Going Bonkers

India is Going Bonkers. Period.

The events of the last one week or so have left me completely disillusioned. Every single day I hear some news which confirms one fact - there is no dearth of people waiting to be climb the pedestal of stupidity.

Going Bonkers

Let me start with our Honorable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The railway budget was presented on 14th March by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. A bold man (or so he said) that he was raised the railway fares for the first time in 9 years.

His actions were appreciated both by the PM and FM. They lauded his "progressive budget".

However, his boss - Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress - saw red, and had the Railway Minister sacked in the next 10 days. Her appointee cancelled the fare hikes across majority of the travel classes.

And what did our PM and FM do? They kept mum. It is an absolute shame to see the minister presenting the budget not being responsible in the Parliament to answer questions on the budget. It's an absolute disgrace for the Government of India. 

As for Mamata Banerjee, she should be crowned as the alter ego of the communists.

And just a few days back, the GoI announced India had 5 crore less poor people. 

As per them, if you earn Rs. 28 per day, you are not poor. It means that if two people work in a family of 4, then Rs. 56 is sufficient to get you out of the poverty bracket. 

Rs. 56 for 4 people certainly means that the person is living in difficult conditions. Our Government thinks otherwise. 

All through our lives, we are taught to aim for the skies. However, our Government and its educated policy makers are setting an abysmal targets to show themselves in better light.

Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission had the guts to say "Whatever way you measure, poverty has come down." 

Mr. Ahluwalia :- "Whom are you comforting with such rosy words? If the poverty would have increased, you would be out of your job. And aren't you ashamed to say that in a nation of 125 crore people, with all the machinery and money at your disposal, all you can do is get 5 crore people out of poverty? And that too with a scale which appears to have been set in Athenian times?"

A couple of days later, another scam came to light. We, Indians, lost a whopping 10.67 lakh crores ( 10670000000000.00 INR or 209 Billion USD) thanks to the GoI (again) not auctioning coal blocks. "Coalgate" was born.

Coalgate

Now, I am completely flummoxed by these numbers. Is the coal really worth so much that we could have got 209 Billion USD? And if yes, why on this very earth didn't we try to earn this money, which could have solved a multitude of other problems?

Or is the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) exaggerating the figures? 10.67 lakh crores is too huge an amount to be true.

Consider this calculation. 

• India's population is 125 crores

• Number of poor people - 30% = 375000000 = 37.50 crores.

• Distribute 10.67 lakhs crore rupees among the 37.50 crore people. Each of them would get Rs. 28453. For a family of 4, it would mean Rs. 113812.

Wouldn't this be a very substantial security for someone who earns just Rs. 28 a day?

Only God knows the truth in this case. The stand of the GoI is standard, as it was in other scams. They comfort us by saying India hasn't lost so much of a money. 

If anyone can play agony aunt, its the Government of India.

And if such puzzling news was not sufficient, the Indian judiciary too decided to join the circus. In a verdict given in Delhi, non consummation of a marriage on the wedding night was cited as a reason for a divorce.

Now this is completely mind boggling. Will the courts decide what people do before or after marriage? For something which is a very personal and mutual choice?

Maybe you can't blame the courts and the judges. When everyone around is playing a joker, everyone else would also love to join the party.

And today, our distinguished Army Chief let the cat out of the bag by telling the world that he was offered a bribe of 14 crore rupees for purchasing sub standard vehicles. 

I was attempted to be Bribed  - Army Chief

For most practical purposes, this incident would have happened more than 6 months earlier (after all, the Chief was busy fighting with the Government over his age for the last 6 months or so). And our honorable Defence Minister sat on this matter for a long long time, without initiating any action.

And today, when the matter became public knowledge, the minister ordered an inquiry. Once again, this is a very shameful response. It seems that the Government of India needs to be rapped on the knuckles to get into any action.

Or they love Status Quo.

Or to say it in a very sarcastic way, I would quote my friend.

~~

We Indians work on the "Principle of rockets".
It doesn't mean we aim for the sky.
It means that we don't start working unless our tail is on fire.
~~

Be it Lokpal, Coalgate, the Army Chief Bribe, each of the instances would reflect such my-tail-is-on-fire action.

