News Coutesy:rediff
A First Year BCom student at the city's Baldwin College, was shot dead by army personnel in Bengalaru after he allegedly entered a military campus and refused to surrender.
The incident occured early on Sunday morning.
Police sources told rediff.com that the student, along with another boy, was racing his motorcycle on MG Road on Sunday morning, about 1 am.
The police tried to stop the boys, without success.
After a chase, the student, apparently in a bid to evade the police, entered the army campus in the MG Road-Ulsoor area.
Army personnel, who spotted the boy, asked him to identify himself and surrender. When he refused to do so, they opened fire. The boy, later identified as Mohammed Mukram, was rushed to hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
PTI adds: The student had allegedly engaged in 'wheeling' (riding a motorcycle on its rear wheel) at high speed in the wee hours and was confronted by the police.
As he left his bike and started fleeing, the police gave him chase, police sources said, adding that he then jumped into the compound of FlagStaff House, where a brigadier was staying, on the Airport Road in a bid to hide at around 1 am.
A defence ministry statement said after a thorough search, the sentries on guard sensed the presence of somebody on top of the brigadier's house.
'Before the guards could apprehend the intruder, he jumped down and fled towards the compound wall facing the main road,' the statement said.
'When the intruder did not heed the armed guards' warning to surrender, the intruder was fired upon. The police are investigating the case,' it added.
This is a very very tragic incident.A young life is lost in the most unfortunate circumstances.These are very difficult times for our country.After all the terrorist attacks in many of the Indian cities and particularly after the Mumbai terror attack,where there was a total failure of intelligence,the security forces are rightly not taking any chances.The army cannot be faulted for shooting down an intruder.The tragedy is,in this case the intruder was not a terrorist but a student.
It's high time all citizens,particularly youngsters be more alert and more careful.We should avoid suspicious movements and whenever a situation arises when a security guard stops us or asks for identification,we should immediately comply.Security guards are also human and they also will be afraid if any one approaches them and fails to identify,especially during late hours.
It's important to have some sort of awareness campaign to prevent these sort of tragic incidents from occuring.Other wise more innocent people could be victim of such unfortunate circumstances.
Heart goes out to the family of the student who got killed.It's an irrepairable loss and hope the family will find strength to hold on and may his soul rest in peace.Nothing more to say.Really sad..
Sunday, December 28, 2008
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,217 as of Friday
As of Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, at least 4,217 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,398 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is three higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST.
The British military has reported 178 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand and Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Korea, one death each.
America went into to Iraq seeking weapons of mass destruction.They could not find any.But they have achieved one thing.Mass destruction.There seems to be no end in sight to the sufferings of innocent Iraqi civilians.The unwanted Iraq war has given new recruitment grounds and causes to international terrorists.
The irony is that the real war on terrorism,that's in Afganistan got distracted.Now taliban and al-queda are regaining lost ground in Afganistan with the active help of pakistan.
Iraqi people might have celebrated the fall of Saddam Hussein.But their sufferings have continued.Even yesterday(27.12.2008),in bomb blasts many civilians died.When these things are considered,it's understandable the frustration that might have lead to the throwing of shoes at American President George Bush by the Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi.
Also the high American military death rate is an indicator that the Americans were either very over confident or they underestimated the strength of the resistance to their war.Their plans were flawed,execution was flawed.
The death of so many Americans might have 'shocked and awed' America..
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,398 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is three higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST.
The British military has reported 178 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand and Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Korea, one death each.
America went into to Iraq seeking weapons of mass destruction.They could not find any.But they have achieved one thing.Mass destruction.There seems to be no end in sight to the sufferings of innocent Iraqi civilians.The unwanted Iraq war has given new recruitment grounds and causes to international terrorists.
The irony is that the real war on terrorism,that's in Afganistan got distracted.Now taliban and al-queda are regaining lost ground in Afganistan with the active help of pakistan.
Iraqi people might have celebrated the fall of Saddam Hussein.But their sufferings have continued.Even yesterday(27.12.2008),in bomb blasts many civilians died.When these things are considered,it's understandable the frustration that might have lead to the throwing of shoes at American President George Bush by the Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi.
Also the high American military death rate is an indicator that the Americans were either very over confident or they underestimated the strength of the resistance to their war.Their plans were flawed,execution was flawed.
The death of so many Americans might have 'shocked and awed' America..
Friday, December 26, 2008
Another pakistani balloon bursted
In a major embarrassment and setback for Pakistan, a pakistani group has claimed responsibility for the Lahore blast.pakistan had ealier claimed, with great enthusiasm and happiness, that they have arrested four Indians who were behind the blasts.
A pro-Taliban group, Ansar Wa Mohajir, has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bomb explosion in Lahore .
A man identifying himself as Toofan Wazir, the commander and spokesman of the group, phoned a daily from somewhere in North Waziristan to claim responsibility of the Lahore blast and earlier rocket attacks on Dera Ismail Khan city.
He threatened more attacks against the security forces and the government installations.
The group also claimed that the Lahore blast was carried out to avenge the two recent US missile strikes in North Waziristan in which several militants belonging to Punjab were killed.
As mentioned earlier,media reports had quoted Pakistani intelligence sources as claiming that four Indians were behind the attack.
The news report said 'huge embarrassment for pakistan'.In reality this is not an embarrassment for pakistan.This is a normal 'routine procedure' for pakistan.Lying and treachery is state policy of the pakistani establishment.Some may say pakistan's image before the international community has gone down because of this lie.Not really,why would any one think that pakistan was having an image before the international community.There is no question of loosing some thing,when they were not having it before itself.pakistan arrested few so-called Indians (who knows whom they are) and claimed them to be terrorists trained by India...!They even had the audacity to suggest that one of them worked earlier in the Indian commission in London...!More arrests will follow,they said.Now it turns out that a pakistani group itself has claimed responsibility.As the Indian government said today,and as I wrote in one of my earlier blogs,it's absolutely imperative for all Indian citizens in pakistan, who might have gone there to meet relatives or for pilgrimage or for some business,to return back to India as quickly as possible.pakistan will come up with new stories and any one of those Indians could get arrested for some blast or the other.
The pakistani establishment will indulge in the worst possible dirty tricks to divert attention from them and to avoid taking any responsible action in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack,even if the tricks are sooo obviously foooolishhhh and comic.Only doubt one will have is whether they are really foolish or are they 'acting foolishness'...!!
It's really a shame that a country's leadership,which obviously is a puppet of the military, can indulge in such obvious buffoonery.But then shame is not a word in their dictionary.
A pro-Taliban group, Ansar Wa Mohajir, has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bomb explosion in Lahore .
A man identifying himself as Toofan Wazir, the commander and spokesman of the group, phoned a daily from somewhere in North Waziristan to claim responsibility of the Lahore blast and earlier rocket attacks on Dera Ismail Khan city.
He threatened more attacks against the security forces and the government installations.
The group also claimed that the Lahore blast was carried out to avenge the two recent US missile strikes in North Waziristan in which several militants belonging to Punjab were killed.
As mentioned earlier,media reports had quoted Pakistani intelligence sources as claiming that four Indians were behind the attack.
The news report said 'huge embarrassment for pakistan'.In reality this is not an embarrassment for pakistan.This is a normal 'routine procedure' for pakistan.Lying and treachery is state policy of the pakistani establishment.Some may say pakistan's image before the international community has gone down because of this lie.Not really,why would any one think that pakistan was having an image before the international community.There is no question of loosing some thing,when they were not having it before itself.pakistan arrested few so-called Indians (who knows whom they are) and claimed them to be terrorists trained by India...!They even had the audacity to suggest that one of them worked earlier in the Indian commission in London...!More arrests will follow,they said.Now it turns out that a pakistani group itself has claimed responsibility.As the Indian government said today,and as I wrote in one of my earlier blogs,it's absolutely imperative for all Indian citizens in pakistan, who might have gone there to meet relatives or for pilgrimage or for some business,to return back to India as quickly as possible.pakistan will come up with new stories and any one of those Indians could get arrested for some blast or the other.
The pakistani establishment will indulge in the worst possible dirty tricks to divert attention from them and to avoid taking any responsible action in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack,even if the tricks are sooo obviously foooolishhhh and comic.Only doubt one will have is whether they are really foolish or are they 'acting foolishness'...!!
It's really a shame that a country's leadership,which obviously is a puppet of the military, can indulge in such obvious buffoonery.But then shame is not a word in their dictionary.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The lie capital of the World
A resolution, moved by pakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Ahmad in the National Assembly (NA) Wednesday "has urged the global community to press India to close terror hubs and stop anti-Pakistan propaganda", The News reported on its website.
The resolution also said that Pakistan wants peace and stability in the region and the end of tension with India.
"The resolution stated that Mumbai attacks reflected the failure of Indian intelligence; therefore, India should stop blaming Pakistan," The News said.
There is also a news that an Indian is arrested for the Lahore blasts.It's absolutely sure that this is tit-for-tat.It's imperative for all Indians who went to pakistan, for meeting their relatives,or for pilgrimage or for some business, to come back to India immediately,because pakistan is playing tricks.Any body among them can be picked and be accused of some blasts or the other.It's really a paradox that pakistan thinks they can come up with such dirty tricks like asking India to close terror camps and come out with some fictitious arrest story.What terror camps,and where is it?If they are talking about terror camps in Kashmir(in pak-occupied-Kashmir),well,that part of Kashmir is under pak occupation..!! The whole world and the even pakistani public knows that there are terror camps all over pakistan and even their media admitted that the terrorist, kasab,caught red-handed during Mumbai terror attack is a pakistani.
One of their lawyers earlier claimed kasab was arrested by Nepali authorities about 2 years back and was handed over to India.He was trying to say that India was lying by saying that kasab was caught red-handed during Mumbai attack.After the Nepalis punctured his lie balloon,nothing more was heard from him.The irony is that with such a claim,the pakistani lawyer unwittingly admits that kasab is a pakistan national.
It's admitted that there was total intelligence failure on the part of India that allowed such an attack in Mumbai.That does not mean that pakistan sends terrorists with special training to kill people in India.And it's being reported that the pakistan army itself is involved.
It's mentioned that pakistan wants end of tension with India..!!!!An amazing statement indeed..!!
Who is creating tension??
Also the resolution adopted by pakistan assembly says that they want peace and stability in the region..!!
Peace and stability..?
By sending hardcore terrorists trained in their terror camps to India and Afganistan and to other parts of the world?
Are these terrorists pak special envoys for world peace??
May be the words 'peace and stability' has a different meaning for pakistanis.
By statements and resolutions like these,it's becoming more and more clear that the terror attack in Mumbai and indeed in the whole of India has the active support of the whole pakistani establishment(that is if any body wants any further confirmation).
pakistani establishment might be feeling really good,because they continue to be in Paradise.
'Fool's Paradise.......'
And by the look of it,they plan to be there for a long long period...
The resolution also said that Pakistan wants peace and stability in the region and the end of tension with India.
"The resolution stated that Mumbai attacks reflected the failure of Indian intelligence; therefore, India should stop blaming Pakistan," The News said.
There is also a news that an Indian is arrested for the Lahore blasts.It's absolutely sure that this is tit-for-tat.It's imperative for all Indians who went to pakistan, for meeting their relatives,or for pilgrimage or for some business, to come back to India immediately,because pakistan is playing tricks.Any body among them can be picked and be accused of some blasts or the other.It's really a paradox that pakistan thinks they can come up with such dirty tricks like asking India to close terror camps and come out with some fictitious arrest story.What terror camps,and where is it?If they are talking about terror camps in Kashmir(in pak-occupied-Kashmir),well,that part of Kashmir is under pak occupation..!! The whole world and the even pakistani public knows that there are terror camps all over pakistan and even their media admitted that the terrorist, kasab,caught red-handed during Mumbai terror attack is a pakistani.
One of their lawyers earlier claimed kasab was arrested by Nepali authorities about 2 years back and was handed over to India.He was trying to say that India was lying by saying that kasab was caught red-handed during Mumbai attack.After the Nepalis punctured his lie balloon,nothing more was heard from him.The irony is that with such a claim,the pakistani lawyer unwittingly admits that kasab is a pakistan national.
It's admitted that there was total intelligence failure on the part of India that allowed such an attack in Mumbai.That does not mean that pakistan sends terrorists with special training to kill people in India.And it's being reported that the pakistan army itself is involved.
It's mentioned that pakistan wants end of tension with India..!!!!An amazing statement indeed..!!
Who is creating tension??
Also the resolution adopted by pakistan assembly says that they want peace and stability in the region..!!
Peace and stability..?
By sending hardcore terrorists trained in their terror camps to India and Afganistan and to other parts of the world?
Are these terrorists pak special envoys for world peace??
May be the words 'peace and stability' has a different meaning for pakistanis.
By statements and resolutions like these,it's becoming more and more clear that the terror attack in Mumbai and indeed in the whole of India has the active support of the whole pakistani establishment(that is if any body wants any further confirmation).
pakistani establishment might be feeling really good,because they continue to be in Paradise.
'Fool's Paradise.......'
And by the look of it,they plan to be there for a long long period...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Pietersen on Yuvraj
Two days after his pie-chucker comment about Yuvraj Singh, England captain Kevin Pietersen on Tuesday turned an admirer of the Indian left-hander, describing him as one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in world cricket.
Pietersen said he always felt a little chitchat is both good and natural when two strong characters battle it out playing for their countries.
All said and done, he said, Yuvraj is a phenomenal striker of the ball and he admired his six-hitting ability.
"It's been fun, little banter. At the end of the day, we are strong characters playing for our country. This kind of banter is enjoyable and fun. A bit of joke and fun doesn't do any harm. At the end of the day, you shake hands and I told what a fantastic innings he played," Pietersen said.
"The man is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in world cricket. The sixes this man can hit leave me dumbfounded. He is a special cricketer. Sometimes you have a bit of an argument, but that's all done and dusted. "And I gave you guys something to write about didn't I?" he quipped.
Pietersen had described Yuvraj as a pie-chucker, ridiculing his brand of part-time bowling. Yuvraj, on his part, cited the occasions he got the England captain out and said the England captain was useless for his repeated failures to get the better of his bowling.
Looking back at the series, Pietersen said he saw lot of positives even in the 1-0 defeat.
"Its not bad as some other defeats. We can take a lot of positives from the series. We came here with very little preparation for the series, coming into the series against such a great side," he said.
"India has played fantastic cricket at the moment, confident cricket and are on top of their game, especially at home. We gave ourselves good chance in Chennai, some good stuff on that Monday, but (Sachin) Tendulkar took it away from us."
"In this fixture we have fallen a bit short. We did a fantastic job by bowling so well yesterday afternoon. So not so many negatives but felt great to be back in India," he said.
Describing it as the toughest eight weeks in his captaincy career, Pietersen said, "Captaincy of any nation and in any sport is not an easy job. I had the knowledge that it is going to be very hard at times".
"Last two months have been pretty difficult but we look at positives and how tough it is. When good times come along, you enjoy a lot more. It has been the toughest 6-8 weeks of my career so far."
For Pietersen, the series against India has been a learning curve."I learnt a lot about individuals overseas. (Michael) Vaughan and Colly (Paul Collingwood) taught me that when you go away, you learn how individuals operate. It was a very, very interesting first two Tests away from home. I have learnt a lot over here.
"We played great cricket and India has played fantastic cricket. Unfortunately we came unstuck, we had a very good time out here. Everyone has been so hospitable and everything has gone according to plan," he said.
Courtesy :ndtv
Pietersen and Yuvraj are amazingly talented players.
Pietersen said he always felt a little chitchat is both good and natural when two strong characters battle it out playing for their countries.
All said and done, he said, Yuvraj is a phenomenal striker of the ball and he admired his six-hitting ability.
"It's been fun, little banter. At the end of the day, we are strong characters playing for our country. This kind of banter is enjoyable and fun. A bit of joke and fun doesn't do any harm. At the end of the day, you shake hands and I told what a fantastic innings he played," Pietersen said.
"The man is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in world cricket. The sixes this man can hit leave me dumbfounded. He is a special cricketer. Sometimes you have a bit of an argument, but that's all done and dusted. "And I gave you guys something to write about didn't I?" he quipped.
Pietersen had described Yuvraj as a pie-chucker, ridiculing his brand of part-time bowling. Yuvraj, on his part, cited the occasions he got the England captain out and said the England captain was useless for his repeated failures to get the better of his bowling.
Looking back at the series, Pietersen said he saw lot of positives even in the 1-0 defeat.
"Its not bad as some other defeats. We can take a lot of positives from the series. We came here with very little preparation for the series, coming into the series against such a great side," he said.
"India has played fantastic cricket at the moment, confident cricket and are on top of their game, especially at home. We gave ourselves good chance in Chennai, some good stuff on that Monday, but (Sachin) Tendulkar took it away from us."
"In this fixture we have fallen a bit short. We did a fantastic job by bowling so well yesterday afternoon. So not so many negatives but felt great to be back in India," he said.
