life disappear. Hassan bears Amir no resentment and is, in fact, a loyal companion to the lonely boy. whose mother is dead and father a rich businessman is always busy or preoccupied.Hassan always protects Aamir from sadistic neighbourhood bullies and in turn Aamir fascinates Hassan by reading him heroic afghan folk tales.Then, during a kite-flying tournament that should be the triumph of Amir's young life, Hassan is brutalized by some upper-class teenagers. Amir's failure to defend his friend will haunt him for the rest of his life. Hosseini's depiction of pre revolutionary Afghanistan shows the tense relationships between countries different ethnic groups especially between the pashruns and Hazaras who are mostly the Shias.Aamir's father or baba is generous enough to respect his son's artistic yearnings and to treat the lowly Hassan with great kindness, even arranging for an operation to mend the child's harelip. As the civil war starts to ravage the country Amir and his father must flee for their lives.In California, Baba works at a gas station to put his son through school; on weekends he sells secondhand goods at swap meets. Despite poverty the exiled afghans manage to keep alive their ancient standards of honor and pride.As Amir grows to manhood, settling comfortably into America and a happy marriage, his past shame continues to haunt him.He keeps worrying about Hassan, wondering what has happened to him back in Afghanistan. Hosseini describes the suffering of his country under the tyranny of the Taliban, whom Amir encounters when he finally returns home, hoping to help Hassan and his family.The final third of the book is full of haunting images: a man, desperate to feed his children, trying to sell his artificial leg in the market; an adulterous couple stoned to death in a stadium during the halftime of a football match; a rouged young boy forced into prostitution, dancing the sort of steps once performed by an organ grinder's monkey. When Amir meets his old nemesis, now a powerful Taliban official, the book descends into some plot twists better suited to a folk tale than a modern novel. But in the end we're won over by Amir's compassion and his determination to atone for his youthful cowardice. Through "Kite Runner"Hosseini gives us an engaging story which reminds one how long the people of Afghanistan have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence forces that continue to threaten them even today.

Demise of a "Kingdom", rise of a "Democracy".

2008-07-03T23:01:00.005+05:30

A rarity in Nepali politics, the political landscape has changed irrevocably with the Nepal’s Maoists crowned their transition from underground insurgency to open politics with a convincing victory in 10 April 2008 constituent assembly (CA) elections.The CA nearly unanimously ended the monarchy at its first sitting and gave birth to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.Building a lasting peace and delivering the change voters called for requires all parties to accept the new situation and work under the Maoist led Government, to deal with the issues like security and reestablishment of law and order.
But the main irony with the present day Nepal is that the old parties have not woken up to the new realities. They are still not able to understand that the popular mandate was not for a one-party minority administration but for cooperation on a path for peace and change.The Maoist leadership has also not made full use of the opportunity to lever its position of strength internally and decisively reject the politics of violence and coercion, they are still facing internal debates and external pressures.But to win trust of the common Nepalis they need to start with a demonstrated commitment to the rule of law and an end to the parellel policing functions of the Young Communist League.
On the security front the continuing existence of two standing armies is very much destabilising.There are widespread and sensible concerns over a Maoist government commanding both the Nepal Army (NA) and its own forces. Apart from the security the law and order also demands great concern.
The last but not the least , the final irony of the republican transition is that the ex-King Gyanendra’s dignified exit suggested that he understood the popular mood better than the old parties,which indicates that the party leaders have little respect for the supposed sovereignty of the CA , which bodes ill for the legitimacy of the constitution-writing process.
Lets hope that each and every person of the beautiful Himalayan Kingdom is able to enjoy a life full of freedom in the upcoming future.

A false war against terror.

2008-07-02T21:55:00.004+05:30

Sometimes a battle won is a war lost.The same is the case with America's war against terror. In the name of curtailing the activities of terror outfits the sole superpower is on a mission to harras and humiliate the innocents on a false ground of being terrorists. The main testimony to this fact is the Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Since the World Wars it has been a policy of America to support and nourish the tyrrants and dictators across the world to get it's work done. America's foreign policy flourishes on the conflicts across the region . In America's foreign policy there are no any permanent enemies or friends, but the only thing which is permanent are it's" interests". Sometimes it's interests can be fulfilled with aliegning with India and sometimes with Pakistan.
Take the example of Al-Qaeda and it's chief Osama Bin laden.I think that Osama is a guy who has nothing to do with Islam. He is a person who is out on a mission to malign a peaceful religion like Islam.Hs is the same guy who got a royal treatment in the CIA camp in Afghanistan when US was fighting it's war against the USSR in Afghanistan.All the weapons which these so called islamic terror outfits use against America and other nations were provided by the succesive US administrations during the cold war era.In fact Taliban is a brainchild of US alongwith pakistan. I regard Saddam Hussein as the greatest CIA agent of the 20th century . He made the American presence easier in the gulf region. It's just because of Saddam Hussain that America has such a strong presence in the oil- rich region. He was tyrant who always used atrocities against his own countrymen. America has no love of democracy also. It only wants it's work to be done either by a democratically elected leader by a tyrant. The same Bush administration which shouts against the democratically elected Govts of Iran and Palestine keeps mum on the issue of abolition of monarchy in Saudia Arabia which is America's one of the main allies in it's so called war against international terrorism.Even Saundi Arabia has also one of the most fundamental and conservative society.The so called war between America and Islam is a war for oil and nothing else. Back in the decade of 80s the same America and it's european and Arab clients supported all the tyrannies and atrocities done by Saddam Hussain against the Islamic Republic of Iran headed by the Late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.Nearly a million people died in that eight year long war and so many got homeless .Even Saddam Hussein used the deadly chemical weapon against innocent civilians and animals of South Iraq and Iran. But no one among the flag bearers of human rights and democracy across the world even dared to ask America and it's allies about their unending support for the most deadly dictator of the 20th century. After the fall of Saddam thousands of innocents Iraqis have got either killed or got homeless. The tensions between Shias and Sunnis have risen to it's highest peak. Iraq which was the most developed nation of the Middle east has gone many years back and no one knows how much time it will take to regain it's lost pride.If the present scenario prevails then the situation will only get from bad to worse.
The rulers of Saudia Arabia a.k.a the cuastodians of the holy places don't even follow the basic tenets of Islam, which is areligion based on peace and co-existence. As long as America keeps its unending support to the Israeli atrocities against the hapless Palestinians going , I do not think that this global menace of terrorism is going to end. The world powers should try sincerely to resolve Palestinian issue, and refrain from showing double standards when it comes to the livelihood of the Palestinians.