All in all, the events of the recent past have made me realize that remaining sane in such insane times would be extremely difficult. Possibly one principle would work - Blinkers On.

P.S. I need some Ice Gate keep myself cool. Is Ice Gate in the offing?

The World Crisis 2012

The world has become a giant inter tangled mess. The Mayans, some ages ago, had predicted that the world will end in 2012. By God's grace, I hope, the Mayans are wrong. However, the current custodians of dear earth - you, me, and our fellow earthlings - are not making things easy.

Every single day, we are living under the threat of war. Every single day, we are living under the threat of a collapsed world economic system.

The World Crisis 2012

Let us have a look at the United States of America. In 2008, Obama said - "Yes,  We Can." He held a promise to transform America. Surprisingly, he was also awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2009.

And as Obama comes towards the end of his tenor in 2012, the world is anything but a peaceful place. Obama did not remain true to the promise he showed 5 years back.  

Obama was served a tough hand at the beginning of his Presidency. He exhausted a major part of his energy and resources in dealing with the most terrible recession in the last 80 years. The wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan, the war on terror in sovereign Pakistan, and military missions in Libya did not help the cause.

Afghanistan is still a dangerous place. It looks like Taliban can be back in Afghanistan, this time as official rulers, with the blessings of the USA. 

Some elements in the US Senate also wants Baluchistan to be a separate nation. And who does America think will rule them? Will it be the Pakistan Taliban? Pakistan, too, is offended by this attack on their sovereignty.

As if the pressure of war was not sufficient, the world is also cornered by an boiling economic crisis. Greece is on the verge of a collapse. Greece has been granted loans exceeding 100 Billion USD. Such numbers are mind numbing.

The Euro Zone also risks being disintegrated. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said that the existence of the Euro Zone is important to avoid the risk of war.

Merkel said, “Nobody should believe that another half century of peace in Europe is a given - it’s not. So I say again: if the Euro collapses, Europe collapses. That can’t happen.”

These comments paint a grime picture of the future in Europe.

Hungary's debt ratings have been cut to "Junk". Spain, Italy and Ireland owe foreign debt which runs into Trillions of Dollars. Have a look at this chart to understand more details.

The worst part is that the major economies - the USA, the UK, France, Germany, along with the relatively smaller but significant European nations - have lent to each other, thereby creating a web. A collapse of any of these economies will trigger a domino effect and cause an unbearable strain on the world economy.

Civil wars were the order of the day on 2011. Across Africa - from Libya to Egypt - ordinary people have overthrown leaders who had ruled their countries for decades.

The situation for Russia is slightly similar. Vladimir Putin, who has been the President for 8 years, and the current Prime Minister for 4 years, is once standing for the Presidential elections in March 2012. People are not happy with this action from Putin.

The victory of his party in the state Duma elections resulted in several protests in Russia. In my opinion, Putin will come back to power in 2012. If this triggers another round of protests in Russia, it may snow ball into a conflict between the rulers and the ordinary citizens.

And any turmoil in Russia will have a far reaching impact in Eastern and Western Europe.

In this big economical and political maze, war is once again raising its dirty head. The tensions are rising in the Middle East.

The oil rich Middle East countries provide fodder for the energy hungry nations of the world. From America to Japan, from India to the UK, most nations rely of the oil from the Middle East to keep their world going.

Iran has been ambitiously trying to explore nuclear energy. Maybe it estimates that it needs to have the wherewithal for survival once it runs out of oil. Maybe it is trying to build a deterrent against the super powers who can behave like vultures for its oil.

Their public position has been that the nuclear know how is for developing nuclear energy. This has not gone down well with America and Israel, and their buddies.

In the last few years, 4 of Iran's nuclear scientists have been killed. They have been assassinated. The fingers of suspicion are pointed towards Israel.

Last week, some anti-Israel supporters got together and triggered blasts in Delhi, India and Bangkok, Thailand. A similar bomb attack was foiled in  Tbilisi, Georgia. The perpetrators of the crime are not known. However, Israel has pointed fingers towards Iran.

This blame game can blow up into a war. If Israel looses its cool and bombs Iran, and Iran retaliates, it will be pure mayhem.