Describing it as the toughest eight weeks in his captaincy career, Pietersen said, "Captaincy of any nation and in any sport is not an easy job. I had the knowledge that it is going to be very hard at times".
"Last two months have been pretty difficult but we look at positives and how tough it is. When good times come along, you enjoy a lot more. It has been the toughest 6-8 weeks of my career so far."
For Pietersen, the series against India has been a learning curve."I learnt a lot about individuals overseas. (Michael) Vaughan and Colly (Paul Collingwood) taught me that when you go away, you learn how individuals operate. It was a very, very interesting first two Tests away from home. I have learnt a lot over here.
"We played great cricket and India has played fantastic cricket. Unfortunately we came unstuck, we had a very good time out here. Everyone has been so hospitable and everything has gone according to plan," he said.
Courtesy :ndtv
Pietersen and Yuvraj are amazingly talented players.
Q&A :The first country to sell suicide bombers? No prize for guessing.
Sify reports that suicide bombers are available for a price in Pakistan to settle personal scores, a police investigation into the killing of a parliamentarian has revealed.
On Tuesday, the Crimes Investigation Department of the Lahore police said it had arrested five people involved in the August 6 suicide attack at the residence of Rashid Akbar Niwani, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member of the National Assembly, which resulted in the death of 26 people and injuries to several more.
Niwani was only playing the honest broker between two friends who had fallen out over a monetary dispute, the police said.
Quoting the police, Dawn reported on Wednesday that principal suspect Waqas Hussain and his accomplices Nazar Hussain, Arif Khan, Muhammad Amjad and Saeed Amjad Abbas hired a suicide bomber and explosives expert from Wana town in the restive South Waziristan to kill a man named Ejaz Hussain, with whom he had a monetary dispute.
Waqas Hussain and Ejaz Hussain were one-time fast friends. Waqas started a used-car business after borrowing Rs.2.1 million from Ejaz but could not establish himself and began to suffer losses. He handed over seven vehicles to Ejaz at different times to return the borrowed money, but Ejaz demanded another Rs.5.4 million, the police said.
A dispute developed and both had cases registered against each other. Ejaz finally took the dispute to Niwani and asked him to settle it. Niwani called both parties to his outhouse in the presence of local notables, listened to them and announced another sitting for August 6.
"Waqas and his father Nazar Hussain went to their relative Arif Khan in Dera Ismail Khan (in the adjacent North West Frontier Province) and informed him about the situation. They decided to kill Ejaz in a suicide attack and Arif asked them to arrange money for the purpose," Dawn said.
Waqas, Nazar and Arif then went to Tank, also in the North West Frontier Province, where they met Wana resident Jaan Muhammad Wazeer and agreed to pay him Rs.1.2 million for the killing.
A day before the August 6 suicide attack, Jaan handed over the suicide bomber and an explosives expert to Arif. The bomber and explosives expert were later handed over to Waqas.
On the day of incident, Waqas confirmed that Ejaz was present at Niwani's house and took the suicide bomber there. The bomber blew himself up near Ejaz, killing him, Niwani and 24 others.
Perhaps India should think of buying some suicide bombers and get them to bomb our most wanted men's houses...!!
An idea worth trying ;-D
In terror record history,no one,no country can come any where near to pakistan...!!
On Tuesday, the Crimes Investigation Department of the Lahore police said it had arrested five people involved in the August 6 suicide attack at the residence of Rashid Akbar Niwani, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member of the National Assembly, which resulted in the death of 26 people and injuries to several more.
Niwani was only playing the honest broker between two friends who had fallen out over a monetary dispute, the police said.
Quoting the police, Dawn reported on Wednesday that principal suspect Waqas Hussain and his accomplices Nazar Hussain, Arif Khan, Muhammad Amjad and Saeed Amjad Abbas hired a suicide bomber and explosives expert from Wana town in the restive South Waziristan to kill a man named Ejaz Hussain, with whom he had a monetary dispute.
Waqas Hussain and Ejaz Hussain were one-time fast friends. Waqas started a used-car business after borrowing Rs.2.1 million from Ejaz but could not establish himself and began to suffer losses. He handed over seven vehicles to Ejaz at different times to return the borrowed money, but Ejaz demanded another Rs.5.4 million, the police said.
A dispute developed and both had cases registered against each other. Ejaz finally took the dispute to Niwani and asked him to settle it. Niwani called both parties to his outhouse in the presence of local notables, listened to them and announced another sitting for August 6.
"Waqas and his father Nazar Hussain went to their relative Arif Khan in Dera Ismail Khan (in the adjacent North West Frontier Province) and informed him about the situation. They decided to kill Ejaz in a suicide attack and Arif asked them to arrange money for the purpose," Dawn said.
Waqas, Nazar and Arif then went to Tank, also in the North West Frontier Province, where they met Wana resident Jaan Muhammad Wazeer and agreed to pay him Rs.1.2 million for the killing.
A day before the August 6 suicide attack, Jaan handed over the suicide bomber and an explosives expert to Arif. The bomber and explosives expert were later handed over to Waqas.
On the day of incident, Waqas confirmed that Ejaz was present at Niwani's house and took the suicide bomber there. The bomber blew himself up near Ejaz, killing him, Niwani and 24 others.
Perhaps India should think of buying some suicide bombers and get them to bomb our most wanted men's houses...!!
An idea worth trying ;-D
In terror record history,no one,no country can come any where near to pakistan...!!
Pak likely to pull out from hockey, squash events in India
In a tit-for-tat response, pakistan Sports Ministry has virtually prompted the Government to pull out from upcoming sporting events in India, who decided against touring Pakistan for a cricket series citing a diplomatic stand-off following the recent Mumbai terror attacks .
Pakistan's Federal Secretary of Sports Ashraf Khan has described the situation as "so hot" and said it was not advisable for the players to tour India in the current circumstances.
Pakistan is scheduled to take part in a four-nation hockey series to be played in Chandigarh and Jalandhar next February after its squash team has a chance to defend Asian junior title in Chennai on January 16.
"Allowing our squash and hockey players to leave for India will be too risky at the moment as the gravity of the situation does not allow us to send our sports teams there," Ashraf was quoted as saying in the 'Dawn'.
Asked if security was a concern or it was a tit-for-tat response, Ashraf admitted that it was in reply to India scrapping its tour of Pakistan.
"The situation is so hot that I don't think it will be advisable for Pakistan team to tour India, particularly when Indians have refused to come to Pakistan. So, we have to look at that but yes, we have not taken final decision," he told a television channel.
"We have to take into account our foreign office; we have to take into account our political leadership and after that we will decide, but my personal view is that the present atmosphere is not conducive for such events," Adhraf said.
Ashraf said the decision would be made in a day or two.
"Maybe within a day or two (decision would be made). But these are my personal views. This scenario is not advisable (to tour India).
"We're sure Indian government will make fool-proof security arrangement but who knows, tempers are so hot... that anything can happen," he said.
When pointed out that England cricket team did not face any security problem, Ashraf said "there is difference between English team and Pakistan. You know the hype and relation between Pakistan and India is different from England and India."
A report in rediff.
A really sad news.pakistani teams won't tour India.What did we do to suffer this cruel fate..!!The situation is sooo bad.All Indians should start crying.We should all beg with pakistan to reverse this decision from being taken.We should ask for mercy.We should plead with them to pump in more terrorists and to create more Mumbai like terror situations,but pleaseee don't suspend sporting ties.We should tell them that we will welcome with both hands more and more hardcore pakistani terrorists and suicide squads and more and more attacks.But pleaseee,please don't suspend sporting ties,for God's sake...Why is the pakistani terrorists suffering trying to sneak in through border,sea routes and all.Let them come in PIA flights.India should give them landing permission in all major Indian cities so that it will be easy for them to 'do their job' and return.All pakis terrorists in Indian jail should be either freed or given VIP treatment.But please...sporting ties....please don't suspend it...
Now to be serious:
The most negligible and minimal thing that the Indian government should be doing is to not give pakistanis a chance to make such decisions like whether to come to India or not for sports events.Why should they even think whether they should allow their sporting teams to tour India or not?
India should tell them to get lost.Absolutely no sporting ties are needed as suggested even by our Great Viswanathan Anand.How can we think of playing with them,when their only aim is to kill Indians and to destroy India?Who knows how many LeT terror members will be there in their Hockey team....!!Even pakistani former cricketer Imran Khan,the so called crusader against terrorism is supporting the terror outfit LeT,we Indians thought till the other day that he was a pragmatic and reasonable voice..!!Stupid we..So all in all the simple question is why do we want to entertain murderers??
Pakistan's Federal Secretary of Sports Ashraf Khan has described the situation as "so hot" and said it was not advisable for the players to tour India in the current circumstances.
Pakistan is scheduled to take part in a four-nation hockey series to be played in Chandigarh and Jalandhar next February after its squash team has a chance to defend Asian junior title in Chennai on January 16.
"Allowing our squash and hockey players to leave for India will be too risky at the moment as the gravity of the situation does not allow us to send our sports teams there," Ashraf was quoted as saying in the 'Dawn'.
Asked if security was a concern or it was a tit-for-tat response, Ashraf admitted that it was in reply to India scrapping its tour of Pakistan.
"The situation is so hot that I don't think it will be advisable for Pakistan team to tour India, particularly when Indians have refused to come to Pakistan. So, we have to look at that but yes, we have not taken final decision," he told a television channel.
"We have to take into account our foreign office; we have to take into account our political leadership and after that we will decide, but my personal view is that the present atmosphere is not conducive for such events," Adhraf said.
Ashraf said the decision would be made in a day or two.
"Maybe within a day or two (decision would be made). But these are my personal views. This scenario is not advisable (to tour India).
"We're sure Indian government will make fool-proof security arrangement but who knows, tempers are so hot... that anything can happen," he said.
When pointed out that England cricket team did not face any security problem, Ashraf said "there is difference between English team and Pakistan. You know the hype and relation between Pakistan and India is different from England and India."
A report in rediff.
A really sad news.pakistani teams won't tour India.What did we do to suffer this cruel fate..!!The situation is sooo bad.All Indians should start crying.We should all beg with pakistan to reverse this decision from being taken.We should ask for mercy.We should plead with them to pump in more terrorists and to create more Mumbai like terror situations,but pleaseee don't suspend sporting ties.We should tell them that we will welcome with both hands more and more hardcore pakistani terrorists and suicide squads and more and more attacks.But pleaseee,please don't suspend sporting ties,for God's sake...Why is the pakistani terrorists suffering trying to sneak in through border,sea routes and all.Let them come in PIA flights.India should give them landing permission in all major Indian cities so that it will be easy for them to 'do their job' and return.All pakis terrorists in Indian jail should be either freed or given VIP treatment.But please...sporting ties....please don't suspend it...
Now to be serious:
The most negligible and minimal thing that the Indian government should be doing is to not give pakistanis a chance to make such decisions like whether to come to India or not for sports events.Why should they even think whether they should allow their sporting teams to tour India or not?
India should tell them to get lost.Absolutely no sporting ties are needed as suggested even by our Great Viswanathan Anand.How can we think of playing with them,when their only aim is to kill Indians and to destroy India?Who knows how many LeT terror members will be there in their Hockey team....!!Even pakistani former cricketer Imran Khan,the so called crusader against terrorism is supporting the terror outfit LeT,we Indians thought till the other day that he was a pragmatic and reasonable voice..!!Stupid we..So all in all the simple question is why do we want to entertain murderers??
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
pakistani terror citizens -- A perspective
For pakistani terrorists and pakistani army officers who come disguised as terrorists to India,it's time to introspect..!!!
They should think about what happened to the terrorists and pak army officers who got killed during the Kargil incursion or other terror attacks in India.pakistan refused to accept their dead bodies.pakistan simply disowned them saying that they are not pakistani citizens.(It's another matter that India gave them a decent Islamic burial.)So aspiring pakistani terror citizens should think whether all these killings of innocent civilians are worth it,especially when the country for which they are doing these horrible inhuman acts refuses to even acknowledge them,once their use is over.pakistan just disposes them off like toilet papers.
Take the case of kasab,who was caught alive during the Mumbai terror attack.In spite of pakistani media itself and one of their former PM admitting that he is a pakistani citizen,pakistan still refuses to accept his citizenship.His parents are taken away to some undisclosed location.It's better if aspiring pakistani terror citizens think about this.That their 'so-called sacrifice' is a real waste to them and to their families.
And if they think that by killing innocent civilians,they are destined to go to Heaven and meet Allah,it's their utter foolishness.There will be no God,who will be willing to meet some one who kills innocent civilians .God will never accept these horrible and brutal acts.Absolutely no God,no religious Book endorses slaughter of innocent civilians,especially women and children.
Daily pakistani terror citizens are getting caught in some part or the other in India.Today there is a report that Jammu and Kashmir Police averted a major terror strike with the arrest of three Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeen (suicide bombers).All the three terrorists belong to Pakistan and one of them, Gulam Fareed, is a serving Pakistani Army soldier.YES,A SERVING PAKISTANI ARMY SOLDIER. Fareed joined the infantry battalion of the Pakistan Army as a sepoy in 2001.Fareed joined the 10 AK Regiment of Pakistani Army in 2001.He was selected from the Pakistani Army by Jaish to carry out terror strike in India and police claim say he is still serving in the Army.If still there are people who say that pak army is not involved in these terror acts,well,such people can only be some pakistanis..!!
There are many pakistani terrorists languishing in different jails in India.It's better if those individuals think what they have achieved.Nothing.Is heaven sure for them?Only thing sure is killing innocents won't ensure Heaven.And they can't go back to their 'heavenly country pakistan',because they refuse to accept them.
Any way for Indians and Indian government,it's worth understanding that what's currently happening is a WAR.If pakistani army officers getting caught in India,trying to create problems here,is not considered as an act of war,what else is a war?This surely is war.
Ofcourse,this is a one sided war.We Indians were sleeping.Still sleeping.And I am afraid,will continue to sleep,despite some of the strong noises we are making currently after the Mumbai attacks.These statements from India won't threaten pakistan.pakistan has seen this from India many many times.We just talk,nothing else.We beg with America to help us to tackle pakistan.
Will America help us? NO.A big no.Americans won't have any respect for India.A country which begs another country to help her in tackling her problem don't deserve any respect.American's too are just talking.To satisfy India.Privately they and pakistanis will be having some good fun at India's predicament.
As a matter of fact,India should never believe the American's.America cannot push pakistan beyond a point.That's the fact.As is well knows,it's the Americans who started this global jihadi business to push out the Russians from Afganistan.If Americans push pakistan more,their own earlier links with ISI ,which is not a secret it has to be said, and with some of the current international terrorists,with whom they worked closely during the Soviet occupation of Afganistan, will come out in the open.So we must understand that in this so-far one sided war,we are alone.
We must help ourselves.We must look at ways and means to severly hurt pakistan so that they will understand the futility of continuing this terror policy towards India.Internally we should ensure communal harmony,unity and should have tough anti-terror laws and good and solid infrastructure to fight this monster.
They should think about what happened to the terrorists and pak army officers who got killed during the Kargil incursion or other terror attacks in India.pakistan refused to accept their dead bodies.pakistan simply disowned them saying that they are not pakistani citizens.(It's another matter that India gave them a decent Islamic burial.)So aspiring pakistani terror citizens should think whether all these killings of innocent civilians are worth it,especially when the country for which they are doing these horrible inhuman acts refuses to even acknowledge them,once their use is over.pakistan just disposes them off like toilet papers.
Take the case of kasab,who was caught alive during the Mumbai terror attack.In spite of pakistani media itself and one of their former PM admitting that he is a pakistani citizen,pakistan still refuses to accept his citizenship.His parents are taken away to some undisclosed location.It's better if aspiring pakistani terror citizens think about this.That their 'so-called sacrifice' is a real waste to them and to their families.
And if they think that by killing innocent civilians,they are destined to go to Heaven and meet Allah,it's their utter foolishness.There will be no God,who will be willing to meet some one who kills innocent civilians .God will never accept these horrible and brutal acts.Absolutely no God,no religious Book endorses slaughter of innocent civilians,especially women and children.
Daily pakistani terror citizens are getting caught in some part or the other in India.Today there is a report that Jammu and Kashmir Police averted a major terror strike with the arrest of three Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeen (suicide bombers).All the three terrorists belong to Pakistan and one of them, Gulam Fareed, is a serving Pakistani Army soldier.YES,A SERVING PAKISTANI ARMY SOLDIER. Fareed joined the infantry battalion of the Pakistan Army as a sepoy in 2001.Fareed joined the 10 AK Regiment of Pakistani Army in 2001.He was selected from the Pakistani Army by Jaish to carry out terror strike in India and police claim say he is still serving in the Army.If still there are people who say that pak army is not involved in these terror acts,well,such people can only be some pakistanis..!!
There are many pakistani terrorists languishing in different jails in India.It's better if those individuals think what they have achieved.Nothing.Is heaven sure for them?Only thing sure is killing innocents won't ensure Heaven.And they can't go back to their 'heavenly country pakistan',because they refuse to accept them.