World politics is looking like a fight between some kids, where nations are being asked to take sides. The USA has been breathing down India's neck to cut all ties with Iran. India is not showing the inclination to do so, putting its national interests first.

Japan and China do not want Iran to go to war. They are dependent on its oil. The UK, too, has told Israel to avoid war. America says that war is not the only option currently. Well, even if it's one of the options, it still spells doom.

Iran too has been flexing its military muscle. It threatens to close the Hormuz Strait, the narrow piece of sea through which 20% of the world's oil makes its way to the nations across the world. And just yesterday, Iran sent a warship into the Mediterranean.

If Israel puts its prestige first, only God can save us from a war. A war which will send the price of crude oil through the roof. A war which will create an  unbearable pressure on the already stretched world economy. A war where nations would have to takes sides and prove their allegiance.

Well, the last thing that we want today is a war.

History teaches us many lessons. And in these difficult and dangerous times, it would be important to recollect the reason for start of World War 1. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Yugoslav nationalist triggered the World War 1. 

A small match stick can light a fireball. And we can all hope that the leaders of our great nations possesses a calm head to douse the match stick.

After all, we can live in peace. And their is no greater victory than peace. 

A war is a dark blot in the annals of history. Peace is an eraser which can prevent the creation of these dark blots.

On a side note, at the end of 2012, when we welcome the new year 2013, we can take the pride that we have proved the Mayan's wrong.

Is There An Alternative?

A human being is known to resist change. In such cases, he or she is reminded - Change is the only thing which is  constant in life. There are other times when he craves for change. In this case, he or she urges for a change but often does not find any alternatives for change. 

The question that plagues his mind is - Is there an alternative??

Is There An Alternative

This is the question that has been on the top of my mind since "the so called cricket experts" are pushing for a separate captain for the Indian cricket team for Test's and One Dayer's.  

MS Dhoni, the incumbent captain in both forms of the game, and the toast of the nation just 8 months back is facing a flak for his lackluster leadership in the recent 2 Test loss against the Aussies. He is considered to be unimaginative in Test Cricket. He is thought to be a safe player in Test Cricket.

And with just a two Test match loss behind his back in the current Australian tour, the "experts" have started gunning for his neck and are insisting for a change.

My question is - Is there an alternative? 

Alternative Ideas

Is there one player in the current Indian cricket team to be a Test captain? No. 

There isn't a single player in the Indian cricket team who can become a leader. Be it Virender Sehwag, or Gautam Gambhir, they do not have the persona and the demeanor to lead India. The other guys who were vice captains earlier - Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh - are not even a part of the team.

All in all, no alternatives. So what's the point yelling for a change?

Same is the case with the Indian voters. The current spate of scams, the lackluster leadership, the Lokpal fiasco, the decision paralysis make them crave for change.

But once again - Is there an alternative?

Is there a single party on India's political horizon - apart from the Congress - who can provide stable governance for the next five years. The answer is No.

The BJP is leaderless. The people will not be interested in voting for an ageing LK Advani. Neither do Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, or Nitin Gadkari do not have any national following. Go to Tamil Nadu and ask what is Sushma Swaraj's claim to fame, the Janata will ask - Sushma Who?? 

The same is the case with "the Third Front". Once again, they do not have any national leader. Why would anyone from Jammu Kashmir want Nitish Kumar to be the PM? Why would anyone from Maharashtra want "Ms. West Bengal" Mamta to be the PM?

The summary once again - No Alternatives.

No Alternatives Either

And if the Indian citizens are clueless about the leadership in the political circles, they need not fear - they are not alone. The same question is troubling the American citizens.

After all the promise that Barack Obama had shown prior to his 2009 elections, he has, at best, put in an average performance. He had to deal with a massive depression in the early part of his tenor, and a "depression-like" situation at the current moment. 

His only standout point in the last 3 years has been the assassination of dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden in May 2011. He has faced criticism on the Afghan war and the Libyan war. The unemployment rate in USA is also on the rise for the past 3 years. 

Amazing Alternatives

Even if the American people may feel let down after the promise shown by Obama, they may desire for a change. But is there an alternative?

All in all, he may face Mitt Romney in the presidential elections later next year. And for all probabilities, the people are expected to favor Obama again. 