Any way for Indians and Indian government,it's worth understanding that what's currently happening is a WAR.If pakistani army officers getting caught in India,trying to create problems here,is not considered as an act of war,what else is a war?This surely is war.
Ofcourse,this is a one sided war.We Indians were sleeping.Still sleeping.And I am afraid,will continue to sleep,despite some of the strong noises we are making currently after the Mumbai attacks.These statements from India won't threaten pakistan.pakistan has seen this from India many many times.We just talk,nothing else.We beg with America to help us to tackle pakistan.
Will America help us? NO.A big no.Americans won't have any respect for India.A country which begs another country to help her in tackling her problem don't deserve any respect.American's too are just talking.To satisfy India.Privately they and pakistanis will be having some good fun at India's predicament.
As a matter of fact,India should never believe the American's.America cannot push pakistan beyond a point.That's the fact.As is well knows,it's the Americans who started this global jihadi business to push out the Russians from Afganistan.If Americans push pakistan more,their own earlier links with ISI ,which is not a secret it has to be said, and with some of the current international terrorists,with whom they worked closely during the Soviet occupation of Afganistan, will come out in the open.So we must understand that in this so-far one sided war,we are alone.
We must help ourselves.We must look at ways and means to severly hurt pakistan so that they will understand the futility of continuing this terror policy towards India.Internally we should ensure communal harmony,unity and should have tough anti-terror laws and good and solid infrastructure to fight this monster.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
What happened to this plea from the Father of an Indian Soldier?
Lt. Saurabh Kalia of 4 JAT Regiment of the Indian Army laid down his life at the young age of 22 for the nation while guarding the frontiers at Kargil. His parents, indeed the Indian Army and nation itself, lost a dedicated, honest and brave son. He was the first officer to detect and inform about Pakistani intrusion. Pakistan captured him and his patrol party of 5 brave men alive on May 15, 1999 from the Indian side of LOC.
They were kept in captivity for three weeks and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture, evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9, 1999. The Pakistanis indulged in dastardly acts of inflicting burns on these Indian officers with cigarettes, piercing their ears with hot rods, removing their eyes before puncturing them and breaking most of the bones and teeth. They even chopped off various limbs and private organs of the Indian soldiers besides inflicting unimaginable physical and mental torture.
After 22 days of torture, the brave soldiers were ultimately shot dead. A detailed post-mortem report is with the Indian Army. Pakistan dared to humiliate India this way flouting all international norms. They proved the extent to which they can degrade humanity. However, the Indian soldiers did not break while undergoing all this unimaginable barbarism, which speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour - something all of India should be proud of. Sacrificing oneself for the nation is an honour every soldier would be proud of, but no parent, army or nation can accept what happened to these brave sons of India . I am afraid every parent may think twice to send their child in the armed forces if we all fall short of our duty in safeguarding the PRISONERS OF WAR AND LET THEM MEET THE FATE OF CAPTAIN.SAURABH KALIA.
It may also send a demoralising signal to the army personnel fighting for the Nation that our POWs in Pak cannot be taken care of. It is a matter of shame and disgust that most of Indian Human Rights Organisations by and large, showed apathy in this matter. Through this humble submission, may I appeal to all the civilized people irrespective of colour, caste, region, religion and political lineage to stir their conscience and rise to take this as a NATIONAL ISSUE !!! International Human Rights Organizations must be approached to expose and pressure Pakistan to identify, book and punish all those who perpetrated this heinous crime to our men in uniform. If Pakistan is allowed to go unpunished in this case, we can only imagine the consequences.
Below is the list of 5 other soldiers who preferred to die for the country rather than open their mouths in front of enemy -
1. Sep. Arjun Ram s/o Sh. Chokka Ram; Village & PO Gudi. Teh. & Dist. Nagaur, (Rajasthan)
2. Sep. Bhanwar Lal Bagaria h/o Smt. Santosh Devi; Village Sivelara;Teh.& Dist.Sikar (Rajasthan)
3. Sep. Bhikaram h/o Smt. Bhawri Devi; Village Patasar; Teh. Pachpatva;Distt.Barmer (Rajasthan)
4. Sep. Moola Ram h/o Smt. Rameshwari Devi; Village Katori; Teh. Jayal;Dist. Nagaur(Rajasthan)
5. Sep. Naresh Singh h/o Smt. Kalpana Devi; Village Chhoti Tallam; Teh.Iglab; Dist.Aligarh (UP)
Yours truly,
Dr.N.K. Kalia (Captain. Saurabh Kalia’s father)
Saurabh Nagar,
Palampur-176061
Himachal Pradesh.
Why the NDA government, at the time of the Kargil intrusion and the current UPA government ignore this heartfelt plea from the father of an Indian soldier?
Nobody seems to have cared about the fact that the Soldiers Dr.N.K. Kalia is talking about were brutally tortured by pakistani soldiers,throwing to the wind every norms of international rules.Why the Indian government did not pursue this after making some protest noise initially?Why this was not taken up at the international level?
It's a real shame that we did not do any thing to avenge the inhuman torture inflicted on our Soldiers.
Also it's amazing that India keep trying.Trying to talk peace with pakistan.Having peace talks with the leaders of a country who did not even respect POWs is an utter wastage of time.As long as pakistanis pursue the single point agenda of somehow harming India,as long as there are terrorist training camps churning out lunatics,there is no scope for peace.India should change.India should be tough.It's time to wake up atlast.Or else we will be killed in our sleep..
Now read below(Content Courtesy:Rediff).This is very significant :
Dr N K Kalia,had written to every important department in government, to the prime minister, to every embassy and consulate he could find addresses of, to take up the case of human rights violations and the flouting of the Geneva Convention by Pakistan.
Jaswant Singh, then the external affairs minister and a former soldier himself, replied that the matter would be raised with Pakistan at every opportunity.
In Dr Kalia's thick file of letters, there are some written on impressive letterheads after his son's tragic death.
The British high commission -- 'We are seeking from the Indian Army a full report of the postmortem, unfortunately without any success so far.'
Israel -- 'Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan.'
Germany -- They had contacted the ministry of external affairs and had not received a reply.
"If this had happened to American or Israeli soldiers the culprits would have been hounded around the globe. I received assurances from the government, but in due course the matter got diluted," says Dr Kalia.
Pakistan denied the torture of the six soldiers and rejected India's demand to punish the guilty.
"It was Saurabh's sacrifice that awoke a sleeping nation to the intrusion," says his father, "I will pursue the case with whatever strength I have till I am no more."
The above responses make it amply clear that the India Government did nothing,absolutely nothing to get the guilty punished..
It's really unbelievable..
Read below full report about what happened to the 6 brave soldiers.
Courtesy :http://www.geocities.com/siafdu/kalia.html
Born in Palampur district in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Captain Saurabh Kalia was brilliant in academics and effortlessly secured scholarships throughout his schooling years. After completing his graduation in May 1997, Saurabh was selected in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in August 1997, through the Combined Defence Services and was commissioned on December 12, 1998.
Lt. Saurabh was posted with the 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) in the Kargil Sector. In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went out for Patrol Duty three times to check the infiltration in the Kaksar area of Kargil. Lt. Saurabh was hailed as the First Officer to give information of the large-scale intrusion of the Pakistan Army and infilitrators in the area.
After the intrusion was detected in area, his Commanding Officer deputed a slightly older Junior Officer to check the strategic Bajrang Post. Lt. Saurabh, however, volunteered to go there himself and went in place of the deputed officer. Here, the troops were fired upon by the enemy. These brave Indian soldiers kept fighting as reinforcements couldn't reach in the day, any movement in the daylight would come under the direct enemy fire.
The Indian troops ran out of ammunition, their signal instrument went out of order and finally they got encircled by about 200 Pakistan soldiers and were captured alive, before the reinforcement reached at that height.
No trace of this entire patrol was left and Skardu Radio of Pakistan reported that Lt. Saurabh Kalia and his five men were captured alive. They were in their captivity for over twenty-two (May 15,1999 to June 6-7, 1999) days and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9,1999. They did not break while undergoing this unlimited barbarism. This speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour and the whole nation is proud of them.
The enemy indulged in the most heinous act of burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, removing eyes, chopping off various limbs and organs of these soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical and mental tortures before shooting them down. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's skull was fractured and most of the bones and teeth broken. He had a bullet injury in the temple indicating that he was finally shot dead.
History testifies that all great souls suffer. The enemy violated all laws by capturing the Indian troops alive and failed to inform the Indian Army about their POW status. The six Indian men in uniform were subjected to unprecedented brutal torture that violated the Geneva Convention to which both India & Pakistan are signatories.
"Maa, Tum Dekhna Ek Din Aisa Kaam Kar Jaunga Ki Saari Dunia Mein Mera Naam Hoga" -- mother, you will see one day I will do such a deed that the whole world will acknowledge that. At Bareilly (JAT Regiment Centre) Lt. Saurabh Kalia had said, "I am proud that I have joined 4 JAT and one day 4 JAT would be proud that Saurabh Kalia joined this regiment."
The last time Lt. Saurabh rang up his home on April 30, 1999 to congratulate his younger brother Vaibhav on his 20th birthday. He had promised to return home before June 29, 1999 to celebrate his 23rd birthday with his parents and his dear brother. A true Indian soldier, Lt. Saurabh kept his promise, only he returned in a coffin.
The family including his parents did not have the opportunity to see their dear son in the olive green uniform of the Indian Army. His dead body arrived even before his first salary cheque was cleared. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's anguished brother had not met the uniformed-brother since he was commissioned in December 98, expect for brief one-hour meeting at a crowded railway station.
Destiny played a cruel joke on this great believer of Lord Bajrang Bali (Hanuman), Lt. Saurabh was captured at the Bajrang Post and laid down his life in the "Operation Vijay", the name of his mother Vijay Kalia.
"The birthday gift I wanted was that we celebrate his birthday jointly. He came well in advance. But in a coffin", said Vaibhav Kalia. "His death does not hurt us. A soldier is meant to kill or get killed. But Saurabh was murdered by Pakistanis who tortured him for 21 days," he added. Vaibhav identified the body "by the eyebrow...there was little else left." Saurabh's mother Vijay Kalia grieves quietly but breaks down when talking about the signs of torture on the body. Saurabh's father Dr Narender Kalia made an appeal, through a letter to the editor of a daily, to the public to condemn the Pakistan act of torturing and killing prisoners of war.
Showing a pile of supportive letters and over a lakh of signatures he has received from all parts of the world, Vaibhav says, "Though Saurabh is gone, now all the army soldiers are like Saurabh to us. We must expose (Pakistan) for what they are and put a full stop to that."
On June 12, 1999, Thousands of people, who had assembled at Palampur for the cremation of Lt Saurabh Kalia, bid a tearful farewell to the valiant officer. A five-hour delay in the arrival of the coffin did not deter anyone from braving the scorching heat.
The body of Saurabh Kalia was flown in from Delhi by an Indian Air Force chopper and was received by senior Army officers, the civil authorities and senior politicians at the Army helipad. ``Well done, my son. You have done your job. May every home produce a son like you so that the enemies dare not touch the territorial sanctity of our country,'' said Vijay Kalia as soon as the coffin was taken out off the helicopter. The body was accompanied by Major Sudhir Mohan Kalia, Lt Saurabh Kalia's uncle, who is serving in the mechanized infantry.
The body of the Army officer was then taken in a procession from Holta to Pragati Maidan via the residence of the Kalias(where the religious rites were performed) in Tika Sughar. Army pall bearers led by Col Sarat Sharma, carried the coffin as hundreds of mourners stood on both sides of the road to salute the hero. People showered flowers on the coffin of Lt Kalia as it passed through the town to be taken to the cremation ground. The procession included a convoy of vehicles led by hundreds of scooter-borne youths of Palampur. Cries of ``Saurabh Kalia amar rahe'' rent the sky.
The body, draped in the tri-colour, was taken to the cremation ground. It seemed as if the entire town had assembled to pay respect to the young officer on his final journey. Wreaths were laid on the body on behalf of the President of India, by senior Army officers, the Governor and the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, Minister Ravinder Thakur, MLAs Dulo Ram, Vipin Parmar, B.B.L. Butail and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sat Mahajan also placed wreaths.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as the last rites of the officer were performed. A sense of national pride prevailed as people raised slogans like — "Saurabh Kalia amar rahe" and also anti-Pakistan slogans. Kalia was given a state funeral with full military honours. The jawans saluted the martyr and sounded the last post as Vaibhav Kalia lit the pyre among the chanting of mantras.
The government decided to name the locality where the house of Lt Kalia is located as Saurabhnagar. The former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Shanta Kumar, informed that after consultations with the Chief Minister, it had been decided to erect a memorial to Lt Kalia. The land adjoining Neugal Cafe would be used for making this. The road next to the house of Lt Kalia would also be named after him.
In April 2001, the State Government installed a statue of Capt. Kalia at a 12-hectre sprawling environmental theme park called Lt Saurabh Van Vihar in Palampur. Capt. Kalia was a keen environmentalist and birdwatcher.
Today, tourist guide's will probably be rewritten to mention the brave hero of Palampur and Kargil Martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia, whose fate was similar to "Abhimaanyu" of Mahabharata.
They were kept in captivity for three weeks and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture, evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9, 1999. The Pakistanis indulged in dastardly acts of inflicting burns on these Indian officers with cigarettes, piercing their ears with hot rods, removing their eyes before puncturing them and breaking most of the bones and teeth. They even chopped off various limbs and private organs of the Indian soldiers besides inflicting unimaginable physical and mental torture.
After 22 days of torture, the brave soldiers were ultimately shot dead. A detailed post-mortem report is with the Indian Army. Pakistan dared to humiliate India this way flouting all international norms. They proved the extent to which they can degrade humanity. However, the Indian soldiers did not break while undergoing all this unimaginable barbarism, which speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour - something all of India should be proud of. Sacrificing oneself for the nation is an honour every soldier would be proud of, but no parent, army or nation can accept what happened to these brave sons of India . I am afraid every parent may think twice to send their child in the armed forces if we all fall short of our duty in safeguarding the PRISONERS OF WAR AND LET THEM MEET THE FATE OF CAPTAIN.SAURABH KALIA.
It may also send a demoralising signal to the army personnel fighting for the Nation that our POWs in Pak cannot be taken care of. It is a matter of shame and disgust that most of Indian Human Rights Organisations by and large, showed apathy in this matter. Through this humble submission, may I appeal to all the civilized people irrespective of colour, caste, region, religion and political lineage to stir their conscience and rise to take this as a NATIONAL ISSUE !!! International Human Rights Organizations must be approached to expose and pressure Pakistan to identify, book and punish all those who perpetrated this heinous crime to our men in uniform. If Pakistan is allowed to go unpunished in this case, we can only imagine the consequences.
Below is the list of 5 other soldiers who preferred to die for the country rather than open their mouths in front of enemy -
1. Sep. Arjun Ram s/o Sh. Chokka Ram; Village & PO Gudi. Teh. & Dist. Nagaur, (Rajasthan)
2. Sep. Bhanwar Lal Bagaria h/o Smt. Santosh Devi; Village Sivelara;Teh.& Dist.Sikar (Rajasthan)
3. Sep. Bhikaram h/o Smt. Bhawri Devi; Village Patasar; Teh. Pachpatva;Distt.Barmer (Rajasthan)
4. Sep. Moola Ram h/o Smt. Rameshwari Devi; Village Katori; Teh. Jayal;Dist. Nagaur(Rajasthan)
5. Sep. Naresh Singh h/o Smt. Kalpana Devi; Village Chhoti Tallam; Teh.Iglab; Dist.Aligarh (UP)
Yours truly,
Dr.N.K. Kalia (Captain. Saurabh Kalia’s father)
Saurabh Nagar,
Palampur-176061
Himachal Pradesh.
Why the NDA government, at the time of the Kargil intrusion and the current UPA government ignore this heartfelt plea from the father of an Indian soldier?
Nobody seems to have cared about the fact that the Soldiers Dr.N.K. Kalia is talking about were brutally tortured by pakistani soldiers,throwing to the wind every norms of international rules.Why the Indian government did not pursue this after making some protest noise initially?Why this was not taken up at the international level?
It's a real shame that we did not do any thing to avenge the inhuman torture inflicted on our Soldiers.
Also it's amazing that India keep trying.Trying to talk peace with pakistan.Having peace talks with the leaders of a country who did not even respect POWs is an utter wastage of time.As long as pakistanis pursue the single point agenda of somehow harming India,as long as there are terrorist training camps churning out lunatics,there is no scope for peace.India should change.India should be tough.It's time to wake up atlast.Or else we will be killed in our sleep..
Now read below(Content Courtesy:Rediff).This is very significant :
Dr N K Kalia,had written to every important department in government, to the prime minister, to every embassy and consulate he could find addresses of, to take up the case of human rights violations and the flouting of the Geneva Convention by Pakistan.
Jaswant Singh, then the external affairs minister and a former soldier himself, replied that the matter would be raised with Pakistan at every opportunity.
In Dr Kalia's thick file of letters, there are some written on impressive letterheads after his son's tragic death.
The British high commission -- 'We are seeking from the Indian Army a full report of the postmortem, unfortunately without any success so far.'
Israel -- 'Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan.'
Germany -- They had contacted the ministry of external affairs and had not received a reply.
"If this had happened to American or Israeli soldiers the culprits would have been hounded around the globe. I received assurances from the government, but in due course the matter got diluted," says Dr Kalia.
Pakistan denied the torture of the six soldiers and rejected India's demand to punish the guilty.
"It was Saurabh's sacrifice that awoke a sleeping nation to the intrusion," says his father, "I will pursue the case with whatever strength I have till I am no more."
The above responses make it amply clear that the India Government did nothing,absolutely nothing to get the guilty punished..
It's really unbelievable..
Read below full report about what happened to the 6 brave soldiers.
Courtesy :http://www.geocities.com/siafdu/kalia.html
Born in Palampur district in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Captain Saurabh Kalia was brilliant in academics and effortlessly secured scholarships throughout his schooling years. After completing his graduation in May 1997, Saurabh was selected in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in August 1997, through the Combined Defence Services and was commissioned on December 12, 1998.
Lt. Saurabh was posted with the 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) in the Kargil Sector. In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went out for Patrol Duty three times to check the infiltration in the Kaksar area of Kargil. Lt. Saurabh was hailed as the First Officer to give information of the large-scale intrusion of the Pakistan Army and infilitrators in the area.
After the intrusion was detected in area, his Commanding Officer deputed a slightly older Junior Officer to check the strategic Bajrang Post. Lt. Saurabh, however, volunteered to go there himself and went in place of the deputed officer. Here, the troops were fired upon by the enemy. These brave Indian soldiers kept fighting as reinforcements couldn't reach in the day, any movement in the daylight would come under the direct enemy fire.
The Indian troops ran out of ammunition, their signal instrument went out of order and finally they got encircled by about 200 Pakistan soldiers and were captured alive, before the reinforcement reached at that height.
No trace of this entire patrol was left and Skardu Radio of Pakistan reported that Lt. Saurabh Kalia and his five men were captured alive. They were in their captivity for over twenty-two (May 15,1999 to June 6-7, 1999) days and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9,1999. They did not break while undergoing this unlimited barbarism. This speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour and the whole nation is proud of them.
The enemy indulged in the most heinous act of burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, removing eyes, chopping off various limbs and organs of these soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical and mental tortures before shooting them down. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's skull was fractured and most of the bones and teeth broken. He had a bullet injury in the temple indicating that he was finally shot dead.
History testifies that all great souls suffer. The enemy violated all laws by capturing the Indian troops alive and failed to inform the Indian Army about their POW status. The six Indian men in uniform were subjected to unprecedented brutal torture that violated the Geneva Convention to which both India & Pakistan are signatories.
"Maa, Tum Dekhna Ek Din Aisa Kaam Kar Jaunga Ki Saari Dunia Mein Mera Naam Hoga" -- mother, you will see one day I will do such a deed that the whole world will acknowledge that. At Bareilly (JAT Regiment Centre) Lt. Saurabh Kalia had said, "I am proud that I have joined 4 JAT and one day 4 JAT would be proud that Saurabh Kalia joined this regiment."
The last time Lt. Saurabh rang up his home on April 30, 1999 to congratulate his younger brother Vaibhav on his 20th birthday. He had promised to return home before June 29, 1999 to celebrate his 23rd birthday with his parents and his dear brother. A true Indian soldier, Lt. Saurabh kept his promise, only he returned in a coffin.
The family including his parents did not have the opportunity to see their dear son in the olive green uniform of the Indian Army. His dead body arrived even before his first salary cheque was cleared. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's anguished brother had not met the uniformed-brother since he was commissioned in December 98, expect for brief one-hour meeting at a crowded railway station.
Destiny played a cruel joke on this great believer of Lord Bajrang Bali (Hanuman), Lt. Saurabh was captured at the Bajrang Post and laid down his life in the "Operation Vijay", the name of his mother Vijay Kalia.
"The birthday gift I wanted was that we celebrate his birthday jointly. He came well in advance. But in a coffin", said Vaibhav Kalia. "His death does not hurt us. A soldier is meant to kill or get killed. But Saurabh was murdered by Pakistanis who tortured him for 21 days," he added. Vaibhav identified the body "by the eyebrow...there was little else left." Saurabh's mother Vijay Kalia grieves quietly but breaks down when talking about the signs of torture on the body. Saurabh's father Dr Narender Kalia made an appeal, through a letter to the editor of a daily, to the public to condemn the Pakistan act of torturing and killing prisoners of war.
Showing a pile of supportive letters and over a lakh of signatures he has received from all parts of the world, Vaibhav says, "Though Saurabh is gone, now all the army soldiers are like Saurabh to us. We must expose (Pakistan) for what they are and put a full stop to that."
On June 12, 1999, Thousands of people, who had assembled at Palampur for the cremation of Lt Saurabh Kalia, bid a tearful farewell to the valiant officer. A five-hour delay in the arrival of the coffin did not deter anyone from braving the scorching heat.
The body of Saurabh Kalia was flown in from Delhi by an Indian Air Force chopper and was received by senior Army officers, the civil authorities and senior politicians at the Army helipad. ``Well done, my son. You have done your job. May every home produce a son like you so that the enemies dare not touch the territorial sanctity of our country,'' said Vijay Kalia as soon as the coffin was taken out off the helicopter. The body was accompanied by Major Sudhir Mohan Kalia, Lt Saurabh Kalia's uncle, who is serving in the mechanized infantry.
The body of the Army officer was then taken in a procession from Holta to Pragati Maidan via the residence of the Kalias(where the religious rites were performed) in Tika Sughar. Army pall bearers led by Col Sarat Sharma, carried the coffin as hundreds of mourners stood on both sides of the road to salute the hero. People showered flowers on the coffin of Lt Kalia as it passed through the town to be taken to the cremation ground. The procession included a convoy of vehicles led by hundreds of scooter-borne youths of Palampur. Cries of ``Saurabh Kalia amar rahe'' rent the sky.
The body, draped in the tri-colour, was taken to the cremation ground. It seemed as if the entire town had assembled to pay respect to the young officer on his final journey. Wreaths were laid on the body on behalf of the President of India, by senior Army officers, the Governor and the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, Minister Ravinder Thakur, MLAs Dulo Ram, Vipin Parmar, B.B.L. Butail and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sat Mahajan also placed wreaths.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as the last rites of the officer were performed. A sense of national pride prevailed as people raised slogans like — "Saurabh Kalia amar rahe" and also anti-Pakistan slogans. Kalia was given a state funeral with full military honours. The jawans saluted the martyr and sounded the last post as Vaibhav Kalia lit the pyre among the chanting of mantras.
The government decided to name the locality where the house of Lt Kalia is located as Saurabhnagar. The former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Shanta Kumar, informed that after consultations with the Chief Minister, it had been decided to erect a memorial to Lt Kalia. The land adjoining Neugal Cafe would be used for making this. The road next to the house of Lt Kalia would also be named after him.
In April 2001, the State Government installed a statue of Capt. Kalia at a 12-hectre sprawling environmental theme park called Lt Saurabh Van Vihar in Palampur. Capt. Kalia was a keen environmentalist and birdwatcher.
Today, tourist guide's will probably be rewritten to mention the brave hero of Palampur and Kargil Martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia, whose fate was similar to "Abhimaanyu" of Mahabharata.
Remembering Col Jojan Thomas
News report about Jojan Thomas's martyrdom.He died for the country fighting against terrorists.We Indians should always remember that there were great individuals like Him who lived amongst us and who without any inhibition laid down their lives for the Country.
During the early hours on 22 Aug 08, Col Thomas had received information about suspicious movement from one of the ambush parties of the unit in Machhal Sector(J&K). He immediately moved to the area and took stock of the situation. Detailed search continued thereafter. At around 0700h Col Thomas and his Quick Reaction Team came in contact with a group of terrorists and in the ensuing gunfight, neutralized two terrorists, though the officer also sustained gun shot wounds.
With the valiant death of Col Jojan Thomas, India lost another of its brave sons in the frontline of war against terror- Terror organized by the enemies of the Nation, with the help of betrayers within our borders. However, for Indian security forces, each death reiterates their commitment and strengthens their resolve to fight hostile forces that have always tried to put India’s existence as a Nation into jeopardy.
Col Jojan Thomas was commissioned on 08 Mar 86 from OTA, Chennai in 11 JAT Regt. Besides holding prestigious staff appointments as GSO-1 (Ops) 3 Corps and Instructor FTM, ASC Centre & College Bangalore was also an experienced Pilot (flying). Despite the injury Col Thomas continued the search in the dense forested area and again confronted the terrorists. This resulted in the death of two more terrorists. However, Col Thomas too suffered fatal injuries in the fresh fire fight and succumbed to his injuries. So far the unit has received confirmation of six terrorists having been killed.
Col Jojan Thomas, a native of Thiruvalla, is the son of a former army officer and is survived by his wife and two kids.
Below is the tribute paid by The Hindu :
The death of Colonel Jojan Thomas in an encounter with militants in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday morning has left his family and friends devastated. Nevertheless, for his family, which has several members who have served in the Defence forces, his death is the ultimate sacrifice he could have made for the nation.
Col. Thomas was killed as he led a quick reaction team from 45 Rashtriya Rifles in the dense forests of Macchal sector, near the Line of Control. His team shot down six militants and he was one of the four Indian soldiers who were killed in the battle. He is survived by his wife Beena Jojan Thomas, daughter Meghana Thomas, (18) and son Philemon Thomas (11).
The flat in Manekshaw Vihar on St. John’s Church Road, where Ms. Thomas lives with her children, witnessed a series of religious prayers on Saturday evening as the family members waited for the arrival of the body.
Many of Col. Thomas’s friends and colleagues joined the family members in the evening prayers, conducted by Kuriakose Mar Severios, the Archbishop of Malankara Syrian Knanaya Jacobite Archdiocese.
Col. Thomas worked in the Army Service Corps Centre and College here for about two years before taking up the task of heading the 45 Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir. Col. Thomas was an officer who led from the front. “He had a strong determined mind and believed in excelling in whatever he was doing, whether guarding the border or rescuing personnel,” said his colleague Col. T.K. Jacob who worked with Col. Thomas in the ASC Centre and College.
Col. Thomas was the eldest of four sons. His father P.A. Thomas, who served in the Indian Army as a mechanical engineer, died just a month ago. “Our family has been serving in the Defence forces for a long time. My brother worked in Indian Navy and another brother served in the Indian Army,” said Joby Thomas, Col. Thomas’s brother.
Col. Thomas was commissioned from the Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai, in March 1986 in the 11 Jat Regiment. A native of Kuttoor in Kerala, Col. Thomas held several prestigious staff appointments. He was also an experienced pilot. Major Sandhu, who served with Col. Thomas and was associated with him for eight years, said Col. Thomas was “a fantastic leader and had experience of participating in various counter-insurgency operations. There is a lot that I learnt from him … He was my mentor and godfather. Men under him were ready to do anything for him,” he said.
Col. Thomas’s body was brought by an Indian Airlines flight from New Delhi on Saturday. On Monday, Col. Thomas’s body will be taken to St. John’s Church in Domlur. He will be buried at the cemetery on Hosur Road with full State honours.
We should not forget Heroes like Col Jojan Thomas.
Jojan Thomas's wife(Sitting).India should be greatly indebted to her.
During the early hours on 22 Aug 08, Col Thomas had received information about suspicious movement from one of the ambush parties of the unit in Machhal Sector(J&K). He immediately moved to the area and took stock of the situation. Detailed search continued thereafter. At around 0700h Col Thomas and his Quick Reaction Team came in contact with a group of terrorists and in the ensuing gunfight, neutralized two terrorists, though the officer also sustained gun shot wounds.
With the valiant death of Col Jojan Thomas, India lost another of its brave sons in the frontline of war against terror- Terror organized by the enemies of the Nation, with the help of betrayers within our borders. However, for Indian security forces, each death reiterates their commitment and strengthens their resolve to fight hostile forces that have always tried to put India’s existence as a Nation into jeopardy.
Col Jojan Thomas was commissioned on 08 Mar 86 from OTA, Chennai in 11 JAT Regt. Besides holding prestigious staff appointments as GSO-1 (Ops) 3 Corps and Instructor FTM, ASC Centre & College Bangalore was also an experienced Pilot (flying). Despite the injury Col Thomas continued the search in the dense forested area and again confronted the terrorists. This resulted in the death of two more terrorists. However, Col Thomas too suffered fatal injuries in the fresh fire fight and succumbed to his injuries. So far the unit has received confirmation of six terrorists having been killed.
Col Jojan Thomas, a native of Thiruvalla, is the son of a former army officer and is survived by his wife and two kids.
Below is the tribute paid by The Hindu :
The death of Colonel Jojan Thomas in an encounter with militants in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday morning has left his family and friends devastated. Nevertheless, for his family, which has several members who have served in the Defence forces, his death is the ultimate sacrifice he could have made for the nation.
Col. Thomas was killed as he led a quick reaction team from 45 Rashtriya Rifles in the dense forests of Macchal sector, near the Line of Control. His team shot down six militants and he was one of the four Indian soldiers who were killed in the battle. He is survived by his wife Beena Jojan Thomas, daughter Meghana Thomas, (18) and son Philemon Thomas (11).
The flat in Manekshaw Vihar on St. John’s Church Road, where Ms. Thomas lives with her children, witnessed a series of religious prayers on Saturday evening as the family members waited for the arrival of the body.
Many of Col. Thomas’s friends and colleagues joined the family members in the evening prayers, conducted by Kuriakose Mar Severios, the Archbishop of Malankara Syrian Knanaya Jacobite Archdiocese.
Col. Thomas worked in the Army Service Corps Centre and College here for about two years before taking up the task of heading the 45 Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir. Col. Thomas was an officer who led from the front. “He had a strong determined mind and believed in excelling in whatever he was doing, whether guarding the border or rescuing personnel,” said his colleague Col. T.K. Jacob who worked with Col. Thomas in the ASC Centre and College.
Col. Thomas was the eldest of four sons. His father P.A. Thomas, who served in the Indian Army as a mechanical engineer, died just a month ago. “Our family has been serving in the Defence forces for a long time. My brother worked in Indian Navy and another brother served in the Indian Army,” said Joby Thomas, Col. Thomas’s brother.
Col. Thomas was commissioned from the Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai, in March 1986 in the 11 Jat Regiment. A native of Kuttoor in Kerala, Col. Thomas held several prestigious staff appointments. He was also an experienced pilot. Major Sandhu, who served with Col. Thomas and was associated with him for eight years, said Col. Thomas was “a fantastic leader and had experience of participating in various counter-insurgency operations. There is a lot that I learnt from him … He was my mentor and godfather. Men under him were ready to do anything for him,” he said.
Col. Thomas’s body was brought by an Indian Airlines flight from New Delhi on Saturday. On Monday, Col. Thomas’s body will be taken to St. John’s Church in Domlur. He will be buried at the cemetery on Hosur Road with full State honours.
We should not forget Heroes like Col Jojan Thomas.
Jojan Thomas's wife(Sitting).India should be greatly indebted to her.
Unusual,Unexpected and Unintentional brand marketing
The Turkish shoe company making the brand of footwear used by an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has seen a surge in orders.
They have received orders in the past week for some 300,000 pairs of the model that was thrown at the US president.It's also reported that,some Americans contacted the company to get distribution rights.
The entrepreneur wants to rename the model, a brown leather shoe with a thick sole, as the "Bush shoes".
In Turkey the shoes sell for $US42 wholesale.
Journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi remains in custody after being wrestled to the ground after throwing both his shoes at Bush during the president's Sunday news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad.
It's funny when some times some avoidable incidents end up helping some in a big way.The Turkish Shoe company owners would not have thought even in their wildest dreams that their brand will become world famous overnight ..
They have received orders in the past week for some 300,000 pairs of the model that was thrown at the US president.It's also reported that,some Americans contacted the company to get distribution rights.
The entrepreneur wants to rename the model, a brown leather shoe with a thick sole, as the "Bush shoes".
In Turkey the shoes sell for $US42 wholesale.
Journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi remains in custody after being wrestled to the ground after throwing both his shoes at Bush during the president's Sunday news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad.
It's funny when some times some avoidable incidents end up helping some in a big way.The Turkish Shoe company owners would not have thought even in their wildest dreams that their brand will become world famous overnight ..
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Citizens doing their bit
Candle light vigils, peace marches, human chains and citizen movements have mirrored Mumbai's mood after the gruesome 26/11 attacks.