The reason is once again evident - There is No Alternative.

Lets take a look at the global currency market. The Chinese have made the Yuan freely trade-able. The Euro was going strong 8 months back. The Indian Rupee was also hovering around 43 INR for every USD. The USA was [is] staring at a possible recession.

In this entire situation, you could expect the American Dollar to weaken. But then Greece had a big problem with its sovereign debt. The Euro took a huge hit. The Japanese Yen took a beating due to the massive tsunami last year. Uncertainty was the order of the day. 

No Alternatives

Where did the financial whizkid's take solace? In the American Dollar. The reason - There Is No Alternative.

In all these circumstances, it is best to be reminded of Henry Kissinger who is known to have said - "Moderation is a virtue only in those who are thought to have an alternative." 

But No, I am not an opponent of change. I do believe in this quote by Dr. Carl Sagan - “We are prodding, challenging, seeking contradictions or small, persistent residual errors, proposing alternative explanations, encouraging heresy. We give our highest rewards to those who convincingly disprove established beliefs.”

There Are Many Alternatives

Let's all hope that in all the situations mentioned above, there are adequate alternative options available. This would allow the incumbent to be on his toes, and would open up the options for the general people. And may the best man win. 

Operation Geronimo Learnings

It has been less than 10 days since the American forces carried out an audacious operation in the heartland of Pakistan to kill the most wanted terrorist in the world - Osama Bin Laden. 

Executed under the code name Operation Geronimo, this military campaign will go down in history as one of the most sucessfull anti-terror operations.

Under this context, it would be worthwhile to absorb and assimilate the learning's of this complex endeavour. Significantly, these learning's can be applied in different situations and facets.

Let us start with an overview of the operation itself.

• Three to four helicopters fly from Afghanistan into Abbottabad, Pakistan, with American Navy Seals on board. 

• They descend on Osama Bin Laden's compound in the dead of the night and engage in a massive fire fight.

• Osama Bin Laden is shot dead. He is identified and his body is flown out of Pakistan. The operation is completed in approximately 40 minutes. 

• The operation is controlled from The White House, America.

The importance from the operation can be gauged from the fact that America has spent close to a decade in pursing Osama Bin Laden. They spent close to a trillion dollars, just to get this one man.

So what are the learning's from the operation?

 

Persistence Is The Key.

 

You might have heard about the quote - “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” - by Bill Bradley. 

 

The Americans relentlessly pursued Bin Laden and it was the persistence of the efforts which finally got them to their man. Of course, they had to throw in a lot of money. Yet, the will was never lacking.

 

Mitigate Risks With Confidence.

Think about the way the operation is executed. The Americans did not know with certainty that Osama was in that compound in Abbottabad. 

 

The armed forces were to conduct an operation in a foreign land, without the permission of the country. The odds of executing this successfully without any collateral damage were high. 

 

Osama Bin Laden Abbottabad Compound

Under such circumstances, they beleived in this quote by the American car maganate - Henry Ford.

 

No one can really guarantee the future. The best thing we can do is calculate the risks involved, size up our chances, estimate our ability to deal with them, and then make our plans with confidence.

 

The Americans did just that. And they were successfull.

Preparation and Practice Are Equally Important.

Well, after tracking down Bin Laden to that compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, just a few miles away from Pakistan's military academy, the Americans prepared a lot for the operation. They gathered huge amount of intelligence. They did the ground work. All of this formed the basis of the  sucessfull operation.

 

In an very important comment, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter terrorism, said that the operation was well practiced at undisclosed locations. This practice made sure that the forces were well aware of the compound, its surrounding etc. It ensured that they do not comes across a massive unforeseen situation which would derail the operation itself.

Share Information Only On A Need-to-know Basis.

The Americans violated the sovereignty of Pakistan as a nation by carrying out an independent operation on Pakistani soil. As per current information, no one from the Pakistani Government knew about this attack before hand. Why?

 

Barack Obama During Osama Operation - Code Named Operation Geronimo

Well, here are Barack Obama's words. 

 

"If I'm not revealing to some of my closest aides what we're doing, then I sure as heck am not going to be revealing it to folks who I don't know," he said. "I didn't tell my own family."

 

Well, this says it all. Only those people who mattered were informed. This ensured that the operation was not compromised.

 

Never Underestimate. 

 

Never ever underestimate the risks in any endeavour. This will ensure that adequate back up plans are available for any kind of situation. 

This did happen in Operation Geronimo when one of the copters crashed. The Americans are supposed to have switched onto the backup plan to execute it successfully.

 

Obama himself talked about it. He wondered, "If Murphy's Law applies and something happens, Can we still get our guys out?"

Set Clear And Precise Goals

The aims and goals of the operation was set forth clearly to the men on ground.

They were 

• If it's Osama who is in there, try to capture him alive only if he is naked. Else, take him off.

• If it's Osama who isn't there, just get the hell out of there.

Well, these clear goals ensured that the men on ground did not have to think hard on what to do when they came across Osama. The rules were set forth and they were to be executed. 

Well, there will be people who will support creativity in activities. Well, creativity is important - but it is to be done in the planning phase. The execution phase has to go on with mechanical precision. Nothing more, nothing less.

Engage People In Positions Of Authority And Responsibility.

 

A key highlight of this operation was the fact that this operation was controlled and monitored from The White House and the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. President Barack Obama and his closest aides watched the operation real time from the Situation (Control) Room in the White House.

 

Operation Geronimo White House Situation Room

This ensured two things. 

 

The people who had the responsibility to execute were involved. As stakeholders, it was their job to ensure that the operation is taken to a logical conclusion.This could either mean ensuring that Osama is taken out or the American forces are flown out of the country, safely.

Importantly, the people who had the powers to take the decision were involved. They could take decisions which could make the operation a success. They could take decisions in the event of any unforeseen situation. And decisions are most important in such massive operations.  

 

Luck Is The Key. 

 

The biggest of the endeavors needs the greatest of the luck. No one has spoken  about it outright. Yet, I consider that luck was an important factor in this operation.

 

Just think how three to four helicopters fly into a country, go in undetected into a garrison town just 60 kms from the capital, and then fly out with the most wanted terrorist in the world - dead.

Well, there might be several other lessons which can be grasped from this complex military operations. The one's highlighted here are not new themselves.

 

Yet, incoporating them in any endeavor is important. All of them can be a strong tail wind in ensuring the success of a mission.

Osama Bin Laden Dead

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.

America and Americans have lived upto this quote today by Elbert Hubbard. In a stunning military operation in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, US special operations forces killed the most wanted terrorist in the world - Osama Bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden FBI Profile

Almost a decade back, Osama Bin Laden unleashed the worst terror attack in the world - with his Al-Qaeda operatives flying commercial airliners into the World Trade Center Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. 

These terror attacks resulted in the destruction of four airplanes, the on board passengers,  the people working at the WTC and its vicinity, and those engaged in rescue operations. The death toll was more than 3000 and America was hurt in it heart.

America wanted the guilty to be punished and within just six weeks it launched the war on terror. Osama was believed to be in Afghanistan and the USA bombed virtually all of the country. Yet, Osama managed to escape and since then had been untraceable.

The Americans spent billions of USD on finding Osama. It was like finding needle in a haystack. Osama was presumed to be anywhere in Afghanistan and Pakistan. With his exact location unknown, finding and killing him was difficult.

But you will remember the quote - the smartest of the criminals also leaves a trail. And it was one such trail that resulted in pin pointing the exact location of the most wanted man on earth. 

A couple of men - who acted as couriers - were spotted frequenting a house in Abbottabad. This was when the intelligence men from the CIA thought something was fishy. A closer inspection revealed that the house was heavily protected. Even the trash was not dumped into the outside world - it was set on fire. 

Osama Bin Laden Abbottabad Compound

And after several months of ground work by the American intelligence agencies, they came to a conclusion - a very big terrorist was hiding in the house. Maybe it was their most wanted man - Osama Bin Laden.

Surprisingly, just a week back, Al-Qaeda had threatened a nuclear hell storm if Osama is caught or killed. Read more here.