But a group of young businessmen, who want to do more, have raised Rs 30 lakh to buy 100 bullet proof vests that they plan to buy and donate to the Mumbai Police.
"The police can fight the terrorist without fear when they feel protected and secure with proper bullet proof vests and body armour. Our friends and relatives just gave the cheques over the dinner table when we decided do something instead of blaming the government," said Kishore Luthria, CMD, Tian Group of Hotels.
Luthria himself is a victim of terror. His family once owned hotel Sea Rock that was among the 12 targets of the 1993 serial bomb blasts that rocked the city.
The hotel was extensively damaged and could never recover. And so Luthria got together with others to do his bit.
"We always talk about our rights but what about our fundamental duties?" said Tanya Chhabria, a contributor in the initiative.
This group decided to make a point, an expensive point.
"I have become an enlightened citizen and will not remain a passive mute spectator. It is time to act," said Samita Sawney, another contributor.
The group has given samples of bulletproof vests to the Police Department for its approval. The vests are similar to ones used by American and Israeli forces and cost about $500 a piece.
But their donation could buy them less than planned. The import of vests attracts import duty.
So they have written a letter to the state government asking for a waiver. Now with money in the bank, they are waiting for the government to act.
Content courtesy:Samachar.
Great initiative.Hope some thing like this could be done in every part of India and that we all contribute what ever we can to such noble endeavors.
But a group of young businessmen, who want to do more, have raised Rs 30 lakh to buy 100 bullet proof vests that they plan to buy and donate to the Mumbai Police.
"The police can fight the terrorist without fear when they feel protected and secure with proper bullet proof vests and body armour. Our friends and relatives just gave the cheques over the dinner table when we decided do something instead of blaming the government," said Kishore Luthria, CMD, Tian Group of Hotels.
Luthria himself is a victim of terror. His family once owned hotel Sea Rock that was among the 12 targets of the 1993 serial bomb blasts that rocked the city.
The hotel was extensively damaged and could never recover. And so Luthria got together with others to do his bit.
"We always talk about our rights but what about our fundamental duties?" said Tanya Chhabria, a contributor in the initiative.
This group decided to make a point, an expensive point.
"I have become an enlightened citizen and will not remain a passive mute spectator. It is time to act," said Samita Sawney, another contributor.
The group has given samples of bulletproof vests to the Police Department for its approval. The vests are similar to ones used by American and Israeli forces and cost about $500 a piece.
But their donation could buy them less than planned. The import of vests attracts import duty.
So they have written a letter to the state government asking for a waiver. Now with money in the bank, they are waiting for the government to act.
Content courtesy:Samachar.
Great initiative.Hope some thing like this could be done in every part of India and that we all contribute what ever we can to such noble endeavors.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Amnesty International slams Indian anti-terror law
CNN-IBN reports that Amnesty International on Friday slammed India's new anti-terror legislation to beef up police powers in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, saying it violates international human rights treaties.
The London-based human rights group called on President Pratibha Patil not to approve the legislation, which would double the number of days police can detain terror suspects before filing charges, from 90 days to 180, as well as boost their powers to conduct searches.
Both houses of India's Parliament passed the bill this week, following last month's attacks on Mumbai by suspected Islamic terrorists that killed 164 people. It now needs President Pratibha Patil's approval before becoming law.
"While we utterly condemn the attacks and recognize that the Indian authorities have a right and duty to take effective measures to ensure the security of the population, security concerns should never be used to jeopardize people's human rights," Madhu Malhotra, Asia Pacific Program Deputy Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
Whose human rights Madhu Malhotra is talking about?
Human rights of terrorists?
Let him and his Amnesty suggest ways to tackle terrorism.
Also where was he when terrorists attacked almost all parts of India during the last few months.Did not hear any word from Amnesty..!!
Did they condemn pakistan ?
There is clear evidence that terrorists from pakistan was behind the Mumbai attack.A whole bunch of terror groups and terrorists are living life king-size in pakistan,who master-minds terror activities around the world.Has Amnesty said or done any thing about pak duplicity.Is the human rights of pak terrorists more important to Amnesty than life of innocent people killed.Terrorists any way cannot be called humans.So where is the question of human rights.
So it's better for Amnesty to stop this double standards.Else they will loose even the remaining minute credibility they have in the eyes of the general public.
If Amnesty thinks that the new laws could be misused,well,any law can be misused.That doesn't mean that India should not have anti-terror laws with more teeth.
The London-based human rights group called on President Pratibha Patil not to approve the legislation, which would double the number of days police can detain terror suspects before filing charges, from 90 days to 180, as well as boost their powers to conduct searches.
Both houses of India's Parliament passed the bill this week, following last month's attacks on Mumbai by suspected Islamic terrorists that killed 164 people. It now needs President Pratibha Patil's approval before becoming law.
"While we utterly condemn the attacks and recognize that the Indian authorities have a right and duty to take effective measures to ensure the security of the population, security concerns should never be used to jeopardize people's human rights," Madhu Malhotra, Asia Pacific Program Deputy Director at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
Whose human rights Madhu Malhotra is talking about?
Human rights of terrorists?
Let him and his Amnesty suggest ways to tackle terrorism.
Also where was he when terrorists attacked almost all parts of India during the last few months.Did not hear any word from Amnesty..!!
Did they condemn pakistan ?
There is clear evidence that terrorists from pakistan was behind the Mumbai attack.A whole bunch of terror groups and terrorists are living life king-size in pakistan,who master-minds terror activities around the world.Has Amnesty said or done any thing about pak duplicity.Is the human rights of pak terrorists more important to Amnesty than life of innocent people killed.Terrorists any way cannot be called humans.So where is the question of human rights.
So it's better for Amnesty to stop this double standards.Else they will loose even the remaining minute credibility they have in the eyes of the general public.
If Amnesty thinks that the new laws could be misused,well,any law can be misused.That doesn't mean that India should not have anti-terror laws with more teeth.
Article in Telegraph on Tendulkar
He shuffles away from the conversation and brushes the Mohali pitch affectionately with a bat that looks too big for him. It is quite a weapon, 2lb 12oz with edges two inches thick and a pick-up like a magician's wand. It is curved like an oar. "I like a bow in it," he says, "I can't bat with anything else."
Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific Test batsman who ever lived, is literally telling me that he wouldn't score a run with anyone else's blade. "I would not feel right at the crease," he says.
We chat in the middle for half-an-hour. He wants to talk, wants to express his genuine gratitude for England coming back to play. He speaks softly, sincerely, self-effacingly. We talk about the unusual way he acknowledged the crowd at Chennai. "Sometimes I do it," he says, "but it is not my way," he adds sheepishly. He casts his eyes down; an essentially shy, private person. He is not stiff or awkward but he generally avoids engaging with his fans. He has to. As soon as he makes eye contact with one, they will all expect it. And he will be trapped in adulation.
The Indian poet CP Surendran captured superbly what it is like to be Sachin Tendulkar:
Batsmen walk out into the middle alone.
Not Tendulkar. Every time Tendulkar walks to the crease a whole nation, tatters and all, march with him to the battle arena.
A pauper people pleading for relief, remission from the lifelong anxiety of being Indian, by joining in spirit their visored saviour.
The poor Indian lifts his hands to Sachin Tendulkar in supplication; Give us respite, a sense of liberation; lift us up from the dark pit of our lives to well-lit places of the imagination with your skill-wrought perfection.
Tendulkar never shirks this enormous responsibility. He spends almost every waking hour seeking that perfection, practising, planning, preparing. He rings his brother, the man who knows his game best, every day, talking bowlers and bat angles and shot selection. He looks at the pitch and contemplates how he will make runs on it. He is thankful of his talent and dutifully delivers it to his public, the majority of whom have nothing.
And yet the man who is the property of a billion Indians, who is escorted everywhere by a posse of policemen, who is photographed almost every second of his life, craves a normal life. His kids (aged 11 and nine) are his pride and joy and he treasures the precious times he has with them. Usually that is two weeks in December and a month in the English summer. He is taking his family to the hill country for Christmas. "There might be snow," he said.
He reflects quietly on the first Test, complimenting England on their batting, virtually overlooking India's win. I say the result was fated, it was meant to be, and that the way he manipulated the bowling was masterly and amazing to watch. He chuckles with a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. He has not a scrap of ego.
Tendulkar lives in Bandra, in the north of Mumbai, Bollywoodville. But he often goes south to Colaba with family and friends, to eat in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel or the Oberoi. The Mumbai attacks were close to home and affected him deeply. The England players remarked on his extra patience and intensity at the crease. This time he was doubly determined to lift his people out of their pit.
We discuss our families some more. He is friendly and engaging. And then he is gone from the centre, from the roped off pitch, from the place where he is only truly at peace, there in the middle with a bat in his hand. He returns to the real world to be photographed and congratulated and bombarded with a million demands, all of which he handles with total equanimity. He is a gracious god. We will never see his like again. Or maybe we will. His nine-year-old son is just beginning to show signs of useful talent.
By Simon Hughes
Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific Test batsman who ever lived, is literally telling me that he wouldn't score a run with anyone else's blade. "I would not feel right at the crease," he says.
We chat in the middle for half-an-hour. He wants to talk, wants to express his genuine gratitude for England coming back to play. He speaks softly, sincerely, self-effacingly. We talk about the unusual way he acknowledged the crowd at Chennai. "Sometimes I do it," he says, "but it is not my way," he adds sheepishly. He casts his eyes down; an essentially shy, private person. He is not stiff or awkward but he generally avoids engaging with his fans. He has to. As soon as he makes eye contact with one, they will all expect it. And he will be trapped in adulation.
The Indian poet CP Surendran captured superbly what it is like to be Sachin Tendulkar:
Batsmen walk out into the middle alone.
Not Tendulkar. Every time Tendulkar walks to the crease a whole nation, tatters and all, march with him to the battle arena.
A pauper people pleading for relief, remission from the lifelong anxiety of being Indian, by joining in spirit their visored saviour.
The poor Indian lifts his hands to Sachin Tendulkar in supplication; Give us respite, a sense of liberation; lift us up from the dark pit of our lives to well-lit places of the imagination with your skill-wrought perfection.
Tendulkar never shirks this enormous responsibility. He spends almost every waking hour seeking that perfection, practising, planning, preparing. He rings his brother, the man who knows his game best, every day, talking bowlers and bat angles and shot selection. He looks at the pitch and contemplates how he will make runs on it. He is thankful of his talent and dutifully delivers it to his public, the majority of whom have nothing.
And yet the man who is the property of a billion Indians, who is escorted everywhere by a posse of policemen, who is photographed almost every second of his life, craves a normal life. His kids (aged 11 and nine) are his pride and joy and he treasures the precious times he has with them. Usually that is two weeks in December and a month in the English summer. He is taking his family to the hill country for Christmas. "There might be snow," he said.
He reflects quietly on the first Test, complimenting England on their batting, virtually overlooking India's win. I say the result was fated, it was meant to be, and that the way he manipulated the bowling was masterly and amazing to watch. He chuckles with a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. He has not a scrap of ego.
Tendulkar lives in Bandra, in the north of Mumbai, Bollywoodville. But he often goes south to Colaba with family and friends, to eat in the Taj Mahal Palace hotel or the Oberoi. The Mumbai attacks were close to home and affected him deeply. The England players remarked on his extra patience and intensity at the crease. This time he was doubly determined to lift his people out of their pit.
We discuss our families some more. He is friendly and engaging. And then he is gone from the centre, from the roped off pitch, from the place where he is only truly at peace, there in the middle with a bat in his hand. He returns to the real world to be photographed and congratulated and bombarded with a million demands, all of which he handles with total equanimity. He is a gracious god. We will never see his like again. Or maybe we will. His nine-year-old son is just beginning to show signs of useful talent.
By Simon Hughes
Thursday, December 18, 2008
New Year delayed – by a second
When New Year revellers are expecting 2009 to start, the world’s ultra-precise atomic clock will actually show the time as 23 hours, 59 minutes and 60 seconds.
The extra second will make 2008 – already a leap year – the longest in the last 16 years.
So-called “leap seconds” are added to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation. It’s caused by the Moon’s gravity and other factors influencing the speed of rotation – from inside the Earth and the atmosphere.
Time is counted according to the Earth’s rotation around the sun and to Coordinated Universal Time -- a time standard based on International Atomic Time. Solar mean time is calculated at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
Since 1972, leap seconds have been added 23 times -- to keep both time standards less than 0.9 seconds apart.
The last time a leap second was added was on December 31, 2005.
Psychologists say that adding a second will not affect people in any way.
Differences in the duration of days were first recognised in the 19th century.
But it was only with the invention of the atomic clock in 1949 that scientists could measure precisely the difference between terrestrial and astronomical time.
Courtesy:russiatoday.com
The extra second will make 2008 – already a leap year – the longest in the last 16 years.
So-called “leap seconds” are added to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation. It’s caused by the Moon’s gravity and other factors influencing the speed of rotation – from inside the Earth and the atmosphere.
Time is counted according to the Earth’s rotation around the sun and to Coordinated Universal Time -- a time standard based on International Atomic Time. Solar mean time is calculated at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
Since 1972, leap seconds have been added 23 times -- to keep both time standards less than 0.9 seconds apart.
The last time a leap second was added was on December 31, 2005.
Psychologists say that adding a second will not affect people in any way.
Differences in the duration of days were first recognised in the 19th century.
But it was only with the invention of the atomic clock in 1949 that scientists could measure precisely the difference between terrestrial and astronomical time.
Courtesy:russiatoday.com
Tata signs sponsorship deal with Ferrari F1 team for 2009 season
Despite the global financial crisis, Ferrari has inked a new sponsorship deal with a car manufacturer. The famous Italian formula one team will add Tata, an Indian multinational, to its roster of backers in 2009, president Luca di Montezemolo told Italian media on Wednesday.
"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari," he said. "It's historic."
A Ferrari spokesman confirmed the deal, with the details set to be announced in due course.
Tata was associated with the Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan's formula one career, first with Jordan in 2005 and subsequently at Williams. The boss of Tata, Ratan Tata, is also already heavily involved with Ferrari’s parent company Fiat, joining the Italian carmaker’s board back in 2006 after he was recommended by the Agnelli family, and both firms are already tied up over an engine supply deal.
The same year that Tata joined Fiat’s board, the Italian carmaker increased its stake in Ferrari to 85% and it still retains an option on a further 5% sold to Arab Emirates' Mubadala Development. Speaking previously with Italian media, Tata described his passion for cars and aircraft, explaining that he’s always dreamt of being able to be a fighter pilot as well as participating in the shareholding of Ferrari.
As Ferrari expands into the rapidly growing Indian market a partnership with Tata could turn out to be extremely lucrative.
News Courtesy:motorauthority.com.By Kenneth Hall
Rouge politicians of India
"In a democracy, people get the government they deserve." American politician Adlai Stevenson's famous words may well have been penned for India - a country where a remarkable rogues' gallery of bandits, racketeers, murderers and assorted criminals crowd the corridors of power. The fact was highlighted yet again during recent assembly elections, when public records filed with the Election Commission revealed some disquieting facts about India's power aspirants.
The records showed that every third MLA (member of the legislative assembly) in the capital, Delhi, has criminal charges pending against them, that every sixth legislator in the central
state of Madhya Pradesh has a criminal record, while in the western desert state of Rajasthan it is every ninth.
Undoubtedly next year, with the national election expected in April or May, more horror stories of the criminal-politician nexus will surface, as the link has become inextricable from India's democratic polity. Take a look at past examples. India's most dreaded "Bandit Queen", Phoolan Devi, became a member of parliament in 1996 after a career roaming central India's desolate valleys, allegedly stealing from and killing wealthy upper-caste landowners who according to her "exploited" the poor.
Devi's biggest crime - killing the underdogs' oppressors - gave her tremendous popularity in that region, and she used that groundswell of support to win a ticket to the Indian parliament. There she remained until she was murdered in 2001, by one of the upper-caste Hindus she had fought against.
Why only Devi? There are many examples of rogues masquerading as politicians in India. A decade ago, parliamentarian Shibu Soren was alleged to have sent henchmen to spirit a former aide to a forest, where he was killed and buried, to silence a corruption allegation against his accomplice. But this minor matter didn't get in the way of Soren becoming India's coal minister - during his trial - though he was later forced to resign after his conviction.
According to a 1997 World Bank report, "corruption" is defined as abuse of public power for private gain. In India, politicians think nothing of abusing this power as they think it comes with the territory. Sadhu Yadav, a member of the 14th Lok Sabha (India's lower house of parliament), is another case in point. His sister is a former Bihar chief minister and wife of current Railway Minister Laloo Yadav - Rabri Devi. Yadav has a long list of criminal cases - and arrest warrants - pending against him including those of bribery, forgery, intimidation, assault, rape, cheating and embezzlement. Yadav was forced to surrender to the police after a Supreme Court order in December 2006.