However, taking out Osama in the heartland of Pakistan was not an easy task. USA had to undertake a military operation on the Pakistani territory. This would mean a severe infringement on the sovereignty of Pakistan. And if something goes wrong - like the death of American military personnel, or the loss of civilian life - it world reflect badly on Obama and his administration. And if he escapes, it would be a major embarrassment.

However, at stake was Osama Bin Laden - the man responsible for unleashing mass terror across the world. America had its best chance to get their man. And just three days back, on April 29 - Barack Obama signed an order to kill Osama Bin Laden.

As England and the world celebrated a royal wedding between Price William and Kate Middleton, the American intelligence and the armed forces prepared for the task to get their man. The operation must have been planned in a very exclusive manner - to ensure that the cat does not slip out of the bag and Osama doesn't do a Houdini trick again.

And as the whole of Asia slept on a quiet Sunday night, at approximately at 1 AM Pakistan time, the American forces started their operations. Around three helicopters were seen hovering around the sleepy town of Abbottabad. Out of them descended the American Navy Seals on the most important mission of their life - to kill Osama Bin Laden.

Abbottabad Compound that housed Osama

In what must have been a deadly and bloody battle, the Americans bombarded the house with massive gun fire. Osama and his aides responded to battle at hand. The Americans must have unleashed a lethal firepower to kill Osama. Osama and his son tried their best come out of this unscathed. 

However, their luck had run out. In a operation that lasted more than 40 minutes, the Americans killed Osama Bin Laden and his son and a couple of aides. They also captured his wife - presumed to be the youngest out of his many ones. And they secured his dead body and flew out of the town.

This entire operation was monitored and handled from the CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia. There is also a huge possibility that President Barack Obama was in the loop in those final moments.

Well, these pictures confirm the fact. Almost the entire US administration, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton et all, watched and controlled the operation from a White House control room.

White House Control Room For Osama Operation

You can see a tense Barack Obama and a gasping Hillary Clinton. The rest of the administration also looked very very tense in this high profile operation to kill the world's most wanted man.

Barack Obama After The Osama Operation In The White House Control Room

If you are interested in checking out more pictures of the White House Situation Room for the Osama Bin Laden operation (a.k.a. Operation Geronimo), then you can check out the Official White House Photo Stream here.

It would surprise you that this entire operation was played out live on Twitter - courtesy this man from Abbottabad. He didn't know what was going on in his sleepy town. Yet he twitted all of it for the world to read it in astonishment.

The world was unaware of the mammoth operation that was executed to kill Osama. And if US officials are to be believed, even Pakistan was unaware of the operation to get the most wanted terrorist. 

However, this seems extremely unlikely - given the fact that the town of Abbottabad is just 50 kms away from the capital, Islamabad. Just a few kms away is a Pakistan military academy. All of this makes the US denial look more of a tactic to save Pakistan from an internal backlash.

And at approximately 9 AM IST, Barack Obama announced to the world that they had triumphed in killing Osama Bin Laden.

~~
Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. 

Read Obama's complete speech here.
~~

Barack Obama Announces Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Barack Obama, who more than three years back said - Yes, We Can - did it. And almost certainly, he will go down in history for his words - Justice has been done.

Most importantly, Obama said that the USA was not in war against Islam. And in line with their religious faith, the Americans ensured that Osama was buried at sea within 24 hours of his death. This was done considering the fact that it would be difficult for a find a country to accept his remains for burial.

US Military Personnel in Kandahar Afghanistan Watching Obama's Address - Courtesy BBC

There are a several questions to be answered in this extensively secret operation. How many men were involved on the ground? Where did they fly in from? Was there a traitor who said it all? What has Osama's wife said about Bin Laden? Where did they bury Bin Laden? Was the Pakistan's ISI aware of the operation? Was the Pakistan's political circuit informed before the operation? Did ISI and Pakistan shield Osama all along?

There are a few situations which are yet to shape up. How will the war against terror in Afghanistan go on in the next few months? How will Al-Qaeda react to the news? How will supporters of Bin Laden react to his death? Will the killing of Bin Laden be a political trump card in Obama's re-election campaign?

Well, we don't have the answers yet. It will take some time for the news to trickle out of the corridors of power onto the common man.

While America and the world can sleep with a bit of comfort tonight, we can only hope and pray that Al-Qaeda does not unleash further retaliatory terror attacks.