Perhaps one of the most high-profile cases of corruption in politics has been that of former prime minister Narasimha Rao, who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2000 for bribing lawmakers to back him on the crucial confidence vote that saved his government in July 1993. Rao, who held office from 1991 to 1996, became the first Indian prime minister to be found guilty in a criminal case. Buta Singh, who served as his home minister, received the same sentence.
Another high-profile case was that of Mohammad Shahabuddin, a fourth-term member of the Lok Sabha, who was given a life sentence for kidnapping with intent to murder, and faced trial in more than 30 criminal cases including eight of murder, 20 of attempted murder, as well as kidnapping, extortion and arms dealing.
Why does India set the bar so low for its politicians? Perhaps the fault lies with its existing anti-corruption laws. Although the Prevention Of Corruption Act, 1988, brings the offence under the courts' jurisdiction, most politicians are able to get away scot-free due to its weak enforcement. Or the case drags for so many years in court that it fades from public memory.
This has led to a criminalization of politics which has been recognized as the most dangerous facet of corruption in India. This was acknowledged by NN Vohra, the former Union home secretary, in a 1995 report which observed, "A network of mafias is virtually running a parallel government in India, pushing the state apparatus into irrelevance." The report recognized that a cancerous growth of criminal gangs, drug mafias, smuggling gangs and economic lobbies in the country had developed an intensive network of contacts with bureaucrats and politicians.
America, where a huge amount of accountability is demanded from public figures, is a study in contrast. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was recently arrested and forced out of office when he was charged with conspiracy and bribery for attempting to sell a Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich's predecessor - George Ryan - was also convicted of corruption while two other governors - Dan Walker and Ottto Kerner - have served prison terms for bribery and fraud.
While these cases highlight the omnipresence of corruption in global politics, they also show that an efficacious criminal justice system can succeed in bringing corrupt public officials to book. By contrast, selling parliamentary seats for money, rigging elections, bribing officials, doing underhand deals with cash-lush businessmen, and unashamedly securing seats for relatives are par for the course in India.
According to Pratik Pratibimb, a professor of political history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, "Indian politics stands at a crossroads today with regional and national parties having to search for new frameworks of partnership in and outside coalitions." Due to this, Indian politics has entered a period of unforeseen and multidimensional crises. "The global integration of the Indian economy through structural changes has also unleashed various forces due to which the government set-up has come under unforeseen pressures," said the professor.
Many people feel that these pressures have dramatically altered the Indian political fabric. Ergo, in this inchoate, new brand of politics, anything goes. What matters most to a political party is the candidate's winnability. Everything else seems negotiable. In fact because criminals keep winning elections all the time, the government has been dragging its feet on long-standing demands for a ban on criminal politicians. It was this prevarication which forced the Election Commission to bring in alternative "extra-legal devices" to stop criminals during this election.
Indian law too, only bars a person from running for office once they are indicted by a court, which often happens years, even decades, after an arrest. It's even harder to dislodge someone actually holding office. In India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, 92 members of the current 403-member state assembly have police charges lodged against them. One politician, Ramakant Yadav, even won election from jail, while his brother, Umakant Yadav, a member of parliament, was charged with murder.
While the majority of politicians are simply corrupt, part of an endemic culture of graft, many of those charged with bigger crimes have won tickets after defying the law under the garb of "championing" the causes of smaller ethnic minorities and low-caste Hindus in a country divided along caste, religion and wealth lines.
"We'd like criminals to be debarred, but for that to happen would require an act that the government refuses to pass. Every political party has a lot of criminal candidates and every political party has a lot of winning criminal candidates, so they don't want to pass the law," said a party functionary who didn't want to be named.
According to a report prepared by an non-governmental organization, the National Social Watch Coalition, 16.28% of the candidates who stood for election to the last parliament have criminal antecedents. In the age group of 36 to 45 years, 30% of members of parliament have criminal cases pending against them.
When corrupt politicians are confronted with evidence of their wrong doing, their responses are stock. They say the cases are "false", filed by rivals with a vendetta. This specious argument of course does not answer questions about cases that involve abduction, murder, rape and assault.
However, in the wake of the Mumbai blasts, a tidal wave of angst has risen against corrupt politicians. Thousands of angry citizens spilled onto the streets with placards like "We'd rather have a dog visit our homes than a politician" and "India doesn't need politicians. Go home, minister!"
Perhaps some good will come out of this. Perhaps this newfound low threshold of tolerance for the corrupt Indian politician will force political parties to clean up their augean stables. Till then, however, the sinister minister rules.
Coutesy Asia Times Online.By Neeta Lal .
A really tragic situation indeed.
The records showed that every third MLA (member of the legislative assembly) in the capital, Delhi, has criminal charges pending against them, that every sixth legislator in the central
state of Madhya Pradesh has a criminal record, while in the western desert state of Rajasthan it is every ninth.
Undoubtedly next year, with the national election expected in April or May, more horror stories of the criminal-politician nexus will surface, as the link has become inextricable from India's democratic polity. Take a look at past examples. India's most dreaded "Bandit Queen", Phoolan Devi, became a member of parliament in 1996 after a career roaming central India's desolate valleys, allegedly stealing from and killing wealthy upper-caste landowners who according to her "exploited" the poor.
Devi's biggest crime - killing the underdogs' oppressors - gave her tremendous popularity in that region, and she used that groundswell of support to win a ticket to the Indian parliament. There she remained until she was murdered in 2001, by one of the upper-caste Hindus she had fought against.
Why only Devi? There are many examples of rogues masquerading as politicians in India. A decade ago, parliamentarian Shibu Soren was alleged to have sent henchmen to spirit a former aide to a forest, where he was killed and buried, to silence a corruption allegation against his accomplice. But this minor matter didn't get in the way of Soren becoming India's coal minister - during his trial - though he was later forced to resign after his conviction.
According to a 1997 World Bank report, "corruption" is defined as abuse of public power for private gain. In India, politicians think nothing of abusing this power as they think it comes with the territory. Sadhu Yadav, a member of the 14th Lok Sabha (India's lower house of parliament), is another case in point. His sister is a former Bihar chief minister and wife of current Railway Minister Laloo Yadav - Rabri Devi. Yadav has a long list of criminal cases - and arrest warrants - pending against him including those of bribery, forgery, intimidation, assault, rape, cheating and embezzlement. Yadav was forced to surrender to the police after a Supreme Court order in December 2006.
Perhaps one of the most high-profile cases of corruption in politics has been that of former prime minister Narasimha Rao, who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2000 for bribing lawmakers to back him on the crucial confidence vote that saved his government in July 1993. Rao, who held office from 1991 to 1996, became the first Indian prime minister to be found guilty in a criminal case. Buta Singh, who served as his home minister, received the same sentence.
Another high-profile case was that of Mohammad Shahabuddin, a fourth-term member of the Lok Sabha, who was given a life sentence for kidnapping with intent to murder, and faced trial in more than 30 criminal cases including eight of murder, 20 of attempted murder, as well as kidnapping, extortion and arms dealing.
Why does India set the bar so low for its politicians? Perhaps the fault lies with its existing anti-corruption laws. Although the Prevention Of Corruption Act, 1988, brings the offence under the courts' jurisdiction, most politicians are able to get away scot-free due to its weak enforcement. Or the case drags for so many years in court that it fades from public memory.
This has led to a criminalization of politics which has been recognized as the most dangerous facet of corruption in India. This was acknowledged by NN Vohra, the former Union home secretary, in a 1995 report which observed, "A network of mafias is virtually running a parallel government in India, pushing the state apparatus into irrelevance." The report recognized that a cancerous growth of criminal gangs, drug mafias, smuggling gangs and economic lobbies in the country had developed an intensive network of contacts with bureaucrats and politicians.
America, where a huge amount of accountability is demanded from public figures, is a study in contrast. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was recently arrested and forced out of office when he was charged with conspiracy and bribery for attempting to sell a Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich's predecessor - George Ryan - was also convicted of corruption while two other governors - Dan Walker and Ottto Kerner - have served prison terms for bribery and fraud.
While these cases highlight the omnipresence of corruption in global politics, they also show that an efficacious criminal justice system can succeed in bringing corrupt public officials to book. By contrast, selling parliamentary seats for money, rigging elections, bribing officials, doing underhand deals with cash-lush businessmen, and unashamedly securing seats for relatives are par for the course in India.
According to Pratik Pratibimb, a professor of political history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, "Indian politics stands at a crossroads today with regional and national parties having to search for new frameworks of partnership in and outside coalitions." Due to this, Indian politics has entered a period of unforeseen and multidimensional crises. "The global integration of the Indian economy through structural changes has also unleashed various forces due to which the government set-up has come under unforeseen pressures," said the professor.
Many people feel that these pressures have dramatically altered the Indian political fabric. Ergo, in this inchoate, new brand of politics, anything goes. What matters most to a political party is the candidate's winnability. Everything else seems negotiable. In fact because criminals keep winning elections all the time, the government has been dragging its feet on long-standing demands for a ban on criminal politicians. It was this prevarication which forced the Election Commission to bring in alternative "extra-legal devices" to stop criminals during this election.
Indian law too, only bars a person from running for office once they are indicted by a court, which often happens years, even decades, after an arrest. It's even harder to dislodge someone actually holding office. In India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, 92 members of the current 403-member state assembly have police charges lodged against them. One politician, Ramakant Yadav, even won election from jail, while his brother, Umakant Yadav, a member of parliament, was charged with murder.
While the majority of politicians are simply corrupt, part of an endemic culture of graft, many of those charged with bigger crimes have won tickets after defying the law under the garb of "championing" the causes of smaller ethnic minorities and low-caste Hindus in a country divided along caste, religion and wealth lines.
"We'd like criminals to be debarred, but for that to happen would require an act that the government refuses to pass. Every political party has a lot of criminal candidates and every political party has a lot of winning criminal candidates, so they don't want to pass the law," said a party functionary who didn't want to be named.
According to a report prepared by an non-governmental organization, the National Social Watch Coalition, 16.28% of the candidates who stood for election to the last parliament have criminal antecedents. In the age group of 36 to 45 years, 30% of members of parliament have criminal cases pending against them.
When corrupt politicians are confronted with evidence of their wrong doing, their responses are stock. They say the cases are "false", filed by rivals with a vendetta. This specious argument of course does not answer questions about cases that involve abduction, murder, rape and assault.
However, in the wake of the Mumbai blasts, a tidal wave of angst has risen against corrupt politicians. Thousands of angry citizens spilled onto the streets with placards like "We'd rather have a dog visit our homes than a politician" and "India doesn't need politicians. Go home, minister!"
Perhaps some good will come out of this. Perhaps this newfound low threshold of tolerance for the corrupt Indian politician will force political parties to clean up their augean stables. Till then, however, the sinister minister rules.
Coutesy Asia Times Online.By Neeta Lal .
A really tragic situation indeed.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
A small puzzle
Below is a news report about pak high commissioner's chat to a television channel.Now the puzzle is to find out atleast one sentence in his entire statements which is true..Read below:
"We are looking for him. He is not under house arrest. As far as I know, it (news reports of Azhar's house arrest) is wrong. He is not in Pakistan...We don't know where he is," Malik told a TV channel.
He was responding to a question on why Pakistan cannot hand over Azhar, who walked into freedom from an Indian prison in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane, as he was already in Pakistan custody.
Malik's statement was in contradiction to Ahmad's interview to a TV channel a week ago, when he had said Azhar was placed under house arrest but said that he would not be handed over to India.
The High Commissioner claimed that Dawood Ibrahim , the prime accused in the 1993 serial blasts case, was also not in Pakistan, as claimed by New Delhi .
Asked whether it will extradite the don if India provides proof of Dawood's presence in Pakistan, Malik said, "Fact of the matter is that he is not in Pakistan."
Malik also claimed that the Inter Services Intelligence has no links with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which is believed to be behind the Mumbai terror attacks .
Malik claimed that the Pakistan High Commission has not received any letter from Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone terrorist arrested in Mumbai attacks, seeking legal aid and persisted with its denial mode on his Pakistani nationality, saying it needed 'incontrovertible' evidence about it.
"Please don't give too much importance to newspaper reports. No letter has been delivered to me or to the Pakistan High Commission," he said.
The High Commissioner was asked about the accused's father accepting, after seeing photographs in newspapers and television, that the terrorist is his son.
"Not when it comes to dealing with such individuals... We need something which is incontrovertible, which cannot be challenged in a court of law," he said.
Malik said Pakistan was not contemplating giving access to Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for investigation.
"At the moment, we are not contemplating it...Please allow us to carry forward the process of investigation and see whether there is any merit in involving others or not," he said.
Found out any?
No?
Won't find,because he has not said even a word which is true.Even what the pak defence minister said is funny.House arrest...!!Why is pakistan putting terrorists under house arrest..!!What does a house arrest mean??
"We are looking for him. He is not under house arrest. As far as I know, it (news reports of Azhar's house arrest) is wrong. He is not in Pakistan...We don't know where he is," Malik told a TV channel.
He was responding to a question on why Pakistan cannot hand over Azhar, who walked into freedom from an Indian prison in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane, as he was already in Pakistan custody.
Malik's statement was in contradiction to Ahmad's interview to a TV channel a week ago, when he had said Azhar was placed under house arrest but said that he would not be handed over to India.
The High Commissioner claimed that Dawood Ibrahim , the prime accused in the 1993 serial blasts case, was also not in Pakistan, as claimed by New Delhi .
Asked whether it will extradite the don if India provides proof of Dawood's presence in Pakistan, Malik said, "Fact of the matter is that he is not in Pakistan."
Malik also claimed that the Inter Services Intelligence has no links with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which is believed to be behind the Mumbai terror attacks .
Malik claimed that the Pakistan High Commission has not received any letter from Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone terrorist arrested in Mumbai attacks, seeking legal aid and persisted with its denial mode on his Pakistani nationality, saying it needed 'incontrovertible' evidence about it.
"Please don't give too much importance to newspaper reports. No letter has been delivered to me or to the Pakistan High Commission," he said.
The High Commissioner was asked about the accused's father accepting, after seeing photographs in newspapers and television, that the terrorist is his son.
"Not when it comes to dealing with such individuals... We need something which is incontrovertible, which cannot be challenged in a court of law," he said.
Malik said Pakistan was not contemplating giving access to Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for investigation.
"At the moment, we are not contemplating it...Please allow us to carry forward the process of investigation and see whether there is any merit in involving others or not," he said.
Found out any?
No?
Won't find,because he has not said even a word which is true.Even what the pak defence minister said is funny.House arrest...!!Why is pakistan putting terrorists under house arrest..!!What does a house arrest mean??
Union Minister Antulay's nonsense
In remarks that kicked off a controversy, Union Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay on Wednesday raised doubts whether Pakistani terrorists killed Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare suggesting it could be due to his investigation of the Malegaon blasts. Maintaining that "there is more than what meets the eyes", he said Karkare was investigating some cases in which "there are non-Muslims also", an apparent reference to the Malegaon blasts case in which sadhvi Pragya Thakur and a Lt Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit were 11 persons to be arrested.
"It may be a separate inquiry how his (Karkare's) end came, Antulay said.
The Minister's remarks came under immediate attack from BJP which asked the Prime Minister to clarify whether his remarks are an "individual misdemeanour or the collective wisdom of the Cabinet".
Rudy seeks clarification from PM
"The remarks are obnoxious and deserves a clarification from the Prime Minister," BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.
He said "Karkare found that there are non Muslims involved in the acts terrorism during his investigations in some cases. Any person going to the roots of terror has always been the target, he said.
"Superficially speaking they (terrorists) had no reason to kill Karkare. Whether he (Karkare) was victim of terrorism or terrorism plus something. I do not know," he added.
News Report courtesy:sify
Antulay should be bit more careful in wagging his loose tounge.When there are enough evidence that the Mumbai mayhem was created by pakistani terrorists and when there are eye witness accounts of Karkare getting killed and his dead body being pulled out of the police car by terrorists,what is he talking about?
The least congress can do is to ask the old man to resign or throw him out of the Union cabinet.When the entire international community knows who was behind the attacks and when there is a terrorist captured alive,if Mr.Antulay says some thing like this,may be his mental balance need to be checked.
As for the BJP,it's better if they keep their mouth firmly shut as far as Karkare is concerned.When Hemant Karkare was alive and was doing a great job of investigating the Malegaon blasts,BJP was accusing him of all sorts of things,their parivar was calling him all sorts of bad names.
"It may be a separate inquiry how his (Karkare's) end came, Antulay said.
The Minister's remarks came under immediate attack from BJP which asked the Prime Minister to clarify whether his remarks are an "individual misdemeanour or the collective wisdom of the Cabinet".
Rudy seeks clarification from PM
"The remarks are obnoxious and deserves a clarification from the Prime Minister," BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters.
He said "Karkare found that there are non Muslims involved in the acts terrorism during his investigations in some cases. Any person going to the roots of terror has always been the target, he said.
"Superficially speaking they (terrorists) had no reason to kill Karkare. Whether he (Karkare) was victim of terrorism or terrorism plus something. I do not know," he added.