However, today, we can only salute the brave men who took up a difficult task to set the world on a path of lasting peace.

Operation Odyssey Dawn And Contradictions

The world wakes up this Sunday to a new war. 

The so called Coalition forces - prime among them being the USA, the UK, and France - have launched operation Odyssey Dawn against Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

This is within two days of the U.N. imposed no-fly zone in Libya which was voted 10-0 in the UN Security council.

This picture of the leaders posing for a photograph after the summit makes me wonder about one thing. 

How do these guys manage to pose for a photo after planning to start  a thing as bad as a war? A war which will result in death of thousands of people, which will result in a monetary loss of millions of dollars, which will result in extensive damage to life and property. A war which will set back a nation by years.

Importantly, the emerging nations - Brazil, Russia, China and India, along with European powerhouse Germany had abstained from this voting. But this hasn't stopped the Coalition from going ahead with the armed operations. 

While French reconnaissance aircraft surveyed the Libyan landscape late yesterday evening, the residents of Libya were subjected to a barrage of Cruise missiles since yesterday night.

The power of technology and money have made the American, British and French forces to just sit pretty on their battleships in the Mediterranean,  or fly high above the skies, and rain the missiles and bombs on the innocent Libyan people.

Just have a look at the statement given by British Prime Minister - David Cameron - late yesterday night.

"Tonight, British forces are in action over Libya. They are part of an international coalition that has come together to enforce the will of the United Nations and to support the Libyan people.
 

We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Gaddafi has meted out against his own people. And far from introducing the ceasefire he spoke about, he has actually stepped up the attacks and the brutality that we can all see.
 

So what we are doing is necessary, it is legal, and it is right."

Well, what he is telling Britain and the world that the actions are fully legal and will benefit only the Libyan people. Wish these leaders show such generosity and concern for the citizens of such nations in times of peace.

If the wars fought across the world in the last decade are anything to go by, then this would also look to be a protracted engagement. You have the war in Afghanistan and Iraq as standout examples.

The name of this operation - Odyssey Dawn - itself is a misnomer. Odyssey, as defined by the dictionary, is a long, wandering and an eventful journey. Certainly these leaders don't want the war to stretch for long. I wonder who gave this name to the operation.

This war is seen to be a culmination of the civil war in Libya which started in Feb 2011. The crisis in the Arab World and the victories of the Tunisian and Egyptian people had motivated the Libyan citizens to overthrow Colonel  Gaddafi.

With Gaddafi using armed forces against his own people, the world leaders have been prompted into this action. 

Just a few hundred miles away from Libya is the nation of Bahrain. The people of Bahrain too have been protesting against their monarchs, with an attempt being made to overthrow the current regime. The leaders in Bahrain too have responded with use of force against the peaceful demonstrators. 

This is where you have the contradiction. The Coalition nations on one hand are seen against Gaddafi. On the other hand, they are seen supporting the King of Bahrain.

Why is it so? What makes them support an authoritarian regime while oppose another? What makes them back the steps taken for suppressing an internal civilian conflict in Bahrain while oppose the same in Libya.

So much for uniformity.  So much for having the same yardstick to be applied everywhere.

This is simple contradiction. This is simple behavioral inconsistency.

The U.S. is apprehensive of supporting Bahrain openly. This has made it ask its trusted friend in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia, to help Bahrain. And they have responded kindly by rushing its 2000 odd forces across the King Fahd causeway joining the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, to help the rulers of Bahrain suppress the uprising.

One thing is certain. If a similar uprising or protest is seen in Saudi Arabia, and if they respond with similar military actions, the very same Coalition nations would be seen backing them. 

This is when someone should read out to David Cameron what he had said on the night of the launching of Operation Odyssey Dawn. 

It would be apt to close with a line which Oscar Wilde said a long time back. 

“The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.”

Mao Zedong, Maoism and Maoists

Maoists are causing a lot of havoc and destruction in India. Over the last 2 months itself, they have carried out three horrible attacks on the Indian citizens - resulting in the death of 250 odd precious lives.

So who are these Maoists? And what do they want?

We need to start with Mao Zedong.

Mao Zedong was a Chinese leader. He was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976. He was also the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1959.

He is considered as the most influential Chinese Leader of the 20th century - and is regards by most Chinese as the person who set them on course to be become a super power.

Before the times of Mao Zedong, two prominent theories of Communism were in practice. They were Marxism - by Karl Marx, and Leninism - by Vladimir Lenin.

Marxism put forth that an economic minority (the wealthy class of people)  exploited the working class for their benefits. The theory advocated that the working class must seize political power through social revolutions.

Leninism argues for the forceful deposition of the incumbent government; assume power (as agent of the proletariat) and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat  government. Moreover, as the government, the vanguard party must educate  the proletariat — to dispel the societal false consciousness of religion  and nationalism that are culturally instilled by the bourgeoisie  in facilitating exploitation.(Courtesy Wikipedia).

Mao built on these basic tenets of Marxism and Leninism.

His theory of Maoism is built on the following concepts.

• Revolutionary struggle of the mass against against their exploiting classes and their supporting state infrastructure. 

• Political transformation through the involvement of the people from the lower strata of the society.

• Supporting the struggle through guerrilla war tactics.

What has led to the emergence of Maoism in India?

India is a country which has a vast variety of natural resources at its disposal. Minerals are widely available in India and Mining is a important activity in India. 

The contribution of mining to the Indian economy is significant. Central India is especially rich in minerals. Large corporations have significant stakes in these mining activities. 

Many a times, or rather frequently, the policies of the government and the actions of these corporations are detrimental to the interests of the people who live in these mineral rich regions. 

The people in these regions often feel exploited. Frequently, the economic benefits gained out of such mining explorations are not given back to the region. This creates a sense of discontent among the mass leading to unhappiness.

The Maoists are people who are fighting for this strata of the society. They are fighting for the rights of the tribals from these regions of India. 

Maoists are active in regions of India which are rich in minerals. These regions - which see significant military activity from the Maoists - is also known as the Red Corridor.

Over the past many years, this fight has been bloody.

Significantly, recently, the Maoists launched three attacks on the Indian State which resulted in the death of a large number of people.

In April, they ambushed a group of armed forces in the jungles of Dantewada in Central India killing 76 jawans. Just a month later, they bombed a bus - killing 44 people - 15 among them being from the armed forces.

As India was coming to terms with this aggressive style of Maoist warfare, the Maoists blew up a rail track resulting in a train derailment just 3 days back. This was the worst among the three attacks - resulting in the death of more than 130 odd people.

India has been crying hoarse for strong action against these Maoists - which have some presence in approximately 28% of the Indian administrative districts.

Now 28% is a huge number - it means approximately 1/3rd of India. It is high time that the Maoists Movement is quelled before it becomes seriously damaging to the nation at large.

What is my take on the situation right now?

As an immediate measure, the Government of India should take strong decisive steps to bring down the Maoists. 

It can include holding peace talks with them - urging them to join the political main stream and assuring them of the Government's greater support in bringing all round development to the region, which they feel is neglected. But such peace talks will take time. Should India bleed till then?

As an alternative, the Government can launch an all out military offensive against the Maoists. These will make things bloody in short term. But if the offensive is successful, we can have assured peace later.

This would importantly require that the Indian State takes adequate steps to ensure the all round development of such regions - the lack of which is the cause of this struggle. This has been lacking to some extent in the last 60 years. And with the huge amount of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy, ensuring this will be a far fetched task.

There is a section of the civil society which is against such military offensive. Their line of argument - why should you attack your own people? 

The argument is fine - but I think it holds good only till your own people support the nation. When they start going against the nation and its people at large, this argument should not hold good.

Can we draw an equivalence from Sri Lanka - which was fighting the LTTE for close to 33 years? After several years of peace talks, the Lankans launched an offensive against the tigers and defeated them in May 2009. We are now looking at a peaceful country and Sri Lanka is hoping to make the most of it.

Taking a decision on the plan of action against the Maoists is not easy. P Chidambaram, the Home Minister of India, is looking for a larger mandate to take appropriate against the Maoists.

A re-look at the policy against the Maoists is a must.

Finally, I strongly hope that we have a a peaceful solution to the threat from the Maoists.