News Report courtesy:sify
Antulay should be bit more careful in wagging his loose tounge.When there are enough evidence that the Mumbai mayhem was created by pakistani terrorists and when there are eye witness accounts of Karkare getting killed and his dead body being pulled out of the police car by terrorists,what is he talking about?
The least congress can do is to ask the old man to resign or throw him out of the Union cabinet.When the entire international community knows who was behind the attacks and when there is a terrorist captured alive,if Mr.Antulay says some thing like this,may be his mental balance need to be checked.
As for the BJP,it's better if they keep their mouth firmly shut as far as Karkare is concerned.When Hemant Karkare was alive and was doing a great job of investigating the Malegaon blasts,BJP was accusing him of all sorts of things,their parivar was calling him all sorts of bad names.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Padmashree Bharat Lt Colonel Mohanlal
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, is going to be awarded with the honorary title of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army.
Mohanlal will be the first actor in the country to get such a prestigious title from the army. The only other celebrity to get this title is former cricket captain Kapil Dev.
It is learnt that the chief of army recommended Mohanlal's name to the Defence Ministry. An official MoD communique is expected in a month.
It is sure that the two army roles that he donned -- in Keerthichakra and Kurukshetra -- which led to this . Keerthichakra depicted the army's anti-militancy operations in J&K,while Kurukshetra was about the Kargil war.
The Territorial Army is a voluntary part-time civilian force that plays a key role in the defence of the country. It provides an opportunity to civilians to receive military training and also provides the country with a reserve force that can assist the regular army during operations, whenever required. However, it remains a honorary post.
I am a great fan of Mohanlal.But it's a bit hard to understand what's going on.Why is the army giving away such prestigious titles to celebrities like Mohanlal and Kapil Dev?
Will they be fighting with the army during a war?
Even if the Colonel title is that of a voluntary part-time civilian force,any post of a force that plays a key role in the defence of the country should not be given away like this.
May be it's my ignorance,but my humble view is that an Indian Army post,and that of a Colonel title,should not be distributed to film stars and all just because of acting in two patriotic films.
Indian Army is a very sacred institution.
Mohanlal will be the first actor in the country to get such a prestigious title from the army. The only other celebrity to get this title is former cricket captain Kapil Dev.
It is learnt that the chief of army recommended Mohanlal's name to the Defence Ministry. An official MoD communique is expected in a month.
It is sure that the two army roles that he donned -- in Keerthichakra and Kurukshetra -- which led to this . Keerthichakra depicted the army's anti-militancy operations in J&K,while Kurukshetra was about the Kargil war.
The Territorial Army is a voluntary part-time civilian force that plays a key role in the defence of the country. It provides an opportunity to civilians to receive military training and also provides the country with a reserve force that can assist the regular army during operations, whenever required. However, it remains a honorary post.
I am a great fan of Mohanlal.But it's a bit hard to understand what's going on.Why is the army giving away such prestigious titles to celebrities like Mohanlal and Kapil Dev?
Will they be fighting with the army during a war?
Even if the Colonel title is that of a voluntary part-time civilian force,any post of a force that plays a key role in the defence of the country should not be given away like this.
May be it's my ignorance,but my humble view is that an Indian Army post,and that of a Colonel title,should not be distributed to film stars and all just because of acting in two patriotic films.
Indian Army is a very sacred institution.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sachin on what the victory means
Sachin Tendulkar hit an unbeaten 103 as India scored a sensational six-wicket victory over England,chasing 387,in the first Test in Chennai which finished today.
On being asked whether this century mattered more than any of his other hundreds, Tendulkar replied: "Yes, especially after what happened in Mumbai. By no means am I saying this will make everyone forget what happened in Mumbai but I'd like to thank England for coming back and playing Test cricket and we've witnessed a wonderful Test match — people are enjoying cricket the way it's meant to be.
"What happened in Mumbai was extremely unfortunate and I don't think by India winning or me scoring a hundred, people who have lost their loved ones will feel any better. It's a terrible loss for all of them and our hearts are with them, but whatever manner we can contribute to making them feel better we'll make that effort."
"From my point of view I look at it as an attack on India, not just on Mumbai. It is an attack on India and it should hurt every Indian. It's not only for the people of Mumbai, it's for all of us. We're Indians and that is how I look at it and I'd like to dedicate this hundred to all the people who have gone through such terrible times."
Paying tribute to India's centurion, Pietersen said: "Who can write Sachin Tendulkar's script any better? The man from Mumbai came in and scored a sensational hundred today. He batted like a superstar. We tried everything we could but unfortunately he just came good. The boy played well."
India's captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, paid tribute to the man of the match, Virender Sehwag, who hit a thrilling 83 from 68 balls yesterday to put India on course for their unlikely win. Dhoni said: "We raised our standards and do not forget the playmaker in Virender Sehwag — without his innings we would have been defending this Test match. His innings gave Sachin and Yuvraj [Singh] the opportunity to win. Sachin was brilliant and Yuvraj amazing, because there was pressure."
Yuvraj admitted he had relied on Tendulkar's experience during his innings of 85 not out. "Sachin said to play your natural game because obviously he has played more Test match cricket than me," he said. "It is a dream come true for me. I dreamed one day I'm going to win a Test match alongside him and now I have done that."
Yuvraj (85 not out) and Gambir(66) also batted well.Still it was man of man of the match Virender Sehwag's explosive knock of 83 off just 68 balls yesterday that set up the victory.
Pics courtesy:Cricinfo.
Games that pakistanis play
Amidst Pakistan's attempt to dispute the nationality of the lone surviving gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, a Pakistani lawyer has claimed Ajmal Amir Iman was a Pakistani citizen arrested two years ago in Kathmandu by "Indian agencies" with the help of Nepal.
C M Farooque, a lawyer,claimed that nearly 200 Pakistanis were held along with Kasab in a secret detention place so that they could be used to serve some "ulterior designs" later.
According to the lawyer, he filed a case in Nepal's Supreme Court asking for their release. The case, according to Farooque, is still being heard with a hearing scheduled later this month when he would be visiting Kathmandu to argue on behalf of his clients.
"The people arrested in Nepal had gone there on legal visas for business but Indian agencies are in the habit of capturing Pakistanis from Nepal and afterwards implicating them in the Mumbai-like incidents to malign Pakistan," the lawyer alleged.
However, Supreme Court documents showed that in February 2007, the Pakistani lawyer had asked Nepal's apex court to free two Pakistanis, Asif Ali and Walid Sajjad, who had been reportedly arrested from a hotel in Kathmandu in 2005.
Indian officials dismissed the lawyer's allegations as "sheer propaganda."
Farooque told Geo News channel that he had filed an application in Nepal's Supreme Court for seeking Iman's release and claimed the court had sought a reply from Nepali authorities and the Indian High Commission in Kathmandu.
But the lawyer repeatedly fumbled when asked questions by Geo News about crucial aspects of the case. He could not provide a specific answer as to when he had filed the application in Nepal's courts.
He said he had filed it "sometime in early 2008" and then claimed he had filed it in February this year.
Farooque was also vague about the time when Iman was arrested, saying he was apprehended "before 2006".
Nepal's Home Ministry on Monday rejected the claim by the Pakistani lawyer that Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist to have been captured alive after the Mumbai attack last month, was arrested in Kathmandu in 2005 and handed over to the Indian authorities.
"We have no such information," home ministry spokesman Nabin Kumar Ghimire said.
News content courtesy:rediff,sify.
Nobody should be surprised.pakistanis can come up with even more colourful stories.
But the only tragedy for them is that there is absolute evidence against them and outside of pakistan there is going to be no one who believes them.They are actually making themselves a laughing stock,they are making fools of themselves.They continue to deny supporting terrorism in India and they insist that there are no terrorists in pakistan who target India,even though their own media, admitted with proof that the terrorist captured is a pakistani.It's a real shame to still be in denial mode.Any way a simple question to pakistan is,what is mr.mazood azar doing in pakistan?He was a terrorist released by India in exchange of getting passengers released from the Indian Arilines flight,which was hijacked by the taliban terrorists.Why is he allowed a comfortable life in pakistan?
C M Farooque, a lawyer,claimed that nearly 200 Pakistanis were held along with Kasab in a secret detention place so that they could be used to serve some "ulterior designs" later.
According to the lawyer, he filed a case in Nepal's Supreme Court asking for their release. The case, according to Farooque, is still being heard with a hearing scheduled later this month when he would be visiting Kathmandu to argue on behalf of his clients.
"The people arrested in Nepal had gone there on legal visas for business but Indian agencies are in the habit of capturing Pakistanis from Nepal and afterwards implicating them in the Mumbai-like incidents to malign Pakistan," the lawyer alleged.
However, Supreme Court documents showed that in February 2007, the Pakistani lawyer had asked Nepal's apex court to free two Pakistanis, Asif Ali and Walid Sajjad, who had been reportedly arrested from a hotel in Kathmandu in 2005.
Indian officials dismissed the lawyer's allegations as "sheer propaganda."
Farooque told Geo News channel that he had filed an application in Nepal's Supreme Court for seeking Iman's release and claimed the court had sought a reply from Nepali authorities and the Indian High Commission in Kathmandu.
But the lawyer repeatedly fumbled when asked questions by Geo News about crucial aspects of the case. He could not provide a specific answer as to when he had filed the application in Nepal's courts.
He said he had filed it "sometime in early 2008" and then claimed he had filed it in February this year.
Farooque was also vague about the time when Iman was arrested, saying he was apprehended "before 2006".
Nepal's Home Ministry on Monday rejected the claim by the Pakistani lawyer that Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist to have been captured alive after the Mumbai attack last month, was arrested in Kathmandu in 2005 and handed over to the Indian authorities.
"We have no such information," home ministry spokesman Nabin Kumar Ghimire said.
News content courtesy:rediff,sify.
Nobody should be surprised.pakistanis can come up with even more colourful stories.
But the only tragedy for them is that there is absolute evidence against them and outside of pakistan there is going to be no one who believes them.They are actually making themselves a laughing stock,they are making fools of themselves.They continue to deny supporting terrorism in India and they insist that there are no terrorists in pakistan who target India,even though their own media, admitted with proof that the terrorist captured is a pakistani.It's a real shame to still be in denial mode.Any way a simple question to pakistan is,what is mr.mazood azar doing in pakistan?He was a terrorist released by India in exchange of getting passengers released from the Indian Arilines flight,which was hijacked by the taliban terrorists.Why is he allowed a comfortable life in pakistan?
Terror fallout: Surat citizens shunt out Muslims:CNN-IBN Report
Experts have been fearing communal polarisation as an outcome of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. The sufferers in that case would be people of the same religion as the terrorists, who have nothing to do with the terror issue.
There have been some reports of disharmony in certain parts of the country where realtors in a certain locality have decided to as a measure of caution, not trade in rent and lease with Muslims.
On the one hand, Muslims of Surat have been staging protests against the terror attack on Mumbai. On the other, there have been cases of estate brokers in a prime locality coming together to pass a resolution that none of them will either sell or rent out property to Muslims. Their excuse is that terrorists use local help.
"Muslims should stay in their own area. Why should they come into ours. We've decided to join hands and ensure that none of us sells or rents out houses to them," said Shashank Vaidya, a leading broker in Adajan locality.
This kind of a bizarre resolution maybe recent but many Muslims complain they have been victims of religious discrimination for years. Like college professor Sharifa Bijliwala who says that no builder was ready to sell or rent her a house. One agreed on the condition that she writes her name as S B Bijliwala.
"I consider myself neither Hindu nor Muslim, but Indian. Yet, it's my name that is causing problems. I've met at least 50 builders for a house, but in vain," said Dr Sharifa Bijliwala.
Legal experts say such discrimination amounts to a violation of fundamental rights of humans, especially citizens in a democracy where all are equal.
"Such a resolution is a violation of fundamental rights and these people should be booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code," said Babu Pathan, an Advocate.
In fact, some societies have already put up boards asking people not to sell or rent their houses outside the community. This is a sad reflection on the increasing communal polarisation in the state.
--CNN-IBN News Report.
This is exactly what the terrorists and pakistan wants.Indians should not fall into this trap.It's true that some Indian Muslims did turn out to be traitors and are helping pak terrorism.But this does not mean that the Indian Muslim community as a whole should be isolated.The acts of a few should not be held against the vast majority of Patriotic Indian Muslims.India has more number of Muslims than pakistan.India needs all her citizens to unite and not be divided in the fight against terrorism and pakistan.We should not target or threaten our own innocent citizens.
There have been some reports of disharmony in certain parts of the country where realtors in a certain locality have decided to as a measure of caution, not trade in rent and lease with Muslims.
On the one hand, Muslims of Surat have been staging protests against the terror attack on Mumbai. On the other, there have been cases of estate brokers in a prime locality coming together to pass a resolution that none of them will either sell or rent out property to Muslims. Their excuse is that terrorists use local help.
"Muslims should stay in their own area. Why should they come into ours. We've decided to join hands and ensure that none of us sells or rents out houses to them," said Shashank Vaidya, a leading broker in Adajan locality.
This kind of a bizarre resolution maybe recent but many Muslims complain they have been victims of religious discrimination for years. Like college professor Sharifa Bijliwala who says that no builder was ready to sell or rent her a house. One agreed on the condition that she writes her name as S B Bijliwala.
"I consider myself neither Hindu nor Muslim, but Indian. Yet, it's my name that is causing problems. I've met at least 50 builders for a house, but in vain," said Dr Sharifa Bijliwala.
Legal experts say such discrimination amounts to a violation of fundamental rights of humans, especially citizens in a democracy where all are equal.
"Such a resolution is a violation of fundamental rights and these people should be booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code," said Babu Pathan, an Advocate.
In fact, some societies have already put up boards asking people not to sell or rent their houses outside the community. This is a sad reflection on the increasing communal polarisation in the state.
--CNN-IBN News Report.
This is exactly what the terrorists and pakistan wants.Indians should not fall into this trap.It's true that some Indian Muslims did turn out to be traitors and are helping pak terrorism.But this does not mean that the Indian Muslim community as a whole should be isolated.The acts of a few should not be held against the vast majority of Patriotic Indian Muslims.India has more number of Muslims than pakistan.India needs all her citizens to unite and not be divided in the fight against terrorism and pakistan.We should not target or threaten our own innocent citizens.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
My India
Not where the musk of happiness blows,
Not where darkness and fears never tread;
Not in the homes of perpetual smiles,
Nor in the heaven of a land of prosperity
Would I be born
If I must put on mortal garb once more.
Dread famine may prowl and tear my flesh,
Yet would I love to be again
In my Hindustan.
A million thieves of disease
May try to steal the body’s fleeting health;
And clouds of fate
May shower scalding drops of searing sorrow –
Yet would I there, in India,
Love to reappear!
Is this love of mine blind sentiment
That sees not the pathways of reason?
Ah, no! I love India,
For there I learned first to love God
and all things beautiful.
Some teach to seize the fickle dewdrop, life,
Sliding down the lotus leaf of time;
Stubborn hopes are built
Around the gilded, brittle body-bubble.
But India taught me to love
The soul of deathless beauty in the dewdrop
and the bubble –
Not their fragile frames.
Her sages taught me to find my Self,
Buried beneath the ash heaps
Of incarnations of ignorance.
Though many a land of power, plenty, and science
My soul, garbed sometimes as an Oriental,
Sometimes as an Occidental,
Travelled far and wide,
Seeking Itself;
At last, in India, to find Itself.
Though mortal fires raze all her homes
and golden paddy fields,
Yet to sleep on her ashes and dream immortality,
O India, I will be there!
The guns of science and matter
Have boomed on her shores
Yet she is unconquered.
Her soul is free evermore!
Her soldier saints are away,
To rout with realization’s ray
The bandits of hate, prejudice, and patriotic selfishness;
And to burn the walls of separation dark
Between children of the One, One Father.
The Western brothers by matter’s might
have conquered my land;
Blow, blow aloud, her conch shells all!
India now invades with love,
To conquer their souls.
Better than Heaven or Arcadia
I love Thee, O my India!
And thy love I shall give
To every brother nation that lives.
God made the earth;
Man made confining countries
And their fancy-frozen boundaries.
But with newfound boundless love
I behold the borderland of my India
Expanding into the world.
Hail, mother of religions, lotus, scenic beauty,
And sages!
Thy wide doors are open,
Welcoming God’s true sons through all ages.
Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God –
I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.
- P.Yogananda
- From Songs of The Soul
Not where darkness and fears never tread;
Not in the homes of perpetual smiles,
Nor in the heaven of a land of prosperity
Would I be born
If I must put on mortal garb once more.
Dread famine may prowl and tear my flesh,
Yet would I love to be again
In my Hindustan.
A million thieves of disease
May try to steal the body’s fleeting health;
And clouds of fate
May shower scalding drops of searing sorrow –
Yet would I there, in India,
Love to reappear!
Is this love of mine blind sentiment
That sees not the pathways of reason?
Ah, no! I love India,
For there I learned first to love God
and all things beautiful.
Some teach to seize the fickle dewdrop, life,
Sliding down the lotus leaf of time;
Stubborn hopes are built
Around the gilded, brittle body-bubble.
But India taught me to love
The soul of deathless beauty in the dewdrop
and the bubble –
Not their fragile frames.
Her sages taught me to find my Self,
Buried beneath the ash heaps
Of incarnations of ignorance.
Though many a land of power, plenty, and science
My soul, garbed sometimes as an Oriental,
Sometimes as an Occidental,
Travelled far and wide,
Seeking Itself;
At last, in India, to find Itself.
Though mortal fires raze all her homes
and golden paddy fields,
Yet to sleep on her ashes and dream immortality,
O India, I will be there!
The guns of science and matter
Have boomed on her shores
Yet she is unconquered.
Her soul is free evermore!
Her soldier saints are away,
To rout with realization’s ray
The bandits of hate, prejudice, and patriotic selfishness;
And to burn the walls of separation dark
Between children of the One, One Father.
The Western brothers by matter’s might
have conquered my land;
Blow, blow aloud, her conch shells all!
India now invades with love,
To conquer their souls.
Better than Heaven or Arcadia
I love Thee, O my India!
And thy love I shall give
To every brother nation that lives.
God made the earth;
Man made confining countries
And their fancy-frozen boundaries.
But with newfound boundless love
I behold the borderland of my India
Expanding into the world.
Hail, mother of religions, lotus, scenic beauty,
And sages!
Thy wide doors are open,
Welcoming God’s true sons through all ages.
Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God –
I am hallowed; my body touched that sod.
- P.Yogananda
- From Songs of The Soul
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Arundhati Roy on Mumbai Terror Attack
Arundhati roy continues with her malicious campaign against India.Her hatred for India and all things Indian is sooooo huge that she won't spare us even when we all are in deep sadness and shock after the Mumbai terror attack.
She continues to spit venom on Indians.Her latest anti-India column was published in the British daily The Guardian on Saturday 13 December 2008.
She says some people in India are saying 26/11 is India's 9/11.
So what?If it is,what's her problem?And if it's not so,will she be happy?
Why is she bothered if Indians call it 9/11 or some thing else?
The article 'tries to give the impression' of talking in the context of the Mumbai incident,but actually it's not.The whole article reflects her contempt for India and an attitude of making fun at the expense of India,the land where she was born.There is also an attempt to link the Mumbai terror attack to Kashmir,which is highly barbaric.
She even says "If Kashmir won't willingly integrate into India, it's beginning to look as though India will integrate/disintegrate into Kashmir."
First of all from where Kashmir came into picture,if she is talking about Mumbai's nightmare.
Who told her that Kashmir has not willingly integrated with India?Kashmir was part of India,so where is the question of integration?
Still an instrument accession to the Indian Union was signed by the then ruler of Kashmir,at the time of partition.
arundhati infers that if her friends like syed ali shah geelani,umar farooq etc does not integrate with India,India might disintegrate...!!!
This is the height of treachery.
Indians in Kashmir are with India.It's the group of geelanis,farooqs and sundry who wants to be part of pakistan.Those people can go to pakistan,arundhati too can go,because she is now a great defender of pak terrorists.
In the article she also says
"we have a military occupation in Kashmir and a shamefully persecuted, impoverished minority of more than 150 million Muslims who are being targeted as a community and pushed to the wall, whose young see no justice on the horizon, and who, were they to totally lose hope and radicalise, end up as a threat not just to India, but to the whole world. If ten men can hold off the NSG commandos, and the police for three days, and if it takes half a million soldiers to hold down the Kashmir valley, do the math.".
Military ocupation in Kashmir?
She doesn't know why the Indian Army is in Kashmir?Even when the Indian Army is in Kashmir,pakis tried to snatch Indian territory as recently as what happened in Kargil.The Indian Army is in Kashmir primarily to safeguard India's Kashmiri territory and also to protect our citizens in J&K from the pakis terrorists.If pakis stop sending terrorists to Kashmir and Kashmir is free from pak terror,India surely will pull-off the army from the streets of Kashmir.
While fighting hardcore suicide terrorist squads,it's possible that some human rights violations could happen.Indian state and the Army does have adequate means to address such grievances.
Now talking about Indian Muslims,it's true that a few amongst our Muslim brothers have taken to terrorism,but that doesn't mean that the whole Muslim community will get radicalised or become terrorists..!!
Also it's not true that there is no 'justice on the horizon' to the Indian Muslims.There could be a delay in providing justice in some cases,but justice and truth will prevail finally.To tackle carnages like what happened in Gujrat or those which happened during the anti-sikh riots,it's necessary that Hindus,Muslims,Sikhs,Christians and all other communities join hand and fight democratically.There is enough means available in India to fight injustice and communal forces other than the terror route arundhati is suggesting.For one, Gandhian methods could be adopted.If the mighty British empire could be defeated by his methods,why can't we adopt those methods and make our own leaders do what is right?
Any way if she is soooo concerned and if her concern is genuine,why is she not suggesting any solution,other than blindly uttering non-sense...!
Now talking about 10 terrorists holding off NSG Commandos and police for 3 days...,arundhati should once again look at what happened in Mumbai.It was not a simple case of 10 terrorists holding on against the might of India's Elite Commando Force.The terrorists were inside huge hotels having more that 300 to 400 rooms and there were hostages inside.
In the article she shows her comic admiration for India by saying that India
is a "a country with a shadowy history of suspicious terror attacks, murky investigations, and fake encounters.A country that boasts of the highest number of custodial deaths in the world and yet refuses to ratify the International Covenant on Torture. A country where the ones who make it to torture chambers are the lucky ones because at least they've escaped being "encountered" by our Encounter Specialists. A country where the line between the Underworld and the Encounter Specialists virtually does not exist."
Nothing to say about this.Just a feeling of regret that she too was born in this Country.Look at her admiration for her motherland...!!!
She just generalises taking one or two instances.Few fake encounters or custodial deaths might have happened.Such occurances are unfortunate and should be condemned and properly dealt with.But to say that the Country boasts of it,just shows her overall attitude of an 'all-powerful-step-mother-of-India',who has the right to write rubbish and punish Indians.
Now in the same article she says
"Even today we don't really know who the terrorists that attacked the Indian parliament were and who they worked for."
Ohhhh..reallyy??Sorry madam,the whole world knows who was behind it.There is no real need that you should be knowing all the things that happen in this world.Even though you consider yourself as a very very important person,we Indians just don't care about you.You don't know,because, may be, you were in pakistan when the media and the international community came to know who was behind the Indian parliament attack.
Now to continue with her article,she says
"We're told one of these hotels is an icon of the city of Mumbai. That's absolutely true. It's an icon of the easy, obscene injustice that ordinary Indians endure every day.
If you were watching television you may not have heard that ordinary people too died in Mumbai. They were mowed down in a busy railway station and a public hospital. The terrorists did not distinguish between poor and rich. They killed both with equal cold-bloodedness. The Indian media, however, was transfixed by the rising tide of horror that breached the glittering barricades of India Shining and spread its stench in the marbled lobbies and crystal ballrooms of two incredibly luxurious hotels and a small Jewish centre."
She says the Taj Mahal hotel is an icon of injustice to ordinary Indians...!!!
What does that mean?
What is her logic?
She says media did not report that ordinary people also died in the terror attack.
So according to her what was the media reporting?
Media was reporting the death of 'extra-ordinary' people?
Is that what she mean?
How on earth she came to the conclusion that there was distinction between the rich and poor who got killed?
The railway station and hospital attacks were also covered by the media.It's just that the hostage situation was in the two hotels and the Jewish centre..
Is she not having the commonsense to understand this,or in her blind hatred for India,she conviniently forgets these facts?
Two killed 'ordinay' citizens' families,if they can be called ordinary based on arundhati's language,one among whom was a street vegetable seller,were given compensation by the Kerala government(since they were malayalees).Like-wise I read that the Maharastra government also announced compensation irrespective of whether they were rich or poor.
Is arundathi implying that just because the rich are rich,their death should not matter???
These are some of her opinions she expressed in that article.It's,as always,obviously an article to stay in limelight using her favourite topic - India bashing.Also,at a time when the international community is fully focused on neutralizing the terror groups operating from pakistan,she wants to tell the international community 'ok,Mumbai was attacked.160 plus people got killed.So what?What about Kashmir,what about Gujrat,
what about the Indian army,Police,Custodial death,encounters,rich,poor..'.
Exactly the same sort of diversionary tactics that pakistan is using to divert attention away from the immediate tragedy and it's consequences.
In the entire article,there is not a single expression of genuine sorrow for the innocent Indian public,which continuously suffer from the pak sponsored terror.Not a single condemnation of pakistan,even though a pakistani terorist is caught red-handed.
If some body mistakes arundhati's column to be an article written by a pak ISI or intelligence agent,he cannot be blamed.
She is an obnoxious little creature,a cancer.The Indian government in a normal circumstance should not be giving any attention to her attention-seeking-mad-rantings.But since she won some booker prize,her articles are getting published in international media,thereby giving wrong data to the international public about India.It's a humble opinion that the government of India should seriously think about what could be done to avoid this cancer from spreading.
She seems to have reached an agreement with the pakistan government.pakistan will fight the proxy-war with terror and she will fight the pen war or media war against India in the western media.
It's absolutely stunning to know that not even pakistani writers have written as badly of India as arundhati has done from the time she won the 'cooker' prize.
She continues to spit venom on Indians.Her latest anti-India column was published in the British daily The Guardian on Saturday 13 December 2008.
She says some people in India are saying 26/11 is India's 9/11.
So what?If it is,what's her problem?And if it's not so,will she be happy?
Why is she bothered if Indians call it 9/11 or some thing else?
The article 'tries to give the impression' of talking in the context of the Mumbai incident,but actually it's not.The whole article reflects her contempt for India and an attitude of making fun at the expense of India,the land where she was born.There is also an attempt to link the Mumbai terror attack to Kashmir,which is highly barbaric.
She even says "If Kashmir won't willingly integrate into India, it's beginning to look as though India will integrate/disintegrate into Kashmir."
First of all from where Kashmir came into picture,if she is talking about Mumbai's nightmare.
Who told her that Kashmir has not willingly integrated with India?Kashmir was part of India,so where is the question of integration?
Still an instrument accession to the Indian Union was signed by the then ruler of Kashmir,at the time of partition.
arundhati infers that if her friends like syed ali shah geelani,umar farooq etc does not integrate with India,India might disintegrate...!!!
This is the height of treachery.
Indians in Kashmir are with India.It's the group of geelanis,farooqs and sundry who wants to be part of pakistan.Those people can go to pakistan,arundhati too can go,because she is now a great defender of pak terrorists.
In the article she also says
"we have a military occupation in Kashmir and a shamefully persecuted, impoverished minority of more than 150 million Muslims who are being targeted as a community and pushed to the wall, whose young see no justice on the horizon, and who, were they to totally lose hope and radicalise, end up as a threat not just to India, but to the whole world. If ten men can hold off the NSG commandos, and the police for three days, and if it takes half a million soldiers to hold down the Kashmir valley, do the math.".
Military ocupation in Kashmir?
She doesn't know why the Indian Army is in Kashmir?Even when the Indian Army is in Kashmir,pakis tried to snatch Indian territory as recently as what happened in Kargil.The Indian Army is in Kashmir primarily to safeguard India's Kashmiri territory and also to protect our citizens in J&K from the pakis terrorists.If pakis stop sending terrorists to Kashmir and Kashmir is free from pak terror,India surely will pull-off the army from the streets of Kashmir.
While fighting hardcore suicide terrorist squads,it's possible that some human rights violations could happen.Indian state and the Army does have adequate means to address such grievances.
Now talking about Indian Muslims,it's true that a few amongst our Muslim brothers have taken to terrorism,but that doesn't mean that the whole Muslim community will get radicalised or become terrorists..!!
Also it's not true that there is no 'justice on the horizon' to the Indian Muslims.There could be a delay in providing justice in some cases,but justice and truth will prevail finally.To tackle carnages like what happened in Gujrat or those which happened during the anti-sikh riots,it's necessary that Hindus,Muslims,Sikhs,Christians and all other communities join hand and fight democratically.There is enough means available in India to fight injustice and communal forces other than the terror route arundhati is suggesting.For one, Gandhian methods could be adopted.If the mighty British empire could be defeated by his methods,why can't we adopt those methods and make our own leaders do what is right?
Any way if she is soooo concerned and if her concern is genuine,why is she not suggesting any solution,other than blindly uttering non-sense...!
Now talking about 10 terrorists holding off NSG Commandos and police for 3 days...,arundhati should once again look at what happened in Mumbai.It was not a simple case of 10 terrorists holding on against the might of India's Elite Commando Force.The terrorists were inside huge hotels having more that 300 to 400 rooms and there were hostages inside.
In the article she shows her comic admiration for India by saying that India
is a "a country with a shadowy history of suspicious terror attacks, murky investigations, and fake encounters.A country that boasts of the highest number of custodial deaths in the world and yet refuses to ratify the International Covenant on Torture. A country where the ones who make it to torture chambers are the lucky ones because at least they've escaped being "encountered" by our Encounter Specialists. A country where the line between the Underworld and the Encounter Specialists virtually does not exist."
Nothing to say about this.Just a feeling of regret that she too was born in this Country.Look at her admiration for her motherland...!!!
She just generalises taking one or two instances.Few fake encounters or custodial deaths might have happened.Such occurances are unfortunate and should be condemned and properly dealt with.But to say that the Country boasts of it,just shows her overall attitude of an 'all-powerful-step-mother-of-India',who has the right to write rubbish and punish Indians.
Now in the same article she says
"Even today we don't really know who the terrorists that attacked the Indian parliament were and who they worked for."
Ohhhh..reallyy??Sorry madam,the whole world knows who was behind it.There is no real need that you should be knowing all the things that happen in this world.Even though you consider yourself as a very very important person,we Indians just don't care about you.You don't know,because, may be, you were in pakistan when the media and the international community came to know who was behind the Indian parliament attack.
Now to continue with her article,she says
"We're told one of these hotels is an icon of the city of Mumbai. That's absolutely true. It's an icon of the easy, obscene injustice that ordinary Indians endure every day.
If you were watching television you may not have heard that ordinary people too died in Mumbai. They were mowed down in a busy railway station and a public hospital. The terrorists did not distinguish between poor and rich. They killed both with equal cold-bloodedness. The Indian media, however, was transfixed by the rising tide of horror that breached the glittering barricades of India Shining and spread its stench in the marbled lobbies and crystal ballrooms of two incredibly luxurious hotels and a small Jewish centre."
She says the Taj Mahal hotel is an icon of injustice to ordinary Indians...!!!
What does that mean?
What is her logic?
She says media did not report that ordinary people also died in the terror attack.
So according to her what was the media reporting?
Media was reporting the death of 'extra-ordinary' people?
Is that what she mean?
How on earth she came to the conclusion that there was distinction between the rich and poor who got killed?
The railway station and hospital attacks were also covered by the media.It's just that the hostage situation was in the two hotels and the Jewish centre..
Is she not having the commonsense to understand this,or in her blind hatred for India,she conviniently forgets these facts?
Two killed 'ordinay' citizens' families,if they can be called ordinary based on arundhati's language,one among whom was a street vegetable seller,were given compensation by the Kerala government(since they were malayalees).Like-wise I read that the Maharastra government also announced compensation irrespective of whether they were rich or poor.
Is arundathi implying that just because the rich are rich,their death should not matter???
These are some of her opinions she expressed in that article.It's,as always,obviously an article to stay in limelight using her favourite topic - India bashing.Also,at a time when the international community is fully focused on neutralizing the terror groups operating from pakistan,she wants to tell the international community 'ok,Mumbai was attacked.160 plus people got killed.So what?What about Kashmir,what about Gujrat,
what about the Indian army,Police,Custodial death,encounters,rich,poor..'.
Exactly the same sort of diversionary tactics that pakistan is using to divert attention away from the immediate tragedy and it's consequences.
In the entire article,there is not a single expression of genuine sorrow for the innocent Indian public,which continuously suffer from the pak sponsored terror.Not a single condemnation of pakistan,even though a pakistani terorist is caught red-handed.
If some body mistakes arundhati's column to be an article written by a pak ISI or intelligence agent,he cannot be blamed.
She is an obnoxious little creature,a cancer.The Indian government in a normal circumstance should not be giving any attention to her attention-seeking-mad-rantings.But since she won some booker prize,her articles are getting published in international media,thereby giving wrong data to the international public about India.It's a humble opinion that the government of India should seriously think about what could be done to avoid this cancer from spreading.
She seems to have reached an agreement with the pakistan government.pakistan will fight the proxy-war with terror and she will fight the pen war or media war against India in the western media.
It's absolutely stunning to know that not even pakistani writers have written as badly of India as arundhati has done from the time she won the 'cooker' prize.
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